Rep. Eric Swalwell, who is also a Democratic presidential candidate, has one question for Hope Hicks and that is, did Donald or Ivanka Trump ever ask you to lie?

Eric Swalwell has one question for Hope Hicks About Donald and Ivanka Trump

Rep. Swalwell said on MSNBC’s Deadline: White House, “The question I asked her on the house intelligence committee, and she refused to answer, which is did the president ever tell you to lie for him and did you ever lie for him. That was a very, I would say, flash point in the interview. She asked to step outside for ten minutes, and then she came back inside and refused to answer the question. I asked if Donald Trump Jr. Had asked her to lie and she refused again. She started shaking her head and said, I refuse to answer. I refuse to answer. I asked her about Ivanka Trump, whether she asked her to lie, she said I refuse to answer. It clearly struck a nerve. She came across as truthful throughout the interview. But that line of questioning — We were trying to zero in on the trump tower cleanup between the president and his son. We just also sensed that if he had asked her to lie about one thing, he probably had asked her to lie about a lot of things. She clearly didn’t want to lie. If he never asked her to lie, she would have been truthful and said no. It was clear there was a lot she was seeking to protect.”

Video:

To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.

Hope Hicks could wreck the Trumps

Rep. Swalwell is asking the key question because if the Trumps asked staffers to lie for them, that is obstruction of justice. It isn’t just presidential obstruction of justice. If Trump’s kids asked Hope Hicks to lie, nothing is stopping them from criminally charged with obstruction of justice. The White House has moved to block every subpoena so far, and the last person in the world that they want to see speaking to the House Judiciary Committee is Hope Hicks.

Hicks knows where the bodies are buried, and if she would ever really talk, it would be devastating for Donald Trump and his entire family.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

Follow Jason Easley on Facebook

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.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

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