Senate Asks Trump Associates for Records of Communication With Russians
Senate Asks Trump Associates for Records of Communication With Russians
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Senator Richard M. Burr, left, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Senator Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat.
GABRIELLA DEMCZUK FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
By MATTHEW ROSENBERG and MAGGIE HABERMAN
MAY 5, 2017
WASHINGTON — The Senate Intelligence Committee, seeking to accelerate its broad investigation into Russian meddling in the presidential election, has asked a number of high-profile Trump campaign associates to hand over emails and other records of communications and dealings with Russian officials and businesspeople.
The requests, made in letters sent by the committee in the past 10 days, are a preliminary step and open the way to subpoenas for anyone who does not comply, said two officials with knowledge of the Senate investigation. They said Senator Richard M. Burr, a North Carolina Republican who is chairman of the committee, was prepared to compel the Trump associates to turn over their records.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/05/05/us/politics/100000005082423.mobile.html
Among those who said they had received the requests were Roger J. Stone, an informal adviser to President Trump, and Carter Page, a businessman and former foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign. Paul Manafort, the former campaign chairman, and Michael T. Flynn, the former national security adviser, were also sent letters, said the officials with knowledge of the investigation. Representatives for both men declined to comment.
Mr. Stone said he planned to comply with the request and noted that he
has said in the past that he will testify voluntarily. “I am eager, indeed anxious, to testify in full public session, have requested no immunity and am ready to go,” he said in a brief interview.
Roger J. Stone said that he had received a request from the Senate Intelligence Committee for records and that he planned to comply.
JENNA SCHOENEFELD FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
Mr. Stone says that he has had no communications with Russian officials other than previously disclosed communications with Guccifer 2.0, the online persona that officials believe was actually Russian intelligence officers. Mr. Stone has acknowledged trading messages over Twitter with Guccifer.
Mr. Page was more circumspect. In an email, he said, “Although I will help in any way that I can, please note that any records I may have saved as a private citizen with limited technology capabilities will be minuscule in comparison to the full database of information which has already been collected under last year’s completely unjustified FISA warrant.”
He was referring to a warrant
issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courtallowing the Justice Department to secretly wiretap his communications. The warrant was issued after investigators concluded that Mr. Page was no longer part of the Trump campaign, and it was based on evidence that he was operating as a Russian agent, officials have said.
Mr. Page, Mr. Stone and Mr. Manafort are all under scrutiny in an
F.B.I. investigation into Russian election meddling and allegations of collusion by Trump associates. There are two other separate congressional investigations — one by the Senate panel and the other by the House intelligence committee.
The letter from the Senate committee, which was jointly signed by Senator Burr and Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat who is vice chairman of the panel, asks its recipients to list all the meetings they had with Russian officials or business people from June 16, 2015, through Jan. 20, 2017. It set a May 9 deadline for a response.
Then, the committee requested that by May 19, the recipients hand over records of all communications — including emails, text messages and phone logs — with Russian officials or business people from the same period. It also asks them for information on any of their financial or real estate holdings related to Russia and to list any meetings they know of between other Trump campaign associates and Russians.
Follow Matthew Rosenberg on Twitter at
@AllMattNYT, and Maggie Haberman at
@maggieNYT
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