Of greater concern is why Trump Jr. met with Veselnitskaya in the first place. In his interview with Hannity, he cited a few reasons. First, he claimed that the meeting was “a courtesy” to Goldstone, whom he described as “an acquaintance.” Theirs was a “casual relationship,” he told Hannity, adding that he hadn’t had much contact with Goldstone since the meeting. When Hannity asked Trump Jr. for his initial reaction upon receiving the tip-off, Trump Jr. described his thinking: “Hey, wait a minute,” he said, “I’ve heard about all these things, but maybe this is something. I should hear them out.”

In addition to doing Goldstone a favor, Trump Jr. said he saw the meeting as “opposition research” for the campaign. “My takeaway when all of this was going on is that someone has information on our opponent,” he told Hannity, adding: “This was 13 months ago, before I think the rest of the world was … trying to build up that narrative on Russia, so I don’t even think my sirens went up.” He had been reading about Clinton-related scandals “that people were probably underreporting for a long time,” he said, and thought the lawyer might be able to confirm one of the rumors. “I didn’t know if there was any credibility,” he added. “I didn’t know if there was anything behind it. … Someone sent me an email. I can’t help what someone sends me.”

Had he heard any illegal or compromising information, Trump Jr. said, he would have alerted the proper authorities. “In retrospect, I probably would have done things a little differently,” he told Hannity, citing the chaos of the campaign as another reason for his decision. Whether the meeting—or the events leading up to it—will result in any legal repercussions remains to be seen. But some experts argue that Trump’s actions could easily qualify as a violation of federal law, which prohibits Americans from knowingly soliciting or receiving valuable campaign contributions or donations from a foreign national.

As of Tuesday night, Trump has refrained from commenting extensively on the incident, tweeting that his son “is a great person who loves our country.” At an off-camera briefing earlier in the day, White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders read a similar statement from the president: “My son is a high quality person and I applaud his transparency,” Trump said. Sanders then directed any remaining questions to Trump Jr.’s lawyer and the president’s outside counsel.

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