WASHINGTON _ A long-awaited Senate Intelligence Committee interview with Donald Trump Jr. won't happen this month, said top panel Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia, as senators continue to probe a meeting he took with lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and other Russians last June.
"It won't be in November because we still have to deal with other individuals who were in the meeting first," Warner said Tuesday.
Committee staff has already interviewed Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior aide, and former campaign manager Paul Manafort, who has since been indicted and charged with financial crimes. Both attended the meeting, which was put together on the promise of dirt on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government.
Veselnitskaya told Bloomberg that Trump Jr. indicated during the meeting that a law targeting Russia could be re-examined if his father won the election, and that he asked her for written evidence that illegal proceeds went to Clinton's campaign.
Separately, Warner also wants to hear more from Facebook Inc. on the reach of the 120,000 Instagram posts it disclosed to the panel last week and still wants the tech companies to back legislation requiring disclosure of the buyers of political ads.
"Our hope is that they will see that even though some of the companies have taken proactive steps, and I appreciate that, I'd love to hear any of their explanations why they wouldn't support making sure that Americans know that the political ads they're seeing during a campaign are actually sponsored by Americans," he said.
While Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky expressed skepticism about disclosure legislation in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt posted Saturday and instead pushed the idea of tapping tech companies for the ability to retaliate against Russia, Warner sounded hopeful they could collaborate.
"We do need to have clearer, brighter lines around cyber doctrine, misinformation and disinformation," Warner said. "It might be an area we could work together collaboratively."
After completing a big slate of private interviews related to the broader Russia probe, the committee is expected to hold some public hearings with the major principals in the Russia investigation and then write a report.
Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., has previously said he has an aspirational goal of completing the investigation before the end of the year but has acknowledged it could slip beyond that. Either way, he said he wants to complete the probe before next year's midterm primaries.
Susan Collins, a Maine Republican on the committee, told Bloomberg last week she expects an interim report could be released soon on Russian interference, with the question of collusion between Russians and the campaigns remaining open for investigation into next year.
