Grassley opens Russian meddling hearing without star witnesses

Sen. Chuck Grassley on Wednesday opened a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election without the star witnesses who had been anticipated.

Neither Donald Trump Jr. nor President Donald Trump's one-time campaign manager Paul Manafort were on hand to talk about their meeting last year with a Russian lawyer who claimed to have damaging information about Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.

Trump Jr. has agreed to cooperate with the committee, produce documents relating to the meeting and do a transcribed interview.

Manafort was subpoenaed Monday by the committee, but Chairman Grassley and California Sen. Diane Feinstein, the ranking Democrat, withdrew it Tuesday after Manafort agreed to produce documents sought by the committee. Negotiations for a transcribed interview are continuing.

Citing an inspector general's report that found the Justice Department brought only seven criminal cases under the 1938 Foreign Agent Registration Act, with one conviction and two guilty pleas between 1966 and 2017, Grassley said 'it's really it's non-enforcement of the law that concerns me.”

The law generally does not make it illegal for agents of foreign governments and entities to influence U.S. policy, but requires them to register with the Justice Department.

'This kind of lax enforcement has consequences. It creates a culture of lawlessness,” Grassley said.

Given recent Russian efforts to influence our elections, Grassley said, enforcement has never been more important.

The Iowa Republican said that greater enforcement 'will help to bring to light any foreign attempt to influence our policies and elections in the future.”

The negotiations with Trump Jr. and Manafort do not preclude them testifying in public at a later date, Grassley said. Transcripts of their testimony can be made public, although not immediately, he added.

He noted it is a crime to lie to Congress, so whether they testify under oath or not 'they will face the wrath of the U.S. prosecutor if you are charged for lying to Congress,” Grassley said. If they lie under oath, 'you are subject to the wrath of the U.S. prosecutor plus the wrath of God.”

Grassley also wants to look into the alleged involvement of a Democratic Party official with the Ukrainian government. In addition, he wants to hear from Glenn Simpson, founder of Fusion GPS, about his involvement in creating the notorious and unconfirmed Trump dossier, his interactions with the FBI and his alleged work with unregistered foreign agents who met with the Trump family and campaign officials.

According to a complaint filed with the Justice Department, Fusion helped orchestrate a propaganda campaign to repeal the Magnitsky Act that allows the president to sanction individual Russian human rights abusers and freeze their U.S. assets.

'Apparently, it drives Mr. Putin crazy,” Grassley said.

Another witness on Fusion's activities did not testify Wednesday after Democrats, Grassley said, invoked an 'obscure” Senate rule that limited the hearing.

But that witness will be called Thursday, Grassley said.

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