President Donald Trump is "frustrated" by the Russia controversy engulfing his eldest son and that it distracts from his administration's agenda, White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday.
"The president is, I would say, frustrated with the process of the fact that this continues to be an issue," Sanders told reporters, according to audio of the daily briefing. "He would love for us to be focused on things like the economy, on healthcare, on tax reform, on infrastructure."
Sanders said she had talked with the president earlier Tuesday about Donald Trump Jr.'s Russia meeting last June.
Trump Jr. also released emails Tuesday he had exchanged before the meeting, which said Moscow's government backed his father's presidential campaign and was trying to damage his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton.
"That's the place where his mind is — and that's what he'd like to be discussing," Sanders said.
She also read a statement from the president saying "my son is a high-quality person, and I applaud his transparency."