Trump’s Commerce Secretary Concealed Business Ties with Putin’s Son-in-Law, Leaked Documents Show

“Our Committee Was Misled”

Following Sunday’s report that Robert Mueller had gathered enough evidence to bring charges against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and his son in his Russia probe, another Trump administration official is making headlines for Russian ties.

“Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary in the Trump administration, shares business interests with Vladimir Putin’s immediate family,” NBC reported Sunday, “and he failed to clearly disclose those interests when he was being confirmed for his cabinet position.”

NBC and other outlets further reported that Ross, a billionaire industrialist, had retained interest in Navigator Holdings, a shipping company partially owned by his former investment company. Of its most important business partners, a Russian energy firm, is controlled by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s son-in-law “and other members of the Russian president’s inner circle.”

The revelation stems from over 7 million internal documents of Appleby, a law-firm based in Bermuda, which released emails, presentations and other electronic data to German newspaper  Süddeutsche Zeitung. The newspaper, in turn, shared these documents with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

The consortium is a global network and Pulitzer Prize winner for its work on the Panama Papers, which CNN reported “allegedly reveal a clandestine network involving associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and business ties between a member of FIFA’s ethics committee and men whom the United States has indicted for corruption.”

The ICIJ has dubbed the documents in their latest release the “Paradise Papers.”

NBC further reported that the documentation they examined “tell a different story than the one Ross told at his confirmation,” noting that the commerce secretary “did not reveal to the government the full details of the holdings he kept.”

The Office of Government Ethics approved Ross’s reported holdings, which were also “left almost entirely unchallenged by the Senate,” NBC reported, further noting:

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said members of Congress who were part of Ross’ confirmation hearings were under the impression that Ross had divested all of his interests in Navigator. Furthermore, he said, they were unaware of Navigator’s close ties to Russia.

“I am astonished and appalled because I feel misled,” said Blumenthal. “Our committee was misled, the American people were misled by the concealment of those companies.” Blumenthal said he will call for the inspector general of the Commerce Department to launch an investigation.

James Rockas, a spokesman for Wilbur Ross, told The New York Times that the commerce secretary “recuses himself from any matters focused on transoceanic shipping vessels, but has been generally supportive of the administration’s sanctions of Russian and Venezuelan entities.”

Even prior to Sunday’s revelations about Michael Flynn, Russia has remained atop this week’s headlines after it was revealed that former Trump campaign foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos secretly pled guilty to making false statements to the FBI, with statements involving Russia.

Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort was also indicted in Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, with charges that included “conspiracy against the United States.”

Late Saturday evening, and early Sunday in Tokyo, Donald Trump confirmed to reporters aboard Air Force One that he will meet with President Putin during his 12-day Asian tour.

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