, veselnitskaya, veselnitskaya. which i practiced. but you have also taken me through the liabilities for jared kushner, donald trump, jr., and paul manafort who sat in a meeting in trump tower on a day when the president was in town, with russians. we now know more about one of those russians, miss veselnitskaya. what is the significance of richard's reporting today? >> i think in richard's report we see clear and conclusive evidence that she was working with the russian government, which is really not a shock. i think that was obvious to most folks who have observed her and her actions. and in part because the way the meeting in trump tower was set up, nicolle, it was advertised by rob goldstone, the publicist for those russian billionaires. he said this is part of the russian government's effort to support the trump campaign. so, it was a russian government delegation that paul manafort, don junior and jared kushner met with and, therefore, the fact that she now acknowledges her real role really only clarifies wh

how deep are veselnitskaya's ties with the russian state? for starters, court documents show she was doing legal work for russia's intelligence agency, the fsb. >> how did you get picked to represent -- you weren't representing the fsb at all? so to be clear, you were working for a military unit that has ties to the fsb. >> if you're a private lawyer or a private businessperson in russia, people there understand very well what it means to deal with the state. there's corruption, there's danger, but there's also potentially large money and lucrative contacts to be had. >> reporter: and veselnitskaya has lucrative contacts. she is widely referred to as a legal fixer for pottar katsiv, a former official and russian businessman. when american prosecutors took legal action against a company owned by katsiv's son she went to new york. >> she was essentially a shadow counsel for one of the defendants in that case. >> reporter: jamie nawaday was one of the plurkts on the case. >> what does a shadow counsel mean? >> she's not licensed to practice her

we know that natalia veselnitskaya got that meeting. we know ostensibly the reason for the meeting was because of the dirt on hillary clinton. what we don't know yet obviously is whether or not there's any reciprocity from the other side, from the trump team, whether or not there was anybody willing to cooperate or wanting to try to get that information. we have to remember what we're dealing with when dealing with the russian government. it's a unitarian approach and they'll use anybody they want, people like natalia veselnitskaya, to get whatever they want. >> we know donald trump jr., when told he was going to get dirt on hillary clinton, he said, i love it. brian, now that we do know, at least according to her, that there was a russian informant in this meeting at trump tower, does it seem to you more than just the poor judgment that the house intelligence committee called it today? >> i think we know she lied to the senate intelligence committee. when you have to look at the veracity of somebody's credibility, that comes into play.

so what do we know about natalia veselnitskaya and why potentially she is revealing this now? >> reporter: why is she revealing it now and what does it mean when she says she's an informant? we had bill browarder tell erin burnett on our program that he believes she was an agent and nothing more or less, that she was trying to undermine u.s. policies. in the meeting at trump tower, apparently she was trying to undermine what's called the magnitsky act, that sanctions russians accused of human rights abuse. she clearly was pushing the agendas. she does not call herself an agent but an "informant." listen to an interview that was published yesterday. listen in -- >> reporter: to translate, she says she is a lawyer, and she is an informant. all of this is about her relationship with the russian prosecutor general. she's said that yes, she's had contact with him, but she doesn't have professional relations or doing his bidding. it seems like from emails, and this goes to the question of why she's saying it now, because emails have been hacked and leaked of hers between her and yur

my question, sam, why would veselnitskaya be coming out with this now? why the timing? >> i think vladimir putin wants to show who is boss. my question is what else does he have information on that he could choose to release in the coming months? putin decided he wanted trump to win. he meddled in the election to that effect and he does seemingly have information on what happened during the campaign that he can release to show president trump that he's not happy with something he's doing perhaps like the sanctions against the oligarchs or expulsions of dims so my guess is we'll have more friday nights where we're talking about russian revelations that seem to come out of nowhere and are sanctioned by the kremlin. >> are you saying he's saying, hey, he's sending a signal i can blow up your presidency? >> i think he's -- see, if doesn't even matter whether there was collusion or not. he's sending a signal that right now given where the president is in terms of the status of this investigation, it doesn't matter whether there's collusion or not. putin is saying, i can do y

who is veselnitskaya? she still maintains that she's a private citizen. doesn't work for the government, no connections. we uncovered the e-mails, given them by a source who says they came from an anonymous source, and they show or appear to show correspondence between veselnitskaya and a member of the russian government coordinating a u.s. response to a u.s. legal case. that suggests a degree of influence inside russia that goes beyond just an average private lawyer and private citizen in russia. >> so, richard, a lot of people suspected that she wasn't a private citizen. the sanctions were designed that private citizens wouldn't be lobbying anybody for this stuff because it's sanctions that were put on oligarchs and people with big financial interests. how does this new realization about veselnitskaya change what we know about that june 2016 trump tower meeting? how should it influence our thinking? >> so i think it's just one more piece, frankly. she has long maintained that she's a private citizen, and this suggests that she has a degree of influence

but now, that same lawyer, natalia veselnitskaya is admitting those ties go much deeper than we knew. she sat down with nbc's richard engel. >> the only reason i'm asking these questions is because of the contacts that you've had with the most senior people who are now in our government. >> you said your relationship with the prosecutor general is what? >> she's an informant. an informant to the prosecutor general. think about that. this person who met with the campaign chairman, his son, and son-in-law, met promising dirt on his opponent. where they were expecting to get that dirt on hillary clinton. this person is an informant to a top kremlin official. the house intelligence committee has concluded its investigation. special counsel robert mueller has not. and we know for a fact he is interested in the trump tower meeting, because just this week in a court filing on that manafort case, mueller's prosecutors revealed a warrant they obtained last summer specifically authorized them to seek, quote, communications, records, documents, and other files involving any of the attendees of t

in 2014 veselnitskaya helped florida u.s.epartment of justice correction into a role state kept and its russian owner for money laundering in civil for ty if i tur. u.s. officials wanted government records and veselnitskaya helped the russian prosecutor's office write the response to the justice department basically denying that request. the justice department ultimately sued with that russian real estate company -- setled with that russian real estate company for $7 million. >> trace: this whole thing plays into the special counsel robert mueller's investigation. >> this is the same attorney who plet in june of 2016 with the president's son donald trump jr. at trump tower with paul manafort the campaign manager at the time and the president's son-in-law jared kushner. when she met with the trump campaign the president's son said they discussed adopts, then he later acknowledged that veselnitskaya was also offering information about the clinton campaign, trump junior said essentially made no sense. the kremlin has maintained

that government lawyer is natalia veselnitskaya. she says -- or initially said she is not a government lawyer, only that she's just a regular lawyer who wanted to talk about sanctions and wanted to bring this information to light about hillary clinton. >> there's also e-mails that you got, if i'm not mistaken, from an oligarch who fell out of favor, was prosecuted by vladimir putin. what do those e-mails show? >> reporter: so on one track, you have this relationship where she called herself an informant for the prosecutor general's office. you have that e-mail where rob goldstone says we're going to set up this meeting with this government lawyer who's got dirt on hillary clinton. that's one track, which she makes a statement herself, which you just played, describing her role. the other track are these e-mails, these leaked e-mails that we received from this former russian oligarch. he was once the richest man in russia. then he fell out of favor with vladimir putin, escaped the country, left the country, and is now living abroad.

natalia veselnitskaya has close tied to the kremlin. she disclosed to nbc news she was the source of information for russia's chief prosecutor saying, quote, i am a lawyer and i am an informant, since 2013 i have been actively communitied with the office of the russian prosecutor general, unquote. in june of 2016 she met with officials of the trump campaign, jared kushner, paul manafort and donald trump jr. after they were promised dirt on hilling. they mailed a european move: the house intelligence committee down played it as an act of poor judgment in the newly released report that the president is celebrating this afternoons evidence of no collusion between his campaign and the russian government. we have all angles of this story covered with the reporters from the capitol and let's begin on capitol hill with manu raju. the lawyer veselnitskaya long claimed she was a private attorney and she used to deny working on behalf of the russian government but now it appears we're learning otherwise. >> and she also denied there was anything

now that lawyer, natalia veselnitskaya, is admitting she worked with putin's kremlin. how significant is this? >> well, that revelation already makes this republican report look really stupid because now we have direct evidence that this russian lawyer had deep ties to the kremlin. not only was she an informant, she had direct contact with russia's prosecutor general. this suggests the kremlin new full well about this meeting. if you remember, this meeting was set up so that they could provide dirt on hillary clinton to the trump campaign. >> and yet, she previously said she worked in a private capacity. what do you make of the timing of her changing her story now? >> i don't really know what was going on in her head, but what it does show is that the russians employed a very sophisticated attack in 2016 on our democracy. in addition to using cyberattacks, they used influence campaigns and had a number of people in the united states who were trying to get the trump campaign to help them and to deliver these e-mails they had stolen to the american public. >> congressman

so steve, why would veselnitskaya admit this now about being an informant? is she going rogue or likely doing this with putin's permission? >> ana, i think there's probably a great deal of confusion with regard to thisn't informant th. and i think it's a lot less important than what her actual job title is or how she describes her or when she describes herself. i think those of us who have been covered russian for many years have held for a long time that this visit that she paid to trump tower to meet with cree members of the trump team was always part of a larger operation being run by the russian government, but the russian intelligence services. and that she was part of that. her denials that she was just a lawy lawyer, that she really wasn't involved, they don't hold a whole lot of water when you start looking at it. why she's talking about it now, perhaps because those e-mails were leaked and it looks kind of funny that she has said one thing and now something else is coming out. but there isn't any doubt at least any mind from a counterintelligence pe

natalia veselnitskaya has been attached to the top general of russia since 2013 when she worked with him to thwart a fraud case. in 2017 she told the senate judiciary committee i operate separate from any bodies. but once richard engel confronts her with the e-mails, here's how she described herself. >> but you can confirm you had this back and forth dialogue? um trying to find out in this case whether you were cooperating or colluding with the russian state, which raises questions about your background, particularly in light of the fact that you were in the trump tower with the -- >> the trump tower -- >> that's what this is all about. the only reason i'm asking you these questions is because of the contacts that you had with the most senior people who are now in our government. >> you said your relationship with the prosecutor general is what? >> some important context here. in messages exchanged with donald trump jr. before the trump tower meeting, the alleged dirt that was promised to the trump campaign was said to come from the kremlin's top prosecutor. those explosive new detai

i'm joined now from aestoestoni richard engel whose full interview with veselnitskaya airs right after us tonight at 9:00. richard, great to have you. what'd you learn from this interview? >> reporter: well, we learned more about who she is, her background, and her version of the story. and about her connections to the russian state. we spent quite a bit of time with her. we actually interviewed her twice in two different cities. and she told her -- she told us that her purpose was to shed light. this is her official story, on what she believes is a grand conspiracy being perpetrated against the united states of america. and she believes that sanctions on russia are based on lies and false reporting and she says she was simply there in trump tower to shed light on this matter to the officials who were prominent americans, meaning those people who were at the trump tower meeting. but she did say also, that as part of her own investigations, she had come across damaging information about hillary clinton, some of her donors that she wanted to share. then, we also came across some of this

this is someone working on behalf of the >> he said that veselnitskaya reached back out to trump aides after trump won the election. >> you're saying it has the impression of a quid pro quo. >> it certainly does. the russians thought they had reason to believe after the campaign that they now might get the help that they sought in that meeting in trump tower. >> the revelations come as republicans on the house intelligence committee released a redacted report concluding they found no evidence of collusion between the trump campaign and russia. the republicans, however, did fault the campaign for meeting with the russian lawyer. saying it, quote, demonstrated poor judgment and they criticized trump's repeated praise for wikileaks. >> i love wikileaks. >> reporter: stating it found, quote, the trump campaign's periodic praise for and communications with wikileaks, a hostile foreign negotiation, consistent with national security interests and president trump praised the republican report. >> we were honored. no collusion. it is a witch hunt. >> and the report revealed michael flynn and hi

our next guest is familiar with natalia veselnitskaya. he is the ceo of an investment firm.n the mid 2000s his russian attorney uncovered a massive tax fraud scheme targeting a company. rouder believes he was tortured and has fought for justice for him. he convinced congress to pass a law that freezes assets in the presence of human rights abuses. in 2016 russian authorities accused prouder of megging magnitsky. natalia veselnitskaya tried to convince people magnetski was a criminal. >>> she is two tasks on june 9th. one of them was to try to defend her client, a russian oligarch who received some of the proceeds of the crime that magnetski exposed into real estate in new york. she tried to defend her client from u.s. prosecutors. and the second thing she was doing was trying to repeal the magnetski act. i'm familiar with her because she was all over all the issues that we cared about for a very long time. >> i spoke to you very shortly after the news of that meeting first emerged. that's what you said. you said this business about her being a consultant for the russian gove

. >> it certainly corroborates what we have seen of thrnatal natalia veselnitskaya. >>> the fact this north korea and south korea are talking and missile tests have stopped is encouraging. >> i think it will be good. >> why did it take 11 years to get to this historic moment? >> we're not going to be played. we'll hopefully make a deal. if we don't, that's fine. >>> good morning to you. so we have merkel and macron, a dictator to a doctor, a rapper to a russian lawyer, and a lot of people saying it's been a heck of a week for president trump. and maybe that's just the opening act. >> look at you with the il iteration. that was nice. nice. the president returns to one of his favorite settings, the campaign trail, today. he has a re-election rally and is previewing a speech on twitter. it's got the attacks on russia, the investigation at least. robert mueller and democrats. cnn's abby phillip is live in washington. we'll start there. we know how much the president really loves these rallies. but there are some minimum wage par developments in the russia -- some major developments in the

if it is, ignoring veselnitskaya does not make sense.isn't really about pollution are russia and it never was. it was an attempt to unseal election results from day one.. we did not want to think that, didn't want to come to that conclusion but now, it is too obvious to ignore. joel payne is a former director of the american advertising for hillary for america and he joins us. thanks for coming on. there's a lot we don't know. i'm taking veselnitskaya, whom i've never mind i know nothing about, at her word, that she wasn't contacted by investigators. if that's true, stipulating, there is no other explanationex other than mueller isn't really after more than a year and a half looking into russian collusion because how could you skip? >> if we will take this lawyer afterward, we have to take robert mueller at his word, he has been very responsible with the investigation, and there is probably a reasonba why she hast been contacted yet. the investigation is not done. if she has something material to the case, they will talk to her. >> tucke

>> we learned a lot about natalia veselnitskaya and others at the trump tower meeting, jim.our hope that the republicans would join us as they had agreed to early in the investigation to release the transcripts to the public. if the public were able to see the transcripts, they would see a number of disturbing ties to the trump team and the russian government. but the russia -- the republicans have chosen to bury that evidence. that will not be a part of what the public will be seeing. and i think that, again, shirks our duty to tell the public what happened, how we were so vulnerable, who was responsible and what we're going to do to make sure this never happens again. >> the president, as you know, has said and continues to say repeatedly there is no collusion. his supporters as well. they say that this investigation, of at least the collusion question, has gone nowhere, but it was interesting when james comey was doing his interviews, including to cnn. he said it's possible. he left open the possibility based on what he knew. that, of course, is not decisive, but in your

the "times" is reports that veselnitskaya admitted for the first time what had long been believed, that her ties to top russian government officials were much closer than she let on. and the other breaking news, the house intelligence committee has released a redacted version of the republican's report on the month long russia investigation, their conclusion, no collusion. let's get to it all. the major report from the "new york times" first off, we'll speak to one of the reporters. but first let's get to evan perez joining me. what do you see in this? >> well, this report really confirms what we've all thought about natalia veselitskaya's denials. she has denied any link to the kremlin and to the russian government ever since the story broke. and now we see essentially their e-mails that have been released by a critic of the kremlin showing that she was in close contact with the chief prosecutor there in moscow. she now also has provided an interview to nbc in which for the first time she is saying those words that you just said, which is i am a lawyer and i am an informant. and of cou

veselnitskaya does work for the kremlin. now, that is big because you may recall she told the u.s. senate -- and this was public -- that she was independent of any government bodies in russia and that she had denied any relationship with the very prosecutor who was considered a key source of potential incriminating material on putin foes. but pressed on the new evidence by engel, she's now admitting to more. >> the only reason i'm asking these questions is because of the contact that you had with the most senior people who are now in our government. >> you said your relationship with the prosecutor general is what? >> listen, richard, as the saying goes. there he is. richard engel live to discuss this big interview. but here's part of how mr. engel, my colleague, broke this story, obtaining new evidence from say russian exile and putin foe. putin jailed him after he spoke out. he was in prison for about ten years. he lives abroad, and he told the beat in october that the prosecutor named in this story, mr. chai ca, tends to get permission from putin before making big moves. >> tran

now, natalia veselnitskaya met with jared kushner, trump junior, and paul manafort back in 2016. but that new detail now about her kremlin ties comes after house republicans on the intel committee released a 253-page document on their investigation. and i quote, while the committee found no evidence that the trump campaign colluded, coordinated, or conspired with the russian government, the investigation did find poor judgment and ill-considered actions by the trump and clinton campaigns. both the trump and clinton campaigns, notice that. for example, the june 2016 meeting at trump tower, between members of the trump campaign and a russian lawyer. now, president trump tweeting he is, quote, honored by this report. let's get to white house correspondent, boris sanchez in michigan, where the president will speak at a rally tonight. boris, set the scene. >> hey, there, ana, the president set to speak here in michigan. the doors have just opened at the venue and we're seeing several hundred people now heading in. the president won this county by some 11 points in 2016. he is beloved

and then this woman, veselnitskaya, comes out and says, well, wait a minute. yeah, i was an informant for moscow, and i was setting up that meeting. and, yes, it was about exchanging information like dirt on hillary for lessening the sanctions. it seems to me they're getting right near the target zone, proving collusion and maybe the president's personal involvement beforehand as well as afterwards. an accomplice before the fact, not just afterwards and try to spin it away. and they say we're not interested. >> the incuriosity is incredible. i mean this blocked number is a perfect example of how very valid leads were not followed by the republicans. >> why didn't they ask if he was talking to daddy. >> the democrats were pushing, get the phone records. they wouldn't do it. isn't it obvious to all of us that donald trump would have been read in on this meeting? his son, his senior aides are going to have a meeting with russians. he didn't know about it? i'm going to say one thing about the dirt. it's more complicated than we've been talking about here. there is

natalia veselnitskaya is shone closely with the office of a senior kremlin official. i'm a lawyer and i'm an informant she told nbc news. since 2013, i've been actively communicating with the office of the russian prosecutor general. the diskwloiclosure signs a lig a meeting she did with the eldest son. on capitol hill today, the republican who ran the house's russian investigation acknowledging he was unware she was an informant of the russian government. >> that's new information. >> reporter: this on the say day the house intelligence committee released its report from the russia probe. the republicans conclusion, they found no evidence of collusion between the trump campaign and russia. >> is it troubling to you that she was a russian informants and has a meeting with senior level officials in 2016? >> no. that's not how she presented evidence and no evidence she acted on that. >> reporter: the house gop fault does trump's campaign praise and communication with wikileaks as highly objectionable and demonstrating poor judgment. the trump and clinton campaigns took

last year veselnitskaya said just the opposite. >> have you ever worked for the russian government, donnections to the russian government? >> translator: no. >> reporter: the trump tower meeting is of interest to special counsel robert mueller for two potential reasons. first, to see if there is evidence that the trump campaign colluded with the russian government during the campaign. and second, to see if the president attempted to obstruct justice buys helping to draft a misleading explanation for what was discussed in the meeting. ranking democrat adam schiff said the lawyer's revelation makes russia's intentions clear clearer. >> what is the importance of this admission that she wasn't a private attorney, but working in effect for the russian government? >> it corroborates of what we have seen of veselnitskaya, of her contacts within the russian government as well as her persi persistence in terms of putin's top priorities, this is someone on working on behalf of the kremlin. >> reporter: notably schiff says that veselnitskaya reached back out to trump aides after trump won the ele

this underscores veselnitskaya's level of influence between her then secret meeting with donald trump jr., jared kushner and former campaign manager paul manafort. joining us is larry litman, former u.s. attorney and attorney general. great to have both of you with us. john, let me begin with you, if i may and hone in on vil veselnitskaya who is saying she was not only an informant but a lawyer working with the kremlin. when you get all of this evidence that we've gathered over the last couple of years about russia's motives in the 2016 trump tower meeting. >> well, ayman, i think this is maybe the final or one of the near final pieces of evidence for us. if you go back and look at that meeting, the person who set it up originally an industrialist in russia named agalarov said at the time he was getting information from the prosecutor general that would be damning to hillary clinton, and then there were about four other cutouts between agalarov and the meeting occurring. the fact that she has now acknowledged a relationship with the prosecutor general i think ties her into the russian

but also how is the report that natalia veselnitskaya, the russian attorney who met with don jr.uring the election to offer dirt on hillary clinton, that she admitted to the media she is an informant for the russian government, despite previous denials. it was interesting, john, during the joint press conference today, the president unprompted even though he wasn't asked a question about russia brought it up in an unrelated question about dr. ronnie jackson. he said he understands what jackson is going through in terms of false allegations because he has also faced false allegations in the russia investigation, john. >> pamela brown at the white house. thank you. more now on today's house intelligence committee report specifically now the objections to it as you know democrats and the committee published a critical and minority report. adam schiff announcing ds the republican colleagues of ignoring evidence he says was plain. i spoke about the investigation with another democrat on the panel. jauquin castro. congressman, you accuse the republicans on the house intelligence commit

anywhere in that interview, veselnitskaya further acknowledged that since 2013, i have been actively communicating with the office of the russian prosecutor general. this is all significant, because the so-called dirt on hillary clinton, which was promised to the trump campaign in that meeting was said to come from the top prosecutor in russia. in other words, she promised to deliver dirt about hillary clinton to the trump people, including family members to help them in the campaign, if they would respond by softening the economic sanctions against moscow. we're talking real collusion here, as an intermediate wrote to donald trump jr. in early june of 2016, the crown prosecutor of russia offered to provide the trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate hillary. trump jr. famously applied, if that's what you say, i love it. that's donald jr. speaking for his father. the reported subject of the meeting, which took place six days after that exchange was about u.s. sanctions relief to russia. however, the participants have downplayed the significa

he's saying the first topic that veselnitskaya raised was hillary clinton's donors. which means where it started was offering this derogatory information about clinton. so yes, the meeting was about dirt on hillary clinton. and yes, now we know the russians had a link to putin who was kicking off the conversation. you know, the learning curve about what happened here may not be that steep after all. >> this is the first time we've ever done any of this. i'm still way in the learning curve on all of this. i want to hear the information. if there's information, you want it and then you make what you do with it. >> that was don junior explaining his role in the meeting. let's be clear, campaigns do want information. but information in someone else's office? you can't just steal it. that's a crime. ask richmoard nixon. information offered by a lawyer contract kremlin. you can't think a thing of value from a foreigner in a campaign. that's a crime. the new leads are shedding more light on the fbi raid of paul manafort's home where they were seeking evidence on, yes, the m

in newly released e-mails from 2013 reported by the "new york times" russian lawyer natalia veselnitskaya is showed coordinating closely with the office of a senior russian official. i am a lawyer and informant she told nbc news. since 2013 i have been actively kmup communicating with the russian office. she attended a meeting with the president's eldest son and campaign officials. republican who ran the house's russian investigation acknowledging he was unaware that she was an informant of the russian government. >> that's new information. >>reporter: this on the same day the house intelligence committee released its report from the russia probe. the republican's conclusion, they found no evidence of collusion between the trump campaign and russia. is it troubling to you in any way she had that meeting and was an inform mant. >> no. because there's no evidence she acted on that. >>reporter: the house gop report does fault the trump campaign's periodic praise and communication with wikileaks. plus, it says both the trump and clinton campaigns took ill considered actions including the trum

phil marr, this is your portfolio, he says natalia veselnitskaya is gaslighting america by claiming she'sut up. are you kidding me? day two of being in office, you turn to your national security adviser, in that case mike flynn who gets fired shortly later, give me the plan with state and local officials and the election process to prevent this kind of interference. i have one single question. how many times has the president of the united states directed his national security team to give him a plan for preventing russian interference in elections? all he talks about is himself. i want to know how are you going to protect us, brother? how are you going to protect us? never does he talk about that, ever. >> why would she say she is an informant now, is there any possibility of psychological warfare? >> sure. angle one is, which is wrong, she's an innocent going in, wanting to talk about adoptions. i don't think so. angle two, she's spy for the russian government, an ex--kgb officer. i don't think so. i think she has cooperation contacts with the russian government. now i think the preside

donald trump was in the building when now confessed russian spy veselnitskaya met with donald juniorrade anti-hillary dirt for trump's promise to dilute anti-kremlin sanctions, but nunes shut down the house inquiry into what trump knew and when. trump/putin conspiracy plus obstruction of justice. agree? disagree? >> agree. there's several points in this document when you go through it where you see them go. they ask somebody a question, and they say, no, somebody else. for example, ukraine and offensive weapons. that changed in the rnc platform. you see it in the document. they go and ask was manafort involved in this? no, manafort didn't know anything about it. it was somebody else in the campaign. but it stops. >> no follow-up. >> right. and senator mccain has brought this up repeatedly. it was a complete shock to him. the republican party going soft on russia. this is really odd, yet this policy change happened. they didn't explore it. it's not even in the report. and we know a lot of these leads are being run down by the mueller investigation. i'm sure we're going to find out mor

. >> malcolm nance, we learned more today thanks to richard engel's interview with this woman, veselnitskaya the russian attorney who shows up in trump tower for a meeting, the purpose of which was later changed in the public memory. a lot of people had their suspicions about her. i'm going to roll richard engel's interview with her, including a very curious way she describes herself at the end. we'll talk about it on the other side. >> the only reason i'm asking these questions is because of the contact that you had with the most senior people who are now in our government. >> you said your relationship with the prosecutor general is what? >> so as we're used to hearing every day, i'm a lawyer, and i'm an informant. and, malcolm, i heard bill clinton's white house lawyer, jack quinn, say tonight that he thinks this is putin pressing a button to say to trump and the u.s. government, i'm the captain now. here's a few of the things i can control, and don't forget i'm involved in your process. >> that's an excellent example. i actually used it as putin's own personal guardrail, sort of a way to

natalia veselnitskaya clearly stated "i am a lawyer and i am an informant." since 2013 direct ties to one of the highest people in the kremlin in terms of intelligence. it's basically their primary justice minister over in the kremlin. and the fact of the matter is, she's now claiming that her personal e-mails were hack the. she confirmed to richard engel that those were her personal e-mails. and those e-mails directly link that 2016 trump tower meeting where donald trump jr., paul manafort, and jared kushner, were present. and the fact that donald trump wants to now say that this fits very cleanly into some gift wrapped box that is him being tough on russia? it strains credulity, it doesn't -- it's not credible, it's definitely not a credible point to be making. i think whoever gave him his talking points for his speech tonight was very off base. >> danny savalas, let me turn to the president giving his thanks to the house intelligence committee, during the coursing those thanks to the republicans, the republican majority on that committee. those republicans

i'm a lawyer and i'm an informant. >> reporter: veselnitskaya met with the president's son and son-in-lawshe says she did not pass information about the trump meeting. friday with the german chancellor at the white house, president trump put the fate of north korean nuclear talks on his shoulders. >> i think i have a responsibility to do it. if i can't do it, it will be a tough time for a lot of countries and a lot of people. >> reporter: the president says two locations are under consideration for the summit. when asked if he had already spoken to kim jong-un himself? he chose not to answer. >> i will be meeting with kim jong-un in the coming weeks. we look forward to that and hopefully it will be productive. >> reporter: also in the conference, the president stood up for rear admiral ronny jackson. the white house figures iphysic withdrawn himself from the v.a. secretary. he pulled out of contention among controversy. the secret service saying they have no record of ever having to intervene with dr. jackson on the road traveling with the president. the president said he had been treated

>> reporter: and suggesting for the first time that russia directed lawyer natalia veselnitskaya to admit is an informant to sow chaos in the u.s. >> putin and the group said, you know, this trump is killing us. why don't you say that you're involved with government! >> reporter: comey responded this morning. >> it doesn't give me any hope that he's seeing or thinking clearly. >> reporter: the speech comes as president trump prepares to meet with north korean leader kim jong-un. >> they were saying, "what do you think uhh-- president trump had to do with it?" i'll tell you what, like how about everything! >> reporter: today secretary of state mike pompeo said his easter weekend meeting with kim set the stage for trump's upcoming summit. >> my goal was to try and identify if there was a real opportunity there. i believe there is. >> reporter: pompeo is in the middle east warning allies the president is likely to withdraw from the iran nuclear deal ss he was asked if exiting that agreement jeopardizes talks with north korea. >> i don't think kim jong-un is staring at the iran deal and sayin

center of the investigation is back in the spotlight as new details emerge about about natalia veselnitskaya translator: the only reason i'm asking these questions is because of the contact you've had in the most senior people who are now in our government. >> you said your relationship with the prosecutor general is what? >> and we have the house intelligence committee republicans on that committee releasing its final report surrounding its controversial investigation into russian meddling in the 2016 election. that republican author found there was no evidence of collusion between the trump campaign and russia. joining me is josh gerstein. let me start with you. that interview that richard engel did with that russian lawyer. how does this change the picture? >> well, it changes her story about what transpired. there had been suspicions for a long time, david, that she had very strong ties to the kremlin. now had there are indications she had ties to the top office in the kremlin. i think in terms of serious investigators, they already assumed she had ties to the kremlin. the more critical

attorney general veselnitskaya said "i operate independently of any governmental bodies."th richard engel, here is what she had to say. >> the only reason i'm asking you these questions is because of the contact you've had with the most senior people in our government. >> you said your relationship with the prosecutor general is what? >> meanwhile on another note, republicans on the house intelligence committee released their foundiindings of the russ investigation saying they found no evidence that the trump campaign colluded, contributed or conspired with the russian government. let's start with the lawyer if we could hear, malcolm. that one line at the end, "i'm a lawyer and i'm an informant." what do you make of what she had to say in that interview with richard engel? >> first of all, fascinating interview with richard engel. that's some incredible television. just amazed he got her to essentially confess to a certain extent that she was a lot more than she had portrayed when she had spoken in the united states. my first takeaway is that she was more than an informant

david, i'll throw this to you that we do learn that natalia veselnitskaya was an informant? >> it's not a huge surprise, at least to me. we should point out in the interviews that manu did with the congressman say it wasn't relevant. they did say they used bad judgment in even taking that meeting at trump tower. i think the real key to this is did donald trump jr. know she was connected to the russian government? did jared kushner know? that's the real connection to whether there was any collusion. going into this meeting, did they know her ties to the russian government. >> would there be any legal implications there if someone had known that in fact they were meeting with a russian informant? >> not necessarily anything different that what we've been talking about, the drafting of the white house plain letter. they were told they were meeting to someone connected to what they call mistakenly the crown prosecutor. whatever they thought going in, they had every reason to believe there was actually a russian government person in the room with them and that does put a differen

for the meeting in 2016 with the lawyer natalia veselnitskaya, who told the senate committee in novemberndependently of any governmental bodies. that's not what she told our richard engel this week. >> the only reason i'm asking the question is because of the contact you had with the most senior people in our government. >> you said your relationship with the prosecutor general is? what? >> have you heard about the lawyer? for a year, a woman lawyer, she was like i know nothing. now all of a sudden she supposedly is involved with government. you know why? if she did that, because putin and the group said, you know, this trump is killing us. why didn't you say that you're involved with government so that we can go and make their life in the united states even more chaotic. >> michael, steele, i want to talk first about the house intelligence committee investigation. i talked to members on both sides. democrats are a little bit louder about this, but there is agreement that it devolved into a farce. >> i think everyone is disappointed with the way it looked. i think trey gowdy, because he'

natalia veselnitskaya. >> is there any intention? >>> i would say obviously, the house intelligence committee just put out this report yesterday say tlg was no collusion with president trump and the russians. obviously that investigation, there's some questions about its credibility. it's been done on a very partisan basis and does not have the power to compel testimony. there was a lot of gaps in the investigation. now, why did she come out and do this now? this is a woman who is very close with putin. one of his cronies, she's not going to do this without his say-so. so you have to wonder, the russians are known for sort of sewi sowing discord. why are they stirring this up again when before they tried to deny they had any involvement in the election. and here she is sort of dangling this bait. >> jeremy, they said this corroborates this is someone working with the russians. here's the question. she put herself to the trump campaign as we understand is as a russian government attorney. she's now saying she was an informant. how muc

the "times" is reports that veselnitskaya admitted for the first time what had long been believed, that ties to top russ

and it's interesting that this information about natalia veselnitskaya has come out. >> i agree thatler's investigation is the one that really counts particularly because i feel like this idea of collusion has gotten a little bit too noisy in terms of the public understanding of this matter. let's remember, collusion is a scriptor. it's not a law. there is no crime in the federal statute -- >> the law actually would be conspiracy. >> exactly. conspiracy is a crime. you can end up being part of a conspiracy unwittingly even if you did not clued to be part of it. >> right. >> i have kind of learned to ignore the house and frankly the senate investigations. the congressional piece of this to me is decreasingly important. i'm much more paying attention to robert mueller, if he releases anything. it's possible at the end of this if he finds nothing that's actionable or that can be released to the public without compromising national security the investigation could just end. even if that happens that's saying something. >> that's how fbi investigations are supposed to go. they are suppose

investigation shows how premature it was to end it including the news about natalia veselnitska veselnitskaya, and trump's conversations with wikileaks. there's so much evidence here to say the house intel committee was never something that -- it just never was an effective panel. >> danny cevallos, that tar shah just brought up that russian lawyer. this was a rather extraordinary exchange between her and my colleague richard engel about that infamous meeting in trump tower. in the past she said in a statement to a senate committee that she was there on her own in that meeting with campaign aides, including the president's son. she's reversed that, saying she was there at the behest of the kremlin. your take on just how significant that pivot is, that about-face is. >> if she was involved with russia, it's more evidence of a nexus, a connection between the russian government and the trump campaign. so the next thing that still has to be established is what degree of intent was involved. what did the trump campaign members who met with that russian lawyer, what did they reasonably know at the

he talked about natalia veselnitskaya, this russian attorney who had been adamant she was not involvedh collusion and with the russian government. sitting down with richard engel, our very own, earlier this week on friday night, as a matter of fact, she sort of threw a monkey wrench into that messaging, said she was an informant for the russian government. the president responded tonight, take a look at that. >> i want to thank, by the way, the house intelligence committee. okay? they do it with us too. russian collusion. you know, i guarantee you, i'm tougher on russia. nobody ever thought -- in fact, have you heard about the lawyer? for a year a woman lawyer, she was like, oh, i know nothing, know nothing. all of a sudden she's supposedly involved with government. you know why? if she did that, because putin and the group said, you know, this trump is killing us. why don't you say that you're involved with government so that we can go and make their life in the united states even more chaotic. look at what's happened. look at how these politicians have fallen for this junk. russian c