As Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation continues to progress, another member of the first family is now in its crosshairs: Ivanka Trump.
According to a new Los Angeles Times report, Mueller is now looking into a previously undisclosed meeting that took place between Ivanka Trump and two of the Russian officials involved in the infamous June 9th meeting at Trump Tower.
More from the report:
Investigators also are exploring the involvement of the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, who did not attend the half-hour sit-down on June 9, 2016, but briefly spoke with two of the participants, a Russian lawyer and a Russian-born Washington lobbyist. Details of the encounter were not previously known.
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It occurred at the Trump Tower elevator as the Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and the lobbyist, Rinat Akhmetshin, were leaving the building and consisted of pleasantries, a person familiar with the episode said. But Mueller’s investigators want to know every contact the two visitors had with Trump’s family members and inner circle.
Trump’s daughter, who played a major role in his presidential campaign and continues to hold influence within the administration, is just the latest member of the first family under the Mueller microscope.
Donald Trump Jr. and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner are also under scrutiny for their Moscow connections during the election, which they often covered up until they no longer could. This is particularly true of their own involvement in the Trump Tower meeting with Russian officials promising damaging dirt on former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
Ivanka Trump was not present at that meeting, but the LA Times report shows that she spoke to at least two of the Russian officials on the same day, after the meeting concluded.
As this investigation continues to rage on, the number of people in Donald Trump’s orbit who had previously unknown meetings with Russian officials continues to grow. Despite what the president claims, these were not just interactions between Russia and low-level Trump campaign officials – these were some of the closest family members and advisers in his inner-circle.
The idea that Trump’s daughter, son, and son-in-law were speaking to Russian officials who had so-called damaging dirt on Hillary Clinton without Donald Trump knowing is becoming increasingly unlikely.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
