Page:Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election.pdf/173

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According to Burt, the "very influential person" referenced in his email was Simes, and the reference to a "trusted third party" was a fabrication, as no such third party existed. "Project A" was a term that Burt created for Aven's effort to help establish a communications channel between Russia and the Trump team, which he used in light of the sensitivities surrounding what Aven was requesting, especially in light of the recent attention to Russia's influence in the U.S, presidential election. According to Burt, his report that there was "interest" in a communications channel reflected Simes's views, not necessarily those of the Transition Team, and in any event, Burt acknowledged that he added some "hype" to that sentence to make it sound like there was more interest from the Transition Team than may have actually existed.

Aven replied to Burt's email on the same day, saying "Thank you. All clear." According to Aven, this statement indicated that he did not want the outreach to continue. Burt spoke to Aven some time thereafter about his attempt to make contact_with the Trump team, explaining to Aven that the current environment made it impossible, . Burt did not recall discussing Aven's request with Simes again, nor did he recall speaking to anyone else about the request.

In the first quarter of 2017, Aven met again with Putin and other Russian officials. At that meeting, Putin asked about Aven's attempt to build relations with the Trump Administration, and Aven recounted his lack of success. Putin continued to inquire about Aven's efforts to connect to the Trump Administration in several subsequent quarterly meetings.

Aven also told Putin's chief of staff that he had been subpoenaed by the FBI. As part of that conversation, he reported that he had been asked by the FBI about whether he had worked to create a back channel between the Russian government and the Trump Administration.