Al Franken Pushes Trump Over The Edge By Demanding Donald Trump Jr. Testify Under Oath

In a move that is certain to make the scared president even jumpier, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) is demanding that Donald Trump Jr. and Paul Manafort be required to testify under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

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Transcript via CNN’s State Of The Union:

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TAPPER: Nothing to hide. You’re willing to testify under oath, all of that. Except we’re being told now that they’re going to testify behind closed doors and not under oath.

Is that good enough?

FRANKEN: No. That’s not good enough. They should be under oath.

And I did not know it would be not under oath. It should be under oath. I’ll be talking to —

TAPPER: That’s our — that’s our understanding.

FRANKEN: OK. Well, that’s the first I’ve heard of that. You may be right. I don’t know.

TAPPER: Are you disappointed — is it — are you disappointed that it’s — the very least we know that it’s going to be behind closed doors. Are you very — are you disappointed that Grassley cut that deal?

FRANKEN: If it’s not under oath I am.

Yes. I think that they need to be under oath. And they need to release all the documents. I mean he didn’t say he would testify publicly so — but under oath he said. So he should — he should definitely do that. And I have a lot of questions for him.

TAPPER: Should the transcripts be released? Should the transcripts be released?

FRANKEN: I think they should be.

If Donald Trump wasn’t worried before, which he is, he is definitely worried now. The fact that Franken doesn’t know if the witnesses will be under oath highlights how shady the motives are of the Republicans on Chuck Grassley’s Senate Judiciary Committee. The fact that Grassley cut a deal with Manafort and Trump Jr., but subpoenaed witnesses so that he could question them about conservative Russia conspiracy theories raises many red flags.

Sen. Franken isn’t going to let this matter drop, and if the Trump campaign witnesses aren’t under oath, it will add fuel to the need for an independent investigation, as Republicans will be engaging in a cover-up to protect Trump.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

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Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association