Sen. Tim Kaine suggested Tuesday that Donald Trump Jr. may have committed treason when he met with a Russian lawyer to discuss “sensitive” and potentially damaging information about Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign.
Mr. Kaine, Mrs. Clinton’s former running mate, said that while “nothing is proven yet” on whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government, revelations on Mr. Trump Jr.’s email correspondence with British publicist Rob Goldstone should raise the question of treasonous acts.
“We’re now beyond obstruction of justice in terms of what’s being investigated,” the Virginia Democrat said. “This is moving into perjury, false statements and even into potentially treason.”
“To meet with an adversary to try to get information to hijack democracy — the investigation is now more than just obstruction of justice investigation. It’s more than just a perjury investigation. It’s a treason investigation,” he said.
Mr. Trump Jr. on Tuesday released the entire email chain that arranged a meeting between himself and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who offered “very high level and sensitive information” about Mrs. Clinton as part of the Russia government’s “support” for his father’s campaign, according to Mr. Goldstone.
President Trump came to his eldest son’s defense later Tuesday, saying he is a “high-quality” and transparent person.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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