Donald Trump denies knowing of Russia meeting
US - Donald Trump responded on Friday to bombshell reports that his former lawyer Michael Cohen says Trump knew of and approved a meeting between his son and aides with Russians promising dirt on Hillary Clinton.
The president denied knowing of the meeting and questioned Cohen’s motives and connections, writing: “He even retained Bill and Crooked Hillary’s lawyer. Gee, I wonder if they helped him make the choice!” The lawyer referred to is Lanny Davis, Cohen’s counsel who defended Bill Clinton during his impeachment in the late 1990s. Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr, son-in-law Jared Kushner and campaign chair Paul Manafort met at Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 with a group including the Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, having been told she was offering sensitive information about Clinton from the Russian government. On Thursday, citing an unnamed source, CNN reported that Cohen said he was present when Donald Jr told his father about the Russians’ offer to meet and that Trump approved it. NBC said it had independently verified the report. Yesterday, the president first tweeted a familiar complaint, that “the ridiculous news that the highly conflicted Robert Mueller and his gang of 13 Angry Democrats obviously cannot find Collusion”. Mueller is a Republican appointed by a Republican, deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein. According to public information, 13 of Mueller’s investigators have registered as Democrats and nine have donated to Democrats.
“The only Collusion with Russia was with the Democrats,” Trump added, without presenting evidence. He then referenced a New York Times report that Mueller, the special counsel, is examining his Twitter feed as part of his investigation of potential obstruction of justice. “The rigged Witch Hunt continues!” he added. “How stupid and unfair to our Country .... And so the Fake News doesn’t waste my time with dumb questions, NO, .... “..... I did NOT know of the meeting with my son, Don jr. Sounds to me like someone is trying to make up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jam . He even retained Bill and Crooked Hillary’s lawyer. Gee, I wonder if they helped him make the choice!”
(The Guardian)