Grassley: Chances of getting voluntary interview with Kushner ‘have been shot’

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said he believes the panel’s chances of getting a voluntary interview with White House adviser Jared Kushner “have been shot.”

“I had hoped to speak with all the witnesses surrounding the Trump Tower meeting before releasing any of those transcripts,” Grassley said Thursday, according to NBC News.

“But the ranking member unilaterally released the transcript of Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson. That has spooked other potential witnesses.”

He added: “As a result, it looks like our chances of getting a voluntary interview with Mr. Kushner have been shot.”

{mosads}His comments come after Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) earlier this month chose to unilaterally release the transcript from the panel’s interview with Glenn Simpson, the co-founder of Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm behind the controversial dossier that alleges links between President Trump and Russia.

The Senate Judiciary Committee interviewed Simpson last year about the dossier and Feinstein published the transcript this month.

The 2016 Trump Tower meeting — attended by Trump Jr., Kushner and a group of Russians — has been a focus of the investigations into Russian election interference.

The meeting was attended by a Russian lawyer who reportedly promised Trump Jr. dirt on Hillary Clinton.

Former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon reportedly called the meeting “treasonous,” according to a recent book published on the Trump White House.