Crime in Progress
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“The senator listened”: Deposition of David Kramer, Gubarev v. BuzzFeed.
“Our impromptu meeting”: John McCain and Mark Salter, The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018).
“He explained again that the information”: Deposition of David Kramer, Gubarev v. BuzzFeed.
“I’ve known David: Testimony of Glenn Simpson, Senate Judiciary Committee, August 22, 2017.
“is, without question, our number-one”: Mitt Romney, interview by Wolf Blitzer, The Situation Room, CNN, March 26, 2012.
Trump abruptly decided to dump Romney: Reuters, “Trump Chooses Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State,” Reuters, December 13, 2016.
a story written by Trump’s nemesis: Wayne Barrett, “Meet Donald Trump’s Top FBI Fanboy,” Daily Beast, November 3, 2016.
the FBI was “Trumpland”: Spencer Ackerman, “ ‘The FBI Is Trumpland’: Anti-Clinton Atmosphere Spurred Leaking, Sources Say,” Guardian, November 4, 2016.
There were credible news reports: Mark Hosenball and John Walcott, “Exclusive: Congressional Leaders Were Briefed a Year Ago on Hacking of Democrats—Sources,” Reuters, August 12, 2016.
Kramer met with McCain: Deposition of David Kramer, Gubarev v. BuzzFeed.
“The allegations were disturbing”: McCain and Salter, Restless Wave, 238.
Lindsey Graham later admitted: Felicia Sonmez, “Sen. Lindsey Graham Says He Told John McCain to Give Trump-Russia Dossier to FBI,” Washington Post, March 25, 2019.
Gaeta’s pursuit of a Russian mobster: Cindy Galli, Patrick Reevell, and Brian Ross, “Russia Protects Alleged Mobster Accused of Olympic Judge Bribes,” ABC News, January 28, 2014.
CHAPTER ELEVEN: “I NEED TO KNOW IF ANY OF THIS IS TRUE”
Time magazine named Trump: Michael Scherer, “2016 Person of the Year: Donald Trump,” Time, December 2016.
twin stories in the Post and the Times: Adam Entous, Ellen Nakashima, and Greg Miller, “Secret CIA Assessment Says Russia Was Trying to Help Trump Win White House,” Washington Post, December 9, 2016; and David E. Sanger and Scott Shane, “Russian Hackers Acted to Aid Trump in Election, U.S. Says,” New York Times, December 9, 2016.
“did what duty demanded I do”: McCain and Salter, Restless Wave, 239.
had already begun to brief the agency about the work of Fusion and Orbis: Bruce Ohr, interview with FBI agents, November 22, 2016. Documented in FBI 302s, obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request by Judicial Watch Inc., available online at https://judicialwatch.org.
“[Simpson] identified Michael Cohen”: Bruce Ohr, interview with FBI agents, December 14, 2016. Documents available at https://judicialwatch.org.
After leaving Simpson, Ohr took the USB drive: Ibid.
The final Orbis memorandum, dated December 13: Orbis to Fusion, Company Intelligence Report 2016/166, December 13, 2016.
“the agenda comprised questions”: Cohen has repeatedly denied having ever been to Prague, and the Mueller report is vague on the point. Steele point outs that Cohen has never publicly documented his whereabouts in late August 2016, something it should be relatively easy to do with his digital footprint and things like credit card statements.
FBI general counsel James Baker confirmed: Testimony of James A. Baker, House Committee on Oversight and Reform, October 3, 2018, 110.
Victoria Nuland, assistant secretary of state: Deposition of David Kramer, Gubarev v. BuzzFeed, No. 17-cv-60426, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, December 13, 2017.
“the broad picture”: Ibid.
The offices were closed for the week: Ibid.
“He said he wanted to read them”: Deposition of David Kramer, Gubarev v. BuzzFeed.
CHAPTER TWELVE: “YOU ARE GONNA GET PEOPLE KILLED”
Here was the combined might: Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections, Intelligence Community Assessment, January 6, 2017, https://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ICA_2017_01.pdf.
FBI Director Comey and the entire brain trust: James Comey, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership (London: Macmillan, 2018).
After they had walked the president: Ibid.
That material, Comey wrote, “had been assembled”: Ibid.
“We were sneaking in”: Ibid.
“You are gonna get people killed”: Deposition of David Kramer, Gubarev v. BuzzFeed, No. 17-cv-60426, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, December 13, 2017.
“Initially I panicked”: Ibid.
“Is this yours?” he asked: Bradley Hope, Michael Rothfeld, and Alan Cullison, “Christopher Steele, Ex–British Intelligence Officer, Said to Have Prepared Dossier on Trump,” Wall Street Journal, January 11, 2017.
“They had already made up their mind”: Deposition of David Kramer, Gubarev v. BuzzFeed.
The British government swiftly issued: The D-notice (defence and security media advisory notice) offers “guidance on the public disclosure of the names of members of the UK Intelligence Agencies.” Andrew Vallance, air vice marshal, put out the notice on January 11, 2017, advising members of the media:
“In view of media stories alleging that a former SIS officer was the source of the information which allegedly compromises President-Elect Donald Trump, would you and your journalists please seek my advice before making public that name. Irrespective of whether or not the stories are true, the public disclosure of that name would put the personal security of that individual directly at risk.”
At 9:17 that night: Scott Shane, Nicholas Confessore, and Matthew Rosenberg, “How a Sensational, Unverified Dossier Became a Crisis for Donald Trump,” New York Times, January 11, 2017.
“FAKE NEWS—A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!”: Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Twitter, January 10, 2017, 8:19 P.M.
“Russia has never tried to use leverage”: Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Twitter, January 10, 2017, 7:31 A.M.
“Are we living in Nazi Germany?”: Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Twitter, January 11, 2017, 7:48 A.M.
Trump took to a podium at Trump Tower: Donald Trump, news conference, New York, January 11, 2017.
Cameramen and reporters: Michael C. Bender, “A Look Inside Donald Trump’s First Press Conference Since Election Day,” Wall Street Journal, January 11, 2017.
Trump minced no words: Trump news conference, January 11, 2017.
“Meet the espionage firm”: Alana Goodman, “Meet the Espionage Firm Which Ordered Trump ‘Dirty Dossier’—a Secretive D.C. Firm Which Has Aided Planned Parenthood and Attacked Mitt Romney’s Friends,” Daily Mail, January 13, 2017.
“I sort of know how these things work”: Paul Roderick Gregory, “The Trump Dossier Is Fake—and Here Are the Reasons Why,” Forbes, January 13, 2017.
“I can say that the dossier itself”: Gregory, “Trump Dossier Is Fake.”
he himself was the son of a Russian: Paul Gregory, “Lee Harvey Oswald Was My Friend,” New York Times, November 7, 2013.
“working with a Russian spy”: William Browder, interview with Jacob Weisberg, “The Magnitsky Act and the Looming Russian Danger,” Trumpcast podcast, Slate, April 31, 2017.
“a professional smear campaigner”: Chuck Ross, “Exclusive: Oppo Researcher Behind Trump Dossier Is Linked to Pro-Kremlin Lobbying Effort,” Daily Caller, January 13, 2017.
David Ignatius dropped a bomb: David Ignatius, “Why Did Obama Dawdle on Russia’s Hacking?,” Washington Post, January 12, 2017.
Flynn had been holding secret talks: Ibid.
the Senate Intelligence Committee announced: Senate Intelligence Committee, “Joint Statement on Committee Inquiry into Russian Intelligence Activities,” press release, January 13
, 2017.
“obvious fabrications”: Vladimir Putin, press conference, Moscow, January 17, 2017. Russian language transcript available at http://kremlin.ru/events.
days after the dossier leaked: Greg Miller, Rosalind S. Helderman, Tom Hamburger, Steven Mufson, and David Filipov, “Intel Chiefs Briefed Trump on Unconfirmed Claims Russia Has Compromising Information on Him,” Washington Post, January 11, 2017.
he then lied about the content: Greg Miller, Adam Entous, and Ellen Nakashima, “National Security Adviser Flynn Discussed Sanctions with Russian Ambassador, Despite Denials, Officials Say,” Washington Post, February 9, 2017.
“the real story here”: Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Twitter, February 14, 2017, 9:28 A.M.
“I don’t think there’s ever been”: Donald Trump, press conference, White House, Washington, D.C., February 16, 2017.
“The level of dishonesty”: Ibid.
“It’s an illegal process”: Ibid.
“I have nothing to do with Russia”: Ibid.
“Just found out that Obama”: Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Twitter, March 4, 2017, 6:35 A.M.
“enemy of the American people”: Amanda Erickson, “Trump Called the News Media an ‘Enemy of the American People.’ Here’s a History of the Term,” Washington Post, February 18, 2017.
“underhanded tactics”: Kimberley A. Strassel, “Dumpster Diving for Dossiers,” Wall Street Journal, January 12, 2017.
In one stark example: Kimberley A. Strassel, “Russia, the NRA and Fake News,” Wall Street Journal, March 22, 2018.
the Justice Department unsealed a criminal complaint: United States v. Butina, No. 18-218, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, July 14, 2018.
“If you want to visit Glenn”: The Twitter profile has since been deleted.
He walked into the restaurant: Benjamin Freed and Jessica Sidman, “Man with Gun Arrested at Comet Ping Pong,” Washingtonian, December 4, 2016.
when FBI Director James Comey sat down: Testimony of James Comey, House Committee on Oversight and Reform, July 7, 2016.
Nunes then deployed that material: Devin Nunes, “Representative Nunes on Russia and 2016 Elections,” video of Nunes press conference in front of the White House, 13:34, C-SPAN, March 22, 2017.
“What I have read bothers me”: Ibid.
It soon came out: Brian Barrett, “Devin Nunes: A Running Timeline of His Surveillance Claims and White House Ties, Wired, April 12, 2017.
Even Senator Lindsey Graham: Louis Nelson, “Graham: Nunes Is Running ‘an Inspector-Clouseau Investigation,’ ” Politico, March 28, 2017.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: “CAN YOU CALL ME PLEASE?”
the British government publicly stated: Alan Cowell, “Putin ‘Probably Approved’ Litvinenko Poisoning, British Inquiry Says,” New York Times, January 21, 2016.
As reflected in Ohr’s scribbled notes: Notes released by the U.S. Department of Justice in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Judicial Watch Inc.
“They can’t reach [the source]”: Ibid.
the White House abruptly fired Ohr’s boss: Evan Perez and Jeremy Diamond, “Trump Fires Acting AG After She Declines to Defend Travel Ban,” CNN, January 31, 2017.
“We can’t allow our guy to be forced”: Notes released by the U.S. Department of Justice in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Judicial Watch Inc.
The Wall Street Journal disclosed: Carol E. Lee, Devlin Barrett, and Shane Harris, “U.S. Eyes Michael Flynn’s Links to Russia,” Wall Street Journal, January 22, 2017.
The Intelligence Committee ultimately: Spencer Ackerman, “Senate Investigator Breaks Silence About CIA’s ‘Failed Coverup’ of Torture Report,” Guardian, September 9, 2016.
The report won wide acclaim: Mark Mazzetti, “Panel Faults C.I.A. Over Brutality and Deceit in Terrorism Interrogations,” New York Times, December 9, 2014.
McCarthy soon faded, of course: Richard Cohen, “How Political Donations Changed History,” Washington Post, January 16, 2012.
the group eventually raised: IRS Form 990 for the Democracy Integrity Project, FY 2017, form available on projects.propublica.org/nonprofits.
Trump begged Sessions: Michael S. Schmidt and Julie Hirschfeld Davis, “Trump Asked Sessions to Retain Control of Russia Inquiry After His Recusal,” New York Times, May 29, 2018.
They even held public hearings: Office of Senator Richard Burr, “Senate Intel Chairman Burr on Committee’s Review of Russian Intelligence,” press release, December 16, 2016. One press release claimed, “We believe that it is critical to have a full understanding of the scope of Russian intelligence activities impacting the United States”; see Senate Intelligence Committee, “Joint Statement on Committee Inquiry into Russian Intelligence Activities,” press release, January 13, 2017; Testimony of James Comey, House Intelligence Committee, March 20, 2017.
He also canceled at least one big hearing: Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff), Twitter, March 24, 2017, 11:16 A.M.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: A SENATOR ATTACKS
“I am writing to inquire”: Charles E. Grassley to Glenn R. Simpson, March 24, 2017.
Grassley had sent a letter: Charles E. Grassley to James B. Comey Jr., March 6, 2017.
“DOCUMENT PRESERVATION NOTICE”: Charles E. Grassley to Fusion GPS counsel Josh Levy.
Grassley released his letter publicly: Grassley to Simpson, March 24, 2017.
“Thanks for that, old friend”: “Judicial Watch Uncovers DOJ Records Showing Numerous Bruce Ohr Communications with Fusion GPS and Christopher Steele,” Judicial Watch, March 7, 2019.
the Post reported that Jared Kushner: Ellen Nakashima, Adam Entous, and Greg Miller, “Russian Ambassador Told Moscow That Kushner Wanted Secret Communications Channel with Kremlin,” Washington Post, May 26, 2017.
“Just amazing,” Ohr texted: Note from Ohr, March 26, 2017. Notes available on Judicial Watch website; released by the U.S. Department of Justice in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Judicial Watch.
Fusion, the senator claimed in his letter, should have registered: Charles E. Grassley to Dana Boente, Acting Deputy Attorney General, March 31, 2017.
“complaint filed with the Justice Department: Ibid.
“Russian gun-for-hire”: Ibid.
The headline on his March 31 story: Ross would later be outed by the Post for his past sexist and racist blog posts regarding African Americans, published under the handle “Gucci Little Piggy.” His hate-filled Web posts were eerily similar to those of Grassley’s chief investigative counsel, Jason Foster, the architect of the Fusion attacks. Foster had once blogged under the name “Extremist.” In his posts, he had likened homosexuality to incest and expressed “worry about a Muslim takeover and whether Joe McCarthy got a bum rap.” Those revelations, when aired in the press, would cost neither Ross nor Foster his job. See Erik Wemple, “Daily Caller Reporter Renounces Racist, Misogynistic Writings,” Washington Post, September 14, 2017; Robert Faturechi, “A Partisan Combatant, a Remorseful Blogger: The Senate Staffer Behind the Attack on the Trump-Russia Investigation,” ProPublica, March 28, 2018.
The New York Post ran an op-ed: Paul Sperry, “Sketchy Firm Behind Trump Dossier Is Stalling Investigators,” New York Post, June 24, 2017.
Levy answered with a polite but firm rejection: Josh Levy to Charles E. Grassley, April 7, 2017.
Born in 1988: Butina profile on Live Journal, https://butina.livejournal.com.
a new article about Butina: Tim Mak, “The Kremlin and GOP Have a New Friend—and Boy, Does She Love Guns,” Daily Beast, February 23, 2017.
“It may take the election”: Maria Butina, “The Bear and the Elephant,” National Interest, June 12, 2015.
Keene and Torshin had met in Moscow: Joseph P. Tartaro, “Civ
ilian Arms Rights Advocates Meet in Russia,” TheGunMag, December 10, 2013.
hosting a speech: “Transcript: Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy Speech,” New York Times, April 27, 2016.
The event featured the Russian ambassador: Michael Crowley, “Trump Fails to Impress Foreign-Policy Experts,” Politico, April 27, 2016.
She was romantically involved: Sentencing Memo, United States v. Butina, No. 18-218, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, April 19, 2019.
Erickson was a big GOP supporter and NRA booster: Indictment, United States v. Erickson, No. 19-40015, U.S. District Court, South Dakota Southern Division, February 5, 2019.
twenty-seven “Manafort Entities”: Using the 2014 Pericles litigation in the Cayman Islands, Fusion was able to identify affiliated funds based in Cyprus. The Cypriot funds were all concentrated at the same registrar’s office. Once they pulled relevant information available from the Cypriot Ministry of Finance, they saw a strange pattern. The Cypriot shell companies were lending millions of dollars to other shell companies. Some of these companies were even based in the United States. It appeared to be an elaborate tax fraud. Some of the Cypriot shell companies tracked back to Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs as well.
The Times published his groundbreaking story, “Manafort Was in Debt”: Mike McIntire, “Manafort Was in Debt to Pro-Russia Interests, Cyprus Records Show,” New York Times, July 19, 2017.
Manafort had his lawyer’s PR man: Hadas Gold, “NYT Rejects Manafort’s Retraction Request,” Politico, July 20, 2017.
those Cypriot companies: Indictment, United States v. Manafort, No. 1:17-cr-00201, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, October 30, 2017.
The FBI director’s abrupt dismissal: Donald J. Trump to James B. Comey Jr., May 9, 2017; Jeff Sessions to Donald J. Trump, May 9, 2017; Rod J. Rosenstein to Jeff Sessions, May 9, 2017.