Report: Trump Dictated His Son's Response To Russia Meeting
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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) - The ever changing story of Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian attorney during the presidential campaign has taken another twist.
It appears President-elect Donald Trump was the one who came up with the false statement his son originally gave the media concerning the purpose of the 2016 meeting, according to the The Washington Post.
President Trump reportedly dictated Trump Jr.'s response on July 8th as he flew home from a meeting of world leaders in Germany. The statement given to the New York Times in response to their story about the meeting, according to the Post.
President Trump's statement claimed that the topic of the meeting was primarily about the adoption of Russian children, which "wasn't a campaign issue" at the time.
"It was a short introductory meeting. I asked Jared and Paul to stop by. We primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children that was active and popular with American families years ago and was since ended by the Russian government, but it was not a campaign issue at the time and there was no follow up.
In the days following the statement's release, Trump Jr. revised his story after it became apparent that his claims were misleading. He ultimately admitted that he met with attorney Natalia Veselnitskay because he thought she had damaging information about Hillary Clinton. Also in attendance at the Trump Tower meeting were Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and campaign manager Paul Manafort.
When asked about the statement a few weeks ago, the President's personal attorney Jay Sekulow said Mr. Trump had nothing to do with it.
"The President was coming back from the G20, as this was going on, as you know. So my understanding is that - very clearly - that this was Donald Trump Jr. and his lawyers. The President was not involved in that," Sekulow said on CBS This Morning on July 12th.
Four days later on NBC's "Meet The Press," he reiterated that claim.
"The President was not -- did not -- draft the response. The response came from Donald Trump Jr," said Sekulow.
Tuesday morning, Sekulow denied the Post's account and attacked it.
"Apart from being of no consequence, the characterizations are misinformed, inaccurate, and not pertinent," he told CBS News Chief White House correspondent Major Garrett in a statement.
