Machiavelli
Back to Reality. Oh there goes Gravity
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Joined: Apr 2006
I Root For: BGSU
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RE: Why Mueller doesnt want to testify
(05-29-2019 08:01 AM)UofMstateU Wrote: If you start hearing the term that Mueller wont testify because he's camera shy (its already been posted by the left in this very forum, so the talking points have been distributed) its a lie.
The real reason he wont testify is because he doesnt want to state when he knew there was no collusion. Because he then doesnt want to explain why he didnt release his findings WAY sooner than he did. He kept the country on edge. (Well, at least he kept members of the left foaming at the mouth thinking Mueller was going to have Trump removed.)
OHHHHHHH GAWD!!!!!!!!!!!!! Many documented points of collusion in the report!!!! Use conspiracy! That would make sense then!
Trump Campaign Collusion With Russia
While the report did not find a criminal conspiracy, pages 74-181 cover the Trump Campaign and Transition’s links to the Russian government. In summary, it covers the over 16 Trump associates who had over 100 contacts or meetings with Russian nationals during the course of the Campaign (September 2015-November 8, 2016) and Transition. Here are some of the key contacts.
When it comes to the Trump Campaign, page 74 summarizes:
As set forth below, the Office also evaluated a series of links during this period: outreach to two of Trump ‘s then-recently named foreign policy advisors, including a representation that Russia had “dirt” on Clinton in the form of thousands of emails (Volume I, Sections IV.A.2 & IV.A.3); dealings with a D.C.-based think tank that specializes in Russia and has connections with its government (Volume I, Section IV.A.4); a meeting at Trump Tower between the Campaign and a Russian lawyer promising dirt on candidate Clinton that was “part of Russia and its government’s support for [Trump]” (Volume I, Section IV.A.5); events at the Republican National Convention (Volume I, Section IV.A.6); post-Convention contacts betwe en Trump Campaign officials and Russia’s ambassador to the United States (Volume I, Section IV.A.7); and contacts through campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who had previously worked for a Russian oligarch and a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine (Volume I, Section IV.A.8).
Pages 75-88 discusses the Trump Tower Moscow deal. Page 75:
Between at least 2013 and 2016, the Trump Organization explored a similar licensing deal in Russia involving the construction of a Trump-branded property in Moscow. The project, commonly referred to as a “Trump Tower Moscow” or “Trump Moscow” project , anticipated a combination of commercial , hotel , and residential properties all within the same building. Between 2013 and June 2016, several employees of the Trump Organization, including thenpresident of the organization Donald J. Trump, pursued a Moscow deal with several Russian counterparties. From the fall of 2015 until the middle of 2016, Michael Cohen spearheaded the Trump Organization’s pursuit of a Trump Tower Moscow project, including by reporting on the project’s status to candidate Trump and other executives in the Trump Organization.
Page 78 cites the November 2015 letter of intent signed by Trump pursuing the Trump Tower Moscow deal and reiterates what has been previously reported about Trump associate Felix Sater:
On November 3, 2015, the day after the Trump Organization transmitted the LOI, Sater emailed Cohen suggesting that the Trump Moscow project could be used to increase candidate Trump’s chances at being elected, writing:
Buddy our boy can become President of the USA and we can engineer it. I will get all of Putins team to buy in on this, I will manage this process …. Michael, Putin gets on stage with Donald for a ribbon cutting for Trump Moscow , and Donald owns the republican nomination. And possibly beats Hillary and our boy is in .. . . We will manage this process better than anyone. You and I will get Donald and Vladimir on a stage together very shortly. That the game changer.
The pages that follow show the back and forth contacts and the effort to have Donald Trump travel to Russia. The plans were never acted upon.
Pages 88-103 detail how then-Trump Campaign Adviser George Papadopoulos sought to arrange a meeting between Trump and Putin, kept the campaign in the loop on those efforts, and also how he was made aware of Russia’s dirt on Hillary Clinton.
Pages 103-111 includes details about then-Trump Campaign Adviser Carter Page. In summary:
Carter Page worked for the Trump Campaign from January 2016 to September 2016. He was formally and publicly announced as a foreign policy advisor by the candidate in March 2016. 516 Page had lived and worked in Russia, and he had been approached by Russian intelligence officers several years before he volunteered for the Trump Campaign. During his time with the Campaign, Page advocated pro-Russia foreign policy positions and traveled to Moscow in his personal capacity. Russian intelligence officials had formed relationships with Page in 2008 and 2013 and Russian officials may have focused on Page in 2016 because of his affiliation with the Campaign. However, the investigation did not establish that Page coordinated with the Russian government in its efforts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election. 508
Pages 111-118 discuss the Trump Campaign’s contacts with the Center of the National Interest:
Members of the Trump Campaign interacted on several occasions with the Center for the National Interest (CNI), principally through its President and Chief Executive Officer, Dimitri Simes. CNI is a think tank with expertise in and connections to the Russian government. Simes was born in the former Soviet Union and immigrated to the United States in the 1970s. In April 2016, candidate Trump delivered his first speech on foreign policy and national security at an event hosted by the National Interest, a publication affiliated with CNI. Then-Senator Jeff Sessions and Russian Ambassador Kislyak both attended the event and, as a result, it gained some attention in relation to Sessions’s confirmation hearings to become Attorney General. Sessions had various other contacts with CNI during the campaign period on foreign-policy matters, including Russia. Jared Kushner also interacted with Simes about Russian issues during the campaign. The investigation did not identify evidence that the Campaign passed or received any messages to or from the Russian government through CNI or Simes.
Pages 118-131 details the June 9, 2016, Trump Tower meeting that has drawn a great deal of scrutiny. It details how Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and then-Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort held a meeting in Trump Tower seeking dirt on Hillary Clinton from Russian operatives. It ultimately concludes that they did not receive dirt in the meeting but the Magnitsky Act sanctions were discussed. It outlines a lot of previously reported details, including email correspondences. Although Cohen testified that he believed Jr. told Donald Trump Sr. of the meeting, Mueller could not prove it.
Pages 131-137 detail events at the Republican National Convention. In summary:
Trump Campaign officials met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the week of the Republican National Convention . The evidence indicates that those interactions were brief and non-substantive. During platform committee meetings immediately before the Convention, J.D. Gordon, a senior Campaign advisor on policy and national security, diluted a proposed amendment to the Republican Party platform expressing support for providing “lethal” assistance to Ukraine in response to Russian aggression.
Pages 137-152 discussed then-Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort and his Russian contacts. The most damning of which involves suspected Russian Intelligence Operative Konstantin Kilimnik. It confirmed that Manafort discussed the Ukrainian peace plan and offered a new development that expands on what Manafort gave Kilimnik. Page 148:
Manafort briefed Kilimnik on the state of the Trump Campaign and Manafort’s plan to win the election. That briefing encompassed the Campaign’s messaging and its internal polling data. According to Gates, it also included discussion of “battleground” states, which Manafort identified as Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota.
Pages 152-181 cover the Trump Transition’s key contacts with Russia. In summary:
Trump was elected President on November 8, 2016. Beginning immediately after the election, individuals connected to the Russian government started contacting officials on the Trump Campaign and Transition Team through multiple channels-sometimes through Russian Ambassador Kislyak and at other times through individuals who sought reliable contacts through U.S. persons not formally tied to the Campaign or Transition Team. The most senior levels of the Russian government encouraged these efforts. The investigation did not establish that these efforts reflected or constituted coordination between the Trump Campaign and Russia in its election interference activities.
It includes the Erik Prince and Kirill Dmitriev meeting in the Seychelles, then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak’s meeting with Jared Kushner and Michael Flynn in Trump Tower in November 2016, Kushner’s meeting with Sergey Gorkov who was representing VEB bank (under sanctions), and Michael Flynn’s various contacts including the promises to Kislyak to lift sanctions on Russia.
This section concluded as follows:
In sum, the investigation established multiple links between Trump Campaign officials and individuals tied to the Russian government. Those links included Russian offers of assistance to the Campaign. In some instances , the Campaign was receptive to the offer , while in other instances the Campaign officials shied away. Ultimately , the investigation did not establish that the Campaign coordinated or conspired with the Russian government in its election-interference activities.
Pages 182-207 outlines Mueller’s prosecution and declination decisions which include the reasoning behind the lack of a conspiracy charge.
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