Trump Jr. cites attorney-client privilege in not answering panel's questions about discussions with his father
Though neither Donald Trump Jr. nor the president is an attorney, Trump Jr. told the House Intelligence Committee that there was a lawyer in the room during the discussion. | Richard Drew/AP Photo
Donald Trump Jr. on Wednesday cited attorney-client privilege to avoid telling lawmakers about a conversation he had with his father, President Donald Trump, after news broke this summer that the younger Trump — and top campaign brass — had met with Russia-connected individuals in Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign.
Though neither Trump Jr. nor the president is an attorney, Trump Jr. told the House Intelligence Committee that there was a lawyer in the room during the discussion, according to the committee's top Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff of California. Schiff said he didn't think it was a legitimate invocation of attorney-client privilege.
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"I don't believe you can shield communications between individuals merely by having an attorney present," he said, after the committee's lengthy interview with Trump Jr. "That's not the purpose of attorney-client privilege."
Trump Jr.'s meeting in June 2016 at Trump Tower — and the president's response after it became public earlier this year through a New York Times story — has become a central focus of investigators probing whether any Trump associates cooperated with Russian efforts to interfere in the presidential election.
Though Trump Jr. initially portrayed the meeting as "short," "introductory" and focused on the issue of adoption, it was later revealed that there were eight participants — including the senior Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and his campaign chairman, Paul Manafort — and that Trump Jr. agreed to the meeting with a promise that he would receive negative information about Hillary Clinton provided by the Kremlin.
As the story unfolded, Trump Jr. revised his statements and ultimately released a series of emails that revealed he was told before the meeting that the Russian government wanted to help his father's presidential campaign and that urged him to meet with a Kremlin-connected lawyer to receive dirt on Clinton. Subsequent reporting suggested that President Trump had a hand in crafting the initial, incomplete response to the Times story.
Republicans on the committee indicated they were satisfied with Trump Jr.'s answers but declined to discuss the substance of the hearing. Still, Schiff said he hoped they would compel fuller answers from the younger Trump.
"I don't think my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would dispute the fact that as to this very central conversation between father and son, the witness declined to answer the question," he said.
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