Donald Trump Jr.'s interview Wednesday with the House Intelligence
Committee focused mainly on three areas, sources with knowledge of the
interview told ABC News: The June 2016 meeting between Trump Jr., Jared
Kushner, Paul Manafort and a Russian attorney; Trump Jr.'s conversations
with Wikileaks; and past business by the Trump Organization.
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At one point, hours into the meeting, multiple sources with knowledge
tell ABC News that Trump Jr.’s lawyers asked how many more questions the
committee had. The sources said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had sat for 11 hours when she was questioned by Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., as part of the Benghazi
investigation and they were nowhere near that point. It was then that
Trump Jr., per the sources, said Clinton's testimony was not the same:
she was testifying about the 2012 attack in Benghazi where four
Americans were killed.
Trump Jr. declined to discuss details of a conversation he told
investigators he had with his father after reports about the Trump Tower
meeting emerged, citing attorney client privilege, according to the top
Democrat on the panel.
The Associated Press
AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
The sources tell ABC News that the committee's questions focused on what
information was exchanged during the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting in
New York City, and the president's oldest son indicated the short
gathering did not produce any information and ended quickly.
Sources said Trump Jr. told investigators he spoke with his father after
reports surfaced about his controversial Trump Tower meeting with a
Russian lawyer promising dirt on Hillary Clinton. He also told the
committee he initially discussed a response with Hope Hicks, a top campaign aide now serving as White House communications director, according to a committee source.
Pressed by Democrats for further details about those conversations,
Trump Jr. insisted conversations with his father were privileged,
sources in the room said. "They stuck to their position that they were
not going to share any conversations that Donald Trump Jr. had with his
father about the June 9th meeting," Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., told
CNN Wednesday night.
Albin Lohr-Jones/Pool via Getty Images, file
Committee Democrats subsequently questioned the legitimacy of Trump
Jr.'s privilege claim and raised the possibility of seeking a subpoena
to compel him to answer.
"The only category of question the he declined to answer were, with
respect to any discussion with his father about the June 9th meeting,
after the emails had been disclosed publicly," Rep. Adam Schiff,
D-Calif., told ABC News's Pierre Thomas after the interview. "Counsel
made a claim of attorney-client privilege. In my view, this is a central
communication about a very pivotal meeting and a conversation between
father and son is not subject to the attorney-client privilege. So, uh,
we intend to persist and make sure we get answers to that question."
The Associated Press
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
It's unclear if Republicans who control the committee will join that push.
Rep. Mike Conaway,
R-Texas, one of the Republicans leading the probe, said the interview
was “professional” and described Trump Jr. as “cooperative at all
times.”
The president's son was also asked about his communications with
Wikileaks after the company reached out to him via Twitter towards the
end of the campaign. Trump Jr., according to the sources familiar with
his testimony, said his communications were limited to the messages
exchanged via Twitter and went no further. A Republican source added
Trump Jr. was asked about some Trump Organization business going back
decades and at times based on old news reports about his father.
The meeting, which lasted just under 8 hours, was the longest meeting
the president's son has had before a Congressional Committee, compared
to a previous meeting he had with the Senate Judiciary Committee for
multiple hours in September.
The sources added that Trump Jr. was questioned only by members, with limited exceptions, a majority of which were Democrats.
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