When Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya met with part of then-candidate Donald Trump‘s campaign team, she brought with her another guest, NBC News reported.
A Russian-born American lobbyist was also at the June 2016 meeting that Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort attended after the younger Trump was offered compromising material on then-candidate Hillary Clinton, according to NBC. The lobbyist, who NBC News declined to name, is a former Soviet counter intelligence officer who some U.S. officials suspect of having current ties to Russian intelligence, the report said.
He holds dual citizenship, having emigrated to the U.S., and denies current ties to any Russian intelligence agencies, according to NBC. Veselnitskaya told NBC News she had at least one other guest with her in the meeting, but declined to say who he was.
The revelation adds a new layer to the meeting, which has drawn the attention of congressional and possibly federal investigators. Congressional committees and a special counsel appointed by the Justice Department are looking into Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign coordinated with the Kremlin.
Trump Jr.’s lawyer, Alan Futerfas, told NBC News that he spoke to the individual described in the report, who said he was not working for the Russian government. Futerfas added that the younger Trump knew nothing about the man’s background, and the man was “described as a friend of Emin [Agalarov]’s and maybe as a friend” of Veselnitskaya’s.
Music publicist Rob Goldstone is the agent for Agalarov, a prominent Russian musician who has ties to the Trumps along with his billionaire developer father, Aras. In emails released this week by the younger Trump, Goldstone said the Agalarovs were involved in setting up Trump Jr.’s meeting with Veselnitskaya.
On Fox News’ Hannity this week, before NBC News’ Friday report, Trump Jr. was asked, “as far as you know, as far as this incident is concerned, this is all of it?”
“This is everything. This is everything,” Trump Jr. responded.
The emails showed that Trump Jr. accepted the meeting after he was offered “high level and sensitive information” that would “incriminate” Clinton as part of “Russia and its government’s support” for his father’s campaign. In messages from Goldstone to Trump Jr., Veselnitskaya was characterized as a “Russian government attorney,” though she has denied connections to the Kremlin.
“If it’s what you say I love it,” Trump Jr. said in response to the offer, according to the email exchange.
President Trump has defended his son’s conduct, saying Thursday that “most people would have taken that meeting.” However, accepting campaign opposition research from a foreign government is not a common practice.
The president’s legal team has said he was not aware of and did not attend the meeting.
Representatives of Kushner and Manafort both declined to comment, NBC News reported.
The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request to comment.