20 people to testify on Russia interference in US presidential elections

WASHINGTON, March 29 (KUNA) -- The US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has asked 20 people to face questioning in its investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential elections, the committee chair Richard Burr said on Wednesday.
Appearing at a news conference with the committee vice chair Mark Warner, Burr said: "This one is one of the biggest investigations the Hill (Capitol Hill) has seen in my time here." Burr - a North Carolina Republican, and Warner - a Virginia Democrat, said they have scheduled interviews with five of the 20 witnesses.
President Donald Trump's son-in-law and top White House adviser, Jared Kushner, and former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, have agreed to testify, but no date has been scheduled for their appearance, the senators said.
In interviews this week, Warner said the committee wants to be prepared to ask the right questions before calling witnesses.
The Senate probe of the Russia issues has begun to grow in perceived importance as a separate US House investigation has stalled along partisan lines in the wake of actions by the House Intelligence Committee chair, Republican Representative Devin Nunes, a former member of the Trump transition team.
Nunes has gone to the White House and communicated with officials there about what he described as the incidental collection of US surveillance data on aides to Trump. Nunes, a Republican, has not revealed the exact source of this information to other House committee members.
Democrats have said that Nunes appears to have compromised his ability to be impartial in the investigation, and should step down from his committee chair post, while most House Republicans, including Speaker Paul Ryan, have said they support Nunes remaining in the post. (end) rm.gb