A spokesperson for Russia revealed on Saturday that Michael Cohen ‘disappeared’ after his two emails regarding then-presidential candidate Donald Trump potentially building a property in Moscow were returned with one phone call telling him that’s not his department.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov revealed the emails from Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney, to reporters from the G20 Summit in Beunos Aires on Friday.
The emails asked to either speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s then-chief of staff Sergei Ivanov, or Peskov himself, the spokesperson said.
Peskov said someone then called Cohen and told him that the ‘Russian presidential administration is not dealing with construction work’ and then Cohen stopped contacting them, saying it euphemistically as, ‘they did disappear,’ NBC reported.
Cohen pleaded guilty on Thursday to lying about whether negotiations continued regarding building a Trump Tower in Russia after the primary caucuses and elections began in February of 2016.
This marks the first time Trump’s private business dealings in Russia have been discussed in open court, as part of the Department of Justice investigation being lead by Special Agent Robert Mueller into Russian meddling in the 2016 president election and whether Trump’s campaign colluded with the foreign government.
Russia spokesperson Dmitry Peskov (inset, right) revealed on Saturday that Michael Cohen (inset, left) ‘disappeared’ after his two emails regarding then-presidential candidate Donald Trump (left) potentially building a property in Moscow were returned with one phone call telling him that’s not his department. Cohen is pictured walking out of Manhattan Federal Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to lying during the Russia probe
In his plea deal, Cohen admitted to continuing to try to secure a deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow into June of 2016.
He previously said that the last efforts on that project were made in January 2016, before the Iowa caucus, which kicked off the presidential candidate primary contests.
Peskov showed the following email from Cohen to reporters on Friday, according to Bloomberg, which did not report a date on the email:
‘Over past few months I’ve been working with the company based in Russia regarding the development of Trump tower, a project in Moscow City.
‘I am requesting your assistance. I request someone preferably you contact me, so I might discuss the specifics as well as arranging meetings with appropriate individuals.’
‘We told them that Presidential Administration doesn’t build houses, and if they want to invest in Russia that we will be happy to see them at St Petersburg Economic Forum,’ Russian administration spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. Peskov is pictured talking to the media on the sidelines of the 2018 G20 Summit in Buenos Aires on Friday
Peskov said someone from Putin’s administration then called Cohen, rather than replying electronically to the email.
‘We told them that Presidential Administration doesn’t build houses, and if they want to invest in Russia that we will be happy to see them at St Petersburg Economic Forum,’ Peskov said on Friday.
Cohen’s plea deal agreement said he received a response from Putin’s press secretary’s office.
The import of a US presidential candidate’s team having discussions with Russia’s presidential administration was not something Peskov was willing to entertain on Saturday.
‘For us, it’s not different,’ Peskov said. ‘For you, it’s a future president Trump. For us, it’s one of the other applicants.’
Cohen admitted on Thursday to having conversations about the Moscow Trump Tower project into June of 2016, after Trump had clinched the Republican nomination for presidential candidacy but before it was made official at the Republican National Convention in July of that year.
With regard to the potential project, Trump tweeted early on Friday at 4.52am Eastern time, while at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires:
‘Oh, I get it! I am a very good developer, happily living my life, when I see our Country going in the wrong direction (to put it mildly). Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail…
‘….Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didn’t do the project. Witch Hunt!’
Trump has said that ‘everybody knew’ about the project, and it was ‘more or less of an option that we were looking at in Moscow.’
President Donald Trump has said that ‘everybody knew’ about the potential Trump Tower project in Moscow, and it was ‘more or less of an option that we were looking at in Moscow.’ Trump is pictured at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires on Friday
With regard to the potential project, Trump tweeted early on Friday at 4.52am Eastern time, while at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires: ‘Oh, I get it! I am a very good developer, happily living my life, when I see our Country going in the wrong direction (to put it mildly). Against all odds, I decide to run for President & continue to run my business-very legal & very cool, talked about it on the campaign trail… ‘
Trump added, ‘….Lightly looked at doing a building somewhere in Russia. Put up zero money, zero guarantees and didn’t do the project. Witch Hunt!’
Reporters on site at the G20 Summit pressed Peskov on the believability of Cohen getting one return phone call from the Russian presidential administration, and leaving it at that.
‘This is not our struggle, it’s their struggle,’ Peskov said, seeming talking about the Mueller investigation. ‘We wish them success.’
In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight felony counts of tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations.
Those of those charges were related to payments made by Cohen, which he said were completed at Trump’s direction, in order to stop women from discussing alleged affairs they had previously had with Trump.
Cohen will be sentenced on all charges to which he has pleaded guilty on December 12.
Trump reportedly had a brief, ‘informal’ conversation with Putin at a dinner attended by many world leaders at the G20 Summit on Friday, after canceling what was supposed to be a lengthy sit-down with the Russian president.
Trump said that he canceled the meeting due to Putin’s refused to free Ukrainian sailors and ships seized by Russian forces in the Sea of Azos.
Putin said it was ‘too soon’ to do so, the Guardian reported.
‘We need to establish the fact that this was a provocation by the Ukrainian government and we need to put all these things on paper.’ he said.
Trump reportedly had a brief, ‘informal’ conversation with Russian president Vladimir Putin at a dinner attended by many world leaders at the G20 Summit on Friday, after canceling what was supposed to be a lengthy sit-down with the Russian president. Trump said that he canceled the meeting due to Putin’s refused to free Ukrainian sailors and ships seized by Russian forces in the Sea of Azos. Putin is pictured at the Casa Rosada Presidential Palace in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Saturday