Events at the Republican National Convention

¶Trump Campaign officials met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the week of the Republican National Convention. The evidence indicates that those interactions were brief and non-substantive. During platform committee meetings immediately before the Convention, J.D. Gordon, a senior Campaign advisor on policy and national security, diluted a proposed amendment to the Republican Party platform expressing support for providing "lethal" assistance to Ukraine in response to Russian aggression. Gordon requested that platform committee personnel revise the proposed amendment to state that only "appropriate" assistance be provided to Ukraine. The original sponsor of the "lethal" assistance amendment stated that Gordon told her (the sponsor) that he was on the phone with candidate Trump in connection with his request to dilute the language. Gordon denied making that statement to the sponsor, although he acknowledged it was possible he mentioned having previously spoken to the candidate about the subject matter. The investigation did not establish that Gordon spoke to or was directed by the candidate to make that proposal. Gordon said that he sought the change because he believed the proposed language was inconsistent with Trump's position on Ukraine.

Ambassador Kislyak's Encounters with Senator Sessions and J.D. Gordon the Week of the RNC

¶In July 2016, Senator Sessions and Gordon spoke at the Global Partners in Diplomacy event, a conference co-sponsored by the State Department and the Heritage Foundation held in Cleveland, Ohio the same week as the Republican National Convention (RNC or "Convention").⁷⁷⁵⁷⁷⁵ Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 9; Sessions 1/17/18 302, at 22; Allan Smith, We Now Know More About why Jeff Sessions and a Russian Ambassador Crossed Paths at the Republican Convention, Business Insider (Mar. 2, 2017). Approximately 80 foreign ambassadors to the United States, including Kislyak, were invited to the conference.⁷⁷⁶⁷⁷⁶ Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 9; Laura DeMarco, Global Cleveland and Sen. Bob Corker Welcome International Republican National Convention Guests, Cleveland Plain Dealer (July 20, 2016).

¶On July 20, 2016, Gordon and Sessions delivered their speeches at the conference.⁷⁷⁷⁷⁷⁷ Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 9; Sessions 1/17/18 302, at 22. In his speech, Gordon stated in pertinent part that the United States should have better relations with Russia.⁷⁷⁸⁷⁷⁸ Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 9. During Sessions's speech, he took questions from the audience, one of which may have been asked by Kislyak.⁷⁷⁹⁷⁷⁹ Sessions 1/17/18 302, at 22; Luff 1/30/18 302, at 3. When the speeches concluded, several ambassadors lined up to greet the speakers.⁷⁸⁰⁷⁸⁰ Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 9; Luff 1/30/18 302, at 3. Gordon shook hands with Kislyak and reiterated that he had meant what he said in the speech about improving U.S.-Russia relations.⁷⁸¹⁷⁸¹ Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 9. Sessions separately spoke with between six and 12 ambassadors, including Kislyak.⁷⁸²⁷⁸² Sessions 1/17/18 302, at 22; Luff 1/30/18 302, at 3; see also Volume I, Section IV.A.4.b, supra (explaining that Sessions and Kislyak may have met three months before this encounter during a reception held on April 26, 2016, at the Mayflower Hotel). Although Sessions stated during interviews with the Office that he had no specific recollection of what he discussed with Kislyak, he believed that the two spoke for only a few minutes and that they would have exchanged pleasantries and said some things about U.S.-Russia relations.⁷⁸³⁷⁸³ Sessions 1/17/18 302, at 22.

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¶Later that evening, Gordon attended a reception as part of the conference.⁷⁸⁴⁷⁸⁴ Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 9-10. Gordon ran into Kislyak as the two prepared plates of food, and they decided to sit at the same table to eat.⁷⁸⁵⁷⁸⁵ Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 9-10. They were joined at that table by the ambassadors from Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, and by Trump Campaign advisor Carter Page.⁷⁸⁶⁷⁸⁶ Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 10; see also Volume I, Section IV.A.3.d, supra (explaining that Page acknowledged meeting Kislyak at this event). As they ate, Gordon and Kislyak talked for what Gordon estimated to have been three to five minutes, during which Gordon again mentioned that he meant what he said in his speech about improving U.S.-Russia relations.⁷⁸⁷⁷⁸⁷ Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 10.

Change to Republican Party Platform

¶In preparation for the 2016 Convention, foreign policy advisors to the Trump Campaign, working with the Republican National Committee, reviewed the 2012 Convention's foreign policy platform to identify divergence between the earlier platform and candidate Trump's positions.⁷⁸⁸⁷⁸⁸ Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 10. The Campaign team discussed toning down language from the 2012 platform that identified Russia as the country's number one threat, given the candidate's belief that there needed to be better U.S. relations with Russia.⁷⁸⁹⁷⁸⁹ Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 10. The RNC Platform Committee sent the 2016 draft platform to the National Security and Defense Platform Subcommittee on July 10, 2016, the evening before its first meeting to propose amendments.⁷⁹⁰⁷⁹⁰ Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 10; Hoff 5/26/17 302, at 1-2.

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¶Although only delegates could participate in formal discussions and vote on the platform, the Trump Campaign could request changes, and members of the Trump Campaign attended committee meetings.⁷⁹¹⁷⁹¹ Hoff 5/26/17 302, at 1; Gordon 9/7/17 302, at 10. John Mashburn, the Campaign's policy director, helped oversee the Campaign's involvement in the platform committee meetings.⁷⁹²⁷⁹² Mashburn 6/25/18 302, at 4; Manafort 9/20/18 302, at 7-8. He told the Office that he directed Campaign staff at the Convention, including J.D. Gordon, to take a hands-off approach and only to challenge platform planks if they directly contradicted Trump's wishes.⁷⁹³⁷⁹³ Mashburn 6/25/18 302, at 4; Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 10.

¶On July 11, 2016, delegate Diana Denman submitted a proposed platform amendment that included provision of armed support for Ukraine.⁷⁹⁴⁷⁹⁴ DENMAN 000001-02, DENMAN 000012, DENMAN 000021-22; Denman 12/4/17 302, at 1; Denman 6/7/17 302, at 2. The amendment described Russia's "ongoing military aggression" in Ukraine and announced "support" for "maintaining (and, if warranted, increasing) sanctions against Russia until Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity are fully restored" and for "providing lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine's armed forces and greater coordination with NATO on defense planning."⁷⁹⁵⁷⁹⁵ DENMAN 000001-02, DENMAN 000012, DENMAN 000021-22. Gordon reviewed the proposed platform changes, including Denman's.⁷⁹⁶⁷⁹⁶ Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 10-11. Gordon stated that he flagged this amendment because of Trump's stated position on Ukraine, which Gordon personally heard the candidate say at the March 31 foreign policy meeting—namely, that the Europeans should take primary responsibility for any assistance to Ukraine, that there should be improved U.S.-Russia relations, and that he did not want to start World War III over that region.⁷⁹⁷⁷⁹⁷ Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 11; Gordon 9/7/17 302, at 11; Gordon 2/14/19 302, at 1-2, 5-6. Gordon told the Office that Trump's statements on the campaign trail following the March meeting underscored those positions to the point where Gordon felt obliged to object to the proposed platform change and seek its dilution.⁷⁹⁸⁷⁹⁸ Gordon 2/14/19 302, at 5-6.

¶On July 11, 2016, at a meeting of the National Security and Defense Platform Subcommittee, Denman offered her amendment.⁷⁹⁹⁷⁹⁹ Denman 6/7/17 302, at 2; see DENMAN 000014. Gordon and another Campaign staffer, Matt Miller, approached a committee co-chair and asked him to table the amendment to permit further discussion.⁸⁰⁰⁸⁰⁰ Denman 6/7/17 302, at 2; Denman 12/4/17 302, at 2; Gordon 9/7/17 302, at 11-12; see Hoff 5/26/17 302, at 2. Gordon's concern with the amendment was the language about providing "lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine."⁸⁰¹⁸⁰¹ Denman 6/7/17 302, at 3. Miller did not have any independent basis to believe that this language contradicted Trump's views and relied on Gordon's recollection of the candidate's views.⁸⁰²⁸⁰² M. Miller 10/25/17 302 at 3.

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¶According to Denman, she spoke with Gordon and Matt Miller, and they told her that they had to clear the language and that Gordon was "talking to New York."⁸⁰³⁸⁰³ Denman 12/4/17 302, at 2; Denman 6/7/17 302, at 2. Denman told others that she was asked by the two Trump Campaign staffers to strike "lethal defense weapons" from the proposal but that she refused.⁸⁰⁴⁸⁰⁴ Hoff 5/26/17 302, at 2. Denman recalled Gordon saying that he was on the phone with candidate Trump, but she was skeptical whether that was true.⁸⁰⁵⁸⁰⁵ Denman 6/7/17 302, at 2-3, 3-4; Denman 12/4/17 302, at 2. Gordon denied having told Denman that he was on the phone with Trump, although he acknowledged it was possible that he mentioned having previously spoken to the candidate about the subject matter.⁸⁰⁶⁸⁰⁶ Gordon 2/14/19 302, at 7. Gordon's phone records reveal a call to Sessions's office in Washington that afternoon, but do not include calls directly to a number associated with Trump.⁸⁰⁷⁸⁰⁷ Call Records of J.D. Gordon [Redacted: (b) (3)] Gordon stated to the Office that his calls with Sessions were unrelated to the platform change. Gordon 2/14/19 302, at 7. And according to the President's written answers to the Office's questions, he does not recall being involved in the change in language of the platform amendment.⁸⁰⁸⁸⁰⁸ Written Responses of Donald J. Trump (Nov. 20, 2018), at 17 (Response to Question IV, Part (f)).

¶Gordon stated that he tried to reach Rick Dearborn, a senior foreign policy advisor, and Mashburn, the Campaign policy director. Gordon stated that he connected with both of them (he could not recall if by phone or in person) and apprised them of the language he took issue with in the proposed amendment. Gordon recalled no objection by either Dearborn or Mashburn and that all three Campaign advisors supported the alternative formulation ("appropriate assistance").⁸⁰⁹⁸⁰⁹ Gordon 2/14/19 302, at 6-7; Gordon 9/7/17 302, at 11-12; see Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 11. Dearborn recalled Gordon warning them about the amendment, but not weighing in because Gordon was more familiar with the Campaign's foreign policy stance.⁸¹⁰⁸¹⁰ Dearborn 11/28/17 302, at 7-8. Mashburn stated that Gordon reached him, and he told Gordon that Trump had not taken a stance on the issue and that the Campaign should not intervene.⁸¹¹⁸¹¹ Mashburn 6/25/18 302, at 4.

¶When the amendment came up again in the committee's proceedings, the subcommittee changed the amendment by striking the "lethal defense weapons" language and replacing it with "appropriate assistance."⁸¹²⁸¹² Hoff 5/26/17 302, at 2-3; see Denman 12/4/17 302, at 2-3; Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 11. Gordon stated that he and the subcommittee co-chair ultimately agreed to replace the language about armed assistance with "appropriate assistance."⁸¹³⁸¹³ Gordon 8/29/17 302, at 11; Gordon 9/7/17 302, at 12. The subcommittee accordingly approved Denman's amendment but with the term "appropriate assistance."⁸¹⁴⁸¹⁴ Hoff 5/26/17 302, at 2-3. Gordon stated that, to his recollection, this was the only change sought by the Campaign.⁸¹⁵⁸¹⁵ Gordon 2/14/19 302, at 6. Sam Clovis, the Campaign's national co-chair and chief policy advisor, stated he was surprised by the change and did not believe it was in line with Trump's stance.⁸¹⁶⁸¹⁶ Clovis 10/3/17 302, at 10-11. Mashburn stated that when he saw the word "appropriate assistance," he believed that Gordon had violated Mashburn's directive not to intervene.⁸¹⁷⁸¹⁷ Mashburn 6/25/18 302, at 4.

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