Former Soviet counterintelligence officer accompanied Kremlin-linked lawyer to Trump Jr. meeting

Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya did not meet Donald Trump Jr. alone.
(Image credit: YURY MARTYANOV/AFP/Getty Images)

Kremlin-linked lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who controversially met with Donald Trump Jr. in June 2016, was accompanied to the meeting by a previously unreported man described as being "a former Soviet counterintelligence officer suspected by some U.S. officials of having ongoing ties to Russian intelligence," NBC News reports. NBC declined to give the man's name, saying only that the individual is a "Russian-American lobbyist" and that he denies "current ties to Russian spy agencies."

Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, were also present at the meeting. The New York Times first reported the meeting last weekend and emails, released by Trump Jr. and the Times on Tuesday, revealed Trump Jr. agreed to the meeting after learning he would receive information that would "incriminate" Hillary Clinton and was "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."

Watch the scoop below. Jeva Lange

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Jeva Lange

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.