Russian-linked lobbyist admits to meeting with Trump Jr., denies spy ties

President’s son asked lawyer for evidence of illicit money flowing to DNC, man says

WASHINGTON— A Russian-American lobbyist says he attended a June 2016 meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump’s son, marking another shift in the account of a discussion that was billed as part of a Russian government effort to help the Republican’s White House campaign.

Rinat Akhmetshin confirmed his participation to The Associated Press on Friday. Akhmetshin has been reported to have ties to Russian intelligence agencies, though he denies those links.

The meeting has heightened questions about whether Trump’s campaign co-ordinated with the Russian government during the election, which is the focus of federal and congressional investigations.

In emails posted by Donald Trump Jr. earlier this week, an associate who arranged the meeting said a Russian lawyer wanted to pass on negative information about Democrat Hillary Clinton and stated that the discussion was part of a Russian government effort to help the GOP candidate.

While Trump Jr. has confirmed that Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya was in the meeting, he did not disclose Akhmetshin’s presence. The president’s son has tried to discount the meeting, saying that he did not receive the information he was promised.

Akhmetshin said Trump Jr. asked the attorney for evidence of illicit money flowing to the Democratic National Committee, but Veselnitskaya said she didn’t have that information. She said the Trump campaign would need to research it more and, after that, Trump Jr. lost interest, according to Akhmetshin.

“They couldn’t wait for the meeting to end,” Akhmetshin said.

Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and current White House senior adviser, and then-campaign chairperson Paul Manafort also attended.

Asked about Akhmetshin’s participation in the meeting, Manafort spokesperson Jason Maloni declined to comment. A spokesperson for Kushner did not respond to inquiries, nor did Trump Jr.’s attorney.

Akhmetshin said the attorney brought with her a plastic folder with printed-out documents. He said he was unaware of the documents’ content or whether they were provided by the Russian government, and it was unclear whether she left the materials with the Trump associates.

“I never thought this would be such a big deal to be honest,” Akhmetshin told The Associated Press.

The Russian government has denied any involvement in or knowledge of the June 2016 meeting.