cnn's matthew chance caught up with viktor vekselberg in russia recently. here is what he had to say or not say. >> reporter: quick question from cnn. >> thank you, not now. >> reporter: why did your company pay hundreds of thousands of dollars -- >> i said not now. >> reporter: -- to president trump's lawyer? he is yet another media-shy russian billionaire linked with the kremlin and mired in allegations of collusion with the trump team. the fbi questioned viktor vekselberg about payments to trump attorney michael cohen by his company's u.s. affiliate. they say it was for consulting work. we asked about the payments too.

viktor vekselberg he's close to vladimir putin and one of several glarkz sanctioned by the u.s. government next month. the company was also hit with penalties in retaliation for russia's interference in the election. >> i can't make any comments as it relates to our sanctions or any specifics. >> reporter: "the new york times" confirming details initially made public by stormy daniels's lawyer, michael avenatti, that these payments amounted to nearly half a million dollars and were paid by columbus nova to cohen's shell company, essential consulting between january and august of 2017. columbus nova is run by viktor vekselberg's cousin who sources say has also been questioned by mueller's team. in a statement, columbus nova's general counsel stating, i can confirm that the company is 100% owned and controlled by americans. any suggestion that at any point in time viktor vekselberg or any of his companies owned or exercised any control over columbus nova is untrue. michael avenatti telling cnn that he has evidence that viktor vekselberg was involved before making this unsubstantia

the latest statement and the most forceful, saying in part the claim that viktor vekselberg was involvedided any funding for columbus nova's engagement of michael cohen is patently untrue. the company says although renova is itself biggest client, it is not controlled by vekselberg, stating columbus and renova have not and have ever been owned by a foreign entity or person. in fact since it's founding nearly 20 years ago, columbus nova has been and continues to be b 100% owned by americans. but renova listed columbus nova as a u.s. based affiliate on its own website. that reference was remove nd the past year according to cnn's file. other mentions of links between the two companies have been b removed from both of their websites. as late as 2007, sec filings list columbus nova as a u.s. based affiliate of the renova group. >> the notion this giant russian corporation is independent of a company that appears to have been an american subsidiary not very crede bable. >> so just more context on those sanctions. the pretty harsh punishment which could include freezing asset, travel ban, that

you know, to me the two things that stand out here, one, you were talking a minute ago about viktor vekselberg's american company columbus nova and the company saying that they're american. they have nothing to do with vekselberg. well, as it turns out, a year ago we at mother jones wrote about vekselberg in this company. at that time on their website they were listed as a subsidiary of renova, which is viktor vekselberg's company. so if you go back in the way back machine, you can find not too far back, not too way back that they were listed as a subsidiary. and to me the interesting thing is we wrote about vekselberg at the time because the president of the american subsidiary, who is an american citizen, happens to be the cousin of viktor vekselberg, had given a quarter million to the trump inauguration campaign and $35,000 to the trump campaign and the rnc. now, we looked at this guy. he had never given more than a couple hundred dollars, a couple thousand dollars in very mundane political contributions, never a lot. now all of the sudden with trump in the office, he is giving a quarter mill

you know, to me the two things that stand out here, one, you were talking a minute ago about viktor vekselberg's american company columbus nova and the company saying that they're american. they have nothing to do with vekselberg. well, as it turns out, a year ago we at mother jones wrote about vekselberg in this company. at that time on their website they were listed as a subsidiary of renova, which is viktor vekselberg's company. so if you go back in the way back machine, you can find not too far back, not too way back that they were listed as a subsidiary. and to me the interesting thing is we wrote about vekselberg at the time because the president of the american subsidiary, who is an american citizen, happens

those questions were also asked of viktor vekselberg when he was stopped by fbi agents. we're told, anderson, that vekselberg has not been coopera cooperate tif wi coopera cooperateive with authorities. all of these questions you're discussing with michael avenatti have come up as concerns with investigators. >> let's talk about vekselberg, what the fbi wanted to know from him. >> he's one of the most prominent businessmen in russia. he spent $100 million to buy fabregas eggs to bring them home. he was stopped when his private plane landed in the u.s. at that time, he was asked in addition to the questions that shimone just asked, he was also asked about payments from his cousin, andrew intrater, his cousin from columbus nova. he donated over $300,000 to trump, the inauguration and the rnc. that's a question that authorities asked vekselberg as well as intrater. columbus nova, the company, has since given a statement. we reached out to them for comment before the story, but they have now given us a statement in which i'll read part of it to you. it stays after the inaugur

reports today that viktor vekselberg used columbus nova as a conduit for payments to michael cohen arealse. neither vekselberg nor anyone else other than owners were involved in the decision to hire cohen or provided funding for his engagement. they're confirming that they were paid by michael cohen and that they were hired for certain services. that doesn't change that viktor vekselberg was asked questions about these payments and about intrater's political donations. >> and that is the new statement that was issue and the. this is from eric costa, the general counsel of columbus nova. as a general counsel of columbus nova i can confirm that the country is 100% owned and controlled by americans. any suggestion that at any point in time viktor vekselberg or any of his company's owned or exercise any control over columbus nova is patently untrue. what do you say to that? >> i mean, that's the case. we have seen regulatory filings that show that there was a history that linked them in the past. but, you know, like i said, this is something that mueller's team is looking at. they're going

cnn's matthew chance caught up with viktor vekselberg in russia recently.ere is what he had to say or not say. >> reporter: quick question from cnn. >> thank you, not now. >> reporter: why did your company pay hundreds of thousands of dollars -- >> i said not now. >> reporter: -- to president trump's lawyer? he is yet another media-shy russian billionaire linked with the kremlin and mired in allegations of collusion with the trump team. the fbi questioned viktor vekselberg about payments to trump attorney michael cohen by his company's u.s. affiliate. they say it was for consulting work. we asked about the payments too. >> i really appreciate it, just later, okay? >> reporter: did you have access to the president? >> i understand. you're so aggressive. >> reporter: did you have access to the president? >> please, later. remembe >> reporter: we now know that viktor vekselberg met michael cohen before president trump was inaugurated. these images from the lobby of trump tower in new york show the russian billionaire, wearing a hat and coat, checking in at the

those questions were asked of viktor vekselberg when he was stopped by fbi agents. old that vekselberg has not been cooperative with authorities and didn't answer many of their questions and all of these issues that you have been discussing at least in part with avenatti have come up as concerns. >> let's talk about what the fbi wanted to know from him. >> viktor vekselberg is one of the most prominent businessman in russia. spent $100 million to buy fabberge eggs to bring them home. he was also asked about questions payments to his cousin. his cousin had donated to the trump inauguration fund, totaling over $300,000. that is an issue and questions that authorities have asked vekselberg. columbus nova have given us a statement. we reached out to them and they have given us a statement in which i will read part of it to you. after the inauguration the firm hired michael cohen as a business consultant regarding potential sources. reports that viktor vekselberg used columbus nova as a continue wi for payments to michael cohen are false. neither viktor vekselberg nor any

why was this guy, viktor vekselberg, sending all that money?to me, david, and i assume to you as well, that robert mueller and his team, they have so much more knowledge, so much more information than any of us have. they have a ton of information, probably, about every little penny that anybody got involved with in this investigation. >> right. what seems clear from the outside looking in is that they are putting together a big puzzle and they've got a lot of pieces and they're slowly falling into place. michael and i have talked about this many times over the course of the last month. that a good prosecutor, correct me if i'm wrong, will sort of know in vaadvance where they're going before they start questioning people, before they start revealing information in indictment documents or in court charging documents about what questions they want to ask or what pleadings they're going to file with the court. they've got more information than the subjects of the investigation. >> that's right. and it will be interesting, wolf, to see whether or n

cnn in russia caught up with viktor vekselberg to ask him about the payments to michael cohen. listen to what he said. >> mr. vekselberg quick question from cnn. >> thank you. not now. >> why did your company pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to president trump's lawyer. >> not now. >> really appreciate -- okay. really appreciate -- i understand. you're so aggressive. >> no, i'm not. >> please -- >> was it to buy access to the president? >> please -- [ inaudible ]. >>what did you get for the money? >> please leave. >> questions, sir. >> you have to understand -- [ inaudible ]. >> what did the fbi question you about? >> thank you very much. >> so why is robert mueller and his team so interested in vekselberg? >> well, i think it is a question of follow the money. so viktor vekselberg was questioned when he arrived in the u.s. on his private plane earl -- early this year and was asked about political donations to the rnc and the trump victory fund and also asked about the payment to michael cohen. now the reason why they're asking for viktor vekselberg is because his company is

the same one with ties to russian oligarch viktor vekselberg inciting they are independent from viktor lot of people are raising doubts. evan perez is joining us with what he learned. >> it is one of the companies that paid money. and working hard to distance itself from russian oligarch. that is viktor vekselberg. he was placed last month in a sanctions list. cnn reported yesterday that investigators working with special counsel mueller stopped and questions vekselberg about payments that columbus nova had to the president's lawyer. cousins and sources told us that in trader was also questioned by investigators. some of the attention is coming because michael avenatti the lawyer for stormy daniels made allegations that said mr. vekselberg and his cousin quote routed eight payments to mr. cohen through columbus nova. the company itself is fully owned and operated by u.s. citizens and that it has never had foreign ownership. it also says that the oligarch had no role in the american company's decision to hire michael cohen. >> the company is previously portrayed a bit of a closer relati

vict viktor vekselberg. >> it's vekselberg who has a daughter here in new york. >> he does. and he has business interests here. he has business interests in the country, many places. >> because it was surprising to read this portion from your book, you're a guy who doesn't scare easily. this will inform our viewers as to the presence that putin is personally. i read from your book. in may 2012, i accompanied my former boss at the white house, national security adviser tom donilon, to his meeting with president-elect putin. putin listened politely to tom's arguments for continued cooperation. at some point in their dialogue, he turned away from tom to stare intensely at me with his steely blue eyes and stern scowl to accuse me of purposely seeking to ruin u.s.-russia relations. putin seemed genuinely angry with me. i was genuinely alarmed. the hair on the back of my neck stood on end and sweat covered my brow as i endured this tongue-lashing from one of the most powerful people in the world. he is not an amateur. he is a trained professional. if he had the capacity to do that

report today that viktor vekselberg used columbus nova false and neither vekselberg or its owners were involved in hiring cohen nor for his investment. they're confirming therm hired by cohen and hired for services. that doesn't change that vekselberg was asking questions about these statements. >> this is the statement from erick the general counsel of columbus nova. as a general counsel i can confirm the company is 100% owned and controlled by americans. any suggestions that at any point and time viktor vekselberg or his clients own a part of columbus nova is untrue. what do you say to that? >> we show a filing that there was history that link them in the past. like i said, this is something mueller's team is looking at. they're going to follow the money and look at these flows. and they question vekselberg about this connection. >> both of us having read those statements, shimon, do we know if there was anything illegal about these payments? >> no we don't. but this is something that the special counsel, that fbi is looking into. as we've reported, they were looking, the fbi was loo

to do business with viktor vekselberg or the renova group, so, nobody would want to advertise themselves as the u.s. investment vehicle for that group. right? we learned last week that vekselberg was stopped by agents working for robert mueller as he landed in a private plane at a new york area airport some time in the past couple of months. mueller's team questioned mr. vekselberg, including, it's being reported tonight, about these payments to michael cohen. it's also been reported that investigators asked to search his electronic devices, but we don't know if they actually did so. we only know they asked. tonight, we're getting statements from some of the companies mentioned in this document, allegedly giving funds to michael cohen, paying into essential consultants llc. a spokesman for columbus nova, the u.s. affiliate of renova, had this to say, quote, columbus nova is a management company solely owned and controlled by americans. after the inauguration, the firm hired michael cohen as a business consultant regarding potential sources of capital and potential investments in real est

what's not entirely clear is why viktor vekselberg was present. know that vekselberg was questioned by the special counsel, by fbi agents who stopped him when he arrived to a new york area airport. fbi agents met him and questioned him. they've also been looking at whether russian money was used through straw donors to donate to the inauguration and to the trump campaign. now, michael cohen wound up getting a contract with viktor vekselberg's cousin, who wound up paying him $580,000 for this contract. that also is something that has been reported on. we have extensively reported on. because of viktor vekselberg's ties to the investment firm that the cousin runs in new york, certainly, wolf, all of this has been something that the special counsel and the fbi has been investigating. >> thanks very much. with the latest on that front. our panel is back. and david, this michael cohen mess seems to be mushrooming with new details emerging. what's your reaction when you just heard his report? >> these kinds of details raise questions about what the speci

the guy who runs the qatari sovereign wealth fund, a russian banker, the russian ambassador, viktor vekselberg. >> if i can correct you, it is not that he's the client of columbus nova. i talked to several people who worked there. they refer to it as the vekselberg family office. to refer to a private hedge fund that's primary or so job is to invest the money of one person in their family. that's what columbus nova is. he technically maybe possibly wasn't an owner on the registration but the only assets they used, it is his piggy bank. >> what's your reaction to the story? >> i got a no comment from michael cohen when i went to him asking what the details of the meeting were about. i talked to someone who is a longtime friend. he made the point that was interesting that the biggest mistake that michael cohen has made and i don't know that this is the biggest mistake but according to this person, the biggest mistake that he made, he used the title personal attorney to president trump. if had just registered as a lobbyist, as a foreign agent, maybe joined the law firm officially that he worked o

the claim that viktor vekselberg was involved or provided any funding for columbus nova's engagement of michael cohen is patently untrue. neither viktor vekselberg nor anyone else in columbus nova's owners were involved in the decision to hire cohen or provide funding for his engagement. according to a seven-page financial document released by avenat avenatti, essential consultants took in more than $4 million from a variety of sources, including korea aerospace industries, at&t and pharma gunt kn giant knnovartis. at&t paid essential consultants $200,000 in four separate payments in late 2017 and early 2018. at&t's response -- essential consulting was one of several firms we engaged in this early 2017 to provide insights in to understanding the new administration. they did no legal or lobbying work for us and the contract ended in december 2017. according to these financial documents, novartis paid cohen's company $100,000 a month for a year totaling over $1 million. novartis told nbc, quote, any agreements with essential consultants were entered before our current ceo taking office

what we know now is that the special counsel's prosecutors, they have interviewed viktor vekselberg,e's a russian billionaire with very close ties to vladimir putin and prosecutors want to know about hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments that were made to michael cohen through a u.s. affiliate of vekselberg's company. these payments allegedly occurred in the first half of 2017 and the company that distributed these payments is columbus nova. so hundreds of thousands of dollars went right to michael cohen. columbus nova is actually run by vooug's american cousin andrew intrader. columbus nova is distancing itself from vekselberg. he said, as the general counsel of columbus nova, i can confirm that the company is 100% owned and controlled by americans. any suggestion that at any point in time viktor vekselberg or any of his companies owned or exercised any control over columbus nova is patently untrue. it is important to note that so far prosecutors have not accused michael cohen of any wrongdoing in regard to these payments or any other business dealings but his finances have c

approximately $500,000 from columbus nova, the american investment firm tied to russian billionaire viktor vekselberg, who has close ties to vladimir putin. in a statement, a lawyer for columbus nova described the money as a "consulting fee," and said that vekselberg was "not involved in the decision to hire hihen." >> i think that receiving the payments, by the personal attorney to the president, michael cohen, it's highly suspicious. it may, in fact, show criminal honduct. >> reporter: avenatti says those crimes could include bank and wire fraud, or money laundering. cohen is under federal anvestigation, and last month, f.b.i. agents raided his home and offices in new york. at&t, novartis, and korea aerospace have all confirmed they too paid cohen for consulting services.

now, also keep in mind, kate, viktor vekselberg was at trump's inauguration. there is some history with him and vladimir putin. he was at an rt dinner that michael flynn was at. all of this, obviously, created some suspicion and some concern for the fbi and the special counsel team that has been looking at russia collusion and that's why they wanted to talk to him and this raises questions about what was viktor vekselberg doing there, who thought this was a good idea for this man who is a very well known russian oligarch, who has connections to vladimir putin, you know, who would think this would be a good idea for this man to appear to show up at trump tower during the transition? >> and also how that is, if that is connected to that huge dollar amount that the private equity firm paid then to michael cohen for consulting services. how that all fits together, that's what they're looking at. great to see you. thank you so much. >>> coming up for us, the backlash over the briefings, lawmakers ripping the trump administration for involving a white house attorney

reports say viktor vekselberg used columbus nova has a conduit for payments. neither vekselberg nor anyone else other than the columbus nova's owners were involved in the decision to hire cohen or provided funding for his engagement. what do you think of that? >> it will be up to investigators to find the truth behind it. the only difference i think i have with michael, and i respect his opinion quite a bit, is just that i think that, you know, this was the llc that was set up to pay daniels and potentially other women. i think those payments and how -- where that money comes from will be of interest. it becomes a foreign source, that's a problem. and also as stormy daniels's lawyer talked about yesterday, there were -- he alleges there were false statements made by the bank in connection with opening the account. that potentially is of interest. there needs to be more attention to know if there is anything potentially there. >> thank you both very much. chris? >> the president's nominee for cia director will face tough questions at her confirmation hearing to

and that oligarch is named viktor vekselberg. a close ally of vladimir putin, he was placed last month on a sanctions list by the treasury department. cnn reported yesterday that investigators working with robert mueller stopped and questioned vekselberg at a new york area airport this year about payments that columbus nova made to the president's lawyer. now, vekselberg and columbus nova founder andrew enslider are cousins, and sources tell us that entrader was also questioned by investigators. now, some of the attention on columbus nova is coming because michael avenatti, the lawyer for adult film star stormy daniels, made allegations that say mr. vekselberg and his cousin, quote, routed eight payments to mr. cohen through columbus know vachlt now, columbus nova says vekselberg's russian company is its biggest client, but the company is owned and operated by u.s. citizens and it's never had any foreign ownership. it also says that the oligarch had no role in the american company's decision to hire michael cohen. >> this company

columbus nova's biggest client is a kremlin linked russian billionaires named viktor vekselberg, one of the world's ripest men, and a guy who has already been questioned by robert mueller's investigator. they questioned him when he flew into the country. there's evidence that vekselberg may have used his holdings to do the kremlin's bidding in the past. four years ago, the fbi warned a foundation controlled by him might have been acting on behalf of russia's intelligence services. so all this led to speculation that vekselberg perhaps acting on behalf of the russian government or not was funneling money to cohen through columbus nova. right? that would be a huge deal. here's the thing, the company columbus nova stressed it as american company run by american businessmen named andrew entraitor. vekselberg is entraitor's cousin and his biggest client. but the company says vekselberg was not involved in the decision to pay cohen. i quote here, the claim viktor was involved or provide any funding for columbus nova's engagement of michael cohen is patently untrue. in other words, how dare

viktor vekselberg is a blast from the past, a original oligarch and made the money in the '90s in then the kmomids grab in russia and there is answer of what relationship with the president and the payments through the company he had an investment in that his company runs that happens to be an american citizen that is raising eyebrows but this happened before he was sanctioned back in april and that happened -- prior that that interviewed by bob mueller so from what i know about viktor vekselberg, he is not in trump's inner circle as far as the oligarchs -- and in vladimir putin's inner circle as far as the oligarchs that he has molded himself. he is one of the earlier wunone and the reason and the question of the money sent towards michael cohen in essence to curry favor is sort of what the -- what the conclusion has been thus far is what is raising a lot of questions today. >> certainly is. and dana bash, let me ask you this about other huge development today with the north koreans releasing the three american detainees. is this the result of president trump's decision to engage dir

reports say that viktor vekselberg used columbus nova as conduit for payments to michael cohen are false. they claim viktor vekselberg that payments were not true. $200,000 from communications giant at&t spread over four payments from october 2017 to january of 2018. in a statement, at&t said this. essential consulting was one of several firms we engajds in early 2017 to provide insights into understanding the new administration. they did no legal or lobbying work for us and the contract ended in december of 2017. over similar time period there was about $400,000 in payments from novartis. a spokesperson said any agreement with essential consultants before the current ceo taking office have expired. michael avenatti said payments to cohen's company raises serious questions. >> i don't believe michael cohen is registered as a lobbyist as he should be to represent any foreign agents or foreign interests. the big question is this. all this money comes into this account, we have reason to believe it didn't all go to michael cohen. michael cohen needs to disclose where the balance of the mone

$500,000 from a company, columbus nova that avenatti says is controlled by a russian oligarch viktor vekselberghis cousin, an american citizen. "the new york times" reported that mueller's investigators stopped vekselberg at a new york area airport earlier this year, searched his electronic devices and questioned him. an attorney for columbus nova said it is a management company, solely owned and controlled by americans. after the inauguration, the firm hired michael cohen has a business consultant regarding potential sources of capitol and potential investments in real estate and other ventures. reports today that viktor vekselberg used columbus nova as a conduit for payments to michael cohen are false. the claim that viktor vekselberg was involved or provided any funding for columbus nova's engagement of michael cohen is patently untrue. among the other payments to cohen's company, essential consultants. $200,000 was from communication giant at&t spread over four separate payments from october 2017 to january 2018. in a statement, at&t said essential consulting was one of several firms we eng

run by a man who is the cousin of a man named viktor vekselberg.e also know that vekselberg is a russian oligarch worth billions and billions ever dollars and very closely tied like all oligarchs are to vladimir putin. we don't know what vekselberg and cohen were involved in the payments and what they were for. stormy daniels' attorney michael avenatti was on "morning joe" earlier today. >> this is an enormous amount of money. >> it is. >> that is flowing into this account, beginning in october, november, december time period of 2016. you've got millions of dollars that are being deposited into this account. where did the money go? did all of it go to michael cohen? did some of it go back to the trump organization? did some of it ultimately find its way to the program. >> aye-yai-yai. we should point out that it's not directly and telling the atlantic, quote, this is not a payment. meanwhile, columbus nova released a statement on tuesday saying in part, the firm hired michael cohen as a business consultant. the claim that viktor vekselberg was invo

their biggest client is a kremlin linked russian billionaire named viktor vekselberg, and a guy who hasller's investigators. they questioned him e

viktor vekselberg has been questioned. ey think he must know something and knows putin holds his way over the i russian economy, that includes a pricey favor veck vekselberg did for putp. he returned nine faberge eggs in 1984. he publicly praises the leader as a detail oriented man concerned with russia's well being . >> former intelligence officer is the author of the plot to hack america, how putin cyber size and wikileaks stride to steal the 2016 election. when we see someone like this pop up in the news, obviously the mueller questioning is notable. we don't know automatically where he fits in. what is your view of the significance? is this some guy or more than that? well, first you have to understand just exactly are the oligarchy fits into the russian chain of command. they are civilian, captains of industry the robber barons of the former soviet union who became rich after the soviet union collapsed and when russia liquidated all of its assets and became a capitalist society. these men became insanely rich. vladimir

and he is cousins with the founder of columbus nova, viktor vekselberg. columbus nova is attempting to distance itself from vekselberg, removing this about the founder's ties from renova group. a spokesman said the website changes are being made because the ties are being misunderstood. cohen now facing accusations of engaging in the very behavior the president slammed his opponent for in 2016. >> access and favors were sold for cash. it's called pay-for-play. >> pay-for-play. it's illegal. >> reporter: press secretary sarah sanders refusing to comment. >> as you know, due to the complications of the different components of this investigation, i would refer you to the president's outside counsel to address those concerns. >> this as both at&t and novartis confirmed they cooperated with investigators about their business agreements with cohen. in a court filing, lawyers confirming payments from novartis and at&t but accusing michael avenatti, who initially published the details of the transactions, of publishing other information about the wrong cohen. >>

viktor vekselberg. what do we know about him? fill in some of the blanks for folks not too familiar. >> he's worth about $15 billion, reported to be the fourth richest man in russia. happens to have the largest private collection of faberge eggs, fun fact. but you know what? he's been cultivating influence in the united states for a long time. he was a contributor to the clinton foundation years ago. so it's not clear to me that this entree to michael cohen wasn't garden variety influence peddling, which could be a scandal in its own right. it could be that, or it could be a gesture on behalf of the russian government because after all, this is an oligarch who operates, you know, with the permission of vladimir putin, you know, is wealthy because vladimir putin allows him to be wealthy and wants sanctions lifted. in fact, he is under sanctions now as of april by the united states, and so he has an interest in pursuing policies that vladimir putin wants to see happen. >> and, susan, the even broader context for this is the other r

why the end why all of this matters is because of viktor vekselberg.ed the december 2015 dinner in moscow that michael flynn attended. he also attended the inauguration, trump's n inauguration. vekselberg is the cousin of columbusnova, which gave money to michael cohen and that same cousin also donated some $285,000 to the trump inauguration and victory funds. all of this has come under scrutiny by the special counsel. the company columbusnova issued a statement essentially and in it they claim that viktor veksel about t vekselberg has not provided any funds, and as we've been reporting this certainly has come under the krut any of the special counsel. viktor vekselberg was stopped by u.s. agents when he came to the u.s. where he questioned about some of these payments and that investigation is still ongoing. >> thank you very much. i want to discuss this with chief political analyst gloria borger. you had clearly a number of companies that were trying to find a channel to president trump through michael cohen and they were paying him big bucks to do t

that's a management, and it is linked to viktor vekselberg, who we spoke about earlier. the company made payments of about $500,000 or so to michael cohen. the connection is that they are linked through this relationship. sec filings called and victor vexelberg has been sanctioned by the u.s. government because of russia interference in the election. he has claes. >> but this company is trying to make a distinction, right? they're saying he didn't have anything to do with this? what are they saying? >> they issued a statement and this will be probably the they're statement we've gotten from them. this one says that essentially they are a management company solely owned and controlled by americans and that reports today that viktor vekselberg used columbus as a -- it's false. neither victor vekselb. >> what do you think of that? >> didn't somehow influence this election is -- we're beyond that. woo don't. as even be kind of a rational distngs but we do know mr. mum the there's essentially a pay-to-play situation going on here with mr. cohen. it happens in washington and i

the most interesting payment is the one with nova, with viktor vekselberg. >> that's the one lurking in the background. >> that goes to the heart and soul of what robert mueller is investigating. whether there were quid pro quos to people in the trump administration for money and whether donald trump knew about that. >> we have learned through michael avenatti's revelation of these payments and a lot of the great reporting by "the washington post" and others following up, a bunch of information about these payments to michael cohen, which obviously special prosecutor robert mueller has known for quite a while. this is a revelation again of how far ahead of us he is. what do you see as the special prosecutor's main points of interests of what we have publicly learned this week? >> when he finds out about this, even though they don't -- unless there's been some act in quid pro quo by an office holder, the fact that cohen is going around basically being a grifter doesn't necessarily sound as a federal crime. there are things that might have been fraudulent and violation of election law

any suggestion that any point in time viktor vekselberg or any of his companies owned or exercised any control over columbus nova is patently untrue. what evidence do you have that vekselberg ordered instructed or urged nova to make any payment? >> first of all, his cousin was the ceo of the entity at all relevant times. that's a. b, "mother jones" i think did extensive reporting about a year or two ago relating to the connection between the u.s. subsidiary and the russian entity. so that's b. c, what's interesting about the statement that's have been made, don, is they still haven't told anyone truly what the arrangement was with michael cohen, what it was for, why did they hire michael cohen to undertake this effort and what they haven't said is that there was absolutely no contacts whatsoever or connection between their entity and this oligarch or russia. >> how do we know that this came from russia or vekselberg or that -- was it just nova acting on their own? >> what do you mean how do we know that? >> how do you know that? >> i won't disclose every aspect of what we know. here's

saying it has been and continues to be 100% owned by americans, and has never been owned by viktor vekselberg the renova group, but it is hard to erase family ties. columbus nova's ceo is vekselberg's cousin andrew introtter. vekselberg's other cousin also works at columbus nova and is the one who registered dozens of website domain names to the company. >> they need to be able to explain what the relationship is, but it certainly looks like this is all tied together by the fact there's a family connection here but also a long-standing business connection. >> reporter: in all there were nearly a hundred domain names registered by frederick introtter on behalf of columbus nova. including eight with some vary united nations variations of the words alt-right. they were domain names made within two day of a speech made by hillary clinton. >> this is not conservativetism as we've known it, not republicanism as we've known it. these are racist ideas, race baiting ideas, anti-muslim, anti-immigrant all key tenants making up the racist ideology known as the alt-right. >> reporter: late today frederic

video shows the russian oligarch viktor vekselberg at trump tower days before the inauguration. black hat and you may have heard his name before when his plane landed in the u.s. this year and he was questioned about special counsel robert mueller team. the man to his left, that is his cousin andrew intrader and who runs a investment firm that same month started paying more than a half a million dollars to the president's personal attorney michael cohen. and shimon prokupecz has been following. and what was he doing at trump tower and why did mueller want to talk to him? >> that is a great question. and the people that we talked to said that they were there to discuss u.s. and russia relations, how to better the relations. now the question is why did they feel the need to have these discussions with michael cohen who, as you you've said was the personal attorney to the president and what would his role be in bettering any relationship with any country is not clear. but what is interesting in the two guys and they were both questioned about the special counsel, by fbi agents, is

busy over the last few weeks trying to erase all the links that there were between them and viktor vekselberg. they scrubbed all references to the company that vekselberg owns, renova group, from their website. and, look, all these companies have said that they -- one thing they wanted was access to the administration. in the case of -- in the case of novartis, they said what they wanted was advice on health care. at&t said she wanted insight into the new administration. korean company said they wanted some legal advice. and so all of this ties into what michael cohen was doing, in the end, just access to the new administration. of course, robert mueller's team has taken interest in this, as a prosecutor in the southern district of new york. we know that novartis and at&t have confirmed they both have provided information to robert mueller's investigators. this happened months ago. and we have a statement from i think from at&t which says in part, when we were contacted by the special counsel's office regarding michael cohen, we cooperated fully, providing all information requested in novembe

though, as evan just laid out that the company has been scrubbing itself of any reference to viktor vekselberg, right? any reference at all to the head of columbus nova company, his russian oligarchs cousin, how does that factor? >> vekselberg was one of the two men who were stopped when they came into united states air space and landed outside of new york and it was mueller's team who seized on the opportunity to have somebody who otherwise would not be under their jurisdictional power of the united states to search phones and electronic devices, including interrogation, discussions with the person. you know that this person was already on the radar. he's also somebody who's already been put on the sanctions list for what? election interference and to have this person only now at the 11th hour essentially and really probably the next morning if you think about it, to have this person now be scrubbed makes it all the more curious and suspicion about why and what he was doing initially. >> the fact that at&t, novartis spoke to the special counsel, what does that tell you that besides the fact t

reports that viktor vekselberg used them as payment to michael cohen in false. and novartis said -- >> novartis was paying cohen $100,000 a month. so that adds up to $1.2 million. and novartis also acknowledging that it was talked to by agents from robert mueller's special counsel investigation in november of last year about the payments. avenatti insists that some of the payments are possibly fraudulent and illegal. though, we should say, harris, he presents no evidence to back up that claim. harris? >> harris: okay. so michael avenatti, the attorney for adult film star stormy daniels gets his hands on this information about michael cohen's businesses how? >> well, that is a good question. we asked michael avenatti how he got ahold of this. here is what he told fox news. "that is my work product and will not be disclosed. why is michael cohen refusing to provide the bank. stays to the public -- statements to the public if what we asserted is not true?" a source tells fox news it could only have come from three sources. only one of three sources. bank accounts,

and that's why the relationship between viktor yanukovych and columb -- viktor vekselberg and columbus nova is so interesting. is viktor vekselberg using columbus nova to funnel money out which all of the oligarchs want to do and get it over to the united states and into dollars which is much more desirable than the ruble. when you're looking into all these businesses, absolutely are they being layered? is it for something else? and so the russian angle of this is one critical picture. and then there is all of michael cohen's exposure. and what came out that was really shocking to me, i shouldn't say shocking, but noteworthy to me were these payments with elliott broidy which amounted pretty close to the amount of money that was paid to karen mcdougal who was the other playmate who had the deal with ami. now this is getting a little too far down the line. but what are those payments from elliott broidy -- it's not going to be his legal work. >> right. >> because that would go to his law account. it's not going -- it's most likely not going to be the legal work that he purportedly did f

that oligarch, viktor vekselberg, is alleged to have made payments to cohen's shell company, essentialonsulting, llc. among u.s. officials who study russia's elite, quote, vekselberg has a reputation as the nice oligarch, relatively free from the taint of thuggery. i thought we weren't going to say taint on this show any longer! bad. according to nbc's reporting, he has advocated for a resatart of u.s.-russia relations. he even attended donald trump's inauguration in 2017 but he was also sanctioned for muddling in the u.s. election. he was subsequently stopped at the airport by investigators. there is no information note th indication that vekselberg is suspected of any wrongdoing. joining me here, tom winter. by here i mean just upstairs at another studio. tom, good to see you. tell me a little bit more about vekselberg. columbus nova is issuing a statement saying the company is american-roled. they denied vekselberg had ever owned it or used it for payments. does the evidence support that claim? >> katy, not surprisingly, it's more nuanced than that. our understanding of it based upo

i mean cohen and viktor vekselberg, we just learned about that last week in terms of the payment scheme's known about it since at least november of 2017. my point is this -- if you ever had a doubt that the mueller investigation wasn't really trudging along behind the scenes and finding out information before the rest of us know about it? you got to put that thought to rest because that man and his team is collecting evidence, interviewing people, including maybe donald trump, and he's building a case that's going to be, i think, air-tight against whomever have been implicated in the 2016 russian meddling in terms of the elections and any other obstruction of justice charges that can be brought at that point in time. >> you have rudy giuliani, the president's attorney, saying the comey anniversary of this investigation, he plans to, in his words, make a little fuss about how long this has gone on. we have seen this legal team do that in the past, try to make something of the timetable. how effective has that been from a rhetorical perspective? how long this investigation has proceeded.

we know they have deep connections to the russian oligarch viktor vekselberg.rtly after hillary clinton gave a speech criticizing the alt-right, somebody at this firm, columbus nova, started registering alt-right websites? >> yes, john. yes, it is strange. here is that speech. >> this is not conservatism as we have not it. this is not republicanism as we have known it. these are racist ideas, race-baiting ideas, anti-member, anti-immigrant, anti-women, all key tenants making up the emerging racist ideology known as the alt-right. >> okay, john, within two days after hillary clinton said that word, alt-right, if that speech, a person named frederick introter registered hoichb demain names containing alt-right or a variation. he is the brother of the company's ceo and the registrations were being made using a columbus nova business account. he's also the cousin of that russian oligarch. >> drew, any idea why he wanted these demain names or how they were used? >> we got a statement from him tonight. he's saying he purchased these demain names for years with his ow

. >> what do we think viktor vekselberg's company got for half a million dollars from michael cohen?well, alisyn, i'll answer this question very briefly but i was really invited here to talk about whether the president can be subpoenaed into legal issues behind that. i'm just going to say that there's such a confusion of facts about this. i don't know who owns who or what russian oligarch is involved and neither does any of the press who's reporting on it. you do know it's sort of welcome to the swamp because one of his biggest providers of money was patton boggs which is an old democratic firm and tommy boggs made gazillion -- >> did they give money to michael cohen? >> yes, they did. $500,000. >> democrats and a russian oligarch gave money toichael cohen and that's swampy to you? >> yes, except michael cohen doesn't live or work in the swamp so he really doesn't know how to get along in it like the rest of us who live here. >> so it's not -- is it swampy or not swampy? >> i don't know. i was really invited here by your booker to talk about whether the president can be subpoenaed, s