Jr. defends dad in ‘Hil dirt’ tale

DONALD TRUMP JR. told House investigators on Wednesday he didn’t communicate with his father when crafting a response to news about his Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer, according to reports. Trump Jr. told staffers for the House Intelligence Committee that he spoke to White House press secretary Hope Hicks about how to respond to reports that he and other campaign officials met with the lawyer, who he believed promised dirt on Hillary Clinton, CNN reported. Trump Jr. was asked specifically about the White House response to the first reports of the meeting. The White House has said the President was involved in drafting a statement saying the meeting primarily concerned a Russian adoption program. Hicks was aboard Air Force One with the President when the statement was being crafted. Trump Jr. later admitted he took the meeting, which included then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the President’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Manafort has since been indicted on charges including money laundering. The President’s son was interviewed in private as part of the House panel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Ex-national security adviser Michael Flynn (left) told former biz partner that Trump administration would see Russia sanctions were “ripped up,” clearing way for nuke venture. Denis Slattery