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u.s. news Diasabra 19 Maart 2022

Oligarchs drop defamation lawsuit over Trump-Russia dossier

(AP) — Three Russian oligarchs
who said their reputations were But recent sanctions filed against the
smeared by a dossier of opposi- oligarchs and the bank amid Russia's
tion research examining Donald war with Ukraine may have compli-
Trump's ties to Russia have agreed cated their path toward proving defa-
to dismiss their defamation law- mation.
suit, according to a notice filed in
federal court on Friday. On Tuesday, lawyers for Fusion GPS
asked a federal judge to dismiss the
Businessmen Mikhail Fridman, Petr case, noting that sanctions "illustrate
Aven and German Khan sued Fusion in stark detail that the alleged defam-
GPS, a research and intelligence firm, atory statements are true, and surely
and one of its founders, Glenn Simp- must persuade any reasonable trier of
son, in 2017. The men, cofounders of fact that none of these Plaintiffs will
Russia-based Alfa Bank, alleged they ever succeed in meeting their burden
had been defamed by various state- of proving these statements false."
ments in a Democratic-funded dos-
sier that Fusion had commissioned The United Kingdom included all
former British spy, Christopher three men in a round of sanctions
Steele, to produce on the relationship this week, saying it was "going further
between Trump and the Kremlin. and faster than ever in hitting those
closest" to Russian President Vladi-
The Steele dossier has been largely mir Putin. The Treasury Department
discredited since its publication, with last month sanctioned Alfa Bank and that both sides had stipulated that the years of needless litigation."
core aspects of the material exposed as other Russian financial institutions, court action be "dismissed with prej- "At core, the oligarch owners of Alfa
unsupported and unproven rumors. and the EU has sanctioned Aven and udice as to all claims, causes of action, Bank took issue with the observation
A special counsel assigned to investi- Fridman. and parties, with each party bear- that they were close to Russian dic-
gate the origins of the Trump-Russia ing that party's own attorneys' fees tator Vladimir Putin and amassed in-
probe has charged one of Steele's Alfa Bank has said that Fridman and and costs." A lawyer for the plaintiffs credible wealth as a result of that as-
sources for the dossier with lying to Aven have stepped down from the didn't immediately return a message sociation," the statement continued.
the FBI, and has also charged a cy- board and that Khan has left the list seeking comment. "Official statements explaining recent
bersecurity lawyer who worked for of beneficiaries. economic sanctions imposed on the
Hillary Clinton's campaign with ly- Joshua Levy, a lawyer for Fusion GPS plaintiffs by the European Union and
ing to the FBI during a 2016 meeting The oligarchs gave no explanation and Simpson, said in a statement "that the UK, we believe, confirmed that
in which he relayed concerns about for the dismissal, but their lawyers we are pleased that the plaintiffs de- truth."
Alfa Bank. said in a single-sentence filing Friday cided to abandon their case after 4.5
Feds: Guard lied in probe of gun found at NYC federal jail

(AP) — A federal correc- to appear in court Friday in zie's alleged lying and ob- cated the gun March 5, 2020, mate called and then sent
tional officer was arrested Manhattan to face charges struction are especially trou- inside a wall accessible to a a text message to McKen-
Friday for lying to investi- of obstruction of justice and bling "because a loaded fire- particular cell in a Metro- zie's prepaid phone around
gators after a loaded gun making false statements. arm in the hands of an inmate politan Correctional Center 12:16 a.m. and, about three
was found in an inmate's They carry a combined maxi- endangers not just the prison, housing unit. Prior to that, minutes later, security video
cell at a federal jail in New mum sentence of 25 years in but the entire community." prosecutors said, McKenzie shows McKenzie exiting the
York City — the same prison. McKenzie is the first person had been in contact with the guard station and walking to-
troubled lockup where charged in connection with inmate living in that cell and ward the area of the inmate's
financier Jeffrey Epstein Online court records did the smuggled handgun, one the inmate's wife using a pre- cell while carrying an object
killed himself in 2019. not list a lawyer who could of many crises that led the paid Samsung cellphone that under his left arm.
speak on McKenzie's behalf. federal Bureau of Prisons to he bought Jan. 30, 2020.
Greg McKenzie, a guard at The union representing cor- close the Metropolitan Cor- During a voluntary interview
the since-shuttered Metro- rectional workers said it does rectional Center, at least Cellphone records show with two federal law enforce-
politan Correctional Center, not routinely comment on temporarily, last October to multiple communications ment agents on Nov. 4, 2021,
used a prepaid cellphone to pending criminal litigation. address issues plaguing the between McKenzie's prepaid prosecutors say McKenzie
communicate with the in- A message seeking comment Manhattan facility, including phone and the inmate's wife made materially false state-
mate and the inmate's wife was left with the federal Bu- lax security and crumbling on Jan. 31, 2020, and indicat- ments about purchasing, pos-
prior to the gun's discovery reau of Prisons. The inmate infrastructure. ed that for a time their phones sessing and using the prepaid
in March 2020, but denied was not identified in McKen- were in the same vicinity in cellphone, obstructing the
doing so when federal agents zie's charging documents. The incident, just before the Bronx, prosecutors said investigation into the smug-
interviewed him about it last the start of nationwide CO- in the officer's indictment. gling of the gun and other
year, prosecutors said. Special Agent Ryan Geach of VID-19 shutdowns, marked contraband into the jail.
the Justice Department's In- a massive breach of protocol McKenzie, who was on a
McKenzie, 35, of Danbury, spector General's office said and raised serious questions year-long temporary assign- Epstein killed himself at the
Connecticut, was scheduled in a statement that McKen- about security practices in ment to the Metropolitan jail in August 2019 while
federal prisons, which house Correctional Center span- awaiting trial on sex traffick-
more than 154,000 inmates. ning December 2019 to De- ing charges. The wealthy fi-
cember 2020, then went to nancier's death led to intense
The jail, billed as one of the work for a midnight shift on scrutiny on the jail and the
most secure in America, was the inmate's housing unit, Bureau of Prisons. Two cor-
put on lockdown for a week, the indictment said. Security rectional officers accused of
with inmates kept in their video showed him walking sleeping and shopping on
cells without access to their around, rather than through, the internet when they were
lawyers or visitors. Searches a stationary metal detector supposed to be watching
turned up other contraband when he entered the facility, Epstein's unit reached a deal
and led to a criminal probe the indictment said. last year to avoid jail time
into guard misconduct. after admitting they forged
According to the indictment, records to make it look like
Bureau of Prisons officers lo- phone records show the in- they checked in on him.