New documents reveal additional contacts between US President Donald Trump and Russians ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
The previously unreported contacts were initially revealed in documents released by The Washington Post on Monday.
They contained previously undisclosed communications between Trump associates and Russian officials during the 2016 campaign, which put the New York billionaire at helm in the White House.
The details, also shared with congressional investigators and special counsel Robert Mueller, were revealed in documents that the Trump Organization has handed over to the White House.
Before the Republican National Convention was held in July 2016, Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, emailed a business associate, Felix Sater, about traveling to an economic conference in Russia, where President Vladimir Putin and other top Russian officials were supposedly present, one exchange showed.
According to another, Cohen received a proposal in late 2015 for a residential project in Moscow from a company founded by a former Russian politician and billionaire, Sergei Gordeev.
According to The Post report, Cohen rejected both the invitation and the proposal.
“I did not accept this invitation,” Cohen said. “I have never been to Russia.”
According to Trump Organization lawyer Alan Garter, such exchanges shout be considered “in context,” claiming that a “very small percentage of these proposals are ever pursued.”
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“Like any other international real estate brand, it is not uncommon for third party developers to submit proposals for potential real estate projects all over the world,” he said.
In a declassified report released in January, the intelligence community concluded that Russia helped with the Trump campaign effort ahead of winning the White House, an allegation dismissed both by Moscow and Trump.
An investigation has been launched to find out whether the Russian government coordinated with Trump’s associates during the 2016 campaign and transition.