Russian lawyer lived it up – on U.S.’s dime
THE RUSSIAN lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. during his father’s campaign has a taste for the finer things in life — as long as the U.S. government is footing the bill.
Starting in late 2015, Natalia Veselnitskaya was one of the attorneys repping Russian real estate conglomerate Prevezon in a money laundering case brought by then-Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
She was one of three people the company brought to the city to help with depositions in the case — and she went to town after the judge said the feds should pay her bills for the trip.
That included upgrading her accommodations to a $995 a night room at the Plaza Hotel, court papers say.
“Ms. Veselnitskaya appears to have stayed at a less expensive hotel during the depositions, but moved to the Plaza after the depositions concluded, and only after the Court orally stated that the Government would be responsible for reimbursing Defendants’ expenses,” prosecutors griped in papers filed in Manhattan federal court.
At the swanky former Trump property, Veselnitskaya racked up big bills for “multiple expensive meals.”
Among them was a sumptuous $793 feast for five people — “although, again, only three witnesses were deposed.” The extravagant repast included “eighteen dishes, eight grappas, and two expensive bottles of wine.”
Prosecutors also pointed out the lawyer “was not deposed and did not even attend the depositions in person” and used the rooms “the weekend after the depositions had concluded.”
In all, Bharara’s office reimbursed Prevezon $50,365 for bringing three people from Russia to New York City from Oct. 13 to Oct.16, 2015.
The hefty sum included “airfare, hotels, meals, and interpreter services,” according to a Nov. 25, 2015 letter filed by prosecutors.
Prosecutors griped Veselnitskaya took advantage of the gratis trip. The feds settled with Prevezon for just $6 million in May — only two days before the trial for alleged money laundering in a $230 million tax fraud. Veselnitskaya told Russian media at the time the amount was so small it “seemed almost an apology from the government.” House Dems are now asking why the Trump Justice Department agreed to suddenly settle the major case for so little. House Judiciary ranking member John Conyers and other Democrats penned a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions asking if Veselnitskaya participated in Prevezon settlement talks. Prevezon’s lawyers declined comment. Veselnitskaya’s name surfaced last week after a New York Times story revealed Donald Trump Jr. met with her in June 2016.
The confab took place after the Trump scion was sent an email telling him a “Russian government attorney” had dirt on Hillary Clinton.
The message said the information was coming courtesy of “Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.”
Trump Jr. said he released emails about the meeting to be transparent. He tweeted them out after he found out the Times had obtained the missives. On Friday, a Russian lobbyist with alleged ties to Kremlin intelligence said he attended the meeting as well.
Bharara (photo), who brought the Prevezon case in 2013, was unexpectedly fired by President Trump in March.
Veselnitskaya could not immediately be reached.