Turkey’s effort to influence the Trump White House began at the Watergate, in a meeting brokered by a figure from the Ukraine impeachment saga, Lev Parnas.
WASHINGTON — It was the day before Donald Trump’s inauguration and Turkey’s top diplomat was looking to make inroads with the new administration.
, a colorful Florida businessman whose backchannel dealings in Ukraine would, two years later, feature prominently in President Trump’s impeachment.that involved back-channels, Russian-linked oligarchs and Parnas, a key figure in the Ukraine case, according to an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, Courthouse News Service and NBC News.
Behind the rapport was a wider effort by Turkey to exert influence with the Trump administration via an international network of businessmen and oligarchs, several of whom are linked to former Soviet republics, according to the investigation. Two are facing criminal charges in the United States and one in Turkey.
The 2017 meal at the Watergate Hotel was recounted by Parnas, who also shared text messages with other participants setting up the lunch. Ballard Partners acknowledged the meeting and says it was an introductory, get-to-know-you meeting. Foreign lobbying records show that Ballard Partners’ contracts eventually included a $125,000-per-month deal for the firm to represent Halkbank, a Turkish state bank being prosecuted in the U.S. for fraud, money laundering and violating sanctions on Iran,According to Bolton and congressional investigators, Trump has tried to discourage the Halkbank prosecution.
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