President Donald Trump’s son has posted emails proving he was offered documents as “part of Russia and it’s government’s support for Mr Trump″.
Donald Trump Jr. posted his emails with publicist Rob Goldstone on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon in which he tells a person promising him damaging information about Hillary Clinton: “If it’s what you say I love it.”
The emails with Goldstone show Trump Jr was told that the Russian government had information that could “incriminate” Clinton and her dealings with Russia.
Trump Jr said in a statement that he released the exchanges “in order to be totally transparent”, reports the Associated Press.
The Trump Organisation confirmed the authenticity of the posts.
The incriminating section reads:
Rob Goldstone wrote:
The Crown prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some of the official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.
This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and it’s government’s support for Mr Trump - helped along by Aras and Emin.
What do you think is the best way to handle this information and would you like to speak to Emin about it directly?
I can also send this info to your father via Rhona [Vice President of the Trump Organisation], but it is ultra sensitive and I wanted to run it by you first.
Trump Jr published the tweets after being told by The New York Times that they had the emails and were about to write a piece on them.
The emails are the first documentary evidence that a top Trump associate took a meeting to hear damaging information about Clinton with the understanding that it was connected to a Russian government effort to help Trump in the 2016 election. Trump Jr, in addition to being the President’s son, was deeply involved in his presidential campaign.
A Who’s Who Of The Other Main Players
Aras Agalarov
A Moscow-based real estate mogul whose company, the Crocus Group, licensed the Miss Universe pageant from the Trump Organisation in 2013. This is when he and his son Emin (see below) became friendly with the Trumps.
Emin Agalarov
An Azerbaijani crooner who has enjoyed moderate success in Russia and Europe.
He is represented by...
Rob Goldstone
A British music publicist at Oui 2 Entertainment who set up the meeting on behalf of his client, Emin.
Here is Goldstone, Emin and Trump shortly after the election last year.
Natalia Veselnitskaya
A Russian attorney reportedly with links to the Kremlin who attended the meeting.
Rhona Graff
The Vice-President of the Trump Organisation and Donald Trump’s assistant of around 30 years.
Trump Jr has previously described allegations the Russians were helping his father as “phony”.
As did Trump Sr.
The meeting that occurred as a result of the emails was held at Trump Tower on 9 June, as helpfully highlighted by Goldstone when he checked in on Facebook.
The email release followed days of evolving accounts from Trump Jr. about the nature of the meeting and its purpose. The President’s son posted the emails only after they were obtained by The New York Times.
On Saturday, Trump Jr described the encounter as being a “short introductory meeting” focused on the disbanded program that had allowed American adoptions of Russian children. Moscow ended the adoptions in response to Magnitsky Act sanctions created in response to alleged human rights violations in Russia.
A day later, Trump Jr changed his account, acknowledging that he was told beforehand that Veselnitskaya might have information “helpful” to the Trump campaign, and was told by her during the meeting that she had something about Clinton.
In his third description of what occurred, on Tuesday, Trump Jr said he had believed the information he would hear about Clinton would be political opposition research.
He said that he first wanted to speak by phone, but that when that didn’t work out, he was told that the attorney would be in New York “and I decided to take the meeting.”
What Are The Legal Implications?
Although experts say Trump Jr has likely broken the law, it’s still unclear what penalty he could face or what impact it could have on his father’s troubled presidency.
But here’s what we do know...
It is illegal to solicit, accept or receive contributions and donations ― which includes things of value such as opposition research ― from foreign nationals.
Rick Hasen, an expert in campaign finance law, wrote that it was “hard to see how there is not a serious case here of solicitation.”
“Trump Jr. appears to have knowledge of the foreign source and is asking to see it,” he added.
Norm Eisen, the special counsel for ethics and government reform at the White House under former President Barack Obama, said the email from Trump Jr “clearly violates campaign finance law and likely implicates Don Jr and campaign under conspiracy statute.”
A spokesman for Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, told HuffPost his team is declining to comment on the emails from Trump Jr.
Additional reporting by