‘I love it’: Don Jr forced to reveal email chain with shadowy British PR that shows he leaped at offer of Russian 'official documents incriminating Hillary' - as President Trump defends son as 'high quality person'
- An explosive email chain reveals the terms on which Donald Trump Jr met with a Russian lawyer about dirt on Hillary Clinton
- The email from PR exec Robert Goldstone explicitly mentions Russian 'government' support for his father's campaign
- It offers information that would 'incriminate' rival Hillary Clinton with information about her Russia dealings
- Days later, the president's son, son-in-law Jared Kushner, and campaign chair Paul Manafort met a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower
- 'This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump'
- President Trump hailed his eldest son as a 'high quality person' in a briefing statement read at a daily White House briefing
- Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya spoke to NBC News and denied working for the Russian government or having information on Hillary
- The dollar fell against major currencies after Trump Jr released the email chain
Donald Trump Jr. on Tuesday dramatically published the email which shows how a shadowy PR got him to meet a Russian lawyer with the offer of 'incriminating' foreign government information about Hillary Clinton.
The president's son used his Twitter account to release the message from Rob Goldstone for 'transparency' – and was immediately praised by his father.
'My son is a high quality person and I applaud his transparency,' the president said in a statement read from the podium by deputy White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders at an off-camera briefing.
Trump Jr.'s email dump followed a drip-drip of reports about the meeting which had prompted Trump Jr. to change his story about what happened, and led to a new sense of crisis in the White House over allegations of collusion with Russia to win the presidential election.
The publication set off an explosive reaction in Washington and beyond, with the Dow and the dollar falling when the four pages of emails were published.
It showed how Trump Jr. laid out the welcome mat when a shadowy public relations exec sent him an email offering information about Hillary Clinton and mentioned Russian government support for his father, new bombshell emails reveal.
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'I love it,' Donald Trump responded when offered information about Hillary Clinton in an email that mentioned Russian government support for his father
The June 3, 2016, email offering potential dirt, was penned by British PR exec Robert Goldstone.
It explicitly stated that the info Trump would receive was part of Russian support for Donald Trump's presidential campaign, for which Trump's eldest son was a trusted advisor and surrogate.
'This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump,' according to one of the emails, which were first obtained by the New York Times, but not published in full by the newspaper.
The email claimed that the information 'would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.'
Key passage: Goldstone offered official information from a Russia 'crown prosecutor' - a British term equivalent to a United States attorney - which would incriminate Hillary Clinton. Trump Jr responded: 'I love it.'
The claims of juicy information by way of Moscow appeared to enthrall the president's eldest son, according to the email.
'If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer,' the president's son responded, referencing the high-impact portion of the campaign when voters tend to focus on the election.
Days later, Goldstone wrote back to arrange a meeting with a Russian attorney, Natalia Veselnitskaya.
The meeting occurred on June 9 of 2016. The president's son wrote that he would be bringing 'Paul Manafort (campaign boss)' and 'my brother-in-law' – Jared Kushner. The trio represented some of the most high-powered influence within the Trump campaign.
All three reportedly attended the meeting.
Goldstone told Trump Jr in the email that the information came from 'Emin', the Russian pop singer whose career the 57-year-old British pop PR manages.
Emin's full name is Emin Agalarov, and his father Aras Agalarov is a Russian-Azerbaijani construction and property tycoon, who had extensive dealings with the Trumps.
Goldstone sent the email when he was with Emin at an exclusive Russian venue, his social media profiles showed.
'What do you think is the best way to handle this information and would you be able to speak to Emin about it directly?' according to the email chain posted by Trump Jr.
Goldstone then offered: 'I can also send this info to your father via Rhona [Trump Snr's personal assistant], but it is ultra sensitive so wanted to send to you first.'
Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya confirmed her meeting with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort to NBC News
Vanessa Trump is photographed leaving her home in New York closely followed by her security service detail. She walked three blocks to get into another secret service vehicle
According to the email chain Trump, Jr posted, he replied in full: 'Thanks Rob I appreciate that. I am on the road at the moment but perhaps I just speak to Emin first. Seems we have some time and if it’s what you say I live it especially later in the summer. Could we do a call first thing next week when I am back?'
The meeting went ahead, however, and is now at the center of the Russian links scandal.
On Tuesday Democrats were seizing on the email as evidence of 'collusion', the smoking gun which has so far eluded them in their attempt to cast President Trump's victory as tainted by involvement with Russia.
The email will also be closely examined by special counsel Robert Mueller, his team of prosecutors and FBI agents, to establish if it constitutes evidence of collusion.
Donald Trump Jr has denied getting any useful information out of the meeting, saying the information pertaining to alleged funding by Russians of Democrats made 'no sense,' although he has acknowledged that the meeting got arranged after an offer of information about Hillary Clinton.
His initial statement about the meeting Saturday when it was first reported did not mention that it was called to discuss dirt on Clinton.
The Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, who Trump Jr and other Trump campaign associates met with last June, suggested they were the ones who were looking for damaging information on Hillary Clinton.
'I never had any damaging or sensitive information about Hillary Clinton. It was never my intention to have that,' she told NBC News' Today show. 'It's quite possible that maybe they were looking for such information, they wanted it so badly.'
Asked if she had worked for the Russian government, she denied it. 'Nyet,' she said.
She confirmed the participants of the meeting when asked about the 'purpose' of the Trump Tower get-together by NBC's Keir Simmons.
Goldstone has done work for British tabloids and was a journalist before become a PR executive. According to his profile, the Manchester-born PR exec has done work for Michael Jackson, BB King, and billionaire Richard Branson. He says he toured extensively with the king of pop during his 'Bad' tour of Australia.
Miss Connecticut USA Erin Brady and Donald Trump look on as Russian singer Emin Agalarov speaks onstage during a news conference after Brady won the 2013 Miss USA pageant at PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on June 16, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada
In her first exclusive interview, the woman at the center of the storm - Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya - said she wasn't working for the Russian government
Sitting down with NBC News' Keir Simmons (left), Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya (right) said she never had any damaging information about Hillary Clinton to provide the Trump campaign
Donald Trump Jr met with Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower last June, just two weeks after his father wrapped up the Republican nomination
Goldstone wrote in the email that he was reaching out on behalf of Emin Agalarov, and Azerbaijan-born pop star who once cut a music video featuring Miss Universe contestants that concluded with an appearance by Donald Trump.
Emin is the son of real estate tycoon Aras Agalarov, who worked with the senior Trump on an unrealized effort to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.
'I never knew who else would be attending the meeting. All I knew was Donald Trump Jr was willing to meet with me,' she said.
The Trump son, the Russian lawyer explained, only asked her one question.
'The question that I was asked was as follows: whether I had any financial records which might prove that the funds used to sponsor the DNC were coming from inappropriate sources,' she told NBC.
The emails to Trump Jr came from PR exec Robert Goldstone. He claimed to have learned from pop musician Emin, whom he represents, that a Russian prosecutor provided information about Clinton to Emin's father
Veselnitskaya said she replied that had no such records adding 'it was never my intention to collect any financial records to that end.'
She also confirmed that President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and his campaign chairman Paul Manafort were in the room.
'I could recognize the young gentleman who was only present in the meeting for only the first seven to 10 minutes and then stood up and left the room. It was Jared Kushner,' she continued. 'And he never came back, by the way.'
'And the other individual who was at the same meeting, was always looking at his phone. he was reading something he never took any active part in the conversation,' she aded. 'That was Mr. Manafort.'
As the media he rips as 'fake news' went into overdrive over the story, Donald Trump, Jr played down the importance of the meeting and emails in a statement he posted on Twitter.
'The woman, as she has said publicly, was not a government official,' he wrote. 'And, as we have said, she had no information to provide and wanted to talk about adoption policy and the Magnitsky Act. To put this in context, this occurred before the current Russian fever was in vogue.'
On day four of the explosive story, there was a long chain of events that forced the release of the emails. On Saturday, the New York Times reported on the meeting with a Russian national, the first known of its kind. Then on Sunday, the paper reported based on sources that the meeting was set up to discuss information on Hillary Clinton. On Monday night, the New York Times revealed that Trump Jr was allegedly told before his meeting with Veselnitskaya that the 'Russian government was the source of the potentially damaging information' in an email from British PR guru Rob Goldstone. On Tuesday, the Times quoted verbatim from the emails themselves, and on Tuesday afternoon Trump Jr. released the what he said were the full emails in an act of transparency.
Trump, Jr posted the email exchange online Tuesday
Trump, Jr posted the email exchange online Tuesday
Trump, Jr posted the email exchange online Tuesday
The newspaper's account Monday account based on conversations with 'three people with knowledge' of what it contained.
It added: 'There is no evidence to suggest that the promised damaging information was related to Russian government computer hacking that led to the release of thousands of Democratic National Committee emails.'
The meeting took place on June 9 – weeks after Trump clinched the Republican nomination.
Veselnitskaya didn't say who initially set up the meeting while she was visiting New York for work, but told NBC she was met by Goldstone when she arrived at Trump Tower.
Don Jr's lawyer attempted to downplay the reports in a statement given to the Times on Monday, instead trying to shift the blame to Clinton.
'In my view, this is much ado about nothing. During this busy period, Robert Goldstone contacted Don Jr. in an email and suggested that people had information concerning alleged wrongdoing by Democratic Party front-runner, Hillary Clinton, in her dealings with Russia,' Alan Futerfas told the newspaper.
'Don Jr.'s takeaway from this communication was that someone had information potentially helpful to the campaign and it was coming from someone he knew. Don Jr. had no knowledge as to what specific information, if any, would be discussed.'
Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort met with Kremlin-linked lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya last summer in Manhattan
PR guru Rob Goldstone (pictured) says he facilitated the controversial meeting between Donald Trump's son and a Russian lawyer who promised 'dirt' on Hillary Clinton
Goldstone posted this picture of himself wearing a t-shirt with 'RUSSIA' emblazoned across his chest after the election result
Goldstone also 'checked in' at 'Trump Organization' in New York City on June 9, 2016 - the day Trump Jr, Kushner, and Manafort met with Moscow-linked lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya. Based on the post, it appears as though he chose the wrong option title, which is why it says he is in Jakarta, Indonesia, but the location on the map matches up with Trump Tower
When the newspaper contacted Kushner and his lawyers about the new allegations, they 'deferred questions on the content of the meeting' to Trump Jr.
Manafort declined to comment through a spokesman who contacted the Times.
The potentially damning allegation comes after White House remained adamant the president's son did not collaborate with the Russians to secure a favorable outcome in November's election.
'The president's campaign did not collude in any way,' White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday during an off-camera question and answer session. 'I would certainly say Don Jr. did not collude with anybody to influence the election.'
Shortly after she finished, Reuters reported that Don Jr had hired criminal defense attorney Futerfas to represent him.
Trump Jr, Kushner, and Manafort's meeting with Veselnitskaya came during a period of weeks when the Democratic National Committee was hacked, Wikileaks posted thousands of DNC emails, and Trump associates met with Russia's ambassador to the US.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is reportedly interested in speaking to Trump Jr, a committee source told NBC news.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told reporters Monday that 'our intelligence committee needs to interview him and others who attended the meeting,' which took place in Trump Tower in June 9 last year.
'I think it's appropriate that he does that to clear this up,' Democrat Jack Reed, a senior Intelligence and Armed Services member who has forged ties with members of both parties, added when speaking to CNN.
The committee is already probing contacts between Trump campaign officials and Russians last year.
Trump Jr defended himself Monday prior to the latest allegations surfacing, by claiming he 'had to listen' to the potentially damaging information.
He also appeared to contradict himself from earlier statements, in which he claimed he didn't know the identity of the Russian attendee before it happened and that the substance was about adoption.
The latest developments add further fuel to suspicions that officials with the president's campaign actively colluded with the Kremlin to tilt the election in their favor.
Ties between officials close to Trump and Moscow have drawn scrutiny from the FBI and Congress in light of assessments that the Russian government hacked the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's email account.
Rob Goldstone (left) is pictured during a meeting with Donald Trump (right) in Las Vegas in 2013. An email from him reportedly alerted Trump Jr to Russia's role in the Clinton 'dirt'
The goal was to sway the election toward Trump and away from Clinton, intelligence officials said.
Former FBI director Robert Mueller is leading the investigation as a special counsel into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to hack the election.
Both Russia and the Trump campaign deny this.
Veselnitskaya, is the wife of a former Russian government minister and best known for her public attacks on American sanctions aimed at Russian human rights abusers.
The Magnitsky Act imposed visa bans and asset freezes on Russian officials linked to the 2009 death in prison of Sergei Magnitsky, a 37-year-old Russian whistleblower.
Russia has demanded that the US repeal the legislation since its passage in 2012. President Vladimir Putin was so enraged by the law that he halted American adoptions of Russian children as retaliation.
The Times also reported over the weekend Veselnitskaya's clients include state-owned businesses and the son of a senior government official whose company was under investigation in the United States at the time of the meeting.
She said she hasn't enjoyed being the center of the news.
'Imagine yourself in my shoes. One morning you wake up and all of the sudden you're the focus of all the high ranking, upstream media of the world,' Veselnitskaya told NBC.
'To summarize, those were not the happiest days of my life, I have to say,' she continued. 'I have to break up my holiday, I have to take a trip back to Moscow, because I just wanted to be able to answer the questions myself.'
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