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The indictment unsealed this month charging Natalia V. Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who met with Trump campaign officials in June 2016, with obstruction of justice in another case raises an interesting question: Why would the Justice Department pursue a case in which there is little likelihood of ever getting the defendant to the United States?

The charges stem from a civil asset forfeiture case filed two years ago. Ms. Veselnitskaya is accused of making false statements in that case to thwart a money laundering investigation involving her clients, Prevezon Holdings and its owner, Denis P. Katsyv, an influential Russian businessman. According to the Justice Department, the defendants financed real estate purchases in New York to hide funds as part of a tax evasion scheme.

In an interview with Yahoo News, Ms. Veselnitskaya said that she would not return to the United States but planned to use “all methods” to defend herself.