Lobbyist for Russian interests says he attended dinners hosted by Sessions

[MelissaB]

Source: The Guardian

Lobbyist for Russian interests says he attended dinners hosted by Sessions

Richard Burt contradicts Jeff Sessions’ testimony that he didn’t believe he had contacts with lobbyists working for Russian interests during Trump’s campaign


An American lobbyist for Russian interests who helped craft an important foreign policy speech for Donald Trump has confirmed that he attended two dinners hosted by Jeff Sessions during the 2016 campaign, apparently contradicting the attorney general’s sworn testimony given this week.

Sessions testified under oath on Tuesday that he did not believe he had any contacts with lobbyists working for Russian interests over the course of Trump’s campaign. But Richard Burt, a former ambassador to Germany during the Reagan administration, who has represented Russian interests in Washington, told the Guardian that he could confirm previous media reports that stated he had contacts with Sessions at the time.

“I did attend two dinners with groups of former Republican foreign policy officials and Senator Sessions,” Burt said.

Asked whether Sessions was unfamiliar with Burt’s role as a lobbyist for Russian interests – a fact that is disclosed in public records – or had any reason to be confused about the issue, Burt told the Guardian that he did not know.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/15/lobbyist-russian-interests-jeff-sessions-testimony?CMP=share_btn_tw

[shraby]

1. The rotten egg smell around Sessions gets thicker.

Sessions reminds me of the pictures of Pig Pen in Charlie Brown

[greymattermom]

2. So are the Russians planning to dump Trump?

Why is Putin out there, why are these lobbyists talking? It looks to me like Russia is planning to cut the cord(s).

[LiberalArkie]

4. I think Putin just wants to knock the U.S. down a few notches. To have Trump & Republicans

go down in a blaze of glory after what Reagan & Bush did to the Soviets would probably suit him just fine.

[Alice11111]

31. That may be a collateral benefit, but Putin is threatening

DT in many ways (buzzing our planes) to roll back the sanctions as agreed or he spills the beans. So, in spite of everything, DT says yesterday, we need to hurry & roll back the sanctions. The problem for Putin is that when he tells on DT, he's going to piss off his people too, and they are already restive.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. He would be wise to cut him loose.

and cut any further losses. He managed to sow dissent with NATO and can probably get the rest of what he wants by other means. His puppet is about to be trapped in a quagmire.

[csziggy]

6. Putin's useful idiot has outlived his usefulness but the Russian goal has been achieved

If Putin's plan was to disrupt the American political system, weaken American power across the world, and foster distrust of our elections, nothing more needs to be done. The Russians have achieved all of that and more.

Even if hard evidence is found that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians and there is enough evidence to implicate Trump in that collusion - or even if Trump had no knowledge but there is evidence that he obstructed justice by firing Comey to derail the Russian investigation (as provided by his own tweets and by his interview with Lester Holt) - the chaos that will happen during debates about whether to impeach Trump will continue to disrupt our political system.

If we could remove Trump today without impeachment, the damage he and his cohorts have done will take years to repair. Unless the entire GOP is brought down with Trump we may not be able to fix it.

Basically, we're fucked for the immediate future. I'm sixty five and hope I live long enough to see the US on a better course.

[Alice11111]

32. The Repubs will never allow open debates on impeacment

because too much of their own stuff will come out.
See how they handle the healthcare bill.

We are the same age, and I wonder if I will live long enough to see the damage he has already done resolved, esp5after 3.5 more yeats, or more. My great grandmother lived to 106.

Rome had it's day for 300 years. We won't last that long. We will become sort of like the UK, maybe, which in spite of the protest, is just as RW and divided as we are...re Brexit, last week's elections, and they never were into PC.
Sit in a London pub for an hour & hear the racial and immigrant slurs.
The EU and China will take the lead.

[BumRushDaShow]

3. "apparently contradicting the attorney generals sworn testimony"

Perjury.

[csziggy]

7. For the SECOND time!

Sessions should be charged with two counts of perjury.

[Motley13]

24. he doesn't recall, don't make him nervous

great attributes for an AG

[Alice11111]

33. He makes me sick.I filed a Disciplinary Complaint against him.

I think there were hundreds. He is unfit to be dog catcher.
He's a vile, power hungry mini elf who lied over and over, given chance after chance to fess up. He should do some hard time and be disbarred.

As stated below, the same standards never apply to Repubs. Reagan could get away with, I can't recall, because he largely couldn't (and those close to him knew his brain was fading). Sessions is just a bold liar.

[Motley13]

35. How do you file a Disciplinary Complaint?

[Alice11111]

38. Wow thanks. Get the State Bar of Alabama on the web.

You can read the Rules for Lawyers of Alabama. The form for filing, I think, can be done there, or call and ask for the form. Sessions is licensed there. Lawyers are held to standards that non lawyers are not, as they say "higher standards," as you know or should know the law. You have FBI background checks and a few ropes to jump over to get licensed, including passing an ethics bar, EZ, which is different from a regular bar exam. You must take ethics courses every year. You don't have to be a lawyer or even smart to know not to perjure yourself. Perjury of course is always illegal, but perjury by a lawyer, no excuse, ever! For our AG, the role model for lawyers, and for our system of justice, to perjure himself, more than once, and in answers to written questions, is outrageous. It demoralizes and makes a mockery of our, your, system of justice.

Since I filed, a few months ago, there is even more info, like that cited in the OP.

One of the rules states that lawyers have a duty to report other lawyers who have broken the rules. I have never filed a complaint on a lawyer before, and it rarely happens, but this is a big deal.

Also, states have some kind of catch all phrases like, "the appearance of impropriety." I forgot to mention that in my complaint, but he certainly has engaged in that.
Just cite what he did that was wrong & state how it hurt you. As a citizen of the US, ...

[SergeStorms]

30. He's a Republican.

So relax, the rules don't apply to Republicans. I thought everyone knew that by now.

[lark]

8. Nope, no confusion, just out and out total lying and perjury.

Mean elf doesn't have that bad of a memory as he wants us to think or he would not be able to do his job at all. Which is it Sessions, do you have a serious health issue which should preclude you from doing your job or if not, you have a serious legal problem of collusion and perjury which should prevent you from doing your job.

[neohippie]

9. Even further

I posted about this in the Jeff Sessions 2 testimony II thread

Even further, Sessions denied knowing anything about the RNC Platform change, or anyone in the campaign ever meeting or talking about Russia, or sanctions and so on.

But JD Gordon who served on the same campaign committee that Sessions was chairman of, as well as attended the RNC with Sessions, Manafort and Carter Page, has admitted that he was behind the move at the RNC to make the platform more Russia friendly, and all of them were at the RNC with Kislyak this has all already been documented.

Further, Richard Burt who served on the Board of Alfa Bank, also served on a board at Duetchse Banks known for laundering Russian monies. Burt also is on the board at Center for National Interest that hosted the Mayflower Hotel event and sponsored Trump's Russian position, as well as issued the invites for that.

Sessions expects us to believe that he knows nothing about Richard Burt, how Trump's foreign policy was developed, any meetings that were held about it, anyone that ever talked about it and has no notes about any of that?

By the way JD Gordon it's been suggested made many trips to Budapest, Hungary during the campaign which happens to be the European headquarters for the Russian Secret Service and it's been suggested that he was involved in the deal to trade Wikileaks for a reversal of US policies toward Russia

In a series of articles, which I link to below, it's been suggested that Gordon needs to be investigated further about these trips.

http://hungarianfreepress.com/2017/04/13/the-budapest-bridge-hungarys-role-in-the-collusion-between-the-trump-campaign-and-the-russian-secret-service/

http://hungarianfreepress.com/2017/04/14/the-budapest-bridge-hungarys-role-in-the-collusion-between-the-trump-campaign-and-the-russian-secret-service-part-2/

http://hungarianfreepress.com/2017/04/21/the-budapest-bridge-epilogue/

[Alice11111]

34. Thank you

[neohippie]

42. Just found this story

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/06/why-did-jeff-sessions-really-meet-sergey-kislyak/530091/


This makes Sessions look guilty of using his Senate office to conduct Trump campaign business and also shows how involved Sessions was on the Trump Russia policy and how tied he was to other key players.

As Trump’s foreign-policy adviser, Sessions began to speak frequently with Dimitri Simes, the Russia specialist who is well-connected in Moscow and runs the Center for the National Interest, a hub of Nixonian realism. He also met with Richard Burt, a former American ambassador to Germany turned lobbyist for McLarty and Associates. Burt also represents blue-chip Russian clients like Alfa Bank, which was mentioned in the unverified intelligence dossier published by BuzzFeed in January. (Alfa Bank is now suing BuzzFeed for defamation.) One source with direct knowledge told me that Burt helped write Trump’s April 2016 foreign-policy speech, which Trump delivered at the Mayflower Hotel at an event hosted by the Center for the National Interest, although Burt himself denied it when we spoke last summer.

This Dimitri Simes guy is Russian and setup the Mayflower Hotel event, and seems to have ties to Putin and the Kremlin that makes another Russian Surrogate the met with Sessions during the Trump campaign, once again something he either lied about or claims he doesn't remember

as noted in this story below


http://freebeacon.com/politics/rand-pauls-russian-connection/

Simes’ views and connections are widely known in Russia policy circles. Last September, days after Vladimir Putin published a column in the New York Times denouncing American exceptionalism, Simes joined the Russian president on stage at the Valdai International Discussion Club forum in Russia for a televised panel discussion.

Flanked by three other panelists—Germany’s former defense minister and France and Italy’s former prime ministers—Simes seemed out of place at the high-ranking, Kremlin-sponsored forum.

"No one directly addresses Putin at Dimitri Simes’ level," noted one Washington-based Russia policy expert. "It just doesn’t happen."

Putin, in good spirits from his recent success at preventing U.S. military action against the Syrian regime, chatted with Simes about U.S. and Russia policy and quizzed his "American friend and colleague" about the U.S. budget deficit.

"I fully support President Putin’s tough stance [on Syria]," said Simes, according to the transcript released by the Kremlin.

"Not because I’m not an American patriot, but because I believe that baby talk among great powers is not the way to reach an agreement. One has to understand what to expect from the other country, and what their mettle is."

He hoped recent events would "open up a real opportunity for Russian-American relations."

The appearance with Putin "set off a lot of internal alarm bells with Russian experts," said one Russia policy specialist.

"You don’t get onstage with Putin, and sit onstage with Putin, and ask him questions in public, unless everything has been greased and unless you’re not gonna do anything that detracts from the message."

Simes has been dogged throughout his career by allegations that his work and his organizations have a pro-Kremlin slant.

[neohippie]

10. Kushner was also involved

According to this site, Kushner also worked with the Center for National Interest and helped setup the event at the Mayflower hotel.
There is video at the link that shows Sessions shake Kislyak's hand


http://www.bluedotdaily.com/video-found-of-undisclosed-meeting-between-russian-spy-sessions-and-manafort/

[HAB911]

11. He's a little perjury elf

[rusty fender]

12. He forgot!

Lil' Jeffie Beau has got hisself some badly bodacious memory

[Alice11111]

39. Hey, Jeffie Beau III. He's a third generation, upper class bigot.

[sinkingfeeling]

13. I do believe lying to Congress under oath is a crime

[Enoki33]

14. A friend of mine, who is much better at this, commented

that Sessions is not a very good liar. It seems his speech pattern changed whenever he was being patently evasive. It was also a clear signal whenever he was not telling the truth - it was more pronounced. For what it is worth.

[Judi Lynn]

16. Interesting to hear. Thanks! n/t

[tanyev]

15. "Oh, those dinners? Why, I plumb forgot about them!"

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

18. Too many vodka toasts?

[riversedge]

17. Kurt Eichenwald‏Verified account @kurteichenwald "Meeting w/ Russian lobbyist" story bout Richard

Interesting thread. Kurt not impressed with story.




Kurt Eichenwald?Verified account @kurteichenwald

"Meeting w/ Russian lobbyist" story bout Richard Burt is silly. One of USAs most brilliant diplomats. Sessions has real issues - this not 1.

Link to tweet

[torius]

28. Eichenwald is wrong.

Sessions was asked a simple question, and, if he knew Burt is a lobbyist, then Sessions lied. He could have simply said yes, Richard Burt was there, a great diplomat etc. who also happens to be a lobbyist for Russia. It doesn't matter if Burt is a brilliant diplomat, he is a lobbyist as well. The point is that Sessions even lies about things that probably do not matter, which makes the lie DOUBLY bad.

[FigTree]

19. Putin has built a winniing position on the checkboard.

At whichever turn, he now has the choice to discredit more or less, this one or that one, to bend that way or this way, with the end result remaining unchanged. American institutions and politics as a whole are being ridiculed and devalued. Which he then can use internally as well as internationally. A brilliant move on his part, although a chess player’s odds in front of a monopoly professional unable to think more than one move ahead were staggeringly high. If the "centre" doesn't hold, this will be very difficult to repair.

[zentrum]

20. I think Sessions still

....has cover on this. I'm sure he picked his words under oath very carefully this time. It's the words "I don't believe". Well, golly-gee, he'll say---I just didn't know. Who'dda thunk he was a Russian lobbyist, he'll say.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

21. That headline made me snort so hard, I spat my food out!

So the Host With the Most can't remember, eh?

[Snake Plissken]

22. Since Sessions is such a huge fan of harsh prison sentences for nonviolent crimes

I say we oblige the man with the maximum sentence for each count of perjury and obstruction of justice in his favorite overcrowded private prison.

[Alice11111]

36. Yeah, use his own quotes against him.

He's obsessed w sending people to prison for smoking a joint.
We need a Special Prosecutor for him too. Deputy AG , you might as well go the distance, they are eventually coming for you anyway, so get the facts out there.

[Achilleaze]

23. republican liars are pissing on America & American democracy

disgusting

[dawnie51]

27. After watching Watergate last night......

I have arrived at the conclusion that it is going to take a Russian, or a Russia connected guy, like this, to come forth. Probably several of them. We have no John Dean here. There is not a shred of integrity or decency in this entire cabal. None will come forth and rid us of this pestilent asshole. Every republican in congress is a coward and opportunist who will allow this country to hit the iceberg and sink if they think they can get their tax breaks beforehand. But if a few of the international players get scared enough, SOMEONE WILL HAVE TO DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE HERE!

[burrowowl]

29. Has Sessions lawyered up yet?

[Skittles]

37. yes

[Chemisse]

40. The Russian lobbyist wrote Trump's foreign policy speech? Did we know this?

Because that seems like a pretty important take-away from this article.

[Alice11111]

41. I just want to see that slimy little MF grinning elf in stripes