From “This Will Ruin All Our Lives” to “I Will”: Dr. Paul Cronin, Russia-Gate, and the 2018 Documentary Record
In 2018, Dr. Bradley Foerster and Dr. Myria Petrou repeatedly asked Dr. Paul Cronin to come forward regarding information they said he had previously shared concerning Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, an alleged Russian money-laundering scheme, and related matters.
The question running through the record was straightforward:
Would Dr. Paul Cronin come forward and provide that information to federal authorities?
The documents presented below trace what followed: an April 2018 request that Dr. Cronin come forward; his written request that Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou “please do not proceed”; a May 2018 letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Special Counsel Robert Mueller; the September 2018 filing of Foerster v. Cronin; Dr. Foerster’s voluntary dismissal of the case on October 3 as “An Act of Good Faith and Trust”; and the subsequent exchange in which Dr. Foerster again asked Dr. Cronin to come forward and testify honestly and truthfully.
Dr. Cronin responded:
“I will.”
2016: What Dr. Foerster Said Dr. Cronin Had Told Him
The information at issue did not originate in 2018.
In a September 1, 2018 sworn affidavit, Dr. Foerster memorialized his account of statements he attributed to Dr. Paul Cronin during September and October 2016, before the presidential election.
According to Dr. Foerster’s sworn account, Dr. Cronin discussed Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, alleged Russian money laundering involving Michigan, intelligence-related matters, and other subjects. The affidavit identifies Dr. Cronin as the reported source and records the timing, participants, and circumstances associated with portions of those reported conversations.
The affidavit does not establish that the underlying statements attributed to Dr. Cronin were true. Its significance here is more specific: it identifies the information Dr. Foerster said came from Dr. Cronin and provides a dated, sworn record against which the events of 2018 can be read.
Primary-source record:
Dr. Bradley Foerster’s 2018 Affidavit in Foerster v. Cronin Concerning Russia-Gate Statements Attributed to Dr. Paul Cronin
April 2018: A Request to Come Forward
Against that background, Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou asked Dr. Cronin in April 2018 to provide information to law enforcement concerning the matters they said he had previously discussed with Dr. Foerster and Duaa Altaee.
Paragraph 143 of the later-filed Foerster v. Cronin complaint memorialized that request. The complaint alleged that Dr. Cronin had previously promised to provide testimony “when the time was right.”
April 2018: “Please Do Not Proceed”
The complaint referenced a WhatsApp exchange that occurred during the same period.
“We need to discuss this further, please do not proceed.
YOU DO NOT HAVE OUR PERMISSION TO RELEASE ANYTHING INVOLVING AINE OR ME.
We believe this will ruin all our lives and destroy our chances of future cases.”
The significance of the exchange is not that it resolves the underlying allegations. Rather, it documents that disclosure was actively being discussed and that Dr. Cronin and his wife, Dr. Aine Kelly, opposed proceeding.
May 18, 2018: Letter to Rosenstein and Mueller
Several weeks later, Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou reported information to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Special Counsel Robert Mueller concerning Russian interference in the 2016 election, an alleged Russian money-laundering scheme, and related matters.
The correspondence returned to the same unresolved issue: whether Dr. Cronin would come forward regarding information Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou said he had previously shared. The letter stated that Dr. Cronin had previously indicated that he would do so under certain circumstances.
The correspondence reproduced below was later submitted as an exhibit in Foerster v. Cronin. The copy shown here was subsequently released from an FBI file maintained under Dr. Foerster’s name and obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
September 2018: Foerster v. Cronin
On September 4, 2018, Dr. Foerster filed Foerster v. Cronin.
The complaint expanded upon events that had unfolded during the preceding months and alleged that information attributed to Dr. Cronin contributed to investigations, search warrants, seizures, and related consequences affecting the Foerster and Petrou families.
Readers interested in the allegations, responses, and procedural history may wish to review:
The present chronology focuses on the narrower question running through the 2018 record: whether Dr. Cronin would come forward regarding information Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou said he had previously shared.
October 3, 2018: An Act of Good Faith and Trust
On October 3, 2018, Dr. Foerster voluntarily dismissed Foerster v. Cronin and circulated the dismissal filing with the description:
“An Act of Good Faith and Trust.”
The dismissal occurred before Dr. Cronin's response to the complaint was received and reflected Dr. Foerster’s stated expectation that Dr. Cronin would ultimately come forward regarding the matters that had been discussed throughout the preceding months.
Following the dismissal, Dr. Foerster reiterated that expectation. He wrote:
“I expect you to come forward Paul and testify honestly and truthfully.
As you have said in the past.”
Dr. Cronin responded:
“I will.”
Looking Back
Looking back nearly a decade later, these documents do not establish whether the underlying Russia-Gate-related statements attributed to Dr. Cronin were true.
They establish a different documentary sequence.
In 2018, Dr. Foerster and Dr. Petrou asked Dr. Cronin to come forward regarding information they said he had previously shared. Dr. Cronin objected to proceeding. The information was subsequently reported to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Dr. Foerster later filed Foerster v. Cronin and then voluntarily dismissed his claims against Dr. Cronin before receiving Dr. Cronin’s response to the complaint.
Following the dismissal, Dr. Foerster wrote:
“I expect you to come forward Paul and testify honestly and truthfully.
As you have said in the past.”
Dr. Cronin responded:
“I will.”
That documented progression—from requests that Dr. Cronin come forward, to his objection to proceeding, to the federal referral, litigation, voluntary dismissal, and finally “I will”—is the subject of this chronology.
Postscript
Following publication of this chronology, notice of the post was provided to President Trump through the White House contact form.
Core Archive Documents
Case Model
Case Index
Federal Record Summary
Town & Gown: A Chronology (2014–2026)
Selected Reporting
- Bradley Foerster Submits 140-Exhibit, 1,121-Page Documentary Chronology to FBI for Supervisory Review of the Investigation Involving Dr. Bradley Foerster, Dr. Myria Petrou, and Duaa Altaee
- From One FBI File to a Legislative Proposal: Peter and Maria Foerster Ask Senator Van Hollen's Office and Congressman Jamie Raskin to Consider a Uniform Administrative Framework for Federal Investigations
- Eva Feldman Documentary Chronology: 139 Exhibits on NIH R01NS082304, University Proceedings, and Federal Investigation — No Response Received
- Bradley Foerster and Myria Petrou Send Ann Arbor Officials Documentary Chronology on AAPD and Related Federal Investigations — No Response Received
- Timothy Lynch Documentary Chronology: 63 Exhibits on University of Michigan Office of General Counsel, University Investigations, and Law Enforcement — No Response Received
- Bradley Foerster and Myria Petrou Documentary Chronology: 8 Exhibits Document More Than Two Years of Efforts to Trace Bank of Ann Arbor's $1.4 Million Sheriff's Sale Credit Bid — No Response Received
Brad Foerster, MD PhD
Brad Foerster is a FOIA advocate documenting requests, transparency disputes, and accountability investigations involving public agencies, universities, police oversight, and Russia-Gate related inquiries. His work compiles original documents, timelines, and analysis of public records and institutional responses. Brad is also a board-certified radiologist, author of Town & Gown, and has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles. Brad lives in Potomac, Maryland with his family and is a member of the Montgomery County Medical Society and the Takoma Park U.S. & World History Book Club.