I was planning to continue the read of the Special Counsel Report but was interrupted by yet another mass murder in the USA.
Page 107 of the Special Counsel Report and Page 115 on the PDF. (click here)
The Office found no evidence that Kislyak conversed with either Trump or Sessions after
the speech, or would have had the opportunity to do so. Simes, for example, did not recall seeing
Kislyak at the post-speech luncheon,632 and the only witness who accounted for Sessions's
whereabouts stated that Sessions may have spoken to the press after the event but then departed
for Capitol Hill.633 Saunders recalled, based in part on a food-related request he received from a
Campaign staff member, that Trump left the hotel a few minutes after the speech to go to the
airport. 634
The assault on the 2018 elections seems to be contained within the Putin intelligence agencies. There was no behavior by any of the Trump campaign that was a clue to their conspiracy.
c. Jeff Sessions's Post-Speech Interactions with CNI (click here)
In the wake of Sessions' s confirmation hearings as Attorney General, questions arose about
whether Sessions's campaign-period interactions with CNI apart from the Mayflower speech
included any additional meetings with Ambassador Kislyak or involved Russian-related matters.
With respect to Kislyak contacts, on May 23, 2016, Sessions attended CNI 's Distinguished Service
Award dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C.635 Sessions attended a pre-dinner
reception and was seated at one of two head tables for the event. 636 A seating chart prepared by
Saunders indicates that Sessions was scheduled to be seated next to Kislyak, who appears to have
responded to the invitation by indicating he would attend the event.637 Sessions, however, did not
remember seeing, speaking with, or sitting next to Kislyak at the dinner.638 Although CNI board
member Charles Boyd said he may have seen Kislyak at the dinner,639 Simes, Saunders, and Jacob
Heilbrunn--editor of the National Interest-all had no recollection of seeing Kislyak at the May
23 event. 640 Kislyak also does not appear in any of the photos from the event that the Office
obtained.
In the summer of 2016, CNI organized at least two dinners in Washington, D.C. for
Sessions to meet with experienced foreign policy professionals.641 The dinners included CNI affiliated individuals, such as Richard Burt and Zalmay Khalilzad, a former U.S. ambassador to
Afghanistan and Iraq and the person who had introduced Trump before the April 27, 2016 foreign policy speech.642 Khalilzad also met with Sessions one-on-one separately from the, dinners.643 At
the dinners and in the meetings, the participants addressed U.S. relations with Russia, including
how U.S. relations with NATO and European countries affected U.S. policy toward Russia.644 But
the discussions were not exclusively focused on Russia.645 Khalilzad, for example, recalled
discussing "nation-building" and violent extremism with Sessions.646 In addition, Sessions asked
Saunders (of CNI) to draft two memoranda not specific to Russia: one on Hillary Clinton's foreign
policy shortcomings and another on Egypt.647
CNI was actively involved in the Trump campaign foreign policy including assessment of the Clinton foreign policy. But, it was also providing insight to Afghanistan and Iraq where the USA still had troops in the Middle East.
Footnote 632 Simes 3/8/18 302, at 22; Heilbrunn 2/1/18 302, at 7.
Footnote 633 Luff 1 /30/18 302, at 4.
Footnote 634 Saunders 2/15/18 302, at 15.
635 Sessions 1/17 /18 302, at 22; Saunders 2/15/18 302, at 17.
636 Saunders 2/15/18 302, at 17; C00004779-80 (5/23/16 Email, Cantelmo to Saunders & Hagberg
(9:30: 12 a.m.); C00004362 (5/23/16 Email, Bauman to Cantelmo et al. (2:02:32 a.m.).
637 C00004362 (5/23/16 Email Bauman to Cantelmo et al. (2:02:32 a.m.).
638 Sessions 1/17/18 302, at 22.
639 Boyd 1/24/18 302, at 4.
640 Simes 3/8/18 302, at 23; Saunders 2/15/18 302, at 18; Heilbrunn 2/1/18 302, at 7.
641 Simes 3/8/18 302, at 31; Saunders 2/15/18 302, at 19; Burt 2/9/18 302, at 9-1 0; Khalilzad 1/9/ 18
302, at 5.
642 Butt 2/9/18 302, at 9-10; Khalilzad 1/9/18 302, at 1-2, 5.
643 Khalilzad 1/9/18 302, at 5-6.
644 Simes 3/8/18 302, at 31; Burt 2/9/ 18 302, at 9-1 O; Khalilzad 1 /9/18 302, at 5.
645 Saunders 2/15/18 302, at 20.
646 Khalilzad 1/9/18 302, at 6.
647 Saunders 2/15/18 302, at 19-20.
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