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Trump's sons among 81 asked for documents as abuse of power investigation widens

The Judiciary Committee list includes family members, business employees, ex-White House aides, and Republican campaign workers.

Democrats have requested documents from Donald Trump Jr (left) and Eric Trump (right)
Image: Democrats have requested documents from Donald Trump Jr (left) and Eric Trump (right)
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Eighty-one people, government agencies and other groups have been asked to provide documents as part of an investigation into the possible obstruction of justice or abuse of power by Donald Trump.

The House Judiciary Committee, controlled by the Democrats, has made requests to family members, former and current business employees, former White House aides, and Republican campaign workers.

The FBI, the White House and WikiLeaks are also among those issued with requests.

President Trump's sons Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner - a White House aide - were included and so were Trump Organisation chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, former US attorney general Jeff Sessions and ex-White House counsel Don McGahn

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Trump hits back in fiery two-hour speech

Representative Jerrold Nadler, the committee's chairman, said: "We have seen the damage done to our democratic institutions in the two years that the Congress refused to conduct responsible oversight.

"Congress must provide a check on abuses of power."

A lawyer for the committee said its aim was to gather a large amount of evidence to guide the investigation and help to determine who to approach as witnesses.

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They said the panel was prepared to subpoena people if required.

The committee said it wanted to determine if Mr Trump obstructed justice by ousting perceived critics at the Justice Department including former FBI director James Comey.

James Comey says he has agreed to 'sit in the dark'
Image: James Comey was fired by Mr Trump in May 2017

They also want to find out if the president abused his power by possibly offering pardons or tampering with witnesses.

Mr Comey had been heading up an investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election as well as possible collusion with Mr Trump's campaign when he fired the FBI chief.

Special counsel Robert Mueller took over the investigation as a result and is expected to report his findings in the coming weeks.

The White House has received a letter from the Judiciary Committee but press secretary Sarah Sanders said it would "respond at the appropriate time".

The Justice Department said it was evaluating the request.

Republicans have accused the Democrats of pursuing an impeachment agenda against the president in a bid to win the White House in 2020.