Samochornov, State Dept. Double Agent, Trump Tower

"Samochornov, an American citizen, has worked as a translator for Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who led the meeting with Donald Trump Jr. on June 9, 2016.

Samochornov translated for Veselnitskaya while she represented a Russian defendant in a money-laundering case in federal court last year and accompanied her to Belgium to promote a film critical of a U.S. anti-money laundering law.

"Samochornov has a long track record of interpreting for governmental agencies and dignitaries, including Russia’s leading human rights activist and the U.S. State Department. 

He holds an M.A. in linguistics from the Institute of Foreign Languages in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, and an MBA from the University of Washington."

"Samochornov is bound by professional conduct not to talk publicly about discussions with clients. The American Translators Association lists in its code of ethics and professional practice that interpreters’ ethical and professional duty to “hold in confidence any privileged and/or confidential information entrusted to us in the course of our work.”

"Samochornov’s work for Veselnitskaya extended outside of the courtroom. 

Veselnitskaya formed a nonprofit group called the Human Rights Accountability Global Initiative Foundation, which employed Akhmetshin as a lobbyist. 

The group’s stated purpose is to restart the adoptions of Russian children to the U.S. by repealing the Magnitsky Act.

In April 2016, Samochornov interpreted for Veselnitskaya at an aborted screening of an anti-Magnitsky Act documentary in Belgium.

Federal prosecutors claimed in court that Samochornov was an “officer” of Veselnitskaya’s group. 

In one exchange from May 2017, prosecutors and defense attorneys sparred over whether Samochornov should be allowed to serve as an interpreter for Denis Katsyv, owner of Russian company Prevezon on trial for money laundering

"“He has apparently been engaged in lobbying efforts that seem to have some connection to at least the defendants’ lawyers in Washington,” assistant U.S. attorney Paul Monteleoni said, according to a court transcript.

 “We understand, he is the officer of a nongovernmental organization founded along with one of the defense lawyers. It’s a little different from our interpreters.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/man-who-joined-russians-in-trump-meeting-just-an-interpreter-says-mother-in-law

https://www.thedailybeast.com/man-who-joined-russians-in-trump-meeting-just-an-interpreter-says-mother-in-law