The eldest son of the President of the United States Donald trump Jr. admitted that in June 2016, he met in the trump tower with a Russian lawyer associated with the Kremlin. This meeting was the earliest confirmed contact members of the inner circle trump a citizen of Russia during the election campaign.
In his statement, which was published on Saturday evening, July 8, trump Jr. confirmed that he participated in “a short introductory meeting” at which his request was also attended by the President-in-law Jared Kushner (Jared Kushner) and the head of the electoral headquarters of the trump by Paul Manafort (Manafort Paul).
“We mainly discussed the adoption of Russian children that worked and was popular among American families many years ago, and then was terminated by the Russian government, but the meeting was not part of the campaign, and she didn’t have any continuation, — said trump Jr. in a statement. — At this meeting I was invited by a friend of mine, and I didn’t know in advance what I shall say.”
About the meeting on Saturday, July 8, reported the New York Times.
In his statement, the lawyer Kouchner noted that the President’s son-in earlier it was informed about the meeting when filling out forms for the admission to work with secret data. However, this is the message New York Times became the next item in the list private meetings between approximations trump and the Russians held during the period of the election campaign and after its end.
About the meeting between the Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya became known the next day after the first personal meeting of the President of trump with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which took place in Germany. During this meeting trump has raised the issue of the Russian intervention in elections in 2016, but the Russian leader has continued to deny the involvement of Moscow.
Name Veselnitskaya well known supporters of sanctions against Russia, in particular, the Magnitsky act, which forbids U.S. officials to contact the Russians, committed crimes against human rights. In response to the adoption of this law in 2012, Putin forbade U.S. families to adopt children from Russia.
The topic of adoptions is often used by opponents of the Magnitsky act, as reported by William Browder (William Browder), an American financier who in the past worked in Russia and later became a staunch supporter of the introduction of a package of anti-Russian sanctions, named in honor of his lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. After exposing large-scale corruption scheme was Magnitsky in a Russian prison, where he died under mysterious circumstances in 2009.
The Magnitsky act provides a list of Russians, including judges and other public officials who are prohibited to conduct business in the United States.
“I don’t think that during a meeting in trump tower, she raised some other subject, except the law of Magnitsky,” Browder said, adding that Veselnitskaya protect their customers from Russia, against whom the American government was charged in connection with the tax fraud that Magnitsky exposed. The case was closed in may.
Veselnitskaya also played an important role in the public campaign for repeal of the Magnitsky act, in which last year in Washington showed a documentary film.
Veselnitskaya not responded to our request for comment.
She told the New York Times that the meeting in trump tower discussing the Magnitsky act and the adoption of children. “No election-related questions at meeting was not discussed, she said in an interview with the New York Times. I never fulfilled the instructions of the Russian government and has never discussed these issues with representatives of the Russian government.”
Lawyer Manafort refused to comment on reports about the meeting in trump tower.
Lawyer Kouchner Jamie Gorelik (Jamie Gorelick) made a statement in which he stressed that Kouchner has previously reported about the meeting.
“As we’ve said before, SF-86, Mr. Kouchner was filed prematurely, and among other errors there was nothing said about contacts with officials of foreign governments. The next day, Mr. Kouchner has submitted additional information, which stated that he had “numerous contacts with foreign officials”, which he will gladly tell you, — said in a statement. — Mr. Kushner provided additional data, which include information about the short meeting with the citizen of Russia, at which he was present along with Donald trump Jr. As Mr. Kouchner has repeatedly said he is ready to work and detail everything he knows.”
