Donald Trump Jr: I Only Talked to Russians to Learn About Clinton’s ‘Fitness’

‘I Did Not Collude With Any Foreign Government’

Donald Trump Jr told Senate investigators Thursday morning that he only met with Russians in that now-infamous June, 2016 meeting at Trump Tower to obtain information about Hillary Clinton’s “fitness” for office.

The New York Times obtained a copy of the eldest Trump son’s written statement.

“To the extent they had information concerning the fitness, character or qualifications of a presidential candidate, I believed that I should at least hear them out,” Trump Jr. said. “Depending on what, if any, information they had, I could then consult with counsel to make an informed decision as to whether to give it further consideration.”

He added that he had planned to discuss any revelations, if any offered by the Russians, with legal counsel.

“Depending on what, if any, information they had, I could then consult with counsel to make an informed decision as to whether to give it further consideration.”

Additionally, the Associated Press reports Trump Jr. also insisted he did not collude with the Russians.

“I did not collude with any foreign government and do not know of anyone who did.” 

Trump Jr’s statements on the meeting have varied widely over time. When he posted a coopy of the email exchanges he had written, “If it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer,” in response to a promise of dirt on Hillary Clinton.

But in his remarks to the Senate investigators, Trump Jr. spun those comments as mere gratitude.

“As much as some have made of my using the phrase ‘I love it,’ it was simply a colloquial way of saying that I appreciated Rob’s gesture,” he said, referring to Rob Goldstone, the publicist who arranged the meeting.

One legal expert says this latest statement shows Trump Jr. knew the meeting was “problematic”:

As does a journalist:

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Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license