Senate Intelligence Committee subpoenas Donald Trump Jr. in Russia probe

Donald Trump Jr greets West Virginia voters after speaking at a campaign event for Republican US Senate candidate Patrick Morrisey, centre, in October last year. Photo / Getty Images

The Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed Donald Trump Jr as part of an inquiry into the Russia investigation, it has been reported.

In 2017 Trump Jr testified he was only "peripherally aware" of proposed plans for the Moscow project.

"The fact that they're subpoenaing Trump Jr is a strong signal that he declined a request to appear before the committee again," news website Axios wrote.

In an interview with Fox News' Laura Ingraham in January 2019, Trump Jr downplayed his knowledge of the discussions about a possible Trump Tower in Moscow, saying that the project was a creation of President Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen: "We don't know anything about it. Ultimately, it was Michael Cohen essentially trying to get a deal done."

"Don and Senate Intel agreed from the very beginning that he would appear once to testify before the committee and would remain for as long as it took to answer all of their questions. He did that." - source close to Don Junior, confirming story. https://t.co/f8jQhkewPd

— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) May 8, 2019

However, President Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen earlier this year told a House committee that he had met with both Donald Trump Jr. and his sister, Ivanka Trump, "approximately 10" times to brief them about that ultimately aborted effort.

In November, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress. He reported to prison on Monday to serve out his three-year prison sentence.

More to come.