Tag: Russians

Trump told Russian officials in 2017 he wasn’t concerned about Moscow’s interference in U.S. election

Washington Post logoPresident Trump told two senior Russian officials in a 2017 Oval Office meeting that he was unconcerned about Moscow’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election because the United States did the same in other countries, an assertion that prompted alarmed White House officials to limit access to the remarks to an unusually small number of people, according to three former officials with knowledge of the matter.

The comments, which have not been previously reported, were part of a now-infamous meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, in which Trump revealed highly classified information that exposed a source of intelligence on the Islamic State. He also said during the meeting that firing FBI Director James B. Comey the previous day had relieved “great pressure” on him.

A memorandum summarizing the meeting was limited to a few officials with the highest security clearances in an attempt to keep the president’s comments from being disclosed publicly, according to the former officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

View the complete September 27 article by Shane Harris, Josh Dawsey and Ellen Nakashima on The Washington Post website here.

Mueller Report Shows Depth of Connections Between Trump Campaign and Russians

Donald J. Trump and 18 of his associates had at least 140 contacts with Russian nationals and WikiLeaks, or their intermediaries, during the 2016 campaign and presidential transition, according to a New York Times analysis.

The report of Robert S. Mueller III, released to the public on Thursday, revealed at least 30 more contacts beyond those previously known. However, the special counsel said, “the evidence was not sufficient to support criminal charges.”

Very few, if any, of these interactions were publicly known before Mr. Trump took office.

View the complete April 19 article by Karen Yurish and Larry Buchanan on The New York Times website here.  This web post has interactive graphics showing who met with what Russian entity through the election cycle.

Trump and His Associates Had More Than 100 Contacts With Russians Before the Inauguration

During the 2016 presidential campaign and transition, Donald J. Trump and at least 17 campaign officials and advisers had contacts with Russian nationals and WikiLeaks, or their intermediaries, a New York Times analysis has found. At least 10 other associates were told about interactions but did not have any themselves.

Knowledge of these interactions is based on New York Times reporting, documents submitted to Congress, and court records and accusations related to the special counsel investigating foreign interference in the election.

Among these contacts are more than 100 in-person meetings, phone calls, text messages, emails and private messages on Twitter. Mr. Trump and his campaign repeatedly denied having such contacts with Russians during the 2016 election.

View the complete January 26 article with interactive graphic  by Karen Yourish and Larry Buchanan on The New York Times website here.

Russians interacted with at least 14 Trump associates during the campaign and transition

Federal prosecutors filed new court papers on Dec. 7 that revealed a previously unreported contact from a Russian to Trump’s inner circle during the campaign. (Melissa Macaya , Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post)

The Russian ambassador. A deputy prime minister. A pop star, a weightlifter, a lawyer, a Soviet army veteran with alleged intelligence ties.

Again and again and again, over the course of Donald Trump’s 18-month campaign for the presidency, Russian citizens made contact with his closest family members and friends, as well as figures on the periphery of his orbit.

Some offered to help his campaign and his real estate business. Some offered dirt on his Democratic opponent. Repeatedly, Russian nationals suggested Trump should hold a peacemaking sit-down with Vladi­mir Putin — and offered to broker such a summit.

View the complete December 9 article by Rosalind S. Helderman, Tom Hamburger and Carol D. Leonnig on The Washignton Post website here.

Michael Cohen claims Trump knew about 2016 Trump Tower meeting ahead of time

The following article was posted on the Axios website July 26, 2018:

Michael Cohen walking down Park Avenue. Credit: Timothy A. Clary, AFP via Getty Images

Michael Cohen, former personal attorney for President Trump, claims Trump approved “going ahead with” the 2016 Trump Tower meeting, in which Donald Trump Jr. and other Trump campaign officials met with Russians to offer the Trump campaign dirt on Hillary Clinton, reports CNN.

Why it matters: Cohen’s claim contradicts denials by Trump, Trump Jr., their lawyers and administration officials who say then-candidate Trump was unaware of the meeting until he was approached about it by the New York Times in July 2017. Cohen said he is willing to testify in the Mueller investigation, but does not have any corroborating evidence other than his claim.

The details: Cohen claims that he, along with several others, was present when Trump was informed of the offer from the Russians and then-candidate Trump approved going ahead with it.

So Does That ‘R’ Stand For Republicans — Or Russians?

The following article by Gene Lyons was posted on the National Memo website July 24, 2018:

Donald Trump is shown on video monitors as he speaks live to the crowd from New York at the RNC Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, July 19, 2016. Credit: Mario Anzuoni, Reuters

How long do you suppose, before the initial “R” signifying “Republican” is also understood to mean “Russian?”

Let’s assume that special counsel Robert Mueller produces strong evidence that shady GOP campaign officials such as, say, Paul Manafort, conspired with Russian operatives. What would it take for your Trump-loving brother-in-law to transition from “witch hunt!” to “thank God Putin saved us from Hillary Clinton?”

Three days? A week?

View the complete article here.

At least nine people in Trump’s orbit had contact with Russians during campaign and transition

The following article by Rosalind S. Helderman, Tom Hamburger and Carol D. Leonnig was posted on the Washington Post website November 5, 2017:

Contacts between Russians and members of Donald Trump’s team occurred multiple times during the 2016 campaign and presidential transition. (Alice Li, Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

After questions emerged about whether campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page had ties to Russia, President Trump called him a “very low-level member” of a committee and said that “I don’t think I’ve ever spoken to him.”

When it was revealed that his son met with a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower, the president told reporters that “zero happened from the meeting” and that “the press made a very big deal over something that really a lot of people would do.” Continue reading “At least nine people in Trump’s orbit had contact with Russians during campaign and transition”

Sam Clovis’s really bad excuse for greenlighting a Trump campaign meeting with Russians

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website October 31, 2017:

Sam Clovis was one of the anonymous campaign officials cited in George Papadopoulos’s plea deal. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)

Sam Clovis was always a pretty suspect pick by President Trump to become the chief science adviser at the Agriculture Department — mostly because he’s not actually a scientist. His chief qualification for the job seems to be that he was national co-chairman of Trump’s 2016 campaign. Democrats have also spotlighted his past comments skeptical of climate change and suggesting that laws protecting LGBT rights could lead to the legalization of pedophilia.

And now we can add another reason his nomination could be a key battle for Democrats — and a dicey proposition for Republicans.

The Washington Post’s Rosalind S. Helderman and Tom Hamburger reported Monday night that Clovis was one of those anonymous campaign officials cited in former Trump aide George Papadopoulos’s plea deal. Clovis was the one named as a “campaign supervisor,” and he both praised Papadopoulos’s efforts to broker a meeting with the Russians as “great work” and later urged Papadopoulos to make the trip rather than Trump. Continue reading “Sam Clovis’s really bad excuse for greenlighting a Trump campaign meeting with Russians”