Chuck Grassley pushes back after Donald Trump tries to bribe him over Russia investigation
One day after it was confirmed that Donald Trump Jr. would be testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Russia scandal, Donald Trump called up Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley to offer him support on ethanol issues. This was quite valuable, considering that Grassley is from the ethanol heavy state of Iowa. It was also a rather transparent attempt at bribery – so much so that it prompted Grassley to publicly push back.
After Trump made the ethanol pitch to Grassley, it prompted Grassley to post the following on Twitter, which we’ll clean up a bit due to his penchant for severe abbreviation in his tweets: “Just had [phone] call from Pres Trump + he assured me he’s pro ethanol +I’m free 2 the ppl of Iowa he’s standing by his campaign PROMISE. [Talked to] Donald Trump about ethanol +he knows that ethanol is good good good. When Pres Trump called me I thanked him 4his continued attention + response to hurricane Harvey” (link).
The upshot is that Donald Trump’s attempt at swaying Senator Grassley ahead of Trump Jr’s testimony was so blatant that Grassley felt like he had to quickly address it publicly. In recent months Grassley has been taking the Trump-Russia investigation very seriously. He’s signed off on everything the Democrats on his committee, led by ranking member Dianne Feinstein, have wanted to pursue in the investigation. Over the weekend Grassley announced at a town hall that he’ll hold a committee vote on whether to release the transcripts of the recent testimony from the guy behind the Trump-Russia dossier, and that he doesn’t see any reason why he wouldn’t vote “yes” himself.
So while Chuck Grassley’s actions will need to be watched closely with regard to Donald Trump Jr’s upcoming testimony, there is no reason to expect that Grassley will change course simply because Donald Trump Sr called him up and talked about ethanol. But it does serve to demonstrate just how nervous and desperate Trump has become with regard to the Russia investigation. If you find Palmer Report valuable, make a donation.
