UPDATE 2: RussiaGate blows WIDE OPEN in Abramson report
In a stunning tweetstorm this evening, columnist and reporter Seth Abramson (Huffington Post, Dallas Morning News, Seattle Times, Washington Post) laid out all the details on the Russia-Trump connection. And folks, if true this is impeachment territory, and imprisonment territory, for the highest officials in the United States.
1) Per @NYMag, Paul Manafort took over the Trump campaign on April 16, just 72 hours before Trump mathematically eliminated his competition.pic.twitter.com/SsIUo589By
3) On April 21, 48 hours after clinching, Trump announced the first major foreign policy address of his life. It was scheduled for April 27.
4) The speech, arranged by Jared Kushner in mid-March, was to be hosted by the Center for the National Interest, a conservative think tank. pic.twitter.com/yXj3J7DpQJ
Note that the Center for the National Interest will be abbreviated “CNI” often in this thread.
5) The Center is _widely_ known to have "ties to the Russian regime of President Vladimir Putin," per Politico.politico.eu/article/donald…
6) The speech was slated to be at the National Press Club, an august venue with a _long_ history of staging secure events with large crowds. pic.twitter.com/cuq5492nkO
7) Less than 24 hours before the speech, it was cancelled. The Trump campaign (i.e., Manafort) declared the venue was too small and unsafe.
8) So Manafort moved the event to the Mayflower Hotel: a smaller, less secure site. The decision confirmed the campaign's excuses were lies. pic.twitter.com/EtgLxhMXYh
9) The two things the Mayflower had that the NPC didn't were (a) 581 private rooms for private meetings, and (b) restricted, VIP-only areas. pic.twitter.com/kt1rBExo0i
11) Among the 24 at the event: Trump, CNI event coordinator Heilbrunn, Jeff Sessions, Kushner, Lewandowski, Manafort, and four ambassadors.pic.twitter.com/jVPRY2XZHv
12) Another VIP at the event was Iran-Contra figure Bud McFarlane, one of America's chief advocates for a bargain with Russia on oil access. pic.twitter.com/hj6TJhLujN
13) The four ambassadors were the only four ambassadors in the world (out of 195 total) that the Putin-linked CNI had invited to the event.
15) Individuals from those three countries—RUSSIA, ITALY, and SINGAPORE—negotiated the sale of 19.5% of Russia's state oil company, Rosneft. pic.twitter.com/WL28N2kZg3
16) The #Russiagate scandal involves claims Trump was given 0.5% of Rosneft and aid in getting elected in exchange for lifting US sanctions. pic.twitter.com/epnrPl9ngo
17) The Rosneft deal closed Dec. 5-7. During that time McFarlane visited Trump Tower. It's believed Russian ambassador/spy Kislyak did too.pic.twitter.com/DvUGL4W0V9
18) WSJ wrote in April 2016 that Trump met separately with the ambassadors at the Mayflower and was effusive. Quote:slate.com/blogs/the_slat…
19) “Trump met at a VIP reception with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak. He warmly greeted Kislyak and 3 other ambassadors."
20) The ambassadors at the Mayflower: RUSSIA! ITALY! SINGAPORE! And the Philippines--which is routinely cited as a Rosneft expansion target. pic.twitter.com/lkziVxMM6l
21) So Trump warmly, privately chatted with the 3 Rosneft-deal nations at a cocktail hour right before his _first big foreign-policy event_.
22) In his speech Trump called for a Russian detente: "We desire to live peacefully and in friendship with Russia...we are not bound... pic.twitter.com/LY1s6ZdE4k
23) to be adversaries. We should seek common ground based on shared interests...an easing of tensions and improved relations with Russia... pic.twitter.com/I4eKvtqvpy
24) is possible..[I hope to] make a deal under my administration that’s great for America but also good for Russia." politico.com/trump-russia-t…
25) Richard Burt, CNI and Russian Alfa Bank adviser, _crafted the speech_. He was also _Putin's pipeline lobbyist_. salon.com/2016/10/07/ano…
26) The only Kislyak meeting Sessions _never_ disclosed to Congress, _even after accusations of perjury_, was the meeting at the Mayflower. pic.twitter.com/D8mzXi2xNa
27) But per the organizer of the Mayflower Hotel event, Jacob Heilbrunn of the CNI, a third Sessions-Kislyak meeting _definitely_ occurred.
29) ... Senator Jeff Sessions and ambassadors [from Russia and the other nations] congregated before the event."politico.com/magazine/story…
30) The VIP event _wasn't_ just a receiving line as Trump claimed. It was a "cocktail meet-and-greet"--a full event.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jeff-ses…
31) That Sessions would feel the need to hide his contact with Kislyak at the Mayflower event after accusations of perjury raises red flags. pic.twitter.com/FiSyrw89SD
32) The White House saying it has “no recollection” of any of the VIPs at Trump's _biggest-ever foreign policy event_ is also a red flag. pic.twitter.com/bTQsz5JJ2Z
33) When Kislyak was asked if he’d met Trump or members of his team during the campaign he replied, "What do you consider a campaign?"
34) Kislyak went on to _fail_ to disclose his meeting with Trump at the Mayflower, citing only a meeting at the RNC.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw_tSF…
35) We know Manafort and Kislyak would have known each other, as Manafort indirectly worked for Putin for years.slate.com/blogs/the_slat…
36) We know Manafort set up the Mayflower event and was available for meetings at it--as was Kushner, who later met secretly with Kislyak. pic.twitter.com/nOnWyPZB4x
37) Congress must investigate _any_ Mayflower meetings between Sessions, Manafort, Kushner, Kislyak and the Italian/Singaporean ambassadors.
38) We know the White House lied about Mayflower. We know Sessions has. We know Kislyak has. And we know the Rosneft players were present. pic.twitter.com/9BIKLipInj
39) We know there was ample time/space for "sidelines" meetings. And we know Walid Phares was also there, and Trump Jr., and Stephen Miller. pic.twitter.com/JgjowPR15D
40) So other than the RNC and suspicious Trump Tower meetings in December, the Mayflower Speech should get the _most_ attention in Congress. pic.twitter.com/8mPUhCC4bp
Abramson doesn’t reveal much about his sources, but let’s just be aware that the intelligence community has long been rumored to have the goods on Trump. So yeah. Somebody’s leaking.
Daily Kos readers may also recall that according to the famous British spy dossier on the Russia connection, Carter Page was offered the brokerage commission on the sale of 19% of Rosneft if he could get US sanctions on Russia lifted. And apparently Trump himself wanted a piece of that action, to the tune of 0.5%; and whaddya know? Rosneft sold exactly 19.5% of its stock to person or persons unknown.
MAJOR UPDATE:
There has been discussion in the comments about the veracity of Seth Abramson’s reportage. Here is what I have been able to find so far doing a quick search:
1. Location of Trump's foreign policy speech was changed from NPC to Mayflower: True.
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/277308-trump-to-give-foreign-policy-speech-at-national-press-club
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/277308-trump-to-give-foreign-policy-speech-at-national-press-club
2. The space at the Mayflower was smaller than the NPC.False. True.
The NPC's main ballroom has a capacity of 525, while the Mayflower's Grand Ballroom can seat 1150. But according to a subsequent tweet by Abramson, Trump’s speech was actually held in the State Ballroom, which seats 400 in theater mode.
The NPC's main ballroom has a capacity of 525, while the Mayflower's Grand Ballroom can seat 1150. But according to a subsequent tweet by Abramson, Trump’s speech was actually held in the State Ballroom, which seats 400 in theater mode.
http://www.press.org/services/event-facilities/main-level
http://www.themayflowerhotel.com/meetings-events/
3. There was a reception at the Mayflower before the speech. Ambassador Kislyak was at the reception, along with Trump, Sessions, and three other ambassadors: all True.
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/statement-regarding-president-trumps-april-27-2016-foreign-19715
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/statement-regarding-president-trumps-april-27-2016-foreign-19715
4. CNI has Russian connections: misleading.
The CNI (FKA the Nixon Center) appears to be bipartisan and very much into realpolitik. Henry Kissinger is one of the directors. They are focused on foreign affairs, but seem to have no particular love for Putin.
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/what-does-putin-want-17938
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/what-does-putin-want-17938
5. Other ambassadors at the reception were from Italy, Singapore, and the Phillipines. True.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C7qDEvfV4AIf8N4.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C7qDEvfV4AIf8N4.jpg
6. Italy and Singapore were key players in the Rosneft sale:partially true.
There appears to be no direct governmental involvement from either nation; however, an Italian bank was one of the key players in financing the deal, and a holding company in Singapore was the nominal buyer. (The ownership of that Singaporean company is impossible to trace.) But other nations were involved too: Qatar and Switzerland were also involved in financing the deal.
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1582OH
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1582OH
I'm also adding a link to the Steele dossier on Trump's Russia ties:
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3259984-Trump-Intelligence-Allegations.html
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3259984-Trump-Intelligence-Allegations.html
Regarding the most explosive allegation by Abrahamson, that Trump was personally involved in the Rosneft deal, I have found no confirmation (nor did I expect to). If Abramson has sources, he’s not telling us who they might be.
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