[That_Guy]

These Secret Files Show How The Trump Moscow Talks Unfolded While Trump Heaped Praise On Putin
Ahead of Michael Cohen’s testimony, read the original paper trail behind the campaign to build Europe’s tallest tower in Moscow — and how it played out alongside Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

Azeen Ghorayshi, Jason Leopold, Anthony Cormier, Emma Loop
BuzzFeed News Reporters

Last updated on February 5, 2019, at 4:15 p.m. ET
Posted on February 5, 2019, at 9:20 a.m. ET


As a candidate, Donald Trump had a lot of praise for Vladimir Putin — and no business, he kept insisting, in Russia. These documents tell a different story.

When Michael Cohen, the president’s former lawyer and longtime fixer, testifies before Congress this week, one topic that is likely to be front and center is his work on Trump Moscow, the over-the-top luxury real estate venture he helped spearhead leading up to the election.

The development, which was never built, has already become a focus for special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into potential collusion between Trump and Russia during the 2016 campaign. And when Cohen was convicted last November of lying to Congress, it was over his false testimony that the deal had fizzled in January 2016, well before Trump emerged as the Republican nominee.

BuzzFeed News is today publishing a cache of internal Trump Organization documents that lay bare the secret negotiations that continued long after Cohen claimed the deal had been abandoned. The documents, many of which have been exclusively obtained by BuzzFeed News, reveal that — despite Trump’s claim that the development was never more than a passing notion — the effort to get the tower built was long-running, detail-oriented, and directly entwined with the ups and downs of his campaign.

As Trump went from rally to rally, vociferously denying any dealings in Russia, his representatives, Michael Cohen and his associate Felix Sater, worked with Trump Organization lawyers and even Ivanka Trump to push forward negotiations to build a 100-story edifice just miles from the Kremlin. The fixers believed they needed Putin’s support to pull off the lucrative deal, and they planned to use Trump’s public praise for him to help secure it. At the same time, they plotted to persuade Putin to openly declare his support for Trump’s candidacy. “If he says it we own this election,” Sater wrote to Cohen.

The White House did not respond to a detailed request for comment on this story. The special counsel’s office declined to comment.

This large trove of nonbinding business agreements, architectural renderings, texts, emails, and plans for Trump to travel to Russia to meet Putin offer an unprecedented glimpse inside the negotiations to build the tallest tower in Europe — a deal Trump’s fixers hoped would "help world peace and make a lot of money."

MORE HERE AND HERE

[MTP Reggie]

:yawn:

https://thegospelside.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/onetrickpony.png

This post has been edited by MTP Reggie: 07 February 2019 - 10:32 AM

[MTP Reggie]

:yawn:

https://thegospelside.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/onetrickpony.png

[That_Guy]

One mind-blowing element of this document comes from pages 246 and 251 where Michael Cohen basically dictates his own invitation to Moscow from the Russian bank which is supposedly financing the deal.

[That_Guy]

 MTP Reggie, on 07 February 2019 - 10:33 AM, said:

:yawn:

If you actually take the time to read the accompanying 284-page document, I promise you won't be bored...

This post has been edited by That_Guy: 07 February 2019 - 10:38 AM

[oki]

 That_Guy, on 07 February 2019 - 10:37 AM, said:

If you actually take the time to read the accompanying 284-page document, I promise you won't be bored...

Is this the same Buzz Feed that just a week or two ago put a B.S. story up about Trump Russia? Or is it a different Buzz Feed?

Oki

[That_Guy]

 oki, on 07 February 2019 - 10:50 AM, said:

Is this the same Buzz Feed that just a week or two ago put a B.S. story up about Trump Russia? Or is it a different Buzz Feed?

Oki

I wonder if it might be possible to ignore the original poster and/or the source and discuss the actual information presented -- just this once.

(it's from DocumentCloud)

[Tikk]

 That_Guy, on 07 February 2019 - 10:55 AM, said:

I wonder if it might be possible to ignore the original poster and/or the source and discuss the actual information presented -- just this once.

(it's from DocumentCloud)

"Contributed by: Azeen Ghorayshi, BuzzFeed"


Kinda circular donchathink?

This post has been edited by Tikk: 07 February 2019 - 11:02 AM

[Buckwheat Jones]

 That_Guy, on 07 February 2019 - 10:30 AM, said:

These Secret Files Show How The Trump Moscow Talks Unfolded While Trump Heaped Praise On Putin
Ahead of Michael Cohen’s testimony, read the original paper trail behind the campaign to build Europe’s tallest tower in Moscow — and how it played out alongside Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

Azeen Ghorayshi, Jason Leopold, Anthony Cormier, Emma Loop
BuzzFeed News Reporters

Last updated on February 5, 2019, at 4:15 p.m. ET
Posted on February 5, 2019, at 9:20 a.m. ET


As a candidate, Donald Trump had a lot of praise for Vladimir Putin — and no business, he kept insisting, in Russia. These documents tell a different story.

When Michael Cohen, the president’s former lawyer and longtime fixer, testifies before Congress this week, one topic that is likely to be front and center is his work on Trump Moscow, the over-the-top luxury real estate venture he helped spearhead leading up to the election.

The development, which was never built, has already become a focus for special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into potential collusion between Trump and Russia during the 2016 campaign. And when Cohen was convicted last November of lying to Congress, it was over his false testimony that the deal had fizzled in January 2016, well before Trump emerged as the Republican nominee.

BuzzFeed News is today publishing a cache of internal Trump Organization documents that lay bare the secret negotiations that continued long after Cohen claimed the deal had been abandoned. The documents, many of which have been exclusively obtained by BuzzFeed News, reveal that — despite Trump’s claim that the development was never more than a passing notion — the effort to get the tower built was long-running, detail-oriented, and directly entwined with the ups and downs of his campaign.

As Trump went from rally to rally, vociferously denying any dealings in Russia, his representatives, Michael Cohen and his associate Felix Sater, worked with Trump Organization lawyers and even Ivanka Trump to push forward negotiations to build a 100-story edifice just miles from the Kremlin. The fixers believed they needed Putin’s support to pull off the lucrative deal, and they planned to use Trump’s public praise for him to help secure it. At the same time, they plotted to persuade Putin to openly declare his support for Trump’s candidacy. “If he says it we own this election,” Sater wrote to Cohen.

The White House did not respond to a detailed request for comment on this story. The special counsel’s office declined to comment.

This large trove of nonbinding business agreements, architectural renderings, texts, emails, and plans for Trump to travel to Russia to meet Putin offer an unprecedented glimpse inside the negotiations to build the tallest tower in Europe — a deal Trump’s fixers hoped would "help world peace and make a lot of money."

MORE HERE AND HERE

Where’s the illegal part?

[That_Guy]

 Buckwheat Jones, on 07 February 2019 - 11:03 AM, said:

Where’s the illegal part?

I hesitate to characterize before you've had a chance to read the source material.

[MTP Reggie]

 That_Guy, on 07 February 2019 - 11:08 AM, said:

I hesitate to characterize before you've had a chance to read the source material.

So... nothing illegal. Got it. Just your opinion, which is wrong nearly 100% of the time (I was being nice and added the 'nearly').

[Natural Selection]

 That_Guy, on 07 February 2019 - 10:34 AM, said:

One mind-blowing element of this document comes from pages 246 and 251 where Michael Cohen basically dictates his own invitation to Moscow from the Russian bank which is supposedly financing the deal.

I read those pages and didn't see anything of significance. Obviously, your mind is easily blown.

[erp]

 That_Guy, on 07 February 2019 - 10:55 AM, said:

I wonder if it might be possible to ignore the original poster and/or the source and discuss the actual information presented -- just this once.

(it's from DocumentCloud)

Given both of your track records, no, it is not.

Both you and Buzzfeed are blatantly dishonest.

[That_Guy]

 Natural Selection, on 07 February 2019 - 11:12 AM, said:

I read those pages and didn't see anything of significance.

What did you see?

[erp]

 Natural Selection, on 07 February 2019 - 11:12 AM, said:

I read those pages and didn't see anything of significance. Obviously, your mind is easily blown.

Simple minds usually are.

[That_Guy]

 erp, on 07 February 2019 - 11:21 AM, said:

Both you and Buzzfeed are blatantly dishonest.

Then just go straight to the source.

[Buckwheat Jones]

 That_Guy, on 07 February 2019 - 11:08 AM, said:

I hesitate to characterize before you've had a chance to read the source material.

If an illegality has occurred, by all means, spit it out. Hesitation to characterize has never stopped you before.

[zurg]

I’m truly baffled here. What did Trump do that was 1) illegal, 2) unethical, 3) worrisome, 4) compromising.

I state all 4 options, even though #1 is the only one that can lead to any action like impeachment.

If anything, Trump deserves kudos and praise for understanding that if he had pushed forward, he would have run the risk of being in a compromising position. He didn’t; in the meanwhile, Cohen could well have benn a sleazo who tried to continue to profit from a deal that wasn’t, because he was spending so many billable hours on it, perhaps without the huge payday at the end that he was expecting. Maybe Trump’s candidacy was a financial catastrophe for Cohen and he’s now lashing out, in order to keep funds coming in and keep his hooker lifestyle up.

[Natural Selection]

 That_Guy, on 07 February 2019 - 11:22 AM, said:

What did you see?

Everything on the pages you mentioned.

[Martin]

 That_Guy, on 07 February 2019 - 11:08 AM, said:

I hesitate to characterize before you've had a chance to read the source material.

"Where is that needle?"

"It's right over there in that haystack."

No, Guy, if the document you cited reveals crime on the part of Trump, you should be able to say on which page the document reveals it. If you can't do that, then your original post is no better than the rest of yours.