who accompanied trump jr to his meeting with russian attorney kirshner

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Jul 14, 2017 · The Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. was accompanied by a Russian-American lobbyist — a former Soviet counterintelligence officer, NBC News has learned. Donald Trump Jr. talks to ...

First, it was to discuss adoption. July 8, 2017

When first asked about the meeting, Donald Trump Jr. issued a statement saying the meeting was primarily about the adoption of Russian children.

Later, to obtain information about an opponent. July 17, 2017

Mr. Trump defended the meeting in a tweet, saying “Most politicians would have gone to a meeting like the one Don jr attended in order to get info on an opponent. That's politics!” About a week earlier, emails between Donald Trump Jr. and Rob Goldstone, a British music producer and publicist who helped broker the gathering, had come to light.

First, the team said Mr. Trump was not involved. July 12, 2017

Jay Sekulow, one of the president’s lawyers, said of the initial statement Donald Trump Jr. released about the meeting: “I wasn’t involved in the statement drafting at all, nor was the president.”

Then, it said he weighed in but did not dictate the statement. Aug. 1, 2017

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary: “The president weighed in, as any father would, based on the limited information that he had. He certainly didn’t dictate.”

Then, he dictated it. Jan. 29, 2018

John M. Dowd and Mr. Sekulow, the president’s lawyers at the time: “The President dictated a short but accurate response to The New York Times article on behalf of his son, Donald Trump Jr.”

Still, the president maintains he did not know about the meeting. Aug. 5, 2018

In his Sunday tweet, Trump reiterated that he had no advance knowledge of the meeting.