Russian claims to have met up with Trump Jnr

Claim that son lost interest when information was not forthcoming

A Russian-American lobbyist has said he attended a meeting with Donald Trump’s son.

Rinat Akhmetshin confirmed his participation to the Associated Press yesterday.

The meeting in June last year has heightened questions about whether Mr Trump’s campaign coordinated with the Russian government during the election, 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 the discussion was part of a Russian government effort to help Mr Trump.

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

Mr Akhmetshin said Mr Trump Jr asked the lawyer for evidence of illicit money flowing to the Democratic National Committee but Ms Veselnitskaya said she did not have that information.

She said the Trump campaign would need to research it more and after that Mr Trump Jr lost interest, according to Mr Akhmetshin.

“They couldn’t wait for the meeting to end,” he added.

Mr Akhmetshin said the lawyer brought a plastic folder with printed documents. He said he was unaware of the content of the papers or whether they were provided by the Russian government and it was unclear whether she left the materials with the Trump associates.

Asked about Mr Akhmetshin and his possible participation in the meeting, Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian president Vladimir Putin, said: “We don’t know anything about this person.”

In reports this week, Mr Akhmetshin has been identified as a former Russian counter-intelligence officer, although he has denied it. He said he served in the Soviet army from 1986 to 1988 after he was drafted but was not trained in spying.

Meanwhile, House Democrats are renewing calls for a vote on an independent commission to investigate Russia’s election meddling and ties to the Trump administration.

We don’t know anything about this person. DMITRY PESKOV, SPOKESMAN FOR VLADIMIR PUTIN

Picture: AP. French President Emmanuel Macron, second right, and his wife Brigitte Macron, right, walk with US president Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump after the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs Elysees in Paris.