President Donald Trump, against the advice of his staff, personally dictated the statement his son, Donald Trump Jr., gave to The New York Times about his meeting with a Russian lawyer — a statement that was later shown to be misleading, The Washington Post reported Monday.
The Times was preparing to break its story as Trump was departing the G-20 Summit in Germany on July 8.
With the Times seeking comment, members of Trump’s team, including strategic communications director Hope Hicks and White House spokesman Josh Raffel, met with lawyers for Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who also attended the now infamous meeting, anonymous White House advisers told the Post.
According to the Post’s sources, Kushner’s lawyers argued for full transparency, figuring the whole story eventually would come to light. They suggested everything, including the email chain leading up to the meeting, be released to a mainstream news organization.
Trump’s personal
