Paul Manafort Summoned by Senate Committee to Appear at Hearing
The former Trump campaign chairman has been summoned to appear in a hearing about Russia’s role in the presidential election. Paul Manafort
A joint statement from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Lowa, who is the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the ranking member of the committee revealed that they were unable to reach an agreement for a voluntary transcribed interview with the Judiciary Committee, despite their willingness to accommodate Mr. Manafort’s request to cooperate with the committee’s investigation, without appearing at Wednesday’s hearing,
The statement revealed that Mr. Manafort, through his attorney, said that he would be willing to provide only a single transcribed interview to Congress, which would not be available to the Judiciary Committee members or staff. Although the Judiciary Committee was willing to cooperate on equal terms with any other committee to accommodate Mr. Manafort’s request, ultimately that was not possible.
The statement continued, "Therefore, yesterday evening, a subpoena was issued to compel Mr. Manafort’s participation in Wednesday’s hearing. As with other witnesses, we may be willing to excuse him from Wednesday’s hearing if he would be willing to agree to production of documents and a transcribed interview, with the understanding that the interview would not constitute a waiver of his rights or prejudice the committee’s right to compel his testimony in the future."
A closer look at Paul Manafort’s journey during Trump’s campaign reveals that he joined Trump campaign on the 29th of March 2016 after which he was named campaign convention manager for the mid-July festivities that took place in Cleveland.
A press release was unveiled from the Trump campaign at the time revealing that Manafort,68, was volunteering his considerable insight and expertise because of his belief that Mr. Trump is the right person for these difficult times.
The Republican National Convention, which was held in Cleveland, Ohio, from July 19-21 was organized by Manafort, who was initially hired to wrangle delegates. He however departed from the campaign on Aug. 19, the day after The Associated Press reported that his firm had lobbied in the United States on behalf of the ruling Ukrainian political party.
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