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Donald Trump's son and son-in-law to appear before Senate committees next week

Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort
Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort

Members of the Trump campaign's inner circle, including his eldest son and son-in-law, are being called before US Senate committees next week to discuss alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The week has the potential to deliver the most high-profile congressional testimony involving the Russian meddling probes since former FBI director James Comey appeared in June.

Donald Trump jnr is scheduled to appear on Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee along with former campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

A lawyer for Mr Trump's powerful son-in-law and adviser said Jared Kushner will speak to the Senate intelligence committee on Monday.

"As Mr Kushner has been saying since March, he has been and is prepared to voluntarily co-operate and provide whatever information he has on the investigations to Congress," said lawyer Abbe Lowell.

"He will continue to co-operate and appreciates the opportunity to assist in putting this matter to rest."

That meeting will apparently take place behind closed doors.

The three men will almost certainly be asked about their attendance at a June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer. That gathering was arranged via emails that suggested it would reveal damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

The lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, said on Wednesday she was ready to testify before the US Senate and "clarify the situation".

The meeting raised new questions about the Trump campaign's possible ties to Moscow, which are being scrutinised by federal and congressional investigators.

These questions have only intensified as the identities of other Russia-connected participants have become known.

"I am ready to clarify the situation behind the mass hysteria, but only through lawyers or testifying in the Senate," Ms Veselnitskaya told Kremlin-funded RT television.

She has denied working for the Russian government.

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing will review a law that oversees the registration of foreign agents.

The panel has been investigating one of the participants at the Trump Jr meeting, Russian-American lobbyist and former Soviet military officer Rinat Akhmetshin, as part of its probe into the law.