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U.S. House Panel Disputes Former Trump Associate Sater’s Claim Of Full Cooperation


Real estate developer Felix Sater is a former business associate of President Donald Trump. (file photo)
Real estate developer Felix Sater is a former business associate of President Donald Trump. (file photo)

A spokesman for a U.S. House of Representatives committee said the panel was not satisfied with the testimony of real estate developer Felix Sater, a former business associate of President Donald Trump who played a role in negotiations to construct a Trump Tower project in Moscow.

Sater said after the July 9 closed-door session with the House Intelligence Committee that he spoke "fully and completely" about the unbuilt Moscow tower.

"All of the knowledge I had about the deal I revealed to the committee. I answered every question that was asked of me," Sater said.

However, Patrick Boland, a spokesman for the committee, disputed Sater's claim.

We "must correct the record. Mr. Sater has not fully cooperated with the committee, and he will remain under subpoena until he does so," Boland said.

The spokesman said Sater did not produce documents that had been requested, including telephone records and asserted a "baseless claim of attorney-client privilege" in response to questions about a statement provided to the committee by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

It was unclear if any lawmakers attended the interview or if Sater met only with the committee staff.

The Russian-born Sater was under subpoena after he failed to appear for a scheduled interview last month, citing illness.

Sater, together with Cohen, worked on Trump's behalf on the potential Moscow project during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

Cohen pleaded guilty in November to lying to Congress about when the negotiations ended in order to downplay Trump's business connections with Russia.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AP

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