“I have a very good business relationship”: Ibid.
The Russian buyer in Florida: Alexei Barrionuevo, “Divorce, Oligarch Style,” New York Times, April 5, 2012.
Rybolovlev eventually emigrated to Monaco: Andrew E. Kramer, “A Russian City Always on the Watch Against Being Sucked into the Earth,” New York Times, April 10, 2012.
he purchased a Palm Beach mansion: David Rogers, “Trump Mansion Closes for $95 Million to Russian Tycoon,” Palm Beach Daily News, July 17, 2008.
“Before he was a presidential candidate”: Josh Rogin, “Trump’s Long Romance with Russia,” Bloomberg Opinion, March 15, 2016. Rogin is now a columnist for The Washington Post.
CHAPTER FOUR: THE FIXER
“Hillary would beat him from jail”: Glenn Thrush, interview with Tim Miller, Off Message podcast, Politico, April 11, 2016.
Deripaska, a Russian billionaire long banned from entering the United States: Deripaska and his companies were sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in April 2018, pursuant to Executive Orders 13661 and 13662, in retaliation to Russia’s hostile actions around the globe. See the press release and documents at treasury.gov. Part of the government’s justification included that “Deripaska has said that he does not separate himself from the Russian state. He has also acknowledged possessing a Russian diplomatic passport, and claims to have represented the Russian government in other countries.”
The sanctions announcement went on to say that he had been investigated for money laundering and had been accused of threatening the lives of business rivals, having links to a Russian organized crime group, and taking part in extortion, bribery, and racketeering.
Deripaska was banned from entering the United States in 2008 over ties to organized crime. See Misha Glenny, Robert Booth, and Tom Parfitt, “US Refused Oligarch Visa Over Alleged Criminal Associations,” Guardian, October 30, 2008.
What soon became Washington’s most mercenary lobbying firm: Thomas B. Edsall, “Partners in Political PR Firm Typify Republican New Breed,” Washington Post, April 7, 1985.
“exuded the decadent spirit of the 1980s”: Franklin Foer, “Paul Manafort, American Hustler,” Atlantic, March 2018.
burnishing the reputations: Tom McCarthy, “Paul Manafort: How Decades of Serving Dictators Led to Role as Trump’s Go-to Guy,” Guardian, October 30, 2017.
For the past decade: Simon Shuster, “How Paul Manafort Helped Elect Russia’s Man in Ukraine,” Time, October 31, 2017.
“among the few political hands”: Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman, “Donald Trump Hires Paul Manafort to Lead Delegate Effort,” New York Times, March 28, 2016.
For much of the 2000s, Putin’s efforts to dominate Ukraine politically: This would include Dmitry Firtash and similar Ukrainian oligarchs. See Stephen Grey, Tom Bergin, Sevgil Musaieva, and Roman Anin, “Putin’s Allies Channeled Billions to Ukraine Oligarch,” Reuters, November 26, 2014.
Foreign Agents Registration Act: To read more about the history of FARA, visit the U.S. Department of Justice website, https://justice.gov/nsd-fara.
“nothing more nor less than a propaganda arm”: House Special Committee on Un-American Activities, Report on the Axis Front Movement in the United States: Nazi Activities, 78th Cong. (1944).
His apparent failure to register: Glenn R. Simpson and Mary Jacoby, “How Lobbyists Help Ex-Soviets Woo Washington,” Wall Street Journal, April 17, 2007.
Deripaska emerged from those fights with a fortune: Andrew E. Kramer, “Out of Siberia, a Russian Way to Wealth,” New York Times, August 20, 2006.
“US Department of State visa policies”: Jim Wolf, “U.S. Revoked Deripaska Visa—State Dep’t Official,” Reuters, May 11, 2007.
Manafort and his longtime consulting partner: Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and John Solomon, “Aide Helped Controversial Russian Meet McCain,” Washington Post, January 25, 2008.
Manafort had secretly been hired: Jeff Horwitz and Chad Day, “AP Exclusive: Before Trump Job, Manafort Worked to Aid Putin,” Associated Press, March 22, 2017.
Simpson and Jacoby broke the story: Mary Jacoby and Glenn R. Simpson, “McCain Consultant Is Tied to Work for Ukraine Party,” Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2008.
Court records later showed: Surf Horizon v. Manafort, No. 650130/2018, New York County Supreme Court, January 10, 2018.
This was one of the places: See: Derek Robertson, “Manafort’s Clothing Tab: $1.3 Million,” Politico, October 30, 2017, and Farnoush Amiri, “Paul Manafort’s Lavish Suits and Jackets Are ‘Ludicrous’ and ‘Excess,’ Menswear Experts Say,” NBC News, August 2, 2018.
One Cayman Island filing: Winding Up Petition, Pericles Emerging Market Partners, LP, Financial Services Division, No. 0131, Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, December 4, 2014.
Politico ran a long piece: Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman, “Mystery Man: Ukraine’s U.S. Fixer,” Politico, March 5, 2014.
It then offered a jokey multiple choice: Ibid.
blandly captioned filing: Michael Isikoff, “Trump’s Campaign Chief Is Questioned About Ties to Russian Billionaire,” Yahoo News, April 26, 2016.
it alleged in scorching detail: Ibid.
One document seemed to show that: Winding Up Petition, Pericles Emerging Market Partners.
A records search turned up: Shareholder Disclosure Form, United Company Rusal, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, accessed online.
CHAPTER FIVE: NEW CLIENT
Trump romped on Super Tuesday: Shane Goldmacher, “Trump Takes 7 Super Tuesday States, Cruz Takes 3,” Politico, March 1, 2016.
On March 15: Patricia Mazzei, Amy Sherman, and Lesley Clark, “Trump, Clinton Sweep Florida in Primary Rout; Rubio Drops Out,” Miami Herald, March 15, 2016.
The state’s governor, Rick Scott, endorsed Trump: Rick Scott, Facebook, March 16, 2016.
“I think you’d have riots”: Donald Trump and Chris Cuomo, New Day, CNN, March 16, 2016.
the Beacon posted a story: Lachlan Markay, “Lawsuit: Trump Aide Funneled Mob-Linked Ukrainian Oligarch’s Fortune into U.S. Real Estate,” Washington Free Beacon, March 31, 2016.
Trump took the New York primary: 2016 New York Presidential Primaries Poll, RealClearPolitics.
Clinton, the Democratic Party, and related PACs would go on to raise over $1.2 billion: “How Much Money Is Behind Each Candidate,” Washington Post, accessed September 1, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/2016-election/campaign-finance/.
Trump’s affiliations with Russians: Mark A. Uhlig, “Brooklyn Fuel Distributor Pleads Guilty in Tax Plot,” New York Times, March 12, 1987.
he took an all-expenses-paid trip: Michael Oreskes, “Trump Gives a Vague Hint of Candidacy,” New York Times, September 2, 1987.
Trump tried again in 1996 to cook up a big Moscow project: Jeff Grocott, “Trump Lays Bet on New Moscow Skyline,” Moscow Times, November 12, 1996. He was brought to Moscow by close friend Howard Lorber, now a major patron of his candidacy. Lorber actually developed the property without the Trump name.
Donald Trump Jr. was boasting: Linda Hohnholz, “Executive Talk: Donald Trump Jr. Bullish on Russia and Few Emerging Markets,” eTurboNews, September 15, 2008.
Five years later, in Moscow: Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), “@AgalarovAras I had a great weekend with you and your family,” Twitter, November 11, 2013, 8:39 A.M.
investigators uncover that his own representatives were trying to cook up a Trump project in Moscow even as he campaigned to be president: Carol D. Leonnig, Tom Hamburger, and Rosalind S. Helderman, “Trump’s Business Sought Deal on a Trump Tower in Moscow While He Ran for President,” Washington Post, August 27, 2017.
Fusion had been drawn into a defamation lawsuit: Order Granting the Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgement, VanderSloot v. Foundation for National Pr
ogress, No. CV-2013-532, Idaho Seventh Judicial District Court, October 6, 2013.
CHAPTER SIX: CALLING AGENT STEELE
Steele was born in Yemen: Information gleaned from conversations with the source. For additional background information on Christopher Steele, see Jane Mayer, “Christopher Steele, the Man Behind the Trump Dossier,” New Yorker, March 5, 2018.
one of the Obama administration’s most successful organized crime prosecutions: See Ken Bensinger, Red Card: How the U.S. Blew the Whistle on the World’s Biggest Sports Scandal (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018), and Des Bieler, “The British Spy Behind the Trump Dossier Helped the FBI Bust FIFA,” Washington Post, January 13, 2017.
a disgruntled former MI6 colleague: Warren Hoge, “Britain Closes Web Site with Spies’ Names,” New York Times, May 14, 1999.
research for a team of American lawyers: United States v. Prevezon Holdings, No. 13-cv-6326, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 2013. The U.S. government opened the case in 2013 and eventually settled with defendants in May 2017.
A prestigious firm with deep Republican ties: Alexander Burns, “GOP Group Snared in Money Scheme,” Politico, August 4, 2014; “Mark Braden Named 2014 Republican Lawyer of the Year,” “News,” BakerHostetler, July 1, 2014; Martin Well, “William Schweitzer, Law Firm Partner and Lobbyist for Baseball, Dies at 70,” New York Times, March 4, 2015.
On June 9: Jo Becker, Matt Apuzzo, and Adam Goldman, “Trump Team Met with Lawyer Linked to Kremlin During Campaign,” New York Times, July 8, 2017.
This session between the Russian lawyer and the top brass of the Trump campaign would remain unknown: Ibid.
accompanied Veselnitskaya to the Trump Tower meeting: Desmond Butler and Chad Day, “Russian-American Lobbyist Joined Trump’s Son’s Meeting, Too,” Associated Press, July 15, 2017. This episode was confirmed and then recounted by the special counsel’s office in the Mueller report.
a legendary former prosecutor: Robin Finn, “No. 2 Prosecutor Heads for Private Practice,” New York Times, January 18, 2005. For more details on the Bank of Credit and Commerce International fraud case, see Stephen Labaton, “Six B.C.C.I. Officials Are Indicted,” New York Times, September 6, 1991.
Other cases he worked on include the $600 million Tyco racketeering case (see Andrew Ross Sorkin, “2 Top Tyco Executives Charged with $600 Million Fraud Scheme,” New York Times, September 13, 2002) and the widely reported Bank of New York Mellon scandal involving Russian money laundering. For case highlights, see Timothy L. O’Brien and Raymond Bonner, “3 Face Indictments in Federal Inquiry into Russian Case,” New York Times, October 6, 1999; O’Brien and Bonner, “Banker and Husband Tell of Role in Laundering Case,” February 17, 2000; and Paul Beckett, Ann Davis, and Andrew Higgins, “Two Russian Bankers Seen as Key in Bank of New York Investigation,” Wall Street Journal, February 18, 2000.
He revealed that much of his information on Prevezon came from documents supplied by William Browder: Deposition of Todd S. Hyman, United States v. Prevezon Holdings, No. 1:13-cv-06326, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, March 3, 2014. Hyman was a special agent for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, assigned to the Prevezon case.
After working as an investment banker, Browder had moved to Russia in the 1990s: Paul Crowney, “Seeing Red,” Institutional Investor, September 1, 2002.
Along the way, he gave up his U.S. citizenship: Joshua Yaffa, “How Bill Browder Became Russia’s Most Wanted Man,” New Yorker, August 13, 2018.
Long an outspoken Putin fan: “An Enemy of the People,” Economist, March 23, 2006.
Browder eventually fell out with the Kremlin in a dispute over unpaid taxes: Deposition of William F. Browder, United States v. Prevezon Holdings, No. 1:13-cv-06326, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, April 15, 2015.
Russian authorities had accused Hermitage of tax fraud: Ibid.
At Browder’s urging, Congress passed a law in 2012: Julia Ioffe, “His Russian Lawyer Dead, a Former American Turns to Congress for Revenge,” New Republic, November 16, 2012.
Browder was always eager to testify: Browder routinely avoided any deposition about his role in the Prevezon case by dodging lawful subpoenas. For an overview, see Letter from Prevezon Attorney to Judge Thomas Griesa re: Browder’s Failure to Produce Responsive Documents, United States v. Prevezon Holdings, No. 1:13-cv-06326, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, May 13, 2015; “Signed Declaration of Craig Janis,” United States v. Prevezon Holdings, No. 1:13-cv-06326, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, December 10, 2014, which claims, “After being presented with the subpoena, Mr. Browder—after initially reaching out to accept the documents—then turned to run away”; and “Bill Browder Served with Subpoena in New York,” YouTube video, 1:22, posted by “Casale Associates,” February 5, 2015.
the expanded Magnitsky Act: Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, S. 284, 114th Cong. (2015).
Veselnitskaya worked with BakerHostetler and Akhmetshin: Michael Weiss, “Putin’s Dirty Game in the U.S. Congress,” Daily Beast, May 18, 2016.
Akhmetshin eventually testified: Testimony of Rinat Akhmetshin, Senate Judiciary Committee, November 14, 2017.
the Democratic National Committee’s computer systems: Ellen Nakashima, “Russian Government Hackers Penetrated DNC, Stole Opposition Research on Trump,” Washington Post, June 14, 2016.
advocates for remaining in the EU: Nico Hines, “Why Putin Is Meddling in Britain’s Brexit Vote,” Daily Beast, June 8, 2016.
“We threw a line in the water”: Testimony of Glenn Simpson, House Intelligence Committee, November 14, 2017.
CHAPTER SEVEN: SAY SOMETHING
Once confirmed as the nominee, Trump would become eligible to receive a national security briefing from the Intelligence Community: For a good overview of the practice, see Michael J. Morell, “Intelligence Briefings for the Presidential Nominees,” Cipher Brief, June 1, 2016.
Putin told the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum: Henry Meyer, “Putin Sticks to Praise for Trump’s Pledge to Mend Russia Ties,” Bloomberg, July 17, 2016.
Trump fired campaign manager Corey Lewandowski: John Santucci, “Trump Campaign Announces Expanded Role for Paul Manafort,” ABC News, May 19, 2016; Maggie Haberman, Alexander Burns, and Ashley Parker, “Donald Trump Fires Corey Lewandowski, His Campaign Manager,” New York Times, June 20, 2016.
On June 25, a hacker named Guccifer 2.0: Raphael Satter, “Inside Story: How Russians Hacked the Democrats’ Emails,” Associated Press, November 4, 2017; subsequently confirmed by the 2019 Mueller report.
He had changed his name at some point in the 2000s from Siarhei Kukuts: Brian Ross and Matthew Mosk, “US-Russian Businessman Said to Be Source of Key Trump Dossier Claims,” ABC News, January 30, 2017.
The article carried a photo: Putin converted RIA into a state-run propaganda paper in 2013; see Timothy Heritage, “Putin Dissolves State News Agency, Tightens Grip on Russia Media,” Reuters, December 9, 2013.
“keeping Moscow in his sights”: “Sergei Millian,” RIA Novosti.
As Simpson would tell Senate: Testimony of Glenn Simpson, Senate Judiciary Committee, August 22, 2017.
Gaeta’s pursuit of Taiwanchik: Ken Bensinger, Red Card: How the U.S. Blew the Whistle on the World’s Biggest Sports Scandal (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018).
James Comey later revealed: Public Testimony of James Comey, House Intelligence Committee, March 20, 2017. Transcript at “Full Transcript: FBI Director James Comey Testifies on Russian Interference in 2016 Election,” Washington Post, March 20, 2017.
her conduct had been “extremely careless”: FBI National Press Office, “Statement by FBI Director James B. Comey on the Investigation of Secretary Hillary Clinton’s Use of a Personal E-Mail System,” press release, July 5, 2016.
Carter Page delivered an address: “Carter Page at the New Economic School in Moscow,” YouTube video of Page speech given July 7, 2016, posted by “Katehon Think Tank,” November 4, 2017.
It was a shock when Trump revealed: Trump first revealed his small list of foreign policy advisers on March 21, 2016, during an interview with the Washington Post editorial staff. Post Opinions Staff, “A Transcript of Donald Trump’s Meeting with the Washington Post Editorial Board,” Washington Post, March 21, 2016.
His only previous stint in politics had been a minor role with McCain’s failed presidential bid in 2008: Testimony of Carter Page, House Intelligence Committee, November 2, 2017.
“Washington and other Western capitals”: Carter Page, “Carter Page at the New Economic School.” In fact, according to the Mueller report, Page made two speeches at the school on back-to-back days (July 7 and 8, 2016).
“has close ties to Gazprom”: Steven Mufson and Tom Hamburger, “Trump Adviser’s Public Comments, Ties to Moscow Stir Unease in Both Parties,” Washington Post, August 5, 2016.
A subsequent Steele memo: Orbis, Company Intelligence Report 2016/94, July 19, 2016.
the Trump campaign had quietly intervened: Josh Rogin, “Trump Campaign Guts GOP’s Anti-Russia Stance on Ukraine,” Washington Post, July 18, 2016.
That same day, Yahoo News reporter Michael Isikoff: Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, interview by Michael Isikoff, Yahoo News, July 18, 2016; Alex Moe, Courtney Kube, Ken Dilanian, and Kasie Hunt, “Flynn ‘Lied to Investigators’ About Russia Trip, Says Top House Dem,” NBC News, May 22, 2017.
WikiLeaks released thousands of DNC emails: Ellen Nakashima and Shane Harris, “How the Russians Hacked the DNC and Passed Its Emails to WikiLeaks,” Washington Post, July 13, 2018; subsequently verified by the 2019 Mueller report.
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