Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Monday 23 april 2018

Russian lawyer questions why

Mueller hasn't contacted her

By NATALIYA VASILYEVA Veselnitskaya also detailed campaign coordinated
MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian her recent meeting in Ber- with any Russian attempts
lawyer who discussed sanc- lin with investigators from to interfere in the election.
tions with Donald Trump Jr. the U.S. Senate Intelligence The Senate Intelligence
in New York during his fa- Committee. Like Mueller, Committee has expressed
ther's 2016 campaign for the committee is investi- interest in determining
the U.S. presidency said gating allegations of Rus- whether Veselnitskaya's
Sunday that special coun- sian interference in the U.S. appointment with Trump
Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya listens to a question dur- sel Robert Mueller has not presidential election. Jr., Kushner and Manafort
ing an interview with The Associated Press in Moscow, Russia, contacted her yet. Veselnitskaya met in June was part of a Russian gov-
Sunday, April 22, 2018. In an interview with The 2016 with then-candidate ernment effort to help Presi-
Associated Press Associated Press, Natalia Donald Trump's son, his dent Donald Trump's cam-
son-in-law, Jared Kushner, paign for the White House.
and Paul Manafort, his It was described that way
campaign chairman at the in emails to Trump Jr. be-
time, Paul Manafort, after fore it took place.
Trump Jr. was told the Rus- Several congressional com-
sian lawyer had potentially mittees are looking into
incriminating information whether Russia interfered
about Hillary Clinton. in the 2016 election and
Mueller, a former FBI di- whether there were collu-
rector, is leading a federal sion by Trump's campaign.
probe of possible collusion The House Intelligence
between Russia and the Committee has finished
Trump campaign. He has its investigation and said it
filed charges against mul- found no evidence of col-
tiple former Trump cam- lusion or coordination with
paign aides. Russians.
Veselnitskaya alleged in The Senate Intelligence
her interview with the AP in Committee approached
downtown Moscow that if Veselnitskaya earlier this
Mueller's team never ques- year, but she refused to go
tions her, it would mean the United States, saying
that it "is not working to dis- she feared for her safety.
cover the truth." The lawyer and the com-
Veselnitskaya is a well- mittee's investigators in-
connected Moscow law- stead met in a Berlin hotel
yer who has worked with a on March 26 and talked for
company called Prevezon three hours.
Holdings Ltd. The compa- "That was essentially a
ny's owner is the son of a monologue. They were not
former Russian government interrupting me," Veselnits-
official and a fierce advo- kaya said. "They listened
cate for rolling back U.S. very carefully...Their ques-
sanctions on Russia. tions were very sharp, pin-
At the time of her 2016 pointed."
meeting at Trump Tower, The investigators mainly
she was defending Preve- wanted to know about
zon against charges it had Trump Tower meeting, she
engaged in money laun- said. Veselnitskaya said
dering from a $230 million she repeated her previous
Russian tax fraud scheme. statements about it, insist-
Trump Jr. and others in at- ing that she was not linked
tendance have down- to the Russian government
played the meeting, saying and merely wanted to
nothing came of it. Trump discuss sanctions against
has denied that he or his Russia.q