Testimony: Lawyer for Trump Jr. tried to coordinate statements about Russian lawyer meeting
Donald Trump Jr./Shutterstock.com.
A lawyer for Donald Trump Jr. tried to coordinate public statements about a June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer held on the promise that the lawyer would deliver dirt on Hillary Clinton, according to newly released Senate testimony.
The Senate Judiciary Committee released more than 2,500 pages of testimony Wednesday morning, report the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and Politico. Democrats released some excerpts before the release.
A music promoter who contacted Trump Jr. about the meeting, Rob Goldstone, told the committee he had been assured the Russian lawyer was well-connected and had damaging material about Hillary Clinton. Trump Jr., Goldstone and others who attended the meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya said the lawyer mostly talked about lifting sanctions that had interfered with Russian adoptions.
Goldstone said the people who sought the meeting were Russian pop star and developer, Emin Agalarov, and his billionaire father, Aras Agalarov.
Others who attended the meeting included President Donald Trump’s then-campaign manager, Paul Manafort; Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner; Russian-American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin; translator Anatoli Samochornov; and businessman Ike Kaveladze.
Before the media reported on the meeting, lawyer Alan Futerfas contacted Goldstone, Emin Agalarov and Kaveladze to discuss their memories of the incident, according to Politico.
Futerfas sent a proposed statement to Goldstone with the message, “If you feel comfortable with this statement and are comfortable saying nothing more, at least for the time being, that would be our preference.”
Then-candidate Donald Trump also reportedly helped draft a statement about the meeting that said it was mostly about the adoption of Russian children.
Manafort did not give interviews to the committee, while Kushner provided a written statement and Veselnitskaya provided written answers to questions. Others in the meeting were interviewed.
