Three weeks before Election Day, Donald Trump Jr. left the campaign trail and the country to speak at a private dinner in Paris organized by an obscure pro-Russia group that promotes Kremlin foreign policy initiatives and has since nominated Russian President Vladimir Putin for the Nobel Peace Prize.
A key organizer of the event later told reporters she flew to Moscow to brief a senior Russian official about the session.
The White House referred question about the presidents son to the Trump Organization. A spokeswoman for the Trump business did not initially respond to questions from ABC News about why Donald Trump Jr. flew to France for the session during a critical phase of the presidential campaign, who arranged for him to attend, whether he was paid, what was discussed or if anyone vetted the group before he went.
After publication, a Trump Organization spokeswoman told ABC News, Donald Trump Jr. has been participating in business related speaking engagements for over a decade discussing a range of topics including sharing his entrepreneurial experiences and offering career specific advice." The Trump Organization declined to respond when asked how much Trump Jr. was paid for his appearance.
At the time, Trump was commanding a speaking fee of $50,001 and above, according to his speaker bureaus website.
The group sponsoring the session, the Center of Political and Foreign Affairs (CPFA), was founded by a wealthy French businessman and his partner, who are reported to have made major investments in Russia.
They are openly linked with the Russians, said Renaud Girard, a French opinion writer who served as the moderator of the session Trump attended. They dont hide it at all.