Trump most likely lied to Reuters today. Considering his actions around the time in question, it is impossible to believe that the President was unaware of his son, son-in-law, and campaign chairman’s meeting to get secret information from the Russian government to help his campaign.
From the day the meeting was first proposed to the day it was held and then again shortly after, Trump twice promised that he would soon have dirt to share on Hillary Clinton — a move that clearly references what Trump Jr. was promised over email. The timeline is clear:
- June 3, 2016: Trump, Jr. excitedly agrees to meeting with the “Russia government lawyer” to discuss information that could damage Hillary Clinton. The email also said the information was acquired by the Russian government in support of Trump and his campaign.
- June 7, 2016: Trump promises dirt on Clinton in his acceptance speech after clinching the nomination — just hours after the meeting was confirmed.
- June 9, 2016: Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushner attend the meeting with Veselnitskaya, hoping to obtain dirt on Clinton.
- June 13, 2016: Trump again promises a “big speech” to share dirt on Clinton.
- June 15, 2016: DNC announced that its email system was hacked by two Russian government-backed groups.
“Trump is lying yet again and soon enough these lies are going to catch up to him. We’re long past the point where anyone should believe what he has to say, especially when it comes to his campaign’s dealing with Russia,” said Harrell Kirstein, American Bridge Communications Director.
Published: Jul 13, 2017