The July 8 statement by Trump Jr. became controversial in its own right because of conflicting stories about who had written it . On July 11 it was reported that the statement had been drafted by presidential advisers aboard Air Force One on the way home from the G20 summit in Germany , and that it had been approved by President Trump . On July 12 Trump 's lawyer Jay Sekulow insisted that it had been written by Trump Jr. in consultation with his lawyer , and that Donald Trump " was n't involved in that " . He repeated these statements on July 16 . On July 31 '' The Washington Post '' reported that Trump had indeed personally dictated , worked on , and released the statement in Trump Jr 's name , with claims that " were later shown to be misleading " . According to '' The Post '' , Trump had " overruled the consensus " of Trump Jr. , Kushner , aides , and lawyers , who favored issuing a transparent account " because they believed the complete story would eventually emerge . " Some advisors reportedly feared " that the president ’s direct involvement leaves him needlessly vulnerable to allegations of a coverup . " The next day , White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders stated that Trump " certainly did n't dictate , but ... he weighed in , offered suggestions , like any father would do " . In January 2018 , in a confidential letter from Trump 's legal team to special counsel Robert Mueller , Trump 's lawyers acknowledged for the first time that Trump had in fact dictated the first statement put out about the meeting in Trump Jr. 's name , thus contradicting prior representations
G20 summit in Germany
2017 G20 Hamburg summit
Trump Tower meeting