Sergei Millian

Sergei Millian (Sergio Millian, Sergey Kukuts, and Sarhei Kukuts[6]) is a Belarusian-born American real estate broker and former president of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce. He has been associated with Donald Trump and multiple members of Trump's 2016 election campaign. Multiple reliable sources have identified him as Sources D and E in the Steele dossier, who allegedly shared key information to a compatriot, who then shared it with Christopher Steele. These sources have also identified him as "Person 1" in the Inspector General's report.[7][8][9][10][11] Millian has denied these reports.[12][13]

Sergei Millian
Born
Sergei Kukut or Siarhei Kukuts[1]

(1978-10-22) October 22, 1978
Belarus
CitizenshipUnited States, Belarus[2]
EducationMinsk State Linguistic University[3]
OccupationReal estate broker[4][5]

Life in America

In 2001, Millian moved to the United States,[14] and in May 2006, he formed the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce in Atlanta.[15][16][17][18]

In 2007, he was invited by Donald Trump to attend a horse racing event in Miami.[19][13] He was subsequently contracted to market Trump Hollywood properties by a brokerage company hired by the Trump Organization and The Related Group.[20][21]

In March 2014, he told Fox News that his Russian-American Chamber of Commerce website was recently hacked.[22]

Trump 2016 presidential campaign

In March 2016, Millian reached out to Michael Cohen about joining Trump's campaign, highlighting his knowledge of Russian politics and business.[23]

In July 2016, he made a similar pitch to George Papadopoulos.[24][25] Later, he offered to supply Papadopoulos with a "disruptive technology that might be instrumental in [his] political work for the campaign."[26] He attended Donald Trump's presidential inauguration,[13] attending several black-tie events at the inauguration.[12]

He has boasted of his contacts with George Papadopoulos, aiding in promotional real estate contracts for Trump, including that he was the "exclusive broker" for Trump properties in Russia,[20] and that Trump introduced him to Michael Cohen.[20] He has also boasted of his contacts with the Russian government,[15] has provided translation services to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,[9] and been photographed with Oleg Deripaska[15] and Donald Trump.[3]

The Senate Intelligence Committee has written:

...much about Sergei Millian resembles activities by a Russian intelligence officer or cooptee. In attempting to interview Millian, the Committee found that his organization, the RACC, has several listed addresses but no apparent actual offices. Millian also has four names Sergei Millian, Sergio Millian, Sergey Kukuts, and Sarhei Kukuts. Further, Millian publicly professed his non-involvement in the 2016 campaign, then departed the United States for China.[6]

Identified as a source for several key Steele dossier allegations

Identity as sub-source

Millian is described in the Steele dossier as a "close associate of Trump",[15] and multiple reliable sources have identified him as Sources D and E in the Steele dossier, who allegedly shared key information to a compatriot, who then shared it with Christopher Steele. They have also identified him as "Person 1" in the Inspector General's report.[7][8][9][10][11] ABC News reported that a version of the dossier "provided to the FBI included Millian's name as a source".[10] The Washington Post[11] and The Wall Street Journal reported that Millian was "both Source D and Source E".[9] Millian has denied these reports.[12]

Politico has summed up identifying information, some from the Inspector General's report:

In a footnote, Horowitz described the sub-source in question as being identified in Steele’s reporting interchangeably as "Source D," "Source E," "a Russian emigre," and "an ethnic Russian associate" of Trump. That sub-source is identified, for the purposes of the report, as "Person 1." ...the subject of press reports after the election—likely Sergei Millian, a Belarus-born businessman who has claimed to work with Trump...[and] described as having a "Russian/American organization in the U.S," which matches Millian's Russian-American Chamber of Commerce...[and] found to have been in "sustained" contact with Papadopoulos, which also lines up with Millian's reported activities during the election.[7]

The Inspector General's report mentions "Person 1" as a sub-source:

Omitted information relevant to the reliability of Person 1, a key Steele sub-source (who was attributed with providing the information in Report 95 and some of the information in Reports 80 and 102 relied upon in the application), namely that (1) Steele himself told members of the Crossfire Hurricane team that Person 1 was a "boaster" and an "egoist" and "may engage in some embellishment" and (2) the FBI had opened a counterintelligence investigation on Person 1 a few days before the FISA application was filed; (p. 364)[8]

Steele's Primary sub-source, identified as Russian analyst Igor Danchenko, told the FBI that he never met Millian, but only spoke on the telephone with someone whom he believed was Millian. BBC correspondent Paul Wood has described a different sequence of events,[27] in which Steele told him that Danchenko told him he met with Millian in 2016 on three different occasions at restaurants in Washington DC, New York, and Charleston. Wood speculated that Danchenko's changing stories, and statements to the FBI that he "could not recall" things quoted in the dossier, might have been because he felt that "he had to be extremely careful with what he told the FBI" because he was "terrified of being arrested and deported", and that he was "trying to downplay his role in finding dirt on America's new president".[27]

The FBI's Supervisory Intel Analyst also believed the Primary sub-source [Danchenko] "may have been attempting to minimize his/her role in the [dossier's] election reporting following its release to the public".[8][28] The Supervisory Intel Analyst said that "it was his impression that the Primary Sub-source may not have been 'completely truthful' and may have been minimizing certain aspects of what he/she told Steele".[8]

Allegations

Millian, as sources D and E, has been reported as the source behind the following allegations in the dossier:[15][11][29]

Source D

  • Alleged he was "present" for Trump's alleged "perverted conduct in Moscow".[15] Glenn R. Simpson, co-founder of Fusion GPS, doubts Millian's claim.[29] (Dossier, Report 80)
  • With source F "told quite a lurid story, the now infamous 'golden showers' allegation".[30] (Dossier, Report 80)

According to the founders of Fusion GPS, seven Russian sources told Steele about the salacious "golden showers" incident at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.[31] According to the dossier, these included Sources D and E (Millian) and others in [Steele's] "alphabet list of assets".[30]

Source E

  • Source E: "Speaking in confidence to a compatriot...admitted there was a well-developed conspiracy of cooperation between them [the Trump campaign] and the Russian leadership",[30] and that the relationship was managed for Trump by former campaign chairman Paul Manafort."[11] (Dossier, Report 95)
  • Source E: alleged "that the Trump campaign and Russia had moles in the Democratic Party; that US-based 'cyber operators' were coordinating attacks on the DNC and Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta; and that these operators were being paid covertly via Russian 'diplomatic staff' in 'key' US cities via that Russia's emigre pension system."[15] (Dossier, Report 95)
  • Source E: alleged "that the Russian regime had been behind the recent leak of embarrassing e-mail messages, emanating from the Democratic National Committee (DNC), to the WikiLeaks platform."[15][30] "In return the Trump team had agreed to sideline Russian intervention in Ukraine as a campaign issue and to raise US/NATO defense commitments in the Baltic and Eastern Europe to deflect attention away from Ukraine."[30] (Dossier, Report 95)
  • Source E: alleged that "the Trump campaign was 'relatively relaxed' about the attention on Trump's reported ties to Russia 'because it deflected media and the Democrats' attention away from Trump's business dealings in China."[15] (Dossier, Report 95)

Person 1

The Inspector General's report (p. 163)[8] also describes "Person 1" as the source of allegations in Reports 80, 95, and 102. Report 102 contains some of the following allegations:

  • ... that Putin's interference operation had an "objective of weakening CLINTON and bolstering TRUMP".[8][32] (Report 102)
  • ... that Page had intended the email leaks "to swing supporters of Bernie SANDERS away from Hillary CLINTON and across to TRUMP."[8][33][34] (Report 102)
  • ... that the Trump camp became angry and resentful toward Putin when they realized he not only was aiming to weaken Clinton and bolster Trump, but was attempting to "undermine the US government and democratic system more generally".[8][32] (Report 102)

Millian has denied these reports.[12][13]

Mueller investigation interview declined

Millian was contacted multiple times by investigators for the Special Counsel investigation (2017–2019), but their invitations for an interview were declined.[35]

Mistaken report of death

In February 2018, Harvard professor Laurence Tribe alleged on Twitter that Millian was a passenger on a sabotaged Russian airliner.[36] The tweet was deleted after it was shown to be a 4chan hoax.[37][38]

References
  1. Ross, Brian (August 28, 2018). "In a July 2016 interview with ABC News, his only appearance on U.S. television, Belarusian-born businessman Sergei Millian described meeting directly with Donald Trump in years past". Archived from the original on May 26, 2016. My grandmother's name was Millianovich, so I really like that name. And I respect my grandmother, so I decided to -- I had to shorten it because it was too Slavic and too complicated to pronounce for the Americans. So I changed it to Millian.
  2. Mosk, Matthew; Santucci, John (August 28, 2018). "Mysterious 'key figure' in Russia probe sought Trump team contacts. Investigators want to know why". ABC News. Archived from the original on December 4, 2018. The obscure Belarusian-born businessman and naturalized American citizen once boasted about his past work pushing Trump properties to Russian buyers and aggressively sought to get close to the Trump team both during and immediately after the campaign.
  3. Corn, David (January 19, 2017). "Investigators on the Trump-Russia Beat Should Talk to This Man". Mother Jones. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  4. "Sergei Millian /Kukuts/ was promoted to V.P., Associate Real Estate Broker with NestSeekers International on January 6, 2011". February 15, 2011. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013.
  5. Chaban, Matt (October 14, 2013). "$48 million fixer-upper hits upper East Side market, needs $10 million more for luxury makeover". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on October 31, 2017. “It would make a perfect single-family home for the right buyer,” Nestseekers broker Sergei Millian said of the 12,000-square-footer between Madison and Park Aves.
  6. Senate Intelligence Committee (August 18, 2020). "REPORT116-XX. REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE UNITED STATES SENATE ON RUSSIAN ACTIVE MEASURES CAMPAIGNS AND INTERFERENCE IN THE 2016 U.S. ELECTION VOLUME 5: COUNTERINTELLIGENCE THREATS AND VULNERABILITIES" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  7. Bertrand, Natasha (December 11, 2019). "Watchdog report a 'roadmap' for Russian spooks, intel vets say". Politico. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  8. Office of the Inspector General U.S. Department of Justice (December 9, 2019). "Review of Four FISA Applications and Other Aspects of the FBI's Crossfire Hurricane Investigation" (PDF). justice.gov. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  9. Maremont, Mark (January 24, 2017). "Key Claims in Trump Dossier Said to Come From Head of Russian-American Business Group". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. In the dossier, the source believed to be Mr. Millian is referred to at various times as both Source D and Source E and is cited as somebody "speaking in confidence to a compatriot" or "speaking in confidence to a trusted associate."
  10. Ross, Brian; Mosk, Matthew (January 30, 2017). "US-Russia Businessman Said to Be Source of Key Trump Dossier Claims". Archived from the original on January 25, 2017. The source of the most salacious allegations in the uncorroborated dossier about President Trump and the Russians is a onetime Russian government translator, according to a person familiar with the raw intelligence provided to the FBI.
  11. Helderman, Rosalind S.; Hamburger, Tom (March 29, 2017). "Who is 'Source D'? The man said to be behind the Trump-Russia dossier's most salacious claim". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 8, 2019. The allegations by Millian — whose role was first reported by the Wall Street Journal and has been confirmed by The Washington Post — were central to the dossier compiled by the former spy, Christopher Steele.
  12. Bertrand, Natasha (February 11, 2017). "The timeline of Trump's ties with Russia lines up with allegations of conspiracy and misconduct". Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Source E," according to recent reports by the Wall Street Journal and ABC, is Sergei Millian. Millian, who attended several black-tie events at Trump's inauguration last month, denies this.
  13. Helderman, Rosalind; Hamburger, Tom (February 7, 2019). "Sergei Millian, identified as an unwitting source for the Steele dossier, sought proximity to Trump's world in 2016". Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. On Facebook and in literature for his Russian chamber of commerce, he posted a photo of himself with Trump, snapped at a horse track in Miami in 2007 after he said "mutual associates" introduced them.
  14. "Trump's secret informant fears for his life". February 2, 2017. Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Millian moved to the United States in 2001.
  15. Bertrand, Natasha (November 17, 2017). "Kushner received emails from Sergei Millian — an alleged dossier source who was in touch with George Papadopoulos". Business Insider. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  16. Miller, Leigh (February 12, 2006). "Russian-American Chamber of Commerce Formed in Atlanta". Archived from the original on January 20, 2019. A Russian-American Chamber of Commerce has been formed in Atlanta to encourage business ties between Russia and the former Soviet republics and Georgia and to bring investment to the state.
  17. Say, May (August 25, 2016). "When It Comes To Business, Relations Between Russia And The U.S. Are Surprisingly Strong". Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Sergei Millian, president of the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce – established in 2006 in Atlanta – estimates there are more than 10,000 such businesses in our two countries, employing up to 3 million people.
  18. "Georgia Corporations Division: Russian-American Chamber of Commerce". Retrieved May 23, 2018. Date of Formation / Registration Date: 5/24/2006
  19. Zavadski, Katie; Mak, Tim (September 8, 2016). "Meet The Man Who Is Spinning For Donald Trump In Russia". Archived from the original on June 7, 2018. In a lengthy interview with RIA News, a Russian language outlet, in April, Millian boasted about instantly winning Trump's affection at the Moscow Millionaire's Fair in 2007, when his friends organized Trump's trip. A decade out from his presidential bid, Trump then allegedly invited Millian to horse races at Gulfstream, Florida.
  20. Belton, Catherine (October 31, 2016). "The shadowy Russian emigre touting Trump". Financial Times. Archived from the original on February 27, 2020. The chamber of commerce removed from its website earlier this year an April 2009 newsletter, where Mr Millian said the chamber had "signed formal agreements" with the Trump Organisation, Mr Perez's Related Group and one other company to "jointly service the Russian clients' commercial, residential and industrial real-estate needs".
  21. Mosk, Matthew (February 20, 2018). "Where in the world is Sergei Millian? Congress's Trump-Russia investigators hunt for mystery man". Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Millian has not always been silent. He granted an interview to ABC News in July of 2016, during the presidential campaign. He described meeting Trump in 2008 during a marketing meeting to help bring attention to the Trump-branded development in Hollywood, Florida.
  22. Bartiromo, Maria (March 18, 2014). "Russian-American Chamber president on capital flight out of Russia". Just after the Crimea vote, our website was shut down and hacked.
  23. "INTERVIEW OF: MICHAEL COHEN" (PDF). October 24, 2017. This email is from a Sergi Millian to your email address on March 15th, 2016. [...] So Mr. Cohen, the sentence says: "Please incorporate me in the Russian direction, as you know I have insider level knowledge of what is happening in Russia after 10 years of hosting Russian ministers, governors, businessmen, and public leaders."
  24. Berger, Sam; Dessel, Talia (June 13, 2019). "Trump invites foreigners to distort 2020 elections. Why won't he protect his own country?". Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Papadopoulos exchanged texts with Sergei Millian, who was born in Belarus and claimed to have "insider knowledge and direct access to the top hierarchy in Russian politics.”
  25. @JohnWHuber (May 19, 2019). "P1/Millian - Steele's "unwitting" source - was in repeated, direct personal contact with Papadopoulos. Millian first reached out to Papadopoulos on July 15, 2016, via LinkedIn" (Tweet) – via Twitter. |date= mismatches calculated date from |number= by two or more days (help)
  26. Kim, Soo Rin (April 21, 2019). "Russia-linked figures in Mueller's probe come in from the cold after report's release". Archived from the original on April 24, 2019. The Mueller report indicated that Millian in August 2016 sent a Facebook message to Papadopoulos offering to share with him "a disruptive technology that might be instrumental in your political work for the campaign."
  27. Wood, Paul (August 12, 2020). "Was the 'pee tape' a lie all along?". The Spectator. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  28. Goldman, Adam; Savage, Charlie (July 25, 2020). "The F.B.I. Pledged to Keep a Source Anonymous. Trump Allies Aided His Unmasking". The New York Times. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  29. Isikoff, Michael; Corn, David (March 17, 2018). "Russian Roulette: the real story behind the Steele dossier on Donald Trump". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  30. Blum, Howard (March 30, 2017). "How Ex-Spy Christopher Steele Compiled His Explosive Trump-Russia Dossier". Vanity Fair. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  31. Ewing, Philip (November 22, 2019). "In 'Crime In Progress,' Fusion GPS Chiefs Tell The Inside Story Of The Steele Dossier". NPR. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  32. Weindling, Jacob (January 11, 2017). "The 31 Most Explosive Allegations against Trump from the Leaked Intelligence Document". Paste. Retrieved December 29, 2017.
  33. Yglesias, Matthew; Prokop, Andrew (February 2, 2018). "The Steele dossier on Trump and Russia, explained". Vox. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  34. Garossino, Sandy (January 14, 2017). "Trump's Ill-Gotten Victory: Intel dossier says Putin helped Sanders, Stein". National Observer. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  35. "Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election" (PDF). Retrieved April 18, 2019. The Office investigated another Russia-related contact with Papadopoulos. The Office was not fully able to explore the contact because the individual at issue—Sergei Millian—remained out of the country since the inception of our investigation and declined to meet with members of the Office despite our repeated efforts to obtain an interview.
  36. Tribe, Laurence [@TribeLaw] (February 12, 2018). "Among those killed in the tragic plane crash yesterday: Sergei Millian, a Papadopoulis friend who had emailed Kushner and is said to be behind one of the most salacious claims in the dossier on Trump's involvement with Russia. Probably just coincidence" (Tweet). Archived from the original on February 12, 2018 – via Twitter.
  37. Greenwald, Glenn (February 12, 2018). "Harvard's Laurence Tribe Has Become a Deranged Russia Conspiracist: Today Was His Most Humiliating Debacle". Archived from the original on May 28, 2020. Laurence Tribe did not wait even 24 hours to exploit yesterday’s tragic crash of a Russian regional jet shortly after it took off from Moscow, killing all 71 people aboard. On Twitter this morning, Tribe (pictured above in 2010 with former Vice President Joe Biden) strongly insinuated that the Russian government may have purposely sabotaged the plane, murdering all of those on board, in order to silence one of the passengers, Sergei Millian, who has been linked to a couple of figures involved in the Trump-Russia investigation
  38. Stern, Marlow [@MarlowNYC] (February 12, 2018). "He fell for a 4chan hoax" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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