Donald Trump's son and son-in-law met with Russian lawyer 'with Moscow links' during US presidential campaign

Natalia Veselnitskaya has been heavily involved in campaign against US sanctions on Russian human rights abusers

Jared Kushner was present at the meeting with Natalia Veselnitskaya (The Washington Post)

Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, reportedly met with a Russian lawyer close to Moscow state officials during last year’s US presidential election campaign.

Mr Kushner, who now acts as the US President’s senior adviser with a focus on foreign policy, is said to have met Natalia Veselnitskaya at New York's Trump Tower, two weeks after his father-in-law secured the Republican presidential nomination.

The meeting is thought to have been arranged by Mr Trump’s son, Donald Jr. Ms Veselnitskaya is reported to have connections to the Kremlin.

Mr Trump’s then campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, is also alleged to have been present at the meeting, in addition to Mr Kushner and Donald Jr.

The talks are the first confirmed private meeting between a Russian national and senior members of Mr Trump’s team during the presidential campaign, according to The New York Times, which broke the story.

Representatives of both Donald Jr and Mr Kushner confirmed the meeting had taken place. The President’s son said it was primarily about an adoption programme.

Ms Veselnitskaya has helped lead the campaign against the Magnitsky Act, a US law that imposes sanctions on Russians suspected of being responsible for human rights abuses.

It is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who died in mysterious circumstances in a Russian prison in 2009 after exposing a huge corruption scandal.

In response to the Act, Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, banned Americans from adopting Russian children.

Ms Veselnitskaya’s clients reportedly include Russian state-owned businesses and the son of a senior Russian government official. She was previously married to a Moscow region official and had attracted the attention of the FBI, according to the Times.

A number of inquires are currently investigating allegations of links between Mr Trump’s associates and the Russian state. A special prosecutor, appointed by the Department for Justice, and several congressional committees are conducting separate probes into whether there was any collusion between the Republican’s team and the Kremlin over alleged Russian hacking attempting to influence the result of the US presidential election.

Mr Trump has repeatedly denied having links to Russia, while Moscow says it was not behind any hacks.

At the G20 summit earlier this week, Mr Trump raised the issue of hacking with Mr Putin, who denied that Russia had been involved. The US President appeared to “agree” with that claim, the Russian premier said afterwards.

Mr Trump’s close allies said the meeting with Ms Veselnitskaya was not related to the election campaign.

Donald Trump Jr said: “It was a short introductory meeting. I asked Jared and Paul to stop by. We primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children that was active and popular with American families years ago and was since ended by the Russian government, but it was not a campaign issue at the time and there was no follow up.

“I was asked to attend the meeting by an acquaintance, but was not told the name of the person I would be meeting with beforehand.”

The US President’s son has previously denied discussing US government policies with Russian nationals.

“Did I meet with people that were Russian? I’m sure, I’m sure I did,” he said in March. “But none that were set up. None that I can think of at the moment. And certainly none that I was representing the campaign in any way, shape or form.”

Asked if he had ever discussed US policies on Russia, he replied: “A hundred percent no.”

Mr Kushner’s lawyer, Jamie Gorelick, said: “He has since submitted this information, including that during the campaign and transition, he had over 100 calls or meetings with representatives of more than 20 countries, most of which were during transition.

“Mr. Kushner has submitted additional updates and included, out of an abundance of caution, this meeting with a Russian person, which he briefly attended at the request of his brother-in-law Donald Trump Jr. As Mr. Kushner has consistently stated, he is eager to cooperate and share what he knows.”

Ms Veselnitskaya said the meeting had focused on the Magnitsky Act and the adoption issue and had lasted for around 30 minutes.

“Nothing at all was discussed about the presidential campaign,” she said. “I have never acted on behalf of the Russian government and have never discussed any of these matters with any representative of the Russian government."