Donald Trump Jr has tweeted the entire email chain in which he was promised 'incriminating' information on Hillary Clinton.
The tweets followed a series of reports by the New York Times, detailing a meeting last summer between Donald Trump Jr and a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower.
The newspaper said the tweets came after the businessman was told the content of the emails leading up to the encounter would be published.
Mr Trump Jr was contacted by music promoter Rob Goldstone last June - apparently writing on behalf of Russian pop star Emin Agalarov, who previously had Donald Trump Sr cameo in a music video.
Mr Goldstone told the then presidential hopeful's eldest son that “the Crown prosecutor of Russia” had offered information that “would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father".
Mr Goldstone added: “This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr Trump.”
In response, Mr Trump Jr said: "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer".
Here's my statement and the full email chain pic.twitter.com/x050r5n5LQ
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017
Here is page 4 (which did not post due to space constraints). pic.twitter.com/z1Xi4nr2gq
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017
The emails show Mr Trump Jr was told he would be meeting with a "Russian government attorney".
The lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - has insisted she has “never acted on behalf of the Russian government”, while the Kremlin has said it has no connection with the lawyer.
Paul Manafort - at that time the Trump campaign's chairman - and Donald Trump Jr's brother-in-law Jared Kushner are also reported to have attended the meeting.
In a statement accompanying today's release, Donald Trump Jr said he was releasing the emails "in order to be totally transparent", and said he had believed the information on Mrs Clinton was "Political Opposition Research".
He quotes Mr Goldstone as saying the eventual meeting was "the most inane nonsense I ever heard". In an earlier statement on the meeting, Mr Trump Jr said the remarks at the meeting were "vague, ambiguous and made no sense".
Trump frustration
After the release of the emails, President Trump said in a statement: "My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency".
A White House spokeswoman said it is "ridiculous" to talk of perjury and treason in reference to contact with Russia.
She added the President is "frustrated" Russia continues to be an issue and Mr Trump would love to move on to other topics.
Alleged links between the Trump campaign and Russia - along with Moscow's alleged meddling in the US election - are currently the focus of a number of inquiries, including a wide-ranging probe by special counsel Robert Mueller.
The details of Mr Trump Jr's meeting last year have prompted calls for the US president's son to appear before a congressional committee.
Additional reporting by IRN
