Trump Signed Off On Trump Jr.’s First Statement On Russia Meeting: Report

President Trump personally signed off on a statement drafted abroad Air Force One by his advisors and released Saturday by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., explaining his meeting with Kremlin-linked attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya, who offered “high-level, sensitive” campaign dirt on President Trump’s then-opponent Hillary Clinton, according to New York Times reports on Tuesday.

WHOA. Don Jr.'s false statement Sat. was drafted by WH aides & seen by Trump. This wasn't Jr being dopey. This was an attempted WH cover-up.

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) July 12, 2017

And in the context of an ongoing federal criminal investigation all decisions like this by Trump are eligible for Obstruction investigation. https://t.co/RiN54HC66B

— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) July 12, 2017

In the statement, Trump Jr. said: “It was a short introductory meeting. I asked Jared and Paul to stop by. We primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children that was active and popular with American families years ago and was since ended by the Russian government, but it was not a campaign issue at the time and there was no follow-up.”

“I was asked to attend the meeting by an acquaintance, but was not told the name of the person I would be meeting with beforehand,” he added.

The Hill:

Trump Jr. his since released multiple follow-up statements to clarify the story. Early Tuesday, he also released several emails between him and Rob Goldstone, a British music publicist who offered to set up the meeting between Trump Jr. and the Kremlin-linked attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya.

President Trump issued a brief statement defending his eldest son through White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders during an off-camera briefing with reporters on Tuesday.

“My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency,” the statement said.