Republicans continue their “case closed” narrative on the Mueller report despite the fact that the report actually says nothing of the sort. However, that isn’t stopping Congress from delving into the issues that Mueller specifically said was their job to investigate, including the president’s son, Donald Trump, Jr.
@realDonaldTrump
@MickMulvaneyOMBMulvaney says, "I'm not involved in [Trump's] legal matters regarding his business,… his family, I don't do that. I handle the West Wing of the government."
Sounds like he's CYA-ing here!#RightTheShip
https://t.co/wODM3j35zN— David Sanders (@grasspress) May 9, 2019
In an interview with CBS News, Trump’s chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, whined about the Senate Intelligence Committee not informing the White House that they planned to subpoena Trump’s son. When asked about the “case closed” comments that Senate Majority Leader repeatedly pressed during a recent statement, however, Mulvaney said that doesn’t apply to the president’s son and namesake.
According to POLITICO:
‘I have no opinion about that because he is a private citizen and not a member of the administration.’
Senate Intelligence Committee Issues Subpoena For Donald Trump Jr. To Testify Again: The president's eldest son testified in 2017 about his participation in a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with Russians offering dirt on Hillary Clinton. The panel… https://t.co/IQ01V37hPh pic.twitter.com/uQRiHnA4BG
— Marcus Evans ⚛️ ? ? (@MarcuswevansSr) May 8, 2019
Junior was very specifically called out by Mueller as having committed a crime for taking a meeting with Russian government operatives which he believed would provide damaging evidence against his father’s political opponent, Hillary Clinton. That is a violation of the law, although Mueller said that it would be difficult to prove that Junior realized that he was violating the law.
That argument sort of falls apart when one considers that he attended the meeting with Trump’s then-campaign manager, Paul Manafort. After all, Manafort has been in politics for several decades and certainly should have been aware of what the laws are regarding accepting foreign help during a presidential campaign.
The Mueller report stated that:
‘On the facts here, the government would unlikely be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the June 9 meeting participants had general knowledge that their conduct was unlawful. The investigation has not developed evidence that the participants in the meeting were familiar with the foreign-contribution ban or the application of federal law to the relevant factual context. The government does not have strong evidence of surreptitious behavior or efforts at concealment at the time of the June 9 meeting.’
Milbank: "there is clear and compelling evidence that Donald Trump Jr. is dumb as a post. This was essentially Robert Mueller’s conclusion as he recounted the June 9, 2016, Trump Tower meeting." https://t.co/kkKNm92sdv
— David M. Freedman (@FreedmanChicago) May 9, 2019
Mulvaney said that he was aware of the nature of the subpoena only through “news reports,” and that it was related to “something” about a Trump Tower 2016 meeting. He also said that it wasn’t his job to protect the president’s son.
‘They’re two different people. They do share the same name and certainly Don Jr. is the president’s son.’
Mulvaney: 'Bad form' for Senate panel to subpoena Trump Jr. without 'heads-up' https://t.co/FNBmzEaFEE The Democrat's just can't stand they they are losing. What are the Democrat'a doing for us the American people? Absolutely nothing!
— Renogolfer (@Renogolfer56) May 9, 2019
Featured image via Flickr by Gage Skidmore under a Creative Commons license
