Trump defends son over Russian meeting

U.S. President Donald Trump said “most people in politics” would have acted similarly, as his son was called to testify in front of a Senate committee over a meeting with a Russian lawyer during the presidential election.

The extraordinary prospect of the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., being publicly quizzed by senators about his connections to Russia could take place as early as next week.

Chuck Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, confirmed he was sending a letter to Trump Jr. asking him to attend, and made clear the committee would issue a subpoena if necessary.

Speaking in Paris, Donald Trump defended his son as a “wonderful young man” and said what he did was “very standard in politics,” which was “not the nicest business in the world.”

“I think, from a practical standpoint, it’s a meeting most people in politics probably would have taken. It’s called opposition research or even research into your opponent. Zero happened from the meeting. A lot of people would do it,” he said.

Trump Jr. confirmed Tuesday that he met Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower in New York on June 9, 2016. He released emails that showed the meeting was set up by an acquaintance, Rob Goldstone, a British-born music publicist who represented a Russian pop star.

In the emails, Goldstone told Trump Jr. he would be meeting a “Russian government attorney” and could expect information damaging to Hillary Clinton, part of a Russian effort to support his father.

Veselnitskaya has denied connections to the Kremlin, and Trump Jr. has said the meeting “went nowhere,” so he did not tell his father about it.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee and will question Trump Jr., promised to “pursue justice without favour” and added: “Were there other meetings? I’m going to go wherever the facts take us.”

Trump Jr. has indicated he is willing to co-operate with any investigations.

The controversy overshadowed Republicans in Congress unveiling a new revised proposal to overhaul the health care system.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell released the bill Thursday. It would allow insurers to sell low-cost, skimpy policies and would add US$45 billion to combat opioid abuse and help states rein in consumers’ skyrocketing insurance costs.

The bill also retains key taxes levied on the wealthy under Obamacare in an attempt to assuage the concerns of moderate Republicans.

Trump said he would be “very angry” if the bill does not pass.

Some of the country’s governors are meeting for three days in Rhode Island to discuss the biggest challenges facing their states. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to address the gathering.