The Sad Sack Tale of Rob Goldstone, by Josh Marshall | Talking Points Memo

The Sad Sack Tale of Rob Goldstone

Editor’s Blog – Talking Points Memo

by Josh Marshall  /  1h  //  keep unread  //  hide 

May 16

We — and no doubt many other news organizations — are still working our way through the various new documents, interview transcripts and reports on the Trump-Russia story that were released today. There’s one small thread of the story that captured my attention. It comes out of Senate interviews and email records from Rob Goldstone, the British music publicist who worked exclusively for Emin Agalarov, the singer son of Russian oligarch Aras Agalarov. It was Goldstone who notoriously set up the meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and Russian lawyer and government agent Natalia Veselnitskaya.

We know that story, at least its main outlines. We also saw more evidence today of what looks like a highly suspicious phone call Donald Trump Jr. made to an unknown number between his calls to Emin. There’s some circumstantial evidence that call could have been to Donald Trump Jr.’s father. But what really comes through in Goldstone’s testimony (which I’m still making my way through) and especially the email records he provided is someone who was essentially set up or — perhaps better to say — used for a purpose without having a clear sense of what he was getting himself into or the danger to which he was exposing himself.

Don’t get me wrong. You don’t have to be a genius or an international relations scholar to know that a U.S. presidential candidate getting assistance from the Russian government might be a problem. I’m sure most Brits would get that. And in fact — what I learned today — Goldstone is actually a naturalized U.S. citizen. Indeed, as the press swarms around him he reminds Emin on more than one occasion that he said at the time the whole thing was a bad idea. Still, reading these documents, I definitely get the sense Goldstone didn’t know the fullness of what he was getting himself into. When the shit hit the fan, he felt very badly used to Emin and his father Aras. And with good reason. The Agalarovs were in Russia, beyond anyone’s reach. It wasn’t their problem.

For Goldstone, on the one side are the Agalarovs who he no longer worked for but was keen to protect and lawyers for the Trump organization who were coaching him on what to say.

“I hope this favor was worth it for you dad — it could blow up big” Goldstone tells Emin in one text message. “This has and will have a disastrous effect on my Business also and I trust we will be compensated in some way — already one new client has walked away over this and it can only get worse.”

At other times, Goldstone gets more intense. “I have 20 years of reputation basically destroyed by this dumb meeting which your father insisted on even though Ike and Me told him would be bad news and not to do.” This wasn’t the only time Goldstone claimed after the fact that he’s said the whole thing was a bad idea. In late June 2017, after news of the meeting had broken in The New York Times, Goldstone is emailing Emin about his mounting troubles and reiterating: “I did say at the time this was an awful idea and a terrible meeting.”

All of the back and forth is with Emin, the son and singer, not Aras, the oligarch who is close to Vladmir Putin. That makes sense. Emin’s the singer who can’t seem to get traction outside of Russia where his father appears to have largely bought him his career. Still, the distance and cushion Emin provided in this caper looks to have been convenient to Aras and whoever was directing him. It’s a bit hard to read Emin in the exchanges, whether he’s just clueless or whether he’s unwilling to come clean about the trouble he and his father have gotten Goldstone into.

At a minimum, there’s clearly a lot of the former.

At one point Goldstone is harping on the press storm engulfing him when Emin asks: “Why does this destroy your reputation?”

Goldstone: “Because I work in music and it’s FULL of Liberals and I am seen as some weird link to the kremlin.”

Goldstone: “Have you been watching the news!”

Goldstone: “And because I am not able to respond out of courtesy to you and your father”

Goldstone: “So am painted as some mysterious link to Putin”

Emin Agalarov: “That should give you mega PR [wide open eyes emoji]”

Later Emin wishes Rob a Happy Birthday. “Wish you all the very best, for all the clouds to pass and sunshine always be above!!! Missing our good times. hope you are well! Emin” At this point, Goldstone is thoroughly low energy and sad sack. “Thanks. All I can do I somehow also hope for the best. Rob.”