Mueller's Team Questions Russian Oligarch About Payments To Michael Cohen
CAMEROTA: CNN learning exclusively that the special counsel's team has questioned a Russian oligarch about hundreds of thousands of dollars that his company's U.S. affiliate made to President Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen. Let's discuss all of this with CNN legal analyst Michael Zeldin. He served as Robert Mueller's special assistant at the Justice Department. And, former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti. OK. Let me just put up for everybody the timeline as we know it, gentlemen, and then get you to flowchart all of this for us. OK. So, in October 2016, that's when Michael Cohen sets up his LLC called Essential Consultants. October 27th, Cohen wires that payment of $130,000 to Stormy Daniels. Between January and August of 2017 -- this is the U.S. affiliate of the Russian oligarch's company. It's called Columbus Nova. That's when these $500,000 payments occur. October 2017, AT&T also pays Michael Cohen, they say, for -- to gain insight into the new administration. They know that he has access to Donald Trump. In 2017, Novartis pays him, we assume, for the same reason. November 2017, Korea Aerospace Industries pays Michael Cohen, we assume, for virtually the same reasons. So, Renato, you say that somehow this doesn't add up to you. Why not?</s>RENATO MARIOTTI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, PARTNER, THOMPSON, COBURN (via Skype): Well, I'll tell you. It's pretty unusual. Michael Cohen doesn't appear to be practicing law and certainly was not practicing law for AT&T and Novartis and these companies.</s>CAMEROTA: Well, I know. But, I mean, hold on. To be clear, he doesn't say he's practicing law. He's a consultant.</s>MARIOTTI: Right and I'm curious what he's consulting about. Apparently, it seems likes he's -- it appears that he's selling access to the Trump administration. And I think the real interesting thing is why he's taking money from a company that's affiliated or indirectly owned by a Russian oligarch when he knows that there's a Russia investigation going on.</s>CAMEROTA: Well, they say it was for real estate investing, which he also does.</s>MARIOTTI: Well, it -- you know, it -- what federal prosecutors, I suspect, are going to be looking at is whether any of that money, directly or indirectly, went to Stormy Daniels or to other women because the Stormy Daniels payment is arguable campaign-related. I think a good argument could be made on the other side but Rudy Giuliani went on national television and said that the timing of it was -- it was great that it was -- it was so important that it was before the last debate. So, you know, if that payment was indirectly made by a foreign national then there's potential campaign finance issues there.</s>CAMEROTA: OK. Michael, how do you see it?</s>MICHAEL ZELDIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO ROBERT MUELLER, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE: Well, I don't know how I see it because we don't have enough facts really to be fully transparent into what's going on here. Clearly, there are companies that are buying Cohen's access to the administration. All of those companies, if you want to look at it in its worst case, have been business before the Trump administration and Cohen may be a conduit for them to understand what the position of the administration might be. Or it might be in good faith --</s>CAMEROTA: OK, and hold on. Let me just stop you right there. That's not illegal, right? Is that sort of called --</s>ZELDIN: No, no, exactly.</s>CAMEROTA: -- lobbying or access? I mean, that's not --</s>ZELDIN: No, no, exactly.</s>CAMEROTA: People do that.</s>ZELDIN: Yes, exactly -- yes. So, I mean, Trump wins. Cohen's his right-hand man. He sets up a limited liability corporation in Delaware with his name fully transparent on it. These companies hire him to gain insight into what the Trump administration's position on issues that affect their companies. That's all business as usual in Washington. I don't see anything on the face of it that's wrong about that. The only thing that's of any interest to me is the contributions made to the inauguration by the -- whatever he is -- brother-in-law, cousin of the Russian oligarch. That seems a little bit odd given that that contribution is way out of the range that the contributions of him previously are. That's something maybe to look at. But otherwise, on its face, I don't really see much here legally that's of interest to me.</s>CAMEROTA: OK, here's the flowchart as we've set it up so that people will understand it visually. Viktor Vekselberg, who's the Russian oligarch, owns a Russian conglomerate called Renova. That has a U.S. affiliate called Columbus Nova. That is what paid Michael Cohen $500,000. Now, here's their statement. Here's Columbus Nova's statement -- the attorney's statement. "Columbus Nova is a management company solely owned and controlled by Americans. After the inauguration, the firm hired Michael Cohen as a business consultant regarding potential sources of capital and potential investments in real estate and other ventures. Reports today that Viktor Vekselberg used Columbus Nova as a conduit for payments to Michael Cohen are false. The claim that Viktor Vekselberg was involved or provided any funding for Columbus Nova's engagement of Michael Cohen is patently untrue. Neither Vekselberg nor anyone else other than Columbus Nova's owners were involved in the decision to hire Cohen or provided funding for his engagement." So, Renato, what do you think of that?</s>MARIOTTI: Well, you know, I think it's going to be up to investigators to probe the truth behind it. You know, the difference -- the only difference I think I have with Michael, I -- you know, and I respect his opinion quite a bit -- is just that I think that this was the LLC that was set up to pay Daniels and potentially, other women. I think those payments and how -- where that money comes from is going to be of interest. If it comes from a foreign source, that's a problem. And also, as Stormy Daniels' lawyer talked about yesterday, there were -- he alleges there were false statements made to the bank in connection with opening the account. That, potentially, is of interest. There needs to be more information to know whether or not there's a potential crime there but that's also something of interest. I think this helps all of us understand why federal prosecutors in Manhattan are taking a look at it.</s>CAMEROTA: There you go. Michael Zeldin, Renato Mariotti, thank you both very much -- Chris.</s>CUOMO: All right. The president's nominee for CIA director will face tough questions at her confirmation hearing today. What Gina Haspel plans to tell lawmakers about torture tactics used in terror interrogations. What is she going to say? How is going to explain what she would do with her new boss who seems to want to go back to those measures? Tough spot, next.