Congressional Democrats say Donald Trump Jr.’s emails show collusion and treason

“If this isn’t treasonous, I’m not sure what is,” Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., said on his Twitter account, linking to a New York Times article about Trump Jr.’s emails.

President Trump’s eldest son published an email exchange with British publicist Rob Goldstone to his Twitter account Tuesday, showing Goldstone approached him about meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, to receive information about Clinton.

“This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump,” Goldstone said in his first email to Trump Jr. on June 3.

Goldstone added the Trump campaign could gain access to “official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to her father.”

In his response to Goldstone, Trump Jr. said, “If it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer.”

Trump Jr. ultimately met with Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower in June 2016 and were joined by then-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Now, Democrats in the House and Senate are now calling for Trump Jr. to testify before Congress and answer questions about the gathering.

“It’s a dead bang case that ought to be in front of the Judiciary Committee right now, and Mr. Trump be required to testify,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee told reporters Tuesday.

The Senate and House Intelligence Committees, among others, are currently investigating whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russian officials. Former FBI Director Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel to lead the Justice Department’s probe into Russian meddling in the election.

It’s unclear what the status of Mueller’s investigation is, but Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine, Clinton’s former running mate, said the emails from Trump Jr. should provide Mueller and the Senate Intelligence Committee with “wheelbarrows” of new evidence.

“These emails are very explosive,” he said in an interview with MSNBC. “This should’ve set off alarm bells and red lights, and instead what it seemed to do is it activated their salivary glands, ‘Oh, we got to get more.’ They should’ve turned this over [to] the law enforcement immediately. Instead, they had this very, very troubling meeting. This is just wheelbarrows full of new evidence for the special prosecutor and the Senate Intelligence Committee.”

Amid the multiple ongoing investigations, no evidence had been presented showing the campaign colluded with the Russian government to defeat Clinton. But now, several Democrats are arguing Trump Jr.’s emails could be the smoking gun.

“Based on the emails that Donald Trump, Jr. released, the highest levels of the Trump campaign walked, eyes open, into a meeting designed to advance the Russian government’s support for Donald Trump,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement.

“These emails show there is no longer a question of whether this campaign sought to collude with a hostile foreign power to subvert America’s democracy. The question is how far the coordination goes. It is now up to elected officials of both parties to stand up and do their duty: protect and defend the Constitution.”

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., echoed his Democratic colleague’s concerns.

“This sure looks like an effort to communicate, cooperate, and collude with the Russian government,” he said on his Twitter.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said the emails show Trump Jr. backed Russia’s interference in the election.

“This is a sad day for our country. The email chain confirms that the president’s son was both aware of and supported the Russian government’s efforts to help the president get elected,” Cummings said in a statement. “Our country has a fundamental principle that a foreign adversary should not and cannot interfere with our sacred elections, period. The soul of our very democracy depends on it.”

In addition to the multiple ongoing investigations into Russian meddling in the election, Democrats have been calling for additional action against White House officials, specifically those who met with Russian officials, like Kushner.

Now, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., is re-upping those calls.

“Trump Jr. was willing to betray US to cheat for Dad’s campaign. Would be foolish to call this ‘shocking.’ It fits #RussiaHacking pattern,” he said on his Twitter account.

“With Trump Jr. admissions on #RussiaHacking, here’s what must happen: Ind. Commission. Revoke Kushner clearance. No sanctions relief. AND make sure Special Counsel & Congress learn if @realDonaldTrump knew about the meeting. Credibility of our POTUS/democracy at stake,” Swalwell continued.