Long before his presidency and Russia’s attempt to seize Ukraine, the Trump Organization pursued expansion plans in the country, including a potential hotel in Kyiv, according to testimony Donald Trump gave in 2007.
President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky engage in a heated argument in the ... [+]
The future president was interested in developing a Trump International Hotel Kiev sometime prior to March 2005 as part of broader expansion plans that also would see the hotelier launch outposts in Moscow, Warsaw and Istanbul, among other locations, he explained during a 2007 sworn deposition in a lawsuit he filed against journalist Timothy O’Brien and his publisher.
When asked to confirm a news report that he had gone so far as to acquire real estate rights in Kyiv and in the Black Sea resort of Yalta in August 2004, Trump testified that he wasn’t aware of what the report was referring to.
Trump testified that Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka and possibly Eric visited Kyiv, on a trip that he thought included stops at other potential business sites.
The Trump Organization pursued two real-estate proposals in Ukraine with Bayrock, a real estate firm linked to two-time convicted felon Felix Sater, as well as a separate proposal with other Ukrainian partners.
Nothing materialized from the Bayrock proposals after investors questioned Trump’s financial stability and wanted him to contribute additional capital or have his name removed from the project, Trump testified that he had heard.
At the time of his 2007 testimony, Trump said a project with people in Ukraine was still a possibility, but it doesn’t appear that any deals ultimately materialized.
Spokespeople for the Trump Organization did not respond to inquiries.
Trump’s account of his company’s business dealings in Ukraine came to light during his lawsuit against O’Brien and publishers of “TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald,” a 2005 book that challenged Trump’s claims about his wealth. In the suit, which Trump filed in a New Jersey state court in 2006, he accused the journalist of making “egregiously false and reprehensible statements” by estimating the future president's net worth at between just $150 million and $250 million. Trump claimed O’Brien’s reporting led potential business partners—including investors in Ukraine—to question his financial health, causing potential deals to collapse. Trump sought $5 billion in damages. He got nothing after a judge tossed the case in 2009, a decision an appellate court affirmed two years later.
“This was going to be a hotel in Moscow, a hotel in Kiev, a hotel in Poland, et cetera, et cetera,” Trump said during his deposition of the proposals he was considering working on with Bayrock.
No evidence has surfaced suggesting that the Trumps’ business dealings in Ukraine violated any laws.
30: The number of false statements Trump had to acknowledge having made over the years during his deposition, according to O’Brien.
Donald Trump is worth about $4.9 billion, with Trump Media shares making up the bulk of his fortune.
Ukraine joins two other countries at the forefront of Trump’s foreign policy where he’s had business troubles. Trump has repeatedly suggested annexing Canada, a country where Trump hotels (in Toronto and Vancouver) were later rebranded. Trump also posited about the United States retaking the Panama Canal. The Trump name was crowbar’d off his hotel there in 2018.
Phil Ruffin, who owns 50% of the Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, is married to a former Miss Ukraine, Oleksandra Nikolayenko.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has taken a markedly less pro-Ukraine position than his predecessor, most members of Congress, and key U.S. allies, calling on the country to make a deal with its Russian invaders and temporarily pausing all military aid.
Dan Alexander contributed reporting.
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Further Reading
Here’s Who’s Paid Homage To Trump At Mar-A-Lago Since His Election (Forbes)
Trump’s D.C. Hotel Hosted Officials From These 33 Countries After He Won The 2016 Election (Forbes)
Russia’s War On Ukraine: News And Information From Ukraine (Forbes)