Trump dictated statement on son’s Trump Tower meeting: Lawyers
Donald Trump's lawyers have acknowledged that the US president "dictated" the first misleading statement about his son's controversial 2016 meeting with Russians at Trump Tower.
"You have received all of the notes, communications and testimony indicating that the President dictated a short but accurate response to the New York Times article on behalf of his son, Donald Trump Jr.," the letter said, according to The New York Times.
"His son then followed up by making a full public disclosure regarding the meeting, including his public testimony that there was nothing to the meeting and certainly no evidence of collusion."
The letter largely focused on defending Trump from a potential subpoena for testimony and asserted executive powers that would protect the president from the ongoing Russia investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Trump Jr. had attended the meeting with a group of Russians at Trump Tower in June 2016 after he was promised compromising information on his father’s Democratic contender, Hillary Clinton. However, he later told the investigators that the meeting provided no useful information and was a waste of time.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is now a senior adviser to the president, and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort were also present at the meeting.
The White House initially released a statement, trying to obfuscate the true nature of the meeting.
While the Russians were supposed to deliver dirt on Clinton, the statement put out in Trump Jr.'s name said the participants "primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children" at the meeting.
The issue of Russian sanctions was also discussed during the meeting, according to reports.
After the initial statement came out, some reports suggested that Trump was personally involved in preparing the statement.
However, Trump Jr. told Senate investigators in September that he was not aware of any role his father might have had in the public response.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders had also denied Trump's role.
The Trump Tower meeting was seen by investigators as part of efforts by Russia to collude with the Trump campaign in an effort to change the outcome of the 2016 presidential election; accusations that Russia has firmly denied.
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