REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
Media reports say President Donald Trump is worried about his son, Donald Trump Jr.
- President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday morning to dismiss reports that he fears his son, Donald Trump Jr.'s legal fate in special counsel Robert Mueller's probe.
- Stories from CNN and the Washington Post on Saturday cited sources close to the president that connected his worries for Trump Jr. and his increasingly hostile public statements against US intelligence.
- Trump also confirmed the meeting in question was to seek dirt on then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday morning to dismiss reports that he fears his son, Donald Trump Jr., is becoming entangled in the special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
"Fake News reporting, a complete fabrication, that I am concerned about the meeting my wonderful son, Donald, had in Trump Tower," Trump wrote, taking aim at the media.
"This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in
Trump seemed to be responding to stories published the day before by CNN and the Washington Post that cited several anonymous sources close to the president who said his concerns over Trump Jr. have pushed him to issue more critical public statements attacking US intelligence and the media.
In the tweet, Trump also confirmed the meeting was intended to get dirt on then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, which his administration has issued conflicting statements on in the past.
After reports of the meeting emerged last year, Trump Jr. released changing statements about its purpose, eventually acknowledging that Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya had promised dirt on Clinton but that information was never delivered.
Most recently, Trump's former longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen went against the administration's past claims by reportedly saying he is willing to testify under oath that the president greenlit the meeting to get compromising information on Clinton.
Trump Jr. was one of three top Trump campaign officials, along with Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner, who met with the Russian lawyer and several other Kremlin-linked individuals at Trump Tower in June 2016.
Mueller, as well as the Congressional Russia investigations, is examining the meeting and Trump Jr.'s possible role in Kremlin meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Manafort, the former chairman of Trump's campaign, was in court last week as the first to face trial as part of Mueller's investigation.
Minutes after defending his son, Trump also tweeted to attack the media, the FBI, and the Department of Justice.
Fake News reporting, a complete fabrication, that I am concerned about the meeting my wonderful son, Donald, had in Trump Tower. This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics - and it went nowhere. I did not know about it!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2018...Why aren't Mueller and the 17 Angry Democrats looking at the meetings concerning the Fake Dossier and all of the lying that went on in the FBI and DOJ? This is the most one sided Witch Hunt in the history of our country. Fortunately, the facts are all coming out, and fast!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2018Too bad a large portion of the Media refuses to report the lies and corruption having to do with the Rigged Witch Hunt - but that is why we call them FAKE NEWS!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2018