Donald Trump Jr. spent more than five hours behind closed doors on Wednesday being interviewed by the House Intelligence Committee. Asked about the day the story broke on the meeting Trump Jr. arranged between Trump’s campaign and Russian against Hillary Clinton, Junior told a story that would warm the heart of any father: Trump Sr. wouldn’t take his call. Instead, he made Junior go through Hope Hicks.
Donald Trump Jr. told House investigators that he did not communicate directly with his father when confronted with news reports about his June 2016 Trump Tower meeting, according to multiple sources with knowledge of his testimony.
Instead, Trump Jr. said he was speaking to White House aide Hope Hicks about how to respond to the reports. He said President Donald Trump, according to the sources, was debating between a longer and a shorter statement while President Trump and Hicks were aboard Air Force One.
And now Donald Trump Jr. called Air Force One one the day the news broke about the until-then-covered-up meeting between Trump’s senior campaign staff and Russian agents at Trump Tower. But Donald Trump never took his son’s call. Instead, Junior only talked to Hope Hicks. So the fact that Trump then turned around and produced a statement that completely misrepresented what happened at that Trump Tower meeting: it’s Hicks’ fault. Or maybe Junior’s fault. Or both of their faults.
It’s just clear that it’s not Trump’s fault. Just because the meeting happened a couple of doors from his own office and included not just Junior but the three top members of Trump’s campaign doesn’t mean he knew a thing about it.
Trump Jr. firmly denied that he had communicated with his father about the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting, according to the sources.
So … Donald Trump didn’t actually write a tweet about Michael Flynn that was an admission of obstruction of justice. It was attorney John Dowd who wrote it … or sent an email … or verbally dictated it. To someone. Definitely not Trump.
And Trump didn’t write the statement on Air Force One that said the meeting was about “adoptions.” In fact, he never even spoke to … who was that guy who called again?
Donald Trump Jr. went a year and never mentioned to his father that he had brokered a meeting, in Trump Tower, with a group of Russian representatives, who had promised that they were bringing dirt on HIllary Clinton, as part of the Russian government’s program to help Donald Trump.
Junior never mentioned it to Trump. Jared Kushner never mentioned it to Trump. Paul Manafort never mentioned it to Trump. And none of them mentioned it before the news broke, even though Trump Jr. was aware that it was going to break for days in advance.
Not only did no one tell Trump before, but no one told him after. And he didn’t even talk to his own son on the day the news broke in the media, turning white-hot media attention on Donald Trump Jr. Instead it was Hope Hicks who apparently took Junior’s call. Donald Trump knew nothing, heard nothing, wrote nothing.
Because there’s room under the Trump Bus for everyone… except Trump.
At this point, Robert Mueller has already held his first discussion with Hope Hicks. It would be interesting to know how she recalls that day. Of course, she’s been a reliable liar for Trump in the past.
“It never happened,” she said. “There was no communication between the campaign and any foreign entity during the campaign.”