The persistence of the Russia investigation is obviously getting on the Trump family’s nerves. This Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr. took time to amplify some messaging from angry Republican Congressman Jim Jordan (Ohio) suggesting that House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) was unfairly meddling in the probe and other Congressional investigative efforts.
Jordan put forward his allegations in the form of a pair of questions, asking:
‘Why did Adam Schiff try to block Congress from learning that the Clinton campaign paid for the Dossier?.. Why did Adam Schiff say that his talks with Michael Cohen were limited to inviting him and allaying any concerns about threats to his family—but NOT mention the 14 hours his staff spent prepping Cohen BEFORE the hearing?’
The “Dossier” Jordan referenced is the infamous collection of allegations about the Trump team’s connections to Russia that former British spy Christopher Steele collected thanks to the direction of Glenn Simpson’s Fusion GPS research firm, which eventually was funded at least in part by the Democrats. The firm’s work was initially funded by a Republican firm, the Washington Free Beacon. Although Schiff has sought to downplay the significance of the dossier’s partisan connections, it’s unclear what if any basis there is for Jordan making the jump to basically accusing Schiff of actively obstructing Congressional inquiry.
Further, there’s similarly little to no evidence of nefarious intent surrounding the meetings Jordan references that former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen participated in with Schiff’s staff ahead of recent public testimony before the House Oversight Committee. The meetings were part of standard procedure, and easily explained as preparation for further testimony that would take place that week in order to ensure that time spent in session was as efficient as possible. The day after his appearance before the Oversight Committee, Cohen spoke to the intel panel.
Despite essentially no evidence of anything nefarious, Republicans — including Donald Trump Jr. — have jumped on the bandwagon of declaring a conspiracy. They’ve asserted that the meetings suggest that Cohen’s appearance before the Oversight Committee was little more than choreographed political theater, since he discussed many of the topics that came up with Schiff’s staff.
They have good reason to worry and point fingers over Cohen continuing to talk about what he’s been talking about for some time now. He has claimed that Trump is guilty of various forms of financial fraud, including insurance and tax fraud, providing paper evidence to Congress of the same. In the aftermath of that testimony, New York Attorney General Letitia James has begun an investigation of the president’s personal finances, issuing subpoenas to two banks he’s done business with, including the infamous Deutsche Bank.
Trump Jr. has personally been implicated in the whole mess too. Cohen produced a check that Trump Jr. signed reimbursing him for the illegal hush money he’d delivered to adult film star Stormy Daniels covering an affair she’d had with the president. During Cohen’s public testimony, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) noted that although Cohen is going to jail over the scheme, at least three more people have been implicated — Donald Trump, Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg, and Donald Trump Jr.
Check out Twitter’s response to Trump Jr. and Jordan’s pair of conspiracy theories…
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