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Senate releases transcripts from Trump Tower meeting probe

Donald Trump Jr. (R) walks to a closed door meeting with Senate Intelligence Committee. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

The Senate Judiciary Committee released 1,800 pages of interview transcripts from Donald Trump Jr.'s testimony about a controversial meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016 with a Russian lawyer who has since admitted to working with the Kremlin.

Why it matters: The meeting has become a focal point of Robert Mueller's investigation.

Key findings from the transcripts:

  • Trump Jr. said he didn't know if his father was involved in drafting the statement about the meeting: "I never spoke to my father about it." He said the president "may have commented through Hope Hicks."
  • He said Hicks asked him if he wanted to talk to the president about the statement, but "I chose not to because I didn't want to bring him into something that he had nothing to do with."
  • He said his email to Rob Goldstone — "I love it" — was "simply a colloquial way of saying that I appreciated Rob's gesture."
  • Trump Jr. said he was "skeptical" of the meeting all along, and "my skepticism was justified" because "the meeting provided no meaningful information."

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Rebecca Falconer
14 mins ago - Politics & Policy

UN poll: Most see climate change as global emergency amid pandemic

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg (C) fronts a Fridays For Future protest at the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm in September. Photo: Jonathan Nacksrtrand/AFP via Getty Images

64% of people from around the world say climate change is a global emergency, a United Nations poll published Wednesday finds.

Why it matters: It's biggest global survey on climate change ever conducted, with some 1.2 million participants from 50 countries — including the U.S. where 65% of those surveyed view climate change as an emergency.

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Lachlan Markay
7 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Collins helps contractor before pro-Susan PAC gets donation

Sen. Susan Collins during her reelection campaign. Photo: Scott Eisen/Getty Images

A PAC backing Sen. Susan Collins in her high-stakes reelection campaign received $150,000 from an entity linked to the wife of a defense contractor whose firm Collins helped land a federal contract, new public records show.

Why it matters: The executive, Martin Kao of Honolulu, leaned heavily on his political connections to boost his business, federal prosecutors say in an ongoing criminal case against him. The donation linked to Kao was veiled until last week.

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Lachlan Markay
7 hours ago - Politics & Policy

How cutting GOP corporate cash could backfire

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Companies pulling back on political donations, particularly to members of Congress who voted against certifying President Biden's election win, could inadvertently push Republicans to embrace their party's rightward fringe.

Why it matters: Scores of corporate PACs have paused, scaled back or entirely abandoned their political giving programs. While designed to distance those companies from events that coincided with this month's deadly siege on the U.S. Capitol, research suggests the moves could actually empower the far-right.

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