Trump’s former lawyer and fixer admits lies over Moscow deal
DONALD TRUMP cancelled a meeting with Vladimir Putin yesterday, moments after his former personal attorney revealed that a Trump Moscow building project had been pursued for months longer than was disclosed during his presidential campaign.
The US president said the talks with his Russian counterpart at the G20 summit in Argentina this weekend had been called off because Russia had not returned Ukrainian ships and sailors captured in a recent naval clash.
The decision was announced after Michael Cohen, Mr Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about how a proposal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow had been chased as his boss’s White House bid gained momentum.
Mr Cohen had claimed that interest in the project ended in January 2016, before the first Republican primary vote. He now admits he was pursuing the deal until June 2016, much closer to the November election.
He now says he discussed the project with Mr Trump more often than the three times he had disclosed, and that he talked about it with other Trump family members who were not named.
Mr Cohen says he agreed to visit Russia to discuss the deal – and was in talks about a potential visit from Mr Trump himself during the campaign.
Last night, Buzzfeed News reported that Mr Cohen discussed the idea of Mr Putin being given a penthouse flat in the tower project when he reached out to a Russian government official. One of the figures pushing the project with Mr Cohen, Felix Sater, told the website that his idea was that Mr Putin could have a $50million flat in the tower.
The disclosures raise the question of whether there was a financial incentive to get close to the Kremlin, which could have influence over major building projects in the Russian capital.
The proposal was for a 100-storey building with “Trump” emblazoned on the top, according to an investigation by Buzzfeed News. It would have become the tallest building in Europe.
Mr Trump yesterday dismissed the developments, saying Mr Cohen was lying to get a reduced sentence on a previous conviction. He also said there would have been nothing wrong with pursuing a business deal during the campaign, noting he gave up his business role only after entering the White House.
A Kremlin spokesman confirmed that they called Mr Cohen back when he wanted to discuss the deal during the 2016 campaign, but said they explained that Mr Putin’s administration had “nothing” to do with the approval of building projects in the city.
Mr Cohen made an unexpected court appearance in Manhattan yesterday morning to plead guilty to lying to Congress in written testimony he gave last year about the Moscow project. His comments were part of a plea deal with Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. They confirmed that the lawyer, who worked for Mr Trump for more than a decade and once said he would “take a bullet” for him, is cooperating with the Mueller inquiry.
Mr Cohen, 52, broke with Mr Trump this year, when he pleaded guilty to eight charges including campaign finance, bank and tax crimes. He claimed in court that Mr Trump directed him to give illegal hush money during the 2016 campaign to two women claiming past affairs with him. Mr Trump denies it.
Mr Trump cancelled his meeting with Mr Putin after reading a report by aides about the Ukraine-russia clash in the Kerch Strait and talking to members of his cabinet.
He wrote on Twitter: “Based on the fact that the ships and sailors have not been returned to Ukraine from Russia, I have decided it would be best for all parties concerned to cancel my previously scheduled meeting in Argentina with President Vladimir Putin. I look forward to a meaningful summit again as soon as this situation is resolved!”
The announcement appeared to surprise the Kremlin. A spokesman said they were looking into the tweet.