Donald Trump's Lawyers Describe His Relations with Russia as 'Insignificant'

Donald Trump's lawyers stated on Friday, May 11, that an examination of his tax records over the past decade shows that, with a few exceptions, 'he has had no income sourced from Russia.' This is the latest effort by the U.S. President to reduce speculation about the relationships between his campaign and associates with the Russian government, as several investigations into this matter are ongoing. The Associated Press reports that since Mr. Trump's lawyers have not released his tax documents, the agency cannot verify their conclusions. It should also be noted that they only considered Mr. Trump's taxes over the past decade, raising the question of whether he had dealings with Russia in earlier years. Mr. Trump's lawyers, in a letter sent to the Associated Press, state that Russians have no shares or investments in companies owned by Mr. Trump, and conversely, Mr. Trump and his institutions have no debts to Russian lenders. However, they do mention exceptions, including income related to the Miss Universe pageant held in Moscow in 2013 and real estate sold in 2008 for $95 million to a Russian billionaire. The White House announced that Mr. Trump asked his lawyers to draft this letter following a request from Senator Lindsey Graham regarding information about the President's financial relationships with Russia. Senator Graham is responsible for one of the congressional investigation committees looking into possible Russian government interference in the 2016 presidential election. This letter was also drafted at a time when the FBI continues its investigations into possible connections between Donald Trump's campaign and Russian officials, and just days ago, the President abruptly fired James Comey, the head of the agency. In an interview with NBC News on Thursday, Donald Trump stated, 'I have no investments in Russia. I have no properties in Russia. Many people thought I had office buildings in Russia. But I have no real estate in Russia.' He added, 'I had a few deals in the past, including holding beauty pageants in Moscow and selling a house to a wealthy Russian. But apart from these, I had no other financial or business relationships with Russia.' The wealthy Russian, whose name was not mentioned by Mr. Trump's lawyers, is Dmitry Rybolovlev, whose financial empire is derived from factories producing materials used in making fertilizers. Mr. Trump purchased this house with extensive surrounding land in 2002 for $41.35 million and sold it in 2008 for $95 million to Dmitry Rybolovlev. During a press conference throughout the campaign, when asked about his relations with Russia, Mr. Trump eventually responded after persistent questioning from reporters: 'My closest relationship with Russia was that years ago I bought a house in Palm Beach (Florida) and later sold it to a Russian for $100 million.' The Associated Press adds that in the letter from Mr. Trump's lawyers, the possibility of other financial and business relationships with Russia is both denied and considered likely. The letter makes no reference to Mr. Trump's tax documents from more than ten years ago. It also states that over the past ten years, it is likely that Donald Trump's financial and business network has sold or rented residences or other products that 'may have been profitable for Russian sources.'