“I will get Putin on this program, and we will get Donald elected,” wrote Felix Sater to Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen in 2015.
Donald Trump had already begun his journey towards the presidency when, according to documents obtained by the New York Times , Mr. Sater offered to “engineer” a win for the future Republican nominee.
The potentially damning revelations were spotlighted during Tuesday night’s broadcast of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. The late night show host reminded viewers that Trump has thus far denied any knowledge of Mr. Sater or any of his machinations.
Trump has consistently denied any connections between himself, his campaign, and Russian business or collusion attempts. However, new emails that were recently handed over to Congress by Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, allege a different version of events.
The documentation released by Cohen includes a letter of intent, signed by Trump, to construct what would’ve been the tallest building in the world on a piece of prime real estate in Moscow. Noah wasted no time in confronting the president’s alleged dishonesty.
“How can one person lie so big? It’s like if your friend said that they had never heard of Mumford and Sons, and then one day you see the album cover, and you’re like, ‘Wait a minute — you’re Mumford!’”
Noah then went on to say: “Now it’s confirmed: Yes, during the campaign, Donald Trump totally had connections to Russia.” Moreover, Noah pointed out that the man behind the alleged transaction is Felix Sater, a close associate of Trump.
Felix Sater, Trump Associate, Boasted That Moscow Business Deal ‘Will Get Donald Elected’ – The New York Times https://t.co/Lxf19iHDjb pic.twitter.com/MI1jmYrKKG
— Liberal Resistance (@LiberalResist) August 30, 2017
According to the report in the New York Times , Mr. Sater believed that the deal to build the towering skyscraper in Moscow — aided by President Vladimir Putin himself — would’ve gone a long way towards securing the presidency for Trump.
The emails addressed to Michael Cohen, revealed that Mr. Sater had, by his account, close connections with Putin, and was therefore in a perfect position to broker the deal.
“Our boy can become president of the USA, and we can engineer it. I will get all of Putin’s team to buy in on this; I will manage this process.”
Part of Mr. Sater’s strategy, it seems, was to facilitate a well-negotiated deal between Trump’s organization and the Russian government. As such, Mr. Sater hoped to show the Russians, as well as the American people, just how sharp Trump’s business acumen is.
A later email also reveals that Mr. Sater allegedly wanted to arrange a televised ceremony in Moscow, where Putin would publicly praise Donald Trump’s deal-making skills.
“If he says it we own this election. Americas most challenging adversary agreeing that Donald is a good guy to negotiate.”
Although the information contained in the emails may seem like straightforward evidence of collusion between Russia and Trump associates, the documents show no indications that Mr. Sater ever made good on his promises. In fact, in one of the emails, it allegedly states that Mr. Sater may have overstated his level of influence within Putin’s inner circle.
In fact, in one of the emails, it reportedly says that Mr. Sater may have overstated his level of influence within Putin’s inner circle. Moreover, there is no evidence that Trump’s lawyer ever responded to Mr. Sater’s offers.
The proposed construction project in Moscow eventually disintegrated.
According to a statement issued by Michael Cohen on Monday, he imagined that Mr. Sater was boasting about contacts that may not have been as reliable and direct as the associate had claimed.
“I ultimately determined that the proposal was not feasible and never agreed to make a trip to Russia.”
Special Investigator Robert Mueller, as well as numerous Congressional committees, is currently looking into any and all potential links between Russia and the Trump organization during last year’s presidential campaign. Thus far it is unclear if and how the newling released email may or may not help the inquests.
[Featured Image by Win McNamee/Getty Images]