Administration officials, likely Jared Kushner or Steve Bannon, brief Donald Trump on the Putin-Dmitriev plan for Russia’s U.S. motives. Later in the day, Trump has his first call with Vladimir Putin as President of the United States.
A White House readout of the call said Trump and Putin spoke for about an hour on subjects ranging from mutual cooperation in defeating ISIS to creating investment opportunities for both countries—two bullet points included in that reconciliation memo.
The Daily Beast
Backstory
Putin had tasked Kirill Dmitriev with connecting to the Trump transition team. Dmitriev tried arranging a meeting with Jared Kushner or Donald Trump Jr. through George Nader, an American colleague who is currently in prison for child pornography.
Dmitriev also got in touch with Rick Gerson, a close friend of Kushner’s. Together they drafted a plan for how the Trump administration could support Russia’s motives for the U.S., and Dmitriev shared the plan with Putin before meeting with Erik Prince.
The January 11th meeting provided a cover for all three parties involved; executives from around the world were at the Seychelles island to meet the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed.
Gerson took the plan to Kushner, Bannon, and Rex Tillerson on January 18th.
Source
Photo: Gage Skidmore
