THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN has, in many times, failed to disclose, mislead and lied about its alleged communications and ties with the United States’ adversary, Russia, and has even called any reports about it “fake news”, and the investigation as a “witch hunt”.
It contends that the Democrats and the fake news media had been making these accusations against Trump because they could not accept the fact that Clinton lost and Trump won.
THIS is NOT fake news, kababayans. Ask President Donald J. Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., who has released emails and a statement regarding his meeting with a Kremlin-related Russian attorney who offered to give the Trump campaign some incriminating information about Hillary Clinton from the Russian government to damage her campaign and help Trump win the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Trump released a brief statement saying, “my son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency.”
Transparency? After denials and multiple stories to explain away the news broken by the New York Times last weekend, Trump Jr. finally released on Tuesday morning the emails, but only after being told that the Times was about to publish the content of emails setting up a meeting with a Kremlin-connected lawyer.
As the Times reported, the emails were exchanged in June 2016 between Donald Trump Jr. and Rob Goldstone, a British-born former tabloid reporter and entertainment publicist. Mr. Goldstone told Trump Jr. that he was writing on behalf of a mutual friend, one of Russia’s biggest pop music stars, Emin Agalarov.
Quoting the New York Times:
On Jun 3, 2016, at 10:36 AM, Rob Goldstone wrote:
Good morning
Emin just called and asked me to contact you with something very interesting.
The Crown prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.
This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump – helped along by Aras and Emin.
What do you think is the best way to handle this information and would you be able to speak to Emin about it directly?
I can also send this info to your father via Rhona, but it is ultra sensitive so wanted to send to you first.
Best
Rob Goldstone
According to the New York Times, Trump Jr. responded in minutes saying, “If it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer.”
After more email exchanges setting up the meeting, Trump Jr. met with the Russian lawyer on June 9 at younger Trump’s office on the 25th floor of Trump Tower, which the Times reported to be “just one level below the office of the future president”.
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and the Trump Campaign chairman Paul Manafort were in the meeting, and had received forwarded emails about the planned meeting by Trump Jr.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who heads the independent investigation probing the alleged collusion of the Trump campaign with Russia to interfere in the presidential election, will look into these emails and meetings.
Mueller will weigh in on these in relation to the many other testimonies, meetings, ties, and other evidences to determine the culpability of the Trump campaign in the allegations of collusion with Russia to attack the democratic processes and institutions in the United States just so Trump would win as president.
He will also look into a possible tit for tat between Trump and Russia, considering how such ties have affected Trump’s policies when it comes to Russia..
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
