NEWARK, N.J. _ Donald Trump discussed a proposal to build a hotel and condominium tower in Moscow on three occasions with his company's lawyer.
The lawyer, Michael Cohen, said in a statement to a congressional committee investigating Trump's campaign ties to Russia, that the Trump Organization weighed the proposal from September 2015 to January 2016. Trump announced his candidacy for president in June 2015, and since then, he has repeatedly denied conducting business with Russia.
Cohen said he worked on the project with Felix Sater, a Russian-born developer who had previously worked with Trump on a hotel and condominium in Manhattan's Soho neighborhood. Sater, who acted as a deal broker on the Moscow project, suggested that Trump travel to Russia as the proposal advanced, but Cohen said that wouldn't happen unless there was a "definitive agreement" in place.
Cohen said the Trump Organization signed a non-binding letter of intent in October 2015 with a Russian developer, but the project ultimately fizzled. Trump wasn't involved in the decision to abandon the project.
"I did not ask or brief Mr. Trump, or any of his family, before I made the decision to terminate further work on the proposal," Cohen said, in the statement. "The Trump Tower Moscow proposal was not related in any way to Mr. Trump's presidential campaign."
