US President Donald Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, was promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton before meeting with a Kremlin-linked lawyer, the New York Times reported Sunday, citing advisors to the White House.
The June 2016 meeting, held two weeks after Donald Trump secured the Republican presidential nomination, was also attended by then-campaign advisor Paul Manafort and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, according to the Times.
The meeting appears to be the first public confirmation that some member’s of Trump’s campaign team were “willing to accept Russian help,” the Times reported.
Trump Jr confirmed that the meeting with lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower took place.
“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 quoted by the Times.
“Her statements were vague, ambiguous and made no sense. No details or supporting information was provided or even offered.
“It quickly became clear that she had no meaningful information,” the statement added.
Veselnitskaya said Saturday in a statement quoted by the Times that “nothing at all about the presidential campaign” was discussed.
President Trump has vehemently denied any collusion between his campaign and Russia.(dpa/NAN)
