I posted yesterday about the Senate Intelligence committee subpoenaing Donald Trump Jr. for reasons that aren’t clear to anyone. This is especially perplexing because noted squish Republican Sen. Richard Burr is the chairman. He’s already talked to Don Jr. for 9 hours and told him he wouldn’t have to come back.

SCOOP: Republican-led Senate Intel Committee subpoenas Donald Trump Jr. over Russia matters. First congressional subpoena – we know of – for one of President Trump's children https://t.co/f8jQhkewPd

— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) May 8, 2019

What’s changed? What new evidence has sprung forth that overrides to the conclusions in the Mueller report, requiring yet more testimony? Speculatively, this has liberal Sen. Mark Warner’s name written all over it. Burr has always been a sucker for Senate decorum and bi-partisanship. Democrats would of course never capitulate in this way if the shoe was on the other foot.

Republicans are starting to react and they aren’t too happy about it.

Apparently the Republican chair of the Senate Intel Committee didn’t get the memo from the Majority Leader that this case was closed… https://t.co/jvV5PIX266

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) May 8, 2019

.@DonaldJTrumpJr has already spent dozens of hours testifying in front of Congressional committees. Endless investigations—by either party—won't change the fact that there was NO collusion. It's time to move on. It’s time to focus on ISSUES, not investigations. https://t.co/fbFH5uMLUz

— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) May 8, 2019

Weak & ridiculous for Senate to perpetuate the Russia Collusion Delusion by continuing to harass @DonaldJTrumpJr. They should NOT be taking orders from unhinged resistance Dems. Let's work together to help POTUS move US forward. https://t.co/wSaHkEpqep

— Lee Zeldin (@RepLeeZeldin) May 9, 2019

Weak is a good way to describe this.

The irony is that Burr, despite being extremely accommodating to the other side, has been relentlessly savaged by the press and Democrats over his handling of the investigation. He was maligned as a hack for briefing the White House on his on the matter just last year. When Burr correctly noted that they had found no evidence of a Trump-Russia conspiracy, he was challenged by Mark Warner directly.

You’d think Burr wouldn’t be keen to keep indulging this nonsense but you’d apparently be wrong.

Sen. Lindsey Graham had this to say.

Lindsey Graham on Sen. Intel Trump Jr. subpoena: “If I were his lawyer I wouldn’t put him back into this circus. The freak show in the house, I'm not gonna let it come to the Senate so we gave Mueller two years and $25 million and it's over for me.”

— Jason Donner (@jason_donner) May 9, 2019

This is the right answer, at least for Don Jr. personally. Noway should he reappear before a committee he’s already spoken nine hours to. The only reason Democrats want him back is to try to catch him in a perjury trap based on his previous testimony. There will be no new information provided because we already know everything. The idea that the Senate Intel committee has figured something out that Mueller didn’t is laughable.

Meanwhile, Democrats are talking about sending Don Jr. to prison because they apparently have a fetish for jailing political opponents now.

.@SenBlumenthal with a stark warning to Donald Trump. Jr should he fail to comply with Senate Intel subpoena: "If he fails to answer, he ought to be put in jail. If he fails to comply with a lawful subpoena, he has no privilege. Prison is the only answer."

— Mariam Khan (@MKhan47) May 9, 2019

Hopefully, by stark warning this ABC reporter actually means unhinged nonsense. When Hillary associates defied subpoenas during 2016, did Blumenthal ever call for prison time? Of course he didn’t.

We also got this hilarious shot and chaser from resident “conservative” at the Washington Post, Jennifer Rubin.

.@JRubinBlogger Do you ever get exhausted from being you? pic.twitter.com/QVfDoKNLZq

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) May 8, 2019

You see, now it’s cool to demand jail time for your political opponents. Doing so back in 2016 toward Hillary in regards to actual criminal activity? Well, that was completely out of bounds. Consistency isn’t their thing.

I don’t know where this is going to go. Don Jr. can’t just ignore the subpoena because he doesn’t qualify for executive privilege like Don McGahn does. What he can do is challenge it legally or plead the 5th. If he can produce proof that the Senate did tell him he wouldn’t have to come back, that might also be valuable.

No matter what, noway would I reappear without a fight.