When CNN reported on Thursday evening that Michael Cohen is prepared to tell Robert Mueller that Donald Trump knew, ahead of time, about the Trump Tower meeting attended by Don Jr., Jared Kushner and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who were promised dirt on Hillary Clinton, it raised all manner of questions.
While the understandable knee-jerk reaction from the media was to focus on the sheer number of times that Trump, his attorneys and his surrogates have explicitly claimed that Trump did not know of the meeting in advance, one of the more interesting questions is what Cohen’s claim might mean for Don. Jr.
Last year, in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the President’s son said the following (from the official transcript):
If Cohen’s claim is true, it means Don Jr. lied to Congress, a “mistake” with potentially serious consequences.
“Donald Trump Jr. could face charges of lying to Congress if Cohen’s allegation is proven true, as he testified under oath that his father didn’t know about the meeting”, Bloomberg wrote on Saturday.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the following on Friday in a statement:
If recent reports are true that President Trump knew in advance about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting, it would suggest that Donald Trump Jr. may have misled Judiciary Committee staff about the meeting when he was interviewed last fall. It further demonstrates the need to bring him before the committee to answer our questions.
Amid all the seriousness, I suppose there’s always room for some comic relief.
On Saturday, America is waking up to the following indelible image, which shows Robert Mueller sitting just a few yards away from a visibly irritated Don Jr. at Gate 35X at Reagan National Airport.
“A public photograph of Donald Trump Jr. – apparently en route to Westchester County Airport in White Plains, with a Secret Service detail in tow – is not unusual”, The New York Times notes, before ominously reminding you that Mueller sightings, on the other hand, are “rare”.
Peter Carr, a spokesman for the special counsel, said the following:
[He was] waiting to board a flight. If it’s accurate that the other person in the photo was Donald Trump Jr., Mr. Mueller was not aware of him and had no interaction with him.
Right. Mueller was “not aware of him”.
But judging by the trademark smirk plastered on Don Jr.’s face, the President’s son might have been “aware” of Mueller.
DTjr. that’s it press some buttons and make up more shit, act like the “busy guy” you are, too busy for anyone but daddy and sis. Maybe a quick call to eric so we can relive shooting more endangered species and “flip-off” those wimpy “libtards” who want a few animals left for our kids and their kids. Asshole.