The 8th Man Has Been Identified!

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There were eight people in Don Jr.’s infamous meeting with a Russian attorney who had promised him “information that would incriminate Hillary” as part of  “Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” But so far we only have seven names. Who was the mysterious eighth man? The LA Times has the story today:

Donald Trump Jr.’s controversial meeting with a Russian lawyer in June 2016 was attended by a California businessman born in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, according to two people familiar with the meeting.

Irakly “Ike” Kaveladze, a 52-year-old businessman from Huntington Beach, was the eighth individual at the controversial meeting, The Times has learned. His identity had not previously been revealed.

….Kaveladze “was asked to attend the meeting purely to … make sure it happened,” said [his attorney]. “He literally had no idea what the meeting was about until he showed up right before.” Kaveladze has been contacted by prosecutors working for special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating possible coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government, according to Balber, who said his client was “cooperating fully,” with investigators.

Huh. So Kaveladze was asked to attend to make sure the meeting happened, but had no idea what the meeting was about. I’m not sure that makes sense. In what way did he “make sure” the meeting took place?

All very strange. I suppose Robert Mueller will figure it out in another year or so.

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

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