FILE PHOTO: Donald Trump Jr. thrusts his fist after speaking at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio U.S. July 19, 2016. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump Jr. was told prior to meeting a Russian lawyer whom he believed had information damaging to Hillary Clinton that the material was part of a Russian government effort to help his father’s presidential campaign, the New York Times reported on Monday, citing three people with knowledge of the email.

Publicist Rob Goldstone, who helped broker the June 2016 meeting, sent the email to President Donald Trump’s eldest son, the Times said. Goldstone’s message indicates that the Russian government was the source of the potentially damaging information, according to the Times.