House Dems planning to send Trump associates’ testimony to Mueller: report

Democratic lawmakers, set to take control of the House of Representatives in January, are reportedly planning to send special counsel Robert Mueller transcripts of testimony from some of President Trump’s closest aides.

Reuters, citing three sources familiar with the matter, reported that Democrats want Mueller to review the testimony for evidence and possible falsehoods.

{mosads}The news service notes that the House Intelligence Committee has heard testimony from Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, son Donald Trump Jr., former advisers Roger Stone and Corey Lewandowski, personal aide Rhona Graff and former personal aides Hope Hicks and Keith Schiller.

All of those interviews will reportedly be sent to Mueller, who has been investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Two sources told Reuters that they expect Mueller to review testimony from Stone, Kushner and Trump Jr. for potential falsehoods.

A spokesman for Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who will chair the committee in December, told Reuters that sending Mueller transcripts would not mean the panel believes criminal charges should be brought.

“We do not foreclose the possibility of making a referral, but all we have decided is to provide the Special Counsel with the transcripts so that his team can evaluate them for evidence as well as potential perjury,” Patrick Boland, Schiff’s spokesman, said.

The report from Reuters comes about a week after Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty last week to one count of making false statements to Congress while talking about his correspondence with Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign. 

Cohen has agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation as part of his plea. 

In September, Republicans rejected a proposal from Democrats to send Mueller transcripts of testimony from its own investigation into Russia’s election interference. GOP lawmakers did, however, vote to send 53 transcripts to the Director of National Intelligence for declassification, according to Reuters.