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Articles by Artin Afkhami
Did Trump Intentionally Try to Block the Investigation Into Flynn’s Shady Turkey Dealings?
Was Trump intentionally trying to block the investigation into Flynn’s Turkey ties? By Ryan Goodman and Artin Afkhami Nov 17, 20176:23 PM Donald Trump with Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Dec. 21, 2016 Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images This piece was originally published on Just Security, an online forum for analysis of U.S. national security law and policy. When President Donald Trump allegedly tried to stop the FBI investigation of his national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen.
Timeline of Carter Page’s Contacts with Russia [Updated]
At the heart of the recent Nunes memo controversy lies a FISA order application for former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. But Page had piqued the interest of FBI investigators long before the Trump campaign, owing to his contacts with the Russian government and energy sector. For example, his 2013 contacts with Russian intelligence operatives who promised him business connections led to the FBI obtaining a FISA order against him in 2014.
The Trump Campaign-Russia Alliance and Campaign Finance
Recent commentaries and press reports have tended to downgrade the prospects for a special counsel prosecution of campaign finance charges. Moving ahead of them in the Mueller speculation sweepstakes are obstruction of justice and, in some accounts, business crimes. No one knows, of course, what the special counsel, or the congressional investigating committees, have learned that has not appeared in the press.
Flynn’s Turkish Delight: How, Why, and When He Reversed His Policy Positions on Turkey
Many commentators anticipate that Special Counsel Robert Mueller will likely indict retired lieutenant general Michael Flynn in part for the former National Security Advisor’s previously undisclosed work as a foreign agent of Turkey. Mueller’s team has reportedly obtained enough evidence to indict Flynn and his son, according to an NBC News report earlier this month.
Did Trump Obstruct Investigation of Flynn as a Foreign Agent?
When President Donald Trump tried to stop the FBI investigation of his national security adviser, retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, was Trump aware of Flynn’s meetings with Turkish officials? If so, it could significantly increase the president’s exposure to political liability and legal wrongdoing involving obstruction of justice.
Former Prosecutor Renato Mariotti's Tweet Threads on National Security (Nov. 10-17)
Here is an exposition and analysis of some of this week’s national security-related threads authored by Just Security Editorial Board member and former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti.
Was Trump intentionally trying to block the investigation into Flynn’s Turkey ties?
On Valentine’s Day, the president asked FBI Director James Comey if he could see his “way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” according to Comey’s congressional testimony and contemporaneous notes (Trump has denied this, but Donald Trump Jr. has essentially confirmed it). What would Trump have wanted Comey to let go exactly? So far the media has focused on federal investigators’ probe at the time into whether Flynn lied to the FBI.
Sessions' Recusal, the Clinton Foundation, and Uranium One
When Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifies before the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday, he will face questioning on the Uranium One deal. As Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation has intensified, President Donald Trump and some congressional Republicans, including Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), have called on Sessions to investigate Hillary Clinton’s role in what they contend is the real Russia collusion scandal.
A Timeline of Carter Page’s Contacts With Russia
Jurisprudence The Trump campaign adviser’s foreign dalliances, explained. This piece was originally published on Just Security, an online forum for analysis of U.S. national security law and policy. Last Thursday, Carter Page testified before a closed-door session of the House Intelligence Committee for more than five hours, admitting that he met with Russian officials while traveling to Moscow in July 2016. Page’s admission represents a reversal of his consistent denials over the past year.
A Timeline of Carter Page’s Contacts With Russia
Weeks before Page’s trip to Russia. Then–Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski approves Page’s trip to Moscow on condition that he not act as an official representative of the campaign while there. Page initially asks J.D. Gordon, his supervisor on the national security team, who strongly advises against taking the trip. Then, Page emails Lewandowski and Trump campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks for official approval, and Lewandowski approves.
Close Call Whether Sessions Committed Perjury in Denying Other Campaign Russian Contacts
It is not crystal clear whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied to Congress about his knowledge of other Trump campaign members’ contacts with Russians during the 2016 election. Intentionally making false statements to Congress is a felony. There are good reasons, however, to think it is a closer call than many appreciate whether Sessions ran afoul of these laws. Two recent developments have given rise to the suggestion that Sessions’ statements to Congress were false.
Timeline of Carter Page’s Contacts with Russia and Public Statements
Last Thursday, Carter Page testified before a closed-door session of the House Intelligence Committee for more than five hours, admitting that he met with Russian officials while traveling to Moscow last July. Page’s admission represents a reversal of his consistent denials over the past year. Unusually, Page asked the Committee to release a public transcript of his testimony.
Members of Congress Ask Facebook to Notify Users Exposed to Russian Propaganda-Ball Is Now in Zuckerberg’s Court
“I’m sure as you began your business and they grew, it was the idea of bringing people together and not tearing people apart, as I’m sure the Wright Brothers never intended the airplane be used as a weapon of mass destruction,” remarked Brad Wenstrup, R-OH, to the lawyers for three of the country’s most powerful technology companies.
Former Federal Prosecutor Renato Mariotti’s Tweet Threads
Renato Mariotti, a member of the Just Security Editorial Board and former federal prosecutor in Illinois, has written incisive and sophisticated legal analysis on the Trump-Russia investigation for our site and also on his popular Twitter account. This post is the first in a series that will collect some his most insightful Tweet threads of the week, and add contextual insights that Just Security‘s readers might find interesting.
A complete timeline of the obstruction of justice case against Donald Trump.
April 11, 2017: According to Comey’s testimony: Trump calls Comey again and asks what he has done about Trump’s request to publicize the fact that he is not personally under investigation. Comey tells Trump that he relayed Trump’s request to Acting Deputy AG Dana Boente but that he has not heard back. Trump reiterates that the “cloud” is interfering with his ability to act as president, and asks whether he should have his staff contact Boente.
Sessions Changes his Story on Russian Contacts in Senate Testimony
On Wednesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions changed his story yet again about what he discussed with Russian officials during the 2016 election. While he initially denied having any communications with Russian officials during the campaign, after it was revealed in March that he twice met with Russian Amb. to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak, Sessions modified his account to that he did not discuss the Trump campaign with Russian officials.
AG Sessions’ Shifting and False Statements to Congress on Russia
Attorney General Jeff Sessions will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday for an oversight hearing. This is the first time Sessions will come before the Senate since news outlets reported that his discussions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential election included campaign-related issues—which, if true, would contradict what Sessions has previously told the Senate.
Would the United States Be Responsible for Private Hacking?
Rep. Tom Graves (R-GA) and Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) introduced the Active Cyber Defense Certainty Act (H.R. 4036) in the House of Representatives on Oct. 13. The bill would amend the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)—the main federal statute that governs computer hacking—effectively to allow victims of certain cyber intrusions to take defensive measures that would otherwise violate the CFAA’s prohibitions on unauthorized access to computers.
Timeline of Trump and Obstruction of Justice: Key Dates and Events
Did President Donald Trump or other U.S. officials engage in an obstruction of justice with respect to the Russia investigation? There are three scenarios which raise that question. It’s important to keep each of them in mind as one thinks about incriminating and exculpatory information, and patterns of related behavior.
Pattern of Intimidation Is Seen in Arrests of Iranian Journalists and Bloggers (Published 2012)
Middle East|Pattern of Intimidation Is Seen in Arrests of Iranian Journalists and Bloggers https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/world/middleeast/iran-steps-up-arrests-of-journalists-and-bloggers.html Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share.
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