The Russian pop star who played a role in setting up the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting canceled his U.S. tour after he could not reach a deal with special counsel Robert Mueller and Congress about potential testimony.
Emin Agalarov was scheduled to begin his four-city tour Saturday in New York, but talks between the parties about the terms of his testimony were not reached, his attorney Scott Balber told CNN.
“It’s the only choice we had,” Balber said. “I’ve been endeavoring to engage with the special counsel’s office as well as various congressional committees and despite our best effort we haven’t been able to reach an agreement on the terms.”
Agalarov posted an apology for the tour cancellation on Instagram, citing “circumstances beyond my control.”
“Basically I have been put in this position against my will,” he said, not mentioning Congress or the special counsel.
Balber told NBC News his client wants to testify voluntarily, but Agalarov risks being detained if he’s on U.S. soil.
“He could come and do the concert but we don’t want him to be subpoenaed or held under a material witness warrant or anything else,” Balber said.
Agalarov set up a meeting between Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort during the 2016 presidential campaign. President Trump has said he did not have advance knowledge of the meeting, which was set up under the impression that Veselnitskaya had dirt on Hillary Clinton.
