Following Donald Trump's electoral victory in 2016, his inauguration committee began collecting donations and planning the traditional inaugural festivities to be held the night Trump was sworn into office.
In the years following the event, it would be closely scrutinized by the Department of Justice for its alleged self-dealing and mishandling of funds.
Many key witnesses were deposed, including Donald Trump Jr., who claimed several times under oath he had no knowledge of the people who planned the event and allegedly arranged for the Trump family to make a considerable profit from the soiree.
A recent Mother Jones exposé, however, reveals Don Jr. was likely perjuring himself during his deposition.
One of the most notable instances of Trump Jr.'s potential lies came when he was asked about Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, a former friend of Melania Trump who was a key planner of the inauguration.
When asked if he knew her, Don Jr. replied:
"I know of her. I think I've met her, but I don't know her. If she was in this room I'm not sure I would recognize her. I had no involvement with her."
But Mother Jones discovered several pieces of evidence suggesting this was not the whole truth.
Video evidence shows Trump Jr. praising Winston Wolkoff at an inauguration event.
While it's possible Trump Jr. was just trying to be polite in the video, Mother Jones also obtained private text messages sent from an assistant of Ivanka Trump to Winson Walkoff.
These messages showed Don Jr. trying to make contact with Winston Wolkoff and make it fairly clear he knew who she was and that he was professionally involved with her.
Mother Jones
A recently discovered email correspondence between Don Jr. and Winston Wolkoff made an even stronger case the two were familiar with each other.
Mother Jones
Winston Wolkoff has not commented on Trump Jr.'s potential perjury, but told Mother Jones:
"I did not think it was right for the Trump Family or the Trump Family's businesses to be financially profiting from the presidential Inauguration. It was a gross mismanagement of funds and an abuse of authority, and I made it very clear to people in the Trump Family and the inauguration committee how I felt."
Investigators claimed the Trump Hotel grossly overcharged for inauguration-related events, which effectively means the Trump family used donor funds to overpay themselves and make a huge profit on a party honoring President Trump.
If Donald Trump Jr. had a part in the planning of the event, he could be guilty of not only perjury but also self-dealing and campaign finance violations.
Don Jr. had better have a meeting with his lawyer ASAP to work out a couple of key details.
Investigators may have some questions for him very soon now that his father's friend isn't in charge of the Justice Department.
@jman42/Bluesky
@SecretaryBurgum/X
@Doug Ellin/X
@evanrachelwood/Instagram