Donald Trump, Jr. characterized the meeting with the Russian lawyer as a meeting about Russian adoptions.  They only talked about Russian adoptions, which sounds benign, and nothing explicitly criminal.

That’s a thin dodge.  When the US implemented sanctions against Russia and the Putin oligarchs — because Russia invaded and annexed Crimea — Putin stopped all the US adoptions of Russian orphans in retaliation.

This meeting was about Donald Trump, Jr. — and Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner — meeting a clandestine Russian representative who promised them kompromat.  They clearly wanted it, and met with her to get it, but she wanted to talk about easing Russian sanctions first.  The entire transaction was to held so they could trade election dirt in a quid pro quo — a deal.

That’s a crime.  Asking for foreign help is a crime.  Lying about the meetings is a crime.  Having the campaign involved in that request is a crime.  Covering up that you asked for foreign help is a crime.  And lying under oath about those meetings is a crime, every time.