Trump 'weighed in' on son's Russia statement - White House
- 7 years ago
Donald Trump and his son are under scrutiny again over a meeting held with a Russian lawyer during the 2016 presidential campaign.
The White House confirmed on Tuesday that the president played a role in drafting a statement downplaying the purpose of the meeting.
Trump “certainly didn’t dictate (the statement), but … he weighed in, offered a suggestion like any father would do,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters during a briefing.
The comments were made after the Washington Post reported that Trump “personally dictated a statement” in which Trump Jr. said he and the Russian lawyer had primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children.
Trump’s lawyer had repeatedly said the president had not been involved in the drafting of the statement.
“The statement that was issued was true and there were no inaccuracies in the statement,” Sanders told reporters.
Yet emails subsequently leaked by Donald Trump Jr. showed showed the meeting was held on the promise of damaging information about Trump’s rival for the presidency, Democrat Hillary Clinton.
The encounter was also attended by Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner and former campaign manager Paul Manafort. And it’s now become the focus of federal investigators looking at possible collusion between Moscow and the Trump team to win the election.
The conflicting comments about the meeting could spell legal trouble for Trump and fuel allegations of a cover up – just as special counsel Robert Mueller, on the Russia probe, looks into potential obstruction of justice by the president.
The White House confirmed on Tuesday that the president played a role in drafting a statement downplaying the purpose of the meeting.
Trump “certainly didn’t dictate (the statement), but … he weighed in, offered a suggestion like any father would do,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters during a briefing.
The comments were made after the Washington Post reported that Trump “personally dictated a statement” in which Trump Jr. said he and the Russian lawyer had primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children.
Trump’s lawyer had repeatedly said the president had not been involved in the drafting of the statement.
“The statement that was issued was true and there were no inaccuracies in the statement,” Sanders told reporters.
Yet emails subsequently leaked by Donald Trump Jr. showed showed the meeting was held on the promise of damaging information about Trump’s rival for the presidency, Democrat Hillary Clinton.
The encounter was also attended by Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner and former campaign manager Paul Manafort. And it’s now become the focus of federal investigators looking at possible collusion between Moscow and the Trump team to win the election.
The conflicting comments about the meeting could spell legal trouble for Trump and fuel allegations of a cover up – just as special counsel Robert Mueller, on the Russia probe, looks into potential obstruction of justice by the president.