House panel expects thousands of documents in Trump probe
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Democratic-led U.S. House Judiciary Committee said on Monday that it expects to receive tens of thousands of documents as part of its wide-ranging corruption and obstruction of justice probe of Republican President Donald Trump.
Two weeks ago, the committee requested documents from 81 individuals, government agencies and other entities including Trump family members, current and former business employees, Republican campaign staffers and former White House aides, the FBI, White House and WikiLeaks.
The probe, which Republicans have denounced as an overreach of congressional authority, is aimed at determining whether Trump has used his office to enrich himself or has sought to obstruct investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and any collusion by his campaign.
Trump maintains that his campaign did not collude with Russia and has dismissed the probe as a “political hoax.”
In a statement issued as Monday’s deadline for document submissions expired, the House of Representatives committee said it has heard from “a large number” of those who received document requests on March 4 and that many have either sent or agreed to send documents to the committee.
“Those documents already number in the tens of thousands,” the statement said.
“The committee continues to be in discussions with others, including some who have requested a subpoena ... before they are comfortable supplying the information requested,” it said. The statement did not say which recipients have submitted or agreed to submit material.
Among the recipients were the president’s sons Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, as well as his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg, former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former White House counsel Don McGahn.
The committee has also sought documents from among those already charged in U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, including former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former Trump adviser Roger Stone and former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.
“I am encouraged by the responses we have received since sending these initial letters two weeks ago,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Nadler said in the statement.
“It is my hope that we will receive cooperation from the remainder of the list, and will be working to find an appropriate accommodation with any individual who may be reluctant to cooperate with our investigation.”
The Republican president faces several investigations including congressional committee inquiries and Mueller’s probe into Russian campaign interference and any Trump campaign role.
Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Cynthia Osterman
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