Trump Jr. on testimony: ‘Glad this is finally over’

Donald Trump Jr. criticized the credibility of his father’s former longtime lawyer Michael Cohen after completing a second interview on Wednesday with the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The president’s eldest son, following a nearly three-hour appearance, said he changed none of his testimony from an earlier appearance.

“There was nothing to change. There needed to be clarification because Michael Cohen — who let us not forget is serving time right now for lying to these very investigative bodies,” Trump Jr. told reporters.

{mosads}“I’m glad that this is finally over. We were able to put some final clarity on that, and I think the committee understands that,” he continued.

When asked if he is worried about committing perjury, Trump Jr. replied: “Not at all.”

NEW: Trump Jr. says “The reality: There was nothing to change. There needed to be clarification bc Michael Cohen, who let’s not forget is in prison for lying to these very investigative bodies.” pic.twitter.com/XnZ6iStjjU

— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) June 12, 2019

The Senate Intelligence panel, led by Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) subpoenaed Trump Jr. for a second interview after Cohen claimed earlier this year that Trump Jr. was more involved in discussions during the campaign about a possible real estate deal — known as the Moscow Trump Tower project — than he had previously stated.

Cohen told the House Oversight and Reform Committee in February that he briefed both Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump on the project about 10 times, a statement that ran counter to Trump Jr.’s previous 2017 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee that he was only “peripherally aware” of the potential deal.

“Like I said, I was peripherally aware of it, but most of my knowledge has been gained since as it relates to hearing about it over the last few weeks,” Trump Jr. told the Judiciary panel in September 2017, according to a transcript.

Cohen, who transformed from the president’s fixer to a critic, pleaded guilty last November to lying about discussions on the Moscow project within the Trump Organization.

Cohen has testified various times on Capitol Hill before both House and Senate committees examining events during the 2016 presidential election.

In February and March, Cohen testified before the House Intelligence Committee that President Trump’s attorney, Jay Sekulow, indirectly encouraged him to provide false testimony before Congress in 2017 about the duration of the discussions by telling him to “stay on message,” according to a transcript of a released last month.

Attorneys for Sekulow have fiercely pushed back against this allegation, and President Trump and Republicans have repeatedly attacked his credibility, dubbing him a known liar who can’t be trusted.

While the Moscow property plans never came to fruition, the discussions have become scrutinized — particularly among Democrats — who have raised concerns that President Trump was in talks to become financially involved with Russian President Vladimir Putin. They also highlight that the president has denied having any business dealings with Russia.

Cohen also testified that while he briefed President Trump’s children on the project, it was “not with the same regularity that I did with Mr. Trump.”

“The way it would work is once the project would come to fruition, one of the three children would become assigned to the project, and I had the best working relationship with Don Jr. so he was the one that would become the family project manager on it,” Cohen told investigators in March.

As Trump Jr. was testifying on Wednesday, a top House Democrat sought to spotlight his Moscow talks across the Capitol.

“The president’s efforts to make money from a real estate project in Moscow and to conceal the transaction from the public are a quintessential example of a counterintelligence nightmare, that may or may not include criminal activity,” House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said during a public hearing on the counterintelligence implications of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.