Michael Cohen Met with a Russian Oligarch and a Top Inauguration Donor at Trump Tower During the Transition

Victor Vekselberg, a Russian oligarch who was recently questioned by special counsel Robert Mueller, met with Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen in Trump Tower during the transition, according to video footage that aired Friday on CNN.

The footage, taken at the lobby of Trump Tower during the presidential transition, shows Veskelberg and his cousin, Michael Intrater, entering an elevator on the ground floor of Trump Tower in New York. A source told CNN the pair met with Cohen to discuss “improving US-Russia relations.”

Vekselberg heads the Renova Group, a Russian conglomerate, an Intrater runs Columbus Nova, a subsidiary of Renova. As CNN notes, in January 2017, Columbus Nova paid Cohen $580,000 for consulting work. 

Intrater, a U.S. citizen, donated $285,000 to Trump’s Inauguration.