Senate transcripts show Trump was closer with Russian oligarch Aras Agalarov than previously known
On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee released 2,500 pages of interview transcripts and documents about the June 9, 2016, Trump Tower meeting between top Trump campaign officials and Russians promising "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. Not all of the witnesses were super helpful — Donald Trump Jr. said "I don't know" at least 72 times, "I don't recall" or "can't recall" 67 times, and "I don't/can't remember" 25 times. But Rob Goldstone, the British producer who helped set up the meeting, was quite loquacious.
Goldstone acted as an intermediary between the Trumps, his client Russian pop star Emin Agalarov, and Agalarov's father, billionaire developer Aras Agalarov, who worked with Trump to stage the Miss Universe pageant in Moscow in 2013. Goldstone's testimony, say Michael Isikoff and Dylan Stableford at Yahoo News, shows "that the relationship between Trump and Agalarov was far cozier than previously known, helping to explain why top Trump campaign aides jumped at the chance to meet — at Agalarov's request — with the visiting Russians" on June 9.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But Aras Agalarov was unable to give Trump what he really craved: a meeting with Russia President Vladimir Putin, Goldstone said. Paula Shugart, president of Miss Universe, saw the problem as soon as Agalarov and Trump settled on Moscow for the 2013 pageant. "Oh God, he's going to want to meet Putin," Goldstone recalls Shugart saying. Trump was so insistent on meeting Putin that it became what Goldstone called "the gorilla in the room" during the Moscow trip. You can read more about that missed connection, and Trump's consolation prize, at The Washington Post or in Goldstone's transcript.
-
The environmental cost of GLP-1sThe explainer Producing the drugs is a dirty process
-
Nuuk becomes ground zero for Greenland’s diplomatic straitsIN THE SPOTLIGHT A flurry of new consular activity in Nuuk shows how important Greenland has become to Europeans’ anxiety about American imperialism
-
‘This is something that happens all too often’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
-
US to send 200 troops to Nigeria to train armySpeed Read Trump has accused the West African government of failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks
-
Grand jury rejects charging 6 Democrats for ‘orders’ videoSpeed Read The jury refused to indict Democratic lawmakers for a video in which they urged military members to resist illegal orders
-
Judge rejects California’s ICE mask ban, OKs ID lawSpeed Read Federal law enforcement agents can wear masks but must display clear identification
-
Lawmakers say Epstein files implicate 6 more menSpeed Read The Trump department apparently blacked out the names of several people who should have been identified
