Trump’s lawyer and business associate among those with plan for Russia-Ukraine peace
Developments on Day 31 of the Trump Administration:
Trump’s Aides and the Russian-Ukraine Plan
Amid scrutiny of the Trump Administration’s links with Russia, the New York Times reveals a back-channel effort by Trump’s associates to lift sanctions on Russia through a Russian-Ukrainian peace plan.
The scheme involves Michael Cohen, the President’s personal lawyer, who delivered the document to National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, a week’s before Flynn’s resignation; Felix Sater, a business associate who helped Trump scout deals in Russia; and Andrii Artemenko, a Ukrainian lawmaker seeking prominence in a political opposition movement shaped in part by Trump’s former campaign manager Paul D. Manafort.
Cohen defended the initiative, “Who doesn’t want to help bring about peace?”
But the scheme could unsettle Ukrainian politics. Artemenko claims to have evidence — “names of companies, wire transfers” — of corruption by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, that could oust him. And the lawmaker said he had received encouragement for his plans from top aides to Putin.
Cohen and Sater, who said they have not spoken to Trump about the proposal, have no experience in foreign policy. Cohen is one of several Trump associates under scrutiny in an FBI counter=intelligence examination of links with Russia. Sater, a Russian-American, pleaded guilty to a role in a stock manipulation scheme decades ago that involved the Mafia.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Valeriy Chaly, said Artemenko “is not entitled to present any alternative peace plans on behalf of Ukraine to any foreign government, including the U.S. administration”.
Senator Graham: Congress Will Challenge Trump Over Russia
Republican Senator Lindsay Graham, a prominent critic of Donald Trump’s affinity for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, promises, “2017 is going to be a year of kicking Russia in the ass in Congress”.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Graham said he would stand against any effort by the Republican Administration to lift sanctions on Moscow. Instead, he will introduce a bipartisan motion to impose more restrictions.
“My goal is to put it on Trump’s desk and I hope he’ll embrace the idea that as the leader of the free world he should be working with us to punish Russia,” Graham said.
Trump: I Got “Sweden Terrorist Attack” From Watching Fox News
Donald Trump — or someone writing for Donald Trump — explains that his claim of a terrorist attack in Sweden, made at a Saturday rally in Florida, came from watching Fox TV.
My statement as to what's happening in Sweden was in reference to a story that was broadcast on @FoxNews concerning immigrants & Sweden.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 19, 2017
The Fox program was likely to be one hosted by Tucker Carlson, in which a Swedish documentary-maker Ami Horowitz tried to connect increased intake of refugees with a rising crime rate:
Horowitz has claimed that Sweden is now the “rape capital of Europe” and that there are “Muslim no-go zones” across the continent.
Swedish officials say that their statistics do not justify the kind of assertions made by Horowitz. They explain that the rise in sexual assault reports, relative to other European countries, is because more victims are coming forward and not because there is more violence.
The Swedish Embassy to the US tweeted:
We look forward to informing the US administration about Swedish immigration and integration policies. https://t.co/x5G3euOWRh
— Embassy of Sweden US (@SwedeninUSA) February 19, 2017
Trump’s statement on Saturday:
TOP PHOTO: Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen
Chief of Staff Priebus Struggles to Defend Trump’s “Media Are Enemy of American People”
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus faces a challenging interview from Fox News’ Chris Wallace over Donald Trump’s claim that the media is “the enemy of the American people”.
Priebus tried to counter with the claim that stories of the Trump campaign and Administration’s ties with Russia are “garbage” and “untrue”, only to run into difficulty by deriding The New York Times’ use of unnamed officials — by invoking his own “unnamed sources”.
He also struggled over Trump’s labeling of all media, with Wallace challenging, “We don’t have a state-run media in this country. That’s what they have in dictatorships.”
Pressed over the Russia issue, Priebus finally snapped to Wallace, “I don’t know why you’re going bananas over this.”
Senate Committee To Agencies: Keep All Materials Linked to Russia Interference in Election
The Senate intelligence Committee has sent formal requests to more than a dozen organizations, agencies, and individuals, asking them to preserve all materials related to an investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election and related issues.
The Committee chairman, Richard Burr of North Carolina, and its vice chairman, Mark Warner of Virginia, sent letters on Friday — the same day committee members received an hour-long classified briefing from FBI Director James Comey.
Trump Appointee on NSC Staff Fired After Critical Remarks
A Trump appointee on the National Security Council staff has been fired after he criticized the President and his advisors a private speech.
Craig Deare, appointed a month ago to head the NSC’s Western Hemisphere Division, was escorted out of the Executive Office Building on Friday.
A senior White House official confirmed that Deare is no longer working at the NSC and has returned to the position he previously held at the National Defense University. He gave no further details.
Other current and former administration officials said Deare’s termination was linked to remarks he made Thursday at a private talk at the Wilson Center. One source said Deare challenged the Trump administration for its policies on Latin America, especially its rocky start to relations with Mexico.
