Donald Trump Jr. met with a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin in the days after his father clinched the Republican presidential nomination, where he was offered information on Hillary Clinton that he was told would be helpful to his father's campaign, the president's eldest son said Sunday.
The meeting took place at Trump Tower between Trump Jr., the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, Trump's then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya on June 9, 2016.
"I was asked to have a meeting by an acquaintance I knew from the 2013 Miss Universe pageant with an individual who I was told might have information helpful to the campaign," Trump Jr. said in a statement received by ABC News. "I was not told her name prior to the meeting. I asked Jared and Paul to attend, but told them nothing of the substance.
"We had a meeting in June 2016. After pleasantries were exchanged, the woman stated that she had information that individuals connected to Russia were funding the Democratic National Committee and supporting Ms. Clinton.
"Her statements were vague, ambiguous and made no sense. No details or supporting information was provided or even offered. It quickly became clear that she had no meaningful information," he said.
Trump Jr. said that Veselnitskaya then changed the subject and began discussing the adoption of Russian children and moved the conversation towards the Magnitsky Act -- a 2012 bill that blocks certain Russian officials' entrance to the U.S. and their use of the U.S. banking system. After the act was passed, Russia stopped allowing Americans to adopt Russian children. Veselnitskaya is best known for her work against the Magnitsky Act.
"It became clear to me that this was the true agenda all along and that the claims of potentially helpful information were a pretext for the meeting. I interrupted and advised her that my father was not an elected official, but rather a private citizen, and that her comments and concerns were better addressed if and when he held public office," Trump Jr. said in his statement.
"The meeting lasted approximately 20 to 30 minutes. As it ended, my acquaintance apologized for taking up our time. That was the end of it and there was no further contact or follow-up of any kind," he said.
Trump Jr. added that his father knew nothing of the meeting.
The president's outside legal team also said he did not attend the meeting and was not aware of it.
The acquaintance who set up the meeting was Rob Goldstone, a music publicist and friend of Trump Jr., according to a source familiar with the meeting.
In a statement on Saturday, Trump Jr. described the meeting as "short" and "introductory" and that they'd "primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children."