Trump’s True Crimes – Episode 74: Trump Tower Meeting with Russians

Welcome to Trump’s True Crimes. This is Episode 74: Trump Tower Meeting with Russians.

June 9th, 2016. The Trump campaign was in high gear, and an extraordinary invitation was on the table. Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort gathered at Trump Tower to meet with a Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, along with other Kremlin-linked operatives. The lure? Dirt on Hillary Clinton, described as part of Russia’s support for Donald Trump’s candidacy.

Trump Jr.’s infamous reply to the offer—“If it’s what you say, I love it”—isn’t just reckless. It’s a smoking gun, showing a willingness to collude with a foreign power to sway an American election.

Inside that Trump Tower room, the Russians delivered talking points about sanctions and the Magnitsky Act, cloaked in promises of information. While the details may not have been groundbreaking, the very fact of the meeting—and the intent behind it—was damning.

And then came the cover-up. For over a year, the meeting was denied, dismissed, and spun into lies. The adoption excuse. The false statements dictated by Donald Trump himself aboard Air Force One. The pattern was clear: accept help from abroad, then deny and deceive when caught.

Robert Mueller’s investigation highlighted this meeting as a central piece of evidence. It revealed a campaign not just open to foreign influence, but eager for it. The Trump Tower meeting became shorthand for collusion—even if prosecutors ultimately said they couldn’t bring conspiracy charges.

Still, the implications are staggering. At the very highest levels, Trump’s inner circle showed they were willing to compromise democracy if it meant gaining power. That should never be forgotten.

And as one chapter closes, another opens. Next, we’ll turn to Episode 75: Roger Stone & Julian Assange, where Trump’s longtime political trickster connects with WikiLeaks to unleash hacked Democratic emails onto the world stage.