First son Donald Trump Jr. is in legal jeopardy based on his testimony around special counsel Robert Mueller\u2019s Russia probe, former U. S. attorney Preet\u2026<\/b>
\nFirst son Donald Trump Jr. is in legal jeopardy based on his testimony around special counsel Robert Mueller\u2019s Russia probe, former U. S. attorney Preet Bharara said Tuesday.
Bharara, author of Doing Justice: A Prosecutor’s Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law, weighed in on Trump Jr. while on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. Co-host Joe Scarborough asked, \u201cGiven what you know about Donald Trump Jr., his testimony before Congress, would you bring charges of perjury against Donald Trump Jr.?\u201d
\u201cI haven\u2019t seen all the evidence, as a former prosecutor I don\u2019t like to second guess decisions and anticipate necessarily,\u201d the former U. S. attorney for the Southern District of New York said. \u201cI don\u2019t know enough about what his intent was, I don\u2019t know enough about comparing the putting facts with actual, particular words that he gave when he was testifying.\u201d
Bharara continued: \u201cBut I do think, though, based on his testimony and some other things, that Donald Trump Jr. is in jeopardy.\u201d
That could have a larger implication than just on the president’s son, he said.
\u201cAnd then I think we\u2019re all in jeopardy, because if something were to befall, in a criminal sense, Donald Trump Jr., I don\u2019t know what his father is capable of,\u201d Bharara explained.
Mueller has been investigating Trump Jr.\u2019s role in a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians who promised damaging information on Donald Trump\u2019s presidential election opponent Hillary Clinton.
Trump Jr. testified before the House Intelligence Committee in December 2017 for about seven hours regarding his Russian contacts. Trump Jr. said he did not tell his father about the Trump Tower meeting but his claim has been disputed by the president\u2019s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who has been indicted in Mueller\u2019s probe.
Bharara also spoke on CNN Monday regarding whether news that the president did actually dictate the statement his son gave on the Trump Tower meeting, puts Trump Jr. in legal jeopardy.
\u201cIt may,\u201d Bharara said.
He said that based on bits of information from meetings, statements and reports, \u201cI don\u2019t think any one of those things makes a clear cut case on obstruction or on some crime related to collusion, but taken in aggregate and in combination I think it ends up making a difference.\u201d
Bharara then explained it was problematic that Trump\u2019s lawyers lied to the American people.
\u201cThere\u2019s no wiggle room there. They said the president had nothing to do with that statement by Donald Trump Jr. and didn\u2019t draft it, didn\u2019t sign off on it, and it turns out it\u2019s completely untrue,\u201d Bharara said, \u201cI think the lawyers to the president have a special responsibility not to come on television and lie.\u201d
Donald Trump Jr. arrives at Trump Tower in New York, on January 18,2017 prior to President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s being sworn in as the 45th President of the United States, on January 20. Ex-U. S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Trump Jr. is in legal \u201cjeopardy\u201d regarding his testimony on a Russia probe. John Moore\/Getty Images<\/p>\n