A business associate of President Trump promised in 2015 to engineer a real estate deal with the aid of the president of Russia, Vladimir V. Putin, that he said would help Mr. Trump win the presidency.
The business associate, Felix Sater, wrote a series of emails to Mr. Trumps lawyer, Michael Cohen, in which he boasted about his ties to Mr. Putin and predicted that building a Trump Tower in Moscow would be a political boon to Mr. Trumps candidacy.
Our boy can become president of the USA and we can engineer it, Mr. Sater wrote in an email. I will get all of Putins team to buy in on this, I will manage this process.
The emails show that, from the earliest months of Mr. Trumps campaign, some of his associates viewed close ties with Moscow as a political advantage. Those ties are now under investigation by the Justice Department and multiple congressional committees.
There is no evidence in the emails that Mr. Sater delivered on his promises. Mr. Sater, a Russian immigrant, was a broker for the Trump Organization at the time, which means he was paid to deliver real estate deals.
In another email, Mr. Sater envisioned a ribbon-cutting in Moscow. I will get Putin on this program and we will get Donald elected, Mr. Sater wrote.