By Greg Price
Staff Writer
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House Democrats, with their newfound power, could zero in on one of the phone calls Donald Trump Jr. placed when he was setting up the infamous June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russian officials, according to Representative Adam Schiff of California.
Schiff, who is expected to head the House Intelligence Committee after Democrats take control of the chamber in January, told USA Today, in a story published Tuesday, that the committee could call more witnesses and investigate the call Trump Jr. made to a blocked number.
With Republicans at the helm, the House Intelligence Committee ended its investigation of Russia's meddling in the 2016 election in March, concluding that President Donald Trump's campaign did not collude with Russia to influence the election. The committee also bucked the intelligence community's conclusion that Russia worked to help Trump win.
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According to Schiff, Republicans opted not to investigate the phone records.
"Republicans refused to look at the phone records so that we could find out, because they were afraid of what the answer might be," Schiff said.
Schiff emphasized that he hoped Democrats and Republicans could work together but suggested that GOP members could echo Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and his cantankerous attitude toward the Russia investigation.
"We can't obviously force them to work with us," he said. "They'll have to make the decision for themselves whether they're interested in finding out the truth or they're interested in merely being extensions of Rudy Giuliani."
Who Trump Jr. called as he set up a meeting with the intention of gaining damning political opposition research on former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has been the focus of heavy speculation, as well as whether Trump Jr. told his then-candidate father about the meeting.
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Trump Jr. testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2017 that his father had no knowledge of the Trump Tower meeting, and the president also issued similar denials.
If Democrats could obtain the phone records and prove Trump Jr. had spoken to his father about the meeting, it would be a major revelation that could result in Trump Jr. facing perjury charges.
A series of three calls three days before the June 2016 meeting were of key interest to the Senate committee. Trump Jr. first spoke over the phone with Russian pop star Emin Agalarov, then to whoever was on the other line of the blocked number and then Agalarov again.
Trump Jr. told the committee that he could not recall any of the three phone calls or the identity of the person with the blocked number. Donald Trump was known to have a blocked number, which has only increased speculation about whether Trump was aware of a meeting with Russians in his signature tower.
It was Agalarov who had British publicist Rob Goldstone reach out to Trump Jr. initially about setting up the meeting.
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