{"slug":"trump-pre-presidency-tower-moscow-cohen-lie","title":"Trump Tower Moscow: Active Negotiations During 2016 Campaign, Covered Up","date":"2015-10-12","lastUpdated":"2019-11-27","description":"During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump and his attorney Michael Cohen were actively negotiating to build a Trump Tower in Moscow with the Kremlin's involvement. The project continued through at least June 2016 — after the Republican primary was effectively decided. Trump repeatedly and falsely claimed he had no business dealings with Russia. Cohen lied to Congress about when negotiations ended, then pleaded guilty. When the truth emerged, it meant Trump had been simultaneously running for president on a pro-Russia platform while seeking a multimillion-dollar business deal requiring Kremlin approval.","summary":"The Trump Tower Moscow project involved Cohen emailing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov's office in January 2016 seeking Putin's personal assistance advancing the project. Trump signed a letter of intent in October 2015. Negotiations continued through June 2016. Cohen testified to Congress in 2017 that negotiations ended in January 2016 — a lie he later admitted under oath. The project would have been the largest Trump deal ever, potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars and requiring Russian government approval. Throughout this period, Trump repeatedly denied any Russian business dealings and publicly advocated for lifting sanctions on Russia.","category":"corruption","severity":"critical","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/29/us/politics/michael-cohen-trump-russia-tower.html","title":"Michael Cohen Admits Lying to Congress About Moscow Trump Tower","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-tower-moscow-cohen-sater/2018/11/29/story.html","title":"Trump Tower Moscow: Cohen pleads guilty to lying to Congress","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/cohen-trump-tower-moscow-guilty-plea","title":"Cohen pleads guilty to lying to Congress about Trump Tower Moscow","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://www.justice.gov/storage/report.pdf","title":"Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election","publisher":"U.S. Department of Justice (Mueller Report)"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Russia","Trump-Tower-Moscow","Cohen","pre-presidency","corruption","perjury","2016-election"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2015-10-12","title":"Trump signs letter of intent for Trump Tower Moscow","summary":"Trump signs a letter of intent with a Russian developer for Trump Tower Moscow. The project would be the largest Trump development ever and requires Kremlin cooperation. Trump is already leading Republican primary polls."},{"date":"2016-01-14","title":"Cohen emails Kremlin spokesman seeking Putin's help","summary":"Cohen emails Dmitry Peskov's office at the Kremlin requesting Putin's personal intervention to advance the Trump Tower Moscow project. A Kremlin assistant responds and communications continue."},{"date":"2016-06-01","title":"Negotiations continue — primary effectively decided","summary":"By June 2016, Trump has effectively secured the Republican presidential nomination. Negotiations on Trump Tower Moscow continue through at minimum this date, per Cohen's later guilty plea. Trump continues denying Russian business dealings publicly."},{"date":"2017-01-01","title":"Cohen lies to Congress — states project ended in January 2016","summary":"Cohen testifies to Senate Intelligence Committee that Trump Tower Moscow negotiations ended in January 2016. The statement is false. Cohen will later plead guilty to this lie."},{"date":"2018-11-29","title":"Cohen pleads guilty to lying to Congress","summary":"Cohen pleads guilty to making false statements to Congress about Trump Tower Moscow. He confirms negotiations continued through June 2016. He is subsequently sentenced to three years in prison."},{"date":"2019-11-27","title":"Mueller Report details full scope of conflict of interest","summary":"The Mueller Report documents the Trump Tower Moscow negotiations and concludes they created a conflict of interest — Trump stood to benefit from Russian goodwill while simultaneously taking policy positions favorable to Russia during the campaign."}],"location":{"name":"New York, NY / Moscow, Russia","lat":40.7128,"lng":-74.006},"custom":{"era":"pre-presidency","posture":"judicial-finding","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"American voters who were told Trump had no Russian business dealings while Trump was actively seeking Kremlin assistance on a major Moscow project; democratic integrity of the 2016 election; rule of law through documented perjury before Congress","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"Candidate; signed letter of intent for Trump Tower Moscow in October 2015; knew of and approved negotiations continuing through the 2016 campaign while repeatedly denying Russian business dealings","institution":"Trump Organization / Trump Campaign"},{"name":"Michael Cohen","role":"Trump's personal attorney; conducted negotiations with Kremlin-connected individuals including Felix Sater; emailed Kremlin spokesman; lied to Congress about timeline; pleaded guilty November 2018","institution":"Trump Organization"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2019-11-27","summary":"Updated with Mueller Report findings and Cohen sentencing details."}]}}