![]() ![]() ![]() Trump has continued to deny any wrongdoing over the deal, which he insisted was “very legal & very cool.” “Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. ![]() The admission flew in the face of Trump’s repeated denials that neither he nor his associates had any contact with Russian officials, nor any business dealings in Russia, insisting that he had “nothing to do with Russia.” Despite the denials, Trump had a potentially lucrative real estate deal on the table at the same time he was speaking positively about Russian President Vladimir Putin on the campaign trail. The proposal for the scrapped real estate development in the heart of Moscow has been the subject of fierce scrutiny, particularly since Trump’s former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty last month to lying to Congress about the deal out of loyalty to Trump.Ĭohen admitted he had lied to a congressional committee last year when he denied having spoken to a Kremlin official about obtaining Russian government backing for the project during the 2016 presidential campaign.Ĭohen had initially said plans for Trump Tower were scrapped in January 2016, but according to his confession, they continued far into the campaign season, beyond when Trump was the GOP’s presumptive nominee. 28, 2015, bearing Trump’s signature, along with that of Andrey Rozov, owner of the Russian company that would have developed the property. If you can't see this reader poll, please refresh your page.“There was a letter of intent to go forward, but no one signed it,” he said.īut on Tuesday, the network released a copy of the letter, dated Oct. adversary - an extraordinary conflict of interest that was concealed from voters. What matters is that a presidential candidate was secretly negotiating a major business deal with a major U.S. On Sunday, the president's current lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, quoted Trump as telling him that project talks were "going on from the day I announced to the day I won." By Monday, Giuliani was scrambling to walk back his comments to The New York Times and other news outlets.īut whether Trump was pursuing the arrangement until he clinched the Republican nomination, or right up until he was elected president, isn't the main point. And why should I lose lots of opportunities?"Įxactly when the Trump Tower Moscow "opportunity" collapsed remains murky. "There was a good chance that I wouldn't have won," Trump said in November, "in which case I would have gotten back into the (real estate development) business. How does the president explain the appearance of a quid pro quo? By claiming that he was just keeping his options open. ►Trump challenged Moscow to release Democratic emails that Russians were reported to have hacked. ►A plank in the GOP platform regarding U.S. ►Trump was questioning America's continued role in NATO, a bulwark against Russian aggression that Putin has historically despised. ►The candidate said that, as president, he would consider easing sanctions placed against Russia for its violent seizure of Crimea. ![]() ►Trump was expressing praise and admiration for President Vladimir Putin, even as he was insulting hundreds of other people, places and things on Twitter. ►There were news reports that Russia was interfering in the election. The electorate certainly was robbed of knowing about this crucial information at a time when: You have to wonder what the fallout would have been if those negotiations had been exposed before Trump debated his Republican primary opponents or Hillary Clinton. the very first primary,' " according to the filings. 28, 2015, the day of the third Republican presidential debate.Ĭourt filings by Mueller in November make clear that negotiations led by Trump lawyer Michael Cohen continued through at least June 2016. Cohen lied about this to Congress to "give the false impression that the Moscow Project ended before 'the Iowa caucus and. Later, as a presidential candidate, he secretly signed an 18-page letter of intent for Trump Tower Moscow on Oct. " We will be in Moscow at some point," he said in a 2007 deposition. The truth is, Trump had coveted a lucrative hotel project in Russia - whether to build one or license his name to be emblazoned on a skyscraper - for decades. OTHER VIEWS: ' ‘We still have no evidence of collusion’ ![]()
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