Lawyer who met with Trump Jr. denies working for Russian government


Kremlin-linked lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who met with Donald Trump Jr. in June 2016 reportedly to give him compromising information about Hillary Clinton, denied Tuesday any relation to the Russian government. Veselnitskaya also denied having the "Clinton info they wanted," telling Today that "it's quite possible that maybe they were looking for such information. They wanted it so badly."
The Kremlin has also rejected claims that it sent an operative to discuss any such information with Trump.
The New York Times writes that "Ms. Veselnitskaya's clients include [Russian] state-owned businesses and a senior government official's son, whose company was under investigation in the United States at the time of the meeting. Her activities and associations had previously drawn the attention of the FBI, according to a former senior law enforcement official."
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Veselnitskaya told the Times she "never acted on behalf of the Russian government" and "never discussed any of these matters with any representatives of the Russian government."
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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