I love it! What Trump’s son said when he was told Russia had dirt on Hillary
Now Donald’s heir may face treason probe
DONALD Trump’s son eagerly agreed to meet a Kremlin-linked lawyer after being told she had damaging information on Hillary Clinton, it emerged yesterday.
An explosive email chain released by Donald Trump Jr revealed he had been dealing with parties who explicitly stated they were ‘part of Russia and its government’s support’ for his father.
Told they had information that would harm Mrs Clinton’s presidential campaign, he replied: ‘If it’s what you say, I love it.’
The development provides vital ammunition for investigators looking into links between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign and even left the President’s son open to potential charges of treason.
The emails were between Trump Jr – who posted them on Twitter yesterday after being told the New York Times were about to publish them – and British-born publicist Rob Goldstone who helped to arrange a meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya in June last year.
One email says: ‘The Crown prosecutor of Russia... 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’s support for Mr Trump.’
Mr Goldstone, who was in charge of publicity during a tour of Australia by the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1988, said the documents had been given to Aras Agalarov, a Russian billionaire with strong links to both Mr Trump and Vladimir Putin. Mr Agalarov’s son, Emin, a pop star, is represented by Mr Goldstone.
Within minutes, Donald Jr replied: ‘If it’s what you say, I love it, especially later in the summer.’
Critics said Mr Trump should have alerted the FBI that the Kremlin was trying to meddle in the election, but he instead arranged a meeting with Miss Veselnitskaya and Mr Goldstone in Trump Tower.
The emails contradict his earlier claims that he believed he was meeting her to discuss American adoptions of Russian children.
He asked two members of his father’s inner circle, his brotherin- law Jared Kushner and campaign chairman Paul Manafort, to join him.
Miss Veselnitskaya insisted yesterday she was not representing the Russian government and said she had provided no ‘damaging or sensitive’ information on Mrs Clinton. She claimed it had never been her intention to provide any, although it was clear the Trump team ‘wanted it so badly’. She suggested her hosts lost interest after she made it clear she had nothing on Mrs Clinton.
Mr Trump Jr has played down the meeting, saying the Russian lawyer ‘had no information to pro- vide’ and had claimed to know about Mrs Clinton as a ‘pretext’ to obtain a meeting.
But critics questioned why the meeting was never mentioned during the months in which the Trump camp has insisted it had no communications with Russians during the election campaign.
Mr Agalarov, a property developer, was mentioned in the controversial dossier compiled on Mr Trump’s Russian activities by ex-MI6 agent Christopher Steele. Mr Steele, who made salacious allegations about Mr Trump’s sexual and financial misbehaviour in Russia which the President has rejected, said the Azerbaijan-born tycoon was ‘closely involved with Trump in Russia’.
The White House last night dismissed talk of criminal charges and released a statement from the President which commended his son as a ‘high-quality person’ and praised his ‘transparency’.
However, Trump opponents hailed the emails as proof that his campaign team was ready to collude with Russia in interfering with the election.
‘We are now beyond obstruction of justice, this is moving into perjury, false statements, and even potentially treason,’ said Democrat senator Tim Kaine, Mrs Clinton’s election running mate.
Special counsel Robert Mueller, an ex-FBI director, is investigating the President’s alleged Russian links, as are US congressional committees, including the Senate and House of Representatives intelligence panels.