President Donald Trump appeared very interested in a Trump Tower in Russia.
Trump reportedly signed a letter of intent to move forward with negotiations for a Trump Tower in Russia in October 2015. He was hoping to build a hotel, commercial property, and condominiums in Moscow bearing the Trump name.
The signed document was recently obtained by CNN. Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, incorrectly told the cable network on Sunday that the president had not signed the document.
In addition to Trump, the document is also signed by Andrey Rozov, owner of I.C. Expert Investment Co., the Russian firm that would be developing the property if the project moved forward.
During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Trump repeatedly said that he had “nothing to do with Russia” and had never explored a business deal with the country. However, the proposed Trump Tower in Russia project would have given Trump a $4 million upfront fee and would have involved no upfront costs to his organization.
Trump also would have control over the marketing and design of the space and would have received a percentage of the sales. The hotel spa was also rumored to be potentially named after Ivanka, CNN reports. The special counsel’s team investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election the alleges the deal could have been lucrative for Trump’s organization.
Both Michale Cohen, Trump’s corporate attorney at the time and Donald Trump Jr. have previously testified to Congress that the letter was signed (although Cohen originally lied about the deal). In late November Trump, himself also acknowledged he had considered the real-estate deal while he was running for president.
