The Questionable Motives of Russian Lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya

By Rachel Alexander Published on August 2, 2018

 Questions are swirling about the true identify and real motives of the lawyer from Russia who met with Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner in July 2016. Was she illegally trying to influence the U.S. presidential election on behalf of the Russian government? Was she trying to convince the campaign to eliminate sanctions against Russia if Trump was elected? Her answers are evasive.  

Natalia Veselnitskaya led Trump Jr. to believe she had damaging information on Hillary Clinton. But she clearly was there to see about overturning U.S. sanctions on Russian officials. She claimed she was acting as a private attorney. But she has ties to the Kremlin.

Rob Goldstone, a publicist and former tabloid journalist, set up the meeting. In an email exchange with Trump Jr., he referred to Veselnitskaya as a “Russian government attorney.” Goldstone said she had “very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.”

Veselnitskaya initially tried to downplay her ties to Russian officials.

He said she had information showing tax and financial fraud accusations against two Democratic Party donors tied to a Kremlin opponent, William F. Browder. Two billionaire brothers who ran Ziff Brothers Investments purchased shares in Browder’s business and avoided paying tens of thousands of dollars to Russia in taxes. They then donated to Democrats including Hillary Clinton. Veselnitskaya believed these contributions were tainted by “stolen” money.

The Russian lawyer initially tried to downplay her ties to Russian officials. She denied representing the Kremlin in the meeting. She told Congress that she acts “independently of any government bodies.”

The Russian Connection

But she has plenty of ties to the Kremlin. She served as a ghostwriter for top Russian government lawyers. She received assistance from senior Interior Ministry personnel regarding a key client. Her office prepared a draft version of Russian Deputy General Prosecutor Mikhail Alexandrov’s affidavit to Cypriot authorities. It was part of an effort to obtain financial information on the former law firm from a frequent Russian critic, Bill Browder. She admitted she was in contact with Alexandrov.

Donald Trump Jr. said the meeting was not very fruitful. She gave him very little information.

She represented a Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin. Denis Katsyv was accused of laundering money and tax fraud. The lawyer Sergei Magnitsky discovered it. He was a longtime critic of the Kremlin. He ended up dying in prison. The U.S. believed the Kremlin was complicit in his death and imposed sanctions on Russian officials. Furious, the Kremlin banned U.S. adoptions of Russian children.

The Katsyvs reportedly hired Fusion GPS, the American firm that commissioned the “Steele dossier.” The uncorroberated dossier attempted to link Trump to collusion with Russia, and was used by the FBI to justify getting FISA warrants against Trump campaign workers. It was gathered by Christopher Steele, the former MI6 Moscow bureau chief.

Veselnitskaya met with Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson directly before and directly after her meeting with Trump.

Mark Corallo, a spokesperson for Trump’s legal counsel, said he believes the meeting was a setup.

Some think Veselnitskaya is a Russian spy. At a minimum, she clearly had influence within the Russian government.

The Trump’s Denials

Donald Trump Jr. testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last September about the meeting. He said it was not fruitful. She gave him very little information.

The president denied knowing about the meeting in advance. But sources say his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, is prepared to testify that he did know in advance.

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Does all this matter? Even if Veselnitskaya officially represented the Kremlin when she met with Trump Jr. and others, such collusion is not a crime. Merely providing damaging information about Hillary Clinton’s campaign is not a crime. In order to be a crime, the Trump campaign would need to coordinate with the Russians to commit a crime such as funneling Russian money into the election. 

However, Veselnitskaya should be concerned about being charged with obstruction of justice and making false statements. She changed her story to acknowledge she had ties to the Russian government after documents came out revealing she had. 

She may not be guilty of an actual crime. But she could find herself convicted of lying to investigators. 

 

Follow Rachel on Twitter at Rach_IC

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