MOSCOW (AP) – They may have been the hidden link between Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia’s government: A Moscow-based billionaire and his pop star son who, like Trump, bridge the worlds of real estate, the entertainment industry and the highest level of politics.
Emails posted Tuesday on Twitter by Trump’s eldest son show him willing to take what’s described as Russian government dirt on Hillary Clinton that would help his father’s candidacy. Six days after the first message, Donald Trump Jr. joined his brother-in-law Jared Kushner and Trump campaign adviser Paul Manafort for a meeting with a Russian lawyer to follow up on the “official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father,” as one email describes the bounty.
How did Russia’s government reach out to the Trump campaign and set such a process in motion? The email exchange points to the unlikely middlemen of Aras and Emin Agalarov, a 61-year-old real estate magnate sometimes dubbed the “Donald Trump of Russia” and his 37-year-old singer/songwriter son who goes only by “Emin” onstage.
Both spent significant time with Trump when he brought the Miss Universe contest to Moscow four years ago, as attested to by party photos and Instagram posts. The father hosted the event at his Crocus City Mall, which he said cost him $20 million. The son performed at the ceremony. Both attended Trump’s Miss Universe party. Trump appeared in a music video with Emin while in town.
“I had a great weekend with you and your family. You have done a FANTASTIC job. TRUMP TOWER-MOSCOW is next. EMIN was WOW!” Trump, back in the U.S., tweeted to Aras on Nov. 11, 2013.