Donald Trump Jr has released an entire email chain in which he was promised “incriminating” information on Hillary Clinton by a Russian lawyer.
The US President's eldest son used his Twitter account to publish correspondence about a meeting with the lawyer - which has put him at the centre of a political row.
The New York Times has reported extensively on the meeting in recent days – and the paper said Mr Trump Jr released the emails after being told they would be published anyway.
In the email chain, Mr Trump Jr is shown in contact with music publicist Rob Goldstone to arrange to meet with lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower in New York, on 9th June last year.
Mr Goldstone told the then presidential hopeful's eldest son that “the Crown prosecutor of Russia” had offered information that “would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father."
Mr Goldstone added: “This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr Trump.”
In response, Mr Trump Jr said: "If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer."
The businessman has previously confirmed the meeting - which was also attended by the President's son-in-law Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort, the Trump campaign chief at the time - did take place.
The lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - has insisted she has “never acted on behalf of the Russian government”, while the Kremlin has said it has no connection with the lawyer.
Alleged links between the Trump campaign and Russia - along with Moscow's possible meddling in the US election - are currently the focus of a number of inquiries.
The emergence of Mr Trump Jr's meeting with Ms Veselnitskaya has prompted calls for the President's son to appear before a congressional committee.
In a statement also published on Twitter, Mr Trump Jr said he was releasing the emails in order to be "totally transparent."
He said "the woman" he met "had no information to provide and wanted to talk about adoption policy" as well as Russian sanctions.
Mr Trump Jr had earlier mocked the "desperation" of the media and Democrats over the "nonsense meeting."
His publication of the emails followed Ms Veselnitskaya claiming she was asked to meet Mr Trump Jr by an unknown man.
She said she received a phone call and was asked if she knew damaging information about Mrs Clinton's campaign.
"All I knew was that Donald Trump Jr was willing to meet with me," she told the NBC Today show.
"It's quite possible that maybe they were looking for information. They wanted it so badly."
Ms Veselnitskaya, who is known for her work around adoption laws, told NBC that she had been lobbying against US sanctions on Russian officials but was not acting on behalf of the Kremlin.
Moscow has seconded those claims, saying in a statement that it had no connection with Ms Veselnitskaya.
The 9 June meeting has been described by Democratic Senator Mark Warner as the "first time the public has seen clear evidence of senior level members of the Trump campaign meeting with Russians."
