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Perjury Chart: Trump Associates’ Lies, False, or Misleading Statements on Russia to Federal Authorities
By Ryan Goodman co-editor-in-chief,
Just Security
It is a federal offense to intentionally make false statements to Congress, the FBI, and other federal authorities. It is also a crime to encourage others to do so (that is, in technical terms, to “suborn perjury ”). It is also a crime to engage in a conspiracy to lie to federal authorities. A
conspiracy can involve a tacit or explicit agreement to commit the criminal activity.
Possible Lies and False Statements to Federal Authorities Contradictory Information 1. Jeff Sessions
(1) probably lied to Congress about his communications with Russian government officials and (2) possibly lied to Congress about his knowledge of other campaign members’ contacts with Russian government officials (starting Jan. 2017) Sessions stated that he did not communicate with members of the Russian government during the campaign, at least not on campaign-related topics. He also stated that he had no knowledge of other campaign members’ contacts with Russians. January 10, 2017: During Jeff Sessions’ confirmation hearing,
Sen. Al Franken asked Sessions: If there was any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of this campaign, what would you do? In response, Sessions stated: “I'm not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I didn't have — did not have communications with the Russians, and I'm unable to comment on it.” January 17, 2018: Senator Patrick Leahy asked Sessions in a
written questionnaire, “Several of the President-Elect’s nominees or senior advisers have Russian ties. Have you been in contact with anyone connected to any part of the (1) Sessions’ contacts with Russian government and content of those communications While Sessions initially stated that he did not communicate with the Russian government during the campaign, it was then discovered that he met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at least three times. Sessions then
claimed he meant he did not discuss any campaign-related topics in his meetings with the Russian ambassador. It was then reported that Kislyak had told Russian colleagues at the time that he did discuss the campaign with Sessions. Sessions never squarely refuted that fact. Instead, he later told Congress that he did not discuss “the details of the campaign” with Kislyak. But Sessions’ initial statements, even if read in the light most favorable to him—that he had no communications with the Russian government about the campaign prior to the election—was apparently false. (2) Sessions’ awareness of Trump campaign members’ and associates’ contacts with Russian officials and Russian nationals Sessions chaired the national security team for the Trump campaign, which included
2 Russian government about the 2016 election, either before or after Election Day?” Sessions responded with one word: “No.” In subsequent congressional hearings, Sessions maintained that he was unaware of any Trump campaign members or surrogates having contacts with Russians. On June 13, 2017, Sen. Kamala Harris and Sessions had the following exchange: “HARRIS: Are you aware of any communications with other Trump campaign officials and associates that they had with Russian officials or any Russian nationals? SESSIONS: I don’t recall that.” On Oct. 18, 2017, Franken and Sessions had the following exchange: “FRANKEN: [Y]ou don’t believe that surrogates from the Trump campaign had communications with the Russians? Is that what you’re saying? SESSIONS: I did not and I’m not aware of anyone else that did, and I don’t believe it happened. FRANKEN: And you don’t believe it now? SESSIONS: I don’t believe it happened.” George Papadopoulos and Carter Page. Papadopoulos kept members of the campaign informed of his frequent contacts with Russian agents, and Carter Page emailed the campaign from his trip to Moscow informing colleagues of “outreach I’ve received from a few Russian legislators and senior members of the Presidential administration here.” However, the available public record does not name Sessions in describing the Papadopoulos or Page correspondence. Sessions has a strong defense on the more
general question of whether he knew Page had communications with Russian nationals. By the time Sessions appeared before the Senate in January 2017, it was widely reported that Page had made the trip to Russia, and Page had given multiple interviews to that effect. Sessions was naturally not denying something that was open and common knowledge.
2. Jared Kushner (part 1)
made material omissions on his security clearance forms (January-June 2017) On January 18, 2017, Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and adviser, submitted his SF-86 security clearance form, which required him to disclose “close and/or continuing contact with a foreign national within the last seven (7) years” as well as any contact with a representative of a foreign government. Kushner’s initial submission omitted any mention of contacts with foreign nationals. In April 2017, Kushner’s lawyer told the New The public record indicates that Kushner omitted several contacts with foreign nationals during the course of the presidential campaign and transition. Examples include: On April 27, 2016: Senator Jeff Sessions and
Kushner reportedly met with Kislyak in a small gathering at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., where candidate Trump made his first foreign policy speech. Kushner played a significant role in the planning and
3 York Times that Kushner’s SF-86 had been submitted “prematurely” and that Kushner would be supplementing his submission. After mid-January 2017, Kushner filed four addendums to his SF-86. Kushner did not list the Trump Tower meeting with Russian agent, Natalia Veselnitskaya, until June 21, 2017. He told Congress, in a written statement, that the
reason he did not include it in his initial or prior amended forms because he forgot the meeting and hadn’t read the emails he received setting up the meeting: “I did not remember the meeting and certainly did not remember it as one with anyone who had to be included on an SF-86. When documents reviewed for production in connection with committee requests reminded me that meeting had occurred, and because of the language in the email chain that I then read for the first time, I included that meeting on a supplement.” Kushner’s lawyer states that the meeting was included “out of an abundance of caution”
after correspondence relating to the meeting was discovered while reviewing Kushner’s emails. Kushner told Congress, he added Veselnitskaya in his amended form, “even though my attorneys were unable to conclude that the Russian lawyer was a representative of any foreign country and thus fell outside the scope of the form.” execution of the event. Kushner also reportedly was in multiple phone calls with the Russian ambassador. Kushner told Congress, “on November 9, the day after the election, I could not even remember the name of the Russian Ambassador.” On June 9, 2016: Kushner, Donald Trump
Jr., and Paul Manafort met with Russian lawyer and lobbyist, Natalia Veselnitskaya at Trump Tower in New York. Rob Goldstone, who arranged the meeting, presented Veselnitskaya as a “Russian government attorney” in his email exchanges with Trump Jr. In addition to Goldstone and Veselnitskaya, the Russian delegation also included: Ike Kaveladze, a dual Georgian- American citizen and businessman; Rinat Akhmetshin, a Russian-American lobbyist with widely reported ties to Russian intelligence; and Anatoli Samochornov, an American citizen who served as Veselnitskaya’s translator. In December 2016: Kushner, along with
incoming national security advisor, Michael Flynn, met with Kislyak. During the meeting, Kushner reportedly discussed the possibility of establishing a backchannel between members of the Trump transition team and Moscow, using Russian diplomatic facilities and thus bypassing U.S. intelligence services. In December 2016: Kushner met with Sergey
Gorkov, the President of U.S.-sanctioned VBE bank. Kushner admitted to Congress that Kislyak asked him to meet with Gorkov because the banker was “someone with a direct line to the Russian President who could give insight into how Putin was viewing the new administration and best ways to work together.” On December 15, 2016: Kushner and Flynn
secretly met with UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and George Nader in Trump Tower. The Crown Prince breached standard protocol by failing to notify the Obama administration of his visit to the United States.