The Latest on the ongoing investigations into possible collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russia (all times local) :
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on the ongoing investigations into possible collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russia (all times local) :
5: 40 p.m.
The top Democrat on a House oversight committee is requesting that President Donald Trump’s eldest son, his son-in-law and his former campaign chairman turn over a wide array of documents regarding a meeting they had with a Russian lawyer who they were told had damaging information about Hillary Clinton.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., says in a letter that he’s concerned that the decision to take the June 9,2016, meeting raises questions about their „respect for the very principles that our democracy has been founded upon.“ Cummings addressed the letter to Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort.
Cummings request came just hours after Trump Jr. released emails showing he eagerly accepted help from what was described to him as a Russian government effort to aid his father’s campaign.
___
3: 55 p.m.
A Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. during the 2016 presidential campaign insists she had no compromising information on Hillary Clinton to offer – in contrast to what the email exchange released by Trump’s eldest son suggests.
Asked if she had compromising information on Hillary Clinton, Natalia Veselnitskaya told reporters Tuesday it is „not true“ and Trump Jr. „was told so.“
„I never had compromising information and could not have had, “ she says, adding that she does „not represent anyone other than myself.“
The lawyer insists she was „offered to meet with Trump Jr.“ in a „private setting not connected to the fact that he is the son of the presidential candidate.“
The lawyer also claims she was not even sure that Donald Trump had already won the Republican nomination by then.
___
2: 30 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is „a high-quality person, “ and he applauds „his transparency.“
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders read a brief statement from the president Tuesday in response to revelations that Trump Jr. agreed to hear damaging information on Hillary Clinton as part of the Russian government’s effort to help his father.
Trump Jr. posted his emails with publicist Rob Goldstone on Twitter Tuesday. The emails with Goldstone show that Trump Jr. was told that the Russian government had information that could „incriminate“ Clinton and her dealings with Russia.
___
2 p.m.
The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee says emails by President Donald Trump’s eldest son show that a congressional investigation into Russian election meddling is „all that more important.“
On Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr. released an email exchange in which he showed interest in what was described as a Russian government effort to aid his father’s campaign with damaging information about Hillary Clinton.
Virginia Sen. Mark Warner dismissed that Trump Jr.’s eager acceptance of help could just be naiveté: He said: „Lying is not a rookie mistake.“
Warner also noted that Trump said in the exchange that the information could be good „especially later in the summer, “ and that Clinton’s hacked emails were released around that time.
___
1: 10 p.m.
Republican senators are downplaying revelations that the president’s son agreed to hear damaging information on Hillary Clinton as part of the Russian government’s effort to help his father.
Senior Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah calls the matter „overblown, “ describing Donald Trump Jr. as „a very nice young man.“
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina appeared at a news conference with seven other GOP senators, insisting that Republicans should not be „distracted“ by the latest reports on Russia and instead stay focused on their agenda. None of the other attendees at the press conference responded to a question on the new emails released by Trump Jr.
Sen. David Perdue of Georgia says several congressional committees are already looking at the matter.
___
1: 05 p.m.
Hillary Clinton’s former campaign manager says the U. S. is facing a „serious national security crisis.“
Robby Mook was responding to the latest revelation that Trump’s eldest son met with a Russian lawyer after being promised damaging information on Clinton supplied by the Kremlin.
He told The Associated Press Tuesday: „They called us liars; They called us disgusting for suggesting Russians were behind this. Then they met the Russians and talked about information about Hillary Clinton.“
___
1 p.m.
Vice President Mike Pence’s office says the vice president was not aware of a meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian attorney who purportedly had dirt on then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Pence’s spokesman Marc Lotter said Tuesday in a statement that the vice president wasn’t focused „on stories about the campaign, especially those pertaining to the time before he joined the campaign.“
Pence was named President Donald Trump’s running mate in mid-July 2016, several weeks after the June meeting involving the president’s son.
Pence’s office says the vice president is „working every day to advance the president’s agenda.“
___
12: 45 p.m.
A senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee says emails released Tuesday by Donald Trump Jr. show that his father’s presidential campaign „sought to collude with a hostile foreign power to subvert America’s democracy.“
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden said „the question is how far the coordination goes.“ He called for lawmakers to „stand up and do their duty: protect and defend the Constitution.“
In the 2016 email exchange, President Donald Trump’s eldest son agrees to take a meeting involving what was described to him as a Russian government effort to aid his father’s campaign with damaging information about Hillary Clinton.
The New York Times reports that it was about to publish the content of the emails and had sought comment from Trump Jr. when he released the emails on Twitter.
___
12: 05 p.m.
A music publicist who promised President Donald Trump’s eldest son damaging information on Hillary Clinton from the Russian government offered to send the information directly to his father’s personal assistant.
Donald Trump Jr. posted his emails with publicist Rob Goldstone on Twitter Tuesday. The emails with Goldstone show that Trump Jr. was told that the Russian government had information that could „incriminate“ Clinton and her dealings with Russia.
Goldstone wrote that he was sending the „ultra sensitive“ information to Trump Jr. first. But he noted „I can also send this info to your father via Rhona, “ an apparent reference to the elder Trump’s longtime assistant Rhona Graff.
The Trump Organization has confirmed the authenticity of the emails, which Trump Jr. posted on Twitter.
___
11: 55 a.m.
A music publicist who promised President Donald Trump’s eldest son damaging information on Hillary Clinton said that a Russian singer and his father, a former Trump business associate, were helping a Russian government effort to aid Trump’s campaign.
Rob Goldstone made the statement in an email posted by Donald Trump Jr. on Twitter Tuesday. The emails show Goldstone telling Trump that singer Emin Agalarov and his father, Moscow-based developer Aras Agalarov, had „helped along“ the Russian government’s support for Trump.
The elder Agalarov was involved with Trump in hosting the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. The two men also had preliminary discussions about building a Trump Tower in Moscow that fell through. Trump also appeared in a music video with the younger Agalarov.
