None of the mysterious phone calls by Donald Trump Jr. prior to the highly-investigated Trump Tower meeting were with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, according to multiple sources in reports that surfaced Thursday evening.
The Senate Intelligence Committee determined Trump Jr. had calls with two business associates prior to a meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, according to a CNN report Thursday night. The committee didn't disclose whether or not they knew who Trump Jr.'s associates were, but acknowledged it wasn't his father.
The calls happened three days before the Trump Tower meeting, along with a call Trump Jr. had with Russian pop star Emin Agalarov—who is the son of a Russian leader who set up the meeting with Veselnitskaya, according to reports.
Democrats have claimed Trump Jr.'s meeting at Trump Tower was the epicenter of Russian collusion in the 2016 presidential campaign. While then-candidate Donald Trump was battling Hillary Clinton in the presidential race, Democrats have long thought Trump Jr.'s calls were a way for the Trump campaign to join forces with Russian intelligence to gather "dirt" on Clinton during the campaign.
The reason for Trump Jr.'s privately-guarded phone calls is still unclear. Trump Jr.'s attorney, Alan Futerfas, didn't comment for CNN's story.
The Senate Intelligence Committee has spent two years looking into possible Russian collusion, and records still don't show if meetings at Trump Tower played any role in the matter.
Senate Intelligence chairman Richard Burr, a Republican from North Carolina, and Virginia Democrat Sen. Mark Warner both declined to comment.
Agalarov kickstarted the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting he asked Rob Goldstone, a British promoter to set the meeting up between Veselnitskaya and Trump affiliates, with Veselnitskaya likely providing "dirt" on candidate Clinton.
"If it's what you say I love it," Trump Jr. responded. However, the meeting was Veselnitskaya's presentation on Russian sanctions and nothing on Clinton.
All participants have spoken to the Intelligence Committee, and their stories coincide.
Trump Jr. told congressional investigators he didn't remember who his blocked calls were with, and he also told them he never mentioned the meeting with his father.
Adam Schiff, a California Democrat and chairman of House Intelligence, said his Republican counterparts didn't do enough to determine who called Trump Jr. from blocked numbers.
"We wanted to get the phone records to determine, was Donald Trump talking to his son about this meeting," Schiff said last November. "It's an obvious investigative step, but one the Republicans were unwilling to take because they were afraid of where the evidence might lead.
It's uncertain whether or not special counsel Robert Mueller has obtained any information or blocked numbers during his investigation of Russia-related events during the Trump campaign.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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