Dec 7, 2017

Trump Jr. cites attorney-client privilege to avoid Russia questions

Photo: Richard Drew / AP

Donald Trump Jr. cited attorney-client privilege on Wednesday in order to avoid answering questions from the House Intelligence Committee about a conversation between him and his father, President Trump, per Politico. The conversation took place after news broke about Trump Jr.'s meeting in Trump Tower with Kremlin-connected individuals, and Trump Jr. said there was an attorney present.

Ranking Democrat of the committee, Rep. Adam Schiff, said that's not a legitimate reason to invoke that privilege: "I don't believe you can shield communications between individuals merely by having an attorney present...That's not the purpose of attorney-client privilege."

Why it matters: This was the first time Trump Jr. has been questioned by the intelligence committee over his meeting, which he agreed to in hopes of getting negative information on Hillary Clinton. Schiff said "very central conversation between father and son."

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U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 7:30 p.m. ET: 1,917,080 — Total deaths: 109,702 — Total recoveries: 500,849 — Total tested: 19,778,873 — Map.
Public health: Why the pandemic is hitting minorities harder — Coronavirus curve rises in Florida — How racism threatens the response to the pandemic — Some people are drinking and inhaling cleaning products in attempt to fight the virus.
Tech: The pandemic is accelerating next-generation disease diagnostics — Robotics looks to copy software-as-a-service model.
Business: Budgets busted by coronavirus make it harder for cities to address inequality — Sports, film production in California to resume June 12 after 3-month hiatus.
Education: Students and teachers flunked remote learning.

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The big picture: That's a result of myriad longstanding inequities within the health care system and the American economy.

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