The US president, Donald Trump, has described the storm over his son’s meeting with a Russian lawyer as “the greatest witch-hunt in political history” and “sad!”

Donald Trump Jr offers the closest thing to a smoking gun | Lawrence Douglas Read more

In a typically combative tweet, Trump praised Donald Trump Jr and said “my son Donald did a good job last night” when he appeared on Fox News. “He was open, transparent and innocent,” Trump added.

Trump Jr has been embroiled in scandal since it emerged that he met the Russian lawyer Nataliya Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower in New York on 9 June 2016. The meeting, which was also attended by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Trump’s then campaign chair, Paul Manafort, was brokered by a British publicist and former journalist, Rob Goldstone.

Emails published by Trump Jr on Tuesday showed that Goldstone promised the lawyer would bring from Russia “some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary [Clinton]”. He said: “This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr Trump.”

Critics have said that the offer – and Trump Jr’s willingness to go ahead with the meeting – amount to proof of collusion. Trump Jr denies wrongdoing. On Tuesday evening, he told Fox News host Sean Hannity: “In retrospect I probably would have done things a little differently.” The meeting, he said, was “a nothing”.

On Wednesday, Trump Sr’s lawyer Jay Sekulow told morning TV shows the president did not find out about the meeting until “very recently”. Sekulow also said the president was not being investigated by Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating links between Trump aides and Russia.

The New York Times reported, however, that Donald Trump signed off on his son’s first statement about the meeting, which said it was primarily about a Russian bar on US adoptions. The Times report cited anonymous sources. Trump also tweeted on Wednesday: “Remember, when you hear the words ‘sources say’ from the Fake Media, often times those sources are made up and do not exist.”

Trump’s firing of the FBI director James Comey in May is part of the Mueller investigation. The president’s pick to succeed Comey, Christopher Wray, appeared before the Senate judiciary committee on Wednesday. In his opening statement, Wray said he would “never allow the FBI’s work to be driven by anything other than the facts, the law and the impartial pursuit of justice. Period. Full stop.”

Answering questions, Wray said the Mueller investigation was not a “witch hunt” and said he would treat any attempt to tamper with it “very sternly”. In reference to reports Trump demanded loyalty from Comey, he said no one at the White House had asked him “for any kind of loyalty oath at any point during this process, and I sure as heck didn’t offer one”.

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said it was “wild” that Trump’s son was being blamed for speaking with a Russian attorney. Lavrov – who met Trump last week at the G20 summit in Hamburg, together with Vladimir Putin – said he knew nothing of the meeting with the lawyer. Serious people were trying to “make a mountain out of a molehill”, Lavrov said.



In the emails, Goldstone said he made contact with Trump Jr at the behest of the Russian-Azeri businessman Aras Agalarov and Aglaravov’s pop-star son, Emin. The Agalarovs hosted Trump when he visited Moscow in 2013 for the Miss Universe beauty pageant.

On Wednesday, Aras Agalarov claimed the story was invented. “I think this is some sort of fiction. I don’t know who is making it up,” he told Russia’s Business FM radio station, adding: “What has Hillary Clinton got to do with anything? I don’t know.”

Timeline Donald Trump Jr's meeting – key dates Show Hide British publicist Rob Goldstone emails Trump Jr offering “official documents and information” that “would be very useful to your father”. Goldstone made clear the material came from Moscow and was “part of Russia and its government support for Mr Trump”. British publicist Rob Goldstone emails Trump Jr offering “official documents and information” that “would be very useful to your father”. Goldstone made clear the material came from Moscow and was “part of Russia and its government support for Mr Trump”. Donald Trump Jr confirms the meeting – brokered by Goldstone – with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. The same day his father made a speech in which he promised fresh revelations about Hillary Clinton’s “crimes”, to be “probably” delivered the next week. The “major speech” didn’t materialise, however. Trump has denied any knowledge of the meeting. Donald Trump Jr confirms the meeting – brokered by Goldstone – with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. The same day his father made a speech in which he promised fresh revelations about Hillary Clinton’s “crimes”, to be “probably” delivered the next week. The “major speech” didn’t materialise, however. Trump has denied any knowledge of the meeting. Trump Jr’s meeting with Veselnitskaya takes place with Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner also attending. Veselnitskaya has denied having information on Clinton and links to the Kremlin. Trump Jr’s meeting with Veselnitskaya takes place with Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner also attending. Veselnitskaya has denied having information on Clinton and links to the Kremlin. Julian Assange announces that WikiLeaks had obtained Clinton campaign emails. Julian Assange announces that WikiLeaks had obtained Clinton campaign emails. Wikileaks releases a trove of nearly 20,000 emails – providing an embarrassing inside look at Democratic Party operations. Russian hackers are widely believed to have been behind the email theft. There is no evidence to suggest Donald Trump Jr’s meeting with Veselnitskaya was linked to the DNC hack. However, US intelligence agencies believe Russia tried to sway the 2016 US election and the Justice Department, House and Senate Intelligence Committees and the FBI are examining whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin. Wikileaks releases a trove of nearly 20,000 emails – providing an embarrassing inside look at Democratic Party operations. Russian hackers are widely believed to have been behind the email theft. There is no evidence to suggest Donald Trump Jr’s meeting with Veselnitskaya was linked to the DNC hack. However, US intelligence agencies believe Russia tried to sway the 2016 US election and the Justice Department, House and Senate Intelligence Committees and the FBI are examining whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin.

Agalarov added that “I really don’t know Rob Goldstone well”. Goldstone, however, has travelled to Moscow and Baku – where Agalarov has a fan base – on numerous occasions and appears to be the singer’s concert promoter. Photos of the two of them appear on Goldstone’s Facebook page, including from a meeting in May 2015 with Trump at Trump Tower.

In 2014, Goldstone also posted a group portrait of Emin with Trump and his daughter Ivanka.

Meanwhile, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted that the Kremlin had not spoken to Agalarov and has no ties to Veselnitskaya.

