Donald Trump Jr. tweeted his emails about meeting with a Russian lawyer to get dirt on Hillary Clinton, in response to shocking New York Times reports. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Donald Trump Jr.'s Email Thread 'Could Hardly Have Been More Explicit'
President's son preempts damning reporting by New York Times by releasing damning email thread
In what one commentator said "may be the most extraordinary development yet in this whole Trump-Russia saga," new reporting and an email thread released by Donald Trump Jr. on Tuesday has cast new and incriminating light on possible collusion between the Trump presidential campaign and Russian officials.
Amid a flurry of reports that already had legal experts suggesting "treason" and "collusion," Donald Trump Jr. tweeted what he claimed was the full email exchange between himself and the intermediary who help arrange a meeting with Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.
The release of the thread by Don Jr. on Twitter came just ahead of a published New York Times story that contained excerpts from the emails, which the newspaper said "could hardly have been more explicit." And while the president's son claimed he released the thread "in order to be fully transparent," Times sources indicated the tweets were prompted by the newspaper's request for comment.
Don Jr.'s also tweeted an official statement, which included an explicit admission of his expectations going into the meeting: "The information they suggested they had about Hillary Clinton I thought was Political Opposition Research," he said.
In the emails from the intermediary, Rob Goldstone, Trump Jr. was told that "The Crown prosecutor of Russia...offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father."
Goldstone then added, "This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."
To that message, the president's son responded: "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer."
Goldstone's comments to Don Jr. also suggest he had means of contacting Donald Trump directly, saying: "I can also send this info to your father via Rhona [Graff, the president's assistant], but it is ultra sensitive so wanted to send to you first."
Donald Trump Jr.'s tweets containing the full email thread, are below:
The response online was swift and brutal.
David Turnbull had an amusing explanation for Jr.'s tweets, but the Trump Organization confirmed their authenticity to the AP.
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In what one commentator said "may be the most extraordinary development yet in this whole Trump-Russia saga," new reporting and an email thread released by Donald Trump Jr. on Tuesday has cast new and incriminating light on possible collusion between the Trump presidential campaign and Russian officials.
Amid a flurry of reports that already had legal experts suggesting "treason" and "collusion," Donald Trump Jr. tweeted what he claimed was the full email exchange between himself and the intermediary who help arrange a meeting with Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.
The release of the thread by Don Jr. on Twitter came just ahead of a published New York Times story that contained excerpts from the emails, which the newspaper said "could hardly have been more explicit." And while the president's son claimed he released the thread "in order to be fully transparent," Times sources indicated the tweets were prompted by the newspaper's request for comment.
Don Jr.'s also tweeted an official statement, which included an explicit admission of his expectations going into the meeting: "The information they suggested they had about Hillary Clinton I thought was Political Opposition Research," he said.
In the emails from the intermediary, Rob Goldstone, Trump Jr. was told that "The Crown prosecutor of Russia...offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father."
Goldstone then added, "This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."
To that message, the president's son responded: "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer."
Goldstone's comments to Don Jr. also suggest he had means of contacting Donald Trump directly, saying: "I can also send this info to your father via Rhona [Graff, the president's assistant], but it is ultra sensitive so wanted to send to you first."
Donald Trump Jr.'s tweets containing the full email thread, are below:
The response online was swift and brutal.
David Turnbull had an amusing explanation for Jr.'s tweets, but the Trump Organization confirmed their authenticity to the AP.
In what one commentator said "may be the most extraordinary development yet in this whole Trump-Russia saga," new reporting and an email thread released by Donald Trump Jr. on Tuesday has cast new and incriminating light on possible collusion between the Trump presidential campaign and Russian officials.
Amid a flurry of reports that already had legal experts suggesting "treason" and "collusion," Donald Trump Jr. tweeted what he claimed was the full email exchange between himself and the intermediary who help arrange a meeting with Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.
The release of the thread by Don Jr. on Twitter came just ahead of a published New York Times story that contained excerpts from the emails, which the newspaper said "could hardly have been more explicit." And while the president's son claimed he released the thread "in order to be fully transparent," Times sources indicated the tweets were prompted by the newspaper's request for comment.
Don Jr.'s also tweeted an official statement, which included an explicit admission of his expectations going into the meeting: "The information they suggested they had about Hillary Clinton I thought was Political Opposition Research," he said.
In the emails from the intermediary, Rob Goldstone, Trump Jr. was told that "The Crown prosecutor of Russia...offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father."
Goldstone then added, "This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."
To that message, the president's son responded: "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer."
Goldstone's comments to Don Jr. also suggest he had means of contacting Donald Trump directly, saying: "I can also send this info to your father via Rhona [Graff, the president's assistant], but it is ultra sensitive so wanted to send to you first."
Donald Trump Jr.'s tweets containing the full email thread, are below:
The response online was swift and brutal.
David Turnbull had an amusing explanation for Jr.'s tweets, but the Trump Organization confirmed their authenticity to the AP.