Just Security provides a curated summary of recent developments on Russigate:
https://www.justsecurity.org/47165/early-edition-november-17-2017/Extract:
TRUMP-RUSSIATrump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner failed to hand over a document about a “Russian backdoor overture” to the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to a letter sent by committee chairman Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) and ranking Democrat Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) yesterday, Michael S. Schmidt reports at the New York Times.
Kushner also failed to provide documents relating to an email he was sent in September 2016 about WikiLeaks and communications he had had with Belarusian-American businessman Sergei Millian who claimed close connections to the Trumps and was the source of salacious details in a dossier based on Trump’s 2013 trip to Moscow. Karoun Demirjian reports at the Washington Post.
Documents relating to Kushner’s security clearance were also requested, Kushner’s security clearance form has come under increasing scrutiny within the context of the Russia investigations. Daniella Diaz reports at CNN.
The Senate Judiciary Committee became aware of the documents through other witnesses, and a lawyer for Kushner has said that the president’s son-in-law was “open to responding to any additional requests.” The BBC reports.
Grassley and Feinstein’s letter called on Kushner to turn over all responsive documents by Nov. 27 and asked Kushner’s lawyer to resolve issues that might “implicate the president’s Executive privilege.” Kyle Cheney reports at POLITICO.
Kushner remains a person of interest in the investigations into Trump-Russia connections, according to an anonymous source familiar with the probes; investigators are keen to discover how much Kushner was involved with, or knew of, the efforts of Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn or others to lift U.S. sanctions on Russia. Jonathan Landay and Patricia Zengerle report at Reuters.
The Trump campaign former foreign policy adviser Carter Page delivered a bundle of documents under subpoena to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees yesterday, Page was recently interviewed by both committees as part of the investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. Katie Bo Williams reports at the Hill.
The former Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak declined to name all of the Trump officials he had contact with, saying in an interview earlier this week that “the list is so ling that I’m not going to be able to get through it in 20 minutes.” Tucker Higgins reports at CNBC.
A worker paid by the Russian “troll factory,” the Internet Research Agency, has described how the organization churned out misinformation to meet specific quotas. Ben Popken and Kelly Cobiella report at NBC News.
The White House communications director Hope Hicks may be a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into connections between the Trump campaign and Russia, having been part of Trump’s “inner circle” for years and been at the president’s side as the Russia scandal has unfolded. Mueller has requested an interview with Hicks but a date for questioning has not yet been revealed, Darren Samuelsohn explains at POLITICO.
The investigations into Trump-Russia connections reveal a “spectacular accumulation of lies,” from lies at confirmation hearings to lying to the F.B.I., demonstrating a lack of respect for ethics and morality which has spread to all aspects of the Trump administration. Michael Gerson writes at the Washington Post."