We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in
2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia’s goals were to undermine
public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm
her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian
Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. All three
agencies agree with this judgment. CIA and FBI have high confidence in this
judgment; NSA has moderate confidence.

I have been authorized by the Department of Justice to confirm that the FBI, as
part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the Russian government’s
efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and that includes
investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the
Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any
coordination between the campaign and Russia’s efforts."

"Kissinger, it appeared, was back in the Oval Office in the role of intermediary. He wasn’t just
a throwback to the 1970s. He was frequently in contact with the Kremlin. Kissinger had long-
standing good relations with Russia’s president and was treated as a VIP whenever he dropped in
to Moscow. This happened quite frequently, with Kissinger visiting in 2016. Like Trump,
Kissinger had said favorable things about Putin. He had compared him to a character from
Dostoyevsky and said Putin possessed an “inward connection” to Russian history."

- "Though he didn’t mention her by name, one of Agalarov’s lawyers was the region’s top attorney. Her name was Natalia Veselnitskaya. Veselnitskaya’s former husband, Alexander Mitusov, was a former prosecutor who had become the region’s deputy transport minister. Veselnitskaya worked in turn for Mitusov’s boss, Pyotr Katsyv."

- "It was Katsyv’s son, Denis, who would shortly find himself at the center of an international scandal. He was one of a series of Russian officials accused of involvement in the case of Sergei Magnitsky. At that point Magnitsky, an accountant, was in prison. He had investigated and discovered a $230 million tax fraud scheme involving Katsyv and others. They had allegedly stolen taxes paid by Hermitage Capital, an investment fund run by a U.S.-born British CEO, Bill Browder."

- "In 2009, Magnitsky died in custody -- murdered, Browder said, by the Russian state. Veselnitskaya would later expend much effort seeking to overturn a U.S. law, the Magnitsky Act, that punished the Russians allegedly involved, including Katsyv. She hired a U.S. political research firm to lobby in D.C. This was, ironically enough, Fusion GPS -- the same outfit that commissioned Steele."

- "The Moscow region functioned at a level well below the Kremlin. But Veselnitskaya was known to be close to Russia’s prosecutor general, Yury Chaika. Agalarov would later defend Chaika publicly when he was accused of corruption. According to one person who worked with her, Veselnitskaya was “fastidious” and “extremely smart.” And, the person said, “would never act without authority.” Another associate described her as ambitious and capable, adding: “She wasn’t a Kremlin insider. She deeply wanted to be one.” "

- "Putin was furious about the passage of the Magnitsky Act. He retaliated by banning the adoption of Russian babies by U.S. couples. The Kremlin launched a campaign to overturn the act. It frequently lobbied on the issue of “adoptions” -- Kremlin-speak for lifting U.S. sanctions"

- "So Putin’s interests and Veselnitskaya’s interests neatly coincided. Their common goal: to repeal American sanctions."

I will get Putin on this program and we will get Donald elected. We both know
that no one else knows how to pull this off without stupidity or greed getting in
the way. I know how to play it and we will get this done. Buddy our boy can
become President of the USA and we can engineer it. I will get all of Putins team
to buy in on this, I will manage this process."