Russia probe:
Donald Trump Jr. releases emails used to set up meeting.
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump Jr. agreed to take a meeting during the 2016 presidential campaign with a woman he was told was a “Russian government attorney” who could provide damaging information about Hillary Clinton as part of “Russia and its government’s support” for his father’s presidential campaign, according to emails tweeted by the president’s son on Tuesday.
President Trump’s eldest son posted on Twitter what he said was the entire exchange that led to a June 2016 encounter that has inflamed the controversy over potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.
The email exchange showed clearly that Trump Jr. understood he was taking the meeting as a way of channeling information directly from the government of a nation hostile to the United States to his father’s campaign. It is the most concrete public evidence to date suggesting that top Trump campaign aides were eager for Russia’s assistance in the campaign.
“If it’s what you say I love it,” Trump Jr. responded to an intermediary pitching the meeting.
A White House spokeswoman read a brief statement from Trump about the issue on Tuesday afternoon in which he said: “My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency.”
Speaking to reporters in the White House briefing room, principal deputy White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she would refer any questions to lawyers for the president and Trump Jr.
Later in the briefing, which was held off camera, Sanders said Trump was frustrated that Russia “continues to be an issue” and is eager to focus on other things, including tax reform and infrastructure. She declined to answer a question about whether the president is now aware of Russia’s efforts to help his campaign.
U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed a campaign to assist Trump, including the release of hacked emails stolen from Democratic officials.
Congress and a special counsel are investigating Russian interference with the presidential election and alleged collusion with the Trump campaign — a charge the president has repeatedly denied.
Democrats were quick to pounce on the latest revelation related to the probe.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco., said that everyone involved in the meeting should be “immediately summoned” to testify under oath between the House and Senate committees investigating Russian meddling.
“There’s no escaping it: the Trump Campaign’s inner circle met with an agent of a hostile foreign power to influence the outcome of the American election,” Pelosi said in a statement. “The American people face a White House riddled with shadowy Russian connections and desperate to hide the truth.”
Appearing on CNN, Brian Fallon, the former press secretary for Clinton’s campaign, stressed that the meeting Trump Jr. coordinated also included Paul Manafort, then the campaign’s chairman, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law.
“I think it’s impossible to believe that the president himself was unaware of this apparent effort by the Russian government that was known to others in the Trump campaign,” Fallon said.
Most Republicans on Capitol Hill either declined to comment or were dismissive of Trump Jr.’s email exchange. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was an exception.
“Anytime you’re in a campaign and you get an offer from a foreign government to help your campaign, the answer is ‘no,’” Graham told a group of reporters, adding that Trump Jr. “definitely” must testify as part of investigations into Russia’s election meddling.
The email came from a mu-
“Anytime you’re in a campaign and you get an offer from a foreign government to help your campaign, the answer is ‘no.’”
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
sic publicist who represented Emin Agalarov, whose father, Aras, is a major real estate developer close to Putin.
“Emin just called and asked me to contact you with something very interesting,” publicist Rob Goldstone emailed Trump Jr. in June 2016. “The Crown prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.”
“This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government support for Mr. Trump — helped along by Aras and Emin,” Goldstone wrote.
Trump Jr.’s response made his enthusiasm clear: “If it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer,” he wrote.
The emails show that Trump Jr. arranged to meet with the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, along with two of the campaign’s most important advisers.
“It will likely be Paul Manafort (campaign boss) my brother in law ( Jared Kushner) and me,” Trump Jr. wrote.
Trump Jr. appeared to have forwarded the entire exchange to Manafort as well as Kushner, who is now a top adviser in the West Wing.
The New York Times reported that Trump Jr.’s tweets Tuesday came after the newspaper informed Trump Jr. that it had reviewed the emails and intended to publish their content.
A Kremlin spokesman has denied knowing who Veselnitskaya is.
In an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday, Veselnitskaya said she was not working on behalf of the Russian government but was interested in talking to Trump Jr. about Russian adoptions.