begin quote from:
Exclusive: Mueller
asks WH staff to
preserve all
documents relating to June 2016 meeting
asks WH staff to
preserve all
documents relating to June 2016 meeting
Exclusive: Mueller asks WH staff to preserve all documents relating to June 2016 meeting
Story highlights
- Mueller sent a notice, called a document preservation request, to White House staff
- Request includes text messages, emails, notes, voicemails and other communications
(CNN)Special
counsel Robert Mueller has asked the White House to preserve all
documents relating to the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower that Donald
Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort had with a Russian lawyer and
others, according to a source who has seen the letter.
Mueller
sent a notice, called a document preservation request, asking White
House staff to save "any subjects discussed in the course of the June
2016 meeting" and also "any decisions made regarding the recent
disclosures about the June 2016 meeting," according to the source, who
read portions of the letter to CNN.
The
letter from Mueller began: "As you are aware the Special Counsel's
office is investigating the Russian government's efforts to interfere in
the 2016 presidential election, including any links or coordination
between the Russian government and individuals associated with the
campaign of Donald Trump. Information concerning the June 2016 meeting
between Donald J Trump Jr and Natalia Veselnitskaya is relevant to the
investigation."
The
preservation request is broad and includes text messages, emails,
notes, voicemails and other communications and documentation regarding
the June 2016 meeting and any related communication since then.
On
Wednesday, the White House counsel's office sent a notice to White
House staff informing them of the document preservation request. A
second source confirmed to CNN the letter was sent to White House
personnel.
Such
notices are frequently sent in the early stages of investigation and
puts those who receive it on notice of the need to hold on to the
material and specifically not to destroy documents that could be
relevant to the investigation and requested in the future.
A
White House spokeswoman told CNN they don't comment on internal
communications and the special counsel's office declined to comment.
CNN reported last week
that the White House scramble to respond to revelations about Donald
Trump Jr.'s emails may have exposed the aides involved to special
counsel scrutiny about what they learned about that meeting.
White
House aides and Kushner's legal team began strategizing late last month
over how to manage the disclosure of newly discovered emails setting up
the June 2016 meeting, according to sources close to Kushner's legal
team.
Their public relations
efforts culminated in a series of stumbles in response to inquiries from
media outlets about the June 2016 meeting.
Some
of the President's closest aides, who were traveling with him back from
Europe helped strategize about a response for Trump Jr., according to
people briefed on the matter. The New York Times first reported on the
crafting of the statement.
A
sensitive legal matter such as this would normally have been handled by
the attorneys, given that it was about the Russia investigation.
But
the President's lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, who is designated to handle
personal legal issues, was not traveling with the President and was
largely uninvolved, according to the people familiar with the matter.
The Times reported last week that the President himself approved the
statement, raising the possibility the President may have opened himself
up to new legal issues not covered by attorney-client privilege. Jay
Sekulow, the President's attorney, denied that Trump was involved.
"I
wasn't involved in the statement drafting at all, nor was the
President. I'm assuming that was between Mr. Donald Trump Jr., between
Don Jr. and his lawyer. I'm sure his lawyer was involved, that's how you
do it," said Sekulow in an interview on CNN's New Day.
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