Thread by @MsMariaT

Good stuff here.

Sam Patten Sentencing Memoranda

h/t @DirkSchwenk

lawfareblog.com/document-w-sam…

P 4: "...Patten’s relationship w/Foreigner B and the Opposition Bloc did not contemplate any work that would be considered lobbying in the U.S. Instead, Mr. Patten’s engagement required him to assist and advise his clients w/regard to Ukrainian politics and elections..."

"...this work involved drafting POLLING questions and interpreting polling data to predict and prep for the issues and opinions driving the....climate....Patten would explain the significance of the polling data and...propose ways...his clients could SHAPE THEIR MESSAGE...." 🚩

https://twitter.com/MsMariaT/status/958207400170831872

"Manafort, Gates, and Kilimnik meeting at the cigar bar in Jared’s bldg 8/2/16 - where POLLING DATA was handed over to Kilimnick the day before Zamel, Prince and Don Jr met at Trump tower:

:

https://twitter.com/MsMariaT/status/1104209731806085120

https://twitter.com/dcpoll/status/1104208734295859200

"In sum, Mr. Patten was hired to be a political consultant in Ukraine, not a lobbyist, and certainly not to lobby any U.S. officials.

Over time, however, his clients infrequently asked for help in drafting or editing speeches, talking points, or op-eds...."

" For example, Foreigner B, through Mr. Patten’s former biz partner, Konstantin Kilimnik, asked Mr. Patten to draft a ltr to a Dept of State official regarding Ukraine’s Central Election Commission. Mr. Patten helped draft and edit the letter..."

"...but the letter itself was sent by Foreigner B directly – not Mr. Patten...."

"Therefore, although Mr. Patten’s involvement with the letter required him to register ...[FARA], his failure to do so did not, unlike traditional FARA nondisclosures, conceal the foreign national/entity looking to contact or arguably influence a U.S. official."

"Additional examples can be found in the limited instances where Mr. Patten was asked to help arrange a meeting between Foreigner B and Congressional staffers while Foreigner B was visiting the United States."

Gov't says Patten not deceptive in repping foreigner B, like Manafort was:

"There was no such deception in Mr. Patten’s case as Foreigner B’s identity was fully known, Foreigner B was the named author of any op-eds, and Foreigner B himself attended any scheduled meetings."

"...Patten arranged a pymt from an American biz in order to conceal that a Ukrainian national was the true purchaser of FOUR TICKETS to the 2017 Presidential Inauguration... Like the facts giving rise to his FARA violation, Patten should have...turned down his client’s request."

"Instead, in order to accommodate his client and to demonstrate his ability to deliver when needed, Patten, who was working in AFRICA at the time, arranged for the payment to come from an INTERMEDIARY loc'd in the U.S., whom he later reimbursed."

Who was the intermediary? 🤔

"In Mr. Patten’s mind, these were tickets to a post-election party and not an attempt to influence an election or politician."

"More importantly, he was blinded by a desire to accommodate his client. While the above explains why Patten did what he did it provides no justification for his decision. It was a complete breakdown in judgment and Patten regrets his involvement with the inauguration tickets."

"For starters, Mr. Patten did not support the Trump campaign and while he may have known people who worked for the campaign at various times, he had no personal connection to it..."

Interesting....

"Indeed, Mr. Patten not only openly opposed the Trump candidacy but
even broke w/his party when he voted for Pres Trump’s opponent in the 2016...election....there was no political agenda or motive behind Patten’s role in the purchase of the inauguration tickets."

🤔

"Mr. Patten made several mistakes during the search and production process.
He searched too narrowly and did not concern himself with providing every email or document, such as attachments to emails and word or pdf documents..."

"...he allowed his concerns about the potential leaking of his business emails to influence what he produced.

He also withheld a few documents that could have implicated his friends
and/or clients in the purchase of the PIC tickets."

"There was reason for Mr. Patten to believe that his production would not be kept confidential. As it ultimately turned out, Mr. Patten’s concerns were well-founded, even if misplaced."

"Mr. Patten did produce over 1,300 pgs of docs to SSCI, including
communications he had w/U.S. officials on behalf of Foreigner B. He also produced emails that clearly established that he had helped draft talking points and op-eds for Foreigner B. "

"Moreover, [Patten] produced materials that documented KILIMNIK'S AND Foreigner B’s travel to the United States for the inauguration AS WELL AS efforts to purchase tickets to the NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST."

"...Patten admittedly erred when he deleted his email archive folder on or about 3/2/18, without first seeking SSCI’s permission. SSCI’s original ltr requesting the voluntary production of docs also asked Patten to preserve any and all responsive docs..."

WTF.

"Patten’s laptop began to malfunction and he was having difficulty completing basic tasks. Patten believed it was a memory issue related to his Gmail acct...on/about 3/2/18, Mr. Patten...deleted his Gmail archive folder, which contained approx 200K emails."

Does anyone buy this?

That whole laptop should have been preserved.

"Regrettably, although Mr. Patten believed he had fulfilled his obligations to the Committee, he did not consult w/his previous attorney or the Committee prior to the deletion of his archived emails..."

"Having produced responsive documents and having submitted to a voluntary interview, Mr. Patten incorrectly believed that he was free to delete his emails. He understands now that he should not have done so without, at a minimum, the Committee’s approval."

"The next part is personal history of Patten. After working at Daddy's newspaper, went to work in Congress. First stop: Susan Collins:

"In 1996, he worked as the finance director for Susan Collins’ successful campaign for the Senate seat she still holds today."

"From 1995-1999, Patten lived and worked in KAZAKHSTAN. He first worked as a teacher but later transitioned to public and gov relations work for several int'l cos that operated there....Mr. Patten met his first wife, Aizhan, learned basic Russian, and fathered his only child."

"In 1999, Senator Collins hired Patten to run her Portland office and later to be her foreign affairs and defense legislative assistant. In 2000, Senator Collins recommended Mr. Patten to the Bush-Cheney campaign as a state coordinator. "

"Following the Bush campaign, Patten left his job in the Senate to join the Int'l Republican Institute (“IRI”) as the democracy group’s Russia program ofcr, and later resident country director in Moscow until 2004. While serving in Russia he re-opened IRI’s Kazakhstan operation.

(just realized I'm a half hour late for lil one's bedtime, and no one is saying anything, lol! BRB.)

assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5798…