The president’s attorneys at first denied Trump’s involvement in drafting the response to the Times, but months later, in a letter intended to explain why Mueller should not interview Trump, they agreed that the president had, in fact, been the author of the statement. They described the statement, which had not mentioned that the Russian lawyer was expected to bring damaging information about Clinton, as “short but accurate.”<doc-sep>WASHINGTON—President Trump acknowledged Sunday that a meeting his son held with a Russian government lawyer in June 2016 was an attempt “to get information on” Democrat Hillary Clinton but defended the encounter as “totally legal.” Mr. Trump and his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. , have repeatedly denied that the president had advance knowledge of the Trump Tower meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer with links to the Kremlin. The meeting has come under scrutiny of special counsel Robert Mueller. But the meeting has become a prominent focus in Mr. Mueller’s investigation into whether Trump associates colluded with Russia in 2016 and whether the president and his aides sought to obstruct justice by initially asserting that the meeting focused only on adoptions. Mr. Trump has denied collusion or obstruction, and Moscow has denied election interference. It isn’t clear when the president first learned of the meeting, which took place shortly after Mr. Trump became the presumptive 2016 Republican presidential nominee. In the Sunday morning tweet, Mr. Trump wrote that meetings like this were “done all the time in politics” while reiterating: “I did not know about it!” The Wall Street Journal and others reported last month that Michael Cohen, who at the time served as Mr. Trump’s lawyer, was willing to tell Mr. Mueller that the younger Mr. Trump informed his father of the meeting with the Russians before it took place, according to people familiar with the matter. Rudy Giuliani, the elder Mr. Trump’s lawyer, accused Mr. Cohen of attempting to negotiate a plea deal by offering testimony to Mr. Mueller. Special counsel Robert Mueller is pushing forward in the Russia probe, but some fear the investigation will influence the midterms. WSJ's Gerald F. Seib explains why. Photo: Getty Mr. Cohen is under investigation for bank fraud and possible campaign-finance violations by federal prosecutors in New York City, and federal investigators are probing his efforts to quash negative publicity for Mr. Trump during the 2016 campaign. Mr. Cohen has denied wrongdoing and hasn’t been charged with any crimes. Mr. Trump’s Sunday tweet followed reports in the Washington Post and on CNN that the president is concerned that his eldest son may be in legal jeopardy. Mr. Trump told Reuters in a 2017 interview “many people would have held that meeting.” On Sunday, he wrote on Twitter that it was a “complete fabrication” that he was concerned his son might be in legal trouble. Jay Sekulow, one of the president’s attorneys, said in a Sunday interview on ABC that he “has no knowledge of [Donald Trump Jr.] being a target of any investigation.” The initial statement about the meeting came in July 2017 from Donald Trump Jr. and was crafted with the help of his father. That statement claimed the participants “primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children.” The younger Mr. Trump later released emails showing that he accepted the offer for the meeting after he was promised information about Mrs. Clinton that he had been told was gathered as part of a Russian effort to boost his father’s candidacy. Mr. Sekulow last year denied the president participated in the writing of the initial statement from his son’s meeting. On Sunday, he told ABC he “had bad information at that time and made a mistake.” “It’s very important to point out that in a situation like this, you have, over time, facts develop,” Mr. Sekulow said. The Trump Tower meeting was also attended by Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, and Paul Manafort, his campaign chairman at the time. Participants in the meeting have testified before lawmakers that no information on Mrs. Clinton was offered and that the younger Mr. Trump was disappointed by the outcome. Mr. Manafort is on trial in Virginia federal court on charges that he lied about his taxes, didn’t disclose overseas bank accounts and participated in bank fraud. He has pleaded not guilty and has rejected all the charges. Write to Reid J. Epstein at reid.epstein@wsj.com<doc-sep>
President Trump dismissed news reports Sunday that he’s worried about legal trouble for his son related to the special counsel’s investigation, and continued his attacks on the media. A source close to Mr. Trump said the president is worried about special counsel Robert Mueller targeting his son Donald Trump Jr. after his former personal attorney Michael Cohen alleged Mr. Trump knew of Don Jr.’s meeting with a Russian attorney at Trump Tower before the meeting, CNN reports. Mr. Trump Jr. had testified to lawmakers that his father never knew about his meeting in the summer of 2016, which took place to potentially get dirt on Mr. Trump’s opponent Hillary Clinton. “Fake News reporting, a complete fabrication, that I am concerned about the meeting my wonderful son, Donald, had in Trump Tower. 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!” Mr. Trump tweeted Sunday morning. Mr. Trump’s attorney Jay Sekulow defended the legality of the meeting Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” saying no law or statute has been violated. “I have no knowledge at all of Don Jr. being told he is the target of any investigation and I have no knowledge of him being interviewed by the special counsel,” Mr. Sekulow said Sunday. The president also doubled down on his attacks against the media, saying they are the “Enemy of the People.” “The Fake News hates me saying that they are the Enemy of the People only because they know it’s TRUE. I am providing a great service by explaining this to the American People. They purposely cause great division & distrust. They can also cause War! They are very dangerous & sick!” he posted on Twitter. Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters Copyright © 2021 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.