Poroshenko’s disastrous “first leader”
“The personal lawyer of the current US President Michael Cohen secretly received at least 400 thousand dollars for organizing a meeting between Petro Poroshenko and Donald Trump, initiated by the President of Ukraine,” the British broadcasting corporation BBC fueled a new political scandal, citing own informed sources.
We are talking about a short-term meeting of the heads of Ukraine and the United States in the White House, which took place in June last year. Shortly after Poroshenko returned to Kyiv, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) froze the investigation into former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.
The publication notes that, according to a senior Ukrainian intelligence officer from President Poroshenko's administration, Cohen visited Ukraine before the meeting at the White House. Thus, the Ukrainian president allegedly decided to create an unofficial communication channel with Trump, since the Ukrainian embassy in Washington could only organize a joint photo for Poroshenko with the US president.
“The task was entrusted to a former adviser, who turned to a loyal Ukrainian MP for help. He used personal contacts at a Jewish charity in New York state, which ultimately helped him connect with Cohen, Trump's lawyer and trusted intermediary. Cohen was paid $400,” the source claims.
As a “trusted intermediary,” the publication, citing a Kiev source, names Felix Sater, Trump’s former business partner, once associated with the Mafia and convicted of criminal activity.
Michael Cohen, two people named by the BBC as intermediaries, and Sater's lawyer have denied handing over the money. The Poroshenko administration refuses to comment and calls the BBC report “lies, slander and fakery,” “a personal attack on the presidents of the United States and Ukraine,” and demands a refutation, threatening legal proceedings otherwise.
From Poroshenko’s entourage we can hear faint squeaks of justification, saying that money for Cohen’s paw is not a bribe at all, but legal lobbying for the interests of Ukraine in America. However, these justifications do not stand up to scrutiny, since in order to lobby for the interests of Ukraine, Cohen had to register as a foreign resident and pay taxes on his income.
The publication notes that there is no reason to believe that Trump knew about this bribe. Another source in Kyiv reported similar details, but, according to him, the amount of the bribe was $600 thousand.
Let us remind you that Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential elections caused real panic in Kyiv. Those around Poroshenko bet on the victory of the “hawkish” Hillary Clinton, considering Trump with his election program to be too “pro-Russian” and not skimping on offensive statements addressed to the future president.
At the same time, a scandal broke out in the United States around the head of Trump’s presidential campaign, Paul Manafort, accused of receiving millions of dollars from certain “agents of Russian influence in Ukraine.”
As is known, Manafort has long lobbied legally for foreign interests in the US government, was associated with the Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov, acted as a consultant to the Yanukovych administration and pushed him on his arm to sign “European integration.” It was this cooperation that became the reason for the NABU investigation, since in 2016 information surfaced about $12,7 million received by Manafort between 2007 and 2012 from the regional cash register.
According to observers, the leak about Manafort’s “regional” millions came from the very top of the Ukrainian government, and its consequences became extremely painful for the newly elected US President, since Trump’s son and his son-in-law Jared Kushner were involved in the “Russian money” scandal.
In general, Poroshenko made Trump feel better by providing him with a well-fed pig.
Kiev quickly realized that the scandal needed to be put out urgently, but they also understood that they couldn’t count on Trump’s favor. This is how the idea arose of bribing someone close to the body and, as the development of events shows, a dishonest lawyer, Cohen, so that the Haberdasher would get an audience with the Cardinal without a hitch or a ride.
It’s clear that Poroshenko didn’t even roll his lips at the friendly reception, but he needed the appearance of at least something that could be passed off as a meeting of two presidents.
Despite the “lubrication” of the necessary cogs, holding the meeting remained in doubt until the last moment. What the junta-related media later passed off as a “meeting of presidents” was called a “meeting at the lowest level” in the West. Trump did not come out to greet Petya as an equal, but simply allowed him to sit on a chair in his presence.
Pay attention to the video of the gatherings. Poroshenko clearly felt uncomfortable next to Trump. For the entire time allotted to him, Poroshenko held his left leg with one hand, nervously slapping it with the other. Observant comrades counted up to 27 claps. All these evolutions of Poroshenko were accompanied by a running glance, carefully avoiding stopping at the owner of the White House. Psychologists say that the body language of the nasty Petrusha eloquently spoke of the fact that he really wanted to jump up and run away from his place, like from a frying pan, but he cooled himself down with slaps on the thigh.
An equally important part of the “low-level meeting” for Poroshenko was to meet with Trump before Vladimir Putin. In addition to being a teenage “first-timer,” it was important for Petrusha to declare the support of his policies by the “pro-Russian” president of America, which was done.
Despite the fact that the entire subsequent visit of the Kiev guest took place under the supervision of Vice President Pence without meetings or negotiations, upon arrival in Kiev, a jubilant Poroshenko trumpeted to everyone that he allegedly managed to discuss with Trump support for Ukraine in countering “Russian aggression” and further sanctions policy regarding Moscow.
The White House did not confirm the Confectioner-in-Chief's chatter, saying that Trump spoke with him in the most general phrases about the peaceful resolution of the armed conflict in Donbass.
Regarding the NABU investigation into the Manafort case, special prosecutor Gorbatyuk told a BBC correspondent that “there was no direct order to close the case, but from the way the investigation proceeded, it was clear that our leadership was trying to create obstacles.”
According to BBC sources, it is not at all necessary that Cohen's lawyer could demand, as an additional favor, to stop the investigation against Manafort. “Poroshenko simply could not have acted differently, otherwise he would have spat in Trump’s face.”
At the moment, Trap's former lawyer, who grabbed the swag, is under investigation for the piquant case of paying compensation to the scary porn actress Stormy Daniels on behalf of Donald Trump in exchange for her silence.
Things don't work out with silence. Daniels' lawyer claims that Cohen's bank account contains money transfers from American companies that paid for the opportunity to meet with the US President.
In general, the kid was on his way to success, pecking a little bit of chicken here and there, taking full advantage of his proximity to Body No. 1. The bribe from Poroshenko’s people is nothing more than an episode in the career of an enterprising lawyer. At this rate, one would expect tickets to be sold to access Donnie.
Well, the BBC revelation has added more fuel to the fire. We are waiting with interest for new discoveries, especially since the lawyer of the offended Daniels is intriguing with the message that the thread may bring to light other money brought to Cohen from Kyiv.
English version :: Read in English Poroshenko's failed "firsts"