During the presidential campaign in 2016, the eldest son of President Trump (Donald Trump Jr.), met with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya to obtain information that they could use against Hilary Clinton, according to The New York Times who cited the White House.
Ivanka Trump's husband, President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, and President’s campaign chairman Paul J. Manafort allegedly accompanied Donald Trump Jr. during this meeting. According to Donald Trump Jr., before taking the decision to meet with the national lawyer, she had promised him some "damaging information" about Hillary Clinton.
He did not mention if this meeting was connected with the presidential campaign.
The New York Times pointed out that "Political campaigns collect opposition research from many quarters but rarely from sources linked to foreign governments."
NYC also reported that Trump Jnr. said that President Trump had not known anything about the meeting, and the main topic for discussion at that day was the adoption of children from Russia and the Magnitsky Act. According to President's son, they talked for twenty to thirty minutes and since that day he has had no contact with the lawyer.
The meeting was held at Trump Tower on June 9, 2016. At present this is the only confirmed meeting between the members of the President's inner circle with the Russian side.
The real reason for meeting
On Sunday, Donald Trump Jr. made a statement, saying that the lawyer gave no meaningful information, according to The New York Times. On Saturday, Lawyer Veselnitskaya also mentioned that nothing had been discussed about the presidential campaign, and stressed that she had "never acted on behalf of the Russian government or discussed any of these matters with any representative of the Russian government."
Who is Lawyer Veselnitskaya?
Veselnitskaya works with different clients, including companies and individuals.
She is close to the Kremlin and stands for overturning the Magnitsky Act. Presidential spokesman of Russia, Dmitry Peskov, said that the Kremlin does not know her, and they cannot keep a close watch on all Russian lawyers and their meetings in Russia or with foreigners.
After the first Times post, Representative Adam B. Schiff of California (who is investigating Russian interference) said that he has some questions for those who attended that meeting one year ago.
He added that he did not see any reason for Russians to meet with President Trump's inner circle if it was not related to the campaign and Russian policy.
During the G20 summit, President Trump and President Vladimir Putin discussed Russian meddling in elections. Trump has repeatedly denied any interference from Russia in his favor, and Putin stressed that they never had a reason for that. In March, during an interview with The Times, Donald Trump Jr. refused to admit to any participation in the electoral campaign or contacts with Russia.
