US President Donald Trump’s eldest son has reportedly hired a criminal lawyer to defend him following suggestions that he colluded with the Russian government to sabotage Hillary Clinton’s 2016 election campaign.

A New York Times report has revealed that Mr Trump Jr was alerted of Russia’s interference in an email prior to meeting with a Russian lawyer — Natalia Veselnitskaya — who he believed possessed material that could be damaging to Ms Clinton’s campaign.

In the email to Mr Trump Jr, publicist and former British tabloid reporter Rob Goldstone, allegedly indicated the Russian government was the source of the potentially damaging information.

It is understood Mr Goldstone also assisted in arranging Mr Trump Jr’s meeting with the Russian lawyer.

The report, published on Monday, cited three people who had knowledge of the email — claiming President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and then-campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, also attended the meeting.

Trump Jr did not indicate whether the lawyer told him he may have been a Kremlin representative, in a statement he issued on Sunday.

The Russian connection

Mr Goldstone represents Russian pop star Emin Agalarov.

Mr Agalarov’s father was President Trump’s business partner in bringing the Miss Universe 2013 pageant to Moscow.

Mr Goldstone said in an interview on Monday that Mr Agalarov requested him to arrange the meeting between Mr Trump Jr and the Russian lawyer.

The email from Mr Goldstone to Mr Trump Jr is likely to be of interest to investigators currently examining whether any Trump administration associates colluded with the Russian government to impact the 2016 US election result, the NYT reported.

Allegations of Mr Trump’s campaign ties to Russia has cast a shadow over the President’s initial months in office.

As the story emerged earlier this week, prominent Republicans voiced concern about his meeting, with Mr Trump Jr responding by hiring New York lawyer Alan Futerfas to represent him in the Russia-related investigations.

Russia continues to deny any interference and President Trump maintains there was “no collusion”.

“It’s a very serious development,” Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told MSNBC in response to the NYT report.

“It all warrants thorough investigation. Everyone who was in that meeting ought to come before our committee.”

Mr Trump Jr’s lawyer, Mr Futerfas, specialises in criminal defence and whose previous clients include alleged organised crime figures, a Russian computer hacker and white-collar criminals.

“I look forward to assisting Donald Jr and, quite frankly, there is nothing to all of the media buzz about the June 9, 2016, meeting,” he told Reuters.

“That will be proven to be the case.”

The NYT referred to the encounter as the first confirmed private meeting of members of Donald Trump’s inner circle with a Russian national during the campaign.

A Republican member of the US Senate Intelligence Committee, Susan Collins, which is looking into accusations of Russian interference in the US election, has called on Mr Trump Jr and others who attended the meeting to testify before the panel.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said there was nothing inappropriate about the “very short meeting” and that there was “absolutely no follow up”.

– with AAP