Mirsky: Robert Mueller's Report - Attention Must Be Paid

As I have reported previously over the years, either outright or by implication, the United States Presidential Elections are of particular interest to the residents of New Hampshire, and even more particularly, to the residents of Exeter, New Hampshire. Here in Exeter, we have the best forum for a Town Hall Meeting in the state; I’m talking about the Exeter Town Hall, of course, where many important and inspiring individuals have chosen to speak out on the issues of the day, and have risked their political futures by subjecting themselves to questioning by the People. The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election is a matter of high regard here in Exeter, and here in New Hampshire, because we love our country very much.

So as an Exeter Attorney, an Exeter blogger, and as a citizen of Exeter, I come before you today to alert you to the fact Special Counsel Robert Mueller yesterday announced in the U.S. Congress, with extreme emphasis, that the U.S. Presidential Election scheduled for 2020 is currently under a clear and sustained attack by Russia, a country that seeks to undermine our democracy, our stability, and our power in the world.

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As you know, the current President of the United States, Donald Trump, has been engaged during the entire course of his presidency in a battle with the United States Law Enforcement Community and the United States Intelligence Community, to stave off any suggestion that when Mr. Trump, during the 2016 presidential campaign, called out for the Russian-affiliated entity known as “WikiLeaks” to release information stolen from his opponent Hillary Clinton and her campaign, Mr. Trump was encouraging “WikiLeaks” to reveal this information for illegal purposes. Mr. Trump has denied that he has any involvement with Russia that could cast doubt on his legitimacy as our President. There have been discussions of possible treasonous behavior as well.

In this regard, I am asking everyone to read the following excerpt from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. You need to read this, because this shows you that even before 2016, Russia had given Donald Trump an unusually lucrative financial benefit that casts doubt upon whether Mr. Trump is subject to undue influence by Russia, or is possibly a partner with Russia rather than an independent American politician.

The Mueller Report states:

Between approximately October 13, 2015 and November 2, 2015, the Trump Organization (through its subsidiary Trump Acquisition, LLC) and I.C. Expert [Investment Company] [(I.C. Expert)] completed a letter of intent (LOI) for a Trump Moscow property. The LOI, signed by Trump for the Trump Organization and [Russian real estate developer Andrei Vladimirovich] Rozov on behalf of I.C. Expert, was "intended to facilitate further discussions" in order to "attempt to enter into a mutually acceptable agreement" related to the Trump-branded project in Moscow. The LOI contemplated a development with residential, hotel, commercial, and office components, and called for"[ a]pproximately 250 first class, luxury residential condominiums ," as well as"[ o ]ne first class, luxury hotel consisting of approximately 15 floors and containing not fewer than 150 hotel rooms." For the residential and commercial portions of the project, the Trump Organization would receive between 1 % and 5% of all condominium sales, plus 3% of all rental and other revenue. For the project's hotel portion, the Trump Organization would receive a base fee of 3% of gross operating revenues for the first five years and 4% thereafter, plus a separate incentive fee of 20% of operating profit. Under the LOI, the Trump Organization also would receive a $4 million "up-front fee" prior to groundbreaking. Under these terms, the Trump Organization stood to earn substantial sums over the lifetime of the project, without assuming significant liabilities or financing commitments (emphasis added).

Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election (known colloquially as, “The Mueller Report”), Volume I, at 70-71; see id., at 69-71 (Washington, D.C. March 2019) (footnotes omitted).

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has done his job. Now it is time for We the People to act in response. Ask not what your country can do for you---ask what you can do for your country. (John F. Kennedy, 1961).