Trump Jr grilled for seven hours on Russian contacts
DONALD TRUMP Jr met behind closed doors for roughly seven hours on Wednesday with the House Intelligence committee, fielding extensive questioning about contacts he had with Russians during the 2016 campaign.
Committee members queried President Donald Trump’s eldest son about a June 2016 meeting he held with a Russian lawyer after he was told she would provide damaging information about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. He was also asked about his contact with WikiLeaks in October 2016, around the time the group was releasing hacked Democratic emails, according to people familiar with the session.
Mr Trump Jr told the committee that he had not informed his father about his meeting with the Russian lawyer at the time it took place. He also said he had not told his father that he exchanged private messages with the WikiLeaks Twitter account.
His day-long interview came as multiple investigations into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election focus on members of Mr Trump’s inner circle.
Mr Trump Jr had met with investigators for the Senate Judiciary Committee in September, but that session took place before prosecutors working for special counsel Robert Mueller filed criminal charges against former Trump advisers.
His Wednesday session with the House committee was longer and more expansive, and was the first opportunity elected lawmakers have had to ask Mr Trump Jr questions directly, instead of leaving that to investigative staff.
Mr Trump Jr told the committee that he did not speak to the president directly in July 2017 as the ‘New York Times’ prepared to report his meeting with the Russian lawyer for the first time. Instead, he told the committee he had communicated only with Trump communications director Hope Hicks to discuss how to respond to the ‘Times’ inquiries.
At the time, Ms Hicks was on board Air Force One with Mr Trump, returning home from the G20 Summit in Germany.
The ‘Washington Post’ has reported that the president dictated the statement Mr Trump Jr released that day about the meeting. The statement omitted key facts about the session with the Russian lawyer, indicating it was primarily about the adoption of Russian children by US families.
Democrat Congressman
Adam Schiff said that Mr Trump Jr toldthe committee he did speak with his father about the Trump Tower meeting several days later, after emails showing he had accepted the meeting after being offered “dirt” on Clinton were made public. However, Mr Trump Jr declined to detail the conversation to the committee, indicating a lawyer had been present and he believed it was subject to attorney-client privilege.
“In my view there is no attorney-client privilege that protects a discussion between father and son,” Mr Schiff said, adding he intended to follow up with Mr Trump Jr’s attorneys, who had “asked for more time to deliberate on the claim.”
“This particular discussion revolves around a pivotal meeting,” Mr Schiff said, noting it was “a central issue that we need to fully investigate.”
Mr Trump Jr also told the committee he had been unaware that national security adviser-designate Michael Flynn had discussed sanctions during phone calls with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December 2016.
Republican Michael Conaway, who is leading the House investigation, said after the session concluded that Mr Trump Jr had answered all of the committee’s questions.
While the 39-year-old held no official role with his father’s campaign, he was closely involved in internal discussions and served as a prominent surrogate. (© Washington Post)