Jared Kushner is “spooked” and running scared
The Senate Judiciary Committee is about to release the transcript of Donald Trump Jr’s earlier testimony about his father’s Russia scandal. Democrats on the committee are characterizing his testimony as being everything from dishonest to “explosive.” This has also brought the spotlight back on Jared Kushner, and the fact that he hasn’t testified before the committee despite numerous requests. Now even his apologists are admitting he’s running scared, and it raises the question of what he thinks he’s doing as the investigation reaches its tipping point.
Chuck Grassley, the Republican Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has increasingly become a Trump apologist in the Russia scandal, to the point of arguably being a co-conspirator. Democrats are forcing him to release the Trump Jr transcript by demanding a vote and implying that they’ll simply release it on their own if no vote is held. So now Grassley is agreeing to release it in order to save face, but of course he’s looking to fire back in any way that he can.
Now Grassley is claiming that the Democrats’ earlier unilateral decision to release the Glenn Simpson transcript (with Simpson’s approval) has “spooked” Jared Kushner out of testifying before the committee (link). Here’s the thing: Kushner was never going to testify before this committee, or else he would have done it by now. He did testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee, but he’s refused to show up and answer the same questions for the Senate Judiciary Committee. Why?
Jared Kushner is clearly afraid of testifying again. There are a small handful of logical explanations. One would be that he has plenty to hide, and he managed to get through his first testimony without giving away anything he didn’t want to, so he’s afraid to try his luck again. Another would be that he’s already cut a plea deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and he’s afraid Trump will find out. In any case, he’s running scared. But is he hiding from his own secrets, or is he hiding from his father-in-law?
