U.S. Department of Justice
Attorney Work Product // May Contain Material Protected Under Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e)
and Harm to Ongoing Matter.[1] Manafort said that shortly after WikiLeaks's July 22, 2016 release of hacked documents, he spoke to Trump Harm to Ongoing Matter; Manafort recalled that Trump responded that Manafort should HOM keep Trump updated.[2] Deputy campaign manager Rick Gates said that Manafort was getting pressure about HOM information and that Manafort instructed Gates HOM status updates on upcoming releases.[3] Around the same time, Gates was with Trump on a trip to an airport HOM, and shortly after the call ended, Trump told Gates that more releases of damaging information would be coming.[4] Harm to Ongoing Matter were discussed within the Campaign,[5] and in the summer of 2016, the Campaign was planning a communications strategy based on the possible release of Clinton emails by WikiLeaks.[6]
- 3. The Trump Campaign Reacts to Allegations That Russia was Seeking to Aid Candidate Trump
In the days that followed WikiLeaks's July 22, 2016 release of hacked DNC emails, the Trump Campaign publicly rejected suggestions that Russia was seeking to aid candidate Trump. On July 26, 2016, Trump tweeted that it was "[c]razy" to suggest that Russia was "dealing with Trump"[7] and that "[f]or the record," he had "ZERO investments in Russia."[8]
In a press conference the next day, July 27, 2016, Trump characterized "this whole thing with Russia" as "a total deflection" and stated that it was "farfetched" and "ridiculous."[9] Trump said that the assertion that Russia had hacked the emails was unproven, but stated that it would give him "no pause" if Russia had Clinton's emails.[10] Trump added, "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded
- ↑ Cohen 8/7/18 302, at 8.
- ↑ Grand Jury As explained in footnote 197 of Volume I, Section III.D.1.b, supra, this Office has included Manafort's account of these events because it aligns with those of other witnesses and is corroborated to that extent.
- ↑ Gates 10/25/18 302, at 4.
- ↑ Gates 10/25/18 302, at 4.
- ↑ Bannon 1/18/19 302, at 3.
- ↑ Gates 4/11/18 302, at 1-2 (SM-2180998); Gates 10/25/18 302, at 2 (messaging strategy was being formed in June/July timeframe based on claims by Assange on June 12, 2016, Harm to Ongoing Matter).
- ↑ @realDonaldTrump 7/26/16 (6:47 p.m. ET) Tweet.
- ↑ @realDonaldTrump 7/26/16 (6:50 p.m. ET) Tweet.
- ↑ Donald Trump News Conference, Doral, Florida, C-SPAN (July 27, 2016).
- ↑ Donald Trump News Conference, Doral, Florida, C-SPAN (July 27, 2016).
President's activities, and his own criminal conduct, is described in Volume II, Section II.K, infra, and in Volume I, Section IV.A.1, supra.
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