why is trump jr meeting with russian lawyer bad?

by Dr. Kiana Mosciski III 7 min read

Why did Donald Trump Jr meet with a Russian lawyer?

 · Common Cause’s complaint against Trump Jr. does not accuse the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, nor his former campaign manager Paul Manafort, of wrongdoing, even though they also attended the meeting. Ryan explained that since Trump Jr. claims he did not inform Kushner or Manafort of the meeting’s purpose, they couldn’t have ...

Did Trump attend the Trump meeting with Russians?

 · Two months have passed since Donald Trump Jr. admitted to meeting with a Russian lawyer in June 2016 in order to get dirt on his father's campaign opponent, Hillary Clinton. But the American ...

Is it illegal to ask to meet with Trump Jr?

 · Donald Trump Jr. and other Trump campaign officials involved in the June 2016 meeting with a Kremlin-linked lawyer were not charged with campaign finance violations in …

What was the meeting between Trump Jr and Veselnitskaya about?

Over the weekend, the eldest son of President Donald Trump admitted that he met with a lawyer linked to the Russian government last June after being promised damaging information on …

See more

 · The reason it's worse is that Veselnitskay may have been more than just a foreign national. She was described in one of the emails to Trump Jr. as a "Russian government …

image

What would happen if Trump Jr. didn't include the caveat?

Trump Jr. said that if the caveat was not included it would appear "as though I'm lying later when they inevitably leak something ."

When was Trump aware of emails related to the Trump Tower meeting?

According to Mueller's report, Trump was aware of the existence of emails related to the Trump Tower meeting by June 2017.

Did Mueller say Trump Jr. acted willfully?

April 18, 201903:38. Mueller said in his report that investigators did not believe they could prove Trump Jr. acted "willfully" when he possibly violated campaign finance law. "The Report confirms that the June 9, 2016 meeting was just what Don said it was, and nothing more, and that there was nothing improper about potentially listening ...

Was Veselnitskaya a source for the Trump campaign?

As a source for the Trump campaign, Veselnitskaya proved disappointing, as she did not provide the damaging information about Clinton that was promised.

Is the lawyer connected to the Russian government?

Natalia Veselnitskaya is a managing partner in Kamerton Consulting, a Moscow law firm. She has represented Denis Katsyv, a Russian national accused of laundering millions in tax-fraud proceeds into US real estate last year in a case brought in the southern district of New York. Katsyv’s case was settled in May for $6 million.

What information did Natalia Veselnitskaya give the Trump campaign?

Trump Jr. said he was asked by a person he knew from the 2013 Miss Universe pageant, held in a Moscow suburb, to meet with someone who might have information that would be “helpful” to the Trump campaign. He did not name the acquaintance. When they met, Veselnitskaya told Trump Jr.

Could the meeting have broken any US laws?

Legal experts told Quartz they see a wide scope for criminal investigation. Here are laws they cited, in interviews and in public statements, that could warrant examination:

Why did Donald Trump Jr. attend the meeting?

Trump Jr’s explanation shocked US political pundits, in part, because of its apparent naiveté. He said he didn’t know who he was meeting before he went, and his Sunday statement refuted an earlier one to the Times, in which he said the meeting was just about adoptions of Russian children by Americans.

What happens next?

Trump Jr. and the other attendees of the meeting are expected to be grilled by both FBI and congressional investigators. Adam Schiff, a Democrat with the House Intelligence Committee, and Susan Collins, a Republican from the Senate Intelligence Committee, said their panels intend to question everyone who attended the meeting.

Why did Junior attend the meeting?

The Times followed up with the revelation that Junior attended the meeting because he was promised damaging information on his father's opponent, Hillary Clinton, in advance. So it wasn't just about adoption, Don?

Did the scion know the lawyer's name?

His defense, now, was that none of the information was useful, and that he didn't know the lawyer's name beforehand—an attempt to imply he didn't really know who she was.

Did Don Jr. have any meetings with Russians?

In a New York Times profile that featured the presidential scion struggling to find a comfortable stump to sit on, Don Jr. also denied participating in any campaign-related meetings with Russians:

June 3, 2016

Goldstone emails Trump Jr. about setting up a meeting with a “Russian government lawyer” who is said to have damaging information about Clinton.

June 7, 2016

Goldstone emails Trump Jr. to settle on a time of the meeting, scheduled for the next day. Trump Jr. replies, saying Manafort and Kushner will also attend, and then forwards the email exchange to them.

June 9, 2016

2:22 p.m.: Trump tweets: “Obama just endorsed Crooked Hillary. He wants four more years of Obama—but nobody else does!”

image