Former CNN Host Posts Report From 2018 About Trump Jr. Meeting
Donald Trump on Sunday acknowledged that his eldest son met with a Russian lawyer during the 2016 campaign to gather information on Hillary Clinton, reframing the Trump Tower meeting as a typical part of opposition research.
“This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics — and it went nowhere. I did not know about it!” Trump said on social media.
The statement marked a sharp departure from the administration’s 2017 account, which initially claimed the meeting centered on adoption policy related to Russia. That explanation was later revealed to have been crafted with Trump’s involvement, a fact confirmed Sunday by Trump attorney Jay Sekulow, who admitted providing inaccurate information at the time.
The June 2016 meeting — attended by Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort — remains a focal point of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. While Trump and his legal team continue to deny any collusion, the acknowledgment that the meeting was intended to obtain political dirt signals a significant rhetorical shift.
Trump says Don Jr. wanted dirt on Clinton from Russian lawyer – POLITICO https://t.co/VQSsF2dzUA
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) July 23, 2025
White House advisers insist the president remains unconcerned about potential legal fallout for his son, focusing instead on political implications as midterm elections approach. Trump is expected to campaign frequently for vulnerable Republican candidates after Labor Day.
The president has voiced frustration in recent weeks over what he perceives as insufficient media credit for economic growth, low unemployment, and his diplomatic efforts with Russia and North Korea. At a rally in Pennsylvania last week, he highlighted policy victories including the repeal of Obamacare’s individual mandate and withdrawal from the Paris climate accord.
Meanwhile, Trump’s legal team — now including Rudy Giuliani — appears to be testing a new defense strategy by arguing that collusion, even if proven, is not a criminal offense. The White House maintains Trump had no prior knowledge of the Trump Tower meeting.
Republican allies say it is time for Mueller’s investigation to conclude, contending that after nearly two years, no evidence of coordination between the campaign and Russia has emerged.