So, reports indicate that the two phone calls Made by Don Jr, to blocked numbers the same day Jr. spoke to Emin Agalarov and publicist Rob Goldstone were not to his father (who was in the same building with him) as some have speculated, but to “friends” of “Jr.”
Typically, Trump couldn’t wait to crow about the development, and just as typically, he lied his ass off…
Just out: The big deal, very mysterious Don jr telephone calls, after the innocent Trump Tower meeting, that the media & Dems said were made to his father (me), were just conclusively found NOT to be made to me. They were made to friends & business associates of Don. Really sad!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 1, 2019
Because Howard Lorber, whom you won’t read much about in the above link, recipient of one of the phone calls, was an associate of Godfather Don himself, who had accompanied Trump on his trip to Moscow to lay the ground work for Trump Tower Kremlin in 1996.
Craig Unger, author of House of Putin House of Trump tells the story below:
1/Fascinating that "blocked #" phone call circa 2016 Trump Tower meeting went to real estate developer Howard Lorber who was much more than just a family friend. In '96, when Trump went to RU to try to develop Trump Tower in Moscow, Lorber came w his partner Bennett LeBow. https://t.co/vFzcKWHzWu
— Craig Unger (@craigunger) February 1, 2019
2/As per #HouseofTrump, LeBow had begun investing in Moscow in early 90s when one inevitably dealt w dubious characters–among them Vadim Rabinovich who had just taken part in Tel Aviv meeting giving Semion #Mogilevich control of lucrative Ukraine energy trade.
3/ In effort to develop Trump Tower Moscow, they were shown around by Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov who was also close to #Mogilevich & Vyacheslav Ivankov (below), a murderous mobsters who happened to be a Trump Tower resident on 5th Ave and a regular at Trump’s Taj Mahal.
4/Mayor Luzhkov had other ties to #mogilevich thru real estate company, Sistema. Not much came of this 1996 trip, tho Trump boasted that it was going to be huge.
5/ Fast forward to 2013. By this time, Trump has pinned hopes for Moscow development on billionaire real estate mogul Aras Agalarov who also has ties to #Mogilevich. In Feb 2013, his son Emin had performed at a big RU mafia bday party Mogi gave for RU mob boss Sergei Mikhailov.
