Felix Sater, a business associate of the neo-Nazi-sympathizer-in-chief, once vowed to "engineer" a real estate deal with assistance from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sater said the deal would help secure the American presidency for Trump, the New York Times reported Monday.
Sater sent multiple emails to Trump's attorney Michael Cohen in 2015 regarding the erection of a Trump Tower in Moscow, claiming its construction could boost the failed steak salesman's chances at becoming a bumbling POTUS. "I will get Putin on this program and we will get Donald elected," Sater said in one email, obtained by the Times. These emails (and others) were turned over to the House Intelligence Committee by the Trump Organization Monday as part of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
In the emails seen by the Times, it appears Sater may have exaggerated his claims of Russian influence. Additionally, the excerpted emails include no responses from Cohen. However, the emails show that several people connected with the Trump team looked at the potential Moscow deal as a "political advantage," even in the very beginning stages of Trump's campaign.
Trump signed a non-binding letter of intent related to the Moscow proposal in 2015, Cohen toldABC News. Cohen added that the move to pursue this proposal "and later abandon it" was "unrelated" to the Trump campaign, though the timelines clearly overlap. Previously, including in July 2016, Trump claimed that his company had "no relationship" with Russia. The proposal was allegedly abandoned in January 2016.
