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Donald Trump Jr. on Mueller probe: 'I know what I did, and I'm not worried about any of that'

Posted at 3:11 PM, Sep 11, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-11 15:11:20-04

Donald Trump Jr. says he's not concerned about possible legal exposure in the special counsel's Russia probe but adds that investigators could "try to create something."

Asked in an interview that aired Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America" whether he is afraid of any legal exposure in the investigation, President Donald Trump's eldest son said, "I'm not because I know what I did, and I'm not worried about any of that. That doesn't mean they won't try to create something, I mean, we've seen that happen with everything. But, again, I'm not."

Trump Jr.'s 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with Russian nationals who promised damaging information on his father's Democratic rival in the presidential race, Hillary Clinton, has been a focus of special counsel Robert Mueller's team as part of its broader probe into Russia election interference.

Trump Jr. sought to downplay the results of the Mueller investigation when asked about the plea deals and indictments of Trump associates that have resulted from the probe.

 

 

"I understand that they are trying to get my father, and they'll do anything they can to get that," he told ABC News.

The President's eldest son also said the investigation "has been very difficult" for him personally, but he has been able to compartmentalize it, according to ABC News.

"And in the end, I know what I've done," he added, "and I'm not worried about that at all, because you know, I've done nothing that anyone else wouldn't do in that position, in my opinion."

According to ABC News, Trump Jr. also said that "there will never be a conclusive end" to the investigation, suggesting that Democrats would try to use the probe "as a permanent asterisk on my father's record" and to "sway" the upcoming midterms and the 2020 election.

 

Concerns about impeachment

 

Trump Jr. told ABC News that he believes "without question" that Democrats will attempt to impeach his father if his base does not turn out in the midterm elections to keep Congress under Republican control, echoing remarks the President madeat a rally in Montana last week.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, however, has said several times that impeachment is not a priority for her party, telling CNN's Christiane Amanpour in a recent interview that it is "a very divisive approach. Elections should determine who is in office. If the President has broken law, he's not above the law, but that remains to be seen."

 

Trump Tower meeting

 

Trump Jr. has been swept up in the Russia investigation for his 2016 Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. Last year, Trump Jr. gave changing explanations about the reason for the meeting, first telling The New York Times in a statement that it was primarily about adoption policy. He later acknowledged that he accepted the meeting to get "dirt" on Hillary Clinton, but instead received a pitch on removing Russian sanctions under the Magnitsky Act.

Trump Jr. also testified before the Senate Judiciary Committeethat he did not speak to his father about the Trump Tower meeting, which was also attended by then-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the President's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is now a senior White House adviser.

The President's spokespeople initially denied he was involved in crafting his son's first, misleading statement to The Times. But, in a reversal, a letter from the President's attorneys to Mueller acknowledged he "dictated" the statement. Trump has denied knowing about the meeting before it happened.

Sources close to the White House told CNN that President Trump is concerned about whether his son Donald Trump Jr. might have exposure in the special counsel's Russia investigation. The President, however, has denied that he is worried about the Trump Tower meeting.

The-CNN-Wire
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