Russian Lawyer Brought Ex-Soviet Counter Intelligence Officer to Trump Team Meeting

[demmiblue]

Source: NBC

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

NBC News is not naming the lobbyist, who denies any current ties to Russian spy agencies. He accompanied the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, to the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower attended by Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort.

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

Veselnitskaya acknowledged to NBC News that she was accompanied by at least one other man, though she declined to identify him.

Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/russian-lawyer-brought-ex-soviet-counter-intelligence-officer-trump-team-n782851

---

Boom!

Link to tweet

[brooklynite]

1. C'mon-just because it was a former Soviet spy is no reason to jump to conclusions...

[L. Coyote]

19. Conclusions are the enemy of ignorance of collusion.

Make that a "would-be former spy" since we are not leaping to conclusions

[KewlKat]

2. or could you mean no reason to jump to collusions?

[padah513]

3. Perfect

[volstork]

7. Excellent!

[NCjack]

11. Yup. All spies are upright decent people, sworn and dedicated to telling the truth. nt

[Sancho]

4. Basically...there were recordings...and the Russians have them!

No compromising, collusion, or cofefe here!!!

[onlyadream]

5. Is this conjecture? Nt

[Sancho]

6. We may never know...what are the chances that no one recorded this meeting?

We know tRump Jr is an idiot, and it's possible that he was meeting with the most incompetent Russian operatives in the western hemisphere.

Hell, they recorded tRump in the oval office!! They recorded tRump with call girls? I can't imagine any other scenario in a preplanned meeting.

[onlyadream]

23. If they, the Russians, were smart

They would have recorded it, so later it could be used (blackmail).

[keithbvadu2]

36. Putin to the Donald: You better hope that there aren't tapes or videos.

Putin to the Donald: You better hope that there aren't tapes or videos.
.

[riversedge]

17. Lets not get ahead of ourselves, least

we start sounding like Trump and his made up tapes on Obama. Just saying. But would love it if there were as Comey said

[KRISITNA]

8. So, the Trump Campaign meets with Russian Intelligence....

In the Trump tower, at a meeting set up with the promise of dirt on Clinton, and there is this guy out there that was trying to get to the 30k Clinton emails to pass on to Flynn from the Russians and he commits suicide but it doesn't mean a thing? The truth is buried in lies, lies, lies and more lies. The truth is dead!

[HAB911]

9. DRIP DRIP DRIP

[SJMULE]

10. NBC is reporting it

Last edited Fri Jul 14, 2017, 09:04 AM - Edit history (1)

the identity and connections of said individual is what I believe is the new revelation. There was always supposition to being a 5th individual *** now a 6th unnamed individual

[demmiblue]

12. And another person per MSNBC.

[standingtall]

13. You cannot make this shit up

I bet if I could go back 20 years ago and predict all this stuff to happen they would put me in a straight Jacket.

A former Soviet Spy that is still citizen of Russia. So lets not let them bullshit us with the well he's an American now defense.

[riversedge]

14. Donald's lawyer spoke with this unnamed man.....he is a U.S. citizen................

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/russian-lawyer-brought-ex-soviet-counter-intelligence-officer-trump-team-n782851





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

NBC News is not naming the lobbyist, who denies any current ties to Russian spy agencies. He accompanied the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, to the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower attended by Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort.
.........................

Veselnitskaya acknowledged to NBC News that she was accompanied by at least one other man, though she declined to identify him.



Contacted by NBC News, representatives for Kushner and Manafort declined to comment.

Alan Futerfas, the attorney retained by Donald Trump Jr., confirmed he has spoken to the individual.

"It’s very simple,” Futerfas said. "The person was described as a friend of Emin [Agalarov]’s and maybe as a friend of Natalia [Veselnitskaya]’s.”

Agalarov is a pop star and a client of Rob Goldstone, a music publicist who arranged the meeting with Trump Jr. Agalarov appeared in a music video with Trump when the Miss Universe pageant, which Trump owned at the time, was held in Moscow in 2013.

Futerfas said he has talked with that individual who came to the meeting with Veselnitskaya. "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.”

[demmiblue]

16. I believe that the lawyer was mistaken and was referring to the now sixth person (per MSNBC).

[Ligyron]

15. Every time the Trump people make up a new lie to account for this

some news organization drops another piece of info that proves the prior explanation a lie.

[riversedge]

18. msnbc saying they have reached out to trump jr. kushner, manifort, and no response yet.

Silent on the homefront! BTW, Daddy trump is on his way back from France right now.

[neohippie]

20. The connections in this meeting are telling

The fact that the lead lawyer for the Russian money laundering case in New York was in this meeting with other Russians with ties to spying should be on focus here.

This was a trial that was investigated by Preet Bharara and was all set to go to trial and that public trial would have revealed how the Russian mafia used real estate in New York to wash their money would have been very embarrassing not only to Putin and Russia as it would show KGB ties to the mafia but potentially could show how the Russians may have dumped funds into Trump and Kushner's real estate.

Some time after this Trump who had promised Preet Bharara that he would allow him to stay in his job after the election, specifically to wrap up his work on this case that had lasted for more than three years he changes his mind. He decided to fire him instead.

Then the lead witness in Russia was thrown out of a four story window.

Then mysteriously Trump's Justice department decides instead to instead of pursuing this case into the public courts, to settle it with the Russians getting a much more favorable outcome.

This is what the press and Mueller need to focus their investigations on when it comes to what may have really happened in this meeting that Trump insists nothing came out of now.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

21. Excellent summary of the events and some of the connections. . . nt

[freddyvh]

22. can't wait to see the spin on this

[ret5hd]

24. Here ya go:

[HopeAgain]

25. Former adversarial spies can become American Citizens?

Did not know that...

[SHRED]

26. How does that make sense?

I'm scratching my head on how he got citizenship.

[defacto7]

27. Offered an apology?

[SHRED]

28. It is stated he has "dual" citizenship

Strange how that would granted.

[defacto7]

30. It doesnt make sense on many levels.

It makes about as much sense as apologizing for being a foregn intel agent to get a us passport notwithstanding it's not allowed. I do know people with dual citizenship though, and the government just looks the other way. But a former agent? I wonder if the info is correct or if this is another smoke screen.

[TomCADem]

29. Trump - Most Everyone Would Meet With a Foreign Spy

Any day now, this will be the GOP talking point.

[Bayard]

31. I think we've passed the point of collusion

These people should be tried for treason.

[JusticeForAll]

32. There sure are lots of people involved with this Russian baby adoption stuff

[OldRedneck]

33. One important correction . . .

There is no such thing as an "ex-Soviet counterintell officer." Once a KGB spook, always a KGB spook. He may not be on the KGB full-time payroll, but he works for them nonetheless. He is not an independent actor.

[L. Coyote]

34. "One of the great families in Russia is our partner" Trump said ...

Link to tweet

[keithbvadu2]

35. Is there really such a thing as an "ex" (counter) intelligence person?

Is there really such a thing as an "ex" (counter) intelligence person?

After all, they would not mislead, would they?

[Thinkingabout]

37. I have never been closely involved in political campaigns but I know the reputation of

Russia and Putin and know they have used opportunities to use others to get the information they want and cause turmoil. I remember drills in school of running to the hallways and covering our heads.