Our Memorable Sail to “Moscow”on the Corsica by Dick Cooper
As a career journalist and media consultant, I’ve always adv ised t hose facing public scr ut iny or scandal to get out in front of a bad story. The worst thing they can do is mislead, lie or coverup. Once reporters get their teeth into a juicy story, they will track its every turn. Each factoid uncovered will be published with the fanfare and f lourish of a major breakthrough. Even a hand shake or a nod across a crowded room will be analyzed for hidden meaning. The constant drip, drip, drip of the 24/7 news cycle will wear a hole in almost any alibi and amplify the slightest error in judgment. So, in the interest of full disclosure, and before you read it in the Washington Post, I admit I have met w it h Ru s sia n A mba s sador Sergey Kislyak. I met him in the now-infamous dacha overlooking the Chester River in Queen Anne’s Count y. He was a gracious host and led my wife, Pat, and me and other guests on a guided tour of the meticulously restored mansion. We dined at picnic tables on the dacha’s broad and manicured lawn. Each table was decorated with f lowers and four fifths of liquor, two of which
The Ambassador and Mrs. Kislyak greet guests. contained incredibly smooth vodka. Kislyak, who has been a central figure on the national news front in recent months because of his contacts with members of the Trump administration, has been described by The New York Times as “the most prominent, if politically radioactive, ambassador in Washington.” Our encounter with him and his fellow diplomats from the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., was a pleasant experience, and I must report that we never once discussed emails, hacking or presidential elections with any Russians. I witnessed no acts of collusion other than a 25