I find it more than interesting that the deputy campaign chairman with Manafort was his partner Rick Gates. Gates has had some interestingly partners that were lobbyists. The name is Rick Davis. Gates worked for Davis and Davis eventually became a campaign manager for John McCain. The Russian corruption crept into the McCain Realm. The difference between McCain and other Republicans like Moscow Mitch and Trump affiliates like Manafort is that John McCain never took the bait from Oleg Deripaska. The Late Senator John McCain had a very long history of rejecting the Russian corruption entered into the USA. He opposed it at every turn. That opposition vanished with his death and others corrupted by Russian wealth saw nothing wrong with it.
It is interesting how Americans can get the idea there is nothing wrong in dealing with Russian oligarchs when it is completely unethical and many times illegal.
Oleg Deripaska (click here)
...top political adviser in Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign (click here) helped arrange an introduction in 2006 between McCain and a Russian billionaire whose suspected links to anti-democratic and organized-crime figures are so controversial that the U.S. government revoked his visa.
Rick Davis, who is now McCain's campaign manager, helped set up the encounter between McCain and Russian aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska in Switzerland during an international economic conference. At the time, Davis was working for a lobbying firm and seeking to do business with the billionaire.
There is no evidence that McCain did anything for Deripaska after they met at a social gathering over drinks and dinner. Deripaska was grateful for the introduction, writing a thank-you note to Davis and his partner and offering to assist them in a subsequent business deal, according to a copy of the note obtained by The Washington Post.
With a net worth of more than $13 billion, Deripaska is one of the richest men in Russia and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin. McCain has been one of Putin's sharpest U.S. critics, calling for Russia to be kicked out of the Group of Eight industrialized nations because of Putin's anti-democratic activities. The Arizona Republican also has repeatedly complained about the negative impact of Kremlin-linked oligarchs such as Deripaska....
Even Rush Limbaugh reported this episode with the Late Senator. (click here)
The Late Senator McCain is the hero Americans expect of their statesmen and stateswomen. Russia knows that the political figures can be exploited with their money. Any elected official rejecting the influence of Russian money within the borders of the USA are also rejecting the Russian government's plans for the USA.
Rick Gates, who was the deputy campaign chairman, stated during interviews with the Office that in the days before June 9, 2016 Trump Jr. announced at a regular morning meeting of senior campaign staff and Trump family members that he had a lead on negative information about the Clinton Foundation.703 Gates believed that Trump Jr. said the information was coming from a group in Kyrgyzstan and that he was introduced to the group by a friend.704 Gates recalled that the meeting was attended by Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Paul Manafort, Hope Hicks, and, joining late, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. According to Gates, Manafort warned the group that the meeting likely would not yield vital information and they should be careful.705 Hicks denied any knowledge of the June 9 meeting before 2017,706 and Kushner did not recall if the planned June 9 meeting came up at all earlier that week.707
Michael Cohen recalled being in Donald J. Trump’s office on June 6 or 7 when Trump Jr. told his father that a meeting to obtain adverse information about Clinton was going forward.708 Cohen did not recall Trump Jr. stating that the meeting was connected to Russia.709 From the tenor of the conversation, Cohen believed that Trump Jr. had previously discussed the meeting with his father, although Cohen was not involved in any such conversation.710 In an interview with the Senate Judiciary Committee, however, Trump Jr. stated that he did not inform his father emails or the upcoming meeting.
Trump, Jr. lied to the US Senate Judiciary Committee. He lied to Congress.
711 Similarly, neither Manafort nor Kushner recalled anyone informing candidate Trump of the meeting, including Trump Jr.712 President Trump has stated to this Office, in written answers to questions, that he has “no recollection of learning at the time” that his son, Manafort, or “Kushner was considering participating in a meeting in June 2016 concerning potentially negative information about Hillary Clinton.”713
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Footnote 703 Gates 1/30/18 302, at 7;
Gates 3/1/18 302, at 3-4.
Although the March 1 302 refers to “June 19,” that is likely a typographical error; external emails indicate that a meeting with those participants occurred on June 6. See NOSC00023603 (6/6/16 Email, Gates to Trump Jr. et al.).
Bob Mueller does magnificent work. No stone unturned. He even reports inconsistencies.
Footnote 704 Gates 1/30/18 302, at 7. Aras Agalarov is originally from Azerbaijan, and public reporting indicates that his company, the Crocus Group, has done substantial work in Kyrgyzstan. See Neil MacFarquhar, A Russian Developer Helps Out the Kremlin on Occasion. Was He a Conduit to Trump?, New York Times (July 16, 2017).
Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan are former Soviet republics. By hiding Russian activities with Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan identities elected American officials it can be leveraged to compromise the USA. The countries of Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan are no longer owned by Russia. They can be good friends to the USA and American business interests like the idea of opportunities in these countries freed from Russian oppression. That said, it is important for American legislators to know exactly who they are dealing with to elevate people out of oppression and not in turn victimizing and oppressing Americans.
Footnote 705 Gates 3/1/18 302, at 3-4.
Footnote 706 Hicks 12/7/17 302, at 6.
Footnote 707 Kushner 4/11/18 302, at 8.
Footnote 708 Cohen 8/7/18 302, at 4-6.
Footnote 709 Cohen 8/7/18 302, at 4-5.
Footnote 710 Cohen 9/12/18 302, at 15-16.
Footnote 711 Interview of: Donald J. Trump, Jr., Senate Judiciary Committee, 115th Cong. 28-29, 84, 94-95(Sept. 7, 2017) (click here). The Senate Judiciary Committee interview was not under oath, but Trump Jr. was advised that it is a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001 to make materially false statements in a congressional investigation. Id. at 10-11.
Footnote 712 Manafort 9/11/18 302, at 3-4;
Kushner 4/11/18 302, at 10.
Footnote 713 Written Responses of Donald J. Trump (Nov. 20, 2018) (click here), at 8 (Response to Question I, Parts (a)- (c)). We considered whether one sequence of events suggested that candidate Trump had contemporaneous knowledge of the June 9 meeting. On June 7, 2016 Trump announced his intention to give “a major speech” “probably Monday of next week”—which would have been June 13—about “all of the things that have taken place with the Clintons.” See, e.g., Phillip Bump, What we know about the Trump Tower meeting,Washington Post (Aug. 7, 2018) (click here). Following the June 9 meeting, Trump changed the subject of his planned speech to national security.
He was looking for information from the Russians at the June meeting. He didn't get it in the way he wanted it, so he had to change his plans for the speech. No one would necessarily question that change of topic if they didn't know such a meeting took place. See, I would have to question why he would allow such egregious activity by his son. Either he didn't care if Jr. conducted himself criminally or he just figured if he was ever facing charges he would simply pardon him as president. There was a lot riding on that election, including being able to remove any criminal record for his son. There is a lot of incentive across the spectrum of people, including Flynn, to be sure Trump made it into office. I would never let my son even risk such a meeting. There wouldn't be anything that important to me.
But the Office did not find evidence that the original idea for the speech was connected to the anticipated June 9 meeting or that the change of topic was attributable to the failure of that meeting to produce concrete evidence about Clinton.
Former Director Robert S. Mueller, III did NOT overreach. He accounted for potentials to crimes, but, he did not pursue a blind alley/a road leading nowhere.
Other events, such as the Pulse nightclub shooting (click here) on June 12, could well have caused the change. The President’s written answers to our questions state that the speech’s focus was altered “[i]n light of” the Pulse nightclub shooting. See Written Responses, supra. As for the original topic of the June 13 speech, Trump has said that “he expected to give a speech referencing the publicly available, negative information about the Clintons,” and that the draft of the speech prepared by Campaign staff “was based on publicly available material, including, in particular, information from the book Clinton Cash by Peter Schweizer.” (click here)
I never read the book. I wasn't interested in hearing more stupid accusations about the Clintons. Hillary and Bill Clinton were in office for the people. When he left office after two terms the world was worried about never being in touch again and in reaction to that global involvement the "Clinton Global Initiative. (click here)" It was an extension of the Clinton diplomacy to move all nations forward toward peace and prosperity. The noble cause was never expected to be a focus of political hate, but, it did and the doors were closed. Perhaps the mission of the initiative was finally completed.
Written Responses, supra. In a later June 22 speech, Trump did speak extensively about allegations that Clinton was corrupt, drawing from the Clinton Cash book. See Full Transcript: Donald Trump NYC Speech on Stakes of the Election, politico.com (June 22, 2016) (click here).
Continued in next retry.
