Josh Marshall makes a good observation on the news that Donald Trump Jr. met with a Russian lawyer promising “dirt” on Hillary Clinton during the presidential campaign:
What I suspect is the most important detail in this story is the sources. The Times reports that they got the information from “three advisers to the White House briefed on the meeting and two others with knowledge of it.” They apparently talked after the release of the first story. This is highly, highly significant. Needless to say, advisors to the White House are not in the business of taking highly damaging stories and volunteering new information which makes them catastrophically damaging. The only reason a President’s allies ever do something like that is either to get ahead of something much more damaging or get a first crack at shaping the public understanding of something much more damaging. There’s really no other explanation. We don’t know yet what drove them to volunteer such highly damaging information. Five of them did it. It wasn’t a matter of one person going rogue.
First Read: “By the way, maybe the most interesting Washington parlor game right now is trying to guess the sources for the New York Times story… So it’s coming from inside the White House – or from those who are advising it. Is this the beginning of every man and woman for themselves?”
Mike Allen: “Intent will be a crucial consideration in whatever special counsel Bob Mueller comes up with. So the reason for this meeting, the changing story, and the foot-dragging on disclosure are all going to matter. It’s why veteran Republicans operatives remain mystified that Trump’s orbit is going the drip-drip route rather than disclosing all at once what’s known about meetings with Russians.”
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