Where’s the Fight Over Don Jr.’s Testimony Headed?

Hunter DeRensis

Politics, United States

The Special Counsel might have ended, but the investigations continue.

The Special Counsel might have ended, but the investigations continue. Last week the Senate Intelligence Committee issued a subpoena for Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest child, to appear before them. Don Jr., as he’s often referred to, has been running the Trump Organization alongside his brother Eric since his father ascended to the presidency.

More than his other siblings, Don Jr. has embraced the kind of populist messaging that elected his father in 2016. And the conservative base, at events such as the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), has returned that support. After his well-received speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention, National Review writer Michael Brendan Dougherty observed, “Republicans nominated the wrong Donald Trump.” Following the separation and then divorce from his wife, Don Jr. began dating former FOX News commentator Kimberly Guilfoyle.

The media speculation that Don Jr. would follow his father’s footsteps into a political career, whether eventually running for governor of New York or the presidency itself, was dashed in the summer of 2017. It was revealed that during the previous summer’s campaign, Don Jr. organized a meeting at Trump Tower between himself, his brother-in-law (now senior advisor to the president) Jared Kushner, then-campaign manager (now federal inmate) Paul Manafort, and Russian lobbyists.

When publicist Rob Goldstone reached out to Don Jr. as an intermediary for his client Aras Agalarov, he wrote that the Russians were interested in giving the Trump campaign “some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia” as part of “Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” Don Jr. replied to Goldstone’s email by saying “if it’s what you say I love it.” Goldstone claims he purposely bolstered the email with fantastical claims to get the meeting for his client, which he considered to be his job. According to Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s personal lawyer (now federal inmate), then-candidate Donald Trump was aware there was a meeting to garner opposition research on Hillary Clinton but was unaware of the Russia-connection.