Trump Tower Moscow

Last updated
Trump Tower Moscow
Alternative namesThe Moscow Project
Etymology Donald Trump
General information
StatusNever built
Location Moscow, Russia
Owner Trump Organization

Trump Tower Moscow, also known as the Moscow Project, [1] was a series of proposals by the Trump Organization to develop a Trump skyscraper in Russia. [2] Michael Cohen testified in February 2019 that Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump were regularly briefed about a proposed Trump Tower in Moscow. [3] [4] [5] Trump Jr. had told Congress he was only "peripherally aware of it". [5]

Contents

No such project was ever built, but the idea continued to receive press coverage due to Donald Trump's election as president of the United States and the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election aimed at promoting Trump's candidacy. In November 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the Trump Tower Moscow in a prosecution brought by the office of the special counsel. [2]

Background

Donald Trump is reported as having first envisaged a Trump building in Moscow during a visit to Moscow in 1987, [6] which he also mentioned in his own 1987 book The Art of the Deal. [7] [8] Trump wrote that he had talked with Yuri Dubinin about "building a large luxury hotel, across the street from the Kremlin, in partnership with the Soviet government." [7] [8] The development was originally envisaged as a joint venture with the Soviet Union's tourism agency, Goscom Intourist, although the plan ultimately fell through. [9] [7] Following the break-up of the Soviet Union, Trump's interest in a Moscow tower continued. In 2005, the Trump Organization signed a one-year contract for a construction project in Moscow with the Bayrock Group real estate firm. One of the firm's principals was Felix Sater, a Russian-born businessman with mob connections. [10] Sater identified a site for a Trump skyscraper. It was stipulated any spas or fitness areas be branded "The Spa by Ivanka Trump." [11]

That proposal fell through, but Sater continued to maintain a relationship with Trump. [12] After holding the Miss Universe pageant in Russia in 2013, Trump tweeted "TRUMP TOWER-MOSCOW is next." [13] [14]

A New York architect had completed plans for a bold glass obelisk 100 stories high by September 2015, with the Trump logo on multiple sides. The planned Trump Tower would have been the tallest skyscraper in Europe. [15] The proposed site was a location in the Moscow International Business Center, near the Moscow River. [16]

2016 presidential campaign

Trump launched his campaign for the presidency in June 2015. Multiple sources have reported that Trump signed a letter of intent to develop the building, provisionally named Trump World Tower Moscow, in October 2015. [13] [17] Throughout the primary and general election campaigns, he consistently praised Russia and Russian president Vladimir Putin, [18] [19] while repeatedly making public statements that he had no business dealings with Russia, [20] saying that he had "nothing to do with Russia" and "I know nothing about Russia ... I don’t deal there." [21] However, in November 2018 Trump told reporters that "we were thinking about building a building" in Moscow, adding that "everybody knew about it" and "there would have been nothing wrong with it." [22]

According to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, Trump's interest in a possible Moscow project continued through most of the primary campaign, ending in June 2016. [13] [23] [24]

The president's attorney Rudy Giuliani later said (in 2019) that the tower remained an "active proposal" throughout the campaign, and that Trump recalled discussing it with Cohen, possibly as late as October or November 2016. [25] He quoted Trump as having said the discussions were "going on from the day I announced to the day I won." [26] However, Giuliani later backtracked from those statements. [27]

November 2018 developments

The proposal came back to public attention in November 2018, when Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about the issue, in a prosecution brought by the office of the special counsel.

Cohen had told a Senate committee that the project was dropped in January 2016 because they couldn't get the necessary permissions. However, on November 29, 2018, Cohen admitted in a court proceeding that those statements were untrue, and that he had continued to pursue the possibility of a Trump Tower Moscow until June 2016. He said that in the course of those negotiations he spoke directly with a representative of the Kremlin press office. He said he contemplated going to Moscow himself, although in fact he never did, and he raised the possibility of Trump going to Moscow during the general election campaign to seal the deal. He said he personally briefed Trump about the project on several occasions, as well as Trump family members. [12] Cohen also admitted in court that he had lied to the Senate in September 2017 "to be consistent with [Trump's] political messaging." [28]

In trying to make arrangements with Moscow, Cohen worked closely with Sater. According to Sater, they discussed the possibility of giving a $50 million penthouse in the tower to Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying that Putin living there would increase the value and saleability of the other units. [29] Sater stated that the proposal was dropped in June 2016 because news reports emerged then about the Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee, making a Russian business connection a political liability. [13]

Letter of intent

In December 2018, Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani was quoted as saying “It was a real-estate project. There was a letter of intent to go forward, but no one signed it." [30] On December 19, CNN produced a copy of a letter of intent apparently signed by Trump and Andrey Rozov, [31] the owner of I.C. Expert Investment Company, the proposed Russian development partner. [32] Giuliani then described the letter of intent as "meaningless" because it "didn't go anywhere". [33] He also denied that he had said the letter was never signed. [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Trump Organization</span> Businesses owned by Donald Trump

The Trump Organization is a group of about 500 business entities of which Donald Trump is the sole or principal owner. Around 250 of these entities use the Trump name. The organization was founded in 1927 by Donald Trump's paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Christ Trump, and his father, Fred Trump, as E. Trump & Son. Donald Trump joined the organization in 1968, began leading it in 1971, renamed it around 1973, and handed off its leadership to his children in 2017 when he won the 2016 United States presidential election. In 2022, the organization was convicted of tax fraud felonies. In a civil lawsuit in 2023, a New York judge ruled that the organization had fraudulently overvalued its properties when applying for bank loans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrii Artemenko</span> Ukrainian politician

Andy Victor Kuchma, formerly Andrii Viktorovych Artemenko, is a former Ukrainian politician and businessman. Andrii Viktorovych Artemenko was a People's Deputy of Ukraine of the 8th convocation of Verkhovna Rada and chairman of the "Solidarity of Right Forces" party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Cohen (lawyer)</span> American attorney and convicted felon

Michael Dean Cohen is an American former lawyer who served as an attorney for former United States president Donald Trump from 2006 to 2018. Cohen served as vice president of the Trump Organization and personal counsel to Trump, often being described as his fixer. Cohen served as co-president of Trump Entertainment and was a board member of the Eric Trump Foundation, a children's health charity. From 2017 to 2018, Cohen was deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Felix Henry Sater is a Russian-American mobster, convicted felon, real estate developer and former managing director of Bayrock Group LLC, a real estate conglomerate based out of New York City. He has been an advisor to corporations such as The Trump Organization, and the Mirax Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steele dossier</span> Political opposition research report regarding the 2016 US election

The Steele dossier, also known as the Trump–Russia dossier, is a controversial political opposition research report written by Christopher Steele that was published without permission as an unfinished 35-page compilation of unverified raw intelligence reports—"not established facts, but a starting point for further investigation". It was written from June to December 2016 and contains allegations of misconduct, conspiracy, and cooperation between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and the government of Russia prior to and during the 2016 election campaign. Several key allegations made in June 2016 were later corroborated by the January 2017 report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, namely that Vladimir Putin favored Trump over Hillary Clinton; that he personally ordered an "influence campaign" to harm Clinton's campaign and to "undermine public faith in the US democratic process"; that he ordered cyberattacks on both parties; and that many Trump campaign officials and associates had numerous secretive contacts with Russian agents. While Steele's documents played a significant role in initially highlighting the general friendliness between Trump and the Putin administration, the veracity of specific allegations is highly variable. Some have been publicly confirmed, others are plausible but not specifically confirmed, and some are dubious in retrospect but not strictly disproven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Business projects of Donald Trump in Russia</span>

Donald Trump has pursued business deals in Russia since 1987, and has repeatedly traveled there to explore potential business opportunities. In 1996, Trump trademark applications were submitted for potential Russian real estate development deals. Trump, his children, and his partners have repeatedly visited Russia, connecting with real estate developers and Russian government officials to explore joint venture opportunities. Trump was never able to successfully conclude any real estate deals in Russia. However, individual Russians have invested heavily in Trump properties, and, following Trump's bankruptcies in the 1990s, he borrowed money from Russian sources. Both Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump have said that Russia was an important source of money for the Trump businesses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections</span>

This is a timeline of events related to Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Links between Trump associates and Russian officials</span>

Since Donald Trump was a 2016 candidate for the office of President of the United States, myriad suspicious links between Trump associates and Russian officials have been discovered by the FBI, Special counsel, and several United States congressional committees, as part of their investigations into the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. Following intelligence reports about the Russian interference, Trump and some of his campaign members, business partners, administration nominees, and family members were subjected to intense scrutiny to determine whether they had improper dealings during their contacts with Russian officials. Several people connected to the Trump campaign made false statements about those links and obstructed investigations. These investigations resulted in many criminal charges and indictments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the Donald Trump presidency (2018 Q3)</span>

The following is a timeline of the presidency of Donald Trump during the third quarter of 2018, from July 1 to September 30, 2018. To navigate among quarters, see timeline of the Donald Trump presidency.

Konstantin Viktorovich Kilimnik is a Russian–Ukrainian political consultant. In the United States, he became a person of interest in multiple investigations regarding Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, particularly due to his ties with Paul Manafort, an American political consultant, who was a campaign chairman for Donald Trump.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (January–June 2017)</span>

This is a timeline of major events in the first half of 2017 related to the investigations into links between associates of Donald Trump and Russian officials and spies that are suspected of being inappropriate, relating to Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. Following the timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections before and after July 2016 up until election day November 8 and the post-election transition, this article begins with Donald Trump and Mike Pence being sworn into office on January 20, 2017, and is followed by the second half of 2017. The investigations continued in the first and second halves of 2018, the first and second halves of 2019, 2020, and 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (January–June 2019)</span>

This is a timeline of events in the first half of 2019 related to investigations into the many suspicious links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies relating to the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. It follows the timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, both before and after July 2016, until November 8, 2016, the transition, the first and second halves of 2017, the first and second halves of 2018, and followed by the second half of 2019, 2020, and 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mueller report</span> 2019 U.S. government report on Russian interference in the 2016 election

The Mueller report, officially titled Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election, is the official report documenting the findings and conclusions of former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 United States presidential election, allegations of conspiracy or coordination between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russia, and allegations of obstruction of justice. The report was submitted to Attorney General William Barr on March 22, 2019, and a redacted version of the 448-page report was publicly released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on April 18, 2019. It is divided into two volumes. The redactions from the report and its supporting material were placed under a temporary "protective assertion" of executive privilege by then-President Trump on May 8, 2019, preventing the material from being passed to Congress, despite earlier reassurance by Barr that Trump would not exert privilege.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian interference in the 2020 United States elections</span>

Russian interference in the 2020 United States elections was a matter of concern at the highest level of national security within the United States government, in addition to the computer and social media industries. In 2020, the RAND Corporation was one of the first to release research describing Russia's playbook for interfering in U.S. elections, developed machine-learning tools to detect the interference, and tested strategies to counter Russian interference. In February and August 2020, United States Intelligence Community (USIC) experts warned members of Congress that Russia was interfering in the 2020 presidential election in then-President Donald Trump's favor. USIC analysis released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) in March 2021 found that proxies of Russian intelligence promoted and laundered misleading or unsubstantiated narratives about Joe Biden "to US media organizations, US officials, and prominent US individuals, including some close to former President Trump and his administration." The New York Times reported in May 2021 that federal investigators in Brooklyn began a criminal investigation late in the Trump administration into possible efforts by several current and former Ukrainian officials to spread unsubstantiated allegations about corruption by Joe Biden, including whether they had used Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani as a channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Topical timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections</span>

This is a timeline of events related to Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, sorted by topics. It also includes events described in investigations into the many suspicious links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies. Those investigations continued in 2017, the first and second halves of 2018, and 2019, largely as parts of the Crossfire Hurricane FBI investigation, the Special Counsel investigation, multiple ongoing criminal investigations by several State Attorneys General, and the investigation resulting in the Inspector General report on FBI and DOJ actions in the 2016 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of post-election transition following Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections</span>

This is a chronology of significant events in 2016 and 2017 related to the many suspicious links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies during the Trump presidential transition and the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. Following the timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections before and after July 2016, this article begins on November 8 and ends with Donald Trump and Mike Pence being sworn into office on January 20, 2017. The investigations continued in the first and second halves of 2017, the first and second halves of 2018, the first and second halves of 2019, 2020, and 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (July–December 2018)</span>

This is a timeline of major events in second half of 2018 related to the investigations into the many suspicious links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies relating to the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. It follows the timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections before and after July 2016 up until election day November 8, and the transition, the first and second halves of 2017, and the first half of 2018, but precedes that of the first and second halves of 2019, 2020, and 2021. These events are related to, but distinct from, Russian interference in the 2018 United States elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (July–December 2017)</span>

This is a timeline of major events in the second half of 2017 related to the investigations into the many suspicious links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies relating to the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. It follows the timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections before and after July 2016 up until election day November 8, the post-election transition, and the first half of 2017. The investigations continued in the first and second halves of 2018, the first and second halves of 2019, 2020, and 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of investigations into Donald Trump and Russia (July–December 2019)</span>

This is a timeline of major events in second half of 2019 related to the investigations into the myriad links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies that are suspected of being inappropriate, relating to the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections. It follows the timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections before and after July 2016 up until election day November 8, and the transition, the first and second halves of 2017, the first and second halves of 2018, and the first half of 2019, but precedes that of 2020 and 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Topics of the Mueller special counsel investigation</span> Topics of the United States investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections

The Mueller special counsel investigation was started by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who was serving as Acting Attorney General due to the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He authorized Robert Mueller to investigate and prosecute "any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump", as well as "any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation" and any other matters within the scope of 28 CFR 600.4 – Jurisdiction.

References

  1. ↑ Qiu, Linda (November 29, 2018). "Fact Check of the Day: Trump Denies Business Dealings With Russia. His Former Lawyer Contradicts Him". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Orden, Erica; Scannell, Kara; Brown, Pamela; Collinson, Stephen; Borger, Gloria. "Michael Cohen pleads guilty, says he lied about Trump's knowledge of Moscow project". CNN. Archived from the original on 2018-11-29. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  3. ↑ Alan Neuhauser (February 27, 2019). "Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Briefed on Russia Trump Tower Deal". U.S. News & World Report . Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  4. ↑ Rebecca Ballhaus (February 27, 2019). "Cohen Says He Briefed Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. on Trump Tower Moscow About 10 Times". WSJ.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  5. 1 2 Aaron Rupar (February 27, 2019). "Michael Cohen's testimony could be bad news for Donald Trump Jr". Vox.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  6. ↑ Stieb, Matt. "What Does Trump Tower Moscow Mean to the Mueller Investigation?". Intelligencer. Archived from the original on 2019-03-30. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  7. 1 2 3 Harding, Luke (19 November 2017). "The Hidden History of Trump's First Trip to Moscow". Politico . Retrieved 2018-12-11.
  8. 1 2 Barro, Josh (2015-09-22). "10 Things I Learned About Donald Trump in 'The Art of the Deal'". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  9. ↑ Helderman, Rosalind S.; Hamburger, Tom (29 November 2018). "'We will be in Moscow': The story of Trump's 30-year quest to expand his brand to Russia". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2021-02-15. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  10. ↑ Horwitz, Jeff (December 4, 2018). "Q&A on Trump real estate adviser accused of a $40M stock fraud scheme and ties to the mob". AP. US News. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  11. ↑ Alex Ward (December 19, 2018). "Trump Tower Moscow, and Michael Cohen's lies about it, explained; Everything you need to know about Trump's efforts to do business in Russia". Vox.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  12. 1 2 Ward, Alex (November 29, 2018). "Trump Tower Moscow, and Michael Cohen's lies about it, explained". Vox. Archived from the original on 1 December 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Dilanian, Ken; Smith, Allan (November 29, 2018). "Scuttled Trump Tower Moscow project back in limelight after Cohen guilty plea". NBC News. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  14. ↑ Trump, Donald J. (2013-11-11). "@AgalarovAras I had a great weekend with you and your family. You have done a FANTASTIC job. TRUMP TOWER-MOSCOW is next. EMIN was WOW!". @realDonaldTrump. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  15. ↑ Azeen Ghorayshi (January 22, 2019). "Trump's Lawyer Said There Were "No Plans" For Trump Tower Moscow. Here They Are.; Rudy Giuliani claims the Moscow tower was barely more than a notion. "There were no drafts. Nothing in the file." Documents obtained by BuzzFeed News tell a different story". Buzzfeednews.com. Archived from the original on January 23, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  16. ↑ "The President Said No Site Was Picked For Trump Moscow – But Documents Show His Fixers Were Scoping A Prime Location". BuzzFeed News. February 2019. Archived from the original on 2021-02-15. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  17. ↑ "Here's the preliminary deal to bring a Trump Tower to Moscow". CNN. September 8, 2017. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  18. ↑ Smith, Allan (September 10, 2016). "Donald Trump praised Vladimir Putin on the national stage again — here's what it all means". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  19. ↑ Cillizza, Chris (July 16, 2018). "Donald Trump just can't stop saying nice things about Vladimir Putin". CNN. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  20. ↑ Rupar, Aaron (November 30, 2018). "Trump once said he had "no dealings with Russia." Now he claims "everybody knew" about them". Vox. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  21. 1 2 Rupar, Aaron (December 19, 2018). "Rudy Giuliani lied about a Trump Tower Moscow letter of intent. CNN has receipts". Vox. Archived from the original on 19 December 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  22. ↑ Allen, Jonathan (November 29, 2018). "Trump's new Russia deal defense: Just business as usual". NBC News. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  23. ↑ Blake, Aaron (December 17, 2018). "The plot just thickened on Trump Tower Moscow". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  24. ↑ Haltiwanger, John (2018-11-29). "Michael Cohen admitted a bombshell detail about the Trump Tower Moscow deal that could spell trouble for Trump". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 2018-12-19. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  25. ↑ Kamisar, Ben; Haberman, Maggie; Schmidt, Michael S. (January 20, 2019). "Giuliani: Discussions on Trump Tower in Moscow were 'active' throughout 2016 election". CNBC. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  26. ↑ Mazzetti, Mark (January 20, 2019). "Moscow Skyscraper Talks Continued Through 'the Day I Won,' Trump Is Said to Acknowledge". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  27. ↑ "Giuliani backtracks on comments Trump sought Moscow deal throughout 2016", Reuters (21 Jan 2019).
  28. ↑ Mazzetti, Mark; Weiser, Benjamin; Protess, Ben; Haberman, Maggie (29 November 2018). "Cohen Pleads Guilty and Details Trump's Involvement in Moscow Tower Project". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  29. ↑ Alesci, Cristina; Kelly, Caroline (November 30, 2018). "Trump Tower Moscow concept included idea of giving penthouse to Putin". CNN. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  30. ↑ "Trump Signed Letter of Intent to Move Forward on Trump Tower in Russia: Report". The Daily Beast. 2018-12-19. Archived from the original on 2021-02-15. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  31. ↑ "Убийство, кинутые дольщики, башня Трампа". 26 December 2017. Archived from the original on 2020-01-01. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  32. ↑ Steinbuch, Yaron (2018-12-19). "Trump signed letter of intent to proceed with Moscow project". New York Post. Archived from the original on 2018-12-19. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  33. ↑ Wise, Justin (2018-12-19). "Giuliani says Trump signing letter of intent for Moscow tower is meaningless". TheHill. Archived from the original on 2018-12-19. Retrieved 2018-12-19.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.