Why Russian Lawyer Veselnitskaya Changed Her Story On Trump Tower Meeting

Why Russian Lawyer Veselnitskaya Changed Her Story On Trump Tower Meeting

Natalia Veselnitskaya, one of the key figures in the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting held by top members of the Trump campaign in an effort to get dirt on Hillary Clinton, originally told Congress that she was a private lawyer without ties to the government.

The New York Times reported Friday, however, that Veselnitskaya misled Congress and the American people when she testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee last November that she works “independently of any governmental bodies.” The Times found evidence that had previously worked with Russia’s chief legal office, and she later confirmed she was an “informant” for the government.

 One of the reporters who helped break the story, Sharon LaFraniere, went on CNN Friday night and explained how she changed her story.
“She was a little bit taken by surprise because we and NBC News obtained a series of emails exchanges  between her and the Russian prosecutor general,” LaFraniere said. “An NBC News correspondent chased her down in Moscow — and she just blurted it out when she was asked: ‘What’s your relationship with the prosecutor general?’

“She said, ‘Well, I have a dual role, I’m a private attorney and I’m an informant.’ From there on, she backtracked.”

Separately, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) said on MSNBC that even this word was misleading. “She’s a spy,” he said.

Start your day with National Memo Newsletter

Know first.

The opinions that matter. Delivered to your inbox every morning

How A Stuttering President Confronts A Right-Wing Bully

Donald Trump mocks Joe Biden’s stutter,” the headlines blare, and I am confronted (again) with (more) proof that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee hates people like me.

Keep reading...Show less
Trump at Trump Tower

Former President Donald Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - Donald Trump faces a Monday deadline to post a bond to cover a $454 million civil fraud judgment or face the risk of New York state seizing some of his marquee properties.Trump, seeking to regain the presidency this year, must either pay the money out of his own pocket or post a bond while he appeals Justice Arthur Engoron's February 16 judgment against him for manipulating his net worth and his family real estate company's property values to dupe lenders and insurers.

Keep reading...Show less
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}