None of Donald Trump’s children that we know of had been subpoenaed in congressional probes concerning Russia’s 2016 attack on America’s elections—until now. The Senate Intelligence Committee subpoenaed Donald Trump Jr. to answer questions about previous testimony to Congress that has proven to be false, according to Axios.
Trump’s eldest son told the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017 that he was only “peripherally aware” of ongoing negotiations over a Moscow real estate deal, but former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen later testified that he briefed both Don Jr. and Ivanka on the deal’s progress almost a dozen times. Cohen is now serving jail time for multiple felonies, including one related to lying to Congress about the timing of the Moscow project.
As Axios notes, the Intelligence Committee panel’s use of a subpoena suggests Don Jr. refused to appear of his own volition. The inquiry also flies in the face of the unified front presented Tuesday by the White House and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who asserted that the Russia matter was “case closed.” Apparently not. The Senate Intelligence inquiry has mostly managed to stay bipartisan, and as the Washington Post reported, the panel is now promising to release a report that will reveal much more about Russia’s election attack than Robert Mueller’s report ultimately did. (That Post article is worth a read.)
Anyway, welcome to subpoenaland, Don Jr. Enjoy!