Separately, on August 2, 2016, Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort met in New York City with his long-time business associate Konstantin Kilimnik, who the FBI assesses to have ties to Russian intelligence. Kilimnik requested the meeting to deliver in person a peace plan for Ukraine that Manafort acknowledged to the Special Counsel's Office was a "backdoor" way for Russia to control part of eastern Ukraine; both men believed the plan would require candidate Trump's assent to succeed (were he to be elected President). They also discussed the status of the Trump Campaign and Manafort's strategy for winning Democratic votes in Midwestern states. Months before that meeting, Manafort had caused internal polling data to be shared with Kilimnik, and the sharing continued for some period of time after their August meeting.
Sorry, folks, but this is ridiculous. A man running for president of the USA now has Russians receiving campaign intelligence and is a partner in a winning strategy. To me that is a conspiracy. To the Special Counsel, it is unprovable. Why? I think only Robert Mueller can say. Perhaps because it wasn't Donald Trump directly, but, was it ever going to be Donald Trump directly? Heck, no.
February 8, 2019
By Katelyn Polantz
Donald Trump's 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort (click here) continued to keep in touch with his Russian associate Konstantin Kilimnik and discuss Ukrainian politics while he was working for the campaign and through last year, and that's become a central issue of Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation, according to a transcript of a closed-door court hearing.
A special counsel prosecutor also suggested in the hearing that the former campaign chairman was not forthcoming because Manafort was angling for a pardon.
Mueller prosecutor Andrew Weissmann told a federal judge Monday that a meeting Manafort and Kilimnik had in August 2016 was "of significance to the special counsel." A redacted version of the transcript was released Thursday.
At the meeting, Ukrainian policy -- and, it appears according to previous filings, a peace plan that would have benefited Russia -- came up. Manafort in interviews with the special counsel said the discussion with Kilimnik about the topic ended then....
Of course, a peace plan for Ukraine would have to be part of the moral discussion between Kilimnik and Manafort. But, this was to be no ordinary peace plan, it had to benefit Russia.
There already was a peace plan for Ukraine that Germany, Ukraine, Russia and the USA signed as a treaty. That treaty removed all and any forms of nuclear capacity from Ukraine and in exchange Ukraine was to live forever in peace without fear of invasion by either The West or Russia. So, why discuss a peace plan with Russians when they had already broken an international treaty? If there is a good answer to that question, I sure haven't heard it yet.
This CONSTANT relationship between the Trump Campaign and Russian operatives continued. Manafort had maintained a relationship with the Trump Campaign after the election and basically extorted monies from a Wannabee US Navy Secretary. It is my opinion, Paul Manafort was a back channel between Russia and the Trump campaign even if he wasn't campaign manager.
Fall 2016. On October 7, 2016, the media released video of candidate Trump speaking in graphic terms about women years earlier, which was considered damaging to his candidacy. Less than an hour later, WikiLeaks made its second release: thousands of John Podesta's emails that had been stolen by the GRU in late March 2016. The FBI and other U.S. government institutions were at the time continuing their investigation of suspected Russian government efforts to interfere in the presidential election. (Don't tell me President Obama did nothing.) That same day, October 7, the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a joint public statement "that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations." Those "thefts" and the "disclosures" of the hacked materials through online platforms such as WikiLeaks, the statement continued, "are intended to interfere with the US election process."
NO ONE WAS LISTENING. TRUMP SURE AS HECK WAS GOING TO BRING ATTENTION TO AN ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT THE VERY GOVERNMENT THAT MANAFORT WAS CONSPIRING WITH AND WAS BENEFITTING HIS CAMPAIGN.
NO ONE WAS LISTENING.
I heard the announcement. My reaction was, that is a fine kettle of fish because the damage was already done.
Post-2016 Election. Immediately after the November 8 election, Russian government officials and prominent Russian businessmen began trying to make inroads into the new administration.
Well, that's a surprise, isn't it? And, of course, Trump pushed the Russians right out of his life and back to Moscow, right? No, that isn't what happened at all. Donald Trump, "But, I want to do things with Russia."WHILE:
"Paul Whelan's letters home only deepen the mystery surrounding his detention." (click here)
The most senior levels of the Russian government encouraged these efforts. The Russian Embassy made contact hours after the election to congratulate the President-Elect and to arrange a call with President Putin. Several Russian businessmen picked up the effort from there.
Kirill Dmitriev is Russian money. Now, why would Dmitriev be steered toward Erik Prince? Let's see this is December.
Well, looky thar. It is Kirill Dmitriev and the Saudi Prince. Isn't the Saudi Prince best friends with Jarad Kushner?
So, it is early December 2016 and Trump nominated Betsy Devos for Education Secretary on November 23, 2016. It is easy to realize why Dmitriev saw Erik Prince as a target for Russia.
In early December, a business associate steered Dmitriev to Erik Prince, a supporter of the Trump Campaign and an associate of senior Trump advisor Steve Bannon. Dmitriev and Prince later met face-to-face in January 2017 in the Seychelles and discussed U.S.-Russia relations. (Bingo) During the same period, another business associate introduced Dmitriev to a friend of Jared Kushner who had not served on the Campaign or the Transition Team. Dmitriev and Kushner's friend collaborated on a short written reconciliation plan for the United States and Russia, which Dmitriev implied had been cleared through Putin. The friend gave that proposal to Kushner before the inauguration, and Kushner later gave copies to Bannon and incoming Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
There is no reason for this cooperation. None. FROM THE BEGINNING, the Trump administration coveted Russia and I want to know why!!!!!!!!!
On December 29, 2016, then-President Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for having interfered in the election. (Did I hear President Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for interfering with the election?)
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Quid Pro Quo
June 2, 2016
President Donald Trump’s administration (click here) moved quickly to try and lift economic sanctions on Russia and other punishments former President Barack Obama had put in place as soon as it took office in January, according to multiple sources who have spoken with Yahoo News.
“There was serious consideration by the White House to unilaterally rescind the sanctions,” according to Dan Fried, who retired in February as Coordinator for Sanctions Policy at the State Department.
Fried told veteran investigative journalist Michael Isikoff, a former national investigative correspondent for NBC News and Newsweek alumnus, that in the early weeks of the administration he got several “panicky” calls from U.S. officials. They asked: “Please, my God, can’t you stop this?”
The sanctions in question included those imposed by Obama for Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and others inflicted late last year to punish Moscow for its suspected efforts to interfere in the 2016 election. The plans Trump’s administration considered early on included returning diplomatic compounds seized from Russia in late 2016—recent reports say Trump is currently working to put this plan into action....
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Incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn called Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and asked Russia not to escalate the situation in response to the sanctions. The following day, Putin announced that Russia would not take retaliatory measures in response to the sanctions at that time. Hours later, President-Elect Trump tweeted, "Great move on delay (by V. Putin)." The next day, on December 31 , 2016, Kislyak called Flynn and told him the request had been received at the highest levels and Russia had chosen not to retaliate as a result of Flynn's request.
Happy New Year.
There is a new section following this and I will pick up there tomorrow.
