Report: Iowa’s Sam Clovis testifies in Russia probe

SIOUX CITY - Northwest Iowa's Sam Clovis, a former top official in Donald Trump's presidential campaign, has been questioned in connection with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged meddling by Russia in the 2016 campaign, according to media reports.

Clovis, now a White House aide to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, testified last week before a grand jury in Washington, D.C., NBC News first reported Tuesday evening.

In a statement, an attorney for Clovis, Victoria Toensing, said she could not confirm or deny the report.

Clovis, a former Morningside College professor and Sioux City radio host, was publicly propelled into Mueller's high-stakes probe this week when newly unsealed court documents revealed a guilty plea by George Papadopoulos, a former foreign policy adviser for Trump.

Papadopoulos, who secretly was arrested in July, is cooperating with Mueller's investigation, the documents show.

As national campaign co-chair and senior policy adviser of the Trump campaign, Clovis was asked to form a national security advisory committee chaired by then-Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama. The members included Papadopoulos.

According to the court filing, Papadopoulos attended a March 31, 2016, 'national security” meeting in Washington that included then-candidate Trump and others.

'When defendant Papadopoulos introduced himself to the group, he stated, in sum and substance, that he had connections that could help arrange a meeting between then-candidate Trump and President (Vladimir) Putin,” the court records states.

Papadopoulos continued to email campaign officials about a possible meeting with individuals claiming to work for the Russian government who were offering 'dirt” including emails about Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

In an August 2016 email, a supervisor later identified as Clovis urged Papadopoulos to 'make the trip, if it is feasible.”

But Clovis, a 25-year Air Force veteran who retired as a colonel, always 'vigorous opposed” any Russian trip for Trump or his campaign staff, Toensing said.

'There was a strict campaign rule that no one could travel abroad and claim to be representing or speaking on behalf of the campaign,” her statement said. 'If someone proposed foreign travel in a personal capacity, Dr. Clovis would have had no authority to prohibit such travel.”

Clovis, who taught economics at Morningside, has been nominated by Trump as the top scientist with the USDA, but his nomination has been vigorously opposed by many Democrats, environmental groups and some ag interests.

Critics argue he does not have sufficient academic qualifications for the post and has made statements questioning climate change. He tentatively is set for a Nov. 9 confirmation hearing before the Senate Agriculture Committee.

In a conference call with reporters Wednesday, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a member of the agriculture committee, said it's too early to know if Clovis' role in the Mueller investigation will affect his nomination to the USDA post.

Grassley noted that Clovis also is cooperating with the Senate Intelligence Committee's own investigation into Russian interference.

Grassley noted emails supplied by the Trump campaign show Papadopoulos offered to travel to several countries to meet with Russian officials but never to make a trip to Moscow, as some news organizations have reported, he said.

Dave Dreeszen of the Journal contributed to this report.