Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe on Tuesday said the latest report that Donald Trump Jr. knowingly took a meeting with a Russian lawyer to help win the election for his father is the "smoking gun" of a conspiracy.
The New York Times on Monday reported Trump Jr. was told in an email before meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya that the Russians were peddling dirt on Hillary Clinton in an effort to sway the election toward then candidate Donald Trump.
In other words, federal law makes it a "crime to receive anything of value … in connection with" an election, LawNewz reported.
But that's not what happened here, Trump Jr.'s lawyer told The Times.
"In my view, this is much ado about nothing. During this busy period, Robert Goldstone contacted Don Jr. in an email and suggested that people had information concerning alleged wrongdoing by Democratic Party front-runner, Hillary Clinton, in her dealings with Russia," Alan Futerfas told The Times.
"Don Jr.'s takeaway from this communication was that someone had information potentially helpful to the campaign and it was coming from someone he knew. Don Jr. had no knowledge as to what specific information, if any, would be discussed."
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