Trump Tower Moscow Project

¶The Tnunp Organization has pursued an d completed projects outside the United States as paii of its real estate po1ifolio. Some projects have involved the acquisition and ownership (through subsidia1y cmporate structures) of prope1iy. In other cases, the Trnmp Organization has executed licensing deals with real estate developers and management companies, often local to the countiy where th e project was located.²⁸⁹²⁸⁹ See, e.g., Inteniiew of Donald J. Trump, Jr, Senate Judiciary Committee, 115th Cong. 151-52 (Sept. 7, 2017) (discussing licensing deals of specific projects).

¶Between at least 2013 and 2016, the Trnmp Organization explored a similai· licensing deal in Russia involving the construction of a Trnmp-branded prope1iy in Moscow. The project, commonly refe1Ted to as a "Trnmp Tower Moscow" or "Tnunp Moscow" project, anticipated a combination of commercial, hotel, and residential prope1iies all within the saine building. Between 2013 and June 2016, several employees of the Trnmp Organization, including then-president of the organization Donald J. Trnmp, pursued a Moscow deal with several Russian counte1paiiies. From the fall of 2015 until the middle of 2016, Michael Cohen spearheaded the Trnmp Organization 's pursuit of a Trnmp Tower Moscow project, including by reporting on the project's status to candidate Trnmp and other executives in the Trnmp Organization.²⁹⁰²⁹⁰ As noted in Volume I, Section III.D.1, supra, in November 2018, Cohen pleaded guilty to making false statements to Congress concerning, among other things, the duration of the Tmmp Tower Moscow project. See Info1mation ,i 7(a), United States v. Michael Cohen , l:18-cr-850 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 29, 2018), Doc. 2 ("Cohen Info1m ation").

Trump Tower Moscow Venture with the Crocus Group (2013-2014)

¶The Trnmp Organization an d the Crocus Group, a Russian real estate conglomerate owned and conti·olled by Aras Agalarov, began discussing a Russia-based real estate project sho1ily after the conclusion of the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow.²⁹¹²⁹¹ See Inteniie,,v of Donald J. Trump, Jr, Senate Judiciary Committee, 115th Cong. 13 (Sept. 7, 2017) ("Following the pageant the Tmmp Organization and Mr. Agalarov's company, Crocus Group, began prelimina1ily discussion [sic] potential real estate projects in Moscow."). As has been widely repo1ted, the Miss Universe pageant- which Tmmp co-owned at the time- was held at the Agalarov-owned Crocus City Hall in Moscow in November 2013. Both groups were involved in organizing the pageant, and Arns Agalarov' s son Emin was a musical perfo1mer at the event, which Tmmp attended.Show full note Donald J. Trnmp Jr. served as the primaiy negotiator on behalf of the Trnmp Organization; Emin Agalarov (son of Aras Agalarov) and Irakli "Ike" Kaveladze represented the Crocus Group during negotiations,²⁹²²⁹² Kaveladze 11/ 16/ 17 302, at 2, 4-6; OSC- KAV_ 00385 (12/6/ 13 Email, Tmmp Jr. to Kaveladze & E. Agalarov). with th e occasional assistan ce of Robert Goldstone.293

¶In December 2013, Kaveladze and Tnunp Jr. negotiated and signed preliininaiy te1ms of an agreement for the Trump Tower Moscow project.²⁹⁴²⁹⁴ [Redacted: (b) (3)] On December 23, 2013, after discussions with Donald J. Trump, the Trump Organization agreed to accept an arrangement whereby the organization received a flat 3.5% commission on all sales, with no licensing fees or incentives.²⁹⁵²⁹⁵ OSC-KAV_00452 (12/23/13 Email, Trump Jr. to Kaveladze & E. Agalarov). The parties negotiated a letter of intent during January and February 2014.²⁹⁶²⁹⁶ See, e.g., OSC-KAV_01158 (Letter agreement signed by Trump Jr. & E. Agalarov); OSC- KAV_01147 (1/20/14 Email, Kaveladze to Trump Jr. et al.).

¶From January 2014 through November 2014, the Trump Organization and Crocus Group discussed development plans for the Moscow project. Some time before January 24, 2014, the Crocus Group sent the Trump Organization a proposal for a 800-unit, 194-meter building to be constructed at an Agalarov-owned site in Moscow called "Crocus City," which had also been the site of the Miss Universe pageant.²⁹⁷²⁹⁷ See, e.g., OSC-KAV_00972 (10/14/14 Email, McGee to Khoo et al.) (email from Crocus Group contractor about specifications); OSC-KAV_00540 (1/24/14 Email, McGee to Trump Jr. et al.). In February 2014, Ivanka Trump met with Emin Agalarov and toured the Crocus City site during a visit to Moscow.²⁹⁸²⁹⁸ See OSC-KAV_00631 (2/5/14 Email, E. Agalarov to Ivanka Trump, Trump Jr. & Kaveladze); Goldstone Facebook post, 2/4/14 (8:01 a.m.) (obtained pursuant to SW 17-mj-688). From March 2014 through July 2014, the groups discussed "design standards" and other architectural elements.²⁹⁹²⁹⁹ See, e.g., OSC-KAV_00791 (6/3/14 Email, Kaveladze to Trump Jr. et al.; OSC-KAV_00799 (6/10/14 Email, Trump Jr. to Kaveladze et al.); OSC-KAV_00817 (6/16/14 Email, Trump Jr. to Kaveladze et al.). For example, in July 2014, members of the Trump Organization sent Crocus Group counterparties questions about the "demographics of these prospective buyers" in the Crocus City area, the development of neighboring parcels in Crocus City, and concepts for redesigning portions of the building.³⁰⁰³⁰⁰ OSC-KAV_00870 (7/17/14 Email, Khoo to McGee et al.). In August 2014, the Trump Organization requested specifications for a competing Marriott-branded tower being built in Crocus City.³⁰¹³⁰¹ OSC-KAV_00855 (8/4/14 Email, Khoo to McGee et al.).

¶Beginning in September 2014, the Trump Organization stopped responding in a timely fashion to correspondence and proposals from the Crocus Group.³⁰²³⁰² OSC-KAV_00903 (9/29/14 Email, Tropea to McGee & Kaveladze (noting last response was on August 26, 2014)); OSC-KAV_00906 (9/29/14 Email, Kaveladze to Tropea & McGee (suggesting silence "proves my fear that those guys are bailing out of the project")); OSC-KAV_00972 (10/14/14 Email, McGee to Khoo et al.) (email from Crocus Group contractor about development specifications)). Communications between the two groups continued through November 2014 with decreasing frequency; what appears to be the last communication is dated November 24, 2014.³⁰³³⁰³ OSC-KAV_01140 (11/24/14 Email, Khoo to McGee et al.). The project appears not to have developed past the planning stage, and no construction occurred.

Communications with I.C. Expert Investment Company and Giorgi Rtskhiladze (Summer and Fall 2015)

¶In the late summer of 2015, the Trump Organization received a new inquiry about pursuing a Trump Tower project in Moscow. In approximately September 2015, Felix Sater, a New York-based real estate advisor, contacted Michael Cohen, then-executive vice president of the Trump Organization and special counsel to Donald J. Trump.³⁰⁴³⁰⁴ Sater provided information to our Office in two 2017 interviews conducted under a proffer agreement,[Redacted: (b) (3)] Sater had previously worked with the Trump Organization and advised it on a number of domestic and international projects. Sater had explored the possibility of a Trump Tower project in Moscow while working with the Trump Organization and therefore knew of the organization's general interest in completing a deal there.³⁰⁵³⁰⁵ [Redacted: (b) (3)] Sater had also served as an informal agent of the Trump Organization in Moscow previously and had accompanied Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. to Moscow in the mid- 2000s.³⁰⁶³⁰⁶ Sater 9/19/17 302, at 1-2, 5.

¶Sater contacted Cohen on behalf of I.C. Expert Investment Company (I.C. Expert), a Russian real-estate development corporation controlled by Andrei Vladimirovich Rozov.³⁰⁷³⁰⁷ Sater 9/19/17 302, at 3. Sater had known Rozov since approximately 2007 and, in 2014, had served as an agent on behalf of Rozov during Rozov's purchase of a building in New York City.³⁰⁸³⁰⁸ Rozov 1/25/18 302, at 1. Sater later contacted Rozov and proposed that I.C. Expert pursue a Trump Tower Moscow project in which I.C. Expert would license the name and brand from the Trump Organization but construct the building on its own. Sater worked on the deal with Rozov and another employee of I.C. Expert.³⁰⁹³⁰⁹ Rozov 1/25/18 302, at 1; see also 11/2/15 Email, Cohen to Rozov et al. (sending letter of intent).

¶Cohen was the only Trump Organization representative to negotiate directly with I.C. Expert or its agents. In approximately September 2015, Cohen obtained approval to negotiate with I.C. Expert from candidate Trump, who was then president of the Trump Organization. Cohen provided updates directly to Trump about the project throughout 2015 and into 2016, assuring him the project was continuing.³¹⁰³¹⁰ Cohen 9/12/18 302, at 1-2, 4-6. Cohen also discussed the Trump Moscow project with Ivanka Trump as to design elements (such as possible architects to use for the project³¹¹³¹¹ Cohen 9/12/18 302, at 5.) and Donald J. Trump Jr. (about his experience in Moscow and possible involvement in the project³¹²³¹² Cohen 9/12/18 302, at 4-5.) during the fall of 2015.

¶Also during the fall of 2015, Cohen communicated about the Trump Moscow proposal with Giorgi Rtskhiladze, a business executive who previously had been involved in a development deal with the Trump Organization in Batumi, Georgia.³¹³³¹³ Rtskhiladze was a U.S.-based executive of the Georgian company Silk Road Group. In approximately 2011, Silk Road Group and the Trump Organization entered into a licensing agreement to - build a Trump-branded property in Batumi, Georgia. Rtskhiladze was also involved in discussions for a Trump-branded project in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Office twice interviewed Rtskhiladze, [Redacted: (b) (3)] Cohen stated that he spoke to Rtskhiladze in part because Rtskhiladze had pursued business ventures in Moscow, including a licensing deal with the Agalarov-owned Crocus Group.314 On September 22, 2015, Cohen forwarded a preliminary design study for the Trump Moscow project to Rtskhiladze, adding "I look forward to your reply about this spectacular project in Moscow." Rtskhiladze forwarded Cohen's email to an associate and wrote, "[i]f we could organize the meeting in New York at the highest level of the Russian Government and Mr. Trump this project would definitely receive the worldwide attention."³¹⁵³¹⁵ Cohen 9/12/18 302, at 12; see also Rtskhiladze 5/10/18 302, at 1. 9/22/15 Email, Rtskhiladze to Nizharadze.

¶On September 24, 2015, Rtskhiladze sent Cohen an attachment that he described as a proposed "[l]etter to the Mayor of Moscow from Trump org," explaining that "[w]e need to send this letter to the Mayor of Moscow (second guy in Russia) he is aware of the potential project and will pledge his support."³¹⁶³¹⁶ 9/24/15 Email, Rtskhiladze to Cohen. In a second email to Cohen sent the same day, Rtskhiladze provided a translation of the letter, which described the Trump Moscow project as a "symbol of stronger economic, business and cultural relationships between New York and Moscow and therefore United States and the Russian Federation."³¹⁷³¹⁷ 9/24/15 Email, Rtskhiladze to Cohen. On September 27, 2015, Rtskhiladze sent another email to Cohen, proposing that the Trump Organization partner on the Trump Moscow project with "Global Development Group LLC," which he described as being controlled by Michail Posikhin, a Russian architect, and Simon Nizharadze.³¹⁸³¹⁸ 9/27/15 Email, Rtskhiladze to Cohen. Cohen told the Office that he ultimately declined the proposal and instead continued to work with I.C. Expert, the company represented by Felix Sater.³¹⁹³¹⁹ Cohen 9/12/18 302, at 12.

Letter of Intent and Contacts to Russian Government (October 2015- January 2016)

Trump Signs the Letter of Intent on behalf of the Trump Organization

¶Between approximately October 13, 2015 and November 2, 2015, the Trump Organization (through its subsidiary Trump Acquisition, LLC) and I.C. Expert completed a letter of intent (LOI) for a Trump Moscow property. The LOI, signed by Trump for the Trump Organization and Rozov on behalf of I.C. Expert, was "intended to facilitate further discussions" in order to "attempt to enter into a mutually acceptable agreement" related to the Trump-branded project in Moscow.³²⁰³²⁰ 11/2/15 Email, Cohen to Rozov et al. (attachment) (hereinafter "LOI"); see also 10/13/15 Email, Sater to Cohen & Davis (attaching proposed letter of intent). The LOI contemplated a development with residential, hotel, commercial, and office components, and called for "[a]pproximately 250 first class, luxury residential condominiums," as well as "[o]ne first class, luxury hotel consisting of approximately 15 floors and containing not fewer than 150 hotel rooms."³²¹³²¹ LOI, p. 2. For the residential and commercial portions of the project, the Trump Organization would receive between 1% and 5% of all condominium sales,³²²³²² The LOI called for the Trump Organization to receive 5% of all gross sales up to $100 million; 4% of all gross sales from $100 million to $250 million; 3% of all gross sales from $250 million to $500 million; 2% of all gross sales from $500 million to $1 billion; and 1% of all gross sales over $1 billion. LOI, Schedule 2. plus 3% of all rental and other revenue.³²³³²³ LOI, Schedule 2. For the project's hotel portion, the Trump Organization would receive a base fee of 3% of gross operating revenues for the first five years and 4% thereafter, plus a separate incentive fee of 20% of operating profit.³²⁴³²⁴ LOI, Schedule 1. Under the LOI, the Trump Organization also would receive a $4 million "up-front fee" prior to groundbreaking.³²⁵³²⁵ LOI, Schedule 2. Under these terms, the Trump Organization stood to earn substantial sums over the lifetime of the project, without assuming significant liabilities or financing commitments.³²⁶³²⁶ Cohen 9/12/18 302, at 3.

¶On November 3, 2015, the day after the Trump Organization transmitted the LOI, Sater emailed Cohen suggesting that the Trump Moscow project could be used to increase candidate Trump's chances at being elected, writing:

Buddy our boy can become President of the USA and we can engineer it. I will get all of Putins team to buy in on this, I will manage this process. . . . Michael, Putin gets on stage with Donald for a ribbon cutting for Trump Moscow, and Donald owns the republican nomination. And possibly beats Hillary and our boy is in. . . . We will manage this process better than anyone. You and I will get Donald and Vladimir on a stage together very shortly. That the game changer.³²⁷³²⁷ 11/3/15 Email, Sater to Cohen (12:14 p.m.).

¶Later that day, Sater followed up:

Donald doesn't stare down, he negotiates and understands the economic issues and Putin only want to deal with a pragmatic leader, and a successful business man is a good candidate for someone who knows how to negotiate. "Business, politics, whatever it all is the same for someone who knows how to deal"

I think I can get Putin to say that at the Trnmp Moscow press conference. If he says it we own this election. Americas most difficult adversary agreeing that Donald is a good guy to negotiate .... We can own this election. Michael my next steps are ve1y sensitive with Putins ve1y ve1y close people, we can pull this off. Michael lets go. 2 boys from Brooklyn getting a USA president elected. This is good really good_32s

¶According to Cohen, he did not consider the political impo1i of the Tnnnp Moscow project to the 2016 U.S. presidential election at the time. Cohen also did not recall candidate Trnmp or anyone affiliated with the Trnmp Campaign discussing the political implications of the Tnnnp Moscow project with him. However, Cohen recalled conversations with Tnunp in which the can didate suggested that his campaign would be a significant "infomercial" for Trnmp-branded prope1i ies. 329

Post-LOI Contacts with Individuals in Russia

¶Given the size of the Tnunp Moscow project, Sater and Cohen believed the project required approval (whether express or implicit) from the Russian national government, including from the Presidential Administration of Russia.330 Sater stated that he therefore began to contact the Presidential Administration through another Russian business contact. 331 In early negotiations with the Tnnnp Organization, Sater had alluded to the need for government approval and his attempts to set up meetings with Russian officials. On October 12, 2015, for example, Sater wrote to Cohen that "all we need is Putin on board and we are golden " and that a "meeting with Putin and top deputy is tentatively set for the 14th [of October]. " 332 this meeting _1

¶3 was being coordinated by associates in Russia and that he had no direct interaction with the Russian (b)( ) government. 333

¶Approximately a month later, after the LOI had been signed, Lana Erchova emailed Ivanka Trnmp on behalf of Erchova's then-husband Dinitiy Klokov, to offer Klokov's assistan ce to the Trnmp Campaign.334 Klokov was at that time Director of External Communications for PJSC Federal Grid Company of Unified Energy System, a large Russian electi·icity transinission company, and had been previously employed as an aide and press secretary to Russia's energy minister. Ivanka Trump forwarded the email to Cohen.³³⁵³³⁵ 11/16/15 Email, I. Trump to Cohen. He told the Office that, after receiving this inquiry, he had conducted an internet search for Klokov's name and concluded (incorrectly) that Klokov was a former Olympic weightlifter.³³⁶³³⁶ Cohen 8/7/18 302, at 17. During his interviews with the Office, Cohen still appeared to believe that the Klokov he spoke with was that Olympian. The investigation, however, established that the email address used to communicate with Cohen belongs to a different Dmitry Klokov, as described above.

¶Between November 18 and 19, 2015, Klokov and Cohen had at least one telephone call and exchanged several emails. Describing himself in emails to Cohen as a "trusted person" who could offer the Campaign "political synergy" and "synergy on a government level," Klokov recommended that Cohen travel to Russia to speak with him and an unidentified intermediary. Klokov said that those conversations could facilitate a later meeting in Russia between the candidate and an individual Klokov described as "our person of interest."³³⁷³³⁷ 11/18/15 Email, Klokov to Cohen (6:51 a.m.). In an email to the Office, Erchova later identified the "person of interest" as Russian President Vladimir Putin.³³⁸³³⁸ In July 2018, the Office received an unsolicited email purporting to be from Erchova, in which she wrote that "[a]t the end of 2015 and beginning of 2016 I was asked by my ex-husband to contact Ivanka Trump . . . and offer cooperation to Trump's team on behalf of the Russian officials." 7/27/18 Email, Erchova to Special Counsel's Office. The email claimed that the officials wanted to offer candidate Trump "land in Crimea among other things and unofficial meeting with Putin." Id. In order to vet the email's claims, the Office responded requesting more details. The Office did not receive any reply.Show full note

¶In the telephone call and follow-on emails with Klokov, Cohen discussed his desire to use a near-term trip to Russia to do site surveys and talk over the Trump Moscow project with local developers. Cohen registered his willingness also to meet with Klokov and the unidentified intermediary, but was emphatic that all meetings in Russia involving him or candidate Trump— including a possible meeting between candidate Trump and Putin—would need to be "in conjunction with the development and an official visit" with the Trump Organization receiving a formal invitation to visit.³³⁹³³⁹ 11/18/15 Email, Cohen to Klokov (7:15 a.m.). (Klokov had written previously that "the visit [by candidate Trump to Russia] has to be informal.")³⁴⁰³⁴⁰ 11/18/15 Email, Klokov to Cohen (6:51 a.m.).

¶Klokov had also previously recommended to Cohen that he separate their negotiations over a possible meeting between Trump and "the person of interest" from any existing business track.³⁴¹³⁴¹ 11/18/15 Email, Klokov to Cohen (6:51 a.m.) ("I would suggest separating your negotiations and our proposal to meet. I assure you, after the meeting level of projects and their capacity can be completely different, having the most important support."). Re-emphasizing that his outreach was not done on behalf of any business, Klokov added in second email to Cohen that, if publicized well, such a meeting could have "phenomenal" impact "in a business dimension" and that the "person of interest['s]" "most important support" could have significant ramifications for the "level of projects and their capacity." Klokov concluded by telling Cohen that there was "no bigger warranty in any project than [the] consent of the person of interest."³⁴²³⁴² 11/19/15 Email, Klokov to Cohen (7:40 a.m.). Cohen rejected the proposal, saying that "[c]urrently our LOI developer is in talks with VP's Chief of Staff and arranging a formal invite for the two to meet."³⁴³³⁴³ 11/19/15 Email, Cohen to Klokov (12:56 p.m.). This email appears to be their final exchange, and the investigation did not identify evidence that Cohen brought Klokov's initial offer of assistance to the Campaign's attention or that anyone associated with the Trump Organization or the Campaign dealt with Klokov at a later date. Cohen explained that he did not pursue the proposed meeting because he was already working on the Moscow Project with Sater, who Cohen understood to have his own connections to the Russian government.³⁴⁴³⁴⁴ Cohen 9/18/18 302, at 12.

¶By late December 2015, however, Cohen was complaining that Sater had not been able to use those connections to set up the promised meeting with Russian government officials. Cohen told Sater that he was "setting up the meeting myself."³⁴⁵³⁴⁵ FS00004 (12/30/15 Text Message, Cohen to Sater (6:17 p.m.)). On January 11, 2016, Cohen emailed the office of Dmitry Peskov, the Russian government's press secretary, indicating that he desired contact with Sergei Ivanov, Putin's chief of staff. Cohen erroneously used the email address "Pr_peskova@prpress.gof.ru" instead of "Pr_peskova@prpress.gov.ru," so the email apparently did not go through.³⁴⁶³⁴⁶ 1/11/16 Email, Cohen to pr_peskova@prpress.gof.ru (9:12 a.m.). On January 14, 2016, Cohen emailed a different address (info@prpress.gov.ru) with the following message:

Dear Mr. Peskov, Over the past few months, I have been working with a company based in Russia regarding the development of a Trump Tower-Moscow project in Moscow City. Without getting into lengthy specifics, the communication between our two sides has stalled. As this project is too important, I am hereby requesting your assistance. I respectfully request someone, preferably you; contact me so that I might discuss the specifics as well as arranging meetings with the appropriate individuals. I thank you in advance for your assistance and look forward to hearing from you soon.³⁴⁷³⁴⁷ 1/14/16 Email, Cohen to info@prpress.gov.ru (9:21 a.m.).

¶Two days later, Cohen sent an email to Pr_peskova@prpress.gov.ru, repeating his request to speak with Sergei Ivanov.³⁴⁸³⁴⁸ 1/16/16 Email, Cohen to pr_peskova@prpress.gov.ru (10:28 a.m.).

¶Cohen testified to Congress, and initially told the Office, that he did not recall receiving a response to this email inquiry and that he decided to terminate any further work on the Trump Moscow project as of January 2016. Cohen later admitted that these statements were false. In fact, Cohen had received (and recalled receiving) a response to his inquiry, and he continued to work on and update candidate Trump on the project through as late as June 2016.³⁴⁹³⁴⁹ Cohen Information ¶¶ 4, 7. Cohen's interactions with President Trump and the President's lawyers when preparing his congressional testimony are discussed further in Volume II. See Vol. II, Section II.K.3, infra.

¶On January 20, 2016, Cohen received an email from Elena Poliakova, Peskov's personal assistant. Writing from her personal email account, Poliakova stated that she had been trying to reach Cohen and asked that he call her on the personal number that she provided.³⁵⁰³⁵⁰ 1/20/16 Email, Poliakova to Cohen (5:57 a.m.) ("Mr. Cohen[,] I can't get through to both your phones. Pls, call me."). Shortly after receiving Poliakova's email, Cohen called and spoke to her for 20 minutes.³⁵¹³⁵¹ Telephone records show a 20-minute call on January 20, 2016 between Cohen and the number Poliakova provided in her email. Call Records of Michael Cohen [Redacted: (b) (3)] After the call, Cohen saved Poliakova's contact information in his Trump Organization Outlook contact list. 1/20/16 Cohen Microsoft Outlook Entry (6:22 a.m.). Cohen described to Poliakova his position at the Trump Organization and outlined the proposed Trump Moscow project, including information about the Russian counterparty with which the Trump Organization had partnered. Cohen requested assistance in moving the project forward, both in securing land to build the project and with financing. According to Cohen, Poliakova asked detailed questions and took notes, stating that she would need to follow up with others in Russia.³⁵²³⁵² Cohen 9/12/18 302, at 2-3.

¶Cohen could not recall any direct follow-up from Poliakova or from any other representative of the Russian government, nor did the Office identify any evidence of direct follow-up. However, the day after Cohen's call with Poliakova, Sater texted Cohen, asking him to "[c]all me when you have a few minutes to chat . . . It's about Putin they called today."³⁵³³⁵³ FS00011 (1/21/16 Text Messages, Sater to Cohen). Sater then sent a draft invitation for Cohen to visit Moscow to discuss the Trump Moscow project,³⁵⁴³⁵⁴ The invitation purported to be from Genbank, a Russian bank that was, according to Sater, working at the behest of a larger bank, VTB, and would consider providing financing. FS00008 (12/31/15 Text Messages, Sater & Cohen). Additional information about Genbank can be found infra. along with a note to "[t]ell me if the letter is good as amended by me or make whatever changes you want and send it back to me."³⁵⁵³⁵⁵ FS00011 (1/21/16 Text Message, Sater to Cohen (7:44 p.m.)); 1/21/16 Email, Sater to Cohen (6:49 p.m.). After a further round of edits, on January 25, 2016, Sater sent Cohen an invitation—signed by Andrey Ryabinskiy of the company MHJ—to travel to "Moscow for a working visit" about the "prospects of development and the construction business in Russia," "the various land plots available suited for construction of this enormous Tower," and "the opportunity to co-ordinate a follow up visit to Moscow by Mr. Donald Trump."³⁵⁶³⁵⁶ 1/25/16 Email, Sater to Cohen (12:01 p.m.) (attachment). According to Cohen, he elected not to travel at the time because of concerns about the lack of concrete proposals about land plots that could be considered as options for the project.³⁵⁷³⁵⁷ Cohen 9/12/18 302, at 6-7.

Discussions about Russia Travel by Michael Cohen or Candidate Trump (December 2015-June 2016)

Sater's Overtures to Cohen to Travel to Russia

¶The late January communication was neither the first nor the last time that Cohen contemplated visiting Russia in pursuit of the Trump Moscow project. Beginning in late 2015, Sater repeatedly tried to arrange for Cohen and candidate Trump, as representatives of the Trump Organization, to travel to Russia to meet with Russian government officials and possible financing partners. In December 2015, Sater sent Cohen a number of emails about logistics for traveling to Russia for meetings.³⁵⁸³⁵⁸ See, e.g., 12/1/15 Email, Sater to Cohen (12:41 p.m.) ("Please scan and send me a copy of your passport for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs."). On December 19, 2015, Sater wrote:

Please call me I have Evgeney [Dvoskin] on the other line.[359] He needs a copy of your and Donald's passports they need a scan of every page of the passports. Invitations & Visas will be issued this week by VTB Bank to discuss financing for Trump Tower Moscow. Politically neither Putins office nor Ministry of Foreign Affairs cannot issue invite, so they are inviting commercially/ business. VTB is Russia's 2 biggest bank and VTB Bank CEO Andrey Kostin, will be at all meetings with Putin so that it is a business meeting not political. We will be invited to Russian consulate this week to receive invite & have visa issued.³⁶⁰³⁶⁰ 12/19/15 Email, Sater to Cohen (10:50 a.m.); FS00002 (12/19/15 Text Messages, Sater to Cohen, (10:53 a.m.).

¶In response, Cohen texted Sater an image of his own passport.³⁶¹³⁶¹ FS00004 (12/19/15 Text Message, Cohen to Sater); ERT_0198-256 (12/19/15 Text Messages, Cohen & Sater). Cohen told the Office that at one point he requested a copy of candidate Trump's passport from Rhona Graff, Trump's executive assistant at the Trump Organization, and that Graff later brought Trump's passport to Cohen's office.³⁶²³⁶² Cohen 9/12/18 302, at 5. The investigation did not, however, establish that the passport was forwarded to Sater.³⁶³³⁶³ On December 21, 2015, Sater sent Cohen a text message that read, "They need a copy of DJT passport," to which Cohen responded, "After I return from Moscow with you with a date for him." FS00004 (12/21/15 Text Messages, Cohen & Sater).

¶Into the spring of 2016, Sater and Cohen continued to discuss a trip to Moscow in connection with the Trump Moscow project. On April 20, 2016, Sater wrote Cohen, "[t]he People wanted to know when you are coming?"³⁶⁴³⁶⁴ FS00014 (4/20/16 Text Message, Sater to Cohen (9:06 p.m.)). On May 4, 2016, Sater followed up:

I had a chat with Moscow. ASSUMING the trip does happen the question is before or after the convention. I said I believe, but don't know for sure, that's it's probably after the convention. Obviously the pre-meeting trip (you only) can happen anytime you want but the 2 big guys where [sic] the question. I said I would confirm and revert. . . . Let me know about If I was right by saying I believe after Cleveland and also when you want to speak to them and possibly fly over.³⁶⁵³⁶⁵ FS00015 (5/4/16 Text Message, Sater to Cohen (7:38 p.m.)).

¶Cohen responded, "My trip before Cleveland. Trump once he becomes the nominee after the convention."³⁶⁶³⁶⁶ FS00015 (5/4/16 Text Message, Cohen to Sater (8:03 p.m.)).

¶The day after this exchange, Sater tied Cohen's travel to Russia to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum ("Forum"), an annual event attended by prominent Russian politicians and businessmen. Sater told the Office that he was informed by a business associate that Peskov wanted to invite Cohen to the Forum.³⁶⁷³⁶⁷ Sater 12/15/17 302, at 4. On May 5, 2016, Sater wrote to Cohen:

Peskov would like to invite you as his guest to the St. Petersburg Forum which is Russia's Davos it's June 16-19. He wants to meet there with you and possibly introduce you to either Putin or Medvedev, as they are not sure if 1 or both will be there. This is perfect. The entire business class of Russia will be there as well. He said anything you want to discuss including dates and subjects are on the table to discuss[.]³⁶⁸³⁶⁸ FS00016 (5/5/16 Text Messages, Sater to Cohen (6:26 & 6:27 a.m.)).

¶The following day, Sater asked Cohen to confirm those dates would work for him to travel; Cohen wrote back, "[w]orks for me."³⁶⁹³⁶⁹ FS00016 (5/6/16 Text Messages, Cohen & Sater).

¶On June 9, 2016, Sater sent Cohen a notice that he (Sater) was completing the badges for the Forum, adding, "Putin is there on the 17th very strong chance you will meet him as well."³⁷⁰³⁷⁰ FS00018 (6/9/16 Text Messages, Sater & Cohen). On June 13, 2016, Sater forwarded Cohen an invitation to the Forum signed by the Director of the Roscongress Foundation, the Russian entity organizing the Forum.³⁷¹³⁷¹ 6/13/16 Email, Sater to Cohen (2:10 p.m.). Sater also sent Cohen a Russian visa application and asked him to send two passport photos.³⁷²³⁷² FS00018 (6/13/16 Text Message, Sater to Cohen (2:20 p.m.)); 6/13/16 Email, Sater to Cohen. According to Cohen, the invitation gave no indication that Peskov had been involved in inviting him. Cohen was concerned that Russian officials were not actually involved or were not interested in meeting with him (as Sater had alleged), and so he decided not to go to the Forum.³⁷³³⁷³ Cohen 9/12/18 302, at 6-8. On June 14, 2016, Cohen met Sater in the lobby of the Trump Tower in New York and informed him that he would not be traveling at that time.³⁷⁴³⁷⁴ FS00019 (6/14/16 Text Messages, Cohen & Sater (12:06 and 2:50 p.m.)).

Candidate Trump's Opportunities to Travel to Russia

¶The investigation identified evidence that, during the period the Trump Moscow project was under consideration, the possibility of candidate Trump visiting Russia arose in two contexts.

¶First, in interviews with the Office, Cohen stated that he discussed the subject of traveling to Russia with Trump twice: once in late 2015; and again in spring 2016.³⁷⁵³⁷⁵ Cohen 9/12/18 302, at 2. According to Cohen, Trump indicated a willingness to travel if it would assist the project significantly. On one occasion, Trump told Cohen to speak with then-campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to coordinate the candidate's schedule. Cohen recalled that he spoke with Lewandowski, who suggested that they speak again when Cohen had actual dates to evaluate. Cohen indicated, however, that he knew that travel prior to the Republican National Convention would be impossible given the candidate's preexisting commitments to the Campaign.³⁷⁶³⁷⁶ Cohen 9/12/18 302, at 7.

¶Second, like Cohen, Trump received and turned down an invitation to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. In late December 2015, Mira Duma—a contact of Ivanka Trump's from the fashion industry—first passed along invitations for Ivanka Trump and candidate Trump from Sergei Prikhodko, a Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.³⁷⁷³⁷⁷ 12/21/15 Email, Mira to Ivanka Trump (6:57 a.m.) (attachments); TRUMPORG_16_000057 (1/7/16 Email, I. Trump to Graff (9:18 a.m.)). On January 14, 2016, Rhona Graff sent an email to Duma stating that Trump was "honored to be asked to participate in the highly prestigious" Forum event, but that he would "have to decline" the invitation given his "very grueling and full travel schedule" as a presidential candidate.³⁷⁸³⁷⁸ 1/14/16 Email, Graff to Mira. Graff asked Duma whether she recommended that Graff "send a formal note to the Deputy Prime Minister" declining his invitation; Duma replied that a formal note would be "great."³⁷⁹³⁷⁹ 1/15/16 Email, Mira to Graff.

¶It does not appear that Graff prepared that note immediately. According to written answers from President Trump,³⁸⁰³⁸⁰ As explained in Volume II and Appendix C, on September 17, 2018, the Office sent written questions to the President's counsel. On November 20, 2018, the President provided written answers to those questions through counsel. Graff received an email from Deputy Prime Minister Prikhodko on March 17, 2016, again inviting Trump to participate in the 2016 Forum in St. Petersburg.³⁸¹³⁸¹ Written Responses of Donald J. Trump (Nov. 20, 2018), at 17 (Response to Question IV, Part (e)) ("[D]ocuments show that Ms. Graff prepared for my signature a brief response declining the invitation."). Two weeks later, on March 31, 2016, Graff prepared for Trump's signature a two-paragraph letter declining the invitation.³⁸²³⁸² Written Responses of Donald J. Trump (Nov. 20, 2018), at 17 (Response to Question IV, Part (e)); see also TRUMPORG_16_000134 (unsigned letter dated March 31, 2016). The letter stated that Trump's "schedule has become extremely demanding" because of the presidential campaign, that he "already ha[d] several commitments in the United States" for the time of the Forum, but that he otherwise "would have gladly given every consideration to attending such an important event."³⁸³³⁸³ TRUMPORG_16_000134 (unsigned letter). Graff forwarded the letter to another executive assistant at the Trump Organization with instructions to print the document on letterhead for Trump to sign.³⁸⁴³⁸⁴ TRUMPORG_16_000133 (3/31/16 Email, Graff to Macchia).

¶At approximately the same time that the letter was being prepared, Robert Foresman—a New York-based investment banker—began reaching out to Graff to secure an in-person meeting with candidate Trump. According to Foresman, he had been asked by Anton Kobyakov, a Russian presidential aide involved with the Roscongress Foundation, to see if Trump could speak at the Forum.³⁸⁵³⁸⁵ Foresman 10/17/18 302, at 3-4. Foresman first emailed Graff on March 31, 2016, following a phone introduction brokered through Trump business associate Mark Burnett (who produced the television show The Apprentice). In his email, Foresman referenced his long-standing personal and professional expertise in Russia and Ukraine, his work setting up an early "private channel" between Vladimir Putin and former U.S. President George W. Bush, and an "approach" he had received from "senior Kremlin officials" about the candidate. Foresman asked Graff for a meeting with the candidate, Corey Lewandowski, or "another relevant person" to discuss this and other "concrete things" Foresman felt uncomfortable discussing over "unsecure email."³⁸⁶³⁸⁶ See TRUMPORG_16_00136 (3/31/16 Email, Foresman to Graff); see also Foresman 10/17/18 302, at 3-4. On April 4, 2016, Graff forwarded Foresman's meeting request to Jessica Macchia, another executive assistant to Trump.³⁸⁷³⁸⁷ See TRUMPORG_16_00136 (4/4/16 Email, Graff to Macchia).

¶With no response forthcoming, Foresman twice sent reminders to Graff—first on April 26 and again on April 30, 2016.³⁸⁸³⁸⁸ See TRUMPORG_16_00137 (4/26/16 Email, Foresman to Graff); TRUMPORG_16_00141 (4/30/16 Email, Foresman to Graff). Graff sent an apology to Foresman and forwarded his April 26 email (as well as his initial March 2016 email) to Lewandowski.³⁸⁹³⁸⁹ See TRUMPORG_16_00139 (4/27/16 Email, Graff to Foresman); TRUMPORG_16_00137 (4/27/16 Email, Graff to Lewandowski). On May 2, 2016, Graff forwarded Foresman's April 30 email—which suggested an alternative meeting with Donald Trump Jr. or Eric Trump so that Foresman could convey to them information that "should be conveyed to [the candidate] personally or [to] someone [the candidate] absolutely trusts"—to policy advisor Stephen Miller.³⁹⁰³⁹⁰ TRUMPORG_16_00142 (5/2/16 Email, Graff to S. Miller); see also TRUMPORG_16_00143 (5/2/16 Email, Graff to S. Miller) (forwarding March 2016 email from Foresman).

¶No communications or other evidence obtained by the Office indicate that the Trump Campaign learned that Foresman was reaching out to invite the candidate to the Forum or that the Campaign otherwise followed up with Foresman until after the election, when he interacted with the Transition Team as he pursued a possible position in the incoming Administration.³⁹¹³⁹¹ Foresman's contacts during the transition period are discussed further in Volume I, Section IV.B.3, infra. When interviewed by the Office, Foresman denied that the specific "approach" from "senior Kremlin officials" noted in his March 31, 2016 email was anything other than Kobyakov's invitation to Roscongress. According to Foresman, the "concrete things" he referenced in the same email were a combination of the invitation itself, Foresman's personal perspectives on the invitation and Russia policy in general, and details of a Ukraine plan supported by a U.S. think tank (EastWest Institute). Foresman told the Office that Kobyakov had extended similar invitations through him to another Republican presidential candidate and one other politician. Foresman also said that Kobyakov had asked Foresman to invite Trump to speak after that other presidential candidate withdrew from the race and the other politician's participation did not work out.³⁹²³⁹² Foresman 10/17/18 302, at 4. Finally, Foresman claimed to have no plans to establish a back channel involving Trump, stating the reference to his involvement in the Bush-Putin back channel was meant to burnish his credentials to the Campaign. Foresman commented that he had not recognized any of the experts announced as Trump's foreign policy team in March 2016, and wanted to secure an in-person meeting with the candidate to share his professional background and policy views, including that Trump should decline Kobyakov's invitation to speak at the Forum.³⁹³³⁹³ Foresman 10/17/18 302, at 8-9.