A chain of emails published Tuesday by Donald Trump Jr., President Trump’s eldest son, raised fresh questions about the Trump campaign’s contact with Russians during the presidential race and placed the White House’s previous denials of such contact under renewed scrutiny.
The emails suggested Trump Jr. pursued what he thought was opposition research about Hillary Clinton from a source connected to the Russian government last year, contradicting his previous claim that the meeting was always intended to focus primarily on adoption.
Here are five issues raised by the email chain.
More evidence of Russians’ efforts to boost Trump
Rob Goldstone, the publicist who arranged the June 2016 meeting, told Trump Jr. that the supposedly “sensitive” information a Russian lawyer had prepared for him was “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.”
White House officials have avoided embracing the conclusion reached by several intelligence agencies that Russian actors specifically aimed to help Trump’s campaign while harming Clinton’s.
The direct admission from someone close to the president’s son that Russia wanted to help Trump’s chances will likely complicate the administration’s efforts to deny or downplay the significance of Russian involvement.
Confirmation of Russian contacts
In the seven months since Trump took office, the president, his aides and many of his Republican supporters have repeatedly stressed the lack of evidence that high-level campaign officials ever had any contact with Russian officials during the presidential race.
The Trump Jr. emails shatter that claim, making clear that the highest-ranking campaign officials knew of and willingly engaged in at least one contact with a lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, who was described in the thread as connected directly to the Russian government.
Implication of a current White House official
Neither Paul Manafort — Trump’s former campaign manager, who attended the meeting and had access to the emails — nor Trump Jr. are presently involved with the White House in any way.
Trump tasked Trump Jr. with running his real estate empire and maintains a professional separation from his eldest son to avoid conflicts of interest.
However, Jared Kushner — the president’s son-in-law, who also attended the meeting — is presently a senior adviser to the president and oversees a broad policy portfolio in that role.
Kushner was forwarded the email chain Trump Jr. posted on Tuesday, indicating that he was likely aware of the nature of the meeting and the claim from Goldstone that Russians aimed to help his father-in-law win the election.
The involvement of someone currently employed in the West Wing will prevent White House officials from distancing themselves from the revelations contained in the emails. Previously, the White House has attempted to downplay similarly damaging revelations by noting that they’ve concerned former campaign officials, including Manafort, who are no longer associated with the administration.
Contradiction of Donald Trump Jr.’s denials
Trump Jr. has denied meeting with anyone connected to the Russian government since March, when the New York Times asked him directly.
“Did I meet with people that were Russian? I’m sure, I’m sure I did,” Trump Jr. told the Times earlier this year. “But none that were set up. None that I can think of at the moment. And certainly none that I was representing the campaign in any way.”
Trump Jr. had, since the story first began to trickle out over the weekend, attempted to downplay the meeting as a routine research-gathering effort that ultimately produced a discussion about Russian adoptions.
But the emails make clear that Trump Jr. believed he would receive aid from the Russian government that could help his father attack Clinton on the campaign trail.
And the messages indicate the meeting was indeed “set up” and related directly to his role as a campaign surrogate, contradicting his prior denial.
Alienation of Republican allies
The latest — and potentially most explosive — revelation in the months-long Russia controversy is likely to chill relations between the White House and its GOP allies on Capitol Hill.
Some Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, quickly expressed frustration with Trump Jr.’s misleading explanations of the meeting and called on the president’s son to testify before Congress.
Few Republican lawmakers have been willing to defend Trump unconditionally, and previous rocky moments — such as the sudden removal of former FBI Director James Comey — have sent most GOP members running for the hills.
The timing of the Trump Jr. emails could complicate Republican efforts to focus attention on their healthcare legislation and away from the turbulent White House.
