Russian lawyer who met with Trump Jr. reportedly had report compiled by Fusion GPS for BigLaw firm
The Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. to offer information about Democratic donors had reportedly obtained the information from a report compiled by Fusion GPS on behalf of a large law firm.
Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya had obtained the information about alleged tax-dodging Democratic donors during litigation in which she was representing a Russian client, Reuters reports. The story is based on anonymous sources.
BakerHostetler had hired Fusion to research a litigation opponent, according to Reuters.
BakerHostetler was representing a Russian holding company called Prevezon, which was also Veselnitskaya’s client, the Washington Post reported in July. The company was accused of laundering money stolen in a fraud uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who died in 2009 while in prison. The case settled with no admission of guilt.
Fusion is the same firm that compiled a dossier about Donald Trump’s Russia connections. Perkins Coie had hired Fusion to assist in the law firm’s representation of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Veselnitskaya said she told Trump Jr. in the June 2016 meeting that she had information that two brothers had gained nearly $1 billion from Russian investments and had allegedly evaded taxes on the money. She says she told Trump Jr. that some of the money may have gone to the Clinton campaign.
The brothers had invested money in Russia through William Browder, whose Hermitage Capital fund had employed Magnitsky.
Veselnitskaya told Bloomberg that Trump Jr. asked if she had any written evidence, but she didn’t have any of the requested documents.
