Russian lawyer Natalia Natalia Veselnitskaya told NBC News she was not with the Kremlin as was reported by The New York Times. She confirmed her meeting with Donald Trump Jr. was about Russian adoptions in the US.
Despite the screaming headlines this was all just another nothingburger.
NBC reported:
The Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. during the presidential campaign denied in an exclusive interview with NBC News that she had any connection to the Kremlin and insists she met with President Donald Trump’s son to press her client’s interest in the Magnitsky Act — not to hand over information about Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
“I never had any damaging or sensitive information about Hillary Clinton. It was never my intention to have that,” Natalia Veselnitskaya said.
When asked how Trump Jr. seemed to have the impression that she had information about the Democratic National Committee, she responded:
“It is quite possible that maybe they were longing for such an information. They wanted it so badly that they could only hear the thought that they wanted.”
Trump Jr. has confirmed that the meeting occurred, saying in a statement to The New York Times that he attended “a short introductory meeting” with the lawyer, where the topic of conversation was primarily about adoption.
Here’s the video:
He added that even if there was poliitical collusion with the Russians this is not a crime.
Gregg Jarrett: Look it’s not a crime to meet with a Russian or a Russian government official or a Russian lawyer connected to the government.
In September, Donald Trump Jr., tweeted a statement following his 5+ hour meeting with the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“I met with the Senate Judiciary Committee today. I am thankful for their professionalism and courtesy,” tweeted Trump Jr.
I met with the Senate Judiciary Committee today. I am thankful for their professionalism and courtesy. http://pic.twitter.com/zIYkNOd4Zn
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 7, 2017
According to the New York Times, Trump Jr. took the ‘Russia meeting’ to gauge Hillary Clinton’s ‘fitness’ for office.
New York Times reports:
A copy of Mr. Trump’s statement was obtained by The New York Times.
The acknowledgment by the president’s eldest son that he intended to seek legal counsel after the meeting suggests that he knew, or at least suspected, that accepting potentially damaging information about a rival campaign from a foreign country raised thorny legal issues.
“To the extent they had information concerning the fitness, character or qualifications of a presidential candidate, I believed that I should at least hear them out,” he said. “Depending on what, if any, information they had, I could then consult with counsel to make an informed decision as to whether to give it further consideration.”
Despite Donald Trump Jr.’s motivation “the Wall Street Journal is reporting that newly disclosed emails between Veselnitskaya and Azerbaijani-Russian billionaire Aras Agalarov largely support Veselnitskaya’s account that the meeting focused on her yearslong lobbying effort to kill the Magnitsky Act,” reports Zerohedge.
Zerohedge reports:
In a stunning revelation that goes a long way toward alleviating the cloud of suspicion that has hovered over Donald Trump Jr. since details about a meeting organized by Trump Jr. involving Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort along with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and her entourage were first publicized in July, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that newly disclosed emails between Veselnitskaya and Azerbaijani-Russian billionaire Aras Agalarov largely support Veselnitskaya’s account that the meeting focused on her yearslong lobbying effort to kill the Magnitsky Act.
The emails, which were provided to WSJ by Scott Balber, a lawyer for Agalarov, cover a period of time leading up to the June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower. They begin in October 2015, when Veselnitskaya first shared information about her anti-Magnitsky efforts with Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika.
Veselnitskaya also shared allegations about a US investment firm called Ziff Brothers possibly dodging taxes in Russia. The firm later donated to Democrats.
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