One of special counsel Robert Mueller’s top prosecutors said this week an August 2016 meeting between former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Konstantin Kilimnik, his old associate who the FBI claims has ties to Russian intelligence, is at the “heart” of the federal Russia investigation.
Andrew Weissmann, who the New York Times has dubbed Mueller’s “legal pit bull,” made the revealing statement to a federal judge in a closed hearing Monday, according to a highly redacted D.C. court transcript released Thursday.
He said the meeting, which reportedly took place at the Grand Havana Room in New York City and was also attended by former Manafort associate Rick Gates, is at “the heart of what the Special Counsel’s Office is investigating.”
Weissmann further told U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, “This goes to the larger view of what we think is going on, and what we think the motive here is.”
It’s unclear what transpired during that meeting, but the court filing, which also reveals Kilimnik was in Washington, D.C., for President Trump’s inauguration, offers a rare look into what Mueller’s team is focusing on in what is widely expected to be the end of the investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.
Earlier this year, Manafort’s attorneys accidentally revealed through botched redactions that their client shared polling data before the election with Kilimnik. The court filing also revealed Manafort had been accused by Mueller of lying about discussing a Ukrainian peace plan with Kilimnik during the 2016 campaign.
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Top Mueller prosecutor reveals 2016 meeting between Manafort and Russian national at 'heart' of investigation https://t.co/108die0zqD
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) February 8, 2019
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