Tag: Alan Futerfas

(CNN)Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney, claims that then-candidate Trump knew in advance about the June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower in which Russians were expected to offer his campaign dirt on Hillary Clinton, sources with knowledge tell CNN. Cohen's claim would contradict repeated denials by Trump, Donald Trump Jr., their lawyers and other administration officials who have said that the President knew nothing about the Trump Tower meeting until he was approached about it by The New York Times in July 2017. Cohen alleges that he was present, along with several others, when Trump was informed of the Russians' offer by Trump Jr. By Cohen's account, Trump approved going ahead with the meeting with the Russians, according to sources. A source familiar with Cohen's House testimony said he did not testify that Trump had advance knowledge. Gee, I wonder if they helped him make the choice!" Those denials were repeatedly issued by Trump, his attorney Jay Sekulow, Trump Jr., Futerfas and White House press secretary Sarah Sanders. One week later, Trump repeated that he "didn't know anything about the meeting" because "nobody told me" about it. But perhaps the highest-stakes denial was given by Trump Jr. in his testimony last year to the Senate Judiciary Committee. "He wasn't aware of it," Trump Jr. told lawmakers, referring to his father's knowledge of the meeting. Axios reported that Bannon does not have first-hand knowledge about whether Trump Jr. told his father, and Bannon later said his "treasonous" remark was directed at Manafort and not Trump Jr.

Donald Trump Jr met with an emissary for foreign governments seeking to help his father’s presidential campaign three months before the 2016 election, the New York Times reported on Saturday. Also present, the paper said, were an Israeli specialist in social media manipulation, Joel Zamel, and Erik Prince, the founder of the private military contractor formerly known as Blackwater. The special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating that interference and alleged links between Trump aides and Moscow. During the Trump Tower meeting, the Times said, George Nader, the emissary for the two crown princes, indicated that leaders in Saudi Arabia and the UAE wished to help Trump. Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for Trump Jr, told the Times: “Prior to the 2016 election, Donald Trump Jr recalls a meeting with Erik Prince, George Nader and another individual who may be Joel Zamel. The lawyer also said Zamel had “provided full cooperation to the government to assist with their investigation”. The report cited “a senior official in Saudi Arabia” who it said denied Nader had ever been authorized to speak for the Saudi government. It was later disclosed that the encounter was arranged when the Russians offered to provide incriminating information about Clinton. The president’s son has said his father was not aware of that Trump Tower meeting. Last year, Trump embraced a Saudi-led blockade against Qatar, a key US ally, against the counsel of his foreign policy advisers.