Pardon Me Daddy, No Really Pardon Me
We have seen it a hundred times. The cover-up is worse than the crime. In this case, Sen. Chris Coons has written a letter to the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee suggesting that Donald Trump Jr may have made false statements under oath in front of the Senate Committee regarding foreign influences in the 2016 Presidential Campaigns. Providing false testimony to Congress is a crime and in theory, Trump Jr. could face criminal consequences if his testimony warrants such actions. Having said that, the outcome of this ordeal is more predictable than an episode of Voltron (nerd alert). If Trump Jr is charged with anything, his Daddy will step in with his version of the Blazing Sword and pardon his eldest son. In fairness, I cannot imagine a circumstance where Donald Trump Jr is convicted of a crime. From what I have read, his answers to questions related to these events were vague and proving perjury will be difficult. However, the possibility that Trump Jr will have to appear in front of the Judiciary Committee again (potentially in open forum) could prove to be another embarrassment to the White House and could result in a President pardoning his son for the first time in our nation’s history. The irony is that if Donald Jr is pardoned, his Fifth Amendment rights would no longer be applicable and should he have to testify against his father at a future date, those protections could end up harming the senior Trump. While the odds of events playing out in this manner are remote, the entertainment value is through the roof…unfortunately this is our government and not a poorly acted reality show.
WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said in a letter Thursday that President Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., may have provided “false testimony” to the Senate Judiciary Committee when he was asked last September about the Trump campaign’s involvement with foreign governments and foreign nationals.
In a two-page letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the chairman of the panel, Coons said information in recent news reports contradicts Trump Jr.’s September 2017 testimony.
“I am writing to you because I am deeply concerned that, based on new information we learned this week, Donald Trump Jr. provided false testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and I would like to renew my request that he be called to return and appear before the full Committee to testify in an open hearing,” he wrote.
Trump Jr. told the committee at the time of his testimony that he was not “aware” of foreign governments other than Russia offering or providing assistance to the Trump campaign and that he had not sought such help.
His comments are not consistent with a reported meeting he had in August 2016.
