Donald Trump Jr is in deep trouble today
When New York Attorney General Letitia James revealed in a court filing today that she’s targeting Donald Trump for his financial crimes, she specifically stated that she’s seeking to force an interview with Eric Trump. This has set off quite a firestorm – but based on the way these things work, it’s actually Donald Trump Jr who should probably be more worried.
Multi-tier investigations like this nearly always work from the bottom up. It’s not immediately clear if the New York AG views Eric Trump as a target or merely a witness. But either way, she’ll try to use the interview to get Eric to unwittingly give up useful information in taking down the next person up the ladder. Or if Eric gets caught lying in his interview, she’ll use the threat of perjury or obstruction charges to try to force him to be more forthcoming. The trouble for Donald Trump Jr is that he’s the next person up the ladder in the Trump Organization.
So now Donald Trump Jr has to worry about whether his idiot brother Eric can get through an interrogation without accidentally giving him up in the process. And by definition, once the Eric interview is over, the next interview will be with Don Junior. Based on the evidence and testimony that Michael Cohen gave to Congress, we already know that Don Junior has criminal exposure in his father’s financial crimes.
Keep in mind that because this is a state level investigation, no current or future President can pardon anyone involved. That means, for instance, that Eric Trump can’t simply commit perjury or obstruction of justice with regard to his interview, and then count on Donald Trump to pardon him. These state charges are the real deal. Eric should be worried. Donald Trump Jr should be worried more. And Donald Trump is clearly going to prison for the rest of his life if he loses the election.
