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I don't see how this changes the story.

The guy is an American citizen, and a registered lobbyist, know to be working for the repeal of the Magnitsky Act, and who has worked with this lawyer previously:

A Russian-American lobbyist says he attended a June 2016 meeting with President Donald Trump’s son, marking another shift in the account of a discussion that was billed as part of a Russian government effort to help the Republican’s White House campaign.

Rinat Akhmetshin confirmed his participation to The Associated Press on Friday.

Russian-American lobbyist says he was in Trump son's meeting


Vesilnitskaya represents HRAGI, which has reported lobbying Congress on issues pertaining to a ban on the adoption of Russian children by American families. In a very broad sense that is accurate—the ban was imposed by President Vladimir Putin as retaliation for the Magnitsky Act—but Browder says the group’s primary goals are to rescind sanctions and discredit those, like Browder, pressing for their preservation.

Among HRAGI’s lobbyists is Rinat Akhmetshin, who has described himself as a former Russian counterintelligence officer, but said he is no longer in the government’s employ. HRAGI removed Akhmetshin from its roster of lobbyists on May 8, five days before the Justice Department settled a long-running corruption case against a Russian company called Prevezon Holdings. Prevezon’s owner is an HRAGI lobbying client. Veselnitskaya is his lawyer.

Donald Trump Jr.’s Russian Connection Has Ties to Former Kremlin Spies

 

But, please, keep digging into this.

Let's discover what the connection is here that involves Glenn Simpson, and his firm Fusion GPS, the same firm that commissioned the Trump "dossier" and that has been working against the Magnitsky act:

Prevezon’s lobbying efforts were reportedly commissioned by Mr. Katsyv, who organized them through a Delaware non-profit he formed and through the law firm then representing Prevezon in the asset forfeiture case, Baker Hostetler. Among others, the efforts involved lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin and Fusion GPS, a political research firm led by Glenn Simpson. According to press reports, Baker Hostetler partner Mark Cymrot briefed congressional staff on the asset forfeiture case, attempting to discredit the Justice Department’s version of events and instead push the Russian government’s account. Rinat Akhmetshin, along with former Congressman Ron Dellums, reportedly lobbied the House Foreign Affairs Committee, telling staffers “they were lobbying on behalf of a Russian company called Prevezon and ask[ing] [the Committee] to delay the Global Magnitsky Act or at least remove Magnitsky from the name,” as well as telling the staffers “it was a shame that this bill has made it so Russian orphans cannot be adopted by Americans.” Mr. Akhmetshin was also involved in the screening, targeting Congressional staffers and State Department officials, of an anti-Magnitsky propaganda film. For its part, Fusion GPS reportedly “dug up dirt” on Mr. Browder’s property and finances, and attempted to generate negative stories about Mr. Browder and Hermitage in the media, shopping stories to a number of reporters

Complaint: Firm behind Dossier & Former Russian Intel Officer Joined Lobbying Effort to Kill Pro-Whistleblower Sanctions for Kremlin | Chuck Grassley

 

Well, well, well

Republican donor kills himself after talking about working with Russian hackers to get Hillary Clinton's emails

A GOP donor and opposition researcher who said he tried to work with Russian hackers to retrieve deleted emails from a private server used by Hillary Clinton, has died in a suicide, according to public records cited in a Chicago Tribune report.


Peter Smith killed himself days after an interview with The Wall Street Journal in which he said he sought out Russian hackers to try to retrieve some 33,000 deleted Clinton emails and pass them to Michael Flynn, then a campaign adviser to Donald Trump.​

 

A nasty primary in Alabama is fraying GOP fellowship on the hill.

Freedom Caucus leader warns McConnell over Senate ad

 

It amazes me that Israeli-Palestinian peace remains so elusive when all they really need to do is solve this issue.

 

What does he have to hide?

How come the only people who don't want to cooperate with the investigation are democrats?

 

I guess the guns just attacked on their own.

 

"Rinat Akhmetshin confirmed his participation to The Associated Press on Friday. Akhmetshin has been reported to have ties to Russian intelligence agencies, though he denies ever working as an intelligence agent. He told the AP that he served in the Soviet military in a unit that was part of counterintelligence but was never formally trained as a spy."

Because if he were a spy, of course he would admit it to the press, right?

"Akhmetshin said the attorney brought with her a plastic folder with printed-out documents. He said he was unaware of the content of the documents or whether they were provided by the Russian government, and it was unclear whether she left the materials with the Trump associates."

What happened to those documents? Why did Fredo not mention them? He's on like the fifth version of that meeting by now, surely he could have mentioned them at some point.


"The chairman, Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa, said in a March letter that Akhmetshin has “reportedly admitted to being a ‘Soviet counterintelligence officer’ and has a long history of lobbying the U.S. government for pro-Russia matters.”

Akhmetshin said that the Justice Department’s Foreign Agents Registration Act unit sent him a letter in April and told him, “it has come to our attention you should have filed for FARA.” He said he didn’t believe he needed to file as a foreign agent. He has previously registered with Congress for the lobbying work, and he plans to raise this issue before Grassley’s committee."

He has admitted to being involved with Russian intelligence, and registered as a lobbyist after the Justice Department got on his ass about it.

Sure, just a regular old meeting with Russian agents passing data to screw with our presidential election. Happens all the time. Nothing burger.


I'm waiting for it to come out that Trump was on the phone during this meeting.

 

Trump Sr. has hired another lawyer, a Washington vet, to supplement/replace Kasowitz. His name is Ty Cobb. Honest. I imagine he sharpens his briefcase before every meeting.

 

If this guy is so terrible, how'd he become a U.S. citizen?

If he's so bad, why does Fusion GPS work with him?