I got to wondering just how many Russian Oligarchs attended the Trump inauguration in light of Sam Patten's (he's Manafort's buddy & former GRU Agent Kilimnik's business partner) plea deal, in which he acknowledged illegally funneling foreign money to the inauguration. 1 of ?
There's a lot of information out there. I don't have a headcount, but, there is a lot of reporting that mentions Russian Oligarchs who attended inaugural festivities. This June 2018 story reports that Mueller was investigating them. thehill.com/homenews/admin…
"One Trump guest, oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has even been sanctioned by the Treasury Department in response to what U.S. officials called Moscow’s broad destabilizing activities during the presidential race."
Vekselberg, who you'll remember from when his name surfaced in connection with Michael Cohen's money making efforts by peddling access to the Trump Administration, has an American Businessman cousin named Andrew Intrater, who is said to have arranged his inaugural invite.
Viktor Vekselberg was questioned as he exited his private plane in a NY area airport by Special Counsel's investigators earlier this year. He was also present at the dinner Mike Flynn attended in Moscow with Putin. nytimes.com/2018/05/04/us/…
Back to the Inauguration. ABC reported in June "Several billionaires with deep ties to Russia attended exclusive, invitation-only receptions during Donald Trump’s inauguration festivities," including a dinner for $1 million contributors at Union Station. abcnews.go.com/Politics/speci…
"A handful celebrated...at the black-tie Chairman’s Global Dinner, an exclusive 500-guest affair...attendees included close Trump friends, high-ranking campaign aides & an array of foreign ambassadors & dignitaries...Trump pal Steve Wynn flew in Las Vegas show girls to perform.”
ABC continues: at least one oligarch was ushered into Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol for the...Inaugural Day luncheon, hosted by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies–an event typically out of reach to donors & even most rank-and-file members of Congress.
Also: Trump's inauguration brought in $107 million, double the amount Obama raised, for a week of festivities with far fewer events than past inaugurations, just 3 balls. Several witnesses were questioned about millions in donations connected to Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE & Qatar.
Last January,"the Washington Post identified at least half a dozen politically connected Russians who were in Washington on Inauguration Day." There were businessmen & also Natalia Veselnitskaya of Trump Tower meeting fame & recently indicted Maria Butina. washingtonpost.com/politics/amid-…
Among the obvious reasons Mueller might care, "It is against the law for foreign nationals to donate to a presidential inaugural committee." In July, Vox laid out some interesting possibilities, both foreign and domestic, for potential misconduct involving the inauguration.
Tom Barrack, chair of the inaugural events, worked with now-convicted felon Rick Gates, and others including. Presumably, Mueller now knows everything Gates knows. vox.com/2018/7/5/17505…
Vox: "the chair of George W. Bush’s second inauguration, Greg Jenkins, said he was baffled. “They had a third of the staff and a quarter of the events and they raised at least twice as much as we did,” he said. “So there’s the obvious question: Where did it go? I don’t know.”
It's a puzzle - lots of money, perhaps not all accounted for. Some coming indirectly from foreign sources, including Russia & Gulf nations, which is illegal. Why did foreigners make million dollar contributions? Surely they expected something in return?
The Russians saw better US relations in the future. They anticipated the end of Obama-era sanctions, which didn't come to pass as the Mueller investigation unfolded. Mueller has investigators who are well versed in pulling these kind of threads. It looks like a big deal.
