{"id":1993,"date":"2017-07-16T12:02:38","date_gmt":"2017-07-16T16:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/press.nbcnews.com\/?p=1993"},"modified":"2017-07-16T12:02:38","modified_gmt":"2017-07-16T16:02:38","slug":"trump-lawyer-on-meet-the-press-says-nothing-illegal-about-trump-jr-russia-meeting-comey-firing-cannot-raise-to-level-of-obstruction-of-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nbcuniversalnewsgroup.com\/nbcnews\/2017\/07\/16\/trump-lawyer-on-meet-the-press-says-nothing-illegal-about-trump-jr-russia-meeting-comey-firing-cannot-raise-to-level-of-obstruction-of-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"TRUMP LAWYER ON \u201cMEET THE PRESS\u201d SAYS \u2018NOTHING ILLEGAL\u2019 ABOUT TRUMP JR.\/RUSSIA MEETING, COMEY FIRING \u2018CANNOT RAISE TO LEVEL OF OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

EXCLUSIVE: Senate Majority Whip Cornyn: \u201cThis is not about President Trump. This is about Russia versus the United States\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

PLUS: Cornyn Says if GOP Healthcare Bill Doesn\u2019t Pass and Democrats Won\u2019t Participate, \u201cWe\u2019re Going to Have to Come Up with a Different Plan\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

ALSO: Sen. Warner: \u201cA Wide Breadth Between What is Called in the Espionage Business \u2018a Useful Idiot\u2019 and Full-Fledged Collusion\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

JULY 15, 2017 \u2013 This morning on NBC News\u2019 \u201cMeet the Press,\u201d Jay Sekulow<\/strong>, a member of President Trump\u2019s legal team, reacted to news this week of President Trump\u2019s son’s meeting with a Russian lawyer promising damaging information about Hillary Clinton: \u201cThere\u2019s nothing illegal about that meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t represent Donald Trump Jr. and I do not know everyone for sure that was at that meeting,\u201d he told moderator Chuck Todd.<\/p>\n

Sekulow pointed to former FBI Director James Comey\u2019s leaking of a conversation with the president as \u201cthe basis upon which all that started\u201d and that his firing by Trump \u201ccannot raise to the level of obstruction of justice.\u201d Watch the full interview.<\/a><\/p>\n

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas)<\/strong>, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, exclusively reacted to the president\u2019s tweet this morning calling the Russia investigation \u201ca hoax\u201d: \u201cIt\u2019s a mistake to personalize this to President Trump or Hillary Clinton or anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand the president’s frustration when James Comey told him three times he’s not the target of an investigation and he wants that made public. But this is not about President Trump. This is about Russia versus United States,\u201d Cornyn shared.<\/p>\n

The senator told Todd that, if the Republican Party\u2019s healthcare bill does not pass, \u201cI assume we\u2019ll keep trying, but at some point, if Democrats won\u2019t participate in the process, then we\u2019re going to have to come up with a different plan.\u201d Watch the full interview.<\/a><\/p>\n

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.)<\/strong>, the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, also addressed Trump Jr.\u2019s meeting, telling Todd that the committee is \u201ctrying to go about this in a methodical way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve learned that there’s a wide breadth between what is called in the espionage business \u2018a useful idiot\u2019 and full-fledged collusion,\u201d he said. Watch the full interview.<\/a><\/p>\n

According to a new NBC News\/Wall Street Journal poll finding<\/a> debuting on this morning\u2019s network broadcast, Trump’s job approval rating in the American counties that fueled his 2016 victory stands at 50 percent. The full NBC News\/Wall Street Journal poll will be released later this week.<\/p>\n

Joining this morning\u2019s program for insight and analysis were NBC News\u2019 Tom Brokaw<\/strong>, Squire Patton Boggs\u2019 Al Cardenas<\/strong>, presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin<\/strong> and AEI\u2019s Danielle Pletka<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Read the full transcript of this morning\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d on MeetThePress.com.<\/a><\/p>\n

For more from moderator Chuck Todd throughout the week, sign up for the \u201cFirst Read\u201d newsletter,<\/a> and subscribe to the \u201c1947: The Meet The Press Podcast\u201d<\/a> for on-demand interviews.<\/p>\n

MANDATORY CREDIT: NBC NEWS\u2019 \u201cMEET THE PRESS WITH CHUCK TODD\u201d \u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n