Report: Trump Organization planned to give Putin $50 million penthouse in Trump Tower Moscow
During the 2016 campaign, the Trump Organization wanted to give Russian President Vladimir Putin a $50 million penthouse in Trump Tower Moscow, four people with knowledge of the matter told BuzzFeed News.
Two law enforcement officials said Michael Cohen, President Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer, met with a representative of Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, to discuss the plan. Real estate promoter Felix Sater told BuzzFeed News he worked on the plan with Cohen, and they thought if Putin was in Trump Tower Moscow, wealthy movers and shakers would follow. "In Russia, the oligarchs would bend over backwards to live in the same building as Vladimir Putin," he said. Trump Tower Moscow was never built.
On Thursday, Cohen pleaded guilty to lying to the Senate about Trump's business dealings in Russia. Cohen had testified the Trump Tower Moscow deal collapsed in January 2016, but court documents state he later admitted the deal moved forward beyond that. It's not clear if Trump knew about the plan to give the penthouse to Putin, BuzzFeed News reports; in court documents, Cohen said he regularly briefed Trump and his family on the negotiations in Moscow.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Revisionism and division: Franco’s legacy five decades onIn The Spotlight Events to mark 50 years since Franco’s death designed to break young people’s growing fascination with the Spanish dictator
-
Did Cop30 fulfil its promise to Indigenous Brazilians?Today’s Big Question Brazilian president approves 10 new protected territories, following ‘unprecedented’ Indigenous presence at conference, both as delegates and protesters
-
The best Christmas theatre shows across the UKThe Week Recommends Tip-top festive ballets, plays and comedies to book up now
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
-
Trump pivots on Epstein vote amid GOP defectionsSpeed Read The president said House Republicans should vote on a forced release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
