5 Things the New Trump Tower Meeting Documents Tell Us

WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee released Wednesday thousands of pages of transcripts and other documents related to a 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between members of the Trump campaign and a Russian lawyer who promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton. Donald Trump Jr., the president’s son, attended the meeting, as did Paul Manafort, then the campaign chairman, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law.

Much of what occurred that day is already publicly known, such as who attended the meeting, why it was set up and what everyone says was discussed. But the newly released documents offer the most detailed, firsthand account of what transpired before, during and after the June 9 meeting.

The following are some of the key findings from the documents, and why they are important.

— Rob Goldstone offered to arrange a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

Well before Rob Goldstone, a publicist, set up the June 2016 meeting, he tried to position himself as a man with important Russian connections. Almost a year earlier, Goldstone emailed Trump’s longtime assistant with an invitation to come to Moscow for a birthday party that fall. The assistant emailed back a few days later saying it would be difficult for Trump to make the party because of his nascent presidential campaign. Goldstone responded that same day with the invitation to meet Putin, the president of Russia.

— Another meeting attendee also heard that the Russian lawyer had damaging information about Hillary Clinton.

Before the June 2016 meeting, another participant, Irakly Kaveladze, said he called a man who worked with Goldstone, Roman Beniaminov. Kaveladze asked Beniaminov about the meeting with Manafort and others and whether they intended to discuss the Magnitsky Act, a 2012 law that imposed sanctions against Russia for human rights abuses.

— Paul Manafort’s notes reveal conversation points from the meeting.

The existence of the page of notes has been known, but this is the first time the notes themselves have been publicly released. Manafort mentioned William F. Browder, who managed investment funds and was the driving force behind the Magnitsky Act.

Lower in the list, Manafort also notes “Russian adoption by American families,” an apparent reference to the Russian response to the Magnitsky Act. In retaliation, Russia froze adoptions by U.S. families.

— Goldstone wanted to build Trump’s brand on Russian social media.

Goldstone reached out to the campaign again in January 2016. This time he was promoting his connections to a popular Russian social media platform, VK, and had a suggestion: Trump should sign up.

Millions of Russian-Americans used the site, he said, and the candidate would get “massive exposure” and coverage by the Russian media, “where I noticed your campaign is covered positively almost daily.”

In follow-up emails, Goldstone shared a mock-up of a page that he had had VK create for Trump.

Dan Scavino Jr., the campaign’s social media director, responded, encouraging Goldstone to “send me whatever you have on this system! I will share it with the team.” He added: “This is great!”

— Donald Trump Jr. made several calls to blocked phone numbers around the meeting but says he can’t remember to whom.

Phone records shared with the committee show that the younger Trump called a blocked number before and after calls with Emin Agalarov, a pop star in Russia whose family is friendly with the Trumps, to arrange the meeting, and again on the night of the meeting. But Trump’s memory was fuzzy when it came to who was on the other end of the calls.

When asked if he remembered details of the calls, Trump replied, “I don’t.”

Democrats have speculated that the blocked numbers could represent communications back and forth between him and his father. They are incredulous that Donald Trump Jr. would have taken a meeting with Manafort and Kushner, two top campaign lieutenants, about damaging information on Clinton without telling his father. The theory is given some credence by testimony from Corey Lewandowski, a top campaign aide, who told House investigators that Trump made use of a blocked number.

Finding a final answer, though, will likely be left to the special counsel. Democrats do not have subpoena authority, and Republicans have shown no interest in pressing for fuller records.