Trump’s business sought deal on a Trump Tower in Moscow while he ran for president

[Mileage Psycho]

When does nothing mean nothing?

Quote

 

Trump’s business sought deal on a Trump Tower in Moscow while he ran for president

While Donald Trump was running for president in late 2015 and early 2016, his company was pursuing a plan to develop a massive Trump Tower in Moscow, according to several people familiar with the proposal and new records reviewed by Trump Organization lawyers.

As part of the discussions, a Russian-born real estate developer urged Trump to come to Moscow to tout the proposal and suggested he could get President Vladimir Putin to say “great things” about Trump, according to several people who have been briefed on his correspondence.

The developer, Felix Sater, predicted in a November 2015 email that he and Trump Organization leaders would soon be celebrating — both one of the biggest residential projects in real estate history and Donald Trump’s election as president, according to two of the people with knowledge of the exchange.

Sater wrote to Trump Organization Executive Vice President Michael Cohen, “something to the effect of, ‘Can you believe two guys from Brooklyn are going to elect a president?’ ” said one person briefed on the email exchange. Sater emigrated to the United States from what was then the Soviet Union when he was 8 and grew up in Brooklyn.

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Trump never went to Moscow as Sater proposed. And although investors and Trump’s company signed a letter of intent, they lacked the land and permits to proceed and the project was abandoned at the end of January 2016, just before the presidential primaries began, several people familiar with the proposal said.

Nevertheless, the details of the deal, which have not previously been disclosed, provide evidence that Trump’s business was actively pursuing significant commercial interests in Russia at the same time he was campaigning to be president — and in a position to determine U.S.-Russia relations. The new details from the emails, which are scheduled to be turned over to congressional investigators soon, also point to the likelihood of additional contacts between Russia-connected individuals and Trump associates during his presidential bid.

White House officials declined to comment for this report. Cohen, a longtime Trump aide who remains Trump’s personal attorney, and his lawyer have also declined to comment.

In recent months, contacts between high ranking and lower level Trump aides and Russians have emerged. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, then a U.S. senator and campaign adviser, twice met Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Donald Trump Jr. organized a June 2016 meeting with campaign aides Jared Kushner, campaign manager Paul Manafort and a Russian lawyer after the president’s eldest son was promised the lawyer would bring damaging information about Hillary Clinton as part of a Russian government effort to help the campaign.

Internal emails also show campaign adviser George Papadopoulos repeatedly sought to organize meetings with campaign officials, including Trump, and Putin or other Russians. His efforts were rebuffed.

The negotiations for the Moscow project ended before Trump’s business ties to Russia had become a major issue in the campaign. Trump denied having any business connections to Russia in July 2016, tweeting, “for the record, I have ZERO investments in Russia” and then insisting at a news conference the following day, “I have nothing to do with Russia.”

Discussions about the Moscow project began in earnest in September 2015, according to people briefed on the deal. An unidentified investor planned to build the project and, under a licensing agreement, put Trump’s name on it. Cohen acted as a lead negotiator for the Trump Organization. It is unclear how involved or aware Trump was of the negotiations.

As the talks progressed, Trump voiced numerous supportive comments about Putin, setting himself apart from his Republican rivals.

By the end of 2015, Putin began offering praise in return.

“He says that he wants to move to another, closer level of relations. Can we really not welcome that? Of course we welcome that,” Putin told reporters during his annual end-of-the year news conference. He called Trump a “colorful and talented” person. Trump said afterward that the compliment was an “honor.”

Though Putin’s comments came shortly after Sater suggested that the Russian president would speak favorably about Trump, there is no indication that the two are connected.

There is no public record that Trump has ever spoken about the effort to build a Trump Tower in 2015 and 2016.

Trump’s interest in building in Moscow, however, are long-standing. He had attempted to build a Trump property for three decades, starting with a failed effort in 1987 to partner with the Soviet government on a hotel project.

“Russia is one of the hottest places in the world for investment,” he said in a 2007 court deposition.

“We will be in Moscow at some point,” he promised in the deposition.

Sater was involved in at least one of those previous efforts. In 2005, the Trump Organization gave his development company, the Bayrock Group, an exclusive one-year deal to attempt to build a Moscow Trump Tower. Sater located a site for the project — an abandoned pencil factory — and worked closely with Trump on the deal, which did not come to fruition.

In an unrelated court case in 2008, Sater said in a deposition that he would personally provide Trump “verbal updates” on the deal.

“When I’d come back, pop my head into Mr. Trump’s office and tell him, you know, ‘Moving forward on the Moscow deal.’ And he would say, ‘All right,’ ” Sater said.

In the same testimony, Sater described traveling with Trump’s children, including joining Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. on a trip to Moscow at Donald Trump Sr.’s request.

“They were on their way by themselves, and he was all concerned,” Sater said. “He asked if I wouldn’t mind joining them and looking after them while they were in Moscow.”

Alan Garten, a lawyer for the Trump Organization, told The Washington Post last year that Sater happened to be in Moscow at the same time as Trump’s two adult children. “There was no accompanying them to Moscow,” he said.

Neither Sater or his attorney responded to requests for comment.

Trump has repeatedly tried to distance himself from Sater, who served time in jail after assaulting a man with the stem of a broken margarita glass during a 1991 bar fight and then pleaded guilty in 1998 to his role in a organized crime-linked stock fraud. Sater’s sentencing was delayed for years while he cooperated with the federal government on a series of criminal and national security-related investigations, federal officials have said.

During that time, Sater worked as an executive with Bayrock, whose offices were in Trump Tower, and brokered deals to license Trump’s name for developments in multiple U.S. and foreign cities. In 2010, Trump allowed Sater to briefly work out of Trump Organization office space and use a business card that identified him as a “senior adviser to Donald Trump.”

Still, when asked about Sater in 2013 court deposition, Trump said: “If he were sitting in the room right now, I really wouldn’t know what he looked like.” He added that he had spoken with Sater “not many” times.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump’s-business-sought-deal-on-a-trump-tower-in-moscow-while-he-ran-for-president/ar-AAqOjEs

 

 

 

 

[Mainecat]

The guy is a embarrassment to every American with an IQ of over 5. HE NEEDS TO BE REMOVED HES A FAILURE.

He lies and lies and lies and makes fools out of our Constitution, shame on the Republicans in congress for not caring about it and not speaking out.

Fuck them and

Fuck Trump

[bussman]

47 minutes ago, Mainecat said:

The guy is a embarrassment to every American with an IQ of over 5. HE NEEDS TO BE REMOVED HES A FAILURE.

He lies and lies and lies and makes fools out of our Constitution, shame on the Republicans in congress for not caring about it and not speaking out.

Fuck them and

Fuck Trump

[SnowRider]

Hey buss - comment on the OP?  

[bussman]

4 minutes ago, SnowRider said:

Hey buss - comment on the OP?  

No thanks.  

[SnowRider]

Just now, bussman said:

No thanks.  

Beings you didn't support Dump  - figured a response admonishing yet another Dump lie would be easy...guess not  

[oleroule]

[bussman]

4 minutes ago, SnowRider said:

Beings you didn't support Dump  - figured a response admonishing yet another Dump lie would be easy...guess not  

Even if he's everything you say he is I trust him more than the media. So in the end I have no comment, I'm not wasting time on something that's spun up like that. 

 

Some people need them some status quo, others don't.  I'd be very afraid too seeing this moment in history unfolding before our very eyes if I needed or wanted things to stay the same way.  

 

 

If it's not going to get fixed and liberty not returned more to the people I say burn the mother fucker down.  

 

 

Now go be a good lemming and report back to your gestapo and let them know what I said.   

[SnowRider]

3 minutes ago, bussman said:

Even if he's everything you say he is I trust him more than the media. So in the end I have no comment, I'm not wasting time on something that's spun up like that. 

 

Some people need them some status quo, others don't.  I'd be very afraid too seeing this moment in history unfolding before our very eyes if I needed or wanted things to stay the same way.  

 

 

If it's not going to get fixed and liberty not returned more to the people I say burn the mother fucker down.  

 

 

Now go be a good lemming and report back to your gestapo and let them know what I said.   

What exactly do you want burned down? 

 

And the media bashing is mouthbreathing rhetoric at its finest  

[Sleepr2]

2 hours ago, Mileage Psycho said:

When does nothing mean nothing?

 

 

 

Hilliary wa going to,win in a landslide so," what difference does it make ". 😀

2 hours ago, Mainecat said:

The guy is a embarrassment to every American with an IQ of over 5. HE NEEDS TO BE REMOVED HES A FAILURE.

He lies and lies and lies and makes fools out of our Constitution, shame on the Republicans in congress for not caring about it and not speaking out.

Fuck them and

Fuck Trump

You've defended and voted for liars , rapists and tax cheats 

[revkevsdi]

3 minutes ago, Sleepr2 said:

Hilliary wa going to,win in a landslide so," what difference does it make ". 😀

You've defended and voted for liars , rapists and tax cheats 

And you got them all rolled up into one with Trump. But you have the added benefit that he would fuck over everyone in the US to make money. 

[Sleepr2]

Just now, revkevsdi said:

And you got them all rolled up into one with Trump. But you have the added benefit that he would fuck over everyone in the US to make money. 

Yeah Hillary and  Kerry always had the US as their top priority   

[Mileage Psycho]

I have thought for quite sometime that Trump's anger with the Russia investigation was odd especially seeing that Trump claims that he didn't have anything to do with Russia. This timeline is interesting.

Quote

 

Analysis | Timeline of Trump’s praise for Putin while Trump Tower Moscow was in the works

President Trump's campaign-season flattery of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a head scratcher at the time, makes a bit more sense after The Washington Post reported Sunday night that Trump's company was working on a deal to build a skyscraper in Moscow.

The Post's Carol D. Leonnig, Tom Hamburger and Rosalind S. Helderman reported that “as part of the discussions, a Russian-born real estate developer urged Trump to come to Moscow to tout the proposal and suggested that he could get President Vladimir Putin to say 'great things' about Trump, according to several people who have been briefed on his correspondence.”

“Discussions about the Moscow project began in earnest in September 2015,” The Post reported, but the Trump Organization “lacked the land and permits to proceed, and the project was abandoned at the end of January 2016.”

Trump did not travel to Moscow to pitch the tower, but he praised and defended Putin during the period of development negotiations — and Putin did say a few “great things” in return.

Here is a timeline of comments that now carry additional significance, given what we have just learned about the business talks going on in the background.

Sept. 16, 2015: At a Republican primary debate sponsored by CNN, moderator Jake Tapper posed the following question to Trump: “What would you do right now if you were president, to get the Russians out of Syria?”

“So, number one, they have to respect you,” Trump replied. Putin, he said, “has absolutely no respect for President Obama. Zero. Syria's a mess. You look at what's going on with ISIS in there, now think of this: We're fighting ISIS. ISIS wants to fight Syria. Why are we fighting ISIS in Syria? Let them fight each other and pick up the remnants.” (ISIS is an alternative acronym for the Islamic State.)

“I will get along, I think, with Putin,” Trump added, “and I will get along with others, and we will have a much more stable world.”

Notice that Trump didn't actually agree with the premise of the question — that the United States should compel Russia to leave Syria.

Sept. 17, 2015: Trump Organization Executive Vice President Michael Cohen, the lead negotiator on the Moscow project, said this on Sean Hannity's radio show: “There's a better than likely chance Trump may even meet with Putin when he comes here for the United Nations. People want to meet Donald Trump. They want to know Donald Trump.”

Cohen was referring to the U.N. General Assembly in New York, scheduled for later in the month.

Sept. 20, 2015: On NBC's “Meet the Press,” host Chuck Todd asked Trump whether he did plan to meet with Putin.

“Well, I had heard that he wanted to meet with me,” Trump answered. “And, certainly, I am open to it. I would love to do that if he wants to do that. I don't know that it's going to take place. I'm not sure. I know that people have been talking. But we'll see what happens. But, certainly, if he wanted to meet, I mean, I'd enjoy doing it.”

Sept. 22, 2015: In an interview that aired five days later on CBS's "60 Minutes,” Trump made clear that he is not determined to push Russia out of Syria.

“If you look at Syria, Russia wants to get rid of ISIS,” he said. “We want to get rid of ISIS. Maybe let Russia do it. Let 'em get rid of ISIS. What the hell do we care?”

The Sept. 27, 2015, episode of "60 Minutes” also featured an interview with Putin.

Sept. 28, 2015: At a news conference, Trump told reporters that he thought “60 Minutes” was “softer” on Putin than it was on him. Asked why that would be the case, Trump quipped that “Putin is a nicer person than I am.”

Sept. 29, 2015: On Fox News, Bill O'Reilly asked Trump whether the meeting with Putin had happened. “Did Putin go up to your office, and did you guys, like, bond or anything this week?” O'Reilly wondered.

“No, I didn't know anything about him coming to my office,” Trump said. “But I will tell you that, I think, in terms of leadership, he is getting an A and the president is not doing so well. They did not look good together.”

O'Reilly pressed Trump about the idea of letting Russia lead the fight against the Islamic State in Syria. “I'm going to tell you what the downside is,” O'Reilly said. “Once Putin gets in and fights ISIS on behalf of Assad, Putin runs Syria; he owns it. He will never get out. Never.”

“All right,” Trump replied. “Okay, fine. I mean, you know, we can be in Syria. Do you want to run Syria? Do you want to own Syria? I want to rebuild our country.”

Oct. 11, 2015: On CBS's “Face the Nation,” host John Dickerson asked Trump whether he has “similarities with Vladimir Putin.”

“No, I think the biggest thing we have is that we were on '60 Minutes' together, and we had fantastic ratings — one of your best-rated shows in a long time,” Trump said. “So, that was good, right? So, we were stablemates.

“I think that we are very different. I think that I would, at the same time, get along very well with him. He does not like Obama at all. He doesn't respect Obama at all. And I'm sure that Obama doesn't like him very much. But I think that I would probably get along with him very well, and I don't think you would be having the kind of problems that you're having right now. And as far as him attacking ISIS, I'm all for it. If he wants to be bombing the hell out of ISIS, which he's starting to do, if he wants to be bombing ISIS, let him bomb them, John. Let him bomb them.”

Nov. 10, 2015: At a GOP debate sponsored by Fox Business, moderator Maria Bartiromo asked: “What does President Trump do in response to Russia's aggression?”

“Well, first of all, it's not only Russia,” Trump said. “We have problems with North Korea, where they actually have nuclear weapons. You know, nobody talks about it. We talk about Iran, and that's one of the worst deals ever made. One of the worst contracts ever signed, ever, in anything, and it's a disgrace. But we have somebody over there, a madman, who already has nuclear weapons; we don't talk about that. That's a problem.

“China is a problem, both economically and what they're doing in the South China Sea. I mean, they are becoming a very, very major force. So, we have more than just Russia. But, as far as the Ukraine is concerned, and you could Syria — as far as Syria, I like — if Putin wants to go in, and I got to know him very well because we were both on '60 Minutes,' we were stablemates, and we did very well that night.”

For the record, Trump and Putin were interviewed in separate locations and did not meet.

More important: Notice that Trump, when asked about “Russia's aggression,” deflected and talked instead about North Korea, Iran and China.

Dec. 17, 2015: At a news conference, Putin called Trump “a bright and talented person,” “an outstanding and talented personality” and “the absolute leader of the presidential race.”

“It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond,” Trump responded, in a statement released by his campaign. “I have always felt that Russia and the United States should be able to work well with each other towards defeating terrorism and restoring world peace, not to mention trade and all of the other benefits derived from mutual respect.”

Dec. 18, 2015: On MSNBC's “Morning Joe,” the hosts asked Trump about what Putin had said the day before.

“Do you like Vladimir Putin's comments about you?” Mika Brzezinski asked.

“Sure,” Trump replied. “When people call you brilliant, it's always good, especially when the person heads up Russia.”

“Well, I mean, he also is a person who kills journalists, political opponents and … invades countries,” Joe Scarborough followed up. “Obviously, that would be a concern, would it not?”

“He's running his country, and at least he's a leader, you know, unlike what we have in this country,” Trump answered.

“But, again, he kills journalists that don't agree with him,” Scarborough said.

“Well,” Trump said, “I think our country does plenty of killing, also, Joe. So, you know.”

“You obviously condemn Vladimir Putin killing journalists and political opponents, right?” Scarborough asked a moment later.

“Oh, sure,” Trump said. “Absolutely.”

Trump went on to add this: “I've always felt, you know, fine about Putin. I think that he is a strong leader. He's a powerful leader. He's represented his country — that's the way the country is being represented. He's actually got popularity within his country. They respect him as a leader. Certainly over the last couple of years, they've respected him as a leader. I think he's up in the 80s, which is, you know, you see where Obama's in the 30s and low 40s, and he's up in the 80s.”

Jan. 26, 2016: On Fox Business, Bartiromo asked Trump about the conclusion of British investigators that Putin probably authorized the assassination of a Russian dissident named Alexander Litvinenko in London.

“Well, I don't know if anything has been determined,” Trump said. “I don't think they found him guilty. They say a lot of things about me that are untrue, too.”

He continued: “The fact is that, you know, he hasn't been convicted of anything. You know, some people say he absolutely didn't do it. First of all, he says he didn't do it.”

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/analysis-timeline-of-trump’s-praise-for-putin-while-trump-tower-moscow-was-in-the-works/ar-AAqQCHR

 

 

[Angry ginger]

SO was the company suppossed to not do anything while he was running for president,  thousands of Americans rely on the Trump Companies for their employment shutting down their projects would jsut hurt them and lets not forget Trump didn't stand a chance of actually winning against Mrs Clinton so pausing made even less sense

[Mileage Psycho]

5 minutes ago, Angry ginger said:

SO was the company suppossed to not do anything while he was running for president,  thousands of Americans rely on the Trump Companies for their employment shutting down their projects would jsut hurt them and lets not forget Trump didn't stand a chance of actually winning against Mrs Clinton so pausing made even less sense

It could be viewed as odd that Trump had his mouth wrapped around Vlad's dick during the timeline, but then again maybe it was just a man love thing.

[Snoslinger]

7 minutes ago, Angry ginger said:

SO was the company suppossed to not do anything while he was running for president,  thousands of Americans rely on the Trump Companies for their employment shutting down their projects would jsut hurt them and lets not forget Trump didn't stand a chance of actually winning against Mrs Clinton so pausing made even less sense

not lie about it, for starters?

 

[ICEMAN!]

More nothing burgers.  Move along, nothing to see here.

 

[Sleepr2]

5 hours ago, Snoslinger said:

not lie about it, for starters?

 

Like Billy and Hilliary?

[franks pond]

[Mileage Psycho]

14 minutes ago, franks pond said:

Lock her and him up!!

 

[Sleepr2]

7 hours ago, Mileage Psycho said:

It could be viewed as odd that Trump had his mouth wrapped around Vlad's dick during the timeline, but then again maybe it was just a man love thing.

But liberals like had nothing to say when Kerry the treasonous commie was SOS 👍

[Mileage Psycho]

8 minutes ago, Sleepr2 said:

But liberals like had nothing to say when Kerry the treasonous commie was SOS 👍

No heel spurs for Kerry.

 

[Sleepr2]

Just now, Mileage Psycho said:

No heel spurs for Kerry.

 

Do I,need to postmpick of Kerrynthe  commie  Sympathizer? Or are you going to,post pics of Billy Jeff the draft dodger? 

[Mileage Psycho]

45 minutes ago, Sleepr2 said:

Do I,need to postmpick of Kerrynthe  commie  Sympathizer? Or are you going to,post pics of Billy Jeff the draft dodger? 

Kerry served.

[Ez ryder]

11 hours ago, SnowRider said:

Hey buss - comment on the OP?  

Trump never went to Moscow as Sater proposed. And although investors and Trump’s company signed a letter of intent, they lacked the land and permits to proceed and the project was abandoned at the end of January 2016, just before the presidential primaries began, several people familiar with the proposal said.