https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/22/politics/mystery-country-owned-company-mueller-grand-jury/index.html Mystery company fighting Mueller: New details emerge An attempt before the Supreme Court for a company to dodge a grand jury subpoena related to the Mueller investigation revealed a new twist Tuesday: that the company is wholly owned by a foreign government. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-mueller-s-claims-that-he-lied-to-prosecutors Manafort Fires Back at Mueller’s Claims That He Broke Deal by Lying “Mr. Manafort’s failure of memory is not akin to a false statement and he willingly provided information once he recalled the meeting,” his lawyers wrote.
https://www.vox.com/2019/1/29/18202515/trump-putin-russia-g20-ft-note According to the Financial Times, Trump spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin during last November’s G20 summit in Argentina without a US official present to take notes. First lady Melania Trump was by the president’s side during the chat, but no staff joined them. The White House had previously acknowledged that both leaders met for an “informal” talk but didn’t disclose that Trump had no official member of his team present. Putin did have someone, though: his translator, although it’s unclear if that person wrote anything down. This isn’t the first time Trump has done this. During the G20 meeting in Germany in July 2017, he got up from his seat during a dinner in order to sit next to Putin, who did have his translator to help. That meeting, which the White House didn’t initially reveal, came just hours after Trump bought Putin’s denial that Russia didn’t intervene in the 2016 presidential election.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/30/politics/special-counsel-russia-documents/index.html Pro-Russian Twitter account used non-public material from Mueller's team in effort to discredit Russia probe Washington (CNN)A pro-Russian Twitter account used information from a criminal case that Robert Mueller's team brought against a Russian social media company as part of a disinformation campaign, according to a new filing from the Justice Department. That publication of documents that had been shared with defense attorneys, but not made public in the ongoing case, was yet another disinformation campaign from Russia -- this time aimed at discrediting Mueller's investigation, federal prosecutors wrote in the filing Wednesday. "Certain non-sensitive discovery materials in the defense's possession appear to have been altered and disseminated as part of a disinformation campaign aimed (apparently) at discrediting ongoing investigations into Russian interference in the U.S. political system," prosecutors wrote. The documents -- though they did not contain sensitive information that could harm American national security -- should have never reached the public's view, the prosecutors said. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/ju...overy-materials-disinformation-effort-n964811 Mueller says Russians are using his discovery materials in disinformation effort The information appears to have come from the materials shared with attorneys for Concord Management, one of several Russian entities accused of election meddling. Russians are using materials obtained from special counsel Robert Mueller's office in a disinformation campaign apparently aimed at discrediting the investigation into Moscow's election interference, federal prosecutors said on Wednesday. One or more people associated with the special counsel's case against Russian hackers made statements last October claiming to have stolen discovery materials that were originally provided by Mueller to Concord Management, Mueller's team said in court documents filed on Wednesday in the Russian troll farm case. That discovery — evidence and documents traded between both sides of a lawsuit — appears to have been altered and disseminated as part of a disinformation campaign apparently aimed at discrediting the ongoing investigations in Russian interference in the U.S. political system, according to the documents.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/30/politics/mueller-mystery-case-firm-confirmed/index.html Law firm that represented Russian interests confirmed to be involved in mystery Mueller case Washington (CNN)The defendant in the mystery grand jury subpoena challenge related to the Mueller investigation is being represented by the law firm Alston & Bird, a firm that has previously represented Russian entities, a lawyer working to unseal the case confirmed Wednesday. Ted Boutrous, the lawyer for the Reporters Committee, confirmed CNN's prior reporting that Alston & Bird represents the foreign government-owned company facing scrutiny from special counsel Robert Mueller. That subpoena case is now before the Supreme Court, and Boutrous' team is attempting to get parts of it unsealed. Boutrous said in a statement that the government revealed Alston & Bird's identity during legal proceedings, and that they "did not object to the government's disclosure originally, and neither party has suggested to us in their emails or otherwise that we need to keep counsel's identity a secret." "Given these circumstances, we believe that there are no restrictions on us and that it is appropriate for us to confirm that, based on the events described above, the identity of Petitioner's counsel in the Supreme Court is Brian Boone of Alston & Bird," he added. Law firm that represented Russian interests part of mystery Mueller subpoena case Court documents show that the foreign government-owned company is still fighting the subpoena for information needed in a criminal proceeding from last summer. The Supreme Court hasn't yet agreed to consider the mystery company's request to challenge the subpoena itself. The court agreed Wednesday to review requests related to the case, including whether to entertain Boutrous' effort to intervene in the case, behind closed doors on February 15. CNN previously saw a team from Alston & Bird attend a sealed court hearing related to the case opposite several prosecutors from Mueller's office. The firm has represented Russian interests in the past, including working for a Russian oligarch and a contractor of the Russian government. Boone lists among his prior clients the Republican National Committee regarding public records litigation.
https://www.aol.com/article/news/20...ave-info-on-trump-to-russian-tycoon/23659127/ Belarusian model: I gave info on Trump to Russian tycoon MOSCOW (AP) — A Belarusian model who claims to have information on ties between Russia and Donald Trump's election campaign told The Associated Press on Friday that she has turned that material over to Russian billionaire businessman Oleg Deripaska. Anastasia Vashukevich fueled speculation around possible ties between Trump and the Kremlin last year when she posted a video from a police van, saying she had 16 hours of audio and video proving ties between Russian officials and the Trump campaign that influenced the 2016 U.S. elections. Deripaska denied the allegations and even went to court to seek to remove the video Vashukevich posted in which he discusses U.S.-Russia ties with a senior Russian government official. Vashukevich, who is also known as Nastya Rybka, returned to Russia last month almost a year after she was detained in Thailand on charges of soliciting sex, in what some believe was an attempt to silence her. Vashukevich, 28, told the AP in an interview Friday that, contrary to earlier reports that she had destroyed the recordings, she had given them to Deripaska because it "relates to him" and that she "did not want any more trouble." Vashukevich rose to prominence in February last year when Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny published an investigation detailing dealings between Deripaska and Sergei Prikhodko, then-Russian deputy prime minister who played a prominent role in shaping Russia's foreign policy. Navalny drew on Vashukevich's video from summer 2016 when Deripaska was hosting Prikhodko on his yacht and was caught on tape saying that relations between Russia and the U.S. were bad because of then-Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland. Deripaska is close to Putin and also had a working relationship with Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign manager. Manafort was investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller as part of the probe into the 2016 election and was convicted last year of tax and bank fraud. Deripaska's representative at the time dismissed the reports as "scandalous and mendacious assumptions." He promptly filed and won a lawsuit against Vashukevich for breach of privacy and secured a court ruling to delete the videos of him and Prikhodko. Vashukevich and her teacher, self-styled sex guru Alexander Kirillov, were in Thailand shortly after Navalny's investigation came out, conducting a sex training seminar when they were arrested for working without a permit. Vashukevich, Kirillov and several others ended up being charged with soliciting sex and spent 11 months in a Thai jail. In January, Vashukevich and others were sentenced by the court in Pattaya to three-year prison terms before a new ruling gave them suspended 18-month prison terms and deported them to Russia. In the early stages of their detention, the sex training group sent a note to the U.S. Embassy via an intermediary seeking help and political asylum. Vashukevich indicated she would turn over the recordings she claimed to have if the U.S. could help secure her release, but later withdrew the offer, suggesting that she and Deripaska had reached an agreement. Vashukevich and Kirillov initially blamed Russia for their incarceration and said they were fearful for their lives. In April, however, Vashukevich changed her tune and said it was the U.S. government that was persecuting her, not Russia. Vashukevich later told reporters outside a Thai courtroom that she had promised Deripaska not to speak about the U.S. election interference anymore. Vashukevich and Kirillov were briefly detained upon their arrival in Moscow late last month on suspicion of soliciting sex in Russia but were promptly released. When pressed Friday by the AP about her previous claims, Vashukevich said she had emailed "everything I had" to Deripaska and dodged a question of whether she kept a copy for herself. "Oleg (Deripaska) has it all. If he wants to make any of it public, if he thinks that it's a good idea, he can do it himself," she said. A spokeswoman for Deripaska had no immediate comment Friday on Vashukevich's new allegations. The Belarusian native who penned two books about seducing rich, powerful men explained to the AP how she changed her mind about who was to blame for her plight in Thailand. She said he received multiple visits from Americans with FBI IDs who were seeking information about her claims of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. She said they offered her safety in the U.S. or threatened her with a lengthy prison term if she refused to cooperate. Around the time when she first publicly supported Russia, Vashukevich received a visit from Vladimir Pronin, Russia's newly appointed consul in Pattaya, who she said helped to improve prison conditions for her and the other inmates. She credited Pronin for securing her release from the Thai prison and her deportation in January. Russian publications The Bell and Proyekt last year pointed to another high-profile visitor who Vashukevich caught on tape spending time with Deripaska. One video posted on her YouTube account showed a meeting between Deripaska and Adam Waldman, a U.S. lobbyist who has been working for Deripaska and who has had repeated meetings with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The reported January 2017 meeting was several days before Waldman's visit to Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. The Democratic National Committee last year sued Trump's campaign, Russia and WikiLeaks, saying they conspired to cheat Democrats in the 2016 election. When asked Friday if the reports proving the Russian interference in the U.S. elections included recordings of Waldman, Prikhodko and Deripaska, the Belarusian woman said: "I didn't tell you that." Vashukevich has kept a low profile since her release, a stark contrast to the racy photos that she used to post on Instagram. On Friday, she would not respond to a question on whether she was currently collaborating with Russian authorities. Her remarks, however, indicated that she may have traded her silence for security. "Things are so good right now, I don't want this to change," she said. "I don't want to have to have to compare the Russian prison to the Thai prison. I don't want any more trouble." In her old Instagram posts, Vashukevich used to take pride in manipulating rich, powerful men. Asked Friday if she was now the one being manipulated, she swore in English and asked "What do you do?"
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/06/house-intel-mueller-investigation-1152048 House Intel votes to send witness transcripts to Mueller for possible perjury charges The House Intelligence Committee voted on Wednesday to send dozens of witness interview transcripts from its Russia investigation to special counsel Robert Mueller, who could use them to prosecute potential instances of perjury. It’s the first act of the intelligence panel under the leadership of Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who has vowed to revive the committee’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Mueller has already prosecuted some Trump associates for lying to Congress. “The special counsel’s office, the Justice Department and its elements will now have access to those transcripts for any purpose which will facilitate justice,” Schiff told reporters after the committee’s vote, adding that the transcripts will be sent to Mueller’s investigators immediately.
We couldn't find any actual crimes or collusion so let's prosecute them for incorrectly stating a date by a single day.
Witness tampering and obstructing an investigation with falsehoods process crimes now? Trumpies: Let Mueller find the truth and absolve Trump also Trumpies: Why is he punishing these guys for lying?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...34a2b33be52_story.html?utm_term=.00df540e85da Sergei Millian, identified as an unwitting source for the Steele dossier, sought proximity to Trump’s world in 2016 The get-together followed months of outreach Millian had made to the young aide — including offering him a lucrative consulting contract to work simultaneously for Trump and an unidentified Russian, which Papadopoulos said he rebuffed. FBI agents later pressed Papadopoulos about his relationship with Millian, Papadopoulos’s lawyers have said. The interactions between the two men — the extent of which have not been reported previously — show how Millian, a self-described real estate developer who served as an unwitting source of information for former British spy Christopher Steele, was in closer proximity to Trump’s world than previously known. As he was working to build a relationship with Papadopoulos in 2016, Millian also offered to serve as a conduit to the Trump campaign for a Belarusan author in Florida with connections to the Russian government, according to emails obtained by The Washington Post. Millian, who has denied being a source for the dossier, has largely disappeared from public view, despite efforts by congressional investigators to interview him — taking with him potential answers about the president’s links to Russia and some of the dossier’s still-unproved claims. The House and Senate intelligence committees have tried to interview Millian, according to people familiar with the panels’ work. Millian did not respond to the Senate committee, one person said. In a report issued last year, House Democrats said that Millian was unwilling to appear before their panel without being granted immunity and they called on Republicans to subpoena him. Now back in majority control, House Democrats said they plan to renew efforts to obtain his testimony.