Jay Sekulow on Trump Tower Meeting Statement

Quotes by Trump’s Lawyer on Whether Trump Dictated the Trump Tower Meeting Statement

THEN
NOW


2017
2018

Jay Sekulow Trump Tower Meeting Statement Then
Jay Sekulow Trump Tower Meeting Statement Now


Trump lawyer #JaySekulow 7/17: "The president was not involved in the drafting of the ❲Trump Tower Meeting❳ statement." » #Sekulow 1/18: "The President dictated ❲the statement❳." #TrumpRussia Click To Tweet

Quotes by Jay Sekulow on the Trump Tower Meeting Statement

THEN

July 2017

Jay Sekulow on the Trump Tower Meeting Statement Then
“The statement that was released on Saturday was released by Donald Trump Jr., I’m sure in consultation with his lawyers. The president wasn’t involved in that.”
- July 12, 2017

Good Morning America interview

ABC News, July 12, 2017
Trump Jr.'s meeting with Russian lawyer 'not illegal': President's lawyer

(retrieved 8/7/18)
starts at 3:05

“I wasn’t involved in the statement drafting at all, nor was the president.”
- July 12, 2017

New Day interview

CNN, July 12, 2017
Jay Sekulow full 'New Day' interview

(retrieved 8/1/18)
“The president was not involved in the drafting of the statement and did not issue the statement. It came from Donald Trump Jr.”
- July 16, 2017

Meet the Press interview

NBC News, July 16, 2017
Meet the Press - July 16, 2017

(retrieved 8/1/18)
starts at 2:51

NOW

Jan 29, 2018

Jay Sekulow on the Trump Tower Meeting Statement Now
“You have received all of the notes, communications and testimony indicating that the President dictated a short but accurate response to the New York Times article on behalf of his son, Donald Trump, Jr.”
Jan 29, 2018 -

Confidential memo to Robert Mueller

New York Times, June 2, 2018
The Trump Lawyers' Confidential Memo to Mueller, Explained

(retrieved 6/24/18)
“I had bad information at that time and made a mistake in my statement… I think it’s very important to point out that in a situation like this, you have – over time, facts develop.”
Aug 5, 2018 -

ABC News, Aug. 5, 2018
ABC This Week interview

(retrieved 8/7/18)
quote starts at 1:36


Trump lawyer #JaySekulow 7/17: "I wasn’t involved in the ❲Trump Tower Meeting❳ statement drafting at all, nor was the president." » #Sekulow 8/18: "I had bad information." #TrumpRussia Click To Tweet


Context

On July 8, 2017, after being presented with findings that he, his brother-in-law Jared Kushner, and then-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort met with Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower on June 9, 2016, Donald Trump Jr. responded with this statement to the New York Times:1New York Times, July 8, 2017
Trump Team Met With Lawyer Linked to Kremlin During Campaign
retrieved 6/24/18

It was a short introductory meeting. I asked Jared and Paul to stop by. We primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children that was active and popular with American families years ago and was since ended by the Russian government, but it was not a campaign issue at the time and there was no follow up.

I was asked to attend the meeting by an acquaintance, but was not told the name of the person I would be meeting with beforehand.2New York Times, July 9, 2017
Donald Trump Jr.’s Two Different Explanations for Russian Meeting
retrieved 6/24/18

Trump Jr.’s statement contradicted his previous assertions that he did not meet with Russians during the campaign under “set up” circumstances or “representing the campaign in any way, shape or form.”3New York Times, July 8, 2017
Trump Team Met With Lawyer Linked to Kremlin During Campaign
retrieved 6/24/18
The statement also did not mention that Trump Jr. was promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton from a “Russian government attorney” before agreeing to the meeting, and that the Magnitsky Act was discussed in contradiction with Trump Jr.’s previous assertion that he did not discuss Russian-related US policy with Russians during the campaign. This information became public over the next few days.4New York Times, July 8, 2017
Donald Trump Jr.’s Two Different Explanations for Russian Meeting
retrieved 6/24/18
5New York Times, July 11, 2017
Russian Dirt on Clinton? ‘I Love It,’ Donald Trump Jr. Said
retrieved 6/24/18
6New York Times, July 11, 2017
Read the Emails on Donald Trump Jr.’s Russia Meeting
retrieved 6/24/18

In the following week Jay Sekulow, a lawyer for Donald Trump, repeatedly denied that Trump had any involvement in drafting the Trump Tower meeting statement. Sekulow also said Trump was not aware of the July 9, 2016, Trump Tower meeting until “very recently, right before this came out.”7CNN, July 12, 2017
Jay Sekulow full ‘New Day’ interview
retrieved 8/1/18
8ABC News, July 12, 2017
Trump Jr.’s meeting with Russian lawyer ‘not illegal’: President’s lawyer
retrieved 8/1/18
9NBC News, July 16, 2017
Meet the Press – July 16, 2017
retrieved 8/1/18

On June 2, 2018, the New York Times published a memo that Trump lawyers including Sekulow submitted to special counsel Robert Mueller on January 29, 2018, wherein the lawyers stated that Trump “dictated” the statement.10New York Times, June 2, 2018
The Trump Lawyers’ Confidential Memo to Mueller, Explained
retrieved 6/24/18
11New York Times, June 2, 2018
Trump’s Lawyers, in Confidential Memo, Argue to Head Off a Historic Subpoena
retrieved 6/24/18
When asked by George Stephanopoulos about his reversal Sekulow replied, “I had bad information at that time and made a mistake in my statement… I think it’s very important to point out that in a situation like this, you have – over time, facts develop.”12ABC News, Aug
‘This Week’ Transcript 8-5-18: Jay Sekulow, Gov. John Kasich and Gov. Jay Inslee
retrieved 8/7/18