A Georgian-American businessman, who said he attended a key 2016 meeting at Trump Tower under the pretense of serving as a translator, has been questioned by both Senate and House intelligence committees, Reuters reported Tuesday.
Congressional investigators were already aware the businessman, Irakly Kaveladze, attended the June 9, 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer, Donald Trump Jr. and other campaign officials, but recently became more interested in Kaveladze upon learning he attended a private dinner with President Trump and Aras Agalarov in 2013, according to sources familiar with the interviews who spoke to Reuters. The 2013 dinner was held to celebrate an agreement between Trump, then-owner of the Miss Universe pageant, and Agalarov to bring the pageant to Moscow, according to Reuters’ sources.
Congressional investigators are seeking more information about Kaveladze’s role in orchestrating the meeting and whether there was any discussion of lifting U.S. sanctions on Russia, Reuters reported.
Information about the June 9, 2016 meeting, which included Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, was first reported this summer. Trump Jr. initially claimed the meeting was held to discuss Russian adoptions, but later revealed it was arranged with the promise of receiving damaging information about Trump’s opponent Hillary Clinton. A chain of emails Trump Jr. released this summer show he was made aware that the conversation would be “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump,” according to one email.
Trump Jr., who has also been questioned by congressional investigators, later said he never actually received any information from the Russian lawyer.
Lots of questions here. “under the pretense of serving as a translator.” Does that mean that he wasn’t translating? Was he faking it, then? And who was he supposed to be translating for, Donald Jr. and the other buffoon’s from Trump’s “team,” or for the Russians? And if he wasn’t there as a translator, what was he doing there?
“Trump Jr., who has also been questioned by congressional investigators, later said he never actually received any information from the Russian lawyer.” Maybe that’s because the guy who was supposed to be his translator wasn’t doing any translating. Maybe he didn’t even know Russian.
If you believe that he was there to translate I got a bridge to sell you. This guy was convicted of running a money laundering scheme for the Russians years ago. He was there for a reason and translation ain’t it.
He was ‘translating’, but it was not his only reason for being there. More than likely any translating he was doing was just to confirm for the Russians anything that the Trumpers might have been talking amongst themselves about.
Seems like the Trumpers did not bring their own translator to the meeting. Much like at G-20 when Trump met with Putin and his translator without any other US persons present.
Surprised that this guy didn’t suffer an instant attack of Congressional Committee-induced aphasia…before he suffers a case of terminal inability to speak, brought on by heavy metal poisoning, or piano-related defenestration.
The net is tightening.