Tag: Sergey Kislyak

Mr. Trump acknowledged discussing the Moscow project with Mr. Cohen in written responses that the president gave Mr. Mueller’s investigators days before they revealed that Mr. Cohen had pleaded guilty to lying to Congress. “There was no question that he was asked by the special counsel a question that said, ‘Did you talk to him before he testified?’” Mr. Giuliani said. “There were questions like, ‘Did you talk about the Moscow project with Michael Cohen?’ to which we answered yes.” Later in the day, Mr. Giuliani said he was merely allowing for the possibility that the president and Mr. Cohen could have discussed the Moscow project through the election but that no notes or call logs indicated specific conversations about Russia. He does remember, after that, fleeting conversations.” He added that he was trying to keep Mr. Trump from legal exposure if prosecutors uncover evidence of a conversation that the president has said he does not recall. Then, when Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress about the Tower negotiations, the special counsel’s office revealed they extended at least until the middle of 2016. Michael T. Flynn, who would become President Trump’s first national security adviser, discussed sanctions with Mr. Kislyak numerous times in December 2016 as President Obama punished Russia for its campaign of election interference. For the Moscow project, Mr. Trump appears to have relied on Mr. Cohen to be the lead negotiator, and interviews, emails and court documents show that Mr. Cohen made a vigorous effort to try to get the blessing of the Kremlin for the project and even tried to arrange a trip to Moscow for Mr. Trump. Mr. Sater appears to have seen Mr. Shmykov as a conduit to get Russian government approval for the Trump project. Instead, he said, a Russian bank could provide the documents as part of “a business meeting not political.” The Moscow trip for Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen never materialized, but court documents released in November as part of Mr. Cohen’s guilty plea showed that Mr. Cohen pursued the Moscow project well into 2016. Mr. Cohen told prosecutors for the special counsel that, during a January 2016 conversation, the Kremlin official “asked detailed questions and took notes, stating that she would follow up with others in Russia.” Mr. Cohen told prosecutors that the discussions lasted at least until June 14, 2016, when he met with Mr. Sater in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York and told him he would not be traveling to Russia “at that time,” according to court documents.

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser provided so much information to the special counsel’s Russia investigation that prosecutors say he shouldn’t do any prison time, according to a court filing Tuesday that describes Michael Flynn’s cooperation as “substantial.” The filing by special counsel Robert Mueller provides the first details of Flynn’s assistance in the Russia investigation, including that he participated in 19 interviews with prosecutors. This week, Trump lashed out at his former legal fixer, Michael Cohen, saying he is making up “stories” to get a reduced prison sentence after his latest guilty plea to lying to Congress. That episode is among those under scrutiny by Mueller as he probes whether Trump attempted to obstruct the Russia investigation. Most notably, Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, aggressively fought the investigation and is now facing the possibility of a lengthy prison sentence after his cooperation agreement recently fell apart over allegations that he had lied to investigators. Stone has also waged a public campaign against Mueller. Flynn’s false statements stemmed from a Jan. 24, 2017, interview with the FBI about his and others’ interactions with Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s then-ambassador to the U.S., as the Obama administration was levying sanctions on the Kremlin in response to election interference. As part of his plea deal, Flynn said members of Trump’s inner circle, including his son-in-law and White House aide Jared Kushner, were involved in — and at times directing — his actions in the weeks before Trump took office. During those conversations with Kislyak, Flynn asked Russia to delay or vote against the resolution, a request the Kremlin ultimately rejected. Flynn was forced to resign his post on Feb. 13, 2017, after news reports revealed that Obama administration officials had warned the Trump White House about Flynn’s false statements. Flynn was under investigation by the Justice Department for the work when he became national security adviser.

Image The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, recently provided President Trump’s lawyers a list of questions he wants answered in an interview. What was the purpose of your Feb. 14, 2017, meeting with Mr. Comey, and what was said? Mr. Comey was fired soon after. There, The Times revealed, Mr. Trump suggested he had fired Mr. Comey because of the pressure from the Russia investigation. Mr. Trump has criticized Mr. Sessions’s recusal from the Russia investigation. The Times has reported that Mr. Trump told his White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, to stop Mr. Though Mr. Trump’s own advisers informed Mr. Mueller about that effort, Mr. Trump denied it: “Fake news,” he said. What discussions did you have during the campaign regarding any meeting with Mr. Putin? This is a key question. This question, along with the next two, show that Mr. Mueller is still investigating possible campaign cooperation with Russia.