Russian probe: Senate subpoenas former Trump adviser Page, Flynn's son in queue

Washington D.C. [U.S.A.] Oct 18 (ANI): Senate Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed documents and testimony from Carter Page in connection with ongoing probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Quoting a source, the CNN reported that the Senate intelligence committee has issued a subpoena to former Donald Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page.

The subpoena was issued after Page told the committee last week he would plead the Fifth Amendment to keep from sending the "vast array" of documents the committee requested, which he argued was "beyond the charter" of the probe.

Page had said he offered to testify publicly in response to the committee's request for a closed-door interview, reports CNN.

Page has been demanding the government release information about his communications that were picked up during surveillance operations.

He argues that he does not want to be caught in a "perjury trap" since the government has detailed records about his communications.

Page served as a foreign policy adviser to then-candidate Trump's campaign and he has drawn scrutiny for meeting with the former Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the Republican National Convention last year.

Meanwhile, the Senate Committee has also requested documents and testimony from Michael Flynn Jr., the son of former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn.

According to NBC News, the committee is interested in Flynn's work with his father in Flynn Intel Group, the consulting firm Flynn Sr. founded after leaving government service.

Flynn Sr., a main subject in the congressional and federal probes into Russian interference, was forced to resign from the Trump administration after 24 days over misleading Vice President Mike Pence about contacts Flynn had with Russian officials, the ABC News report said.

The United States intelligence community believes that the Russian government was engaged in electoral interference during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

A January 2017 assessment by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) stated that Russian leadership preferred presidential candidate Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally ordered an "influence campaign" to harm Clinton's electoral chances and "undermine public faith in the US democratic process."

Several investigations about Russian influence on the election have been underway: a counter-intelligence investigation by the FBI, hearings by the Senate Intelligence Committee and the House Intelligence Committee, and inquiries about possible links and financial ties between the Kremlin and Trump associates. (ANI)