U.S. Department of Justice
Attorney Work Product // May Contain Material Protected Under Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e)
Trump.[1] In advance of the meeting, Simes sent Kushner a "Russia Policy Memo" laying out "what Mr. Trump may want to say about Russia."[2] In a cover email transmitting that memo and a phone call to set up the meeting, Simes mentioned "a well-documented story of highly questionable connections between Bill Clinton" and the Russian government, "parts of [which]" (according to Simes) had even been "discussed with the CIA and the FBI in the late 1990s and shared with the [Independent Counsel] at the end of the Clinton presidency."[3] Kushner forwarded the email to senior Trump Campaign officials Stephen Miller, Paul Manafort, and Rick Gates, with the note "suggestion only."[4] Manafort subsequently forwarded the email to his assistant and scheduled a meeting with Simes.[5] (Manafort was on the verge of leaving the Campaign by the time of the scheduled meeting with Simes, and Simes ended up meeting only with Kushner).
During the August 17 meeting, Simes provided Kushner the Clinton-related information that he had promised.[6]
Simes told Kushner that,
Personal Privacy
[7]
Simes claimed that he had received this information from former CIA and Reagan
White House official Fritz Ermarth, who claimed to have learned it from U.S. intelligence sources, not from Russians.[8]
Simes perceived that Kushner did not find the information to be of interest or use to the Campaign because it was, in Simes's words, "old news."[9] When interviewed by the Office, Kushner stated that he believed that there was little chance of something new being revealed about the Clintons given their long career as public figures, and that he never received from Simes information that could be "operationalized" for the Trump Campaign.[10] Despite Kushner's
- ↑ Simes 3/8/18 302, at 29-30; Simes 3/27/18 302, at 6; Kushner 4/11/18 302, at 12; C00007269 (8/10/16 Meeting Invitation, Vargas to Simes et al.); DJTFP00023484 (8/11/16 Email, Hagan to Manafort (5:57:15 p.m.)).
- ↑ C00007981-84 (8/9/16 Email, Simes to Kushner (6:09:21 p.m.)). The memorandum recommended "downplaying Russia as a U.S. foreign policy priority at this time" and suggested that "some tend to exaggerate Putin's flaws." The memorandum also recommended approaching general Russian-related questions in the framework of "how to work with Russia to advance important U.S. national interests" and that a Trump Administration "not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy." The memorandum did not discuss sanctions but did address how to handle Ukraine-related questions, including questions about Russia's invasion and annexation of Crimea.
- ↑ C00007981 (8/9/16 Email, Simes to Kushner (6:09:21 p.m.)).
- ↑ DJTFP00023459 (8/10/16 Email, Kushner to S. Miller et al. (11:30:13 a.m.)).
- ↑ DJTFP00023484 (8/11/16 Email, Hagan to Manafort (5:57:15 p.m.)).
- ↑ Simes 3/8/18 302, at 29-30; Simes 3/27/18 302, at 6; Kushner 4/11/18 302, at 12.
- ↑ Simes 3/8/18 302, at 30; Simes 3/27/18 302, at 6.
- ↑ Simes 3/8/18 302, at 30.
- ↑ Simes 3/8/18 302, at 30; Simes 3/27/18 302, at 6.
- ↑ Kushner 4/11/18 302, at 12.
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