国际英语资讯:President Trumps eldest son details 2016 meeting with Russians before Senate panel_时事

国际英语资讯:President Trumps eldest son details 2016 meeting with Russians before Senate panel

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 -- Donald Trump Jr. told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday that he agreed to meet with Russians during his father's 2016 presidential campaign because he wanted to assess Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's "fitness" and "qualifications" for the White House.

In a 10-minute opening statement, the U.S. president's eldest son insisted that though he accepted a meeting with a Russian lawyer who had promised damaging information on Clinton, he always intended to speak to his lawyers before using any of such materials.

The interview, which took place behind closed doors and was not under oath, lasted just more than five hours as one of the most sensitive and sought-after interviews yet in the congressional probes into the alleged Russia's election meddling in the U.S. 2016 elections.

"To the extent they had information concerning the fitness, character, or qualifications of a presidential candidate, I believed that I should at least hear them out," Donald Trump Jr. said in a statement provided to the Senate panel.

"Depending on what, if any, information they had, I could then consult with counsel to make an informed decision as to whether to give it further consideration." according to the statement obtained by The New York Times.

Donald Trump Jr. said in his initial statement after the newspaper broke the news of the meeting that he and a Russian lawyer primarily "discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children."