Is Donald Trump Jr.'s Meeting the First Hard Evidence of Collusion With Russia?

[DonViejo]

The president’s son admits a Kremlin-aligned lawyer offered dirt on Hillary Clinton last year, and he reportedly took the meeting with the offer in mind.

SCOTT BIXBY
JUSTIN MILLER
07.09.17 5:44 PM ET

For the past seven months, President Donald Trump and his campaign have been dogged by allegations they colluded with the Russian government during the presidential election.

Now there appears to be some evidence supporting the thrust of the allegation.

Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, was offered "damaging information about Hillary Clinton before agreeing to meet with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer during the 2016 campaign," the New York Times reported Sunday.

On Saturday, Trump Jr., presidential son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner, and then-campaign chair Paul Manafort confirmed that they met with lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya in Trump Tower on June 9, 2016—two days after Clinton clinched the Democratic presidential nomination. Trump Jr. said in a statement Sunday that Veselnitskaya claimed “she had information that individuals connected to Russia were funding the Democratic National Committee and supporting Ms. Clinton.” Trump Jr. said she did not provide additional information.

After Veselnitskaya’s “vague” statement about Clinton, Trump Jr. said the conversation turned to Russia's freeze of adoptions to the U.S. in retaliation for U.S. sanctions against individual Russians under the Magnitsky Act.

more
http://www.thedailybeast.com/s-donald-trump-jrs-meeting-the-first-hard-evidence-of-collusion-with-russia

[HipChick]

1. Donald Trump Jr has changed his story a few times now...this last change sounds like a ploy

to implicate Clinton....Deny and Distract..

[DonViejo]

2. Trying to blame the DNC started yesterday, by Trump's lawyer...

Jr. just reiterated it. But, he has definitely told different stories about the meeting.

[wishstar]

16. Appears to be some very convoluted attempts to muddy the waters by Trump & Co.

The explanations by Trump's lawyer make no sense other than serving the purpose of claiming innocence while projecting some kind of nefarious collusion onto Democrats instead by claiming it was attempt at entrapment with connection to "fake"' Steele dossier.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. How would Clinton be implicated? The story indicates that Jr. expected a

quid pro quo of getting damaging information on Hillary Clinton in exchange for giving something to Russia.

[Not Ruth]

5. It really depends on how stupid Junior was in terms of what he said

If he thought that it was a trap, he might not have implicated himself. On the other hand, if he was thirsty, he may have offered up the cow before he ever got the magic beans. It would be him saying what do you want vs him saying we are at your command.

[Not Ruth]

7. Now if Junior played hard to get and the Russian offered up the goods at some point you could expect

the goods to make the news cycle.

[Not Ruth]

9. Now if you add this to what Team Patriot has posted in the last week

Do CNN and Washington Post have the tapes of this meeting?

Very possible.

[Not Ruth]

11. Per Louise Mensch

Link to tweet

[Not Ruth]

12. Junior's defense then would be that the tape was altered

As I was recently informed on DU that cops do......

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=9304279

Trump has been under FBI investigation since before Junior was born. Nothing is obvious or easy.

Link to tweet

[Adrahil]

13. Legally, it may not matter.

If he met with a foriegn agent in the hopes of getting dirt, it might not matter what he said.

The fact that this meeting has been covered up is extremely suspicious.

[Not Ruth]

15. Harvard agrees with you

More and more I think that this must be what CNN and Washington Post have on tape. Just to be reasonable, how many acts of treason could there be on tape?

Link to tweet

[Orrex]

3. It's now more important than ever...

to investigate Benghazi.

[tableturner]

6. It's the First Hard Evidence of Collusion With Russia WE KNOW OF, if it's even the first.

[AgadorSparticus]

8. First of many. There is a REASON why they turned down Flynn.

They must have BOATLOADS and now now with all the tampering they must have acquired since last year.

[H2O Man]

10. Yes.

Recommended.

(It's the first publicly reported instance of the campaign. Flynn's "transition" calls were post-election.)

[rockfordfile]

14. I agree