Donald Trump Reportedly Planned to Meet with Putin Ally With Suspected Mob Ties

Donald Trump was scheduled to meet with an ally of Vladimir Putin in February, but the plan was abruptly canceled once the White House learned of his suspected mob ties. According to Yahoo News, Trump's meeting with Alexander Torshin, the deputy governor of the Bank of Russia, was slated to take place on Feb. 2 prior to the National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton Hotel with a “small number of guests."

After reviewing the National Prayer Breakfast guestlist, a White House national security staffer informed others within the Trump administration of Torshin's alleged ties to the Taganskaya crime group in Russia. Torshin was suspected of leading an “organized crime and money-laundering ring” in Spain.

Maria Butina, special assistant to Torshin, claims that they were under the assumption that this alleged meeting would be a "five-second handshake" and nothing more. "Late the night before, we were told that all meet and greets were off,” Butina said. “There were no specific questions or statements that Mr. Torshin had in mind during what we assumed to be a five-second handshake."

The decision by Trump's team to cancel a meet and greet with someone carrying as much baggage as Torshin is all too damning if they were unaware of his mob affiliations. It's not a great look for an administration actively fielding questions about its ties to Russia and Putin. The FBI is currently investigating whether Trump's campaign officials are guilty of colluding with Russian operatives in an effort to impact the 2016 presidential election.