The case of whether Donald Trump Jr. intentionally sabotaged the Senate campaign of former coal operator Don Blankenship by calling him a felon is not going in the former president’s son’s favor. Now, like Junior, Blankenship is a piece of work. The former Massey Energy chief was tried in 2015 on three federal charges of conspiracy, securities fraud, and making false statements, according to WV MetroNews. He was, however, not tried for directly causing the 2010 explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine that killed 29 workers, according to the outlet.
In the end, Blankenship was found guilty of conspiring to violate safety standards, which is a misdemeanor. He spent a year in jail and then announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate, and that’s where this gets sticky.
A Twitter follower told Junior that Joe Manchin’s ads would more likely be about himself; Trump Jr. responded, “He’s probably never run against a felon.” And that’s where the defamation suit comes in. That tweet, by the way, has been deleted.
Blankenship had not been convicted of a felony and viewed Junior’s interference as an attempt to make sure he would not win the Republican primary.
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Jan Wolfe with Reuters reports that a judge refused to dismiss Blankenship’s lawsuit, even though Don Jr. claimed that he made a reasonable mistake. The judge wrote: “Trump Jr. completely misses the point with this argument.”
Donald Trump Jr. lost in court today. A judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit alleging Trump Jr. defamed a political candidate by falsely calling him a “felon.”
Trump Jr. said he made a reasonable mistake.
The judge wrote: “Trump Jr. completely misses the point with this argument” pic.twitter.com/fsbLDaYSQn
— Jan Wolfe (@JanNWolfe) September 1, 2021
And now Junior can stand trial.
Here’s the ruling against Donald Trump Jr, which clears the way for the former president’s son to stand trial in a defamation lawsuit brought by Don Blankenship, a former political candidate and executive in West Virginia.https://t.co/ONMeA9WB8n
— Jan Wolfe (@JanNWolfe) September 1, 2021
While Don Jr. claimed he made a reasonable mistake, the former president’s son appears to make many of them. Like, for example, Hillary Clinton is not locked up, and the twice-impeached one-term president’s family business is under investigation. Good times. And while Hunter Biden is a recovering drug addict, Donald Trump Jr. appears to be an active addict. Junior is going through some things.
You can read the ruling here.
Featured image via Political Tribune gallery