WASHINGTON D.C., DC — The Mueller Report takes readers to a number of Washington addresses where activities were scrutinized by investigators.
- The Mayflower Hotel: The Mueller report documents contacts between candidate Donald Trump and his top campaign officials with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak at a VIP reception and foreign policy speech given by Trump on April 27, 2016. Special council investigators were particularly interested in the role Jared Kushner played in organizing the meeting with the help of the D.C.-based Center for the National Interest. The Center is headed by Dimitri Simes who has “unparalleled access to Russian officials.” Simes arranged for Kysliak to be at the VIP reception. During the speech, candidate Trump promised “a good deal for Russia.” Future Attorney General Jeff Sessions met Kislyak at the event but denied discussing any coordination between the campaign and Russia. This is one reason Sessions recused himself from the investigation. “The investigation did not identify evidence that the campaign passed or received any messages to or from the Russian government through CNI or Simes," according to the report.
- Trump International Hotel: The hotel is mentioned as the scene of a March 31, 2016 meeting of candidate Trump’s foreign policy team. The Mueller investigation mentions the meeting as it explores the Trump advisor George Papadopoulos’ efforts to set up a back-channel meeting between Trump’s campaign and representatives of the Russian government who he said had “dirt” on Hilary Clinton. Investigators concluded Papadopoulos left the meeting understanding that the campaign was “supportive of his efforts to arrange such a meeting.” Papadopoulous later pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about his efforts.
- Jeff Sessions’ Senate offices: This was the scene of a Sept. 8, 2016 meeting between then-Senator Jeff Sessions and Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak as the presidential campaign entered its critical last two months. One staffer at the meeting described Kislyak as “and old-school KGB guy.” Sessions recalled Kislyak saying that “the Russian government was receptive to the overtures Trump had laid out during his campaign,” according to the report. “None of the attendees, though, remembered any discussion of Russian election interference or any request that Sessions convey information from the Russian government to the Trump Campaign,” the report said. Sessions is mentioned more than 400 times in the Mueller report.
- Center for the National Interest, 1025 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 1200: The Center for the National Interest is a foreign policy think tank that proclaims its “unparalleled access to Russian officials.” Center Director Dimitri Simes’ is a Russian-born academic who had contacts with numerous Trump insiders - including his son-in-law Jared Kushner - all of whom were exhaustively investigated. No evidence that Simes coordinated illegal Russian assistance for the campaign was found.
- The White House: Among the many meetings that occurred here were investigated, perhaps the most dramatic were those between then-FBI director James Comey and President Trump. The report states: “On January 27, the day after the president was told that (National Security Advisor Michael Flynn) had lied to the vice president and had made similar statements to the FBI, the president invited FBI Director Comey to a private dinner at the White House and told Comey that he needed loyalty. On February 14, the day after the president requested Flynn's resignation, the President told an outside advisor, "Now that we fired Flynn, the Russia thing is over." The advisor disagreed and said the investigations would continue. Later that afternoon, the president cleared the Oval Office to have a one-on-one meeting with Comey. Referring to the FBI's investigation of Flynn, the President said, "I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go." Shortly after requesting Flynn's resignation and speaking privately to Comey, the President sought to have Deputy National Security Advisor K.T. McFarland draft an internal letter stating that the President had not directed Flynn to discuss sanctions with Kislyak. McFarland declined because she did not know whether that was true…” Comey was later fired by the President. The Special Counsel made no judgement on whether or not the President obstructed justice.
A number of other notable area locations were not mentioned in the report. Among them was Pioneer Point, a 45-acre luxury waterfront compound near Centerville, Maryland on the Delmarva Peninsula. According to Wikipedia: “Pioneer Point was treated as state property of the Russian Federation and activities there were protected under diplomatic immunity. On December 29, 2016, Russian access to the site was commuted in the wake of the alleged Russian involvement in the 2016 United States presidential election as part of a number of sanctions taken by the United States against Russian diplomatic personnel. President Barack Obama, in announcing the sanctions, stated that Pioneer Point and another compound in New York were "used by Russian personnel for intelligence-related purposes." On May 31, 2017, six months after the sanctions, The Washington Post reported that President Donald Trump and his administration had decided to return Pioneer Point back to the Russians.”
