CNN exclusive: a team of müller interrogates the Russian oligarchs
The material edition of CNN (USA).
Washington. According to information obtained from numerous sources familiar with the circumstances of the investigation, a team of investigators led by special Prosecutor Robert Mueller took the unusual step: she conducts a survey of Russian oligarchs, came to the US. In any case, investigators arrested one of them and checked his electronic device when his private plane landed at the airport in new York.
A source with knowledge of the issue, second, the Russian oligarch detained during his recent trip to the US, though it’s unclear whether it was subjected to a search.
The investigation team Muller has also prepared a non-paper on the voluntary deposition and request for consultation for a third Russian oligarch, who recently in the US did not come.
In all these cases have one common item: the investigators are asking the rich Russians sent those unlawfully, directly or indirectly, donations for a presidential campaign and the inauguration of Donald trump.
That the investigators are showing interest in the Russian oligarchs, not previously reported. This interest testifies to the fact that the team of Muller began to look more closely at the question of a possible flow of money from Russia to the holding of elections in the United States. A consequence is doing this as part of a widespread investigation undertaken to find out whether the team trump in collusion with Russia and interacted with her during her intervention in the presidential election of 2016.
According to one source, attempts to interview the Russian oligarchs in recent weeks could mean that the disposal of the team, Muller already had a record or documents in respect of which it has powers and she can easily get. And now it’s included in the “list of activities to be carried out” to find out what additional information they can get from the Russians during their travel to the United States, or under their voluntary cooperation.
In accordance with the laws on financing of election campaigns, foreign citizens are allowed to make donations to Fund political campaigns in the United States.
Names of the oligarchs sources are not named, but announced details of their communication with the investigative team of the special Prosecutor.
According to sources, one of the issues that attracts attention of investigators, are investments of Russians in assets of companies, or think tanks, which have political action committees — campaign-political committees, donate funds to the campaign.
Another question, which asked the team of Mueller, according to sources, is whether to use a fake wealthy Russian donors — individuals who have American citizenship as intermediaries through which they could pour money into the Fund of the election campaign and the inauguration.20фотографий20фотографий20фотографий
Contacts with Russian oligarchs, American airports — this is another symptom of the aggressive tactics used by investigators Muller to find the approach to witnesses or people with whom they would like to interview.
“The investigators and prosecutors like the element of surprise when you can get more spontaneous (and often truthful) answers,” wrote former Federal Prosecutor Daniel Goldman (Daniel Goldman). To access the electronic devices team Muller uses the search warrant, and, according to Goldman, “in the investigations, the crucial element of surprise, because nobody wants a person erased data from your phone.”
In January, FBI agents detained and questioned a specialist on the Middle East George Nader (George Nader) when he arrived at Washington DULLES international airport DULLES. They photographed his electronic devices and was summoned to court to testify. Nader, who in the period of transfer of power (in the USA) attended the secret meetings between representatives of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and colleagues trump, cooperating with the investigation. Nader was in Seychelles when the trump supporter Erik Prince (Erik Prince) met with the Director of the Russian direct investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev. In the interview with investigators of the Congress, the Prince said that any illegal acts did not commit.
Ted malloc (Ted Malloch), who called himself the unofficial adviser of the headquarters of the trump, last week published a statement that in Boston when he returned from international travel, he was detained by the FBI. They took his mobile phone and asked him about the political consultant-Republican Roger stone (Roger Stone) and WikiLeaks. 13 APR malloc must appear before the investigative Grand jury Mueller.
According to sources, at the end of last year, the investigation team Mueller interviewed several witnesses, trying to figure out if they know Russian, who made the donation directly or indirectly to the Fund of the electoral headquarters of the trump.
Another source added that investigators from the team of Mueller asked about several American citizens who were born in the former republics of the USSR and maintain links with these countries. According to this man, most of the questions were about fundraising by the Republicans and how the money comes to US policy. In September, the TV channel “Hey-Bi-si a news” (ABC News) with reference to the assistant from the staff of the Republicans who was interrogated by investigators from the team of Mueller, said that the investigation team Muller asked questions about when U.S. citizens with ties to Russia, has been paying contributions.
According to the Center for responsible politics (Center for Responsive Politics), trump on his presidential campaign has collected $ 333 million. And his inaugural Committee raised a record amount of 106.8 million dollars — two times more than they collected any of his predecessors.
Monitoring group criticized the Committee for what he has not given comprehensive information about how it spent funds raised for the inauguration.
Another potential source of information for investigators Mueller, Rick gates (Rick Gates), former Deputy Chairman of the electoral headquarters of trump, who in February pleaded guilty to financial fraud and making false statements to representatives of the investigative group Muller. Gates worked closely with Paul Manafort, which for some time in 2016, was the Chairman of the election headquarters of the trump and stayed in the team in the position of Deputy Chairman of the inaugural Committee of trump. In the framework of his pre-trial agreement on admission of guilt, gates is obliged to cooperate with investigators Muller and to answer all their questions.
It is unclear whether the identified team Mueller the facts of illegal financing or their questions are more introductory, preliminary. The representative of the special Prosecutor declined to comment.