Russian sought covert meeting with Trump
Kushner rejected ‘backdoor’ email dinner overture
WASHINGTON — A senior Russian official who claimed to be acting at the behest of President Vladimir Putin of Russia tried in May 2016 to arrange a meeting between Putin and Donald Trump, according to several people familiar with the matter.
The news of this reached the Trump campaign in a very circuitous way. An advocate for Christian causes emailed campaign aides saying that Alexander Torshin, the deputy governor of the Russian central bank who has been linked both to Russia’s security services and organized crime, had proposed a meeting between Putin and Trump. The subject line of the email, turned over to Senate investigators, read, “Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite,” according to one person who has seen the message.
The proposal made its way to the senior levels of the Trump campaign before Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and a top campaign aide, sent a message to top campaign officials rejecting it, according to two people who have seen Kushner’s message.
Other contacts
Though the meeting never happened, Torshin’s request is the latest example of how the Russian government intensified its effort to contact and influence the Trump campaign last year as Trump was closing in on the Republican presidential nomination. It came just weeks after a self-described intermediary for the Russian government told a Trump campaign aide, George Papadopoulos, that the Russians had “dirt” on Trump’s rival, Hillary Clinton, in the form of “thousands of emails.”
Soon after Torshin’s outreach fizzled, Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, arranged a meeting at Trump Tower after being told that a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin would bring damaging information about Clinton to the meeting.
These contacts were set against the backdrop of a sophisticated effort by Russia to hack Democratic computers, disseminate propaganda and undermine Clinton’s candidacy. The latest disclosure about Torshin, who is a leading figure in Putin’s party, United Russia, shows the direct involvement of a high-ranking Russian official in the Kremlin’s outreach to the campaign.
The overture to the Trump campaign was first reported by CNN. The New York Times confirmed new details, including Torshin’s involvement and his claim to be acting on Putin’s behalf. In a letter Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee accused Kushner of withholding the “backdoor overture” email, an accusation Kushner’s lawyers denied.
In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday, Abbe D. Lowell, a lawyer for Kushner, said that the Senate had asked for all documents related to Kushner’s contacts with the Russians and that he had responded. “Again, this was not any contact, call or meeting in which Mr. Kushner was involved,” Lowell said. “He is forwarded this long chain later on.”
‘Shared values’
A special counsel for the Justice Department is investigating Russia’s campaign to disrupt the 2016 election and whether any of Donald Trump’s associates aided in that effort. The president has repeatedly called the investigation a witch hunt.
Torshin’s proposal is explained in a May 2016 email from Rick Clay, an advocate for conservative Christian causes, to Rick Dearborn, a Trump campaign aide. Clay was organizing a dinner in Louisville, Ky., honoring wounded veterans, and Trump was scheduled to be in the city for the National Rifle Association’s annual convention. In the email to Dearborn, Clay said he hoped that Trump would attend the dinner, and he also included details about the overture from Torshin.
The email said the dinner would be a chance for Trump to meet Torshin, who is a life member of the NRA in the United States and a vocal advocate for gun rights in Russia, according to three people who have seen the email.
The email said the Russians believed they had “shared Christian values” with the Trump campaign.
Torshin has established ties to Russia’s security establishment. He served in the upper house of the Russian parliament and also sat on the country’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee, a separate government council that includes the director of the Federal Security Service, known as FSB, and the ministers of defense, interior and foreign affairs.
Spanish investigators claim Torshin laundered money for the Russian mob through Spanish banks and properties while he was in parliament. Torshin has denied the accusations.