David Geovanis: Investigators chasing Moscow-based Trump ally over president’s 1996 trip to Russia

Investigators want to know more about the president's dealings in Russia in the 1990s

Investigators want to know more about the president's dealings in Russia in the 1990s (AFP/Getty)

A Moscow-based American entrepreneur believed to have helped coordinate meetings and potential business deals between Donald Trump and Russian officials in the 1990s could provide Senate investigators crucial information into the president’s relationship with Russia.

The investigators are hoping to speak with David Geovanis, a US businessman who has held a Russian passport since 2014 and was last seen by his family in the US in 2017, about his relationship with Mr Trump, according to a new report.

At least two witnesses who spoke to the US Senate Intelligence Committee provided details about the president’s past interactions with Mr Geovanis, who previously worked for Oleg Deripaska — the same Russian oligarch whose meetings with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort are also the subject of scrutiny by investigators, CNN reported on Thursday.

Media reports published in 1996 indicated Mr Geovanis helped pave the way for Mr Trump to meet with Russian officials about potentially building a Trump Tower in Moscow. The president later signed a letter of intent to build Trump Tower in the Russian capital in October 2015 — just several months after launching his presidential campaign with a speech at Trump Tower in New York City.

Mr Trump may have continued to pursue the project and had discussions about it with his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, until as late as October or November 2016, when he was closing in on his election victory against Democrat Hillary Clinton, his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani revealed last month.

“It’s our understanding that they (the discussions) went on throughout 2016,” Mr Giuliani, a former New York City mayor, told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“Probably up to, could be up to as far as October, November,” he said. “But the president’s recollection of them is that the thing had petered out quite a bit.”

The Moscow deal ultimately did not materialize but Giuliani’s remarks suggest that Mr Trump’s discussions about the project with Cohen may have dragged on months longer than had been publicly known.

An investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion between Moscow and Trump’s campaign has loomed large over Mr Trump’s presidency amid media reports of his team’s connections with Russia.

Mr Trump has repeatedly condemned the Mueller probe as a “witch hunt” while denying any collusion with Moscow. Russia also denies any interference in the US elections.

Cohen pleaded guilty in November to charges he lied to Congress when he testified that the discussions ended in January 2016. Instead, Cohen said they actually continued until that June, after Trump had clinched the Republican nomination.

Cohen, who has been sentenced to three years in prison for lying to lawmakers, is expected to testify before the Democratic-led House Oversight Committee next week. The House and Senate intelligence committees also want to hear from him.

Additional reporting by Reuters