Mueller Russia Inquiry: Trump's Investiture Money is a Major Objective

What happened at the inauguration of Donald Trump 18 months ago and why does the special advocate Robert Mueller seem to interest him?

Last week, Matthew Mosk and John Santucci of ABC News reported that "access" to Trump's inauguration parties in January 2017 – and that Mueller was seeking to find out why. [19659003] This is not the first time we hear about Mueller's interest in the inauguration.In April, CNN reported that the special advocate was investigating "whether the rich Russians illegally channeled cash donations directly or indirectly into the presidential campaign and Donald Trump's investiture "- and even interrogated some oligarchs directly.

since Trump's former aide, Rick Gates, accepted an advocacy agreement with Mueller's team in exchange for his cooperation.This may not be a coincidence – Gates was heavily involved in the planning of the inauguration, with a report from Yahoo News in 2016 calling it the 'president of the omb re "of the event.

Yet, beyond Russia, the money behind the inauguration of Trump – and where, exactly, he went. Trump's inaugural committee raised a truly astonishing $ 106.7 million, double the previous record set by the inauguration of Barack Obama in 2008. But what they have not made it so clear.

In a report released by Ilya Marritz for ProPublica and WNYC earlier this year, the president of George W. Bush's second inauguration, Greg Jenkins, said he was bewildered. "They had a third of the staff and a quarter of the events and they raised at least twice as much as us," he said. "So, there is the obvious question: where did it go? I do not know."

Like a typical project of the I & # 39; Trump organization, its inauguration combined amazing money and opulence with problems of financial mismanagement, corruption and foreign influence Tom Barrack planned the inauguration of Trump – With the help of Rick Gates

After Donald Trump unexpectedly won the 2016 presidential election, he was instructed to set up an inauguration that would be worthy of his name and opulent reputation. The swearing-up event itself and the surrounding security and logistics are paid for the federal government.But for all the major holidays and events before and after the investiture – the concert on the National Mall in advance, dinners and events for the fans of eli you, and the balls at the inauguration party – Trump should find the money for him.

He would therefore need money – a lot of money. It is not uncommon for presidents to raise funds for this purpose. Recently, Barack Obama raised about $ 53 million for his first investiture and $ 43 million for his second. Trump decided to do the same. Rather than fund the nomination itself, the richest elected president decided to follow the example of his predecessors and reap cash from billionaires, wealthy financiers and corporations.

Alex Wong / Getty Images

Thus, a week after the elections, Trump named a row of wealthy Republicans from a murderer as "vice presidents of finance" for the event. They included casino billionaires Sheldon Adelson and Steve Wynn (the latter was later accused of sexually abusing employees), defense contractor Elliott Broidy (later involved in the payments of money for a Playboy model) and Anthony Scaramucci (later director of communications at the White House). 10 days before resigning for an obscene interview with the New Yorker)

Tom Barrack was the leader of the inaugural committee. A billionaire real estate investor who has been a close friend of Trump for decades, Barrack's commercial interests have recently been concentrated in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. (Michael Kranish of the Washington Post and David Kirkpatrick of The New York Times both wrote excellent portraits of him.) His goal, he says, was that the inauguration had a "sweet sensuality" and a "sweet sensuality". poetic cadence ".

With planning and fundraising, Barrack turned to a Trump campaign assistant: Rick Gates, Paul Manafort's long-time right-hand man. (Barrack knew Manafort since the 1970s and helped convince Trump to bring him to the countryside.)

Even at the time, the choice raised eyebrows, since Manafort had been ousted from the campaign after stories of scandals about his work. for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine. But, according to a report published in November 2016 by Yahoo News' Michael Isikoff, Gates has become a fundraising and planning tool. Isikoff quoted a source calling Gates the "shadow" chair of the inauguration and "senior deputy" of Barrack.

The inauguration of Trump raised an incredible amount of money

Finally, the inauguration crowd was not exactly the largest in history – but the inaugural fundraising was certainly. Barrack, Gates and the team raised more than $ 106 million, an astonishing sum that doubled the previous record (set by Obama in 2009).

The more you gave, the more events you have access to are exclusive. Other benefits included $ 1,000,000 for the "Leadership Dinner" at the Trump Hotel, $ 500,000 for a dinner with Vice President-elect Mike Pence and $ 250,000 for a candlelit dinner at Union Station with Trumps and Pences. document obtained by Carrie Levine from the Center for Public Integrity.

You can read the full list of donors on OpenSecrets.org, but among those who are willing to pay such sums, you will find:

• Bigshots of the Financial Industry : Robert Mercer (that the New Yorker later called "reclusive hedge" -fund tycoon behind the Trump presidency "), Paul Singer (another billionaire of hedge funds who, oddly enough, had paid the opposition research firm Fusion GPS for Unearth Trump during the primaries), and Steve Cohen (whose group of hedge funds was all donated $ 1 million each.)
• Corporate America : The inaugural committee raised $ 2 million dollars in funding. AT & T, $ 1 million each from Bank of America, Boeing, Dow Chemical, Pfizer and Qualcomm, at least $ 500,000 each from JP Morgan Chase, FedEx, Chevron, Exxon, of Fidelity, Intel, Citgo and BP America
• Groups Secret Conservatives : The American Action Network, a non-profit organization that has spent tens of millions of elections since 2010, donated $ 1 million. Another million came from a mysterious company called "BH Group, LLC," and its true source has remained mysterious for more than a year. It was only recently that journalist Robert Maguire traced this contribution to a group linked to the conservative legal movement and to the leader of the Federalist Society, Leonard Leo, who played a prominent role with Trump on the appointments. court. and other foreign countries, which would have captured Mueller's interest.

  Mueller investigated the inauguration of Trump. We have some indications on the reasons for this situation.

  The inauguration drew the attention of the forces of order as it occurred. According to a Washington Post report, FBI counterintelligence officials were "concerned" about an unusual presence of Russians politically connected to DC during the event – including some people "who had surfaced in the US. The agency's investigation into Trump's ties with Russia. "

  But in recent months in particular, much of the interrogation of witnesses by the Mueller team would have focused on matters related to investiture and foreign money.

  • Kara Scannell and Shimon Prokupecz reported that Mueller had recently arrested and interrogated at least two Russian oligarchs traveling to the United States to ask "whether rich Russians illegally channeled cash donations directly or indirectly into the presidential campaign and Investiture of Donald Trump ".
  • ABC News reported that Mueller was questioning witnesses "about millions of dollars donated President Donald Trump's report on donors with links to Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. Qatar.
  • The Associated Press reported that Mueller investigators interviewed President Tom Barrack.Ap sources, however, gave contradictory accounts of what Barrack was asked about. One of them said that he had only been asked for Paul Manafort and Rick Gates. "Thomas Barrack, chairman of the inaugural Presidential Committee, greets Vice President Mike Pence before swearing in. Donald Trump as President in January 2017. June 20, 2017. Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call via Getty Images
    • And in June, another ABC News report claimed that Mueller investigators wanted to know why several billionaires with "links deep with Russia "had access to" receptions only "during the inauguration.

    Despite all this, the exact reason why Mueller became so focused on the inauguration remains elusive, and he has not brought it to light publicly.

    • Illegal Foreign Gifts : It is illegal for foreign nationals to donate to an inaugural presidential committee. No such gift at Trump's inauguration is currently known. But CNN reported that Mueller was looking into whether the rich Russian were using "straw donors" with US citizenship to direct money toward the inauguration.
    • The cooperation of Rick Gates : Curiously, recent articles on the interest of Mueller for the inauguration were published after Gates, inauguration "shadow chair" , concluded a plea agreement in which he would cooperate with Mueller on February 23. It has not been confirmed that Gates provides information on the inaugural shadow at Mueller, but the timeline certainly aligns. 19659037] Gulf Connections : Another mysterious point of Mueller's investigation in recent months has been the links between the Trump team and the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia . George Nader, an adviser to the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, was arrested at Dulles Airport, his electronic devices were seized by the Mueller team and has since given a detailed testimony to the grand jury of Mueller. And an ABC report suggested that inaugural donations related to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar were also reviewed by Mueller. (These are the three countries where Tom Barrack's business interests have been heavily concentrated.)
    • Russian collusion with Trump's team : Finally, the big question arises: the allies of Trump have Russian government to interfere with the 2016 elections? The inauguration of the course took place after the end of the elections, but could be important to understand Russia's links with the Trump team and how their relationship has progressed once it's over. he won. Shortly after several curious contacts between Trump's associates and the Russians – the visits of Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and Banker Sergey Gorkov to Trump Tower in December, Kislyak's calls with Michael Flynn at the end of December and the sit- in Seychelles of Erik Prince with a Russian manager. George Nader) in mid-January, nine days before the inauguration

    
    

    
    

    Alex Wong / Getty Images

    That's not quite clear yet, but it's clear that Mueller has a lot to chew on here.

    Some Russian-related donors and inaugural participants drew attention. A Special Examination of Mueller

    Around March of this year, the Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg landed in a private airport in the New York area – and Robert Mueller's investigators met him there and searched for his electronic devices.

    Vekselberg is the main owner and chairman of the Renova Group, a massive Russian conglomerate with interests in aluminum and oil, and is one of the richest in Russia. He did not give money directly to Trump 's inauguration. But his cousin, Andrew Intrater, a US citizen who runs a US company related to the Vekselberg company, donated $ 250,000. Intrater also donated $ 35,000 to the Trump Victory Committee during the campaign, although he was never a major political donor.

    Vekselberg and Intrater attended Trump's inauguration together, and at the candlelight dinner on January 19, they sat with Trump. lawyer, Michael Cohen, according to ABC News. Later that year, the Intrater-led company paid Cohen's Shell Company, Essential Consultants LLC, $ 500,000 for real estate advice.

    Leonard Blavatnik, who runs a business, made another important donation of $ 1 million. called Access Industries. Blavatnik was also on the guest list for the January 19 candlelight dinner, as well as for a "President's World Dinner" with Trump's best allies and foreign dignitaries, by ABC

    
    

    
    

    Vladimir Smirnov TASS via Getty Images

    Blavatnik is a billionaire born in the Soviet Union, who is a US citizen. He also spent years in partnership with Vekselberg in the aluminum industry in Russia, according to a New York 2014 profile. Together, they built the second largest aluminum company in Russia. – and eventually became one of the largest, merging with Oip Deripaska's Rusal. (Deripaska also seems to play a role in the investigation of the collusion – he hired Paul Manafort, and Manafort attempted to contact him in 2016.)

    Other donations and guests also raised eyebrows. Alexander Mashkevich, a Kazakh mining billionaire, was on the guest list for "candlelight dinner", according to ABC – and it turns out he was in Seychelles at about the same time as Erik Prince , Erin Banco reported for Interception. And Natalia Veselnitskaya and Rinat Akhmetshin, who attended Don Jr's infamous Trump Tower meeting, were also in town – they attended an inauguration party hosted by MP Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), considered the the biggest supporter of Putin's regime. Congress

    No one was accused of committing a wrongdoing in Mueller's investigation. And it is at least possible that a lot of gifts here are garden type influence traffic, rather than revealing a bigger and more sinister plan. But if the Trump-Russia survey continues the proven strategy of tracking money, it's clearly a good starting point.

    What happened to the money?

    Beyond the many questions about the money collected by the investor Long ago had many questions about money

    In the great article by Ilya Marritz on WNYC and ProPublica, she cited people involved in previous inaugurations expressing their perplexity about the Trump team. could have spent more than $ 100 million for what they have.

    Unlike a campaign, the inaugural committee is not legally required to disclose much about its expenses. In its non-profit tax form, the committee is required to split its expenses into broad categories and to list its five largest suppliers. But it is not necessary to explain each article.

    In any event, according to the tax formula, about half of the money – over $ 50 million – was paid to only two sellers. $ 25.8 million was donated to WIS Media Partners, an event production company created by a former Melania Trump advisor. $ 25 million was donated to Hargrove Inc. for "event production". It is unclear what these companies have done with these huge sums of money.

    That leaves about $ 50 million left over. Of this amount, approximately $ 10 million was paid to three other suppliers, $ 4.6 million was paid in salaries, and $ 5 million was paid and distributed in the form of grants. But where tens of millions of people have visited remains a mystery, beyond the broader categories given on the disclosure forms.

    For now, whether it is financial mismanagement or something more vague, is not clear. But if there is anyone who could know where much of the money has gone, that is Rick Gates. And all he knows, Robert Mueller knows it now too.

    
    

    
    

    Andrew Gombert / AFP / Getty Images