President Donald Trump has fired FBI Director James Comey. In a statement, Trump says Comey's firing "will mark a new beginning" for the FBI.
President Donald Trump produced a letter Friday from his business's lawyers "certifying" that he has no investments in Russia and receives no income "of any type from Russian sources" - all based on his tax returns.
But it then went on to say that the lawyer was listing "exceptions", which it said were the profit on a house sale to a Russian, which amounted to $54 million, the proceeds of 2012 Miss Universe, which was a "substantial portion of $12.2 million" and "ordinary course sale of good or services to Russians and Russian entities".
And then ABC News reported that the legal firm he used to send the "certified" letter, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, was named "Russia Law Firm of the Year" in 2016 by the London-based legal research publication Chambers & Partners, the Daily Mail reports.
The firm called it a "prestigious honour" and said it was "the latest honour for the high-profile work performed by the lawyers in Morgan Lewis' Moscow office".
That was only one of the bizarre features of the letter. It was dated March 8 - with no reason given for why it was being sent two months later.
President Donald Trump talks to reporters. Photo / AP
The letter appears highly unlikely to end the storm over Russia and will only fuel questions over why his tax returns have not been published.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer revealed Tuesday that Trump had asked a law firm to affirm his claims in response to a request from Sen. Lindsey Graham to know more about the president's business dealings.
Trump told NBC on Thursday: "I've given the letter to Senator Lindsey Graham, he has the letter, and I think frankly... I assume he's gonna give the letter out, but it says I am not involved in Russia. No loans, no nothing."
The White House did not immediately give out the letter from the Trump Organisation's tax lawyers, even though it's dated March 8.
A copy was offered to reporters on Friday, after Trump indicated that he wanted it sent out.
Produced by lawyers Sheri Dillon and William Nelson and the firm of Morgan, Lewis and Bocklus, the letter states that Trump's only financial ties to Russia are the Miss Universe pageant he held in Moscow in 2013 and an estate he sold to a Russian billionaire in 2008.
Any other income would have been retained through third parties paying for services at his hotels and golf clubs, renting condominiums or purchasing Trump branded items, the letter says.
Dillion and Nelson also assert that they have represented Trump and his company continuously since 2005.
The letter is dated March 8, 2017.
In the course of Trump's interview with NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt Trump insisted once again that he has no business in Russia. Trump said he has no investments or property in Russia, though he said he once sold a house to a wealthy Russian, and he had a certified letter from a high-powered law firm to prove it.
President Donald Trump produced a letter Friday from his business' lawyers. Photo / AP
"I had the Miss Universe pageant which I owned for quite a while, I had it in Moscow long time ago, but other than that I have nothing to do with Russia," he claimed.
Addressing allegations that his financial tie to Russia could be hidden in the tax documents he won't make public, the president said there are none.
Trump said he'd sent a certified letter Graham confirming that information.
"I have a certified letter, just so you understand... I'm not just saying that," Trump asserted. "I've given the letter to Senator Lindsey Graham, he has the letter, and I think frankly... I assume he's gonna give the letter out, but it says I am not involved in Russia. No loans, no nothing."
On Friday the White House gave out the letter, instead.
The letter represented the latest attempt by the president to tamp down concerns about any Russian ties amid an ongoing investigation of his campaign's associates and Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters during a visit by the Victory Christian Center School. Photo / AP
The attorneys did not release copies of Trump's tax returns, so their "certified" claims cannot be verified.
Their review also notably takes into account only Trump's returns from the past 10 years, leaving open questions about whether there were financial dealings with Russia in earlier years.
Trump has refused to release his income tax records, despite pressure from Democrats, breaking with a practice set by his predecessors. The president has said he would release his returns when the Internal Revenue Service completes an audit. The tax returns, the attorneys say, largely reflect income and interest paid by the web of corporate entities that made up The Trump Organisation prior to Trump taking office.
The unnamed Russian billionaire cited by the Trump company's lawyers is Dmitry Rybolovlev, whose financial empire springs from his companies' production of potash, often used for fertiliser.
Trump had purchased the 62,000 square-foot estate for $41.35 million in 2004 and he sold the mansion to Rybolovlev in July 2008 for $95 million. The deal was widely reported at the time.
When Trump was pressed during a campaign conference last year about his ties to Russia, he said: "You know the closest I came to Russia, I bought a house a number of years ago in Palm Beach," adding that "I sold it to a Russian for $100 million."
President Donald Trump waves to military mothers as he departs after speaking at the White House. Photo / AP
The letter, written by attorneys Sheri Dillon and William Nelson from the law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, simultaneously leaves open the possibility of other Russian ties while attempting to dismiss them.
The letter doesn't vouch for any of Trump's personal federal tax returns that predate the past decade. The attorneys also write that over the last 10 years, it is likely that the Trump Organisation sold or rented condos, or other products, that 'could have produced income attributable to Russian sources."
"With respect to this last exception, the amounts are immaterial," the attorney wrote.
