5 Things You Should Know About Trump Jr. and Russia
1. Trump Jr. Probably Didn't Break Any Laws
Despite the controversial nature of the meeting that Trump, Jr. had with Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya, this meeting likely did not violate any laws.
David French, a conservative writer and attorney who is a sometime critic of President Trump, pointed out in a National Review piece that the "word 'collusion' doesn't have precise legal meaning."
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"In other words, to claim that Trump officials colluded with Russians is not the same thing as claiming that they violated the law," wrote French.
"As with many political operations, including dealings with foreign governments, their actions can be unsavory without being illegal. Indeed, that seems to be the case here."
Despite likely being legal, French stressed that "to say that it (so far) appears that Donald Jr. didn't break the law isn't to defend his actions."
"To repeat, it now looks as if the senior campaign team of a major-party presidential candidate intended to meet with an official representative of a hostile foreign power to facilitate that foreign power's attempt to influence an American election," continued French.
"Russian collusion claims are no longer the exclusive province of tinfoil-hat conspiracy theorists. No American — Democrat or Republican — should defend the expressed intent of this meeting."
