Trump son met with Russian lawyer who claimed to have ‘incriminating’ info on Clinton

Lars Lonnroth, Assistant News Editor
July 11, 2017

WASHINGTON—A meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian Attorney who claimed to have information that would incriminate Hillary Clinton has offered more insight to when some members of the campaign of now-President Donald Trump knew of Russian Interference in The U.S. Election.

Newly-released emails Trump Jr. published on Twitter Tuesday has painted a clearer picture of what he knew going in. In a statement provided with the release, Trump Jr. said the release of the email thread was an attempt “to be totally transparent” and defended himself.

“The information they suggested they had about Hillary Clinton I thought was Political Opposition Research,” the statement read. It continued: “The woman, as she said publically, was not a government agent. And, as we have said, she had no information to provide and wanted to talk about adoption policy.”

The meeting, first reported by The New York Times, has been developing ever since it came to light on Saturday. On Wednesday, The New York Times unleashed the latest bombshell: Trump Jr. had been told in an email that the information the lawyer was to provide was apart of an effort by Russia to propel his father to The White House.

An associate of Trump Jr., whom he had known from his organization’s Ms. Universe Pageant that held in Russia 2013, told the son of future-president that he had info that “would be very useful for your father” and set up a meeting between the younger Trump and the lawyer.

Music Publicist Rob Goldstone, who set up the meeting, said in an email to Trump Jr. that one of his clients fathers—a high-profile real estate tycoon—had a meeting with a Russian offical and they “offered to provide the Trump Campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hilary and her dealings with Russia.”

It went on to say that “this is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump,” indicating that The Trump Campaign had been made aware of Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, an issue that has been looming over the Trump Administration’s first 6 months.

A meeting was set up over the course of 15 or so emails, but Trump Jr. claims that the lawyer whom they meet with didn’t follow through on their claim to provide information incriminating Clinton.

“After pleasantries were exchanged, the woman stated that she had information that individuals connected to Russia were funding the Democratic National Committee and supporting Ms. Clinton,” Trump Jr. said in a statement to the press. “Her statements were vague, ambiguous and made no sense. No details or supporting information was provided or even offered. It quickly became clear she had no meaningful information.”

Instead of being about Clinton, Trump Jr. said, the meeting was about an adoption program that was ended as a result of growing tension between the U.S. and Russia. In Trump Jr.’s telling of the story, the damaging info regarding Clinton was used to lure them into a meeting.

Even so, the emails indicate that some in the Trump campaign were aware of the Russian effort to assist the Trump campaign, a notion that Trump Jr. even denied in the press after the meeting took place.

The emergence of the meeting comes at a time when the Trump Administration is coming under greater scrutiny as the ongoing investigation into Russian Collusion and potential Obstruction of Justice ramps up.

Some claim Trump Jr. could’ve broken the law in meeting with the lawyer.

Mark Warner, the top democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has said the committee would like to speak to Trump Jr. and, in a tweet, Trump Jr. said he would be “happy to work with the committee to pass on what I know.”