Stephen Colbert isn't sure Donald Trump Jr. knows what 'privilege' means
Donald Trump Jr. testified for eight hours in front of the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, "making it the first time a Trump has put in a full day of work," Stephen Colbert joked on Thursday's Late Show. Don Jr. did not want to answer the House panel's questions about what role his father, President Trump, played in a false statement Trump Jr. put out to explain why he met with Kremlin-linked Russians in June 2016, so he cited attorney-client privilege, because there was a lawyer in the room. "Is that how it works?" Colbert asked. "Because if that's how it works, I'm going to rob a law firm. 'Alright, everybody, hands in the air! Remember, none of you can testify.'"
He suggested some other privileges Trump Jr. might have invoked — "father-son privilege, same-name privilege, white privilege" — then noted that the junior Trump has also apparently been lying about there being no follow-up emails to the Russia meeting, and those emails — uncovered by CNN — look pretty bad. Colbert pointed to one dealing with hacked DNC emails, from the guy who set up the Russia meeting with Trump Jr.: "That's like forwarding an article about arson and then saying, 'This is eerily weird, given that warehouse we torched five days ago.'"
Michael Flynn, Trump's now-cooperating-with-prosecutors former national security adviser, is also in the news for apparent collusion — reportedly texting a business colleague during Trump's inauguration that the Russia sanctions would be "ripped up" so a deal on nuclear plans in the Middle East with Russia was "good to go." "He was making secret Russia plans while Trump was being sworn in!" Colbert said. "That's like interrupting your wedding to text your mistress." Peter Weber
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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