Russian Once Tied to Trump Aide Seeks Immunity to Cooperate With Congress -<br />By BARRY MEIER and JESSE DRUCKERMAY 26, 2017<br />Oleg V. Deripaska, a Russian oligarch once close to President Trump’s former campaign manager, has offered to cooperate with congressional committees investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election,<br />but lawmakers are unwilling to accept his conditions, according to congressional officials.<br />The State Department has refused to issue him a business visa because of concerns over allegations<br />that he was connected to organized crime, according to a former United States government official, which Mr. Deripaska has denied.<br />Mr. Deripaska came to the United States eight times between 2011<br />and 2014 with government permission as a Russian diplomat, according to affidavits he gave in a little-noticed lawsuit in a Manhattan court.<br />Mr. Deripaska, an aluminum magnate who is a member of the inner circle of the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, recently offered to cooperate with congressional intelligence committees in exchange for a grant of full immunity, according to three congressional officials, speaking on condition of anonymity<br />because they were not authorized to discuss the issue publicly.<br />Last month, a New York State Supreme Court justice rejected Mr. Gliklad’s argument that the Manhattan court had jurisdiction over Mr. Deripaska.<br />He sought to get a visa in 2015 to testify in the Manhattan court case, according to court filings, but the State Department refused to issue him one<br />But speaking generally, he said diplomats coming to the United States received a special<br />visa while foreigners doing business in this country needed a business visa.
