Cohen contact with Russians detailed

WASHINGTON— A Russian national who claimed ties to the Kremlin told U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, as early as November 2015 that he could use his Russian government ties to help both Trump’s business and political prospects.

The new Russia contact was revealed Friday by special counsel Robert Mueller III, as he outlined co-operation Cohen has provided the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The new interaction between a top Trump lieutenant and a Russian citizen who claimed government ties is the latest of dozens of similar interactions that have emerged since the 2016 election. Days after Trump’s victory, his spokesperson Hope Hicks asserted there had been no contacts of any kind between Trump associates and Russia.

The information about Cohen is particularly significant because it came in the campaign’s early months and because prosecutors said the Russian nation- al claimed to have interest in helping both Trump’s campaign and business.

Prosecutors said Cohen told prosecutors the Russian repeatedly suggested arranging a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Trump, in part as a way of helping Cohen advance plans to build a Trump real estate project in Moscow.

Cohen has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about details of that project, including a phone call he arranged with a Kremlin official in January 2016 to discuss it.