25 February 2019
By Mark Davenport
Both the SDLP and Sinn Fein have suggested creating an all Ireland national forum to consider the implications of Brexit.
On Saturday, Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald said the Irish government had confirmed such a forum would be set up.
Maybe it would lead to something, but unionists would probably shy away and, at first glance, it looks like a talking shop.
Stormont and Dublin ministers are discussing Brexit in their North South Council and an early meeting of the East West British Irish Council has been promised. Neither of these spin-offs from the Good Friday Agreement (click here) have proved especially dynamic....
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Continued from previous entry.
Trump Jr. invited campaign chairman Paul Manafort and senior advisor Jared Kushner to
attend the meeting, and both attended. Members of the Campaign discussed the meeting before it
occurred, and Michael Cohen recalled that Trump Jr. may have told candidate Trump about an
upcoming meeting to receive adverse information about Clinton, without linking the meeting to
Russia. According to written answers submitted by President Trump, he has no recollection of
learning of the meeting at the time, and the Office found no documentary evidence showing that he
was made aware of the meeting—or its Russian connection—before it occurred.
An inconsistency. Jr. told his father of an upcoming meeting where adverse information would be learned by Clinton and Trump doesn't recall any such discussion.
October 30, 2019
By Meghan Keneally
...Here is a breakdown of the time (click here) he spent as an official member of the Trump campaign.
March 29, 2016
Manafort, 68, joined the Trump campaign on March 29, 2016, when he was named campaign convention manager for the Republican Party's mid-July gathering in Cleveland....
...June 20, 2016
There was notable palace intrigue as soon as Manafort entered the scene because of reported tensions between him and then-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
The drama reached a tipping point June 20 when Lewandowski was fired. Though Lewandowski didn't give a reason for his dismissal, he did say he was no longer running the show leading up to his dismissal.
"Paul Manafort has been in operational control of the campaign since April 7,” Lewandowski told The Associated Press on the day he was fired. “That's a fact.”...
...Aug. 14, 2016
The questions didn't die down over subsequent weeks, however. On Aug. 14, The New York Times reported that Manafort's name appears on a list of so-called black ledger accounts made by the since-toppled Ukrainian president amounting to $12.7 million from 2007 to 2012....
...Aug. 19, 2016
Manafort's departure from the campaign came the next day. On Aug. 19, Trump released a statement confirming Manafort's exit and praising his work on the campaign.
"This morning Paul Manafort offered, and I accepted, his resignation from the campaign,” Trump said in the statement. “I am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today, and in particular his work guiding us through the delegate and convention process. Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success.”
The Trump Tower meeting took place on June 9, 2016. Previous to this meeting it was becoming more obvious Donald J. Trump was going to be the Republican nominee. It was at this time Russia decided to engage the Trump Campaign about Hillary Clinton. Manafort had a relationship with Russia for a long time when he worked in Ukraine in electing Kremlin favorites to office in Ukraine. It was in Ukraine that the "black ledger" was found and the truth about Manafort's income was discovered. That would lead to his resignation from the campaign.
Trump was the nominee before Paul Manafort resigned.
20 July 2016
By Don Roberts and Paul Owen
...Crossing the threshold of 1,237 votes, (click here) Trump officially became the Republican party’s nominee for president, as the stage in Cleveland was illuminated with a message proclaiming: “Over the Top”.
Later, a giant image of of the nominee was beamed into the arena, live via satellite link from Trump Tower in New York City. “I am so proud to be your nominee for president of the United States,” Trump said. “With your vote today, this stage of the presidential process has come to a close.
“Together we have received historic results, with the largest vote total in the history of the Republican party. This is a movement and we have to go all the way.”...
Even then Trump's bombast was all too obvious.
continuing with the Special Counsel Report:
The Russian attorney who spoke at the meeting, Natalia Veselnitskaya, had previously worked for the Russian government and maintained a relationship with that government throughout this period of time. She claimed that funds derived from illegal activities in Russia were provided to Hillary Clinton and other Democrats. Trump Jr. requested evidence to support those claims, but Veselnitskaya did not provide such information. She and her associates then turned to a critique of the origins of the Magnitsky Act, a 2012 statute that imposed financial and travel sanctions on Russian officials and that resulted in a retaliatory ban on adoptions of Russian children. Trump Jr. suggested that the issue could be revisited when and if candidate Trump was elected. After the election, Veselnitskaya made additional efforts to follow up on the meeting, but the Trump Transition Team did not engage.
Even though Natalie offered no proof of her claims of monies paid to Democrats and Clinton; Jr. threw her a bone anyway. He stated "when and if" Donald Trump was elected president the issue of the Magnitsky Act could be revisited. That is a conspiracy. It doesn't really matter if the Transition Team shunned her, she was in pursuit of her prize once Trump was president. THERE WAS A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING FROM THAT TRUMP TOWER MEETING THAT THE RUSSIANS WOULD GET SOMETHING FOR ASSISTING WITH THE ELECTION OF TRUMP INTO THE PRESIDENCY. The meeting achieved it's goal regardless of the lack of evidence provided by Natalie.
The Russian presence after Trump's election has been ongoing even if it didn't manifest in a direct gift to Natalie. Natalie could be traced back to Jr.'s meeting and his promise to her.
a. Setting Up the June 9 Meeting
i. Outreach to Donald Trump Jr.
Aras Agalarov is a Russian real-estate developer with ties to Putin and other members of the Russian government, including Russia’s Prosecutor General, Yuri Chaika.664 Aras Agalarov is the president of the Crocus Group, a Russian enterprise that holds substantial Russian government construction contracts and that—as discussed above, Volume I, Section IV.A.1, supra — worked with Trump in connection with the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow and a potential Trump Moscow real-estate project.665 The relationship continued over time, as the parties pursued the Trump Moscow project in 2013-2014 and exchanged gifts and letters in 2016.666 For example, in April 2016, Trump responded to a letter from Aras Agalarov with a handwritten note.667 Aras Agalarov expressed interest in Trump’s campaign, passed on “congratulations” for winning in the primary and—according to one email drafted by Goldstone—an “offer” of his “support and that of many of his important Russian friends and colleagues[,] especially with reference to U.S./Russian relations.”668
Vladimir Putin may as well written the email himself "important Russian friends and colleagues." It is speculative what Aras Agalarov meant by support.
On June 3, 2016, Emin Agalarov called Goldstone, Emin’s then-publicist.669 Goldstone is a music and events promoter who represented Emin Agalarov from approximately late 2012 until late 2016.670 While representing Emin Agalarov, Goldstone facilitated the ongoing contact between the Trumps and the Agalarovs—including an invitation that Trump sent to Putin to attend the 2013 Miss Universe Pageant in Moscow.671 Grand Jury. 672 Goldstone understood Grand Jury a Russian political connection, and Emin Agalarov indicated that the attorney was a prosecutor.673 Goldstone recalled that the information that might interest the Trumps involved Hillary Clinton Grand Jury 674 Grand Jury 675
The Grand Jury mentioned by Emin Agalarov was Natalia Veselnitskaya.676 From approximately 1998 until 2001, Veselnitskaya worked as a prosecutor for the Central Administrative District of the Russian Prosecutor’s Office,677 and she continued to perform government-related work and maintain ties to the Russian government following her departure.678 She lobbied and testified about the Magnitsky Act, which imposed financial sanctions and travel restrictions on Russian officials and which was named for a Russian tax specialist who exposed a fraud and later died in a Russian prison.679 Putin called the statute “a purely political, unfriendly act,” and Russia responded by barring a list of current and former U.S. officials from entering Russia and by halting the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens. 680 Veselnitskaya performed legal work for Denis Katsyv, 681 the son of Russian businessman Peter Katsyv, and for his company Prevezon Holdings Ltd., which was a defendant in a civil-forfeiture action alleging the laundering of proceeds from the fraud exposed by Magnitsky.682
Russian Lawyer Linked To Trump Charged With Obstruction
Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya, who represented Prevezon Holdings Ltd. in a high-profile Manhattan asset forfeiture fight and who later was linked to the campaign of President Donald Trump, was accused by federal prosecutors Tuesday of obstructing a tax fraud investigation into the real estate concern.
Denis Katsyv, pictured, the businessman son of a senior Moscow official, spearheaded the lobbying campaign against the U.S. 'Magnitsky Act' that has hurt his financial interests. At the time he was charged with $230million in money-laundering offenses. But days before the case was due to come to trial in New York in May of this year, it was settled for just
$6 million.
There was a very distinct reason Natalie never met with the Trumps. It did not prevent the Democrats from asking the right questions. There is a reputation with the Russian currency. The poor Russian Rubal always needs a good washing now and again.
13 July 2019
By Alana Goodman
Democrats on Capitol Hill (click here) are demanding to know whether the Trump administration pulled strings to settle a federal money-laundering case connected to the Russian attorney who met with Don Jr. last June.
Federal prosecutors unexpectedly settled the high-profile case against Prevezon Holdings last May.
The Russian company - which was accused of involvement in a $230 million tax dodging scheme - agreed to pay around $6 million and was not required to admit wrongdoing under the surprise deal.
Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian attorney who met with Don Jr. last June, represented Prevezon and its owner Denis Katsyv in the case....
Settled his case: Preet Bhrarara had brought the massive money-laundering case against Katsyv, but it was settled two months after he was abruptly fired, on the eve of going to trial
Below is a picture of Petra Katsyv, Denis' father. These are the people Donald J. Trump is palling around with from Russia. It all ties together. Russia wants to erase the past and evidently, Bill Barr and Trump are more than happy to do it.
September 14, 2013
By Bill Apert
..."A Russian criminal enterprise (click here) sought to launder some of its billions in ill-gotten rubles through the purchase of pricey Manhattan real estate," said Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, in a statement. "While New York is a world financial capital, it is not a safe haven for criminals seeking to hide their loot." An order freezing the properties and related bank accounts was signed on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Griesa....
...The luxury apartments and fancy retail spaces that are subject to Tuesday's civil forfeiture complaint were discovered last summer by Barron's as part of a journalism collaboration that included Russia's Novaya Gayzeta and an Eastern European not-for-profit journalism group known as the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. The properties are owned by U.S. entities associated with a Cyprus corporation, Prevezon Holdings, whose name had turned up in Eastern European bank transfers after the Russian Treasury heist. The forfeiture complaint alleges that these funds were laundered proceeds from the tax scam, and names both the U.S. and Cyprus corporations as defendants....
...The Katsyv family figured in another public money-laundering controversy in 2008, when Prevezon and the family's accounts at a Tel Aviv branch of Bank Hapoalim were at the heart of Israel's unsuccessful money-laundering prosecution of two bank employees. In his 2010 decision to acquit the employees, the judge noted that the Katsyvs were never charged after a company owned by Denis made a financial settlement with Israeli authorities. The Katsyvs never commented on the case....
A little more about the Magnitsky murder. Yet, with all this evidence to the gruesome status of Russians in their own country, Natalie was in the USA to end the law that barred their torture. Her torture if she were ever to be faced with such circumstances.
March 24, 2017
By Kelly Phillips Erb
Curious things (click here) have happened to lawyers involved in a massive tax fraud investigation involving government officials in Russia. Sergei L. Magnitsky, the lawyer who initially uncovered the alleged fraud died in prison. This week, Nikolai Gorokhov, the lawyer representing Magnitsky's family, is recovering from serious injuries after falling out of a window in his Moscow apartment building. Gorokhov fell just one day before he was scheduled to appear in a Moscow court....
...Magnitsky's cause of death was said to be acute heart failure and toxic shock, caused by untreated pancreatitis. Magnitsky's family says that he had been denied medical treatment while in prison, allegations that were confirmed by Russia's Presidential Human Rights Council, which also found that he had been tortured.
Continuing with the Special Counsel Report:
She also appears to have been involved in an April 2016 approach to a U.S. congressional delegation in Moscow offering “confidential information” from “the Prosecutor General of Russia” about “interactions between certain political forces in our two countries.”683
Shortly after his June 3 call with Emin Agalarov, Goldstone emailed Trump Jr. 684 The email stated:
Within minutes of this email, Trump Jr. responded, emailing back: “Thanks Rob I appreciate that. I am on the road at the moment but perhaps I just speak to Emin first. Seems we have some time and if it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer. Could we do a call first thing next week when I am back?”685 Goldstone conveyed Trump Jr.’s interest to Emin Agalarov, emailing that Trump Jr. “wants to speak personally on the issue.”686
Jr. probably should have referred Emin to the National Enquirer. They were handling all the scandals at that point.
On June 6, 2016, Emin Agalarov asked Goldstone if there was “[a]ny news,” and Goldstone explained that Trump Jr. was likely still traveling for the “final elections . . . where [T]rump will be ‘crowned’ the official nominee.”687 On the same day, Goldstone again emailed Trump Jr. and asked when Trump Jr. was “free to talk with Emin about this Hillary info.”688 Trump Jr. asked if they could “speak now,” and Goldstone arranged a call between Trump Jr. and Emin Agalarov.689 On June 6 and June 7, Trump Jr. and Emin Agalarov had multiple brief calls.690
Also on June 6, 2016, Aras Agalarov called Ike Kaveladze and asked him to attend a meeting in New York with the Trump Organization.691
July 18, 2017
By Tracy Connor
Ike Kaveladze is a native of the Republic of Georgia who works for Russian billionaire Aras Agalarov.
Kaveladze is a Georgia-born, naturalized U.S. citizen who worked in the United States for the Crocus Group and reported to Aras Agalarov.692 Kaveladze told the Office that, in a second phone call on June 6, 2016, Aras Agalarov asked Kaveladze if he knew anything about the Magnitsky Act, and Aras sent him a short synopsis for the meeting and Veselnitskaya’s business card. According to Kaveladze, Aras Agalarov said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Magnitsky Act, and he asked Kaveladze to translate.693
Footnote 663 Simes 3/8/18 302, at 30.
Footntoe 664 Grand Jury Goldstone 2/8/18 302, at 4.
Footnote 665 Grand Jury Kaveladze 11/16/17 302, at 3; Shugart 9/25/17 302, at 2-3; Grand Jury The Shugart known to be connected is: Paula Shugart, the president of the Miss Universe Organization (click here) This reference is to the Moscow Miss Universe Pagent and a potential real estate deal there.
Footnote 666 Grand Jury Goldstone 2/8/18 302, at 10; Grand Jury Kaveladze 11/16/17 302, at 5-6; 4/25/16 Email, Graff to Goldstone.
The Graff in this footnote is Trump's assistant, Rhona Graff.
On Nov. 28, 2016, (click here) Goldstone emailed Trump’s assistant, Rhona Graff, with a proposal. Subject line: “For Mr. Trump.”
Grand Jury Grand Jury Grand Jury Grand Jury
Footnote 667 RG000033-34 (4/25/16 Email, Graff to Goldstone (attachment)).
Footnote 668 DJTJR00008 (2/29/16 Email, Goldstone to Trump Jr. et al.); Grand Jury
Footnote 669 Call Records of Robert Goldstone Grand Jury Goldstone 2/8/18 302, at 6.
Footnote 670 Goldstone 2/8/18 302, at 1-2; Grand Jury Beniaminov 1/6/18 302, at 3.
Roman Beniaminov, (click here) didn’t attend the meeting himself. But he had close ties to several figures in and around it,
Footnote 671 Goldstone 2/8/18 302, at 1-5; Grand Jury
DJTJR00008 (2/29/19 Email, Goldstone to Trump Jr.);
Beniaminov 1/6/18 302, at 3;
Shugart 9/25/17 302, at 2;
TRUMPORG_18_001325 (6/21/13 Email, Goldstone to Graff); TRUMPORG_18_001013 (6/24/13 Email, Goldstone to Graff); TRUMPORG_18_001014 (6/24/13 Email, Graff to Shugart); TRUMPORG_18_001018 (6/26/13 Email, Graff to Goldstone); TRUMPORG_18_001022 (6/27/13 Email, Graff to L. Kelly);
Can't put my finger on who L. Kelly is, but, it is occurring in the report surrounding the 2013 Miss Universe Moscow.
TRUMPORG_18_001333 (9/12/13 Email, Goldstone to Graff, Shugart); MUO00004289 (7/27/13 Email, Goldstone to Graff, Shugart).
Footnote 672 Grand Jury see Goldstone 2/8/18 302, at 6-7.
Footnote 673 Grand Jury
Footnote 674 Grand Jury
Now the US Congress can see all these footnotes as evidence for themselves.
One thing I think is important to realize; just as Natalie was not allowed to contact the Trumps after their first meeting; Trump was not allowed to have contact with Vladimir Putin. Trump and any of his associates were always met by associates with relationships that included Putin. It is a matter of being included in wrongdoing. Putin, no matter how Trump tried would never meet with him because it could possibly implicate him. Putin is KGB. The intermediaries that Trump met with had full approval of Putin to do so.
Footnote 675 Grand Jury
Footnote 676 In December 2018, a grand jury in the Southern District of New York returned an indictment charging Veselnitskaya with obstructing the Prevezon litigation discussed in the text above. See Indictment,United States v. Natalia Vladimirovna Veselnitskaya, No. 18-cr-904 (S.D.N.Y.)(click here). The indictment alleges, among other things, that Veselnitskaya lied to the district court about her relationship to the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office and her involvement in responding to a U.S. document request sent to the Russian government.
Grand Jury
Footnote 677 Veselnitskaya 11/20/17 Statement to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, at 2;
Natalia conducted a PR campaign.
Footnote 678 Testimony of Natalia Veselnitskaya Before the Senate Committee on Judiciary (Nov. 20, 2017) at 33; Keir Simmons & Rachel Elbaum (click here), Russian Lawyer Veselnitskaya Says She Didn’t Give Trump Jr. Info on Clinton, NBC News (July 11, 2017); Maria Tsvetkova & Jack Stubbs (click here) , Moscow Lawyer Who Met Trump Jr. Had Russian Spy Agency As Client, Reuters (July 21, 2017); Andrew E. Kramer & SharonLaFraniere (click here), Lawyer Who Was Said to Have Dirt on Clinton Had Closer Ties to Kremlin than She Let On and shared them with the Kremlin , New York Times (Apr. 27, 2018).
Putin is always involved in these issues. When someone is dealing with Russia, they are dealing with Putin and any backlash that is appropriate under his terms.
Footnote 679 See Pub. L. No. 112-208 §§ 402, 404(a)(1), 126 Stat. 1502, 1502-1506 (click here). Sergei Magnitsky was a Russian tax specialist who worked for William Browder, a former investment fund manager in Russia. Browder hired Magnitsky to investigate tax fraud by Russian officials, and Magnitsky was charged with helping Browder embezzle money. After Magnitsky died in a Russian prison, Browder lobbied Congress to pass the Magnitsky Act. See, e.g., Andrew E. Kramer, Turning Tables in Magnitsky Case, RussiaAccuses Nemesis of Murder (click here) , New York Times (Oct. 22, 2017); Testimony of Natalia Veselnitskaya Beforethe Senate Committee on Judiciary (click here)
An inconsistency. Jr. told his father of an upcoming meeting where adverse information would be learned by Clinton and Trump doesn't recall any such discussion.
October 30, 2019
By Meghan Keneally
...Here is a breakdown of the time (click here) he spent as an official member of the Trump campaign.
March 29, 2016
Manafort, 68, joined the Trump campaign on March 29, 2016, when he was named campaign convention manager for the Republican Party's mid-July gathering in Cleveland....
...June 20, 2016
There was notable palace intrigue as soon as Manafort entered the scene because of reported tensions between him and then-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
The drama reached a tipping point June 20 when Lewandowski was fired. Though Lewandowski didn't give a reason for his dismissal, he did say he was no longer running the show leading up to his dismissal.
"Paul Manafort has been in operational control of the campaign since April 7,” Lewandowski told The Associated Press on the day he was fired. “That's a fact.”...
...Aug. 14, 2016
The questions didn't die down over subsequent weeks, however. On Aug. 14, The New York Times reported that Manafort's name appears on a list of so-called black ledger accounts made by the since-toppled Ukrainian president amounting to $12.7 million from 2007 to 2012....
...Aug. 19, 2016
Manafort's departure from the campaign came the next day. On Aug. 19, Trump released a statement confirming Manafort's exit and praising his work on the campaign.
"This morning Paul Manafort offered, and I accepted, his resignation from the campaign,” Trump said in the statement. “I am very appreciative for his great work in helping to get us where we are today, and in particular his work guiding us through the delegate and convention process. Paul is a true professional and I wish him the greatest success.”
The Trump Tower meeting took place on June 9, 2016. Previous to this meeting it was becoming more obvious Donald J. Trump was going to be the Republican nominee. It was at this time Russia decided to engage the Trump Campaign about Hillary Clinton. Manafort had a relationship with Russia for a long time when he worked in Ukraine in electing Kremlin favorites to office in Ukraine. It was in Ukraine that the "black ledger" was found and the truth about Manafort's income was discovered. That would lead to his resignation from the campaign.
Trump was the nominee before Paul Manafort resigned.
20 July 2016
By Don Roberts and Paul Owen
...Crossing the threshold of 1,237 votes, (click here) Trump officially became the Republican party’s nominee for president, as the stage in Cleveland was illuminated with a message proclaiming: “Over the Top”.
Later, a giant image of of the nominee was beamed into the arena, live via satellite link from Trump Tower in New York City. “I am so proud to be your nominee for president of the United States,” Trump said. “With your vote today, this stage of the presidential process has come to a close.
“Together we have received historic results, with the largest vote total in the history of the Republican party. This is a movement and we have to go all the way.”...
Even then Trump's bombast was all too obvious.
continuing with the Special Counsel Report:
The Russian attorney who spoke at the meeting, Natalia Veselnitskaya, had previously worked for the Russian government and maintained a relationship with that government throughout this period of time. She claimed that funds derived from illegal activities in Russia were provided to Hillary Clinton and other Democrats. Trump Jr. requested evidence to support those claims, but Veselnitskaya did not provide such information. She and her associates then turned to a critique of the origins of the Magnitsky Act, a 2012 statute that imposed financial and travel sanctions on Russian officials and that resulted in a retaliatory ban on adoptions of Russian children. Trump Jr. suggested that the issue could be revisited when and if candidate Trump was elected. After the election, Veselnitskaya made additional efforts to follow up on the meeting, but the Trump Transition Team did not engage.
Even though Natalie offered no proof of her claims of monies paid to Democrats and Clinton; Jr. threw her a bone anyway. He stated "when and if" Donald Trump was elected president the issue of the Magnitsky Act could be revisited. That is a conspiracy. It doesn't really matter if the Transition Team shunned her, she was in pursuit of her prize once Trump was president. THERE WAS A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING FROM THAT TRUMP TOWER MEETING THAT THE RUSSIANS WOULD GET SOMETHING FOR ASSISTING WITH THE ELECTION OF TRUMP INTO THE PRESIDENCY. The meeting achieved it's goal regardless of the lack of evidence provided by Natalie.
The Russian presence after Trump's election has been ongoing even if it didn't manifest in a direct gift to Natalie. Natalie could be traced back to Jr.'s meeting and his promise to her.
a. Setting Up the June 9 Meeting
i. Outreach to Donald Trump Jr.
Aras Agalarov is a Russian real-estate developer with ties to Putin and other members of the Russian government, including Russia’s Prosecutor General, Yuri Chaika.664 Aras Agalarov is the president of the Crocus Group, a Russian enterprise that holds substantial Russian government construction contracts and that—as discussed above, Volume I, Section IV.A.1, supra — worked with Trump in connection with the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow and a potential Trump Moscow real-estate project.665 The relationship continued over time, as the parties pursued the Trump Moscow project in 2013-2014 and exchanged gifts and letters in 2016.666 For example, in April 2016, Trump responded to a letter from Aras Agalarov with a handwritten note.667 Aras Agalarov expressed interest in Trump’s campaign, passed on “congratulations” for winning in the primary and—according to one email drafted by Goldstone—an “offer” of his “support and that of many of his important Russian friends and colleagues[,] especially with reference to U.S./Russian relations.”668
Vladimir Putin may as well written the email himself "important Russian friends and colleagues." It is speculative what Aras Agalarov meant by support.
On June 3, 2016, Emin Agalarov called Goldstone, Emin’s then-publicist.669 Goldstone is a music and events promoter who represented Emin Agalarov from approximately late 2012 until late 2016.670 While representing Emin Agalarov, Goldstone facilitated the ongoing contact between the Trumps and the Agalarovs—including an invitation that Trump sent to Putin to attend the 2013 Miss Universe Pageant in Moscow.671 Grand Jury. 672 Goldstone understood Grand Jury a Russian political connection, and Emin Agalarov indicated that the attorney was a prosecutor.673 Goldstone recalled that the information that might interest the Trumps involved Hillary Clinton Grand Jury 674 Grand Jury 675
The Grand Jury mentioned by Emin Agalarov was Natalia Veselnitskaya.676 From approximately 1998 until 2001, Veselnitskaya worked as a prosecutor for the Central Administrative District of the Russian Prosecutor’s Office,677 and she continued to perform government-related work and maintain ties to the Russian government following her departure.678 She lobbied and testified about the Magnitsky Act, which imposed financial sanctions and travel restrictions on Russian officials and which was named for a Russian tax specialist who exposed a fraud and later died in a Russian prison.679 Putin called the statute “a purely political, unfriendly act,” and Russia responded by barring a list of current and former U.S. officials from entering Russia and by halting the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens. 680 Veselnitskaya performed legal work for Denis Katsyv, 681 the son of Russian businessman Peter Katsyv, and for his company Prevezon Holdings Ltd., which was a defendant in a civil-forfeiture action alleging the laundering of proceeds from the fraud exposed by Magnitsky.682
September 10, 2013
United States of America v. Prevezon Holdings Ltd. et al (click here)
January 08, 2019Russian Lawyer Linked To Trump Charged With Obstruction
Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya, who represented Prevezon Holdings Ltd. in a high-profile Manhattan asset forfeiture fight and who later was linked to the campaign of President Donald Trump, was accused by federal prosecutors Tuesday of obstructing a tax fraud investigation into the real estate concern.
$6 million.
There was a very distinct reason Natalie never met with the Trumps. It did not prevent the Democrats from asking the right questions. There is a reputation with the Russian currency. The poor Russian Rubal always needs a good washing now and again.
13 July 2019
By Alana Goodman
Democrats on Capitol Hill (click here) are demanding to know whether the Trump administration pulled strings to settle a federal money-laundering case connected to the Russian attorney who met with Don Jr. last June.
Federal prosecutors unexpectedly settled the high-profile case against Prevezon Holdings last May.
The Russian company - which was accused of involvement in a $230 million tax dodging scheme - agreed to pay around $6 million and was not required to admit wrongdoing under the surprise deal.
Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian attorney who met with Don Jr. last June, represented Prevezon and its owner Denis Katsyv in the case....
Below is a picture of Petra Katsyv, Denis' father. These are the people Donald J. Trump is palling around with from Russia. It all ties together. Russia wants to erase the past and evidently, Bill Barr and Trump are more than happy to do it.
September 14, 2013
By Bill Apert
..."A Russian criminal enterprise (click here) sought to launder some of its billions in ill-gotten rubles through the purchase of pricey Manhattan real estate," said Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, in a statement. "While New York is a world financial capital, it is not a safe haven for criminals seeking to hide their loot." An order freezing the properties and related bank accounts was signed on Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Griesa....
...The luxury apartments and fancy retail spaces that are subject to Tuesday's civil forfeiture complaint were discovered last summer by Barron's as part of a journalism collaboration that included Russia's Novaya Gayzeta and an Eastern European not-for-profit journalism group known as the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. The properties are owned by U.S. entities associated with a Cyprus corporation, Prevezon Holdings, whose name had turned up in Eastern European bank transfers after the Russian Treasury heist. The forfeiture complaint alleges that these funds were laundered proceeds from the tax scam, and names both the U.S. and Cyprus corporations as defendants.......The Katsyv family figured in another public money-laundering controversy in 2008, when Prevezon and the family's accounts at a Tel Aviv branch of Bank Hapoalim were at the heart of Israel's unsuccessful money-laundering prosecution of two bank employees. In his 2010 decision to acquit the employees, the judge noted that the Katsyvs were never charged after a company owned by Denis made a financial settlement with Israeli authorities. The Katsyvs never commented on the case....
A little more about the Magnitsky murder. Yet, with all this evidence to the gruesome status of Russians in their own country, Natalie was in the USA to end the law that barred their torture. Her torture if she were ever to be faced with such circumstances.
March 24, 2017
By Kelly Phillips Erb
Curious things (click here) have happened to lawyers involved in a massive tax fraud investigation involving government officials in Russia. Sergei L. Magnitsky, the lawyer who initially uncovered the alleged fraud died in prison. This week, Nikolai Gorokhov, the lawyer representing Magnitsky's family, is recovering from serious injuries after falling out of a window in his Moscow apartment building. Gorokhov fell just one day before he was scheduled to appear in a Moscow court....
...Magnitsky's cause of death was said to be acute heart failure and toxic shock, caused by untreated pancreatitis. Magnitsky's family says that he had been denied medical treatment while in prison, allegations that were confirmed by Russia's Presidential Human Rights Council, which also found that he had been tortured.
Continuing with the Special Counsel Report:
She also appears to have been involved in an April 2016 approach to a U.S. congressional delegation in Moscow offering “confidential information” from “the Prosecutor General of Russia” about “interactions between certain political forces in our two countries.”683
Shortly after his June 3 call with Emin Agalarov, Goldstone emailed Trump Jr. 684 The email stated:
Within minutes of this email, Trump Jr. responded, emailing back: “Thanks Rob I appreciate that. I am on the road at the moment but perhaps I just speak to Emin first. Seems we have some time and if it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer. Could we do a call first thing next week when I am back?”685 Goldstone conveyed Trump Jr.’s interest to Emin Agalarov, emailing that Trump Jr. “wants to speak personally on the issue.”686
Jr. probably should have referred Emin to the National Enquirer. They were handling all the scandals at that point.
On June 6, 2016, Emin Agalarov asked Goldstone if there was “[a]ny news,” and Goldstone explained that Trump Jr. was likely still traveling for the “final elections . . . where [T]rump will be ‘crowned’ the official nominee.”687 On the same day, Goldstone again emailed Trump Jr. and asked when Trump Jr. was “free to talk with Emin about this Hillary info.”688 Trump Jr. asked if they could “speak now,” and Goldstone arranged a call between Trump Jr. and Emin Agalarov.689 On June 6 and June 7, Trump Jr. and Emin Agalarov had multiple brief calls.690
Also on June 6, 2016, Aras Agalarov called Ike Kaveladze and asked him to attend a meeting in New York with the Trump Organization.691
By Tracy Connor
Ike Kaveladze is a native of the Republic of Georgia who works for Russian billionaire Aras Agalarov.
Special Counsel (click here) Robert Mueller's office has asked to meet with Ike Kaveladze, a businessman who works for a Russian billionaire and confirms he was in a meeting with top Trump campaign officials last summer.
"We are going to cooperate fully with the investigation," attorney Scott Balber, who represents Kaveladze, said Tuesday. "They want to interview him."
Kaveladze — who works for Russian billionaire Aras Agalarov and was a subject of a 2000 government report on foreign money moving through U.S. banks — is the eighth person confirmed to be at the meeting....
Continuing with the Special Counsel Report:Kaveladze is a Georgia-born, naturalized U.S. citizen who worked in the United States for the Crocus Group and reported to Aras Agalarov.692 Kaveladze told the Office that, in a second phone call on June 6, 2016, Aras Agalarov asked Kaveladze if he knew anything about the Magnitsky Act, and Aras sent him a short synopsis for the meeting and Veselnitskaya’s business card. According to Kaveladze, Aras Agalarov said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Magnitsky Act, and he asked Kaveladze to translate.693
Footnote 663 Simes 3/8/18 302, at 30.
Footntoe 664 Grand Jury Goldstone 2/8/18 302, at 4.
Footnote 665 Grand Jury Kaveladze 11/16/17 302, at 3; Shugart 9/25/17 302, at 2-3; Grand Jury The Shugart known to be connected is: Paula Shugart, the president of the Miss Universe Organization (click here) This reference is to the Moscow Miss Universe Pagent and a potential real estate deal there.
Footnote 666 Grand Jury Goldstone 2/8/18 302, at 10; Grand Jury Kaveladze 11/16/17 302, at 5-6; 4/25/16 Email, Graff to Goldstone.
The Graff in this footnote is Trump's assistant, Rhona Graff.
On Nov. 28, 2016, (click here) Goldstone emailed Trump’s assistant, Rhona Graff, with a proposal. Subject line: “For Mr. Trump.”
Grand Jury Grand Jury Grand Jury Grand Jury
Footnote 667 RG000033-34 (4/25/16 Email, Graff to Goldstone (attachment)).
Footnote 668 DJTJR00008 (2/29/16 Email, Goldstone to Trump Jr. et al.); Grand Jury
Footnote 669 Call Records of Robert Goldstone Grand Jury Goldstone 2/8/18 302, at 6.
Footnote 670 Goldstone 2/8/18 302, at 1-2; Grand Jury Beniaminov 1/6/18 302, at 3.
Roman Beniaminov, (click here) didn’t attend the meeting himself. But he had close ties to several figures in and around it,
Footnote 671 Goldstone 2/8/18 302, at 1-5; Grand Jury
DJTJR00008 (2/29/19 Email, Goldstone to Trump Jr.);
Beniaminov 1/6/18 302, at 3;
Shugart 9/25/17 302, at 2;
TRUMPORG_18_001325 (6/21/13 Email, Goldstone to Graff); TRUMPORG_18_001013 (6/24/13 Email, Goldstone to Graff); TRUMPORG_18_001014 (6/24/13 Email, Graff to Shugart); TRUMPORG_18_001018 (6/26/13 Email, Graff to Goldstone); TRUMPORG_18_001022 (6/27/13 Email, Graff to L. Kelly);
Can't put my finger on who L. Kelly is, but, it is occurring in the report surrounding the 2013 Miss Universe Moscow.
TRUMPORG_18_001333 (9/12/13 Email, Goldstone to Graff, Shugart); MUO00004289 (7/27/13 Email, Goldstone to Graff, Shugart).
Footnote 672 Grand Jury see Goldstone 2/8/18 302, at 6-7.
Footnote 673 Grand Jury
Footnote 674 Grand Jury
Now the US Congress can see all these footnotes as evidence for themselves.
One thing I think is important to realize; just as Natalie was not allowed to contact the Trumps after their first meeting; Trump was not allowed to have contact with Vladimir Putin. Trump and any of his associates were always met by associates with relationships that included Putin. It is a matter of being included in wrongdoing. Putin, no matter how Trump tried would never meet with him because it could possibly implicate him. Putin is KGB. The intermediaries that Trump met with had full approval of Putin to do so.
Footnote 675 Grand Jury
Footnote 676 In December 2018, a grand jury in the Southern District of New York returned an indictment charging Veselnitskaya with obstructing the Prevezon litigation discussed in the text above. See Indictment,United States v. Natalia Vladimirovna Veselnitskaya, No. 18-cr-904 (S.D.N.Y.)(click here). The indictment alleges, among other things, that Veselnitskaya lied to the district court about her relationship to the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office and her involvement in responding to a U.S. document request sent to the Russian government.
Grand Jury
Footnote 677 Veselnitskaya 11/20/17 Statement to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, at 2;
Natalia conducted a PR campaign.
Footnote 678 Testimony of Natalia Veselnitskaya Before the Senate Committee on Judiciary (Nov. 20, 2017) at 33; Keir Simmons & Rachel Elbaum (click here), Russian Lawyer Veselnitskaya Says She Didn’t Give Trump Jr. Info on Clinton, NBC News (July 11, 2017); Maria Tsvetkova & Jack Stubbs (click here) , Moscow Lawyer Who Met Trump Jr. Had Russian Spy Agency As Client, Reuters (July 21, 2017); Andrew E. Kramer & SharonLaFraniere (click here), Lawyer Who Was Said to Have Dirt on Clinton Had Closer Ties to Kremlin than She Let On and shared them with the Kremlin , New York Times (Apr. 27, 2018).
Putin is always involved in these issues. When someone is dealing with Russia, they are dealing with Putin and any backlash that is appropriate under his terms.
Footnote 679 See Pub. L. No. 112-208 §§ 402, 404(a)(1), 126 Stat. 1502, 1502-1506 (click here). Sergei Magnitsky was a Russian tax specialist who worked for William Browder, a former investment fund manager in Russia. Browder hired Magnitsky to investigate tax fraud by Russian officials, and Magnitsky was charged with helping Browder embezzle money. After Magnitsky died in a Russian prison, Browder lobbied Congress to pass the Magnitsky Act. See, e.g., Andrew E. Kramer, Turning Tables in Magnitsky Case, RussiaAccuses Nemesis of Murder (click here) , New York Times (Oct. 22, 2017); Testimony of Natalia Veselnitskaya Beforethe Senate Committee on Judiciary (click here)
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