House votes overwhelmingly to approve new sanctions on Russia

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Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was not sure the bill would "fly through" the upper chamber.
"The only language we agreed to was Iran and Russia.
So adding North Korea on, I just don`t know how we`re going to deal with it yet," Corker told reporters.
"The better route would have been to send over what had been agreed to.
" The bill had raised concerns in the European Union, where U.
allies depend on supplies of Russian gas.
But House members said the bill was tweaked to try to alleviate the worries of Europeans and the energy sector.
Investigations The intense focus on Russia, involving several congressional probes and a separate investigation by a Justice Department-appointed special counsel, Robert Mueller, has overshadowed Trump`s agenda.
The scrutiny has angered and frustrated the president, who calls the investigations a politically motivated witch hunt fueled by Democrats who cannot accept his upset win in last November`s election against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, a former U.
secretary of state.
Without offering evidence, Trump lashed out on Twitter on Tuesday about "Ukrainian efforts to sabotage" his presidential campaign in order to aid Clinton.
The Ukrainian embassy in Washington denied the accusations.
The Senate Judiciary committee had been set to compel Trump`s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, to testify at a hearing on Wednesday, but rescinded the subpoena late on Tuesday as negotiations over his participation continued.
The panel is looking at a June 2016 meeting in New York with a Russian lawyer organized by Trump`s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
released emails this month that showed he welcomed the prospect of receiving damaging information at the meeting about Clinton.
On Friday, the panel had asked that Manafort and Trump Jr.
appear at the Wednesday hearing, but a witness list released on Tuesday evening included neither of their names.
Manafort met with Senate Intelligence Committee staff on Tuesday morning, his spokesman said.
On Tuesday, Trump`s son-in-law, Jared Kushner , spent three hours with the House of Representatives intelligence panel, his second straight day on Capitol Hill answering questions about his contacts with Russians during the campaign.
Kushner had a "very productive session" with the House Intelligence Committee, Democratic Representative Adam Schiff said after the meeting.
Republican Representative Michael Conaway said Kushner was "straightforward and forthcoming.
He wanted to answer every question that we had.
" Kushner, who is now a top aide in Trump`s White House, told reporters on Monday he had no part in any Kremlin plot.
House Republicans on Tuesday rejected a legislative effort by Democrats to obtain Treasury Department documents that could show any ties between the finances of Trump, his inner circle and the Russian government.
A bill had been fiercely debated in the House Financial Services Committee, with Democrats openly wondering whether or not Trump is compromised by a foreign power and Republicans dismissing it as a political stunt.