Indivisible Jax Riverside

It is now clear that Donald Trump, Jr., Trump’s campaign manager Paul Manafort, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner agreed to meet with a Russian government attorney with the explicit purpose of discussing information that the Russian government thought would help the Trump campaign. On June 9, 2016, they met with Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer, with long-standing ties to the Kremlin.
Prior to the meeting, Trump, Jr. received an email (the text of which he has now released) that stated that “the Crown prosecutor of Russia” had “offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your [Trump, Jr.’s] father.” Trump, Jr. expressed interest in meeting to discuss this information immediately, writing, “[I]f it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer.” Follow-up emails made it clear that the meeting would be with a “Russian government attorney” and cc’ed Manafort and Kushner, meaning all three men were aware that they were meeting with a Russian government lawyer to try to hurt Clinton’s campaign. These emails were sent right before the Wikileaks dump publicly revealed Russia’s potential meddling. Also of note: two weeks after this meeting took place, Trump, Jr. went on CNN to deny claims of Russians helping the Trump campaign as “disgusting” and “phony” and has been making similar claims about the Russian election interference ever since.
The New York Times calls this incident “the first public indication that at least some in the campaign were willing to accept Russian help.” Trump, Jr.’s willingness to accept campaign-related information from a hostile foreign source, as well as the presence of top campaign officials Kushner and Manafort at the meeting, provides clear evidence of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. Neither Trump, Jr. nor Kushner disclosed the details of this meeting–in fact, the meeting was unearthed only after Kushner quietly revised a security form to note that it had happened. Their secrecy raises the question of how many more similar meetings took place unbeknownst to investigators, national security officials, and the public.
As Trump, Jr.’s emails have now revealed, Trump, Jr. deliberately sought out information obtained by a foreign government to interfere with the United States presidential election, an act of possible treason. Donald Trump, Jr., Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort must publicly testify under oath about the details of this meeting and any other similar meetings they had with Russian nationals.

Your script:
[IF CALLING SENATOR MARCO RUBIO] Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from [CITY STATE ZIP CODE].
[IF COMMITTEE, ADD]: I’d like to pass along a message for the Chairman and committee members.
I’m calling to request that the Senate Select Committee on Security call Donald Trump, Jr., Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort to publicly testify about the details of their June 9th meeting with a Russian lawyer, and any other similar meetings with Russian officials they have failed to disclose. I am deeply concerned that Trump, Jr.’s participation in this meeting reflects the Trump team’s possible collusion with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election.
Thank you for your time and attention.
[IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied]
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The Trump administration has been eager to lift Russia sanctions. Former national security adviser Michael Flynn is being investigated for lying to the FBI about conversations he had with the Russian ambassador about sanctions on the day President Obama imposed them. Shortly after the inauguration, the Trump administration made secret efforts to ease the Russia sanctions which were thwarted when a long-time State Department official reported them to Congress. The Trump administration wants to return Russian compounds that had been shuttered by the Obama administration in retaliation for election hacking.

The heads of the US intelligence agencies, former FBI Director Comey and many experts have testified that Russia’s attempts to meddle in our democracy are continuing. It was reported Thursday that US Intelligence believes Russia has stepped up spying in the US since the election. The Trump administration has shown no interest in addressing Russia’s attack on our democracy and Trump contradicted US Intelligence and expert testimony at a press conference on Thursday saying “nobody really knows” if Russia interfered in the US election.
Given Trump’s troubling history regarding Russian interference, it is quite likely he will veto the Russia sanctions legislation. While the Senate has the votes to override the veto, it will be critical that the House pass the legislation with the 2/3 majority necessary to override a presidential veto.

Your Action
Call your Representative and urge him/her to support legislation which would increase sanctions on Russia and tie Trump’s hands on unilaterally lifting the sanctions.

Call your Senators and thank them for supporting increased sanctions on Russia.

Talking Points
This is [NAME] and I’m a constituent in [ZIP].
I want [Rep____] to support legislation to increase sanctions on Russia for meddling in our election.
It is especially important to make sure the president cannot lift any Russia sanctions without Congress’s consent.
I don’t trust this administration to do the right thing on Russia sanctions.
Where does the Rep currently stand on this issue?