Senators demand testimony on Don Jr.'s crumbling Russia cover-up story

Senators are demanding that Donald Trump Jr. come back and testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee — this time under oath — after new revelations that his father knew about the clandestine campaign meeting with Russian operatives.

According to Trump’s former personal lawyer and “fixer,” Michael Cohen, the elder Trump knew in advance about the meeting at Trump Tower. At that infamous gathering, Don Jr. was among the senior campaign advisers who met with Russian operatives offering up dirt on Hillary Clinton.

But when he testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee as part of the ongoing probe into Russian election interference, Don Jr. reportedly said his father did not know about the event.

That is a problem, and members of the committee are demanding that Don Jr. do something about it.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) told NBC News the claims from Cohen “raise important questions” about the veracity of Don Jr.’s testimony.

Leahy continued, “It’s time for Donald Trump Jr. to come back before the Senate Judiciary Committee to answer them, but this time in public, under oath.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said in a statement, “If reports are true that President Trump knew in advance of the 2016 Trump Tower meeting, it would suggest that Donald Trump Jr. may have misled Judiciary Committee staff when he was interviewed.”

Feinstein said the discrepancy between Cohen and Don Jr.’s testimony “demonstrates why he must come before the committee to answer questions.”

Don Jr. has already lied to the public about the meeting. He first claimed the Russians came to Trump Tower during the campaign to simply discuss adoption laws. But then the New York Times obtained his emails showing that the meeting was focused on campaign dirt.

Don Jr. could face criminal liability for lying to the Judiciary Committee.

Appearing on MSNBC, defense attorney Danny Cevallos explained that even though he did not testify under oath, Don Jr. may be in violation of the law: “As long as he intended to mislead or omit factual information, he can be charged with a crime, and this is very important, whether or not he was under oath.”

Cevallos noted that others connected to the Trump campaign, like former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, have already pleaded guilty to making “false statements to authorities.”

“It is a very easy crime to make out and does not require an oath,” he detailed, “It essentially requires just a knowing intentional misleading or lying to an agent or Congress or obstructing some proceeding.”

Don Jr. has a track record of lying to cover up his father’s campaign activities. His apparent decision to do so while testifying in front of Congress has been exposed thanks to the recent Cohen revelation.

Now, Senators are demanding that he explain himself as the possibility of prosecution looms over the entire affair.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.