This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/14/world/europe/link-university-trump-impeachment.html
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Rome University at Heart of Trump Inquiry Becomes a Vortex of Intrigue | Rome University at Heart of Trump Inquiry Becomes a Vortex of Intrigue |
| (1 day later) | |
| ROME — Officials at Link Campus University, a small Rome college lined with courtyards and gravel paths, like to point out the Renaissance balcony where Pope Pius V prophesied the decisive naval victory of the Holy League over the Ottoman Empire. | ROME — Officials at Link Campus University, a small Rome college lined with courtyards and gravel paths, like to point out the Renaissance balcony where Pope Pius V prophesied the decisive naval victory of the Holy League over the Ottoman Empire. |
| They are less excited about the university’s cameo in more recent history. | They are less excited about the university’s cameo in more recent history. |
| In 2016, a Trump campaign aide met Joseph Mifsud, a professor at Link who is now at the heart of the Russia investigations, and he later learned from him that the Russians had Hillary Clinton’s emails. | In 2016, a Trump campaign aide met Joseph Mifsud, a professor at Link who is now at the heart of the Russia investigations, and he later learned from him that the Russians had Hillary Clinton’s emails. |
| That initial campus encounter has expanded in prominence thanks to a counterinvestigation by the Trump administration that has twice brought Attorney General William P. Barr to Rome. | That initial campus encounter has expanded in prominence thanks to a counterinvestigation by the Trump administration that has twice brought Attorney General William P. Barr to Rome. |
| Despite a lack of any evidence, President Trump has promoted, and Mr. Barr has investigated, the possibility that the professor was planted by American officials — the so-called deep state — to entrap the campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos, and prevent Mr. Trump’s election. | |
| The new allegations have become a political headache for Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy, who is accused of misusing the country’s intelligence networks to do a political favor for Mr. Trump. They have also intensified scrutiny on Link. | The new allegations have become a political headache for Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy, who is accused of misusing the country’s intelligence networks to do a political favor for Mr. Trump. They have also intensified scrutiny on Link. |
| “The damage has been enormous,” Vincenzo Scotti, Link Campus’s president, said last Monday. | “The damage has been enormous,” Vincenzo Scotti, Link Campus’s president, said last Monday. |
| Mr. Scotti, 86, a former interior and foreign minister, said he was planning lawsuits against Italian newspapers that had depicted the university as either a shady diploma mill or a den of spies. He also said he planned a media counteroffensive against a campaign of innuendo that had unfairly tarnished Link’s academic reputation. | Mr. Scotti, 86, a former interior and foreign minister, said he was planning lawsuits against Italian newspapers that had depicted the university as either a shady diploma mill or a den of spies. He also said he planned a media counteroffensive against a campaign of innuendo that had unfairly tarnished Link’s academic reputation. |
| The university, in fact, prides itself on forming the upper echelon of Italy’s intelligence agencies, a sector to which Mr. Scotti and former Italian intelligence officials insist the mysterious Mr. Mifsud did not belong. | The university, in fact, prides itself on forming the upper echelon of Italy’s intelligence agencies, a sector to which Mr. Scotti and former Italian intelligence officials insist the mysterious Mr. Mifsud did not belong. |
| Mr. Scotti said Mr. Mifsud was a loudmouth know-nothing. Mr. Mifsud, who helped negotiate a partnership between Link and a Moscow university, has all but disappeared from view for the past two years. | Mr. Scotti said Mr. Mifsud was a loudmouth know-nothing. Mr. Mifsud, who helped negotiate a partnership between Link and a Moscow university, has all but disappeared from view for the past two years. |
| “He was a professor here,” Mr. Scotti said. “How does this make the university responsible?” | “He was a professor here,” Mr. Scotti said. “How does this make the university responsible?” |
| Officials at Link said that if Mr. Barr was really interested in finding out the truth about Mr. Mifsud, he would ask them for information but that he had not done so. Some officials still suspect that the Russians used Mr. Mifsud to gain a foothold on a campus thick with secret agents. | Officials at Link said that if Mr. Barr was really interested in finding out the truth about Mr. Mifsud, he would ask them for information but that he had not done so. Some officials still suspect that the Russians used Mr. Mifsud to gain a foothold on a campus thick with secret agents. |
| In a country with some of the world’s oldest and most old-fashioned universities, Link is decidedly different. | In a country with some of the world’s oldest and most old-fashioned universities, Link is decidedly different. |
| Founded in 1999 by Francesco Cossiga, a former Italian president who was fascinated with espionage and loved John le Carré novels, and by a former Maltese president, Guido de Marco, it opened in Italy as a branch of a Maltese university. | Founded in 1999 by Francesco Cossiga, a former Italian president who was fascinated with espionage and loved John le Carré novels, and by a former Maltese president, Guido de Marco, it opened in Italy as a branch of a Maltese university. |
| Students choose from classes in video game development, cybersecurity and block chain economics, among other courses of study, and appear in promotional videos admiring the way their educations prepared them “for the world of the work.” The faculty is packed with former politicians and professional networkers more than academics with Ph.D.s. | Students choose from classes in video game development, cybersecurity and block chain economics, among other courses of study, and appear in promotional videos admiring the way their educations prepared them “for the world of the work.” The faculty is packed with former politicians and professional networkers more than academics with Ph.D.s. |
| In 2001, the university began offering a master’s degree in intelligence. Gen. Gennaro Vecchione, Italy’s spy chief, who is close to Mr. Conte and who met with Mr. Barr when he recently visited Rome, lectured at Link in March on intelligence agencies’ new challenges. Officials acknowledge that spies mix with students in the campus Art Cafe. | In 2001, the university began offering a master’s degree in intelligence. Gen. Gennaro Vecchione, Italy’s spy chief, who is close to Mr. Conte and who met with Mr. Barr when he recently visited Rome, lectured at Link in March on intelligence agencies’ new challenges. Officials acknowledge that spies mix with students in the campus Art Cafe. |
| At a conference on cryptocurrency at the university in June 2018, Mr. Scotti lamented the way information gathering was portrayed as the “dark secret services.” In the small audience were notable politicians, including former Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema, a leftist who now teaches at Link. | At a conference on cryptocurrency at the university in June 2018, Mr. Scotti lamented the way information gathering was portrayed as the “dark secret services.” In the small audience were notable politicians, including former Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema, a leftist who now teaches at Link. |
| The college has notably been an incubator for officials in the Five Star Movement, the senior coalition partner of Italy’s government. The party’s political leader, Luigi Di Maio, now foreign minister, chose Link as the setting to announce his foreign policy vision last year. | The college has notably been an incubator for officials in the Five Star Movement, the senior coalition partner of Italy’s government. The party’s political leader, Luigi Di Maio, now foreign minister, chose Link as the setting to announce his foreign policy vision last year. |
| One of his deputies, Emanuela Del Re, taught a class in “decision-making” at the school. The former defense minister, Elisabetta Trenta, previously taught a course in intelligence training at Link and was preparing a masters course, partnered with Moscow’s Lomonosov Center, when she got her government job. Angelo Tofalo, another Five Star politician and the under secretary of Defense, received his “masters in intelligence and security” from Link. | One of his deputies, Emanuela Del Re, taught a class in “decision-making” at the school. The former defense minister, Elisabetta Trenta, previously taught a course in intelligence training at Link and was preparing a masters course, partnered with Moscow’s Lomonosov Center, when she got her government job. Angelo Tofalo, another Five Star politician and the under secretary of Defense, received his “masters in intelligence and security” from Link. |
| But outside of Italy, the focus has been on Mr. Mifsud. | But outside of Italy, the focus has been on Mr. Mifsud. |
| While Mr. Mifsud has become known as “the professor” of the Russian investigation, officials here say he was more of a professional networker than an academic. | While Mr. Mifsud has become known as “the professor” of the Russian investigation, officials here say he was more of a professional networker than an academic. |
| They said he originally built his Rolodex as an assistant to a Maltese politician running to lead the Commonwealth Secretariat, an intergovernmental organization composed of states that belonged to the British Empire. | They said he originally built his Rolodex as an assistant to a Maltese politician running to lead the Commonwealth Secretariat, an intergovernmental organization composed of states that belonged to the British Empire. |
| Mr. Mifsud later became the president of the Euro-Mediterranean University, part of an ill-fated project by Nicolas Sarkozy, then France’s president, to create a new union of southern European and Middle Eastern countries. | Mr. Mifsud later became the president of the Euro-Mediterranean University, part of an ill-fated project by Nicolas Sarkozy, then France’s president, to create a new union of southern European and Middle Eastern countries. |
| In 2012 Mr. Mifsud joined the London Academy of Diplomacy, a little-known institution that disappeared soon after its name emerged in the Russia investigation. | In 2012 Mr. Mifsud joined the London Academy of Diplomacy, a little-known institution that disappeared soon after its name emerged in the Russia investigation. |
| Mr. Mifsud, Link officials said, got a finder’s fee for the students he brought to British universities. At Link, though, they said, he would get cash bonuses, lodging and access to a university credit card for bringing in seminar speakers. He also connected Link officials to potential investors. | Mr. Mifsud, Link officials said, got a finder’s fee for the students he brought to British universities. At Link, though, they said, he would get cash bonuses, lodging and access to a university credit card for bringing in seminar speakers. He also connected Link officials to potential investors. |
| One of them was Stephan Roh, a Switzerland-based lawyer associated with Russian oligarchs who has been a major promoter of the theory that Mr. Mifsud was an asset for Western intelligence services. | One of them was Stephan Roh, a Switzerland-based lawyer associated with Russian oligarchs who has been a major promoter of the theory that Mr. Mifsud was an asset for Western intelligence services. |
| A polyglot fluent in Russian, Mr. Roh worked as Mr. Mifsud’s lawyer and in 2016 bought 5 percent of Link’s management company, according to the university. | A polyglot fluent in Russian, Mr. Roh worked as Mr. Mifsud’s lawyer and in 2016 bought 5 percent of Link’s management company, according to the university. |
| Mr. Roh’s wife, Olga, is a Russian former model who appeared on the British reality show “Meet the Russians.” She became baroness of Inchdrewer after the couple bought a Scottish castle. | Mr. Roh’s wife, Olga, is a Russian former model who appeared on the British reality show “Meet the Russians.” She became baroness of Inchdrewer after the couple bought a Scottish castle. |
| She had planned to open a fashion institute at Link. But that project — along with the partnership Mr. Mifsud spearheaded between Link and Lomonosov Moscow State University — collapsed after the Russia investigation began. | She had planned to open a fashion institute at Link. But that project — along with the partnership Mr. Mifsud spearheaded between Link and Lomonosov Moscow State University — collapsed after the Russia investigation began. |
| On Oct. 31, 2017, Mr. Mifsud fled campus hurriedly, saying he feared for his life, and telling the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that “the Russians didn’t ask me to meet Papadopoulos.” | On Oct. 31, 2017, Mr. Mifsud fled campus hurriedly, saying he feared for his life, and telling the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that “the Russians didn’t ask me to meet Papadopoulos.” |
| The only Russian he knew, he added, was “Ivan Timofeev, director of a Moscow think tank.” | The only Russian he knew, he added, was “Ivan Timofeev, director of a Moscow think tank.” |
| According to the report of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, Mr. Mifsud introduced Mr. Papadopoulos to Mr. Timofeev as someone connected to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. | According to the report of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, Mr. Mifsud introduced Mr. Papadopoulos to Mr. Timofeev as someone connected to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. |
| The report says that Mr. Papadopoulos failed to inform investigators of the introduction and that Mr. Papadopoulos and Mr. Timofeev had multiple conversations to lay the groundwork for a potential meeting between the Trump campaign and Russian government officials. | The report says that Mr. Papadopoulos failed to inform investigators of the introduction and that Mr. Papadopoulos and Mr. Timofeev had multiple conversations to lay the groundwork for a potential meeting between the Trump campaign and Russian government officials. |
| Mr. Mifsud — Joe to his colleagues — has not been seen in public since the afternoon in October 2017 when he left the university, as it held a conference on “EU Cyber Threat Intelligence.” | Mr. Mifsud — Joe to his colleagues — has not been seen in public since the afternoon in October 2017 when he left the university, as it held a conference on “EU Cyber Threat Intelligence.” |
| “I couldn’t suspect Joe to be so close to the Kremlin,” Franco Frattini, a former foreign minister who also teaches at the university, said on the day he disappeared. | “I couldn’t suspect Joe to be so close to the Kremlin,” Franco Frattini, a former foreign minister who also teaches at the university, said on the day he disappeared. |
| Link recently acknowledged news media reports that Mr. Mifsud had hidden for months in an apartment rented by the university, but says it did not know he was there. | Link recently acknowledged news media reports that Mr. Mifsud had hidden for months in an apartment rented by the university, but says it did not know he was there. |
| Some students wish he had never been on campus in the first place. | Some students wish he had never been on campus in the first place. |
| “This story is damaging us, because now when I’ll give my résumé, I wonder what they’ll think of me,” said Francesco Mattia Muzi, 24, a political science major. “Mifsud was a teacher in our department, but I’ve never seen him.” | “This story is damaging us, because now when I’ll give my résumé, I wonder what they’ll think of me,” said Francesco Mattia Muzi, 24, a political science major. “Mifsud was a teacher in our department, but I’ve never seen him.” |
| Mr. Scotti could relate. As he complained about the damage done to the institution’s reputation, an aide alerted him to another report in the Italian news media focusing on Mr. Mifsud’s role in negotiating with Lomonosov Moscow State University. | Mr. Scotti could relate. As he complained about the damage done to the institution’s reputation, an aide alerted him to another report in the Italian news media focusing on Mr. Mifsud’s role in negotiating with Lomonosov Moscow State University. |
| “What’s wrong with that?” he said, throwing his hands up in frustration. “If the university doesn’t strike agreements with other schools, what does it do?” | “What’s wrong with that?” he said, throwing his hands up in frustration. “If the university doesn’t strike agreements with other schools, what does it do?” |