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'''Natalia Vladimirovna Veselnitskaya''' ({{lang-rus|Наталья Владимировна Весельницкая|p=nɐˈtalʲjə vʲɪsʲɪlʲˈnʲit͡skəjə}}) is a Russian lawyer who has been an outspoken advocate in the United States against the [[Magnitsky Act]]. Her prominent clients include Pyotr Katsyv, an official in the state-owned [[Russian Railways]], and his son Denis, whom she defended against a $230 million [[money laundering]] charge in New York.<ref>{{cite news|last1=[[Jason Motlagh]]|title=Fighting Putin Doesn’t Make You a Saint|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/126760/fighting-putin-doesnt-make-saint|accessdate=15 July 2017|work=[[The New Republic]]|date=31 December 2015}}</ref>
'''Natalia Vladimirovna Veselnitskaya''' ({{lang-rus|Наталья Владимировна Весельницкая|p=nɐˈtalʲjə vʲɪsʲɪlʲˈnʲit͡skəjə}}) is a Russian lawyer who has been an outspoken advocate in the United States against the [[Magnitsky Act]]. Her prominent clients include Pyotr Katsyv, an official in the state-owned [[Russian Railways]], and his son Denis, whom she defended against a $230 million [[money laundering]] charge in New York.<ref>{{cite news|last1=[[Jason Motlagh]]|title=Fighting Putin Doesn’t Make You a Saint|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/126760/fighting-putin-doesnt-make-saint|accessdate=15 July 2017|work=[[The New Republic]]|date=31 December 2015}}</ref>


Her [[Trump campaign-Russian meeting|June 2016 meeting]] with [[Donald Trump Jr.]], [[Jared Kushner]], and [[Paul Manafort]] in [[Trump Tower]] has attracted attention related to [[Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections]].<ref name="NYT8July2017">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/08/us/politics/trump-russia-kushner-manafort.html |title=Trump Team Met With Lawyer Linked to Kremlin During Campaign|first1=Jo |last1=Becker |first2=Matt |last2=Apuzzo |first3=Adam |last3=Goldman |date=July 8, 2017 |access-date=July 8, 2017|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Hofmann|first1=James|title=The Daily 202: Email to Donald Trump Jr. could be a smoking gun, as Russia connections deepen|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2017/07/11/daily-202-email-to-donald-trump-jr-could-be-a-smoking-gun-as-russia-connections-deepen/5963e8eee9b69b7071abcb06/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=staff|title=Donald Trump Jr met Russian lawyer after promise of information on Hillary Clinton|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/09/donald-trump-jr-russia-hillary-clinton}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Simmons|first1=Kier|title=Russian Lawyer Who Met With Trump Jr.: I Didn’t Have Clinton Info They Wanted|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russian-lawyer-who-met-trump-jr-i-didn-t-have-n781631?cid=eml_nbn_20170711}}</ref>
Veselnitskaya directed some work of [[Fusion GPS]] -- the firm which prepared parts of a "dossier" which made sexually salacious accusations against President [[Donald J Trump]], and a since-discredited<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/11/us/politics/trump-intelligence-report-explainer.html [[New York Times]]</ref><ref name=circa>[https://www.circa.com/story/2017/07/08/donald-trump-jr-met-with-russian-lawyer-during-election-but-didnt-follow-up] [[Circa News]]</ref> accusation of Trump's lawyer meeting Russians.<ref name=UKtycoon>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-jr-russia-bill-browder-testify-senate-links-natalia-veselnitskaya-steele-dossier-a7840061.html] Independent: "British tycoon to tell Senate: Trump Jr Russia lawyer (VESELNIKSKAYA) is linked to secretive group behind Steele Dossier"</ref><ref>[https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/complaint-firm-behind-dossier-former-russian-intel-officer-joined-lobbying-effort] Senate Judiciary Chair, Grassley</ref><ref name=circa></ref><ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/News/world/americas/us-politics/trump-jr-russian-lawyer-steele-dossier-natalia-veselnitskaya-gps-fusion-a7834541.html]</ref>; it is not yet known whether Ms. Veselnitskaya took part in the preparation of that dossier, or any of Fusion GPS's work against Trump, Romney or other Republicans.{{updateinline}} Her [[Trump campaign-Russian meeting|June 2016 meeting]] with [[Donald Trump Jr.]], [[Jared Kushner]], [[Paul Manafort]], and [[Rinat Akhmetshin]] -- another associate of the same Fusion GPS[http://www.fusiongps.com] firm that produced the aforenoted anti-Trump, discredited "dossier" -- in [[Trump Tower]] has attracted attention related to [[Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections]].<ref name="NYT8July2017">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/08/us/politics/trump-russia-kushner-manafort.html |title=Trump Team Met With Lawyer Linked to Kremlin During Campaign|first1=Jo |last1=Becker |first2=Matt |last2=Apuzzo |first3=Adam |last3=Goldman |date=July 8, 2017 |access-date=July 8, 2017|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Hofmann|first1=James|title=The Daily 202: Email to Donald Trump Jr. could be a smoking gun, as Russia connections deepen|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2017/07/11/daily-202-email-to-donald-trump-jr-could-be-a-smoking-gun-as-russia-connections-deepen/5963e8eee9b69b7071abcb06/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=staff|title=Donald Trump Jr met Russian lawyer after promise of information on Hillary Clinton|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jul/09/donald-trump-jr-russia-hillary-clinton}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Simmons|first1=Kier|title=Russian Lawyer Who Met With Trump Jr.: I Didn’t Have Clinton Info They Wanted|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russian-lawyer-who-met-trump-jr-i-didn-t-have-n781631?cid=eml_nbn_20170711}}</ref> She has since denied promising any information detrimental to Democrats, and noted that Kushner and Manafort were not active in the meeting.<ref>[http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/natalia-veselnitskaya-no-info-clinton-dnc]</ref> Her associate Akhmetshin also denied being the one promising any such information.<ref>[https://newsworld.co/rinat-akhmetshin-told-about-the-details-of-the-meeting-with-trump-jr/]</ref> The Obama Administration allowed her into the USA days before the Trump meeting without a visa, but rather with personal approval of Obama's Attorney General, for the special cause of defending Prevezon Holdings, which along with the Fusion GPS group had been lobbying U.S. authorities to repeal the [[Magnitsky Act]] on behalf of Russian oligarchs with close ties to the Kremlin, and Veselnitskaya was working with both Fusion GPS and Prevezon Holdings.<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/news/did-the-obama-doj-let-russian-lawyer-natalia-veselnitskaya-into-the-u-s/] CBS News</ref><ref name=circa></ref><ref>[http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/267277/curious-case-natalia-veselnitskaya-matthew-vadum] Frontpage</ref> Fusion GPS said: “Fusion GPS was engaged by a US law firm, BakerHostetler, to perform public records litigation support in a US asset seizure case, '''US v Prevezon''' (Veselnitskaya's case).”<ref name=UKtycoon></ref>


==Education and career==
==Education and career==
Veselnitskaya attests she graduated with distinction from the [[Kutafin Moscow State Law University|Moscow State Legal Academy]] in 1998.<ref name=declaration>{{cite web|title=Declaration of Natalia Veselnitskaya, ''United States v. Prevezon Holdings Ltd,'' No. 13-cv-06326 (TPG) (S.D.N.Y. January 5, 2016)|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/353338031/Natalia-Veselnitskaya-Court-1|website=[[Scribd]]|accessdate=12 July 2017|language=en}}</ref> She attests that she was then employed by the prosecutor's office in [[Moscow Oblast]], where she worked on legislation.<ref name=declaration/> She claims to have won over 300 legal cases.<ref name=NYT12july17>{{cite news|last1=MacFarquhar|first1=Neil|authorlink1=Neil MacFarquhar|last2=Kramer|first2=Andrew E.|title=Natalia Veselnitskaya, Lawyer Who Met Trump Jr., Seen as Fearsome Moscow Insider|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/11/world/europe/natalia-veselnitskaya-donald-trump-jr-russian-lawyer.html|accessdate=12 July 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=12 July 2017|page=A1}}</ref> She then moved into private practice, focusing on land deals in the expanding Moscow suburbs.<ref name=NYT12july17/>
Veselnitskaya attests she graduated with distinction from the [[Kutafin Moscow State Law University|Moscow State Legal Academy]] in 1998.<ref name=declaration>{{cite web|title=Declaration of Natalia Veselnitskaya, ''United States v. Prevezon Holdings Ltd,'' No. 13-cv-06326 (TPG) (S.D.N.Y. January 5, 2016)|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/353338031/Natalia-Veselnitskaya-Court-1|website=[[Scribd]]|accessdate=12 July 2017|language=en}}</ref><ref>[https://www.facebook.com/NataliaVeselnitskaya?ref=br_rs]</ref> She attests that she was then employed by the prosecutor's office in [[Moscow Oblast]], where she worked on legislation.<ref name=declaration/> She claims to have won over 300 legal cases.<ref name=NYT12july17>{{cite news|last1=MacFarquhar|first1=Neil|authorlink1=Neil MacFarquhar|last2=Kramer|first2=Andrew E.|title=Natalia Veselnitskaya, Lawyer Who Met Trump Jr., Seen as Fearsome Moscow Insider|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/11/world/europe/natalia-veselnitskaya-donald-trump-jr-russian-lawyer.html|accessdate=12 July 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=12 July 2017|page=A1}}</ref> She then moved into private practice, focusing on land deals in the expanding Moscow suburbs.<ref name=NYT12july17/>


Veselnitskaya has long been the lawyer for Pyotr Katsyv, who is the vice-president of the state-owned [[Russian Railways]], and was formerly the Moscow region's minister of transportation.<ref name=NYT12july17/> In 2008, [[Vladimir Solovyov (journalist)|Vladimir Solovyov]] accused Veselnitskaya and her stepdaughter of orchestrating unusual court decisions regarding land in Moscow.<ref name=NYT12july17/> Veselnitskaya successfully sued Spravedlivost, an anti-corruption nonprofit, for [[defamation]] after it accused her, her former husband, and Katsyv of seizing land using government connections.<ref name=NYT12july17/> Her claims that land owned by [[IKEA]] was actually owned by an old [[Collectivization in the Soviet Union|collective farm]] were ultimately dismissed by the [[Supreme Court of Russia]].<ref name=NYT12july17/>
Veselnitskaya has long been the lawyer for Pyotr Katsyv, who is the vice-president of the state-owned [[Russian Railways]], and was formerly the Moscow region's minister of transportation.<ref name=NYT12july17/> In 2008, [[Vladimir Solovyov (journalist)|Vladimir Solovyov]] accused Veselnitskaya and her stepdaughter of orchestrating unusual court decisions regarding land in Moscow.<ref name=NYT12july17/> Veselnitskaya successfully sued Spravedlivost, an anti-corruption nonprofit, for [[defamation]] after it accused her, her former husband, and Katsyv of seizing land using government connections.<ref name=NYT12july17/> Her claims that land owned by [[IKEA]] was actually owned by an old [[Collectivization in the Soviet Union|collective farm]] were ultimately dismissed by the [[Supreme Court of Russia]].<ref name=NYT12july17/>
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In February 2015, the "Human Rights Accountability Global Initiative Foundation" was created in Delaware.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Weiss|first1=Michael|title=Putin’s Dirty Game in the U.S. Congress|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/putins-dirty-game-in-the-us-congress|accessdate=15 July 2017|work=[[The Daily Beast]]|date=18 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{citation|access-date=12 July 2017|url=https://www.grassley.senate.gov/sites/default/files/judiciary/upload/Russia%2C%2003-31-17%2C%20Magnitsky%20Act%20-%202016-%2007-15%20HCM%20Complaint%20to%20FARA%20%28003%29_Redacted.pdf|title=Complaint regarding the violation of US Lobbying Laws by the Human Rights Accountability Global Initiative Foundation and others by Hermitage Capital Management|date=15 July 2016|publisher=Grassley.senate.gov|author=Hermitage Capital Management}}</ref> [[Rinat Akhmetshin]], a naturalized U.S. citizen from Russia who has worked as a Washington lobbyist since 1998, agreed to lobby for the foundation backed by Denis Katsyv.<ref name=NYT15july17>{{cite news|last1=Eileen Sullivan|last2=Kenneth P. Vogel|last3=[[Adam Goldman]]|last4=[[Jo Becker]]|title=Russian-American Lobbyist Attended Meeting Organized by Trump’s Son|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/14/us/politics/russian-american-lobbyist-meeting-trump.html|accessdate=15 July 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=15 July 2017|page=A1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Weiss|first1=Michael|title=US Congressman talks Russian money laundering with alleged ex-spy in Berlin|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/04/politics/rohrabacher-prevezon/index.html|accessdate=15 July 2017|work=[[CNN]]|date=4 May 2017}}</ref> From 1986 to 1988, Akmetshin had served in the [[Soviet Army]], where he obtained the rank of sergeant and worked in a counterintelligence unit for the [[KGB]].<ref name=NYT15july17/> Veselnitskaya's campaign included an unsuccessful attempt in Washington to repeal the [[Magnitsky Act]] and to "keep Mr. Magnitsky’s name off the Law.<ref name="NYT8July2017"/>
In February 2015, the "Human Rights Accountability Global Initiative Foundation" was created in Delaware.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Weiss|first1=Michael|title=Putin’s Dirty Game in the U.S. Congress|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/putins-dirty-game-in-the-us-congress|accessdate=15 July 2017|work=[[The Daily Beast]]|date=18 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{citation|access-date=12 July 2017|url=https://www.grassley.senate.gov/sites/default/files/judiciary/upload/Russia%2C%2003-31-17%2C%20Magnitsky%20Act%20-%202016-%2007-15%20HCM%20Complaint%20to%20FARA%20%28003%29_Redacted.pdf|title=Complaint regarding the violation of US Lobbying Laws by the Human Rights Accountability Global Initiative Foundation and others by Hermitage Capital Management|date=15 July 2016|publisher=Grassley.senate.gov|author=Hermitage Capital Management}}</ref> [[Rinat Akhmetshin]], a naturalized U.S. citizen from Russia who has worked as a Washington lobbyist since 1998, agreed to lobby for the foundation backed by Denis Katsyv.<ref name=NYT15july17>{{cite news|last1=Eileen Sullivan|last2=Kenneth P. Vogel|last3=[[Adam Goldman]]|last4=[[Jo Becker]]|title=Russian-American Lobbyist Attended Meeting Organized by Trump’s Son|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/14/us/politics/russian-american-lobbyist-meeting-trump.html|accessdate=15 July 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=15 July 2017|page=A1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Weiss|first1=Michael|title=US Congressman talks Russian money laundering with alleged ex-spy in Berlin|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/04/politics/rohrabacher-prevezon/index.html|accessdate=15 July 2017|work=[[CNN]]|date=4 May 2017}}</ref> From 1986 to 1988, Akmetshin had served in the [[Soviet Army]], where he obtained the rank of sergeant and worked in a counterintelligence unit for the [[KGB]].<ref name=NYT15july17/> Veselnitskaya's campaign included an unsuccessful attempt in Washington to repeal the [[Magnitsky Act]] and to "keep Mr. Magnitsky’s name off the Law.<ref name="NYT8July2017"/>


On June 9, 2016, Veselnitskaya met with [[Donald Trump Jr.]], [[Paul Manafort]], and [[Jared Kushner]] in [[Trump Tower]], which they had scheduled after [[Emin Agalarov]]'s publicist had told Donald Jr. that she was a "Russian government attorney" offering incriminating information on [[Hillary Clinton]] due to "its government’s support for Mr. Trump".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Becker|first1=Jo|authorlink1=Jo Becker|last2=Goldman|first2=Adam|authorlink2=Adam Goldman|last3=Apuzzo|first3=Matt|authorlink3=Matt Apuzzo|title=Russian Dirt on Clinton? ‘I Love It,’ Donald Trump Jr. Said|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/11/us/politics/trump-russia-email-clinton.html|accessdate=12 July 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=12 July 2017|page=A1}}</ref> Donald Trump Jr. later claimed in July of 2017 that Veselnitskaya instead used the meeting to criticize the Magnitsky Act.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Apuzzo|first1=Matt|authorlink1=Matt Apuzzo|last2=Becker|first2=Jo|authorlink2=Jo Becker|last3=Goldman|first3=Adam|authorlink3=Adam Goldman|last4=Haberman|first4=Maggie|authorlink4=Maggie Haberman|title=Trump Jr. Was Told in Email of Russian Effort to Aid Campaign|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/10/us/politics/donald-trump-jr-russia-email-candidacy.html|accessdate=12 July 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=11 July 2017|page=A1}}</ref>
On June 9, 2016, Veselnitskaya met with [[Donald Trump Jr.]], [[Paul Manafort]], and [[Jared Kushner]] in [[Trump Tower]], which they had scheduled after [[Emin Agalarov]]'s publicist had told Donald Jr. that she was a "Russian government attorney" offering incriminating information on [[Hillary Clinton]] due to "its government’s support for Mr. Trump,"<ref>{{cite news|last1=Becker|first1=Jo|authorlink1=Jo Becker|last2=Goldman|first2=Adam|authorlink2=Adam Goldman|last3=Apuzzo|first3=Matt|authorlink3=Matt Apuzzo|title=Russian Dirt on Clinton? ‘I Love It,’ Donald Trump Jr. Said|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/11/us/politics/trump-russia-email-clinton.html|accessdate=12 July 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=12 July 2017|page=A1}}</ref> Donald Trump Jr. later claimed in July of 2017 that Veselnitskaya instead used the meeting to criticize the Magnitsky Act.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Apuzzo|first1=Matt|authorlink1=Matt Apuzzo|last2=Becker|first2=Jo|authorlink2=Jo Becker|last3=Goldman|first3=Adam|authorlink3=Adam Goldman|last4=Haberman|first4=Maggie|authorlink4=Maggie Haberman|title=Trump Jr. Was Told in Email of Russian Effort to Aid Campaign|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/10/us/politics/donald-trump-jr-russia-email-candidacy.html|accessdate=12 July 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=11 July 2017|page=A1}}</ref>


Akhmetshin says he met with Veselnitskaya for lunch before the meeting where she then asked him to attend, which he did.<ref name=WashPo15july17>{{cite news|last1=Helderman|first1=Rosalind S.|last2=Hamburger|first2=Tom|title=Russian American lobbyist was present at Trump Jr.’s meeting with Kremlin-connected lawyer|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/russian-american-lobbyist-was-present-at-trump-jrs-meeting-with-kremlin-connected-lawyer/2017/07/14/1b96f25a-68aa-11e7-9928-22d00a47778f_story.html|accessdate=15 July 2017|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=15 July 2017|page=A1}}</ref> According to Akhmetshin, Veselnitskaya's translator, Anatoli Samachornov, also attended.<ref name=NYT15july17/> He also says Veselnitskaya left a document with Trump Jr.<ref name=WashPo15july17/>
Akhmetshin says he met with Veselnitskaya for lunch before the meeting where she then asked him to attend, which he did.<ref name=WashPo15july17>{{cite news|last1=Helderman|first1=Rosalind S.|last2=Hamburger|first2=Tom|title=Russian American lobbyist was present at Trump Jr.’s meeting with Kremlin-connected lawyer|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/russian-american-lobbyist-was-present-at-trump-jrs-meeting-with-kremlin-connected-lawyer/2017/07/14/1b96f25a-68aa-11e7-9928-22d00a47778f_story.html|accessdate=15 July 2017|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=15 July 2017|page=A1}}</ref> According to Akhmetshin, Veselnitskaya's translator, Anatoli Samachornov, also attended.<ref name=NYT15july17/> He also says Veselnitskaya left a document with Trump Jr.<ref name=WashPo15july17/>
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==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Veselnitskaya was previously married to a former deputy transportation minister of the Moscow area.<ref name="NYT8July2017"/>
Veselnitskaya was previously married to a former deputy transportation minister of the Moscow area.<ref name="NYT8July2017"/>

She is a Rachel Maddow fan, and attended the Women's March led by [[Linda Sarsour]].<ref>[http://dailycaller.com/2017/07/12/exclusive-radical-dem-worked-for-russian-lawyer-who-met-with-trump-jr/] [[The McClatchy Company|McClatchy (DC subsidiary)]]</ref><ref>[https://www.facebook.com/pages/%D0%90%D0%B4%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B5-%D0%B1%D1%8E%D1%80%D0%BE-%D0%9C%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9-%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8-%D0%9A%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BD-%D0%9A%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B3/334892976683658]</ref>


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 23:40, 15 July 2017

Natalia Veselnitskaya
Born
Natalia Vladimirovna Veselnitskaya

Moscow, Russia
Alma materMoscow State Legal Academy
OccupationLawyer
Known forAdvocacy against Magnitsky Act
Trump campaign-Russian meeting

Natalia Vladimirovna Veselnitskaya (Russian: Наталья Владимировна Весельницкая, IPA: [nɐˈtalʲjə vʲɪsʲɪlʲˈnʲit͡skəjə]) is a Russian lawyer who has been an outspoken advocate in the United States against the Magnitsky Act. Her prominent clients include Pyotr Katsyv, an official in the state-owned Russian Railways, and his son Denis, whom she defended against a $230 million money laundering charge in New York.[1]

Veselnitskaya directed some work of Fusion GPS -- the firm which prepared parts of a "dossier" which made sexually salacious accusations against President Donald J Trump, and a since-discredited[2][3] accusation of Trump's lawyer meeting Russians.[4][5][3][6]; it is not yet known whether Ms. Veselnitskaya took part in the preparation of that dossier, or any of Fusion GPS's work against Trump, Romney or other Republicans.[needs update] Her June 2016 meeting with Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and Rinat Akhmetshin -- another associate of the same Fusion GPS[12] firm that produced the aforenoted anti-Trump, discredited "dossier" -- in Trump Tower has attracted attention related to Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.[7][8][9][10] She has since denied promising any information detrimental to Democrats, and noted that Kushner and Manafort were not active in the meeting.[11] Her associate Akhmetshin also denied being the one promising any such information.[12] The Obama Administration allowed her into the USA days before the Trump meeting without a visa, but rather with personal approval of Obama's Attorney General, for the special cause of defending Prevezon Holdings, which along with the Fusion GPS group had been lobbying U.S. authorities to repeal the Magnitsky Act on behalf of Russian oligarchs with close ties to the Kremlin, and Veselnitskaya was working with both Fusion GPS and Prevezon Holdings.[13][3][14] Fusion GPS said: “Fusion GPS was engaged by a US law firm, BakerHostetler, to perform public records litigation support in a US asset seizure case, US v Prevezon (Veselnitskaya's case).”[4]

Education and career

Veselnitskaya attests she graduated with distinction from the Moscow State Legal Academy in 1998.[15][16] She attests that she was then employed by the prosecutor's office in Moscow Oblast, where she worked on legislation.[15] She claims to have won over 300 legal cases.[17] She then moved into private practice, focusing on land deals in the expanding Moscow suburbs.[17]

Veselnitskaya has long been the lawyer for Pyotr Katsyv, who is the vice-president of the state-owned Russian Railways, and was formerly the Moscow region's minister of transportation.[17] In 2008, Vladimir Solovyov accused Veselnitskaya and her stepdaughter of orchestrating unusual court decisions regarding land in Moscow.[17] Veselnitskaya successfully sued Spravedlivost, an anti-corruption nonprofit, for defamation after it accused her, her former husband, and Katsyv of seizing land using government connections.[17] Her claims that land owned by IKEA was actually owned by an old collective farm were ultimately dismissed by the Supreme Court of Russia.[17]

Advocacy against the Magnitsky Act

In 2009, Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who had accused Moscow law enforcement of stealing $230 million tax in tax rebates from his client, was beaten to death in jail. In 2012, Magnitsky's client, Bill Browder, secured passage of the Magnitsky Act, which imposed sanctions on the officials involved.[17] Russian President Vladimir Putin responded by banning adoptions by Americans.[17]

In February 2015, the "Human Rights Accountability Global Initiative Foundation" was created in Delaware.[18][19] Rinat Akhmetshin, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Russia who has worked as a Washington lobbyist since 1998, agreed to lobby for the foundation backed by Denis Katsyv.[20][21] From 1986 to 1988, Akmetshin had served in the Soviet Army, where he obtained the rank of sergeant and worked in a counterintelligence unit for the KGB.[20] Veselnitskaya's campaign included an unsuccessful attempt in Washington to repeal the Magnitsky Act and to "keep Mr. Magnitsky’s name off the Law.[7]

On June 9, 2016, Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushner in Trump Tower, which they had scheduled after Emin Agalarov's publicist had told Donald Jr. that she was a "Russian government attorney" offering incriminating information on Hillary Clinton due to "its government’s support for Mr. Trump,"[22] Donald Trump Jr. later claimed in July of 2017 that Veselnitskaya instead used the meeting to criticize the Magnitsky Act.[23]

Akhmetshin says he met with Veselnitskaya for lunch before the meeting where she then asked him to attend, which he did.[24] According to Akhmetshin, Veselnitskaya's translator, Anatoli Samachornov, also attended.[20] He also says Veselnitskaya left a document with Trump Jr.[24]

Two days after the Trump Tower meeting, the foundation registered to lobby Congress on the Magnitsky Act.[20]

Later that June, Veselnitskaya screened a film by Andrei Nekrasov at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., that was critical of Magnitsky.[17] She was "deeply involved in the making of The Magnitsky Act — Behind the Scenes.[25] She provided the film crew with "the real proofs and records of testimony" according to RussiaTV5, a "station whose owners are known to be close to Mr. Putin".[7]

Veselnitskaya represented Pyotr Katsyv's son, Denis, when Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, charged him with money laundering.[17] Federal prosecutors accused Katsyv of using Manhattan real estate deals to launder money stolen from Brower's Hermitage Capital Management in violation of the Magnitsky Act.[26][27] The Russian government then banned Bharara from traveling there.[26]

In October 2015, Veselnitskaya traveled to Manhattan with her clients for a deposition in the case.[28] After being told at the end of the deposition that the counter-party would be required to reimburse her expenses, she billed the U.S. government for $50,000, including an $800 meal, eight grappas, and a $995-a-night room at the Plaza Hotel.[29] Two months after President Donald Trump fired Bharara, the case settled, with Katsyv's company, Prevezon Holdings, paying $6 million without admitting any wrongdoing.[17][30] The settlement was for less than 3% of the amount prosecutors had initially sought.[26]

In March 2017, Senator Chuck Grassley complained that the foundation, Akhmetshin, and Fusion GPS had violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act.[31]

In a July 14, 2017 intervew with the Wall Street Journal, Veselnitskaya acknowledged that she was in regular contact with the Russian prosecutor general's office and with Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika.[32][33]

Personal life

Veselnitskaya was previously married to a former deputy transportation minister of the Moscow area.[7]

She is a Rachel Maddow fan, and attended the Women's March led by Linda Sarsour.[34][35]

See also

References

  1. ^ Jason Motlagh (31 December 2015). "Fighting Putin Doesn't Make You a Saint". The New Republic. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  2. ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/11/us/politics/trump-intelligence-report-explainer.html New York Times
  3. ^ a b c [1] Circa News
  4. ^ a b [2] Independent: "British tycoon to tell Senate: Trump Jr Russia lawyer (VESELNIKSKAYA) is linked to secretive group behind Steele Dossier"
  5. ^ [3] Senate Judiciary Chair, Grassley
  6. ^ [4]
  7. ^ a b c d Becker, Jo; Apuzzo, Matt; Goldman, Adam (July 8, 2017). "Trump Team Met With Lawyer Linked to Kremlin During Campaign". The New York Times. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  8. ^ Hofmann, James. "The Daily 202: Email to Donald Trump Jr. could be a smoking gun, as Russia connections deepen".
  9. ^ staff. "Donald Trump Jr met Russian lawyer after promise of information on Hillary Clinton".
  10. ^ Simmons, Kier. "Russian Lawyer Who Met With Trump Jr.: I Didn't Have Clinton Info They Wanted".
  11. ^ [5]
  12. ^ [6]
  13. ^ [7] CBS News
  14. ^ [8] Frontpage
  15. ^ a b "Declaration of Natalia Veselnitskaya, United States v. Prevezon Holdings Ltd, No. 13-cv-06326 (TPG) (S.D.N.Y. January 5, 2016)". Scribd. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  16. ^ [9]
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k MacFarquhar, Neil; Kramer, Andrew E. (12 July 2017). "Natalia Veselnitskaya, Lawyer Who Met Trump Jr., Seen as Fearsome Moscow Insider". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  18. ^ Weiss, Michael (18 May 2016). "Putin's Dirty Game in the U.S. Congress". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  19. ^ Hermitage Capital Management (15 July 2016), Complaint regarding the violation of US Lobbying Laws by the Human Rights Accountability Global Initiative Foundation and others by Hermitage Capital Management (PDF), Grassley.senate.gov, retrieved 12 July 2017
  20. ^ a b c d Eileen Sullivan; Kenneth P. Vogel; Adam Goldman; Jo Becker (15 July 2017). "Russian-American Lobbyist Attended Meeting Organized by Trump's Son". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  21. ^ Weiss, Michael (4 May 2017). "US Congressman talks Russian money laundering with alleged ex-spy in Berlin". CNN. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  22. ^ Becker, Jo; Goldman, Adam; Apuzzo, Matt (12 July 2017). "Russian Dirt on Clinton? 'I Love It,' Donald Trump Jr. Said". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  23. ^ Apuzzo, Matt; Becker, Jo; Goldman, Adam; Haberman, Maggie (11 July 2017). "Trump Jr. Was Told in Email of Russian Effort to Aid Campaign". The New York Times. p. A1. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  24. ^ a b Helderman, Rosalind S.; Hamburger, Tom (15 July 2017). "Russian American lobbyist was present at Trump Jr.'s meeting with Kremlin-connected lawyer". The Washington Post. p. A1. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  25. ^ European TV Channel Puts Controversial Magnitsky Film On Hold
  26. ^ a b c Feeley, Jef; Bob, Van Voris (13 May 2017). "Laundering Suit Ends as Russian Firm, U.S. Claim Victory". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  27. ^ "United States of America v. Prevezon Holdings Ltd. et al". Justia Dockets & Filings. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  28. ^ Weiss, Michael (9 December 2015). "Russians Stick U.S. With $50K Plaza Hotel Bar Bill". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  29. ^ Thielman, Sam (10 July 2017). "Lawyer Who Met Don Jr. Was Key Player In High-Profile Money Laundering Case". Talking Points Memo. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  30. ^ "Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces $5.9 Million Settlement Of Civil Money Laundering And Forfeiture Claims Against Real Estate Corporations Alleged To Have Laundered Proceeds Of Russian Tax Fraud". United States Department of Justice. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  31. ^ Sen. Chuck Grassley (31 March 2017). "Complaint: Firm behind Dossier & Former Russian Intel Officer Joined Lobbying Effort to Kill Pro-Whistleblower Sanctions for Kremlin". www.grassley.senate.gov. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  32. ^ http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/342109-russian-lawyer-who-met-with-trump-jr-was-in-touch-with-top-russian
  33. ^ https://www.wsj.com/articles/russian-lawyer-who-trump-jr-met-says-she-was-in-contact-with-top-russian-prosecutor-1500063809
  34. ^ [10] McClatchy (DC subsidiary)
  35. ^ [11]
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