Donald Trump has acknowledged that the pre-election meeting in Trump Tower being examined as part of a probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential race, had been held to gather information about Hillary Clinton, his opponent.

In a series of tweets that clashed with his initial explanation of the meeting, the US president attacked the media and the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. He defended the meeting in June 2016 as lawful and rejected a Washington Post report saying he was worried that his son, Donald Trump Jr, had inadvertently exposed himself to legal jeopardy.

The 2016 meeting has been the subject of intense scrutiny as Mr Trump, his officials and his son have given conflicting statements about its purpose. Mr Trump Jr initially said last year that the meeting was related to adoptions of Russian orphans — in a statement that Mr Trump’s lawyers later acknowledged was dictated by his father.