Witch Hunt

by Gregg Jarrett

  Sir Richard Dearlove: Ex-chief of MI6, close associate of Stefan Halper and Christopher Steele. Vouched for Steele’s reputation.

  Alexander Downer: Australian ambassador to the United Kingdom. Arranged a $25 million donation to the Clinton Foundation in 2006. Met with George Papadopoulos on May 10, 2016. Reported to US Embassy that Papadopoulos had told him the Russians had damaging information on Clinton, the alleged basis of “Crossfire Hurricane.”

  Henry Greenberg: Russian businessman and FBI informant, also known as Henry Oknyansky and Gennady Vostretov. Tried to peddle opposition research on Hillary Clinton to Roger Stone.

  Stefan Halper: Professor at Cambridge University, US spy for more than thirty years. At direction of the FBI, he targeted Carter Page, George Papadopoulos, and others in the Trump campaign.

  Robert Hannigan: Director of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the British equivalent of the NSA. In the summer of 2016, flew to the United States to brief Brennan. Abruptly resigned in January 2017.

  Nagi Khalid Idris: Director of the London Centre of International Law Practice (LCILP) who hired George Papadopoulos. Insisted that Papadopoulos accompany him to Rome to meet Joseph Mifsud.

  Joseph Mifsud: Professor from Malta who told George Papadopoulos that Russia had thousands of Hillary Clinton’s emails. Has links to Western intelligence.

  Sergei Millian: Belarusan-born American citizen, real name Siarhei Kukuts. Offered George Papadopoulos $30,000 a month to work as a consultant, provided he also work for the Trump administration. Reportedly a source of material in the Christopher Steele “dossier.”

  Susan Rice: National security advisor under Barack Obama. Involved in unmaskings of Trump associates.

  Michael Rogers: Director of the National Security Agency. Rogers traveled to Trump Tower on November 17, 2016, without informing his boss, James Clapper. The next day, the transition team moved to a Trump property in New Jersey.

  Christopher Steele: Former MI6 spy, hired by Fusion GPS to research Trump; his seventeen memos constituted the Steele “dossier,” used by the DOJ and the FBI to target Trump associates Carter Page, Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen, and Michael Flynn.

  Erika Thompson: Australian diplomat. Introduced George Papadopoulos to Alexander Downer.

  Azra Turk: Pseudonym of informant sent to London by the FBI to meet with George Papadopoulos. Real identity remains unknown.

  Olga Vinogradova: “Vladimir Putin’s niece,” who met George Papadopoulos with Joseph Mifsud, identified as someone who could broker meetings between the Trump campaign and the Putin regime. Unrelated to Putin. Real name Olga Polonskaya.

  Sir Andrew Wood: Former British ambassador to Russia. Met with David Kramer and Senator John McCain about the Steele “dossier.” Vouched for Christopher Steele’s credibility.

  Office of the Special Counsel

  Robert Mueller III: Appointed special counsel by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on May 17, 2017. Director of the FBI from 2001 to 2013. Close friend of James Comey. Hired a team of partisan Democratic attorneys to investigate Trump. His final 448-page report found no collusion by the Trump campaign.

  Jeannie Rhee: Defended the Clinton Foundation in a civil racketeering case, represented Hillary Clinton in litigation regarding her emails. Involved in the prosecutions of George Papadopoulos, Roger Stone, and Paul Manafort.

  Andrew Weissmann: Chief of DOJ Criminal Fraud Division and Robert Mueller’s chief deputy. Served as general counsel of the FBI under Mueller. Noted for wrongful prosecutions that earned both reversals and rebukes. Donor to DNC, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama. Attended Clinton’s election-night “victory party.”

  Aaron Zebley: Former FBI agent, rose to become Robert Mueller’s chief of staff. While at Mueller’s law firm, represented Justin Cooper, who set up Hillary Clinton’s private email server.

  The Trump Campaign and Administration

  Michael Caputo: Trump campaign adviser targeted by Russian FBI informant Henry Greenberg.

  Michael Cohen: Former vice president of Trump Organization and personal attorney of Trump. Approached by real estate developer Felix Sater, an FBI informant, to build Moscow Trump tower. Pleaded guilty to nine charges.

  Jerome Corsi: Author targeted by Robert Mueller for communications with Roger Stone regarding WikiLeaks.

  Michael Flynn: Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency from 2012 to 2014. Trump’s national security advisor for twenty-four days. Targeted by “Crossfire Hurricane.” Pleaded guilty to lying about communications with Russian ambassador. As yet has not been sentenced.

  Richard Gates III: Paul Manafort’s partner and deputy campaign manager for Trump. Pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States, as well as making false statements.

  Paul Manafort, Jr.: Longtime Washington political strategist and lobbyist for foreign governments. Adviser to former Ukrainian president. Worked on Trump campaign from March through August 2016. Convicted of tax evasion and bank fraud.

  Don McGahn: White House Counsel. Met with Sally Yates regarding Michael Flynn’s conversations with Sergey Kislyak.

  Carter Page: FBI cooperating witness who helped convict a Russian spy. On Trump’s foreign policy advisory team. Christopher Steele “dossier” accused him of being a Russian agent. FBI obtained a FISA warrant on Page in October 2016, renewed in January 2017, April 2017, and June 2017.

  George Papadopoulos: Foreign policy adviser to Trump campaign. Met with Mifsud, who told him the Russians had thousands of Hillary’s emails. His comments to Australian diplomat Downer were reported to have triggered Crossfire Hurricane. Pleaded guilty to one count of lying to federal agents.

  Roger Stone: Political strategist, longtime adviser to Donald Trump. Fort Lauderdale home raided at 6:00 a.m. by two dozen FBI agents. Indicted for lying to Congress, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice. Has pleaded not guilty.

  Donald Trump, Jr.: President Trump’s son. Attended the June 2016 meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.

  The Clinton Campaign and the Democratic Party

  Sidney Blumenthal: Notorious political operator for Bill and Hillary Clinton. Passed second “dossier” written by Cody Shearer to the State Department.

  Alexandra Chalupa: A lawyer, Ukrainian activist, and former DNC contractor who targeted lobbyist Paul Manafort.

  Hillary Clinton: Democratic nominee for president. Cleared by James Comey of violating the Espionage Act and other criminal statutes. Paid for Christopher Steele “dossier” through law firm Perkins Coie. Blamed James Comey and Russian meddling for her election loss.

  Lanny Davis: Attorney, lobbyist, and longtime political adviser to Clintons. Represented Michael Cohen in Robert Mueller investigation.

  Marc E. Elias: Attorney at Perkins Coie, general counsel for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, hired Fusion GPS on behalf of Clinton campaign.

  Mary Jacoby: Married to Glenn Simpson and cofounder of Fusion GPS. Wrote Facebook post crediting her husband as the architect of “Russiagate,” then deleted it.

  Terry McAuliffe: Former governor of Virginia, longtime Hillary Clinton associate. Approached Andrew McCabe’s wife to run for the Virginia state senate, funneled about $700,000 to her campaign.

  Cheryl Mills: Longtime attorney for Hillary Clinton. Given limited immunity in email investigation and allowed to sit in on Peter Strzok’s interrogation of Clinton, despite being a fact witness. Involved in sorting and deleting Clinton’s emails.

  Robby Mook: Top Hillary Clinton campaign official, first to publicly say that Russia wanted Trump to win.

  Barack Obama: Described by Lisa Page in a text to Peter Strzok as wanting to “know everything” they were doing. Used a pseudonym to communicate with Hillary Clinton on her unauthorized email server. Gave TV interview on April 10, 2016, saying Clinton had merely been “careless.”

  Nellie Ohr: Russia expert who worked for CIA Open Source Center, married to Bruce Ohr, approached Fusion GPS in late 2015. Applied
for a ham radio license on May 23, 2016. Invoked “spousal privilege” during testimony.

  John Podesta: Top Clinton campaign adviser. After he clicked a phishing link, hundreds of his emails were stolen, then published by WikiLeaks.

  Samantha Power: US ambassador to the United Nations under Barack Obama. Accused of requesting hundreds of unmaskings of US citizens related to the Trump campaign. Claims that others used her name.

  Heather Samuelson: Attorney for Hillary Clinton. Reviewed Clinton’s emails and sorted out more than 30,000 that were then deleted from the server.

  Cody Shearer: Dirty trickster and longtime associate of Clintons. Gave second “dossier” to Sidney Blumenthal, saying the Russians had compromising information on Trump.

  Glenn Simpson: Cofounder of Fusion GPS. Hired by Perkins Coie to do opposition research on Trump. Hired Christopher Steele and Nellie Ohr. Created Trump-Russia “collusion” narrative and fed it to the FBI, the State Department, and the media. Invoked Fifth Amendment privilege when subpoenaed by Congress.

  Anthony Weiner: Former New York Democratic congressman who went to prison for sexting a teenager. Married to Clinton aide Huma Abedin. The FBI seized a laptop in his home containing emails sent or received by Hillary Clinton and Huma, triggering a hasty second Clinton email investigation shut down by James Comey days before the election.

  Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC)

  Rosemary Collyer: Chief judge of FISC, wrote scathing report on rampant abuses of the FISA process by the FBI and the DOJ released April 26, 2017. Approved first Carter Page FISA warrant on October 21, 2016, before she became aware of abuses.

  Rudolph “Rudy” Contreras: Mentioned as “Rudy” in Peter Strzok and Lisa Page texts. Appointed to FISC on May 19, 2016. Removed from presiding over Flynn case in December 2017 without explanation after the IG discovered the texts.

  Ukrainians and Russians

  Oleg Deripaska: Russian billionaire approached by FBI in September 2016 for confirmation of Trump-Russia “collusion.” Deripaska told them that there had been no collusion.

  Igor Divyekin: According to Carter Page FISA application, a Vladimir Putin associate who met secretly with Page, promising kompromat that the Kremlin possessed on Hillary Clinton. No such meeting took place.

  Konstantin Kilimnik: Russian/Ukrainian political consultant and associate of Paul Manafort. Indicted by Robert Mueller.

  Sergey Kislyak: Former Russian ambassador to the United States.

  Yevgeny Prigozhin: Head of Russian companies Concord Catering and Concord Management and Consulting. Indicted for financing the Internet Research Agency.

  Felix Sater: Russian-born real estate developer who worked with Michael Cohen to pursue Moscow Trump Tower project. Longtime FBI informant.

  Igor Sechin: Chief executive officer of Rosneft, a Russian state-controlled oil company. According to Christopher Steele, offered Carter Page a 19 percent stake in the company in exchange for the lifting of US sanctions.

  Natalia Veselnitskaya: Russian lawyer who met with Donald Trump, Jr., at Trump Tower in New York City. Also worked with Fusion GPS.

  Appendix B

  Timeline

  2016

  April 12

  Fusion GPS hired by lawyers for Clinton campaign and DNC to do opposition research on Donald Trump.

  April 26

  Joseph Mifsud meets George Papadopoulos in London hotel and allegedly says that Russians have dirt on Hillary Clinton; “they have thousands of her emails.”

  May 2

  James Comey drafts statement that Hillary Clinton was “grossly negligent” under the Espionage Act but later tells staff he wants to absolve her anyway.

  May 10

  George Papadopoulos meets with Alexander Downer and allegedly repeats rumor that the Russians have damaging material on Clinton.

  June 6

  Peter Strzok changes James Comey’s statement about Hillary Clinton from “grossly negligent” to “extremely careless.”

  June (date is unclear) Christopher Steele is hired by Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the DNC through Fusion GPS.

  June 20

  Steele files his first “dossier” memo with Fusion GPS claiming Trump-Russia “collusion.”

  June 27

  Attorney General Loretta Lynch meets with Bill Clinton on an airport tarmac, five days before Hillary Clinton’s FBI interview.

  July 1

  Victoria Nuland at the State Department grants permission for FBI agent Mike Gaeta to meet with Christopher Steele in London.

  July 2

  Peter Strzok and others interview Hillary Clinton for 3.5 hours. Not under oath, she answers “I do not recall” thirty-nine times.

  July 5

  James Comey exonerates Hillary Clinton. FBI agent Mike Gaeta meets Christopher Steele and is shown the “dossier.”

  July 7

  Carter Page visits Moscow to give a speech.

  July 11

  Page attends a Cambridge symposium, meets undercover informant Stefan Halper.

  July 22

  WikiLeaks releases stolen Democratic National Committee emails.

  July 27

  Donald Trump says, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.”

  July 30

  Christopher Steele meets with Bruce and Nellie Ohr and gives them “dossier” information; Bruce Ohr immediately passes the information to top FBI official and DOJ prosecutors, including Andrew Weissmann.

  July 31

  FBI opens “Crossfire Hurricane.”

  Aug. 6

  Clinton campaign suggests Trump-Russia “collusion.”

  Aug. 8

  Peter Strzok texts about Trump presidency, “We’ll stop it.”

  Aug. 15

  Infamous Peter Strzok–Lisa Page text on “insurance policy.”

  Sept. 2

  Stefan Halper invites George Papadopoulos to London.

  Sept. 15

  Papadopoulos meets FBI undercover informant “Azra Turk.”

  Sept. 23

  Michael Isikoff publishes story about Carter Page in Moscow.

  Oct. 3

  Christopher Steele meets FBI in Rome.

  Oct. 7

  WikiLeaks begins releasing John Podesta emails.

  Oct. 11

  Christopher Steele meets with Kathleen Kavalec at State Department; she notes errors in his “dossier.”

  Oct. 21

  FBI obtains approval for FISA warrant against Carter Page.

  Oct. 26

  Michael Rogers gives FISC an audit showing abuse of NSA database.

  Oct. 31

  Mother Jones publishes story referencing Christopher Steele.

  Nov. 1

  Steele terminated as an FBI source.

  Nov. 9

  Donald Trump wins the election.

  Nov. 17

  Michael Rogers meets Donald Trump and transition team. Trump moves all transition activity to New Jersey.

  Nov. 18

  Trump names Mike Flynn national security advisor.

  Nov. 19

  Sir Andrew Wood and David Kramer tell Senator John McCain about the Steele “dossier.”

  Nov. 22

  FBI agent Joe Pientka begins interviewing Bruce Ohr as back channel to Christopher Steele.

  Nov. 28

  David Kramer flies to London to meet with Steele.

  Nov. 29

  Kramer gets dossier from Glenn Simpson, gives it to John McCain.

  Dec. 9

  McCain gives James Comey the “dossier.”

  Dec. 22

  Michael Flynn speaks to Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak; their conversation is recorded.

  Dec. 29

  Obama administration expels thirty-five Russian diplomats and issues sanctions against Russia.

  Dec. 30

  Vladimir Putin announces that he will not retaliate.

  2017

  Jan. 5

  Bar
ack Obama holds meeting with Joe Biden, James Comey, Michael Rogers, James Clapper, John Brennan, Sally Yates, and Susan Rice.

  Jan. 6

  Comey briefs Donald Trump on the “salacious and unverified” portion of the Steele “dossier.” Clapper leaks to CNN.

  Jan. 10

  CNN reports on Comey briefing. BuzzFeed releases the Steele “dossier.”

  Jan. 12

  Michael Flynn’s call to Sergey Kislyak on December 29 is leaked.

  Jan. 20

  Donald Trump’s inauguration.

  Jan. 22

  Michael Flynn sworn in as national security advisor.

  Jan. 24

  James Comey directs Andrew McCabe to send Peter Strzok and Joe Pientka to interview Flynn.

  Jan. 26

  Acting Attorney General Sally Yates discusses Flynn with White House counsel Don McGahn.

  Jan. 27

  FBI agents interview George Papadopoulos.

  Jan. 30

  Donald Trump fires Yates for refusing to enforce travel ban.

  Feb. 8

  Senator Jeff Sessions confirmed as attorney general.

  Feb. 13

  Michael Flynn resigns.

  Feb. 14

  James Comey claims Trump asked if he could see fit to “letting Flynn go.”

  Feb. 16

  George Papadopoulos interviewed again by FBI agents.