Lawless on Roger Stone: “It’s Very Likely Donald Trump Jr. Could Be Next”
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
University of Virginia Professor of Political Science Jennifer Lawless joined GoLocalProv News Editor Kate Nagle on GoLocal LIVE where she spoke to the recent raid and arrest of longtime Donald Trump associate Roger Stone — and why she thinks Don Jr. could be next.
“[The raid] seemed a little over the top but the more you hear about it, the more you hear there were genuine concerns [Stone] could have destroyed evidence. He said he would have just turned himself in, but who would he have spoken to — and what evidence could he have destroyed in that time,” said Lawless. “He said they spent more time in force bringing him in than Osama Bin Laden — to me it’s characteristic of the way he lives his life. You’ve got to give this guy credit.”
“The one thing that struck me is this is one more example of somebody being charged with lying to Congress — and it’s the highest ranking official — or highest ranking person in terms of connections to the President — as of late,” said Lawless. “To me, it suggests it’s very likely that Don Jr. who had also at the time been accused of lying to Congress might very well be next. So I think a lot of the attention this has gotten, and the fact that Trump hasn’t been particularly vocal, could very well be that they assume what’s what coming next is something that’s going to require quite a bit of a response.”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“The other question becomes what would Donald Trump be willing to do, and would he be willing to put his family above the Presidency? Up until this point [it has been] people in this orbit — but it becomes Greek tragedy-esque when it comes to Don Jr. or Jared Kushner, and the extent to which this Presidency could end not by impeachment but by the President saying look I don’t want to see my kid going to jail, I’ll step down,” said Trump.
Lawless also spoke to acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker’s statements to the press this week that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation is nearing a close — and why she thinks that might not be the case.
“I think the most important thing to recognize is no one has validated Matthew Whitaker’s statement. No one on Mueller’s team has said it’s nearing the end, no one on either side of the aisle on Capitol Hill has said we’ve heard that too. It's questionable as to whether it’s actually true,” said Lawless. “So unless it’s the next couple of days or weeks, Matthew Whitaker will have no say over how this report is disseminated — or whether it is — it’s unlikely he’ll be in that position when Mueller issues the report.”
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