In hearing, a clue about 'heart' of Russia probe

One of Robert Mueller’s lead prosecutors made comments in court.

WASHINGTON — Of the few hints to emerge from special counsel Robert Mueller about evidence of possible collusion between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia, one of the most tantalizing surfaced almost in passing in a Washington courtroom last week.

Comments by one of Mueller’s lead prosecutors, disclosed in a transcript of a closed-door hearing, suggest that the special counsel continues to pursue at least one theory: that starting while Russia was taking steps to bolster Trump’s candidacy, people in his orbit were discussing deals to end a dispute over Russia’s incursions into Ukraine and possibly give Moscow relief from economic sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies.

The theory was offered almost as an aside by the prosecutor, Andrew Weissmann, during a discussion of contacts between Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and a longtime Russian associate, Konstantin Kilimnik, whom investigators have linked to Russian intelligence.

A closer look at the transcript, released late Thursday, shows that the prosecutors have been keenly focused on discussions the two men had about a plan to end the conflict that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea in 2014. Persuading the United States to ease or end the U.S.-led sanctions imposed to punish Moscow for its aggression has been a primary goal of Russian foreign policy.

According to the transcript, which was heavily redacted, Manafort and Kilimnik repeatedly communicated about a so-called peace plan for Ukraine starting in early August 2016, while Manafort was still running Trump’s campaign, and continuing into 2018, months after Manafort had been charged by the special counsel’s office with a litany of crimes related to his work in the country. The prosecutors claim that Manafort misled them about those talks and other interactions with Kilimnik.

Pres s ed by the judge at Monday’s hearing to say why Manafort’s alleged lies mattered, Weissmann gave a broad hint about the thrust of the investigation.

“This goes to the larger view of what we think is going on, and what we think is the motive here,” Weissmann said. “This goes, I think, very much to the heart of what the special counsel’s office is investigating.”

Weissmann’s cryptic comments suggest that the special counsel’s investigation is still pursuing the central question of whether there was some kind of deal between Russia and the Trump campaign.

To date, prosecutions by the special counsel have skirted that question. They have laid out Russia’s hacking, leaking and social media manipulation, most of it in favor of Trump.

But the essential question of why the Kremlin bet so heavily on Trump, and whether President Vladimir Putin of Russia had any indication that Trump would give him what he desired, has remained unresolved.

NEW YORK TIMES Banners bear the portrait of Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2014 in Moscow. A special counsel prosecutor suggested plans discussed by Trump associates to address Russia’s conflict with Ukraine and the resulting sanctions are at the center of their investigation.