Trump son-in-law met executives of sanctioned Russian bank; will testify

[webfact]

Trump son-in-law met executives of sanctioned Russian bank; will testify

By Elena Fabrichnaya, Steve Holland and Patricia Zengerle

REUTERS

 

FILE PHOTO -- Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner watch as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and U.S. President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., March 17, 2017. REUTERS/Jim Bourg/File Photo

 

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Russian bank under Western economic sanctions over Russia's incursion into Ukraine disclosed on Monday that its executives had met Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a top White House adviser, in December.

 

A U.S. Senate committee investigating suspected Russian interference in the election wants to interview Trump associates, including Kushner, 36, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and has agreed to testify.

 

Kushner previously acknowledged meeting the Russian ambassador to Washington last December and only on Monday did it emerge that executives of Russian state development bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) had talks with Kushner during a bank roadshow last year.

 

The bank said in an emailed statement that as part of its preparing a new strategy, its executives met representatives of financial institutes in Europe, Asia and America.

 

It said roadshow meetings took place "with a number of representatives of the largest banks and business establishments of the United States, including Jared Kushner, the head of Kushner Companies." VEB declined to say where the meetings took place or the dates.

 

There was no immediate comment from Kushner.

 

Allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russian actors were behind hacking of senior Democratic Party operatives and spreading disinformation linger over Trump's young presidency. Democrats charge the Russians wanted to tilt the election toward the Republican, a claim dismissed by Trump. Russia denies the allegations.

 

But there has been no doubt that the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak, developed contacts among the Trump team. Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was forced to resign on Feb. 13 after revelations that he had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with Kislyak and misled Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations.

 

U.S. officials said that after meeting with Russian Kislyak at Trump Tower last December, a meeting also attended by Flynn, Kushner met later in December with Sergei Gorkov, chairman of Vnesheconombank.

 

White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks confirmed the meetings, saying nothing of consequence was discussed.

 

Gorkov was appointed head of VEB in early 2016 by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He graduated from the Federal Security Service, or FSB, Russia’s internal security agency. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Merit for Services to the Fatherland, according to the bank's website.

 

According to two congressional staffers, some Senate investigators want to question Kushner and Flynn about whether they discussed with Gorkov or other Russian officials or financial executives the possibility of investing in 666 Fifth Avenue in New York or other Kushner Co or Trump properties if the new administration lifted the sanctions.

 

VEB, aside from being under sanctions, has been grappling with bad debt after financing politically expedient projects such as construction for the Sochi Winter Olympics.

 

It received 150 billion roubles (£2.10 billion)in support from the Russian budget in 2016, when its senior management was sacked and replaced by a team of executives from Russia's biggest lender Sberbank.

 

In an article posted on Dec. 18, Forbes estimated that Jared Kushner, his brother Josh and his parents, Charles and Seryl, have a fortune of at least $1.8 billion (£1.43 billion), more than half of which Forbes estimates is held in real estate.

 

Forbes did not provide a specific estimate for Jared Kushner’s net worth on his own.

 

FOREIGN CONTACTS

 

On Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters that Kushner is willing to testify to the Senate Intelligence Committee chaired by U.S. Senator Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican.

 

“Throughout the campaign and the transition, Jared served as the official primary point of contact with foreign governments and officials ... and so, given this role, he volunteered to speak with Chairman Burr's committee," Spicer told reporters at his daily briefing.

 

The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate panel also said Kushner had agreed to be interviewed but no date had yet been scheduled.

 

Simply meeting with representatives of a U.S.-sanctioned entity is not a violation of sanctions or against the law.

 

Evgeny Buryakov, 41, a Russian citizen who worked at Vnesheconombank and whom U.S. authorities accused of posing as a banker while participating in a New York spy ring, pleaded guilty to a criminal conspiracy charge on Friday. Buryakov admitted in federal court in Manhattan to acting as an agent for the Russian government without notifying U.S. authorities.

 

He was prosecuted by the office of the U.S. attorney in Manhattan under Preet Bharara, who was among several chief prosecutors fired or asked to resign earlier this month by the new administration.

 

CLASSIFIED INFORMATION

 

Also on Monday, a mystery rooted in Trump's claim that he was wiretapped by then President Barack Obama during the election campaign deepened with the disclosure that a top congressional Republican reviewed classified information on the White House grounds about potential surveillance of some Trump campaign associates.

 

U.S. Representative Devin Nunes, chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, visited the White House the night before he announced on Wednesday that he had information that indicated some Trump associates may have been subjected to some level of intelligence activity before Trump took office on Jan. 20.

 

Democrats have said Nunes, who was a member of Trump's transition team, can no longer run a credible investigation of Russian hacking, the U.S. election and any potential involvement by Trump associates. Top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi last week called Nunes "a willing stooge of Trump."

 

Nunes spokesman Jack Langer said in a statement that Nunes "met with his source at the White House grounds in order to have proximity to a secure location where he could view the information provided by the source."

 

White House spokesman Spicer did not shed any light on who at the White House helped Nunes gain access to a secure location.

 

It was the latest twist in a saga that began on March 4 when Trump said on Twitter without providing evidence that he "just found out that Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower just before the victory."

 

FBI Director James Comey told Congress last Monday he had seen no evidence to support the claim.

 

(Reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya and Polina Devitt in Moscow and Patricia Zengerle, Steve Holland, Mark Hosenball, John Walcott, Arshad Mohammed and Warren Strobel in Washington; editing by Yara Bayoumy and Grant McCool)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-03-28

[boomerangutang]

             Yea, the plot thickens.  Will pretty-boy Kushner be the first to sing?   Even if Kushner tells all he knows, there is still a lot he doesn't know - which we'll have to wait for Manafort, Trump and Flynn to fill in the blanks, if they every do.

 

           Kushner will try to charm the committee.  It will work with Republicans, who will be licking his shoes (Like Ted Cruz smiling non-stop for the Supreme Court nominee), but it won't work as well with Dems.   Kushner may also keep saying "I don't know" "I can't recall" or "I invoke the 5th Amendment"  ......like Trump has done during several court cases where he was a defendant.   Trump invoked the 5th Amendment (against self-incrimination) 99 times in a court case when he was a defendant.

 

          The bigger fireworks will come when Manafort and Flynn are being grilled, assuming Republicans aren't chairing the investigative committees.  If Republicans are in charge, then it will be as sugar-coated as they can make it. 

 

 

[boomerangutang]

There's an interesting side issue of official Trump spokespeople:

 

Kellyanne Conway is being seen less often.  Some media venues won't even have her on any more because she's such a shyster.

 

Young man Miller was spokesperson for a half day, but made such an ass of himself ("the president is 100% right, and won't be questioned on this.") that Trump is keeping him on a short leash in the Oval Office.

 

Sean Spicer has such a dearth of credibility that he even snickers at his own statements.

 

What a great crew.   Let's not forget one of Trump's golden statements, "I pick the best people."  Or, another:  "I'm like a really smart person."

 

 

[worgeordie]

"will testify", I think that should read lie,just like his Father in law.

regards Worgeordie

[Silurian]

There is no way that Kushner will sing. He is in way too deep himself. He is extremely trusted by the fraudulent POTUS and has hitched himself to the family bandwagon (figuratively and literally). He will pivot, dodge and obfuscate until everyone is either confused or taken off course. I extremely doubt anything will come from Kushner testifying. This is just another distraction and attempt by the administration to steer the investigation to their benefit.

 

They need to get Manafort to spill the beans. It will start with him and the rest will fall. But Manafort will be a hard nut to crack. I doubt he wants to get on Putin's bad side. We have all seen what Putin does to his "not long for this life" enemies. Manafort has assets all over the globe so it will be hard for the US Government to seize them all. They need to push for imprisonment for Manafort so he can't enjoy his accumulated wealth, then he will talk.

 

They might get Flynn to talk but he is a smaller player in this whole fiasco. I doubt he knows much beyond his little part. 

[Prbkk]

Nixon is looking less of a crook by the day, relatively speaking.

[Srikcir]

6 hours ago, worgeordie said:

"will testify", I think that should read lie,just like his Father in law.

 

"It was not immediately clear when or how the Senate questioning would take place or whether Kushner would be under oath. An official familiar with the Senate investigation said that the details of the interview have not yet been set, and the Trump associates will speak to the committee on the committee's terms. That these Trump associates volunteered to be interviewed does not prevent the committee from issuing a subpoena for testimony."

http://www.latimes.com/nation/natiTonnow/la-na-jared-kushner-russia-senate-committee-20170327-story.html

 

Testimony obtained under subpoena is done under oath. Volunteered testimony is not unless the witness agrees specifically to do so under oath. So without a subpoena, Kushner and other Trump "associates" or former "associates" could make "unintentional" or "misleading" mistakes (aka lies) in their testimony without penalty. Of course when giving testimony under oath one has a constitutional right not to answer a question on the grounds that it might be used against one in a criminal court.

[Andaman Al]

41 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Of course when giving testimony under oath one has a constitutional right not to answer a question on the grounds that it might be used against one in a criminal court.

Correct. I was about to say that if all is under oath then we should have a forum sweepstake as to how many times, Kushner, Manafort etc will plead the 5th amendment.

 

There should be no 'voluntary' information given in these cases or investigations it should all be under subpoena.

[geriatrickid]

It was not illegal to meet with a representative of a bank. One does not know under what circumstances the meeting was arranged. As long as no activity that violated the sanctions was engaged in, then the activity, was not necessarily illegal. Poor judgement, and even unethical, more likely.

 

There are supposed to be international sanctions imposed upon Russia. Yet, the Russians abound in Thailand, spending money. They are also found all over Europe which supposedly had adopted a hardline against Russia.  

[Thaidream]

Step by step; inch by inch-  someone will eventually talk; just like they did during the Nixon Watergate situation.  The  media will keep pushing and looking. This is not going away.  It will be the same as it always is- What did Trump know and when did he know it?

Knowing how Trump likes to control and negotiate- I suspect he is up to his eyebrows in all of it. The best deal he may make- is his own resignation.

 

[Credo]

"White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks confirmed the meetings, saying nothing of consequence was discussed."

 

Considering that Kushner probably isn't on intimate terms with the Russian Bankers, I wonder what would be discussed that would be of no consequences.   

 

The minimization of the significance of these meetings is glaring considering the attention paid to Bill Clinton's meeting with a person he knew on the tarmac of an Arizona airport with Loretta Lynch.   

 

[simple1]

3 hours ago, Credo said:

"White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks confirmed the meetings, saying nothing of consequence was discussed."

 

Considering that Kushner probably isn't on intimate terms with the Russian Bankers, I wonder what would be discussed that would be of no consequences.   

 

The minimization of the significance of these meetings is glaring considering the attention paid to Bill Clinton's meeting with a person he knew on the tarmac of an Arizona airport with Loretta Lynch.   

 

The hole gets deeper...

 

Trump administration sought to block Sally Yates from testifying to Congress on Russia

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-administration-sought-to-block-sally-yates-from-testifying-to-congress-on-russia/2017/03/28/82b73e18-13b4-11e7-9e4f-09aa75d3ec57_story.html?utm_term=.53c367bcafa0

[Andaman Al]

The Kushner thing is beyond ridiculous. There is no nepotism here is there? Well worth a watch for those with the attention span (that excludes a certain group ).

 

 

Edited March 28, 2017 by Andaman Al

[Srikcir]

22 hours ago, webfact said:

VEB, aside from being under sanctions

More dots to follow:

• VEB declined to say where the Kushner meetings took place or the dates other than admitting to a meeting with Kushner in December 2016. This meeting followed a meeting earlier in December between Russian Ambassador Kislyak and and Flynn at Trump Tower. 
• Evgeny Buryakov, 41, a Russian citizen who worked at Vnesheconombank and whom US authorities accused of posing as a banker while participating in a New York spy ring, pleaded guilty to a criminal conspiracy charge on Friday. Buryakov admitted in federal court in Manhattan to acting as an agent for the Russian government without notifying US authorities.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/jared-kushner-russia-bank-vnesheconombank-donald-trump-son-in-law-ukraine-ivanka-husband-us-senate-a7654156.html

 

 

[Morch]

On 3/28/2017 at 9:21 AM, Silurian said:

There is no way that Kushner will sing. He is in way too deep himself. He is extremely trusted by the fraudulent POTUS and has hitched himself to the family bandwagon (figuratively and literally). He will pivot, dodge and obfuscate until everyone is either confused or taken off course. I extremely doubt anything will come from Kushner testifying. This is just another distraction and attempt by the administration to steer the investigation to their benefit.

 

They need to get Manafort to spill the beans. It will start with him and the rest will fall. But Manafort will be a hard nut to crack. I doubt he wants to get on Putin's bad side. We have all seen what Putin does to his "not long for this life" enemies. Manafort has assets all over the globe so it will be hard for the US Government to seize them all. They need to push for imprisonment for Manafort so he can't enjoy his accumulated wealth, then he will talk.

 

They might get Flynn to talk but he is a smaller player in this whole fiasco. I doubt he knows much beyond his little part. 

 

Wonder whether Manafort will pull a Snowden, if push comes to shove.

 

There seem to be too many people involved who might know something. It's enough that a couple of version won't fit and then there's a crack to exploit. Since they can't all 100% trust each other, more a matter of time and dedicated application.

 

Thing to remember is that all these people will have top notch legal advice on hand, and most aren't clueless or stupid. They'd know how far they can play things safely and when to fold.

 

 

[Andaman Al]

1 hour ago, Morch said:

 

Wonder whether Manafort will pull a Snowden, if push comes to shove.

 

There seem to be too many people involved who might know something. It's enough that a couple of version won't fit and then there's a crack to exploit. Since they can't all 100% trust each other, more a matter of time and dedicated application.

 

Thing to remember is that all these people will have top notch legal advice on hand, and most aren't clueless or stupid. They'd know how far they can play things safely and when to fold.

 

 

Interesting, that of the people that were due to give evidence to the Intelligence Committee there was one seemingly, blindingly obvious person missing - Flynn. It has led some analysts to speculate that this is so unusual that there can be only one explanation, Flynn is already cutting a deal with the FBI to turn and give evidence. There will not be enough popcorn on the shelves of the super market if that happens.

 

There is nothing concrete but those in the know say it is the only thing that would explain why Flynn is not giving evidence to the committee. It would seem he is so deep in the guano that "those first to do the deals, do less time in jail" is ringing true. Flynn is now very likely an FBI informant in order to save his own neck.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/michael-flynn-donald-trump-fbi-informant-security-analyst-juliette-kayyem-james-comey-investigation-a7651461.html

[boomerangutang]

47 minutes ago, Andaman Al said:

Interesting, that of the people that were due to give evidence to the Intelligence Committee there was one seemingly, blindingly obvious person missing - Flynn. It has led some analysts to speculate that this is so unusual that there can be only one explanation, Flynn is already cutting a deal with the FBI to turn and give evidence. There will not be enough popcorn on the shelves of the super market if that happens.

 

There is nothing concrete but those in the know say it is the only thing that would explain why Flynn is not giving evidence to the committee. It would seem he is so deep in the guano that "those first to do the deals, do less time in jail" is ringing true. Flynn is now very likely an FBI informant in order to save his own neck.

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/michael-flynn-donald-trump-fbi-informant-security-analyst-juliette-kayyem-james-comey-investigation-a7651461.html

               You're saying what I was going to say.  So telling (pun intended).  Yes, I heard from another news source that Flynn not being on the front pages for the past few weeks is indicative that Flynn may be the first one to sing like a canary.  It's inevitable that one of the top contenders will, in order to get a lesser sentence.  Even so, Manafort could be the first.  Then there's Roger Stone who, every time his name is mentioned by journalists or politicians, there are snickers, because Stone has been known since Nixon years as one of the dirtiest tricksters in the dirty trickster biz.  He's also admitted being in touch with Gucciver 2.0 (a Russian hacking organization tied to the Kremlin) during the campaign - along with his close ties to Trump and other Republicans.  

 

               I think the Kushner thing has been postponed indefinitely, as has every other bit of business by the Republican-led House 'Intelligence' committee.  Republicans are doing all they can to please Trump and stifle any meaningful investigations.   Even Republican Comey at the FBI is dragging his feet.   The proof is, the FBI claims to have had an on-going investigation since July '16, yet they didn't mention anything during the campaign - which is polar opposite to what they did to HRC in order to hamstring her prospects.

[A1Str8]

That's cool. I met my mother yesterday.

[Srikcir]

57 minutes ago, boomerangutang said:

 I think the Kushner thing has been postponed indefinitely

While the House Intelligence Committee is stalled, Kushner will be questioned by the Senate Intelligence Committee, likely under oath.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/27/us/politics/senate-jared-kushner-russia.html?_r=0