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In the wake of Donald Trump Jr.’s email dump Tuesday, White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders read a statement from the president defending his son in an off-camera press briefing.
Trump Jr. had tweeted out a stream of emails in which he agreed to meet with a lawyer with connections to the Russian government in an attempt to get damaging information about Hillary Clinton ahead of the 2016 election.
In the off-camera briefing Sanders said:
I’ve got a quick statement that I will read from the President: "My son is a high-quality person and I applaud his transparency."
And beyond that, I’m going to have to refer everything on this matter to Don Jr.’s counsel and outside counsel, and won’t have anything else to add beyond that today.
Sanders followed up the statement saying beyond "what I read today, I don’t have anything else to add."
Reporters continued to ask further though.
Maggie Haberman of the New York Times tweeted that Trump is “frustrated by [the] presence of this story.”
Sanders confirms NYT reporting that Trump is frustrated by presence of this story
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 11, 2017
CNN’s White House correspondent Jim Acosta says Huckabee Sanders called accusations of treason and perjury “ridiculous.”
SHS asked about accusations of "treason" and "perjury" in context of Russia investigation: "I think those two words are ridiculous."
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) July 11, 2017
Jennifer Jacobs of Bloomberg News reports that Huckabee Sanders referred all questions to outside counsel.
On all questions I would refer you to Don Jr's counsel and to outside counsel, Sarah Huckabee Sanders says repeatedly on Russian lawyer mtg.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) July 11, 2017