Russian lobbyist was at Trump Tower meeting where Clinton dirt was promised

A prominent Russian-American lobbyist and former Soviet military officer attended a meeting with President Donald Trump's son, son-in-law and campaign chairman last year, the lobbyist said Friday, adding a new wrinkle to the Trump team's evolving explanations about the June 2016 session.

RinatAkhmetshinconfirmed his involvement to The Associated Press in an interview. He had not been previously identified as a participant in the meeting at Trump Tower in New York, which was billed as part of a Russian government effort to help the Republican's White House campaign.

The meeting has heightened questions about whether Trump's associates co-ordinated with Russia to meddle in the presidential election to help him and thwart Hillary Clinton and whether they've been forthcoming about their foreign contacts. Federal and congressional investigators are probing possible connections between the campaign and Moscow.

Akhmetshinhas been reported to have ties to Russian intelligence agencies, a characterization he dismisses as a "smear campaign." He's a well-known Washington presence, lobbying for Russian interests and trying to undermine the allegations oflawyer Sergei Magnitsky,who died in a Russian prison and is the namesake of a U.S. sanctions law.

Akhmetshintold the AP he served in the Soviet military in a unit that was part of counter-intelligence but he was never formally trained as a spy.

Inemailsposted by Donald Trump Jr. earlier this week, a music publicist said he arranged the meeting because a Russian lawyer wanted to pass on negative information aboutClinton. The go-between stated that the discussion was part of a Russian government effort to help the Republicancandidate.

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While Trump Jr. has confirmed that Russian attorneyNataliaVeselnitskayawas in the meeting, he has not disclosedAkhmetshin'spresence. The president's son has publicly discounted the meeting, saying he did not receive the information he was promised.

In a statement Sunday, Trump Jr. said the attorney had said she had information that people tied to Russia were funding the Democratic National Committee and supporting Clinton, a description thatAkhmetshinbacked up in his interview with the AP.

In his first public interview about the meeting,Akhmetshinsaid he accompaniedVeselnitskayato Trump Tower where they met an interpreter. He said he had learned about the meeting only that day whenVeselnitskayaasked him to attend. He said he showed up in jeans and a T-shirt.

Veselnitskayabrought with her a plastic folder with printed-out documents that detailed what she believed was the flow of illicit funds to the Democrats,Akhmetshinsaid.Veselnitskayapresented the contents of the documents to the Trump associates and suggested that making the information public could help the campaign, he said.

"This could be a good issue to expose how the DNC is accepting bad money,"Akhmetshinrecalled her saying.

Trump Jr. asked the attorney if she had sufficient evidence to back up her claims, including whether she could demonstrate the flow of the money. ButVeselnitskayasaid the Trump campaign would need to research it more. After that, Trump Jr. lost interest, according toAkhmetshin.

"They couldn't wait for the meeting to end," he said.

Akhmetshinsaid he does not know ifVeselnitskaya'sdocuments were provided by the Russian government. He said he thinks she left the materials with the Trump associates. It was unclear if she handed the documents to anyone in the room or simply left them behind, he said.

JaredKushner, Trump's son-in-law and current White House senior adviser, and then-campaign chairman PaulManafortalso attended the meeting.Akhmetshinsaid he recognizedKushnerand Trump Jr. He also said he recognizedManafortbecause they worked in "adjacent political circles" but never together.

Others in the room

He said there were others in the room but he didn't know them. Publicist RobGoldstone, who brokered the meeting viaemailwith Trump Jr., has told the AP that he was there.

Donald Trump Jr.'s lawyer, Alan Futerfas, told NBC News two other people were withVeselnitskayaatthe meeting a translator and a friend of Emin Agalarovand "maybe as a friend of Natalia," the Russian lawyer.

Futerfas told NBC News that individual told him he is a U.S. citizen. "He told me specifically he was not working for the Russian government, and in fact laughed when I asked him that question," NBC quotes Futeras.

The network said it was not clear whether Futerfas was referring to Akhmetshin.

Asked aboutAkhmetshin'sparticipation,Manafortspokesman JasonMalonideclined comment. Trump Jr.'s attorney did not respond to inquiries, nor did a spokesman forKushner.Veselnitskayahas denied having any ties to the Russian government. When reached by the AP this week, she declined comment. She did not respond to additional attempts to contact her Friday.

'Consistent dissembling and deceit'

The confirmation ofAkhmetshin'sparticipation in the meeting drew swift reaction from the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee.

AdamSchiffof California said whetherAkhmetshinis connected to Russian intelligence or not "it is clear the Kremlin got the message that Donald Trump welcomed the help of the Russian government in providing dirt on Hillary Clinton."Schiffsaid Trump Jr.'s omission ofAkhmetshin'srole in his public account of the meeting and the president's son's shifting explanations "paint a portrait of consistent dissembling and deceit."

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Kushnerdisclosed the meeting on his security clearance paperwork, butSchiffsaid theAkhmetshinrevelation raises questions about how muchKushnerdisclosed about it. He said he believesKushner'sclearance should be reviewed, and "if he was not perfectly candid," the clearance should be revoked.

Akhmetshin, who spoke to the AP while on vacation in France where he said he has been surfing, said the meeting was "not substantive" and he "actually expected more serious" discussion.

"I never thought this would be such a big deal to be honest," he said.

The Russian government has denied any involvement or knowledge of the June 2016 meeting. Asked Friday aboutAkhmetshin, Russian President VladimirPutin'sspokesman,DmitryPeskov, told reporters: "We don't know anything about this person."

Akhmetshin'sbackground

Akhmetshinhas been identified in media reports as a former officer in Russia's military intelligence service known as the GRU. He has denied that, saying he served in the Soviet Army from 1986 to 1988 after he was drafted but was not trained in spytradecraft. He said his unit operated in theBalticsand was "loosely part of counterintelligence."

Akhmetshinsaid he has not been contacted by the U.S. special counsel's office or the FBI about the meeting with Trump Jr. He said he's willing to talk with the Senate Judiciary Committee, whose chairman has pressed the Justice Department about whyAkhmetshinhas not registered as a foreign agent.

The chairman, Republican ChuckGrassleyof Iowa, said in a March 31 letter, "Mr. Akhmetshin is a Russian immigrant to the U.S. who has admitted having been a 'Soviet counterintelligence officer.'"Grassleyalso wrotethatAkhmetshinhas a long history of pro-Russia lobbying.

Akhmetshinsaid 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. He has previously registered with Congress for the lobbying work, and he plans to raise this issue beforeGrassley'scommittee.

"I think I have a legal right to tell my story," he said.

Journalist Steve LeVinewrote in 2007 in his book, The Oil and the Glory, that, as alobbyist,"armed with a seemingly bottomless expense account and a sheaf of inside documents, the skilled Akhmetshinburrowed in with Washington reporters, think tank experts, administration bureaucrats, and key political figures."

Separately on Friday, the data and digital director for Trump's presidential campaign said he will speak with the House Intelligence committee later this month as part of its own Russia probe.

BradParscalesaid in a statement that he is "unaware of any Russian involvement" in the data and digital operations but will voluntarily appear before the panel.