Veselnitskaya came to the attention of US intelligence before meeting Trump’s son

Photo: twitter / Donald Trump Jr. @DonaldJTrumpJr

In the United States, a scandal is developing around a meeting between President Donald Trump’s son and a Russian lawyer, who allegedly promised to provide compromising information on Hillary Clinton, his father’s main rival in the presidential race, reports Current Time.

On Tuesday, July 11, Donald Trump Jr. published his correspondence with British PR specialist Rob Goldstone. During the 2016 election campaign, he offered Trump Jr. “information from a prosecutor from Russia.”

According to Goldstone, this information is "an element of the Russian government's support for Trump" and it "would be beneficial for the father" to use against Hillary Clinton.

Here's the page 4 (which did not post due to space constraints). pic.twitter.com/z1Xi4nr2gq

- Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 11, 2017

Trump Jr. Meets with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya 9 June 2016, at the height of the presidential race. He himself called this meeting useless. Representatives of the Democratic Party criticized this act, seeing in it a willingness to accept help from the Russian government to win the election.

Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya even before meeting with the son of President Trump attracted the attention of American officials. She was suspected of lobbying against the US legal system so hated by the Kremlin. In addition, in the United States were dissatisfied with the large bill that the hotel issued for the lawyer's stay - it was paid by the American state.

Photo: Natalia Veselnitskaya.
@ kamerton_info / twitter

Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr. and President-in-law Jared Kushner in June 2016. A few months before, she told the US federal court that she was denied a US visa. Subsequently, she was allowed in a special order to enter because she defended a Russian businessman in a money laundering case, which aroused the heightened interest of official Moscow.

Veselnitskaya played an important role in public relations pressure on American justice, which dealt with the affairs of Russians accused of abuses.

Last weekend, she drew attention in connection with the publication in The New York Times, where it was said about the meeting of the lawyer with the son of President Trump and representatives of his campaign headquarters.

From the description of that meeting, Trump Junior, we can conclude that Veselnitskaya promised incriminating materials on the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. American intelligence agencies had previously stated that Clinton had become the target of hacker attacks and a propaganda campaign on the part of Russia with the aim of harming its election race.

Photo: video frame

The meeting was reported in the background of an investigation by the Congress and the FBI of contacts between Trump’s staff members and Russian officials. The Trump administration denies any allegations of illicit connections, but the negative news background has not yet been dispelled.

Veselnitskaya previously represented the interests of companies with Russian capital, and was also associated with Russian officials, but there is no public information about its close cooperation with the Russian leadership. Nevertheless, in the Moscow Region, the reputation of a person capable of influencing decision-making in commercial disputes has been fixed behind it.

She was accused of building her career on corrupt deals and using her contacts in government and business circles, but she calls them false.

Veselnitskaya took part in international projects, including in the United States: in 2012, she tried to achieve the repeal of the Magnitsky Law, which aroused suspicion among the American administration.

Interested observer

The Magnitsky Act is named after Russian auditor Sergei Magnitsky, who died in custody in 2009. It was reported that the death was preceded by beatings and medical negligence. According to Magnitsky's supporters, this was retaliation by tax officials and police for exposing their $230 million tax scam.

Lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who has uncovered embezzlement from the Russian budget for the total amount of 5,4 billion rubles (230 million dollars), died at the age of 37 in a Moscow prison. Photo: polit.ru

Under the Magnitsky Act, about 50 Russian officials and others suspected of crimes were denied US visas and were subject to financial sanctions. The law outraged Moscow, and in response, Russia banned US citizens from adopting Russian children.

Veselnitskaya represented the interests of Russian businessman Denis Katsyv, the son of one of the leaders of the Russian Railways state corporation. Accusations were brought against Katsyv's Prevezon holding of money laundering resulting from tax fraud uncovered by Magnitsky.

In December 2015, Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika said about the Prevezon case: “We are watching this process with interest.”

However, when it became known about Veselnitskaya’s meeting with Trump’s son, President Putin’s press secretary said that he did not know her. “We don't know who it is. And, of course, we cannot monitor the meetings of all Russian lawyers both within the country and abroad,” Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

One of the key moments of the Prevezon case was the defense’s attempt to refute the connection between Magnitsky’s death and the $230 million tax scam. Putin stated that this was a tragedy, but there was no criminal background to it.

Veselnitskaya often gave interviews in which she accused the investor William Browder, for whom Magnitsky worked, for falsifying data about the death of the latter. In addition, she was engaged in the promotion of an ambiguous film exposing Browder, which was shown in Washington.

Less than three months after Trump's inauguration, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley from Iowa called on the US Department of Justice to further investigate Veselnitskaya's ties to the lobbying campaign against the Magnitsky Act, which violates US law.

The New York Times quotes the former intelligence officer that Veselnitskaya and her entourage at one time attracted the attention of the FBI.

Luxury hotel, expensive food, special entry permit

During the Prevezon trial, Veselnitskaya came into conflict with the American prosecutor's office.

In November 2015, Prosecutor Prit Bharara handed a letter to the judge, stating that Veselnitskaya, Katsyv and other people were involved in receiving more than $ 50 thousand from the US government during their 4-day stay in New York to testify.

These costs include expensive meals and drinks, as well as 2-day stay in Plaza Hotel “in a room at $995 per night for Natalya Veselnitskaya, who did not testify and was not even present at the hearings,” Bharara wrote.

Photo: theplazany.com

“Ms Veselnitskaya stayed at a less expensive hotel during the hearings, but moved to Plaza after they ended and only after the court stated that the government would pay the defense costs,” Bharara added.

Two months earlier, Veselnitskaya told the Manhattan federal court in the Prevezon case that she had previously been denied a US visa, but was later granted entry under a special procedure to allow a lawyer to represent Katsyv.

It is not yet entirely clear what visa Veselnitskaya was on in the United States during the meeting with Trump’s son. There is evidence that the judge in the Prevezon case asked at least once to extend her permission to remain in the United States.

In May, Prevezon agreed to a settlement the day before the trial was set to begin. The company agreed to pay the US government $6 million without pleading guilty. Veselnitskaya called this her victory.

Cheated expectations?

Donald Trump Jr. told The New York Timesthat a meeting with Veselnitskaya was organized by his acquaintance, who said that she may have information that could help his father’s campaign headquarters in the fight against Hillary Clinton, however, Trump Jr. did not know her name before the meeting.

During the meeting, according to Trump Jr., Veselnitskaya said she had “information that individuals associated with Russia are funding the Democratic National Committee and supporting Mrs. Clinton,” but did not provide “any details or evidence.”

“Then she changed the subject and suggested discussing American adoption of Russian children and the Magnitsky Act,” Trump Jr. said, adding that he then ended the meeting realizing that her “words about potentially useful information were just an excuse for the meeting.”

On July 10, a representative of Veselnitskaya told RFE / RL that at the moment she was not ready to answer the questions, and asked to ask them in writing.

The response to an e-mail from a journalist for RFE / RL — which included asking about a meeting with Trump Jr. and who organized the meeting — has not yet arrived.

8 July Veselnitskaya said The New York Times, that she did not discuss the presidential election with Trump Jr., “never acted on behalf of the Russian government” and “never discussed these issues with representatives of the Russian authorities.”

Read also on ForumDaily:

Trump's reaction to the son's statement: admired and pleased

What is the wealth of Kushner

The rules of life Ivanka Trump: 25 truths of America's first daughter

Interesting facts about a pair of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.