Trump Jr. clarifies answers to Senate from 2017
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, spoke to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence for around three hours Wednesday, following up on a 2017 interview with the same panel as part of its two-year-long Russia investigation.
Trump Jr. said after the interview that he is “glad this is finally over.” He said he was happy to clarify answers from the earlier interview with the panel’s staff, but told reporters, “I don’t think I changed any of what I said because there was nothing to change.”
Senators wanted to discuss the answers Trump Jr. gave in that 2017 interview, as well as the answers he gave to the Senate Judiciary Committee in a separate interview behind closed doors that year. He appeared in response to a subpoena from the panel’s Republican chairman, North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, as part of the Russia investigation.
The president’s former lawyer Michael Cohen told a House committee in February that before the presidential election he had briefed Trump Jr. approximately 10 times about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. But Trump Jr. told the Judiciary panel he was only “peripherally aware” of the real estate proposal.
The panel was also interested in talking to him about other topics as well, including a 2016 campaign meeting in Trump Tower in New York with a Russian lawyer that captured the interest of special counsel Robert Mueller. Emails leading up to the meeting promised dirt on Democrat Hillary Clinton, Trump’s opponent. Mueller’s report, released in April, examined the meeting but found insufficient evidence to charge anyone with a crime.
Trump Jr. contradicted Cohen’s claim to the senators, according to a person close to Trump Jr. and familiar with Wednesday’s interview. He claimed he did not pay special attention to Trump Tower Moscow because it was just one of many projects happening around that time, the person said. Trump Jr. also repeated his earlier claim that he had not told his father about the Trump Tower meeting.
Trump Jr. would not discuss the details of the Senate interview as he left, but said he was happy to comply if clarification was needed.
“I am glad this is finally over, we’re able to put some final clarity on that, and I think the committee understands that,” he said. Asked as he walked away if he is worried about perjury, Trump Jr. said “not at all.”
He also noted Cohen is “serving time right now for lying to these very investigative bodies.”
Cohen pleaded guilty last year to campaign finance violations, lying to Congress and other crimes. He is serving a three-year prison sentence.
Trump Jr.’s testimony comes as the Intelligence Committee continues its two-year investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Also Wednesday, former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks agreed to a closed-door interview with the House Judiciary Committee.
The panel subpoenaed Hicks last month as part of its investigation into special counsel Robert Mueller’s report and obstruction of justice. The interview will be June 19 and a transcript will be released.