Felix Sater on Tuesday did not shed any new light, at least publicly, on how much President Trump knew about the aborted plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Upon exiting his closed-door testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, Mr. Sater told reporters he spoke to Michael Cohen on the deal, so he’s unsure how Mr. Trump was aware of the deal.
“He knew what he knew,” Mr. Sater said responding to questions.
When asked how much that was, Mr. Sater responded, “I don’t know.”
Later, when asked if Donald Trump Jr., knew about the plan, Mr. Sater said, “You’ll have to ask them, I’m sorry.”
It is not known if Mr. Sater was more forthcoming with the committee as Democrats push to learn about Mr. Trump’s business dealings in Russia. He told reporters the questions posed to him were “more of the same” from his previous appearance before the same committee.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Sater said he planned to tell lawmakers “the truth” about the project.
The intelligence committee had originally scheduled Mr. Sater’s private testimony for last month, but he was a no-show, claiming he overslept. This is the second time he is appearing before the committee to discuss his work on the Trump Tower Moscow project with Cohen, Mr. Trump’s former fixer.
Committee members intend to grill Mr. Sater about the project, which was scrapped sometime in 2016 amid the presidential election. Appearing before the committee in 2017, Cohen lied to Congress, saying the project was abandoned much earlier than it actually was. Cohen is now serving three years in prison for lying to Congress and other crimes.
Former special counsel Robert Mueller detailed in his 448-page report Mr. Sater’s efforts to secure approval from the Russian government for the Moscow skyscraper. Mr. Sater also suggested offering Russian President Vladimir Putin a free penthouse in the building, theorizing that wealthy Russians would pay a premium to live in the same building as the president.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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