DOJ Settled Massive Russian Fraud Case Involving Lawyer Who Met With Trump Jr

Coincidence? I think not. This is a 4 day old story but I've just come across it now. I can't seem to find it anywhere on ATS. This is conspiracy theory gold just like many other things coming out of this administration. Why do I feel as though many on here I trying to sweep this under the rug?

Democratic congressmen on the House Judiciary Committee want to know why Attorney General Jeff Sessions abruptly settled a money laundering case in May involving the same Russian attorney who met with Donald Trump Jr. during the presidential election to offer “dirt” on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

I'd certainly want to know too. Further:

According to emails published by Donald Trump Jr., Veselnitskaya had evidence of Clinton wrongdoing that she was offering on behalf of the Kremlin as “part of Russia and its government support for Mr. Trump.” The emails exchanged by Trump’s son and an intermediary also noted that Veselnitskaya was “in court” at the time and needed to push back the meeting. She was working on the civil forfeiture case that Sessions would eventually shutter.

In May, the Justice Department settled the case for $6 million instead of $230 million and did not demand any admission of wrongdoing. According to the lawmakers’ letter to Sessions, Veslnitskaya was surprised by how generous the settlement was, telling one Russian news outlet the penalty appeared like “an apology from the government.”

foreignpolicy.com...

Yes. Trump's DOJ ended a case involving a client of Veslnitskaya, one she was representing in this case, for 3% of the amount that was expected to be settled. Get this, no demand for an admission of wrong doing either. How can this just be coincidence? What the hell is going on here? I see alot of smoke and yet many people on here appear to have their heads in the sand. This stinks to high heaven. Mueller has his work cut out for him.

originally posted by: Southern Guardian
Coincidence? I think not. This is a 4 day old story but I've just come across it now. I can't seem to find it anywhere on ATS. This is conspiracy theory gold just like many other things coming out of this administration. Why do I feel as though many on here I trying to sweep this under the rug?

Democratic congressmen on the House Judiciary Committee want to know why Attorney General Jeff Sessions abruptly settled a money laundering case in May involving the same Russian attorney who met with Donald Trump Jr. during the presidential election to offer “dirt” on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

I'd certainly want to know too. Further:

According to emails published by Donald Trump Jr., Veselnitskaya had evidence of Clinton wrongdoing that she was offering on behalf of the Kremlin as “part of Russia and its government support for Mr. Trump.” The emails exchanged by Trump’s son and an intermediary also noted that Veselnitskaya was “in court” at the time and needed to push back the meeting. She was working on the civil forfeiture case that Sessions would eventually shutter.

In May, the Justice Department settled the case for $6 million instead of $230 million and did not demand any admission of wrongdoing. According to the lawmakers’ letter to Sessions, Veslnitskaya was surprised by how generous the settlement was, telling one Russian news outlet the penalty appeared like “an apology from the government.”

foreignpolicy.com...

Yes. Trump's DOJ ended a case involving a client of Veslnitskaya, one she was representing in this case, for 3% of the amount that was expected to be settled. Get this, no demand for an admission of wrong doing either. How can this just be coincidence? What the hell is going on here? I see alot of smoke and yet many people on here appear to have their heads in the sand. This stinks to high heaven. Mueller has his work cut out for him.

It's not just that case, there is a lot involved, and as I said yesterday in another thread, I think the media, (and some government at the senate level) are sitting on the depth of this until they get something airtight to broadcast.

This link is very high in detail, the lady here has done her job pretty thoroughly,

founderscode.com...

The names keep coming, as do the connections...everywhichway, and it won't be over until it's over. Good luck

a reply to: Southern Guardian

Hmm interesting. Looks like DOJ managed to flip Natalia to turn on her employers.

a reply to: smurfy

I am now forced to open a new folder just to keep this all straight. Nice job to both posters - good background.

I'm sure this just has to do with how outstanding of a lawyer Jeff Sessions is. I mean, 3% of the original settlement?

What lawyer wouldn't jump at that?

a reply to: Southern Guardian

So what are we getting to with this? Trump and Clinton some times have to dip deep into the same cesspool for all their corruption.

I looked into this when there was another thread on this same subject. (I'll try to find it then.)

If you look closely at the court documents, it seems the Government's case was weak to start with, and the defense had already presented additional documents (during the Obama administration) showing that they would likely win. This case has been going on for many years. It would have cost both sides a great deal of money to continue. So, they finally decided to end it.

Probably due to a lack of evidence.

Gov't Breathes Sigh Of Relief In Russian Fraud Evidence Row

Law360, New York (May 10, 2017, 2:09 PM EDT) -- A New York district judge considering federal attorneys’ bid to seize real estate and bank accounts linked to a $230 million Russian tax fraud gave the government permission Tuesday to refer to a massive bundle of evidence whose disqualification would have threatened the case's viability.

U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III said in an order that the evidence — a dossier of bank transfer records and interviews that was secretly shared with the U.S. embassy in London after Russian authorities refused to provide a copy...

a reply to: Southern Guardian

Small settlement, live to fight another day..

a reply to: Southern Guardian

Need more on what laws were broken and by whom before I can reach a conclusion here.

So hard to take any Russia collusion story seriously anymore after all the bs the MSM has been spouting that turned out to be lies.

originally posted by: BlueAjah
I looked into this when there was another thread on this same subject. (I'll try to find it then.)

If you look closely at the court documents, it seems the Government's case was weak to start with, and the defense had already presented additional documents (during the Obama administration) showing that they would likely win. This case has been going on for many years. It would have cost both sides a great deal of money to continue. So, they finally decided to end it.

What you don't say there is that the original prosecuting attorney, (from Obama's time) was fired by Donald Trump, even though Trump..at a meeting in Trump house had told him he wouldn't be fired in the new administration, so he must have been doing his job in Trump's eyes originally. Trump did then fire him and appointed a newbie...why, what was the point? Too close to the money laundering aspect perhaps, as well as Kushner managing to get a very similar amount of money from the Deutsche Bank's private section, while the Deutsche bank itself is suspected of money laundering. Apart from that, there is the murder of Sergei Magnitsky who exposed the money laundering scam and was murdered in Russia.

a reply to: Mike.Ockizard

Care to share the specifics? I think the best current proof of collusion came from Don Jr., not a news source.

From other posts I made on the subject:

originally posted by: jadedANDcynical
a reply to: burntheships

Here is the Prevezon settlement. (direct .pdf link)

From what I can tell, Prevezon pays a little under 6 million in a fine from an account that had been held by the government of the Netherlands and they get to keep all the property that they own. The settlement actually lists the property addresses and a whole host of Bank of America accounts.

All claims and or rights to appeal are given up by both sides and this considers the matter closed.

Joon H. Kim is the acting United States attorney who signed the order for the plaintiff. He was preceded by Preet Bharara.

I might dig in a little deeper and take a look at the properties which were to have been seized by the US had the settlement not been reached. Don't think anything can be gleaned from the BoA accounts as the settlement only lists the last four account numbers, but the publicly available information on the properties might produce some surprises.

I did dig and found that the great majority of the 'money' was actually in the form a real estate. Condos at the following locations:


I think 4 condos here

And



As well as money in many Bank of America accounts.

Related:

Further to our recent call, on information and belief, we write to set out in more detail several violations of US lobbying laws by lobbyists and entities acting under the direction/control/influence of the Russian Government.

...

i.
Natalia Veselnitskaya is the lawyer to Prevezon and the Katsyv family. Prevezon is a Cyprus company owned by a Russian national, which makes it a foreign entity under the LDA. Furthermore, on information and belief, both HRAGIF and Prevezon are being controlled/directed/influenced by the Russian Government (see Section III), and therefore should be considered as foreign principals under FARA.

ii.
Natalia Veselnitskaya played a key role in organising screenings of the film intended to rewrite the history of Sergei Magnitsky (see Section II.3.C.). On information and belief, in doing so she is being directed by the Russian Government (see Section III), and therefore should be required to file under FARA.

emphasis mine

Complaint regarding the violation of US Lobbying Laws by the Human Rights Accountability Global Initiative Foundation and others by Hermitage Capital Management (“Hermitage”)

originally posted by: jadedANDcynical
a reply to: burntheships

Looking closer at Hermitage we find the following:

These changes are believed to be linked with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's order to look into the case against Sergei Magnitsky, Hermitage Capital's lawyer who had died nine months after being placed in pre-trial detention in 2008.

Magnitsky was held on remand in 2008 on tax evasion charges after attempting to defend Hermitage Capital, once Russia's top foreign investor, against the same charges.

Magnitsky accused Russian tax and Interior Ministry officials of using Hermitage to carry out a $230-million tax fraud. He died aged 37 from acute heart failure after 11 months in a Moscow pre-trial detention facility.

...

According to the investigation, Hermitage Capital established dummy firms in Russia's Republic of Kalmykia in the late 1990s to trade shares in Russian energy giant Gazprom.

https://__._/gifiles/docs/17/1789827_re-eurasia-os-russia-russia-may-close-case-against-hermitage.html

Lots of familiar names popping up.

a reply to: Southern Guardian
You see what you are being shown behind the pay wall of your source.
What I see is the abysmal ignorance of how government actually works due to the sad state of education for the past 25-30 years combined with the drugging of American's school children and municipal water systems. Ignorance of the law and inability to think critically have a huge impact on what today passes as "journalism."

Why do you think settling an unwinnable case is strange? Governments do it constantly despite the fact that the media is attempting to portray this as something unique. Perhaps they needed the resources being expended on this flimsy charge to devote to real issues.

This case was actually settled in May, not four days ago. www.bloomberg.com...

I haven't followed it tit for tat but I do know that when the judge ruled that the evidence attempting to be suppressed by the US was allowed, a settlement swiftly followed. In those cases, when the government's case gets knocked on its butt by actual evidence being presented by the defendants, a plea deal is not unusual. When the actual banking documents showing the actual amounts of money was allowed for the actual trial---the government prosecutors realized that their case was never going to win and the only way they were going to get any remunerations was to settle, they scurried around and settled. Both sides claimed victory.

United States v. Prevezon Holdings Ltd., Docket No. 16-132-cv (2d Cir. Oct. 17, 2016) (“Prevezon states that at trial, it intends to introduce evidence that Hermitage's "Browder and his agents engaged in a series of misrepresentations to execute the fraud, to distance themselves from it, and to pin it on the Russian officials investigating Browder for a separate tax fraud his companies committed." App'x at 449. Prevezon told the district court that "every step of the alleged fraud . . . has been disputed with very specific facts. And what it comes down to, Judge, is, the government alleges there was an organization, unnamed, mysterious organization that did all this, and the evidence points that Hermitage and Mr. Browder did it. That is the heart of the dispute." App'x at 516. Plainly, Prevezon's trial strategy turns on proving Hermitage is not the victim of the Russian Treasury Fraud, but the perpetrator. ”)

When the writ of mandamus was granted the US representatives knew the jig was up and that the former prosecutor was incompetent or ....tied to the revelations in some way???? Whatever the reason, the US didn't want that material reviewed in trial and on the record....or that the documents that the district court had arbitrarily disallowed proved the Russian's side of the story.... Why else would actual bank records showing actual amounts that were purported to be "laundered" be disallowed as evidence?

This case has been on-going since at least 2013 according to the official documents. You can read the file at the above link. At least by reading the case you'll get both sides of the story---and see a very different picture than the one presented by the leftist msm and the Dems.

a reply to: diggindirt

Democratic congressmen on the House Judiciary Committee want to know why Attorney General Jeff Sessions abruptly settled a money laundering case in May.........

Too bad those congressmen on the House Judiciary Committee don't have someone as educated as yourself to tell them how stupid and ignorant they are for sending Jeff Sessions a letter asking why the case was so abruptly settled, right after Preet Bharra was fired!

originally posted by: windword
a reply to: diggindirt

Democratic congressmen on the House Judiciary Committee want to know why Attorney General Jeff Sessions abruptly settled a money laundering case in May.........

Too bad those congressmen on the House Judiciary Committee don't have someone as educated as yourself to tell them how stupid and ignorant they are for sending Jeff Sessions a letter asking why the case was so abruptly settled, right after Preet Bharra was fired!

Yep, just another playdown attempt by using the stupid boy tactic. We don't know exactly what the documents were, but you could guess, they could have been obtained covertly, (since there is an ongoing investigation/s elsewhere) and perhaps wanted to use just some species of the documents, then decided it wouldn't work without any of the rest, and wouldn't want to jeopardize those other investigations. The new prosecutor would have no say if intel was involved, and just need to keep his gub shut, for now.
Of course, in the meantime Donald senior has been looking in his magic ball and decided to shove $50,000 into his son Donald's lawyer's pocket before the current 'fake' news broke....magic!

BTW, here's Senator Charles E. Grassley's extensive correspondence to the FBI, it goes back quite a bit,

www.judiciary.senate.gov...(follow-up%20to%20Steele%20letter)%20with%20attachments.pdf

a reply to: smurfy

If you want to think there were conspiracies in this case, it is just as likely that a deal was made with Veselnitskaya that if she cooperated in an effort to frame Trump, that her case would be settled.

And the judge in this case, William H. Pauley III, was appointed by Bill Clinton. He is the same judge who ruled that it was lawful for the NSA to spy on Americans using phone meta data.

(I believe the case was settled because the government knew they did not have evidence to win.)

a reply to: diggindirt

Thank you for more fully explain what I was trying to say a few posts above. The other day I looked in detail at the case through various sources and saw what you are reporting.

a reply to: windword

Did you actually click on the link and read the case?

Why would I be surprised that Democrat Congress Critters were questioning a Republican AG?

When the US prosecutor saw that the bank records (in full) were to become part of the trial---they realized they were beaten because the records supported the defense's case.

This would be like some federal prosecutor charging me with laundering $100 million for X Corp and then asking the judge to not let me present all my bank records which show that I never had access to $100 million. Saying that financial records don't have anything to do with money laundering!!!!

But the Dems are really, really, really desperate to get their faces in front of the camera so naturally they're going to try to deflect. Somebody wanted those properties? Were there names in the bank records that the feds didn't want revealed? We'll never know because those records weren't put into the public record.

Did settling the case mess up someone's plans for those properties the US was trying to take from the Russians? See, I can grab stuff from the air and make accusations like anyone else!

Also, you should like this case because it explains why Lynch and Obama issued the special permission for the Russian spy to be here. To start this case over after more than four years would drag it out even longer and cost both sides millions more in court and legal fees.