Don Jr. Will Meet With Jan. 6 Committee, In Blow To Daddy

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Donald Trump Jr. is set to meet with the House committee investigating the Capitol riot at some point in the coming days, according to CNN. For Trump Jr. to testify before the panel would represent a remarkable level of access to the Trump family for committee investigators, who’ve already heard from Ivanka Trump, the former president’s daughter who served as a presidential adviser throughout his time in office. Also among those who’ve testified to the riot panel are Jared Kushner — Ivanka’s husband, who also worked for Donald — and Kimberly Guilfoyle, who is Don Jr.’s fiancée. And it’s not even a given that these individuals close to Trump will just plead the Fifth and refuse to answer questions — Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said Ivanka’s testimony “certainly… was helpful.”

Among the text messages from conversations involving ex-Trump official Mark Meadows that have been obtained by the riot panel are some from Donald Trump Jr., who appears to have forwarded a missive to the then-White House chief of staff arguing that the then-president’s side had the “operational control” required for Donald to stay in office beyond the point he was legally supposed to leave. Before that message, Donald Jr. wrote, “This is what we need to do please read it and please get it to everyone that needs to see it because I’m not sure we’re doing it.” Trump Jr. was also among those involved with the large, outdoor rally in D.C. that immediately preceded the Capitol breach. Overall, he could no doubt provide critical information to members of the riot committee about what then-President Trump was doing and about broader efforts to go after Biden’s presidential election victory.

In other committee-related news, panel investigators are apparently going after more than 37,000 pages of email messages held by ex-Trump attorney John Eastman, who has claimed attorney-related privileges over the materials. A federal judge handling document disputes between Eastman and the committee concluded that Trump and Eastman had likely committed criminal offenses amid their efforts to block Biden from taking office, but that conclusion apparently related to a more limited cache of documents. The tens of thousands of pages at issue now extend back to the time of the last presidential election, apparently necessitating new conclusions regarding whether potential crimes could overcome privileges.

Meanwhile, Eastman — who helped formulate plans for thwarting the procedural process finalizing Biden’s election victory — is still pushing for the de-certification of presidential election results. In a meeting this March at Wisconsin’s state capitol, Eastman remarked: “The Wisconsin legislature, therefore, in my view, not just up until January 6 or inauguration, but today as well, has the ability to look at the assessment and say… our election was illegally certified… What we are asking is for the legislature to assume the power that the Constitution gives to it.” Down in reality, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.