Trump Jr.: I went to meeting with Russian lawyer because ‘I had to listen’

Donald Trump Jr. said he went to a meeting with a Russian lawyer who promised to give him damaging information about former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton because he “had to listen.”

“Obviously I’m the first person on a campaign to ever take a meeting to hear info about an opponent… went nowhere but had to listen,” Trump Jr. tweeted Monday.

Obviously I’m the first person on a campaign to ever take a meeting to hear info about an opponent… went nowhere but had to listen. https://t.co/ccUjL1KDEa

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 10, 2017

{mosads}Trump Jr. is facing backlash for meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya after she promised to give him opposition research on Clinton.

Trump Jr. said he was asked by an acquaintance to take the meeting in early June 2016, but later said he had never met with any Russian nationals. He admitted that he had met with the lawyer in a statement to The New York Times Sunday.

“After pleasantries were exchanged, the woman stated that she had information that individuals connected to Russia were funding the Democratic National Committee and supporting Ms. Clinton,” Trump Jr. told the Times. “Her statements were vague, ambiguous and made no sense. No details or supporting information was provided or even offered. It quickly became clear that she had no meaningful information.”

The Kremlin denied that it knew Veselnitskaya Monday.