The Latest: Senators criticize FBI, Justice in Russia probe
By Associated Press
Jul 26, 2017 9:50 AM CDT
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 25, 2017, to meet behind closed doors before the House Intelligence Committee on the investigation into possible collusion between Russian officials and the Trump campaign.(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)   (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible ties to the Trump campaign (all times local):

10:45 a.m.

A top Justice Department official is explaining why criminal prosecutions are rare for people who fail to register as foreign agents.

Adam Hickey is a deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's national security division.

He says the law contains multiple exemptions for registration and there's a burden on prosecutors to prove that the failure to register with the Justice Department was out of willfulness.

The law, known as the Foreign Agents Registration Act, has received renewed attention as federal investigators probe potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.

The Trump campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, belatedly registered in June for political consulting work he did for a Ukrainian political party. He acknowledged that he coached party members on how to interact with U.S. government officials.

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10:28 a.m.

The leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee are criticizing the FBI and the Justice Department for lax enforcement of a law that requires registrations of foreign agents in the United States.

The law, known as the Foreign Agents Registration Act, has received renewed attention as federal investigators probe potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.

The Trump campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, belatedly registered in June with the Justice Department for political consulting work he did for a Ukrainian political party. He acknowledged that he coached party members on how to interact with U.S. government officials.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the committee, says there's been weak enforcement of the law for decades.

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4:28 a.m.

President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman will not be testifying Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, as originally scheduled, after the committee rescinded its subpoena.

The committee withdrew its subpoena for Paul Manafort late Tuesday after he agreed to turn over documents and to continue negotiating about setting up an interview with the panel. That's according to Taylor Foy, a spokesman for Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Judiciary Committee chairman. The committee also removed Donald Trump Jr. from the list of witnesses scheduled for Wednesday's public hearing.

The panel has sought to talk with Manafort about a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting in New York with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, among other issues including his foreign political work on behalf of Ukrainian interests.

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