Comey to testify publicly about Trump confrontations

By Eric Lichtblau, CNN Investigates

Updated 1:00 PM ET, Wed May 31, 2017

(CNN)Fired FBI director James Comey plans to testify publicly in the Senate as early as next week to confirm bombshell accusations that President Donald Trump pressured him to end his investigation into a top Trump aide's ties to Russia, a source close to the issue said Wednesday.

Final details are still being worked out and no official date for his testimony has been set. Comey is expected to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating possible connections between the Trump campaign and Russia during last year's presidential election.

Comey has spoken privately with Special Counsel Robert Mueller III to work out the parameters for his testimony to ensure there are no legal entanglements as a result of his public account, a source said. Comey will likely sit down with Mueller, a longtime colleague at the Justice Department, for a formal interview only after his public testimony.

When he testifies, Comey is unlikely to be willing to discuss in any detail the FBI's investigation into the charges of possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign -- the centerpiece of the probe, this source said. But he appears eager to discuss his tense interactions with Trump before his firing, which have now spurred allegations that the president may have tried to obstruct the investigation. If it happens, Comey's public testimony promises to be a dramatic chapter in the months-long controversy, and it will likely bring even more intense scrutiny to an investigation that Trump has repeatedly denounced as a "witch hunt."

More: http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/31/politics/fbi-comey-testimony/index.html

Trump lawyer, former Trump surrogate on list of people House committee wants to hear from

Former Trump surrogate Boris Epshteyn is on a list of people that the House Intelligence Committee wants to hear from as part of its probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and ties between the Russian government and Trump associates.

"Like many others, Mr. Epshteyn has received a broad, preliminary request for information from the House Intelligence Committee," Epshteyn's counsel told CBS News. "This is a voluntary request. Mr. Epshteyn has not been subpoenaed nor do we anticipate that he will be.

We have reached out to the Committee wth several follow up questions and we are awaiting their response in order to better understand what information they are seeking and whether Mr. Epshteyn is able to reasonably provide it."

The list of more than 20 names also includes President Trump's longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, according to a U.S. official. The list represents only the first round of interviews the Committee wants to conduct, and more names will likely be added to it in the future.

More: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-lawyer-former-trump-surrogate-on-list-of-people-house-committee-wants-to-hear-from/

Russian suspected hacker moves step closer to US extradition

FBI accuses Yevgeniy Nikulin of hacking LinkedIn, Formspring and Dropbox, and Russia has also filed extradition request

A Russian suspected hacker has moved a step closer to being sent to the US as a Czech judge gave tentative approval for an extradition to go ahead, during a court hearing held inside a high-security prison in Prague.

Yevgeniy Nikulin, who was arrested at a restaurant in the Czech capital last October and is accused by the FBI of massive hacks of US companies, appeared at the hearing pale and emaciated after eight months in solitary confinement.

The murky case has so far thrown up far more questions than answers, but one thing is clear: US authorities are determined to extradite the 29-year-old Muscovite, who drove a Lamborghini and socialised with the children of top Russian officials, and Moscow is determined to get him back, filing its own extradition request.
Alleged hacker held in Prague at center of 'intense' US-Russia tug of war
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The FBI accused Nikulin of responsibility for huge password hacks on LinkedIn, Dropbox and Formspring, in 2012. Nikulin’s arrest last October came three days before the Obama administration officially accused Russia of hacking the Democratic National Committee and interfering in the election.

More: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/30/suspected-russian-hacker-step-closer-to-us-extradition-yevgeniy-nikulin?CMP=share_btn_tw

Russia investigation expands to include Donald Trump's personal attorney
By Brian Ross
Matthew Mosk

May 30, 2017, 12:04 PM ET

One of President Donald Trump’s closest confidants, his personal lawyer Michael Cohen, has now become a focus of the expanding Congressional investigation into Russian efforts to influence the 2016 campaign.

Cohen confirmed to ABC News that House and Senate investigators have asked him “to provide information and testimony” about any contacts he had with people connected to the Russian government, but he said he has turned down the invitation.

“I declined the invitation to participate as the request was poorly phrased, overly broad and not capable of being answered,” Cohen told ABC News in an email Tuesday.

After Cohen rejected the Congressional requests for cooperation, the Senate Select Intelligence Committee voted unanimously on Thursday to grant the chairman, Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, and ranking Democrat, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, blanket authority to issue subpoenas as they deem necessary.

More: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/russia-investigation-expands-include-donald-trumps-personal-attorney/story?id=47646601