Donald Trump Jr., United States President Donald Trump's eldest son, admitted to Senate investigators that he had arranged to meet on June last year with a Russian lawyer to gather damaging information on Democratic presidential aspirant Hillary Clinton. In a prepared statement, Trump Jr. said that he felt it was important to find out if Mrs. Clinton was qualified to replace Barack Obama as the president of the United States.
Information on Clinton's suitability
During a Closed Session with the Senate Judiciary Committee investigators, Donald Trump Jr.
said that considering that the Russian lawyer had information touching on the fitness, qualifications, and character of a US presidential aspirant, he believed that he was obliged to listen to their views. In the statement that was seen by news agency Reuters- and first revealed by The New York Times- Trump Jr. stated that the meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya however, did not shed any new light on Hillary Clinton's suitability to move into the White House.
Since moving into the White House in January, Donald Trump has had his connections to Russia loom over his infant administration. United States intelligence agencies have said they have proof that President Vladimir Putin's government tried to sway the 2016 presidential race in the Republican's favor.
Congressional committees are probing whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in the run-up to last year's US presidential poll. A special counsel has also been appointed to investigate the allegations, which have caused a huge backlash from a section of the American public. Donald Trump Jr. is believed to be the first member of the US leader's family to present their testimony to congressional investigators.
The investigators have conducted most of their work away from public view.
Russia denies any involvement
Russia has denied any involvement in Donald Trump's presidential campaign and subsequent triumph over Hillary Clinton, while regularly describing the investigations as motivated by politics. When details of his meeting with the Russian lawyer leaked out earlier this year, the younger Trump claimed that he only discussed child adoption from Russia.
However, emails connected to the issue revealed that his meeting with the Kremlin-linked lawyer was to gather details possibly detrimental to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
His revelations on Thursday appear to show that he was ready to receive possible assistance to help his father to ascend to the US presidency. Adam Schiff, the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said that Trump Jr's. acknowledgment that the meeting took place proves how Donald Trump's campaign viewed the promise of damaging info on Hillary Clinton from Russia.
Donald Trump's son-in-law and White House top aide Jared Kushner, and former campaign official Paul Manafort also attended the meeting with the Russian lawyer that took place at the Trump Tower.
