President Trump’s company reportedly eyed a deal in 2015 to build a version of Trump Tower in Moscow, possibly with the help of Russian President Vladimir Putin — although the deal ultimately never went ahead, and it is unclear how familiar Trump was with the proposal.
The Washington Post reported late Sunday that discussions began in September 2015, whereby an unidentified investor would build the project and put Trump’s name on it under a licensing agreement.
The Post reports that it is unclear how aware Trump was of the negotiation. However, sources told the outlet that Russian-born real estate developer and Trump business associate Felix Sater urged Trump — who was then running for president but was still months from clinching the Republican nomination –via his lawyer Michael Cohen, to get on board with the proposal and even travel to Moscow.
The New York Times reports that Sater, then a broker for the Trump Organization, envisioned a ribbon-cutting in Moscow: “I will get Putin on this program and we will get Donald elected,” he wrote in an email.
However, the Post reports that while Trump’s company signed a letter of intent, Trump never went to Moscow, the project lacked the necessary land and permits, and the project was abandoned in January 2016.
Cohen told the Times that the language was “puffery” from Sater: “He has sometimes used colorful language and has been prone to ‘salesmanship,’” he said. “I ultimately determined that the proposal was not feasible and never agreed to make a trip to Russia.”
The Post suggests that the proposed deal shows that Trump’s business was pursuing commercial interests in Russia as he was campaigning for president.
Additionally, the Post reported Monday that Cohen — who is also the executive vice president of the Trump Organization — emailed Putin’s spokesman in January 2016 to help advance the project, according to documents submitted to Congress.
“Over the past few months I have been working with a company based in Russia regarding the development of a Trump Tower – Moscow project in Moscow City,” Cohen wrote. “Without getting into lengthy specifics the communication between our two sides has stalled.”
“As this project is too important, I am hereby requesting your assistance,” he wrote. I respectfully request someone, preferably you, contact me so that I might discuss the specifics as well as arranging meetings with the appropriate individuals. I thank you in advance for your assistance and look forward to hearing from you soon.”
In a subsequent statement to the Post, Cohen dismissed the proposal as “a building proposal that did not succeed and nothing more.”
Although the deal never got off the ground, the plan and the subsequent communication may be deemed enough by FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller to expand his probe into Russian interference in the election, which is reportedly increasingly interested in Trump’s business dealings.
The reported communications, which were handed over to the House Intelligence Committee Monday as part of the committee’s probe into alleged Russian interference in the election, mark the latest in a line of contacts between members of the Trump team and Russian officials.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from any Russian investigation in March after it was revealed he met twice with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak — meetings he did not disclose during his Senate confirmation hearing.
In July, the Russian controversy hit the headlines again when it was revealed that Donald Trump Jr., Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met with a Russian lawyer after Trump Jr. was promised information that would compromise Hillary Clinton. Critics have pointed to the meeting as evidence of attempted collusion by members of the Trump team.
Adam Shaw is a Breitbart News politics reporter based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY
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