WASHINGTON — After a business meeting before the Miss Universe Pageant in 2013, a …
Trump Bodyguard Keith Schiller Testifies Russian Offered Trump Women, Was Turned Down
byKen DilanianandJonathan Allen
WASHINGTON — After a business meeting before
the Miss Universe Pageant in 2013, a Russian participant offered to
"send five women" to Donald Trump's hotel room in Moscow, his longtime
bodyguard told Congress this week, according to three sources who were
present for the interview.
Two of the sources said the bodyguard, Keith
Schiller, viewed the offer as a joke, and immediately responded, "We
don't do that type of stuff."
Sources: Trump Was Offered '5 Women' In Russia3:22
The two sources said Schiller's comments came
in the context of him adamantly disputing the allegations made in the
Trump dossier, written by a former British intelligence operative, which
describes Trump having an encounter with prostitutes at the hotel
during the pageant. Schiller described his reaction to that story as
being, "Oh my God, that's bull----," two sources said.
The conversation with the Russian about the
five women took place after a morning meeting about the pageant in
Moscow broke up, two sources said.
That night, two sources said, Schiller said he
discussed the conversation with Trump as Trump was walking back to his
hotel room, and Schiller said the two men laughed about it as Trump went
to bed alone. Schiller testified that he stood outside Trump's hotel
room for a time and then went to bed.
One source noted that Schiller testified he
eventually left Trump's hotel room door and could not say for sure what
happened during the remainder of the night.
Director of Oval Office operations Keith Schiller attends a signing ceremony at the White House on June 23. Mandel Ngan / AFP-Getty Images
Two other sources said Schiller testified he was confident nothing happened.
Schiller said he and Trump were aware of the
risk that hotel rooms in Moscow could be set up to capture hidden video,
two sources said.
Schiller was grilled about the Moscow trip as
part of four hours of testimony before the House Intelligence Committee.
The questioning around the Moscow trip took a significant amount of
time, the sources said. Schiller was also asked about the June 2016
meeting at Trump Tower between Donald Trump Jr. and Russians, two of the
sources said. He testified that he did not recall much about that day.
In a statement, Schiller's lawyer said "the
versions of Mr. Schiller’s testimony being leaked to the press are
blatantly false and misleading. "
"We are appalled by the leaks that are coming
from partisan insiders from the House Intelligence Committee," said
Stuart Sears. "It is outrageous that the very Committee that is
conducting an investigation into leaks — purportedly in the public
interest — is itself leaking information and defaming cooperative
witnesses like Mr. Schiller. The Chairman and Ranking Member should
investigate and hold accountable whoever is responsible for leaking
false and misleading versions of Mr. Schiller’s testimony. This conduct
is indefensible and calls into question the credibility and motives of
the Committee’s investigation."
A White House lawyer familiar with the matter
said that the White House "and fair-minded people are pleased that Mr.
Schiller was able to debunk yet another of the false claims in the
fantasy dossier funded by the DNC and the Clinton campaign and prepared
during a time its foreign author worked closely with paid Russian
operatives."
A Navy veteran, Schiller worked part-time as a
bodyguard for Trump while still an NYPD officer. He began working for
Trump full-time after his retirement from the force in 2002 and became
his director of security in 2004. He served as director of Oval Office
operations in the Trump White House from January until September.
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