The investigation identified evidence that, during the period the Trump Moscow project was under consideration, the possibility of candidate Trump visiting Russia arose in two contexts.
First, in interviews with the Office, Cohen stated that he discussed the subject of traveling to Russia with Trump twice: once in late 2015; and again in spring 2016. 375 According to Cohen, Trump indicated a willingness to travel if it would assist the project significantly. On one occasion, Trump told Cohen to speak with then-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to coordinate the candidate's schedule. Cohen recalled that he spoke with Lewandowski, who suggested that they speak again when Cohen had actual dates to evaluate. Cohen indicated, however, that he knew that travel prior to the Republican National Convention would be impossible given the candidate's preexisting commitments to the Campaign.376
Second, like Cohen, Trump received and turned down an invitation to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. In late December 2015, Mira Duma...
Russian czarina Miroslava “Mira” Duma, who founded the lifestyle and culture website Buro 24/7, has made a surprise cameo in the Mueller report. So now the question is—who is Mira Duma?...
...a contact of Ivanka Trump' s from the fashion industry-first passed along invitations for Ivanka Trump and candidate Trump from Sergei Prikhodko, a Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.377 On January 14, 2016, Rhona Graff...
Rhona Graff is Trump's assistant. There is an article about Summer Zervos and her interaction with Ms. Graff. The women involved with Trump are fitting an interesting picture. They are very successful women. They are business people. When he came on to them, they retreated from ever filing a complaint for fear of an impact on their career and/or business. In the case of Summer Zervos she remained interested in business opportunities that Trump might have for her even after being fired from "The Apprentice" and afterward sexually assaulted.
Summer Zervos Email: (click here) Donald Trump’s assistant, Rhona Graff, Got This April 2016 Email From Trump Accuser
Women blame themselves and hope to correct that misunderstanding in order to continue their business success. They hope by correcting misunderstandings about sexual involvement will bring about a better impression of themselves to allow clarification of their abilities vs. their attractiveness.
It is really lousy to be sexually assaulted for many reasons and complete confusion about the relationship is not unusual.
At any rate, Graff was the voice for Trump to defend his reputation and blame the woman.
...sent an email to Duma stating that Trump was "honored to be asked to participate in the highly prestigious" Forum event, but that he would "have to decline" the invitation given his "very grueling and full travel schedule" as a presidential candidate.378 Graff asked Duma whether she recommended that Graff "send a formal note to the Deputy Prime Minister" declining his invitation; Duma replied that a formal note would be "great."379
Footnote 375 Cohen 9/12/18 302, at 2
Footnote 376 Cohen 9/12/18 302, at 7.
Footnote 377 12/21/15 Email, Mira to Ivanka Trump (6:57 a.m.) (attachments); TRUMPORG_16_000057 (1/7/16 Email, I. Trump to Graff(9:18 a.m.)).
Footnote 378 1/14/16 Email, Graff to Mira.
Footnote 379 1/15/16 Email, Mira to Graff.
It does not appear that Graff prepared that note immediately. According to written answers from President Trump,380 Graff received an email from Deputy Prime Minister Prikhodko on March 17, 2016, again inviting Trump to participate in the 2016 Forum in St. Petersburg.381 Two weeks later, on March 31, 2016, Graff prepared for Trump's signature a two-paragraph letter declining the invitation.382 The letter stated that Trump's "schedule has become extremely demanding" because of the presidential campaign, that he "already ha[ d] several commitments in the United States" for the time of the Forum, but that he otherwise "would have gladly given every consideration to attending such an important event."383 Graff forwarded the letter to another executive assistant at the Trump Organization with instructions to print the document on letterhead for Trump to sign.384
At approximately the same time that the letter was being prepared, Robert Foresman-a New York-based investment banker-...
Picture below is Anton Kobyakov, Assistant to President Putin. (click here)
...began reaching out to Graff to secure an in-person meeting
with candidate Trump. According to Foresman, he had been asked by Anton Kobyakov, a Russian
presidential aide involved with the Roscongress Foundation (click here), to see if Trump could speak at the
Forum.385... Vladimir Putin is featured this year.
...Foresman first emailed Graff on March 31, 2016, following a phone introduction
brokered through Trump business associate Mark Burnett (who produced the television show The
Apprentice)....
Mark Burnett (click here) (born 17 July 1960) is a British television producer, based in Los Angeles. Burnett is currently the executive producer of five network television series with seven hours of network programming. He has produced over 2,400 hours of television which regularly airs in over 70 countries. His current series are Survivor (2000), The Voice(2011), The Apprentice, Shark Tank (2009) and People's Choice Awards....
...In his email, Foresman referenced his long-standing personal and professional expertise in Russia and Ukraine, his work setting up an early "private channel" between Vladimir Putin and former U.S. President George W. Bush, and an "approach" he had received from "senior Kremlin officials" about the candidate. Foresman asked Graff for a meeting with the candidate, Corey Lewandowski, or "another relevant person" to discuss this and other "concrete things" Foresman felt uncomfortable discussing over "unsecure email." 386 On April 4, 2016, Graff forwarded Foresman's meeting request to Jessica Macchia, another executive assistant to Trump.387
Executive Assistant to Donald J. Trump (click here)The Trump Organization
Oct. 2014 - Feb. 2017
New York, New York
This guy, Foresman, wanted to create a secretive channel between Putin and Trump. Who set up the backchannel between Trump, Jr. and a Russian bank? This is being set up by Putin. Russia did that. These guys are way out of line. Putin. Man oh, man oh, man.
Footnote 381 Written Responses of Donald J. Trump (Nov. 20, 2018), at 17 (Response to Question IV, Pait (e)) ("[D]ocuments show that Ms. Graff prepared for my signature a brief response declining the invitation.").
Footnote 382 Written Responses of Donald J. Trump (Nov. 20, 2018), at 17 (Response to Question IV, Part (e)); see also TRUMPORG_l 6_000134 (unsigned letter dated March 31, 2016).
Footnote 383 TRUMPORG_16_000134 (unsigned letter).
Footnote 384 TRUMPORG_l6_000133 (3/31/16 Email, Graffto Macchia).
Footnote 385 Foresman 10/17/18 302, at 3-4.
Footnote 386 See TRUMPORG_16_00136 (3/31/16 Email, Foresman to Graff); see also Foresman 10/17/18 302, at 3-4.
Footnote 387 See TRUMPORG_ l6_00136 (4/4/16 Email, Graff to Macchia).
By Adam K. Raymond
In the summer of 2017, (click here) President Trump told Corey Lewandowski, his former campaign manager, to have then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions thwart Robert Mueller’s investigation, according to the special counsel’s report. Trump also told Lewandowski to fire Sessions if he refused a meeting to talk about the issue, the report says....
...With no response forthcoming, Foresman twice sent reminders to Graff-first on April 26 and again on April 30, 2016.388 Graff sent an apology to Foresman and forwarded his April 26 email ( as well as his initial March 2016 email) to Lewandowski. 389 On May 2, 2016, Graff forwarded Foresman's April 30 email-which suggested an alternative meeting with Donald Trump Jr. or Eric Trump so that Foresman could convey to them information that "should be conveyed to [the candidate] personally or [to] someone [the candidate] absolutely trusts"-to policy advisor Stephen Miller.390...
April 22, 2019
By Gabby Orr and Andrew Restuccia
The White House policy aide (click here) has involved himself in specific immigration cases and pressed to publicize more personal information about migrants....
No communications or other evidence obtained by the Office indicate that the Trump Campaign learned that Foresman was reaching out to invite the candidate to the Forum or that the Campaign otherwise followed up with Foresman until after the election, when he interacted with the Transition Team as he pursued a possible position in the incoming Administration.39 1 When interviewed by the Office, Foresman denied that the specific "approach" from "senior Kremlin officials" noted in his March 31, 2016 email was anything other than Kobyakov's invitation to Roscongress. According to Foresman, the "concrete things" he referenced in the same email were a combination of the invitation itself, Foresman's personal perspectives on the invitation and Russia policy in general, and details of a Ukraine plan supported by a U.S. think tank (EastWest Institute). Foresman told the Office that Kobyakov had extended similar invitations through him to another Republican presidential candidate and one other politician. Foresman also said that Kobyakov had asked Foresman to invite Trump to speak after that other presidential candidate withdrew from the race and the other politician's participation did not work out.392 Finally, Foresman claimed to have no plans to establish a backchannel involving Trump, stating the reference to his involvement in the Bush-Putin back channel was meant to burnish his credentials to the Campaign. Foresman commented that he had not recognized any of the experts announced as Trump's foreign policy team in March 2016, and wanted to secure an in-person meeting with the candidate to share his professional background and policy views, including that Trump should decline Kobyakov's invitation to speak at the Forum. 393
Foresman is very good at dancing and creating an alternate reality for the FBI.
Footnote 391 Foresman's contacts during the transition period are discussed further in Volume I, Section IV.B.3, infra.
Footnote 392 Foresman 10/17/18 302, at 4.
Footnote 393 Foresman 10/17 /18 302, at 8-9.
continued in a later entry. I will start with George Papadopoulos tomorrow.
