President Trump Donald John TrumpUS reimposes UN sanctions on Iran amid increasing tensions Jeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Trump supporters chant 'Fill that seat' at North Carolina rally MORE personally signed off on a statement released Saturday by his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., explaining his meeting with a Kremlin-linked attorney promising dirt on Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonJeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Momentum growing among Republicans for Supreme Court vote before Election Day Warning signs flash for Lindsey Graham in South Carolina MORE.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Trump signed off on the statement, which was drafted aboard Air Force One by Trump's advisers.

In the statement, Trump Jr. said: “It was a short introductory meeting. I asked Jared and Paul to stop by. We primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children that was active and popular with American families years ago and was since ended by the Russian government, but it was not a campaign issue at the time and there was no follow-up.”

“I was asked to attend the meeting by an acquaintance, but was not told the name of the person I would be meeting with beforehand,” he added.

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Trump Jr. his since released multiple follow-up statements to clarify the story. Early Tuesday, he also released several emails between him and Rob Goldstone, a British music publicist who offered to set up the meeting between Trump Jr. and the Kremlin-linked attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya.

President Trump issued a brief statement defending his eldest son through White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders during an off-camera briefing with reporters on Tuesday.

“My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency,” the statement said.