Sample #1976
"Donald Trump Jr. insisted on Twitter that he was simply looking out for his family's financial interests when he met with a Russian lawyer who claimed to have damaging information about Hillary Clinton.
President Donald Trump's eldest son used the social media platform to push back at suggestions that he was seeking the Kremlin's help in swaying the election in his father's favor.
"Obviously I'm the first person on a campaign to ever take a meeting to hear info about an opponent," Trump tweeted. "Went nowhere but had to listen."
President Donald Trump's eldest son used the social media platform to push back at suggestions that he was seeking the Kremlin's help in swaying the election in his father's favor. AP Photo/Evan Vucci
In a series of tweets Monday, he said his father had a "Nixon/Watergate" plot to end his campaign by relying on help from Russian President Vladimir Putin, and he called Hillary Clinton "crooked" for trying to make him the focus of her campaign.
The "Watergate" reference referred to the plot by President Richard Nixon's administration to break into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington's Watergate office complex. It ultimately led to the resignation of President Nixon and prison terms for his top aides.
"It's frankly disgusting that the media is taking a meeting that should have nothing to do with any of us, and turning it into the world's biggest story," Trump Jr. tweeted.
Trump Jr. released a series of emails on Tuesday that revealed he was eager to accept damaging information from the Russian government about Hillary Clinton that would be provided by a "Russian government attorney."
President Donald Trump's eldest son released a series of emails on Tuesday that revealed he was eager to accept damaging information from the Russian government about Hillary Clinton that would be provided by a "Russian government attorney." AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
The emails, from June 2016, show that he was told the Russian government had information that could "incriminate" Clinton and her dealings with Russia. He was told the information was "very high level and sensitive" but was "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."
"If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer," Trump Jr. responded to the intermediary offering the information. He then released the exchange on Twitter, a move that quickly drew the attention of investigators for special counsel Robert Mueller, who is looking into whether Trump's campaign cooperated with Russia to interfere in the election.
According to the emails, the meeting with the Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya never actually happened. Instead, it was canceled by music publicist Rob Goldstone, who told Trump Jr. that Veselnitskaya was "a Russian government attorney who is flying over from Moscow."
"If it's what you say I love it," Donald Trump Jr. wrote in response to a meeting request made by Rob Goldstone, who was working on behalf of the Russian-Azerbaijani family that had partnered with the Trump Organization on the 2013 Miss Universe pageant. AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan
Trump Jr. has said the meeting occurred early in the campaign and that he wasn't told the name of the person he would be meeting with beforehand.
"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," he said. "She then changed subjects and began discussing the adoption of Russian children and mentioned the Magnitsky Act."
The Magnitsky Act imposed sanctions on Russia for human rights violations connected to the death of a Russian lawyer who had accused the Kremlin of corruption. Veselnitskaya was involved in a campaign to end the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens as retaliation for the Magnitsky Act.
Trump Jr. said Veselnitskaya "wanted to talk about adoption policy and the Magnitsky Act" and "was not" talking about Clinton.
In a statement provided to NBC News, Rob Goldstone confirmed he had set up the meeting between Trump Jr. and Veselnitskaya on behalf of the Azerbaijani-Russian family that had partnered with the Trump Organization on the 2013 Miss Universe pageant.
"At the meeting, the Russian attorney presented a few very general remarks regarding campaign funding and then quickly turned the topic to that of the Magnitsky Act and the banned U.S. adoption of Russian children — at which point the meeting was halted by Don Jr., and we left," Goldstone said.
The lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, says she never had any damaging information about Hillary Clinton. AP Photo/Richard Drew
The Magnitsky Act is named for Sergei Magnitsky, who was a Russian tax lawyer who had accused Russian officials of a $230 million tax fraud. He was later arrested by the same officials he had accused and died in prison in 2009.
Veselnitskaya said she didn't have any dirt on Clinton.
"I never had any damaging or sensitive information about Hillary Clinton," she told NBC News on Monday. "It was never my intention to have that."
But Veselnitskaya said she had dirt on the Democratic National Committee, according to NBC.
"This could be a good issue to expose how the DNC is accepting bad money," she reportedly said.
President Donald Trump's eldest son used the social media platform to push back at suggestions that he was seeking the Kremlin's help in swaying the election in his father's favor.
"Obviously I'm the first person on a campaign to ever take a meeting to hear info about an opponent," Trump tweeted. "Went nowhere but had to listen."
President Donald Trump's eldest son used the social media platform to push back at suggestions that he was seeking the Kremlin's help in swaying the election in his father's favor. AP Photo/Evan Vucci
In a series of tweets Monday, he said his father had a "Nixon/Watergate" plot to end his campaign by relying on help from Russian President Vladimir Putin, and he called Hillary Clinton "crooked" for trying to make him the focus of her campaign.
The "Watergate" reference referred to the plot by President Richard Nixon's administration to break into the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington's Watergate office complex. It ultimately led to the resignation of President Nixon and prison terms for his top aides.
"It's frankly disgusting that the media is taking a meeting that should have nothing to do with any of us, and turning it into the world's biggest story," Trump Jr. tweeted.
Trump Jr. released a series of emails on Tuesday that revealed he was eager to accept damaging information from the Russian government about Hillary Clinton that would be provided by a "Russian government attorney."
President Donald Trump's eldest son released a series of emails on Tuesday that revealed he was eager to accept damaging information from the Russian government about Hillary Clinton that would be provided by a "Russian government attorney." AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
The emails, from June 2016, show that he was told the Russian government had information that could "incriminate" Clinton and her dealings with Russia. He was told the information was "very high level and sensitive" but was "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."
"If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer," Trump Jr. responded to the intermediary offering the information. He then released the exchange on Twitter, a move that quickly drew the attention of investigators for special counsel Robert Mueller, who is looking into whether Trump's campaign cooperated with Russia to interfere in the election.
According to the emails, the meeting with the Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya never actually happened. Instead, it was canceled by music publicist Rob Goldstone, who told Trump Jr. that Veselnitskaya was "a Russian government attorney who is flying over from Moscow."
"If it's what you say I love it," Donald Trump Jr. wrote in response to a meeting request made by Rob Goldstone, who was working on behalf of the Russian-Azerbaijani family that had partnered with the Trump Organization on the 2013 Miss Universe pageant. AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan
Trump Jr. has said the meeting occurred early in the campaign and that he wasn't told the name of the person he would be meeting with beforehand.
"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," he said. "She then changed subjects and began discussing the adoption of Russian children and mentioned the Magnitsky Act."
The Magnitsky Act imposed sanctions on Russia for human rights violations connected to the death of a Russian lawyer who had accused the Kremlin of corruption. Veselnitskaya was involved in a campaign to end the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens as retaliation for the Magnitsky Act.
Trump Jr. said Veselnitskaya "wanted to talk about adoption policy and the Magnitsky Act" and "was not" talking about Clinton.
In a statement provided to NBC News, Rob Goldstone confirmed he had set up the meeting between Trump Jr. and Veselnitskaya on behalf of the Azerbaijani-Russian family that had partnered with the Trump Organization on the 2013 Miss Universe pageant.
"At the meeting, the Russian attorney presented a few very general remarks regarding campaign funding and then quickly turned the topic to that of the Magnitsky Act and the banned U.S. adoption of Russian children — at which point the meeting was halted by Don Jr., and we left," Goldstone said.
The lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, says she never had any damaging information about Hillary Clinton. AP Photo/Richard Drew
The Magnitsky Act is named for Sergei Magnitsky, who was a Russian tax lawyer who had accused Russian officials of a $230 million tax fraud. He was later arrested by the same officials he had accused and died in prison in 2009.
Veselnitskaya said she didn't have any dirt on Clinton.
"I never had any damaging or sensitive information about Hillary Clinton," she told NBC News on Monday. "It was never my intention to have that."
But Veselnitskaya said she had dirt on the Democratic National Committee, according to NBC.
"This could be a good issue to expose how the DNC is accepting bad money," she reportedly said.