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DC Daily: Russian lawyer says she's ready to testify about Trump Jr. meeting

Lawyer ready to testify about Trump Jr. meeting
Lawyer ready to testify about Trump Jr. meeting
Posted at 7:20 AM, Jul 19, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-19 10:20:36-04

What's happening in the political world:

Russian lawyer who met with Trump Jr. ready to testify
-- Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. and several others during the 2016 campaign, said she is ready to testify before the Senate.

In an interview with a government-run TV station, Veselnitskaya said she wanted to set the record straight in order to "clarify the situation behind the mass hysteria" regarding her meeting with Trump campaign associates.

Trump Jr. agreed to meet with Veselnitskaya because he believed he would be receiving damaging information about his father's campaign opponent Hillary Clinton. Trump Jr. released his email correspondence regarding the June 2016 meeting on his Twitter account earlier this month.

Veselnitskaya said she did not work for the Russian government.

Meanwhile, Senate leaders want Trump Jr. to publicly testify about the meeting.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat in the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Special Counsel Robert Mueller gave her permission to ask the president's son and campaign manager Paul Manafort to testify.

Mueller's team also wants to speak with Ike Kaveladze, identified as the eighth person at the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower.


Trump meeting with GOP senators to discuss health care
-- President Trump is set to meet with several Republican senators Wednesday at the White House in an effort to put the Senate's struggling health care plan back on track.

Trump tweeted Wednesday morning: "I will be having lunch at the White House today with Republican Senators concerning healthcare. They MUST keep their promise to America!"

He added: "The Republicans never discuss how good their healthcare bill is, & it will get even better at lunchtime. The Dems scream death as OCare dies!"

The meeting comes after several more senators have come out in recent days against the bill to replace Obamacare, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's repeal-only proposal.


President hits back on reporting of second Putin meeting
-- While the White House confirmed President Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a dinner at the G20 summit earlier this month, Trump lashed out on how the story was presented.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump and Putin had a second meeting in Germany that was not previously disclosed. The two leaders had met earlier that day in a widely-anticipated discussion.

However, Trump seemingly took offense to the media's reporting of his second meeting with Putin.

He tweeted: "Fake News story of secret dinner with Putin is 'sick.' All G 20 leaders, and spouses, were invited by the Chancellor of Germany. Press knew!" and "The Fake News is becoming more and more dishonest! Even a dinner arranged for top 20 leaders in Germany is made to look sinister!"


CNN contributed to this report