Dem Sen Blumenthal: Trump Jr.’s Russia Meeting Is ‘Bombshell Evidence of Conspiracy and Criminal Intent’

On Monday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Hardball,” Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) argued that Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with a Russian lawyer and Trump Jr.’s statement of the meeting’s reason is evidence of “conspiracy and criminal intent.”

Blumenthal said, “[T]his meeting, and most especially, Donald Trump Jr.’s clear acknowledgment of the reason for it is bombshell evidence of conspiracy and criminal intent. Because he went to that meeting for a purpose, and that purpose was seeking dirt on Hillary Clinton, potentially in violation of the law.”

Blumenthal added that the relevant statute is “18 United States Code 1030. Which is the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, among other statutes. There are are a variety of other statutes that might cover it, but an agreement to violate the law, even if somebody doesn’t know all the actions that are going to be taken, is a conspiracy.”

He further stated, “What they were doing, in essence, looking at it in its most innocent way, was saying, we’re open for business. Go ahead, come back to us with information. We’re not asking how you get it, but we want dirt on the Clinton campaign. And that is potentially a conspiracy. We don’t have necessarily proof of a conspiracy. That evidence is not necessarily enough to charge anyone, but it is a bombshell in this continuing investigation.”

At the end of the segment, Blumenthal said Trump Jr. “faces…a ton of legal trouble. He’s going to be a witness, probably before a grand jury, possibly in a trial.”

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