A Russian-American former Soviet counter intelligence official turned lobbyist has said he attended a 2016 meeting with Donald Trump Jr, marking another change in the account of a discussion earmarked by some as evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.<br /><br />The president’s son had previously only acknowledged the presence of Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya.<br /><br />However, Rinat Akhmetshin told US media that he was also present at the meeting.<br /><br />House of Representatives Minority leader Nancy Pelosi called for an independent commission to investigate the matter, saying: “It is important that we see all of the electronic communication – whether it’s direct messaging, twitter, email, text, whatever it happens to be – among the members of the Trump family and within Trump administration”<br /><br />The uproar began after Trump Jr revealed that he and several of his father’s aides had met with Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower.<br /><br />Despite the 39-year-old’s attempts to play down the encounter, controversy has shrouded the revelation as more information about the meeting comes out.<br /><br />The meeting, which was held at Trump Tower in New York on 9 June 2016, was set up by British music publicist Rob Goldstone, who represents Russian pop star Emin Agalarov.<br /><br />In an email string released by Trump Jr via Twitter, Goldstone promised that Veselnitskaya – described by Goldstone as a “Russian government attorney” – would share damaging information about presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.<br /><br />But Mr Akhmetshin told the AP that Ms Veselnitskaya told Trump Jr she had details of possible illicit funds being funnelled into the Democratic National Committee.<br />
