WASHINGTON ― Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday refused to address the growing scandal over Donald Trump Jr. meeting with a Russian government-linked lawyer because Trump Jr. was promised information that would “incriminate” Hillary Clinton.
At his weekly press conference, McConnell punted on several questions from reporters about the younger Trump’s meeting, deferring to the Senate intelligence committee’s ongoing investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia last year.
The revelation about the meeting is the clearest indication yet that Trump’s campaign may have colluded with Russia in last year’s election.
In response to questions about the news, McConnell said he had “a lot of confidence” in the Senate investigation and that committee chair Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and vice chair Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) would “get to the bottom of whatever may have happened.”
When asked if he now questions the president’s credibility, McConnell again pivoted to the committee’s investigation, saying that it “will get to the bottom of whatever may have happened.”
Neither Burr’s nor Warner’s spokespeople returned requests for comment from HuffPost on whether Trump Jr. would testify before the committee as part of the investigation.
But Warner said Tuesday that the revelation likely points to collusion, calling Trump Jr.’s meeting “black and white” evidence.
Committee member Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said the meeting revealed that collusion was “no longer a question.”
On Monday, Trump Jr. indicated that he would comply if called before the committee.
Later that day, Warner said that he would “absolutely” be interested in speaking to Trump Jr. as part of the committee’s probe.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), another member of the committee, told reporters on Capitol Hill that Trump Jr. should face scrutiny as part of the investigation, but stopped short of saying that his emails proved collusion.
“I don’t think we have enough information to reach a conclusion, but he certainly made himself a witness,” he said Tuesday.
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