Why did the Moscow Trump Tower negotiations stop in June?

[Tom Rinaldo]

I think in large part it's because the calculus shifted for Putin. They had Trump fully hooked by then, with or without the hookers. The pending Tower deal was more valuable to them as a secret than it would be as public knowledge. What did Putin need with a tower in Moscow? He is reportedly one of the richest men in the world in control of a vast nation. Trump was the one hungry for more fame and more money. Putin gathered the evidence showing that Trump was beholden to Russia for personal gain. Trump weaponized that evidence for Russia by denying to the American public that he had any dealings with Russia.

A lucrative real estate deal was bait for Trump and he took it hook line and sinker. Once Trump became a potentially serious bet to become President it was against Russia's interests to finalize the Tower deal. It was never cancelled, it was put on the shelf. If Trump lost the election as most predicted, it seemed at the time that he would launch his own media network to capitalize on his new national standing, even in defeat. The Tower deal could have been re-dangled before Trump then as an incentive for him turning his new media network into an improved propaganda outlet for Putin, an upgraded RT for right wing American viewers.

But if Trump "won" as he actually "did", with Russia's "help", Putin had the goods on him.

[duforsure]

1. Some are suggesting it didn't stop then , and was ongoing after he was sworn into office.

The reason Putin may have backed out is because he didn't trust trump to deliver his removing the oil sanctions, which he didn't, and it was another item he used to dangle at trump, and to use him to get anything he could, like his giving them in the oval office top secret information on a person who had infiltrated ISIS , and what town he was located in.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

2. hook, line and sinker?

Don't you mean hooker, stream, and stinker?


Steele Dossier, full text

[George II]

6. .

[MineralMan]

3. I'm not at all certain they did.

Who knows. They may still be going on.

[triron]

4. Who said it stopped in June?

[LiberalFighter]

5. Something needs to be done about RT and any other foreign entity regarding media.

All media in US should be owned and run by Americans. And Murdock's should be revoked.

[struggle4progress]

7. Or maybe "Trump Tower negotiations" was always just a cover story

"Hey! Let's see if the Russians will help us win this election!"

But what will we say if somebody asks why we're meeting with all these Russians?

"We were negotiating to build a Trump Towers in beautiful downtown Siberia!"

[Merlot]

12. Probably both, a good cover story and bait.

[FakeNoose]

8. The Helsinki meeting was in July, and I'll bet it was mentioned then

We still don't know what they discussed behind closed doors in Helsinki. But you're correct that the Trump Tower Moscow plan means nothing to Pootie, only as an enticement for Cheeto to keep him in line.

[not fooled]

16. Plans probably on hold

until donnie gets out of the White House, one way or another.

Of course, if his "business empire" is a smoking ruin by then, the "hold" might be permanent.

[FailureToCommunicate]

9. Ah, likely this report in WaPo June 14th that the jig was up on the 'Moscow Project'?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russian-government-hackers-penetrated-dnc-stole-opposition-research-on-trump/2016/06/14/cf006cb4-316e-11e6-8ff7-7b6c1998b7a0_story.html?utm_term=.a40c38c1169d

[pnwmom]

10. That's what Rachel Maddow said tonight, too. She was quoting Felix Sater. n/t

[womanofthehills]

18. Here is the link To Rachel telling the plan

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/lifting-russian-sanctions-key-to-trump-deal-exposed-by-cohen-1385505347911 - starts about 15 minutes in

[pnwmom]

20. Thanks!

[Mc Mike]

11. Yeah. rec, Nt

[Chemisse]

13. So why meet to get 'dirt' on Hillary if they never thought they would win the election?

Why work so hard at it? Why not just go through the motions of a campaign?

[maddiemom]

14. Still wanted to stick it to Hillary as much as possible.

Why ls does Trump STILL consider her an "enemy" to be brought down?

[lunatica]

15. Greed

Trump was ahead in the Primaries. They could taste a victory. Why would they stop?

[womanofthehills]

19. It was all about getting the sanctions lifted for Russia

Rachel said it was about getting Trump compromised. She said the plans for Trump's Moscow Hotel and the hacking was all one - to get kompromat on Trump.

[Chemisse]

21. Okay, that makes sense. n/t

[lanlady]

17. Rachel addressed this last night

On her show, she linked it to the Washington Post publishing a story mid-June about the Russian hacking. It would have been too politically risky to go ahead with a business deal with the Russians.

That said, I think the whole project wasn't so much terminated as forced deep underground. I seem to remember Jared being accused of having phone conversations with VTB in December 2016 - VTB being the sanctioned Russian bank that was going to fund Trump Tower Moscow. Why on earth would he still be talking to them if the project was dead in the water? And how in hell do Kushner and the Trumps get away with this crap - dealing with US-sanctioned entities is against the law! Look how the Administration is threatening European companies that still want to trade with Iran now that the sanctions have been re-applied. But the Trumps getting into bed with a corrupt Russian bank? No problem! It drives me nuts. I hope Mueller hits the entire Trump organization with sanctions violations.

[quakerboy]

22. Id bet its still not canceled

Its delayed. On a back shelf. But Putin isn't stupid enough to rely purely on the stick. He's still holding the carrot as well. The bribe is only delayed.

[Kablooie]

23. I thought the same thing.

Putin closed it down when he realized the idiot might really win. Kushner kept trying to keep it going but Putin knew that it would cause problems for him if Trump became president.

[TwistOneUp]

24. Prolly cuz Pootie isn't a chump and told Cheetolini, "Nyet". nt