Mueller Probe: Russians Interacted with 14 Trump Campaign Officials during 2016-17

As Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation team files papers in court revealing those they are pressing criminal charges against in his investigation on Russian interference, the public is slowly being told of the extent of interaction between Moscow agents and people in Donald Trump’s campaign.

A Washington Post report has revealed that Mueller’s filings last week show that Russians were in touch with at one time or another through 2016 and 2017 with at least 14 people connected to US President Donald Trump.

Those who interacted with Russian included the US President’s oldest children, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump. The report said the duo interacted with Russians who were offering to help then ‘candidate Trump’.

These revelations come after Donald Trump has been literally hollering on Twitter ever since Special Counsel Robert Mueller was appointed about a ‘witch hunt’ and ‘no collusion.’

Those who have been closest to Donald Trump have also had contact with Russians – including Ivanka’s husband and current adviser to the president Jared Kushner, former Trump presidential campaign chairman Paul Manafort, the US President’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen and one of Trump’s longest aide/adviser, Roger Stone, all had contact with Russian nationals.

The Russians who were in touch with Trump Campaign insiders are a range of personalities, all with a direct link to Kremlin. These are a Russian ambassador, a Russian former deputy prime minister, a Soviet era army officer with ties to Russia’s intelligence unit – a unit from which 12 have been indicted by Mueller for election interference, and the list goes on.

Apart from listing the extensive contacts Russians were having with Trump Campaign officials, the papers also revealed that Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen was contacted by a Russian national who claimed to be a “trusted person” in the Russian Federation offering the campaign “political synergy” and “synergy on a government level”.

Cohen was contacted by this ‘Russian’ while he reached out to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s office to get the Trump Tower Moscow project expedited. Cohen was asked to arrange a meeting between Trump and Putin, the court filings show, and told that a face-to-face meeting between the two could have a “phenomenal” impact because there is “no bigger warranty in any project” than Putin’s backing.

The report shows that despite Donald Trump’s vociferous disavowals and by those around him, there is an exceptionally high instances of contact between Russia and his team. The Mueller investigation might just prove there was indeed ‘collusion’.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 10, 2018 06:01 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).