Since Flagpole is evidently taking a break I'll just leave this here.
Who is Alex van der Zwaan and what did he lie about?
When Paul Manafort had resigned as campaign manager on the Trump campaign his protege and longtime partner Rick Gates continued to work with the Trump campaign and was in contact with a Russian intelligence officer weeks before the election. The GRU officer also happened to be a long time liaison between Manafort and Deripaska.[1] Alex van der Zwaan lied to Special Counsel Mueller about the contacts he had with Rick Gates and Person A who is alleged to be a former GRU Officer. Zwaan recorded these communications, has plead guilty to lying to investigators and has been sentenced to 30 days in prison. Correction - while he has plead guilty the terms of his plea do not require him to cooperate. Special Counsel Mueller wanted to set a general deterrent - if you lie to investigators you will be punished accordingly. Note that source 4 states Zwaan's communications were handed over to Special Counsel Mueller before charges were laid for lying to investigators.
The documents reveal Gates was in contact with a former officer in Russian military intelligence in the months leading up to Trump’s win.
Gates was “directly communicating in September and October 2016” with an unidentified person who “has ties to a Russian intelligence service and had such ties in 2016,” the filing says.
Alex van der Zwaan, the son-in-law of a Russian Oligarch who owns Alfa Bank, has plead guilty to lying to investigators. He lied about his contact with Gates and Person A. The Washtingon Post has stated that Person A is GRU officer Konstantin Kilimnik, a Ukraine-based aide to Paul Manafort.[2]
Fourth, the lies and withholding of documents were material to the Special Counsel’s Office’s investigation. That Gates and Person A were directly communicating in September and October 2016 was pertinent to the investigation. Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agents assisting the Special Counsel’s Office assess that Person A has ties to Russian intelligence service and had such ties in 2016. During his first interview with the Special Counsel’s Office, van der Zwaan admitted that he knew of that connection, stating that Gates told him Person A was a former Russian Intelligence Officer with GRU.
GRU officer Kilimnik served as a liaison between Manafort and Oleg Deripaska. Manafort has previously denied communicating with Russian intelligence,[3] Special Counsel Mueller seems to be alleging something entirely different.
The FBI has found that a business associate of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort had ongoing ties to Russian intelligence, including during the 2016 campaign when Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, were in touch with the associate, according to new court filings.
The documents, filed late Tuesday by prosecutors for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, also allege that Gates had said he knew the associate was a former officer with the Russian military intelligence service.
Van Der Zwaan recorded some of his conversations he had with Rick Gates and Person A, who is alleged to be Kilimnik.[4]
After years of working with Gates on a report meant to aid a political group in Ukraine, Gates contacted him in 2016 about a foreign criminal case they feared could be filed against van der Zwaan's law firm. Afraid of the situation, the young attorney recorded a phone call with Gates and the unnamed Eastern European associate, and a call with his firm.
Later, when Mueller's office asked about his interactions with Gates and the other person, he lied because he feared his firm might fire him for recording the call, according to the memo.
1) VICE News - Bombshell Mueller court filing shows Rick Gates was knowingly in contact with a Kremlin spy
2) Washtingon Post - Mueller just drew his most direct line to date between the Trump campaign and Russia
3) Washington Post - Manafort associate had Russian intelligence ties during 2016 campaign, prosecutors say
4) CNN - New Gates tie alleged in special counsel filing on van der Zwaan sentencing
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[–]PoppinKREAMForeign [score hidden] 2 hours ago*
Manafort and Rick Gates are central figures to this investigation, allow me to expand below. A Russian Oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, worked with them for years. Oleg Deripaska was recently in the news, he was the oligarch that was recorded by an escort. The recording shows him meeting a Russian Deputy Prime Minister a month after Manafort had established email correspondence with Deripaska. They were likely exchanging intelligence. We also know that Rick Gates was in communication with GRU Officer Kilimnik weeks before the election. Kilimnik was a liaison between Manafort and Deripaska in Kiev for years. Alex van der Zwaan lied about these communications and has been sentenced to 30 days in prison.
Rick Gates has been Manafort's right hand man for years and was very involved in the Trump campaign even after Manafort stepped down as Campaign Manager. Rick Gates is reportedly pleading guilty to charges laid out by Special Counsel Mueller's indictment, a clear indication that he is ready to cooperate with investigators.[1]
Email correspondence between Russian Oligarch Oleg Deripaska and former Trump Campaign Manager Paul Manafort will be important in understanding why Manafort is a key figure to this investigation. According to videos recorded by an escort that were discovered by Russian opposition activist, Alexei Navalny, show Deripaska meeting a Russian Deputy Prime Minister on a yacht 1 month after the email correspondence between Manafort/Deripaska took place.[2] Russia has threatened to block access to social media sites, such as YouTube and Instagram, if they do not remove the videos of Deripaska and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Prikhodko meeting on the yacht.[3]
Paul Manafort was brought into the Trump campaign as Chairman to corral delegates at the convention, it was at this time where the Trump campaign pressured the GOP to make a specific change to the platform. An amendment proposed that the GOP commit to sending lethal weapons to Ukraine to fight Russian aggression was softened considerably at the request of the campaign.[4] Paul Manafort has since been indicted by Special Counsel Mueller.[5]
We know Paul Manafort offered to give a Russian billionaire private briefings on the campaign trail, the oligarch was Oleg Deripaska.[6] Paul Manafort used a campaign account for the aforementioned email correspondence.[7]
Gates and Manafort's ties to Deripaska are deep and date back at least a decade. They partnered over a massive real-estate deal in 2008.[8]
Back in 2006 Paul Manafort offered a deal to Russian oligarch Deripaska where he indicated he would offer a great service in pushing Putin's policies abroad. He was paid very handsomely by Deripaska.[9]
“We are now of the belief that this model can greatly benefit the Putin Government if employed at the correct levels with the appropriate commitment to success,” Manafort wrote in the 2005 memo to Deripaska. The effort, Manafort wrote, “will be offering a great service that can re-focus, both internally and externally, the policies of the Putin government.”
In 2014 Deripaska sued Manafort for a cool $19 million claiming that Manafort and Gates had stolen funds intended for an investment.[10] The Associated Press were the first ones to discover their business dealings and Deripaska attempted and failed at suing the AP for libel.[11]
Furthermore, Paul Manafort worked as Trump's campaign chairman for free.[12] In 2006 Manafort bought a condo in Trump Tower.[13]
Paul Manafort was present at the infamous Trump Tower meeting where adoptions were discussed with Russian operatives.[14] Adoptions is an established euphemism used in reference to the Magnitsky Act, sanctions that are meant to cripple the power of Putin.[15] President Trump's son, son-in-law, and Campaign Manager met with Russians with the expectation of receiving damaging information about Clinton.[16] One of the Russian operatives present at the infamous Trump Tower meeting, Rinat Akhmetshin, has ties to Russian intelligence and has a history of being embroiled in court cases related to hacking campaigns.[17] During Fusion GPS CEO Glenn Simpson's Congressional testimony he confirmed that the Trump campaign likely received foreign intelligence aid as Manafort had close ties to Russian Intelligence.[18]
1) New York Times - Rick Gates, Trump Campaign Aide, to Plead Guilty in Mueller Inquiry and Cooperate
2) Telegraph - Oligarch met with top Russian official after Trump aide 'offered briefings'
3) The Guardian - Russian watchdog orders YouTube to remove Navalny luxury yacht video
4) NPR - 2016 RNC Delegate: Trump Directed Change To Party Platform On Ukraine Support
5) Politico - United States of America v. Paul J. Manafort, Jr. and Richard W. Gates III
6) Washington Post - Manafort offered to give Russian billionaire ‘private briefings’ on 2016 campaign
7) Politico - Manafort used Trump campaign account to email Ukrainian operative
8) The Daily Beast - Paul Manafort Sought $850 Million Deal With Putin Ally and Alleged Gangster
9) Associated Press - AP Exclusive: Before Trump job, Manafort worked to aid Putin
10) Washington Post - Manafort’s Russia connection: What you need to know about Oleg Deripaska
11) Politico - Judge tosses libel lawsuit against AP by Russian oligarch tied to Manafort
12) TIME - How Donald Trump Hired and Fired Paul Manafort
13) NBC - Ex-Trump Aide Manafort Bought New York Homes With Cash
14) New York Times - Talking Points Brought to Trump Tower Meeting Were Shared With Kremlin
15) The Atlantic - Why Does the Kremlin Care So Much About the Magnitsky Act?
16) Global News - 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Russians under further scrutiny
17) New York Times - Lobbyist at Trump Campaign Meeting Has a Web of Russian Connections
18) Senate Judiciary Committee - Glenn Simpson Fusion GPS CEO Testimony Pg. 154-155