The Two Explanations for Trump's Meddling in the Russia Investigation
When news of Donald Trump Jr.’s June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer broke, his father was surprisingly quiet. As his son’s explanation for the meeting crumbled, repeatedly, the president made little public comment, leaving it to his lawyers and White House press staff to say simply that he had not know about the meeting at the time. He eventually issued an unusually cool statement saying Trump Jr. was “a high-quality person.”
Behind the scenes, however, Trump was reportedly far more involved. As , and, the president dictated the initial, misleading statement that Trump Jr. issued while on Air Force One returning from Europe. According to those reports, Trump aides initially favored Trump Jr. coming entirely clean, but were overruled. The result was several days of increasingly damaging stories, as it became clear that Trump Jr. had not been truthful and the press gradually learned more details of the meeting.
