Several Russians connected to the Kremlin attended events in Washington, D.C., on Inauguration Day last year, drawing the FBI’s attention, The Washington Post reported Saturday.
Counterintelligence officials with the FBI reportedly expressed concerns about some of the half-dozen Russians, given the ongoing investigation into possible collusion between President Trump’s campaign and Moscow.
According to the Post, the event attendees included Viktor Vekselberg, a businessman who is friendly with Russian President Vladimir Putin; Boris Titov, a politician running for president of Russia and Natalia Veselnitskaya, a lawyer who attended a June 2016 meeting with Donald Trump Jr. at Trump Tower.
{mosads}Veselnitskaya, who Trump Jr. said claimed to have damaging information on Hillary Clinton, attended a party hosted by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), the newspaper reported.
Titov, meanwhile, told the Post that he attended several receptions, including a ball where the president danced.
Special counsel Robert Mueller is leading a criminal investigation into Russia’s election meddling and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. So far, his probe has led to two indictments and two guilty pleas.
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Manafort’s former associate, Richard Gates, were indicted on money laundering and tax fraud charges.
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.
Trump has repeatedly claimed there was no collusion, calling Mueller’s investigation a “witch hunt.”
Multiple congressional committees are conducting separate investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election.