Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Donald Trump Jr to comply with subpoena and testify on Capitol Hill as part of ‘last-minute deal’

Republican-led committee successfully demands first son comply with subpoena and testify about Russia once more

New York

Wednesday 15 May 2019 00:28 BST

✕

Trump Jr says 'you don't have to be indoctrinated by these loser teachers that are trying to sell you on socialism from birth' at Trump rally

Donald Trump Jr has agreed to testify once again before the Senate intelligence committee as part of a last-minute deal, according to reports.

The president’s eldest son had previously skipped out on multiple requests by the Republican-led committee to voluntarily testify, after alleged discrepancies in his past testimonies were revealed.

Senate intelligence committee chairman Richard Burr then issued a subpoena for the first son to return to Capitol Hill, sparking an intra-party dispute and misleading claims from top Republicans that special counsel Robert Mueller’s report had fully cleared the president and his inner circle of any wrongdoing.

The report instead outlined numerous examples of possible obstruction of justice on the part of the president, while high-profile testimonies about Russian impact on the last presidential election appeared to contradict claims Mr Trump Jr made about only being “peripherally aware” of a Trump Tower project in Moscow in 2016.

While Mr Trump Jr suggested he did not have much information about the Moscow project throughout the election, the president’s longtime former lawyer, Michael Cohen, said he had actually been briefed at least 10 times.

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Show all 12

1/12Mueller investigation: The key figures

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Robert Mueller is the special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election, and potential obstruction of justice by the president. Mr Mueller has a pristine reputation in Washington, where he was previously in charge of the FBI. Throughout his investigation, he and his team have been notoriously tight lipped about what they know and where their investigation has led.

REUTERS

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Former FBI director James Comey was the catalyst that led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller. Mr Comey was fired by the president after Mr Trump reportedly asked him to drop his own Russia investigation. Mr Trump has long maintained that the investigation is a "witch hunt".

AFP/Getty Images

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein had authority over the special counsel investigation for much of the two years it has been active. Mr Rosenstein found himself with that responsibility after then-attorney general Jeff Sessions recused himself from that oversight.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Attorney general Jeff Sessions's decision to recuse himself from oversight of the special counsel investigation may have cost him his job in the end. Mr Sessions resigned last year, after weathering a contentious relationship with Donald Trump who vocally criticised his attorney general for taking a step back. Mr Sessions recused himself from the oversight citing longstanding Justice Department rules to not be involved in investigations overseeing campaigns that officials were apart of.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Attorney General William Barr is currently responsible for oversight of the special counsel investigation. Mr Barr's office will be the first to receive the Mueller report when it is finished. His office will then determine what portion or version of that report should be delivered to Congress, and also made public.

EPA

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Michal Cohn is the president's former personal lawyer, who has been helping the special counsel investigation as a part of a plea deal over financial crimes, and campaign finance crimes, he has pleaded guilty to. Among those crimes, Cohen admitted to facilitating $130,000 in hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign. Cohen has said he did so at the direction of Mr Trump. Cohen has also admitted that he maintained contacts with Russian officials about a potential Trump real estate project in Moscow for months longer than Mr Trump and others admitted. The talks continued well into 2016 during the campaign, he has said.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Stormy Daniels has alleged that she had an affair with Donald Trump in 2006, soon after Melania Trump gave birth to Baron Trump. The accusation is of particular importance as a result of the $130,000 hush money payment she received to keep quiet about the affair during the 2016 campaign.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Paul Manafort was Donald Trump's former campaign chairman. Manafort was charged alongside Rick Gates for a slew of financial crimes, and was convicted on several counts in a Virginia court. He then pleaded guilty to separate charges filed in a Washington court. Manafort has been sentenced to just 7.5 years in prison for his crimes — in spite of recommendations from the special counsel's office for a much harsher sentence.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

George Papadopoulos was one of the first individuals associated with the Trump campaign to be charged by the Mueller probe. He ultimately received a 14 day prison sentence for lying to investigators about contacts he had with Russian officials.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Roger Stone is a well known political fixer and operative, who has made a name for himself for some dirty tactics. He has been charged by the Mueller probe earlier this year, and he has been said to have had prior knowledge that WikiLeaks planned on publishing stolen emails from the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016.

Getty Images

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Rick Gates was charged alongside former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort for a range of crimes. Gates, who worked alongside Manafort for a pro-Russia Ukrainian political party. The two were charged with conspiracy and financial crimes. Gates pleaded guilty.

AP

Mueller investigation: The key figures

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn was one of the first casualties of the Russia scandal, and was forced out of his position in the White House weeks after Donald Trump took office. Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to "willfully" making fraudulent statements about contacts he had with Russian officials including former Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Flynn then lied to Vice President Mike Pence about that contact.

REUTERS

Mr Mueller’s report also said Mr Trump himself remained interested in the “highly lucrative” project throughout his election.

As part of the agreement to meet with lawmakers once more, the upcoming testimony will mark the last time Mr Trump Jr must speak to the Senate intelligence committee about their ongoing investigation, The Hill reported on Tuesday.

The testimony will reportedly be limited to just five or six topics and will last between two to four hours in mid-June.

As one of his father’s closest and most outspoken supporters, Mr Trump Jr has decried subpoenas launched against him and the president as lawmakers seek to understand Mr Trump’s past financial dealings and history with Russia.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

Earlier this week, he retweeted a video clip of Republican Lindsey Graham saying on Fox News, “If I were Donald Trump Jr’s lawyer, I would tell him, ‘You don’t need to go back into this environment anymore. You’ve been there for hours and hours and nothing being alleged here changes the outcome of the Mueller investigation. I would call it a day’.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies