Russia Investigation: New Subpoenas Target CIA, FBI & NSA

It’s difficult to stay up-to-date on what’s happening and to break through the clutter about the Russian investigations. Here’s what we at Countable are reading today:

1. House Intelligence Committee Issues seven subpoenas in Russia Probe

The House Intelligence Committee issued seven subpoenas on Wednesday, according to the Wall Street Journal, in a sign that the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election is ramping up in scope and intensity, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Republican-led committee issued four subpoenas related to the Russia investigation. Three subpoenas are related to questions about how and why the names of associates of President Donald Trump were un-redacted and distributed within classified reports by Obama administration officials during the transition between administrations.

The committee has subpoenaed the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency for information about what is called "unmasking." Republicans on the committee have been pushing for a thorough investigation of how the names of Trump campaign officials became exposed in classified intelligence reports based off intelligence community intercepts.

Read more at the Wall Street Journal.

2. Comey to testify publicly on Trump's requests to stall Russia investigation

Fired FBI director James Comey plans to testify publicly in the Senate as early as next week, according to CNN, to confirm accusations that President Donald Trump pressured him to end his investigation into a top aide's ties to Russia, a source close to the issue told CNN on Wednesday.

Final details are still being worked out and no official date for his testimony has been set. Comey is expected to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating possible connections between the Trump campaign and Russia during last year's presidential election.

Comey has spoken privately with Special Counsel Robert Mueller III to work out the parameters for his testimony to ensure there are no legal entanglements as a result of his public account, a source said. Comey will likely sit down with Mueller, a longtime colleague at the Justice Department, for a formal interview only after his public testimony.

Read more at CNN.

3. Flynn to provide sensitive documents, responding to Senate Intelligence Committee subpoena

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn will turn over documents from his businesses to the Senate Intelligence Committee, after refusing to comply with an initial subpoena from the panel last week, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Flynn will begin supplying the records to the committee as soon as next week, including documents from two of his businesses and some personal documents.

The development comes a week after Flynn announced that he would not comply with the Senate Intelligence Committee's subpoena for personal documents, as part of their investigation into Russian election meddling.

Read more at The Hill.

4. Politico: Kushner tries to pretend everything’s normal

Kushner led three meetings in the West Wing on Tuesday — and never once acknowledged the stories about him that have dominated cable news since last week, when it was reported that during the campaign he discussed setting up a secret communications back channel to Moscow.

With his wife, Ivanka Trump, Politico says they learned from multiple White House sources, Kushner emerged from the Memorial Day weekend intent on dismissing his increased public scrutiny in connection with the FBI’s ongoing Russia probe as nothing more than a public relations problem that will blow over — and act like his special status in the White House has not changed.

On his first full day back after the holiday weekend, Kushner led a meeting on veterans affairs, a meeting with his Office of American Innovation and a planning meeting on a "Tech Day" at the White House next month, when he hopes to gather tech leaders in Washington to discuss modernizing government services. Kushner also conducted a series of follow-up phone calls about Trump’s just-concluded overseas trip, a White House official said.

Read more at Politico.

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— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Nuclear Regulatory Commission via Flickr / Creative Commons)