Grand Jury Witness: Mueller Probe Is a Witch Hunt

Ronn Torossian 

On December 15, 2017, I spent the day testifying in Washington, D.C., in front of the Mueller Commission grand jury at the United States District Court. As Business Insider first reported, in 2012 I was approached by Paul Manafort and Rick Gates to do Public Relations work for the Ukrainian government, and not to report said work to the Department of Justice as required by FARA laws. They also implied they’d pay me off shore.

Kyle R. Freeny, a Special Investigator in Mr. Mueller’s office strongly urged me to do my patriotic duty, drop all my professional and personal responsibilities even and appear immediately in front of the grand jury (about a short meeting held 5+ years ago which I vaguely remembered). I reluctantly wake up for a 6 a.m. shuttle flight and spent the day in court. Prior to that testimony, I shared the limited details during interviews with government investigators. I verified that I spoke with Manafort and Gates a few times in February and March 2012, and shared the handful of emails I was in possession of and testified under oath they were accurate.

After hours of repeating the same thing again and again, questions then veered into Russian names I’d never before heard (including Konstantin Kilimnik), and questions about previous work I have done for Russian oligarchs, confirming that I know Roger Stone, worked for Eric Trump’s Foundation in 2017, and more. (Yes, my NYC born kids understand Russian as my ex-wife is Russian, and yes they attend the same NYC school that Ivanka and Jared’s kids did.)

After being thanked profusely by Ms. Feeny and a series of stern-looking attorneys, alone, I exited the courtroom, ignored questions from the media outside the courthouse, and took the Acela back to my Park Avenue office. Not surprisingly, Manafort and Gates have been indicted, yet nothing has connected this matter to President Trump.

This investigation feels like a witch-hunt, even more so after reading yesterday’s CNN news report that, "Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators have questioned Russian oligarchs travelling in the U.S. about whether they donated to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. One oligarch was questioned and his electronic devices searched when his private jet landed in the U.S., and a second Russian oligarch was also questioned during a recent trip to the U.S. An informal interview request has been made to a third oligarch who has not recently been to the U.S."

This is the U.S. under the thumb of the Deep State and a Prosecutor who is out of control.

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