Trump Jr. told the Senate in 2017 he was only "peripherally aware" of a Russia deal with the Agalarovs. Michael Cohen said he briefed Trump Jr. 10 times.
ADVERTISEMENTWASHINGTON — The Senate Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed Donald Trump Jr. to answer questions about his contention that he had only limited knowledge of a project to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, a source with direct knowledge tells NBC News.
The committee, led by Republicans, is nearing completion of its investigation into Russian election interference — a probe that is expected to result in a series of written reports.
The news was first reported by Axios.
Trump Jr. testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2017. He said he was only "peripherally aware" of the Moscow development proposal, which was kept secret from voters.
Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who was pursuing the project, told the committee a different story. He testified that he briefed Trump Jr. and his sister Ivanka Trump about the project "approximately 10" times.
Cohen, now serving a three year prison sentence, pleaded guilty to lying to the committee about the timing of the project when he said it was abandoned in January 2016, before the heart of the Republican primary campaign.
In fact, it continued until June 2016, even as Trump was telling the public he had no business dealings with Russians.
In an interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham in January 2019, Trump Jr. downplayed his family's role in the project, saying, "the reality is this wasn't a deal — we don't know the developer. We don't know the site. We don't know anything about it. Ultimately, it was Michael Cohen essentially trying to get a deal done."
According to the Mueller report, Trump authorized and remained interested in the Moscow project, which was described as "highly lucrative."
Trump Jr. was not charged by special counsel Robert Mueller over his Senate testimony, after months of speculation that such charges were possible.
This marks the first known Congressional subpoena of a member of the president's immediate family.