Trump Jr Likely To Be Indicted By Mueller, Says Former Federal Prosecutor
In an interview with MSNBC’s Joy Reid broadcast Saturday, former federal prosecutor Paul Butler discussed Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian election interference and related matters, Raw Story reports.
According to Butler, since Mueller is not likely to indict the president — the Department of Justice’s official stance is that no sitting president can be indicted — he will continue going after individuals in his inner circle. According to the former prosecutor, Mueller has “leverage” over President Trump because of the legal liabilities his son Donald Trump Jr. is facing.
“Mueller is not going to indict Trump, because he’s going to follow the DOJ employee handbook, but he has leverage over the president in terms of Donald Trump, Jr.,” Butler said.
“We’ve seen Mueller use people’s kids to get to folks in the past. He could do this with Donald Trump Jr.”
Butler added that Trump Jr. took an oath to tell the truth before the Senate Intelligence Committee, but “lied his butt off.”
As reported by the Guardian, following Michael Cohen’s admission of falsely testifying before Congress, the prospect of Donald Trump Jr. facing legal peril became very real.
Furthermore, a number of Democratic lawmakers — including the chairman of the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Adam Schiff — suggested that Trump Jr. may have lied to Congress about contacts with foreign nationals during the 2016 presidential campaign.
But, as the Guardian notes, Trump Jr. reportedly made contact with a representative for the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and not with a representative of the Russian government. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating whether Trump coordinated and cooperated with official Moscow to sway the election in his favor.
According to Paul Butler, since Roger Stone and Michael Cohen were indicted for lying to the United States Congress, it is likely that Donald Trump Jr. gets indicted, given that it is being suggested that the president’s son gave false statements to the Congress as well.
“If Roger Stone and Michael Cohen get indicted for lying to the Intelligence Committee and Donald, Jr. lied, then he gets indicted too,” Butler said.
The most recent development in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian election interference is the indictment of longtime Republican operative Roger Stone.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Stone — who served as an informal adviser to Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign — was indicted on charges of obstruction and false statements.
In a recent interview, Stone suggested that the Russia investigation is an elaborate plot designed in an effort to remove President Trump from office. Much like Stone and the President, Trump Jr. considers the Russia investigation to be a “witch hunt,” and often alleges via Twitter that Mueller’s probe is a “hoax.”
