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 When Donald Trump Jr. met with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya last June at Trump Tower to gather information on Hillary Clinton for his father's presidential campaign, it's now clear there was at least one more Russian in the room. The man in question, according to NBC, is a “Russian-American lobbyist” and “a former Soviet counter intelligence officer who is suspected by some U.S. officials of having ongoing ties to Russian intelligence.” 
 
 NBC chose not to publish his name, but the Associated Press has identified him as Rinat Akhmetshin — a longtime Washington lobbyist who was accused in court filings of being a former Soviet military intelligence officer who "developed a special expertise in running negative public-relations campaigns” (a charge he denies). Akhmetshin’s name was mentioned in an article in The New York Times earlier this year detailing a Russian business feud, in which Akhmetshin was quoted as being paid $70,000 by one Russian oligarch to discredit another. On Tuesday, to preempt yet another Times scoop, Trump Jr. published his emails with British publicist Rob Goldstone about the Veselnitskaya meeting — in which Goldstone states that the meeting was “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump” and Trump Jr. replies that “if it’s what you say I love it.” 
 
 Now, on Friday, Trump’s camp has admitted there was at least one more person at the meeting that we didn’t know about — and it seems plausible that this person, Akhmetshin, has at least some kind of connection to Russian intelligence. When asked about whether he had concerns, knowing what he knows now, Futerfas responded: “I have absolutely no concerns about what was said in that meeting.” 
 
 Veselnitskaya, in an exclusive interview with NBC News, denied having any connection to the Kremlin and insisted the meeting was to discuss sanctions, not the presidential campaign.
– Another intriguing detail to Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer: We already knew that he, Natalia Veselnitskaya, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort were in the room. Now comes word that Veselnitskaya brought along a Russian-born lobbyist described by NBC News as a "former Soviet counterintelligence officer who is suspected by some US officials of having ongoing ties to Russian intelligence." The lobbyist's name is Rinat Akhmetshin, and he confirms to the AP that he attended the meeting. Like Trump Jr. and Veselnitskaya, however, he said the meeting didn't yield much of substance. "I never thought this would be such a big deal to be honest." He also denies being a spy. Coverage: His background: Akhmetshin was born in Russia, emigrated to the US after serving in the Soviet military, and reportedly holds dual citizenship. He insists to the Washington Post that he is not and was never a Russian intelligence officer. He says that he served two years in the Soviet army as an 18-year-old draftee and that his unit had some unspecified role in intelligence matters. But he says he never trained as a spy. Now a lobbyist: Now a Washington resident, he is well-known in congressional circles as a pro-Kremlin lobbyist, reports the New York Times. He has been working with Veselnitskaya trying to get the Magnitsky Act overturned. (The act, which punishes Russians accused of human rights abuses, is bitterly opposed by Vladimir Putin.) Grassley's letter: Now getting a lot of attention is a letter written by Sen. Chuck Grassley in April to Homeland Security seeking information about Akhmetshin. Grassley said he "has been accused of acting as an unregistered agent for Russian interests and apparently has ties to Russian intelligence." Read it here. Why was he there? Akhmetshin said Veselnitskaya invited him to attend the meeting at the last minute. This part gets vague: He said she had come across evidence that a US hedge firm seemingly linked to the Democratic National Committee was violating Russian tax laws and sought his advice on how to present the information, per the Post. Documents left behind? Both the Post and the AP suggest that Veselnitskaya did indeed leave behind a folder of documents about what she had uncovered regarding allegedly shady funds going to the DNC. Never heard of him: A spokesman for Putin says "we have no knowledge of this person." Putin similarly has denied knowing Veselnitskaya. Hacking accusation: NPR notes that in 2015, a mining firm accused Akhmetshin of hacking into its computer system. Details on that via Courthouse News. All this means what, exactly? Everyone will have to stay tuned. "Apparently the White House is content to let the media put together the puzzle, piece by piece," writes Aaron Blake at the Washington Post. "If they truly have nothing to hide, that's a really bad strategy." A similar sentiment from Zack Beauchamp at Vox: If nothing else, the new scoop "does prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there’s more to this meeting than what we know right now."