Donald Trump Jr. Meeting Included Russia-Born Southland Businessman

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA — A Huntington Beach businessman who was born in the former Soviet republic of Georgia was among those who attended a meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer that has contributed to allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, it was reported Tuesday.

An attorney for Irakly "Ike" Kaveladze, 52, told the Los Angeles Times the businessman was asked to attend the meeting at Trump Tower in New York by Russian developer Aras Agalarov, whose father once planned to build a hotel in Moscow with now-President Donald Trump.

Kaveladze is vice president of a development company owned by Agalarov.
Kaveladze's attorney, Scott Balber, told The Times his client had no idea what the meeting was about until he got there. Balber told The Washington Post that Kaveladze thought he was going to act as a translator during the meeting between Trump Jr. and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, but she brought along her own translator.

Kaveladze was the subject of a 2000 congressional investigation into Russian money-laundering for his role in setting up more than 2,000 corporations for Russian clients and opening bank accounts for them, according to the New York Times. The investigation did not lead to charges against Kaveladze.

Balber told The Times that Kaveladze has been contacted by prosecutors working with special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating alleged Russian interference in the presidential election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian government. The June 9, 2016, meeting has come under scrutiny, with Trump Jr. publicly releasing emails confirming he attended the meeting with the understanding he would be given critical information about Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton as "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."

President Trump has defended his son's actions, insisting that any politician would readily attend such a meeting as part of standard opposition research during a political campaign. Trump has vociferously denied any collusion with the Russian government during his presidential campaign and said nothing of substance came out of his son's meeting with the lawyer.

Kaveladze did not recall saying anything during the meeting, Balber told The Times.

Kaveladze "was asked to attend the meeting purely to … make sure it happened," Balber told the paper. "He literally had no idea what the meeting was about until he showed up right before."

President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and his then-campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, also attended the meeting.

Read:

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Donald Trump Jr.'s Meeting Had At Least 4 Undisclosed Attendees: Report

City News Service

Photo credit: Kathy Willens, Alexander Zemlianichenko/Associated Press