Damian Dovarganes/AP
President Trump’s son, Eric Trump, reportedly told golf reporter James Dodson three years ago that the family’s company got much of its funding to build its golf courses from Russia, according to an interview Dodson gave to WBUR on Friday.
Dodson said he was visiting the Trump National Golf Club in Charlotte, North Carolina after Trump’s public relations representative invited him there.
When Dodson got there, “Trump was strutting up and down, talking to his new members about how they were part of the greatest club in North Carolina,” he told WBUR.
And when Dodson asked Donald Trump how he managed to secure funding for his courses, he said he had access to $ 100 million.
When Dodson asked Trump’s son, Eric, to explain where the $ 100 million came from, Eric said they weren’t relying on American banks for the funding, because American banks had been reluctant to put money into golf courses after the recession.
“We have all the funding we need out of Russia,” Eric reportedly said.
“Really?” Dodson replied.
“Oh, yeah. We’ve got some guys that really, really love golf, and they’re really invested in our programs. We just go there all the time.”
President Trump’s campaign associates and his businesses have repeatedly come under fire since the campaign and after he was elected for their questionable ties to Russia.
Trump’s national security adviser Michael Flynn was forced to resign in February after it emerged that he had misled the vice president about conversations he’d had with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from any current or future Justice Department investigations into the Trump campaign after it was reported that he, too, had had repeated contacts with Russian officials.
An unverified dossier on Trump’s ties to Russia included an explosive allegation that his campaign agreed to minimize US opposition to the Kremlin’s aggressiveness towards Ukraine if the Kremlin released negative information about his opponent, Hillary Clinton.
A Reuters investigation in March also found that over 60 individuals with Russian ties had invested almost $ 100 million in 7 Trump properties in southern Florida.
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