Russian attendee at Trump Tower meeting sues Putin critic Browder
By JOSH GERSTEIN 07/12/2018 09:31 PM EDT
A Russian-American lobbyist who attended the infamous meeting with Trump campaign officials at Trump Tower in June 2016 has filed a libel lawsuit against one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critics.
Rinat Akhmetshin filed the civil case Thursday against investor Bill Browder in federal court in Washington, alleging that Browder repeatedly defamed him by labeling him as a Russian intelligence operative.
The lawsuit cites a series of statements Browder made last July on Twitter and in interviews with news outlets, calling Akhmetshin a "Russian intelligence asset" and "a Russian GRU officer." The GRU is Russia's main military intelligence agency focused overseas.
Most of the disputed statements relate to allegations by Browder that when Akhmetshin and others met the Trump officials in 2016, the lobbyist and businessman was acting on behalf of Putin in some capacity.
"In my opinion, you had a member of Putins secret police directly meeting with the son of the future next president of the United States asking to change U.S. sanctions policy crucial to Putin," Browder told Business Insider, in one example noted in the suit.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/12/trump-tower-meeting-russia-akhmetshin-putin-browder-lawsuit-717843