The Latest: Hicks arrives for interview with House panel
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on congressional investigations and special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report (all times local):
6:40 p.m.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff says Russia-born business executive Felix Sater will talk to House intelligence committee staff behind closed doors as part of its investigation into Russian election interference.
Schiff wouldn’t give a date for the interview, but another person familiar with the meeting says it will happen Friday. The person requested anonymity to discuss the private interview.
Sater worked with President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, on a Trump Tower deal in Moscow before the 2016 election. The project was later abandoned.
Schiff says the committee will talk to other witnesses related to the Moscow project in future interviews.
The committee scheduled an open hearing with Sater in March but postponed it. Cohen is serving a three-year prison sentence.
— Mary Clare Jalonick and Michael R. Sisak
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5:30 p.m.
Hope Hicks has concluded her closed-door interview with the House Judiciary Committee.
President Donald Trump’s former aide testified over eight hours Wednesday as part of the panel’s investigation of the president, Russian election interference and obstruction of justice. It was the first time the committee has heard from someone linked to Trump’s inner circle since the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.
It is unclear how much new information, if any, she provided in the second-floor hearing room where she met with the panel and staff. Lawmakers say she was answering questions about the Trump campaign.
But lawyers objected to Hicks answering questions about the Trump presidency, citing something they described as “absolute immunity.” Democrats say no such thing exists and vowed to go to court
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10:05 a.m.
Former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks has arrived for a closed-door interview with members of the House Judiciary Committee.
The interview is part of the panel’s investigation of President Donald Trump and obstruction of justice. Hicks is the first testimony they will hear from someone linked to Trump’s inner circle since the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.
It is unclear how much information she will provide, as the White House has said she is “absolutely immune” from testimony with respect to her service to the president. A White House lawyer will be in the room.
Hicks did not respond to questions as she made her way through a throng of photographers into the second-floor hearing room.
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6:40 a.m.
The closed-door interview that House lawmakers have with Hope Hicks, a former communications director for President Donald Trump, marks the first time they are hearing from someone linked to his inner circle since the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.
Obtaining the testimony Wednesday from Hicks, a close and trusted former Trump aide, is a significant victory for Democrats.
The House Judiciary Committee originally subpoenaed Hicks to give public testimony, but agreed to the private interview after negotiations.
Still, it is unclear how much new information Hicks will provide.
She already cooperated extensively with Mueller’s probe, and a White House lawyer who will be in the room for the interview is expected to try and block her from answering certain questions.
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