Trump legal team reportedly knew about Trump Jr.'s Russia emails in June


Last month, President Trump's attorneys were told about the email chain from June 2016 between Donald Trump Jr. and Rob Goldstone setting up a meeting for Trump Jr. with a Kremlin-connected attorney, two people with knowledge of the matter told Yahoo News Thursday.
The New York Times reported about the meeting between Trump Jr. and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya last weekend, and on Wednesday, the president told Reuters he first heard about it "two or three days ago." The emails, released by Trump Jr. and the Times on Tuesday, reveal that Trump Jr. agreed to the meeting after learning he would receive information that would "incriminate" Hillary Clinton and was "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump." Trump Jr. also invited his father's campaign chairman at the time, Paul Manafort, and Trump's son-in-law and current senior adviser, Jared Kushner, to attend.
Yahoo News reports Trump's chief lawyer in the Russia investigation, Marc Kasowitz, and Alan Garten, executive vice president and chief legal officer of the Trump Organization, found out about the emails in the third week of June, after they were discovered by Kushner's lawyers. Kushner and Manafort were both forwarded an email by Trump Jr. about the meeting, with the subject line reading, "FW: Russia-Clinton-private & confidential," and after his lawyers learned this, Kushner amended his security clearance form for the second time to show the meeting. A Kasowitz spokesman declined to comment to Yahoo News.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
RFK Jr.: How to destroy vaccination
Feature Robert F. Kennedy Jr. replaces all 17 members of the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice
-
The god in the machine
Feature An AI model with superhuman intelligence could soon become reality. Should we be worried?
-
ICE: Targeting essential workers
Feature After a brief pause, the Trump administration resumes its mass deportation plan
-
Judges order release of 2 high-profile migrants
Speed Read Kilmar Ábrego García is back in the US and Mahmoud Khalil is allowed to go home — for now
-
US assessing bomb damage to Iran nuclear sites
Speed Read Trump claims this weekend's US bombing obliterated Tehran's nuclear program, while JD Vance insists the US is 'not at war with Iran'
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday
-
Smithsonian asserts its autonomy from Trump
speed read The DC institution defied Trump's firing of National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet
-
Trump sends Marines to LA, backs Newsom arrest
speed read California Gov. Gavin Newsom is filing lawsuits in response to Trump's escalation of the federal response to ICE protests
-
Trump foists National Guard on unwilling California
speed read Protests erupted over ICE immigration raids in LA county