President Donald Trump dialed up a powerful Senate committee chairman from Iowa to talk about corn a day after his panel set a date to interview Donald Trump Jr. about his Russian contacts.
The presidential phone call was revealed by Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Charles Grassley, known as one of the Senate’s most dogged investigators, and who gave the president a sympathetic ear.
‘Just had ph call from Pres Trump + he assured me he’s pro ethanol +I’m free 2 the ppl of Iowa he’s standing by his campaign PROMISE’ Grassley tweeted.
Sen. Charles Grassley got a scoop when President Trump called him while he was touring Iowa Wednesday. Trump provided assurances about his support for ethanol, a day after the Judiciary Committee reached agreement with Donald Trump Jr. for testimony
The presidential phone call came a day after Judiciary revealed that Donald Trump Jr. had agreed to sit for a private, transcribed interview.
Judiciary investigators are seeking information about a June 2016 meeting between the president’s son and a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer, as well as another Russian figure with ties to Russian intelligence.
The meeting was set up after an offer of dirt on Trump rival Hillary Clinton, and was attended by Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, former campaign chair Paul Manafort, and Trump Jr.
The meeting is also of interest to special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of the Trump campaign’s Russia ties.
Sen. Charles Grassley tweeted about his call with President Donald Trump
Sen. Charles Grassley tweeted about his call with President Donald Trump
Sen. Charles Grassley tweeted about his call with President Donald Trump
Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Charles Grassley had a two-minute call with President Trump on Wednesday
Grassley’s panel reached agreement with Donald Trump Jr. to provide testimony
President Donald Trump dialed up a powerful Senate committee chairman from Iowa to talk about corn
Gas pumps with a sign indicating the gas is containing up to 10 % ethanol are seen at Victory gas station on November 15, 2013 in Pembroke Pines, Florida
Senior investigative staff and senators may sit in on the Trump Jr. meeting. Trump’s attorneys also have turned over documents to the committee. The committee previously invited him to appear in public.
Grassley was holding a series of town hall meetings across Iowa when he got the phone call.
It was revealed this week that Trump lawyer Michael Cohen sent a 2015 email to the spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin seeking ‘assistance’ with a Trump Tower Moscow project that later fell apart.
Grassley’s office told DailyMail.com it wasn’t sure what prompted Trump’s call.
‘Tlkd 2 @realDonaldTrump about ethanol +he knows that ethanol is good good good,’ tweeted Grassley.
‘When Pres Trump called me I thanked him 4his continued attention + response to hurricane Harvey @realDonaldTrump,’ Grassley added in a later tweet.
Said Grassley spokeswoman Jill Gerber: ‘The President called Sen. Grassley and talked briefly about ethanol’ in a two-minute conversation.
‘Sen. Grassley told the President he was glad to hear him voice his support for ethanol and that he would tweet about it to the people of Iowa. Nothing more specific about ethanol policies came up.’
The Senate Judiciary Committee is probing enforcement of foreign lobbyist registration laws
Ethanol is big business in Iowa
She said the other topics that came up were Hurricane Harvey and former Iowa Gov. Terry Brandstad’s ambassadorship in China, and that nothing in the investigative realm came up.
Nevertheless, there was speculation on Twitter that the president was trying to butter up Grassley with the unsolicited comments about ethanol.
Trump Jr. said nothing came of the meeting with Russians.
It has since been revealed that President Trump helped craft the initial White House public statements about the meeting, which said it was about Russian adoption issues and concealed the fact that it was about dirt on Clinton.
That information came out only after Trump Jr. put out his emails with a British music publicist connecting Trump Jr. with the son of a Russian oligarch touting information from a Russian prosecutor.