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Law and Justice

Russia meeting: Trump Jr. sought damaging info

September 7, 2017

US President Donald Trump's eldest son has told Congress he did not collude with Russian officials in the 2016 election. The Republican then-candidate's campaign team has been dogged by probes into ties with Moscow.

https://p.dw.com/p/2jXu0
Donald Trump Jr. at Trump Tower in New York
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/C. Kaster

Donald Trump Jr., eldest son of US President Donald Trump, told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday that he met with a Russian lawyer in June 2016 because he was open to receiving damaging information on then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, The New York Times reported.

Trump Jr. and other members of President Trump's election campaign have been dogged by allegations surrounding a meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, especially after he previously said he had not met with Russians in relation to his father's presidential campaign. This was later clarified to mean Russian government officials.

"To the extent they had information concerning the fitness, character or qualifications of a presidential candidate, I believed that I should at least hear them out," Trump Jr. said in his opening statement.

Read more: Why the Russia probes don't cripple Trump's foreign policy

"Depending on what, if any information they had, I could then consult with counsel to make an informed decision as to whether to give it further consideration." He added that at the time, there was "not the focus on Russian activities that there is today."

President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort also attended the meeting with Veselnitskaya.

At first, Trump Jr. had failed to mention Clinton when discussing his meeting with Kremlin-linked lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and other Russian figures
At first, Trump Jr. had failed to mention Clinton when discussing his meeting with Kremlin-linked lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya (seen above) and other Russian figuresImage: picture alliance/AP Photo/Y. Martyanov

'This Russian thing'

The FBI along with several congressional committees have launched investigations into whether Moscow coordinated with Trump's presidential campaign officials to undermine last year's divisive elections after US intelligence agencies reported interference from Russian security services.

In May, Trump cited "this Russian thing with Trump and Russia" as one of the reasons behind firing former FBI Director James Comey, who led the investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia, prompting fears of White House interference in the probe.

However, FBI Director Christopher Wray on Thursday said he has "not detected any whiff of interference" into the ongoing probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

ls/jm (Reuters, AP, dpa)