During his Thursday press conference with France’s President Emmanuel Macron, President Donald Trump defended his son Donald Jr. against allegations that his meeting with a Russian lawyer was improper or illegal.
Trump has repeatedly defended his son’s meeting with the lawyer, which was arranged to try and gather negative information against then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, yet the press conference marked his first on-camera comments on the subject.
“This was not a government lawyer but a Russian lawyer,” Trump said, denying reports that the lawyer may be connected to the Kremlin.
“It was a short meeting,” he continued. “I think from a practical standpoint, I think most people would’ve taken that meeting. It’s called opposition research.”
“Nothing happened from the meeting,” Trump asserted. “I think the press made a big deal over something that really a lot of people would do.”
Trump also touched on reports that the Russian lawyer had previously visited members of the U.S. government and had her passport approved by former Attorney General Loretta Lynch.
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