Felix Sater, who will be testifying in public on capital hill next month, has the goods on Trump Tower Moscow. He can also nail Trump on lying under oath. Cohen made the allegation in his testimony yesterday and Sater is the witness who can back him up.
In a stunning congressional hearing, Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen testified the president lied under oath in a civil case involving the doomed Trump Tower and International Hotel project on Fort Lauderdale Beach…
…it has become clear that Sater was also working with Cohen to gain approval for a Trump high-rise project in Moscow well into 2016, when Trump was telling the public he had no dealings whatsoever with Russia. It was Sater, Cohen testified today, who suggested that Trump offer Vladimir Putin a free penthouse in the tower to help get it done. Further, photographs have surfaced of Trump and Sater together in public on at least three occasions. We’ll let Congressman Rouda take it from here:
Rouda: It is worth noting that it is well publicized the direct relationship between the Russian mafia and the Kremlin. Over the years, President Trump was asked how many times he interacted with convicted Russian mobster Felix Sater. In 2013, President Trump testified that, quote, “Not many… If he were sitting in the room right now, I really wouldn’t know what he looked like,” unquote… Isn’t it true that President Trump knew convicted Russian mobster Felix Sater in 2013 when he made that statement?
Cohen: Yes.
Rouda: Isn’t it true that because of Mr. Sater’s relationship with the Trump organization that he had an office in the Trump Tower?
Cohen: And on the 26th floor.
Rouda: And the 26th floor is important, why?
Cohen: Because it’s Mr. Trump’s floor.
Rouda: So he had an office on the same floor as President Trump?
Cohen: In fact, his office when he left became my office.
Rouda: Based on those facts, isn’t it true that President Trump misled at best or at worst lied under oath?
Cohen: Yes.
And here’s what Rep. Rouda and Cohen are referring to: it’s the 2-minute clip from Trump’s sworn deposition in which he flagrantly lies about his relationship with Sater. I’m sure Sater will set the record straight when he testifies. I hope this video is played at the hearing for all to see – it would make a damning and indelible moment.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/national/trump-describes-association-with-felix-sater/2016/05/17/ccfeac7c-1c4d-11e6-82c2-a7dcb313287d_video.html?utm_term=.bfbf034a5f96
BTW, Rep. Harley Rouda is the Democrat who helped depose Putin’s favorite Congressman, Dana Rohrabacher, in the midterms. He certainly has hit the ground running. Just think, in an alternate universe where we didn’t flip the House, yesterday’s testimony would not exist, nor would all the testimony we are anticipating next month.
Lawrence O’Donnell put it well in his show last night, “Not a single thing that we saw today, none of it would have happened. The hearing would not have occurred if the Democrats did not win the House of Representatives on election night – tonight’s lesson [that] your vote really, really matters.”