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President Donald Trump said his son was 'a wonderful young man" who did only what most people in politics would do when he met with a Russian lawyer.
"He took a meeting with a Russian lawyer. Not a government lawyer, but a Russian lawyer," the US president said on Thursday after his arrival in Paris for meetings with the French president, Emmanuel Macron. "Zero happened from the meeting. The press made a big deal about something that really a lot of people would do. As far as my son is concerned, my son is a wonderful young man."
On Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr. on Tuesday disclosed email exchanges with a British publicist who brokered the meeting, shortly after his father secured the Republican presidential nomination. Also present at the meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya were the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort, his campaign chairman at the time.
The publicist, Rob Goldstone, described Ms Veselnitskaya as a “Russian government attorney” in the emails and said she had information from the Russian government that could “incriminate” Mr Trump’s campaign opponent, Hillary Clinton. He also described the Russian government as supporting Mr Trump’s election.
The younger Trump forwarded the correspondence to Mr Kushner and Mr Manafort prior to the meeting. The emails portray the three top campaign officials as eager for help from the Russian government in obtaining information about Ms Clinton, contradicting frequent assertions by the Trump camp that there was no contact between his campaign and Russians.
But speaking in Paris, President Trump said his son had done nothing wrong. “I think it’s a meeting that most people in politics probably would have taken,” he said.
In an interview on Wednesday, the president said he had learned of his son't meeting only "a couple of days ago." but praised his son's "transparency."
The revelation of the meeting and the email disclosures provides a new focal point for investigations by congressional committees and special counsel Robert Mueller into whether Mr Trump’s campaign colluded with Russian election interference.
The president has called the investigation a “witch hunt” and questioned the conclusion of US intelligence agencies that Russia was behind the hacking and the release of Democratic Party emails during the campaign.
The younger Trump has admitted that in retrospect he probably would have handled the meeting with Ms Veselnitskaya differently. But at the time,he saw it as an opportunity to obtain vital information on what he referred to as under-reported scandals that could hurt his father’s opponent. However, the meeting yielded no such information and was " just a wasted 20 minutes."e
But several election law lawyers, Republican campaign operatives and Republican members of Congress said this week there is nothing routine about foreigners meeting with a campaign on such matters.
“If you had a contact with Russia, tell the special counsel about it," said Republican congressman Trey Gowdy. "Don’t wait until The New York Times figures it out!"
Even the president's choice for director of the FBI, former federal prosecutor Christopher Wray,said it was wiser to "let the FBI know" when a foreign power offers information about a political opponent.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Australia squads
ODI: Tim Paine (capt), Aaron Finch (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Shaun Marsh, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye.
T20: Aaron Finch (capt), Alex Carey (vice-capt), Ashton Agar, Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, D’Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Jack Wildermuth.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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