AT RUSSIAN OFFER TRUMP SON S GLEE EMAILS … · 7/12/2017 · TRUMP SON S GLEE AT RUSSIAN OFFER I...
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U(DF463D)X+$!;!%!=!_ CHANG W. LEE/THE NEW YORK TIMES Thousands of mourners, including members of dozens of police agencies, attended Officer Mioso- tis Familia’s funeral Tuesday in the Bronx. Officer Familia, 48, was shot last week in a police truck. One mourner, for whom the officer handled a case, said she had given her strength. Page A15. ‘She Was My Heroine’ VLADIVOSTOK, Russia — Across Western Europe and the United States, immigrants from poorer countries, whether plumbers from Poland or farmhands from Mexico, have be- come a lightning rod for economic anxieties over cheap labor. The Russian city of Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean, however, has eagerly embraced a new icon of border-crushing globalization: the North Korean painter. Unlike migrant workers in much of the West, destitute decorators from North Korea are so welcome that they have helped make Russia at least the equal of China — Pyongyang’s main backer — as the world’s biggest user of labor from the impover- ished yet nuclear-armed country. “They are fast, cheap and very reliable, much better than Rus- sian workers,” Yulia Kravchenko, a 32-year-old Vladivostok home- maker, said of the painters. “They do nothing but work from morn- ing until late at night.” The work habits that delight Vladivostok homeowners are also generating sorely needed cash for Sent Abroad, North Koreans Toil as ‘Slaves’ By ANDREW HIGGINS Continued on Page A6 WASHINGTON — President Trump entered office pledging to cut red tape, and within weeks, he ordered his administration to as- semble teams to aggressively scale back government regula- tions. But the effort — a signature theme in Mr. Trump’s populist campaign for the White House — is being conducted in large part out of public view and often by po- litical appointees with deep indus- try ties and potential conflicts. Most government agencies have declined to disclose informa- tion about their deregulation teams. But The New York Times and ProPublica identified 71 appointees, including 28 with po- tential conflicts, through inter- views, public records and docu- ments obtained under the Free- dom of Information Act. Some appointees are reviewing rules their previous employers sought to weaken or kill, and at least two may be positioned to profit if certain regulations are un- done. The appointees include lawyers who have represented businesses in cases against government reg- ulators, staff members of political dark money groups, employees of industry-funded organizations opposed to environmental rules and at least three people who were registered to lobby the agen- cies they now work for. At the Education Department alone, two members of the deregu- lation team were most recently employed by pro-charter advoca- cy groups or operators, and one appointee was an executive han- The Deep Industry Connections Of Trump’s Deregulation Teams By DANIELLE IVORY and ROBERT FATURECHI TRUMP RULES The Regulation Slashers Samantha Dravis, of the E.P.A. GAGE SKIDMORE Continued on Page A10 WASHINGTON — If Presi- dent Trump emerged from his meeting with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia last week hoping he had begun to “move forward” from the controversy over the Kremlin’s election med- dling, as advisers put it, his flight home the next day made clear just how overly optimistic that was. As Air Force One jetted back from Europe on Saturday, a small cadre of Mr. Trump’s advisers huddled in a cabin helping to craft a statement for the presi- dent’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., to give to The New York Times explaining why he met last summer with a lawyer con- nected to the Russian govern- ment. Participants on the plane and back in the United States debated how transparent to be in the statement, according to peo- ple familiar with the discussions. Ultimately, the people said, the president signed off on a state- ment from Donald Trump Jr. for The Times that was so incom- plete that it required day after day of follow-up statements, each more revealing than the last. It culminated on Tuesday with a release of emails making clear that Mr. Trump’s son believed the Russian lawyer was seeking to meet with him to provide incrim- inating information about Hillary Clinton as “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” The Russia story has become the brier patch from which the president seemingly cannot escape. It dominated his trip to Europe last week and, after he leaves on Wednesday night for a couple of days in France, it may dominate that trip as well. Every time Mr. Trump tries to put the furor behind him, more disclo- sures thrust it back onto the Washington agenda. Even before the latest reports, Mr. Trump’s head-spinning will- Russia Story Refuses to Let The Page Turn White House Rancor And Finger-Pointing NEWS ANALYSIS By PETER BAKER and MAGGIE HABERMAN Continued on Page A14 The June 3, 2016, email sent to Donald Trump Jr. could hardly have been more explicit: One of his father’s former Russian busi- ness partners had been contacted by a senior Russian government official and was offering to pro- vide the Trump campaign with dirt on Hillary Clinton. The documents “would incrimi- nate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father,” read the email, written by a trusted intermediary, who added, “This is obviously very high level and sensitive in- formation but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump.” If the future president’s eldest son was surprised or disturbed by the provenance of the promised material — or the notion that it was part of a continuing effort by the Russian government to aid his father’s campaign — he gave no indication. He replied within minutes: “If it’s what you say I love it espe- cially later in the summer.” Four days later, after a flurry of emails, the intermediary wrote back, proposing a meeting in New York on Thursday with a “Russian government attorney.” Donald Trump Jr. agreed, add- ing that he would most likely bring along “Paul Manafort (campaign boss)” and “my brother-in-law,” Jared Kushner, now one of the president’s closest White House advisers. On June 9, the Russian lawyer was sitting in the younger Mr. Trump’s office on the 25th floor of Trump Tower, just one level below the office of the future president. Over the past several days, The New York Times has disclosed the existence of the meeting, whom it involved and what it was about. The story has unfolded as The Times has been able to confirm details of the meetings. But the email exchanges, which were reviewed by The Times, of- fer a detailed unspooling of how the meeting with the Kremlin-con- nected Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, came about — and just how eager Donald Trump Jr. was to accept what he was explic- itly told was the Russian govern- ment’s help. The Justice Department and the House and Senate Intelligence Committees are examining whether any of President Trump’s associates colluded with the Rus- sian government to disrupt last year’s election. American intelli- gence agencies have determined that the Russian government tried to sway the election in favor of Mr. Trump. The precise nature of the promised damaging information about Mrs. Clinton is unclear, and there is no evidence to suggest that it was related to Russian-gov- ernment computer hacking that led to the release of thousands of EMAILS DISCLOSE TRUMP SON’S GLEE AT RUSSIAN OFFER ‘I Love It,’ He Said of Word of Documents Promised to Incriminate Clinton This article is by Jo Becker, Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo. Continued on Page A12 Donald Trump Jr. SAM HODGSON FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES EVASIVE ANSWERS Senate Republicans weren’t as eager as their colleagues across the aisle to weigh in on the Trump emails. PAGE A13 COLLUSION QUESTIONS A closer look at how the disclosure of emails affects the investigations of the Trump-Russia affair. PAGE A13 MOSCOW — When American prosecutors accused a senior Rus- sian official’s son of laundering $14 million by investing in Manhattan property and other assets, she was called to defend him. When Moscow regional officials battled Ikea over the Swedish retailer’s expansion, she took on their case. Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Rus- sian lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr. last year to discuss pos- sible compromising material on the Democrats, has been widely depicted as a one-issue activist consumed with getting Congress to repeal sanctions against Rus- sian businessmen. But lawyers and others in Moscow’s legal community called her a trusted insider, one who could be counted on to argue and win important high-profile court cases that matter to the govern- ment and to one senior, well-con- nected official in particular. Ms. Veselnitskaya, 42, earned her status as the go-to lawyer for the Moscow regional government. For years, she has been a lawyer for the Katsyv family, whose patri- arch, Pyotr D. Katsyv, was min- ister of transportation of the Mos- cow region for more than a dec- ade, and whose son was caught up in the New York money launder- ing case. The elder Mr. Katsyv is now a vice president of Russian Rail- ways, a state-owned railroad mo- nopoly that is the country’s larg- est employer and one long dogged by corruption allegations. The junior Mr. Trump has said he accepted the meeting, which included two high-ranking aides of his father’s campaign, after an email from an associate had said that someone advertised as a “Russian government attorney” would deliver information com- piled by the Russian state pros- ecutor that was damaging to Hil- lary Clinton. It is not known exactly what Ms. Veselnitskaya said in the roughly 30-minute meeting. Don- ald Trump Jr. said she spent much A Moscow Insider Trusted With Winning Cases By NEIL MacFARQUHAR and ANDREW E. KRAMER ON JUN 3, 2016, AT 10:36 AM, ROB GOLDSTONE WROTE: Good morning Emin just called and asked me to contact you with something very interesting. The Crown prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father. This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump — helped along by Aras and Emin. What do you think is the best way to handle this information and would you be able to speak to Emin about it directly? I can also send this info to your father via Rhona, but it is ultra sensitive so wanted to send to you first. Best Rob Goldstone ON JUN 3, 2016, AT 10:53, DONALD TRUMP JR. WROTE: Thanks Rob I appreciate that. I am on the road at the moment but perhaps I just speak to Emin first. Seems we have some time and if it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer. Could we do a call first thing next week when I am back? Best, Don Lawyer Who Met With 2016 Team Is Known as Fearsome Rival Continued on Page A13 Fifty years ago, racial tensions led to violence and flames. People reflect on how the unrest altered the city. PAGE A16 NEW YORK A15-17 Five Deadly Days in Newark Iraq declared victory over the Islamic State in Mosul, but the terror group’s legacy lingers in the city. PAGE A7 What Remains in Mosul Admirers of the dissident Nobel laure- ate, who has terminal cancer, say that officials in Beijing want to control his legacy. PAGE A8 INTERNATIONAL A4-8 Liu Xiaobo’s Last Days Despite growing doubts, Senator Mitch McConnell said that a revised bill would be voted on next week. PAGE A11 NATIONAL A9-14 Full Speed Ahead on Health Bill Officials studied the wreckage of a Marine Corps plane that crashed on Monday, leaving 16 dead. PAGE A14 Crash Investigation Begins Canada is grappling with how to handle billions of dollars of Chinese purchases of oil companies, office buildings and cutting-edge tech firms. PAGE B1 BUSINESS DAY B1-8 Tensions Over Chinese Money By abandoning development programs, the United States is risking global insta- bility, Eduardo Porter writes. PAGE B1 When Poverty Leads to Unrest Don’t feel obligated to slog through a TV series. You can skip ahead to the good parts, our critic writes. PAGE C1 ARTS C1-6 A New Way to Watch TV As summer brings returning students and other guests to the table, we offer tips for feeding the masses. PAGE D1 FOOD D1-10 To Cook for the Crowd A French baker who spent years in America is heading home to rescue his nation’s faltering boulangeries. PAGE D1 Saving the Baguette The Summer Games are expected to go to Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028 in a rare simultaneous vote. PAGE B9 SPORTSWEDNESDAY B9-13 Double Decision on Olympics Venus Williams continues to beat oppo- nents who were born in 1997, the year she first hit the grass there. PAGE B9 Hardly Her First Wimbledon Thomas L. Friedman PAGE A19 EDITORIAL, OP-ED A18-19 VOL. CLXVI . . . No. 57,656 © 2017 The New York Times Company WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2017 Printed in Chicago $2.50 Clouds and sunshine. Showers and severe afternoon thunderstorms north. Flash flooding. Damaging winds. Hot. Humid. Highs in 80s to middle 90s. Weather map, Page A20. National Edition
Transcript of AT RUSSIAN OFFER TRUMP SON S GLEE EMAILS … · 7/12/2017 · TRUMP SON S GLEE AT RUSSIAN OFFER I...
C M Y K Yxxx,2017-07-12,A,001,Bs-4C,E2
U(DF463D)X+$!;!%!=!_
CHANG W. LEE/THE NEW YORK TIMES
Thousands of mourners, including members of dozens of police agencies, attended Officer Mioso-tis Familia’s funeral Tuesday in the Bronx. Officer Familia, 48, was shot last week in a police truck.One mourner, for whom the officer handled a case, said she had given her strength. Page A15.
‘She Was My Heroine’
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia —Across Western Europe and theUnited States, immigrants frompoorer countries, whetherplumbers from Poland orfarmhands from Mexico, have be-come a lightning rod for economicanxieties over cheap labor.
The Russian city of Vladivostokon the Pacific Ocean, however, haseagerly embraced a new icon ofborder-crushing globalization:the North Korean painter.
Unlike migrant workers inmuch of the West, destitutedecorators from North Korea areso welcome that they have helpedmake Russia at least the equal ofChina — Pyongyang’s mainbacker — as the world’s biggestuser of labor from the impover-ished yet nuclear-armed country.
“They are fast, cheap and veryreliable, much better than Rus-sian workers,” Yulia Kravchenko,a 32-year-old Vladivostok home-maker, said of the painters. “Theydo nothing but work from morn-ing until late at night.”
The work habits that delightVladivostok homeowners are alsogenerating sorely needed cash for
Sent Abroad,North KoreansToil as ‘Slaves’
By ANDREW HIGGINS
Continued on Page A6
WASHINGTON — PresidentTrump entered office pledging tocut red tape, and within weeks, heordered his administration to as-semble teams to aggressivelyscale back government regula-tions.
But the effort — a signaturetheme in Mr. Trump’s populistcampaign for the White House —is being conducted in large partout of public view and often by po-litical appointees with deep indus-try ties and potential conflicts.
Most government agencieshave declined to disclose informa-tion about their deregulationteams. But The New York Timesand ProPublica identified 71appointees, including 28 with po-tential conflicts, through inter-views, public records and docu-ments obtained under the Free-dom of Information Act.
Some appointees are reviewingrules their previous employerssought to weaken or kill, and atleast two may be positioned toprofit if certain regulations are un-done.
The appointees include lawyerswho have represented businessesin cases against government reg-ulators, staff members of politicaldark money groups, employees ofindustry-funded organizationsopposed to environmental rulesand at least three people whowere registered to lobby the agen-cies they now work for.
At the Education Departmentalone, two members of the deregu-lation team were most recentlyemployed by pro-charter advoca-cy groups or operators, and oneappointee was an executive han-
The Deep Industry ConnectionsOf Trump’s Deregulation Teams
By DANIELLE IVORYand ROBERT FATURECHI
TRUMP RULES
The Regulation Slashers
Samantha Dravis, of the E.P.A.GAGE SKIDMORE
Continued on Page A10
WASHINGTON — If Presi-dent Trump emerged from hismeeting with President VladimirV. Putin of Russia last weekhoping he had begun to “moveforward” from the controversyover the Kremlin’s election med-dling, as advisers put it, his flighthome the next day made clearjust how overly optimistic thatwas.
As Air Force One jetted backfrom Europe on Saturday, a smallcadre of Mr. Trump’s advisershuddled in a cabin helping tocraft a statement for the presi-dent’s eldest son, Donald TrumpJr., to give to The New YorkTimes explaining why he metlast summer with a lawyer con-nected to the Russian govern-ment. Participants on the planeand back in the United Statesdebated how transparent to be inthe statement, according to peo-ple familiar with the discussions.
Ultimately, the people said, thepresident signed off on a state-ment from Donald Trump Jr. forThe Times that was so incom-plete that it required day afterday of follow-up statements, eachmore revealing than the last. Itculminated on Tuesday with arelease of emails making clearthat Mr. Trump’s son believed theRussian lawyer was seeking tomeet with him to provide incrim-inating information about HillaryClinton as “part of Russia and itsgovernment’s support for Mr.Trump.”
The Russia story has becomethe brier patch from which thepresident seemingly cannotescape. It dominated his trip toEurope last week and, after heleaves on Wednesday night for acouple of days in France, it maydominate that trip as well. Everytime Mr. Trump tries to put thefuror behind him, more disclo-sures thrust it back onto theWashington agenda.
Even before the latest reports,Mr. Trump’s head-spinning will-
Russia StoryRefuses to LetThe Page Turn
White House RancorAnd Finger-Pointing
NEWS ANALYSIS
By PETER BAKERand MAGGIE HABERMAN
Continued on Page A14
The June 3, 2016, email sent toDonald Trump Jr. could hardlyhave been more explicit: One ofhis father’s former Russian busi-ness partners had been contactedby a senior Russian governmentofficial and was offering to pro-vide the Trump campaign withdirt on Hillary Clinton.
The documents “would incrimi-nate Hillary and her dealings withRussia and would be very usefulto your father,” read the email,written by a trusted intermediary,who added, “This is obviouslyvery high level and sensitive in-formation but is part of Russia andits government’s support for Mr.Trump.”
If the future president’s eldestson was surprised or disturbed bythe provenance of the promisedmaterial — or the notion that itwas part of a continuing effort bythe Russian government to aid hisfather’s campaign — he gave noindication.
He replied within minutes: “Ifit’s what you say I love it espe-cially later in the summer.”
Four days later, after a flurry ofemails, the intermediary wroteback, proposing a meeting in NewYork on Thursday with a “Russiangovernment attorney.”
Donald Trump Jr. agreed, add-ing that he would most likely bringalong “Paul Manafort (campaignboss)” and “my brother-in-law,”Jared Kushner, now one of thepresident’s closest White Houseadvisers.
On June 9, the Russian lawyerwas sitting in the younger Mr.Trump’s office on the 25th floor ofTrump Tower, just one level belowthe office of the future president.
Over the past several days, TheNew York Times has disclosed theexistence of the meeting, whom it
involved and what it was about.The story has unfolded as TheTimes has been able to confirmdetails of the meetings.
But the email exchanges, whichwere reviewed by The Times, of-fer a detailed unspooling of howthe meeting with the Kremlin-con-nected Russian lawyer, NataliaVeselnitskaya, came about — andjust how eager Donald Trump Jr.was to accept what he was explic-itly told was the Russian govern-ment’s help.
The Justice Department andthe House and Senate Intelligence
Committees are examiningwhether any of President Trump’sassociates colluded with the Rus-sian government to disrupt lastyear’s election. American intelli-gence agencies have determinedthat the Russian governmenttried to sway the election in favorof Mr. Trump.
The precise nature of thepromised damaging informationabout Mrs. Clinton is unclear, andthere is no evidence to suggestthat it was related to Russian-gov-ernment computer hacking thatled to the release of thousands of
EMAILS DISCLOSETRUMP SON’S GLEE
AT RUSSIAN OFFER‘I Love It,’ He Said of Word of Documents
Promised to Incriminate Clinton
This article is by Jo Becker, AdamGoldman and Matt Apuzzo.
Continued on Page A12
Donald Trump Jr.SAM HODGSON FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
EVASIVE ANSWERS Senate Republicans weren’t as eager as theircolleagues across the aisle to weigh in on the Trump emails. PAGE A13
COLLUSION QUESTIONS A closer look at how the disclosure of emailsaffects the investigations of the Trump-Russia affair. PAGE A13
MOSCOW — When Americanprosecutors accused a senior Rus-sian official’s son of laundering $14million by investing in Manhattanproperty and other assets, shewas called to defend him. WhenMoscow regional officials battledIkea over the Swedish retailer’sexpansion, she took on their case.
Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Rus-sian lawyer who met with DonaldTrump Jr. last year to discuss pos-sible compromising material onthe Democrats, has been widelydepicted as a one-issue activistconsumed with getting Congressto repeal sanctions against Rus-sian businessmen.
But lawyers and others inMoscow’s legal community called
her a trusted insider, one whocould be counted on to argue andwin important high-profile courtcases that matter to the govern-ment and to one senior, well-con-nected official in particular.
Ms. Veselnitskaya, 42, earnedher status as the go-to lawyer forthe Moscow regional government.For years, she has been a lawyerfor the Katsyv family, whose patri-arch, Pyotr D. Katsyv, was min-ister of transportation of the Mos-cow region for more than a dec-ade, and whose son was caught up
in the New York money launder-ing case.
The elder Mr. Katsyv is now avice president of Russian Rail-ways, a state-owned railroad mo-nopoly that is the country’s larg-est employer and one long doggedby corruption allegations.
The junior Mr. Trump has saidhe accepted the meeting, whichincluded two high-ranking aidesof his father’s campaign, after anemail from an associate had saidthat someone advertised as a“Russian government attorney”would deliver information com-piled by the Russian state pros-ecutor that was damaging to Hil-lary Clinton.
It is not known exactly whatMs. Veselnitskaya said in theroughly 30-minute meeting. Don-ald Trump Jr. said she spent much
A Moscow Insider Trusted With Winning CasesBy NEIL MacFARQUHAR
and ANDREW E. KRAMER
ON JUN 3, 2016, AT 10:36 AM, ROB GOLDSTONE WROTE:
Good morning
Emin just called and asked me to contact you with something very
interesting.
The Crown prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning
and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some
official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her
dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.
This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of
Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump — helped along by
Aras and Emin.
What do you think is the best way to handle this information and would
you be able to speak to Emin about it directly?
I can also send this info to your father via Rhona, but it is ultra sensitive so
wanted to send to you first.
Best
Rob Goldstone
ON JUN 3, 2016, AT 10:53, DONALD TRUMP JR. WROTE:
Thanks Rob I appreciate that. I am on the road at the moment but perhaps
I just speak to Emin first. Seems we have some time and if it’s what you say
I love it especially later in the summer. Could we do a call first thing next
week when I am back?
Best,Don
Lawyer Who Met With2016 Team Is Known as Fearsome Rival
Continued on Page A13
Fifty years ago, racial tensions led toviolence and flames. People reflect onhow the unrest altered the city. PAGE A16
NEW YORK A15-17
Five Deadly Days in Newark
Iraq declared victory over the IslamicState in Mosul, but the terror group’slegacy lingers in the city. PAGE A7
What Remains in Mosul
Admirers of the dissident Nobel laure-ate, who has terminal cancer, say thatofficials in Beijing want to control hislegacy. PAGE A8
INTERNATIONAL A4-8
Liu Xiaobo’s Last DaysDespite growing doubts, Senator MitchMcConnell said that a revised bill wouldbe voted on next week. PAGE A11
NATIONAL A9-14
Full Speed Ahead on Health Bill
Officials studied the wreckage of aMarine Corps plane that crashed onMonday, leaving 16 dead. PAGE A14
Crash Investigation Begins
Canada is grappling with how to handlebillions of dollars of Chinese purchasesof oil companies, office buildings andcutting-edge tech firms. PAGE B1
BUSINESS DAY B1-8
Tensions Over Chinese Money
By abandoning development programs,the United States is risking global insta-bility, Eduardo Porter writes. PAGE B1
When Poverty Leads to Unrest
Don’t feel obligated to slog through aTV series. You can skip ahead to thegood parts, our critic writes. PAGE C1
ARTS C1-6
A New Way to Watch TV
As summer brings returning studentsand other guests to the table, we offertips for feeding the masses. PAGE D1
FOOD D1-10
To Cook for the Crowd
A French baker who spent years inAmerica is heading home to rescue hisnation’s faltering boulangeries. PAGE D1
Saving the Baguette
The Summer Games are expected to goto Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028in a rare simultaneous vote. PAGE B9
SPORTSWEDNESDAY B9-13
Double Decision on Olympics
Venus Williams continues to beat oppo-nents who were born in 1997, the yearshe first hit the grass there. PAGE B9
Hardly Her First Wimbledon
Thomas L. Friedman PAGE A19
EDITORIAL, OP-ED A18-19
VOL. CLXVI . . . No. 57,656 © 2017 The New York Times Company WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2017 Printed in Chicago $2.50
Clouds and sunshine. Showers andsevere afternoon thunderstormsnorth. Flash flooding. Damagingwinds. Hot. Humid. Highs in 80s tomiddle 90s. Weather map, Page A20.
National Edition
