Three Men Walk Into a Meeting With a Russian Lawyer

Three Men Walk Into a Meeting With a Russian Lawyer. Did They Discuss Hillary Clinton, the Adoption of Russian Children, or the 2013 Miss Universe Pageant? Donald Trump, Jr., Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort met with a Russian lawyer at Trump Tower in June 2016 (two weeks after Trump won the Republican nomination). The New York Times reported on Saturday that Don, Jr. “was promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton before agreeing to meet with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer during the 2016 campaign.” Jr.’s first explanation was that the meeting was primarily about adoption and said nothing about Clinton.

Then on Sunday the story changed. In a statement to CNN, Jr. said the meeting was set up by an acquaintance he knew from the 2013 Miss Universe pageant that was held in Moscow. He didn’t know the name of the person he would be meeting with, and yet he invited Kushner and then campaign-manager Manafort to accompany him. He did not tell them what the meeting was about and also said that his father knew nothing of the meeting at any point.

Here’s where it gets dicey. Jr. said the lawyer stated she had “information that individuals connected to Russia were funding the Democratic National Committee and supporting Ms. Clinton,” but her statements were vague, and she offered no details or supporting information. Then he said the lawyer changed subjects and talked about the adoption of Russian children and a law that allows the US to withhold visas and freeze the assets of Russians thought to have violated human rights. Jr. said: “It became clear to me that this was the true agenda all along and that the claims of potentially helpful information [about Clinton] were a pretext for the meeting.”  

So here’s the point: For the first time, we have public acknowledgment that Trump campaign advisors or associates were willing to meet with a Russian connection in order to obtain information against the opposition candidate. Regardless of the cover story, it seems like a rather significant piece of the puzzle.

Iraqi Army Takes Back Mosul: Iraqi forces have finally reclaimed Mosul from Islamic State militants who captured the city in 2014. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived in Mosul on Sunday and congratulated cheering Iraqi fighters after nine months of horrendous urban warfare that has left huge areas in shambles, killed thousands of civilians, and displaced nearly a million people.

Abadi met commanders in liberated west Mosul, although air strikes and exchanges of gunfire could still be heard in the oldest part of the city, where a small contingent of militants are still battling Iraqi soldiers. A spokesperson said Abadi will not declare formal victory until the few remaining ISIS fighters are vanquished.

“Trump has no constraints and will say anything, and now the Europeans feel they can do the same”: The G-20 summit over the weekend indicated that for the first time, European leaders are willing to openly show disagreement with the United States. Traditionally respectful of American leadership and mindful of the country’s crucial role in NATO, the global economy, and international stability, European leaders normally try to soften any criticisms they might have of American presidents.

But the election of Donald Trump and Brexit “have proved to be great unifiers for the European Union. There is a renewed sense of confidence in Europe after the French election,” says Mark Leonard, Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations. The current waning of European populism, an increase in economic growth, and the prospect of Angela Merkel’s re-election in September are also increasing Europe’s confidence. Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron may prove to be the leaders that keep the European project on course (oh, the irony!): “They egg each other on and feel more self-confident together and help keep Europe together, too,” says Leonard.

• “Amnesty International has blamed ‘failing EU policies’ for the soaring death toll among refugees and migrants in the central Mediterranean. In a report, it said ‘cynical deals’ with Libya consigned thousands to the risk of drowning, rape, and torture. It said the EU was turning a blind eye to abuses in Libyan detention centres, and was mostly leaving it up to sea rescue charities to save migrants. More than 2,000 people have died in 2017 trying to get to Europe, the report said.” Italy – due to its proximity to Libya – is the main destination for migrants attempting to reach Europe by sea (BBC)
• The leader of Turkey’s mainstream opposition Kemal Kilicdaroglu spoke to thousands of people at a rally in Istanbul on Sunday for an end to an ongoing government crackdown under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “This the era of dictatorship. This is the era of 1940s Germany,” he said. More than 47,000 people have been detained since a failed coup by a faction of the armed forces in July 2016. Kilicdaroglu spoke at the rally after walking about for three weeks and 280 miles from Ankara to Istanbul in protest of the crackdown that has lead to the imprisonment of journalists, academics, and members of parliament.
• “South Korea has released what it says is the first known footage of “comfort women” forced to work as sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War Two….The 18-second clip shows several women lined up talking to a Chinese soldier. South Korean activists estimate 200,000 women were forced into brothels for Japan’s military. They are believed to have been mainly from Korea, but also from China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Until now, the only records of women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War Two had been photographs and survivor testimonials” (BBC)
• “The most senior Vatican cleric to ever be charged in the Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal returned to Australia on Monday to stand trial in his home state on charges alleging he sexually assaulted multiple people years ago” (TIME)

Start of the Week Reads:

• “You won the Nobel Peace Prize and are the Mandela of our age, but with a horrifyingly different ending. While Nelson Mandela eventually became South Africa’s president, you were recently moved from a Chinese prison to a hospital where you remain under guard. Your wife says your liver cancer is inoperable, and the Chinese government cruelly refused to allow you to go abroad for treatment to try to save your life” (NYT)
• African countries want to turn their poor, overcrowded urban centers into “smart cities” (Quartz)
• India’s holy Ganges River succumbs to pollution (Reuters)
• Brexit is a retreat – not a liberation (The Spectator)
• 3 reasons the American Revolution was a mistake (Vox)
• U.S. Malaria Donations Saved Almost 2 Million African Children (NYT)
• Scientists from the Ivory Coast are studying the chimpanzee diet for ways to treat human diseases, including cancer (Quartz)
• South Korea’s new presidential pooches, and why they matter (CNN)
• The simple-minded manager looks for consistency. The wise manager is comfortable with paradox (BBC)
• The Story Behind the World’s Most Famous Desktop Background (Artsy)
• With fossils and DNA, scientists are piecing together a picture of humanity’s beginnings, an origin story with more twists than anything you would find at the movie theater. It’s been accepted knowledge that Africans left the continent 70,000 years ago. Now, there is evidence they left over 270,000 years ago(NYT)

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