Meet the people who were at Trump Jr.’s Russia meeting
The White House has spent the last week on defense after it was revealed Donald Trump Jr. met with a Russian lawyer ahead of the 2016 election to get campaign dirt on rival Hillary Clinton.
Trump and his administration have justified the meeting as opposition research typical of any politician during a campaign.
Trump Jr. said earlier this week that the meeting ultimately “went nowhere and it was apparent that [damaging information on Clinton] wasn’t what the meeting was actually about.”
{mosads}Democrats have slammed the meeting regardless of Trump Jr.’s statement, calling it a smoking gun that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election.
Continuing revelations about the meeting have only added to the speculation, despite the White House’s repeated denial that the Trump campaign coordinated with Moscow.
The meeting revealed a broader lobbying effort tied to several Moscow figures, but questions remain over who exactly was present for the now-infamous meeting.
As of Saturday, reports place at least eight people in the room. Here’s who they are and what we know about them so far:
Donald Trump Jr.
The New York Times first reported the president’s son arranged to have a meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. Trump originally told the publication the meeting was “a short introductory meeting” with the lawyer to discuss adoption policy.
However, The Times also reported Trump Jr. was promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton prior to the meeting.
On Tuesday, Trump Jr. released a chain of emails detailing his conversations with British publicist Rob Goldstone, who acted as an intermediary setting up the meeting. The emails, which were released on Twitter, confirmed Trump Jr. was promised damaging information on Clinton.
Jared Kushner
According to both Veselnitskaya and Trump Jr., Kushner was only briefly at the meeting.
Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, did not disclose the meeting on an application for his security clearance when joining the administration as a senior adviser. Kushner is the only known attendee of the meeting to now have a White House security clearance.
His representatives have called the initial omission an unintentional oversight, and his lawyer Jamie Gorelick — who has since stepped away from representing Kushner — issued a statement to The Hill confirming his attendance.
“As we have previously stated, Mr. Kushner’s SF-86 was prematurely submitted and, among other errors, did not list any contacts with foreign government officials. The next day, Mr. Kushner submitted supplemental information stating that he had had ‘numerous contacts with foreign officials’ about which he would be happy to provide additional information,” Gorelick said.
“He has since submitted this information, including that during the campaign and transition, he had over 100 calls or meetings with representatives of more than 20 countries, most of which were during transition,” she added.
Paul Manafort
Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who later briefly served as campaign manager before resigning from the Trump campaign, was also present for the meeting and was included in emails released by Trump Jr.
The then-campaign chairman, who has reported ties to pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine, recently disclosed the meeting and Trump’s Jr.’s role in organizing it.
Natalia Veselnitskaya
Veselnitskaya is the Russian lawyer Trump Jr.’s son arranged to meet with at Trump Tower. She is known for working against the Magnitsky Act, an American law that blacklists Russians suspected of violating human rights. The law is reviled by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who responded to it by implementing a ban on U.S. adoptions of Russian children.
Veselnitskaya told NBC News she “never had damaging or sensitive information on Hillary Clinton,” and that it was never her intention to obtain that information.
The Hill reported Veselnitskaya was let into U.S. by former President Obama’s Justice Department “under extraordinary circumstances” before she took part in a lobbying campaign regarding adoption and the Magnitsky Act.
It was also reported that she was in touch with a Russian prosecutor as part of her fight against a U.S. sanctions law.
Rinat Akhmetshin
Akhmetshin is a former member of the Russian military intelligence services known as GRU. He is now a U.S. citizen and works as a lobbyist, and according to CNN is registered with Veselnitskaya’s organization.
He confirmed to The Associated Press he was present for the meeting, but called reports about his ties to Russian intelligence a “smear campaign” aimed at him.
Rob Goldstone
Goldstone is a British publicist who acted as an intermediary in arranging the meeting between Trump Jr. and Veselnitskaya.
The publicist represents Russian pop star Emin Agalarov, the son of Aras Agalarov, who is a Russian oligarch. Goldstone told CNN Agalarov asked him to set up the meeting.
In his emails, Goldstone told Trump Jr. “a Russian government attorney” could provide damaging information about Clinton in order to aid the Trump campaign. He also said he wouldn’t sit in on the full meeting but would be present for introductions.
Anatoli Samachornov
According to Akhmetshin, Anatoli Samachornov acted as a translator for Veselnitskaya.
The translator did not tell reporters whether he was at the meeting but did say he was working with Veselnitskaya on matters regarding adoptions and the Magnitsky Act during the time of the meeting.
Akhmetshin identified Samachornov to The New York Times.
Unidentified representative of Emin and Aras Agalarov
CNN on Friday reported that the eighth person present in the meeting was a representative for Russian pop star Emin Agalarov and his father, Aras.
Emin Agalarov is a businessman and friend of Trump’s. Trump appeared in the pop star’s music video in 2013, along with Miss Universe contestants.
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