Story highlights
Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating Russia and possible ties to Trump's campaign
Former Trump campaign chairman spokesman Jason Maloni was subpoenaed
Jason Maloni, former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s spokesman, testified Friday at the US District Court in DC to before a grand jury as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
Arriving at the courthouse, Maloni was asked if he was ready to testify.
“Hell yeah,” he responded, giving a thumbs up.
Maloni testified as Manafort is under federal investigation as part of Mueller’s Russia investigation. The probe into Manafort is largely focused on his past work for the former ruling party in Ukraine, which was ousted amid street protests over its pro-Russian policies.
Following his testimony, Maloni spoke briefly to reporters.
“My name is Jason Maloni,” he said. “I’m President of JadeRoq. I was ordered to appear today before the grand jury. I answered questions and I’ve been dismissed.” Asked what type of questions he was asked, Maloni said “That’s all I have to say.”
Mueller issued subpoenas in August to both Maloni and Melissa Laurenza, an attorney with the Akin Gump law firm who represented Manafort until recently. The subpoenas were seen as an aggressive tactic to put pressure on the former Trump campaign chairman.
Manafort was among several campaign representatives – including the President’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner – who participated in a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, a meeting pitched as an opportunity to receive dirt on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
