Russian Prosecution Denies Involvement in Trump Jr, Veselnitskaya Meeting

The Russian Prosecutor General's Office on Friday refuted the claims of the authority's involvement in the meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya as "totally untrue," according to Denis Grunis, the head of the agency's International Cooperation Department for Major Cases.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — "I would not want to comment on something that is totally untrue. You have to understand that the Office of the Prosecutor General does not share information with individuals in the US. Such contacts can only happen through official channels – as stipulated by international agreements — and after a formal query is submitted by a prosecution agency," Grunis said commenting on the media reports about the alleged involvement of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office in the brokering of the meeting.

Grunis added that it was "insane to think that the Prosecutor General’s Office would use a private lawyer to transfer information."

The official noted that under the US-Russian Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, any exchange of information about criminal cases could be done only through the countries’ official agencies – the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office and the US Department of Justice.

"So if we need to share information with our American colleagues, we send it to the Justice Department, after processing it in full compliance with the Treaty. There is a direct channel of communication between our agencies. For instance, in 2015, we sent 109 queries to the US, asking for legal assistance in criminal matters, and received 35 such queries from our American colleagues," Grunis explained.

On Saturday, US media reported that Trump Jr., along with Paul Manafort, Trump's then-campaign manager, and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, met with the Russian lawyer in June 2016. According to media reports, Veselnitskaya had allegedly promised to provide Trump Jr. with compromising information about Hillary Clinton, US President Donald Trump’s rival at the election.

On Tuesday, Trump Jr. released emails exchange with British publicist Rob Goldstone, who represents Russian singer Emin Agalarov. Agalarov allegedly proposed the meeting between Trump's son and the Russian lawyer. In one of the emails, Goldstone wrote Trump Jr. that "the crown prosecutor of Russia" had met with the Agalarov's father and "offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father."

The collusion between Trump Jr. and Veselnitskaya was denied by White House aide Kellyanne Conway on Monday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Veselnitskaya did not represent the Russian government, and Veselnitskaya told NBC News on Tuesday that she never had any ties to the Kremlin or compromising information on Clinton.