Former "Russian Counterintelligence Officer" Attended Trump Junior's Trump Tower Meeting

Donald Trump Jr. and Donald Trump Sr.

NBC News is reporting that there was yet another person - yes, Russian - at June 9, 2016, meeting at Trump Tower where Donald Trump Jr. expected to receive dirt on Hillary Clinton from a "Russsian government attorney."

From NBC News:

The Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. and others on the Trump team after a promise of compromising material on Hillary Clinton was accompanied by a Russian-American lobbyist — a former Soviet counterintelligence officer who is suspected by some U.S. officials of having ongoing ties to Russian intelligence, NBC News has learned.

The lobbyist, who denies any current ties to Russian spy agencies, accompanied the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, to the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower attended by Donald Trump Jr.; Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law; and Paul Manafort, former chairman of the Trump campaign.

The Russian-born American lobbyist served in the Soviet military and emigrated to the U.S., where he holds dual citizenship.

The Associated Press identified the lobbyist as Rinat Akhmetshin, and said he acknowledged attending the meeting, though he said it was not substantive. “I never thought this would be such a big deal, to be honest,” he told the AP.

Alan Futerfas, the attorney retained by Donald Trump Jr., told NBC News two other people accompanied Veselnitskaya to the meeting — someone Futerfas described as a translator and someone he described as a "friend of Emin [Agalarov]’s and maybe as a friend of Natalia [Veselnitskaya]’s.”

Futerfas said he has talked with that individual. "He is a U.S. citizen. He told me specifically he was not working for the Russian government, and in fact laughed when I asked him that question.”

So, a full year of "Russian" whispers and accusations regarding a Trump campaign/Russia connection, and total denials from Team Trump the whole way.

"There was NO contact between anyone in the campaign and any Russians."

"There was NO contact - except those calls between Michael Flynn and the Russian ambassador."

"There was NO contact - except those calls, and Jeff Sessions' contact at that gala event last year.

"There was NO contact - except those calls, and Sessions' gala contact, oh - and that meeting about Russian adoption with Junior at Trump Tower."

"There was NO contact - except those calls, and Sessions' gala contact, and Junior's meeting with the "Russian government attorney," oh - and her friend she brought along who spoke Russian and it turns out used to be “a former Soviet military counterintelligence officer.”

No. This doesn't look sketchy at all.

By the way, this was Don Jr. on July 11th - "This is everything. This is everything."

REMINDER: Don Jr. on July 11

Q: As far as this incident is concerned, this is all of it?
DON JR.: "This is everything. This is everything." pic.twitter.com/1grv2UDWYY

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) July 14, 2017