Trump lawyers detail his 'immaterial' earnings from Russian sources

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ABCNews.com(WASHINGTON) — President Trump’s tax returns for the past decade show little income from Russian sources and no debt owed to Russian lenders, his lawyers said.

“With a few exceptions — as detailed below — your tax returns do not reflect (1) any income of any type from Russian sources, (2) any debt owed by you or TTO [The Trump Organization] to Russian lenders or any interest paid by you or TTO to Russian lenders, (3) any equity investments by Russian persons or entities in entities controlled by you or TTO, or (4) any equity or debt investments by you or TTO in Russian entities,” the lawyers said in a letter they sent to Trump in March but released Friday.

The letter, dated March 8, says that Trump earned $12.2 million through the Miss Universe pageant, which was hosted in Moscow in 2013. A “substantial portion” of that was attributable to the Moscow event, it said.

Trump Properties LLC sold property in Florida to a Russian billionaire for $95 million, the lawyers added.

“Over the years, it is likely that TTO or third-party entities engaged in ordinary course sales of goods or services to Russians or Russian entities, such as sales / rentals / fees for condominiums, hotel rooms, rounds of golf, books or Trump-licensed products (e.g., ties, mattresses, wines, etc.) that could have produced income attributable to Russian sources,” according to the letter.

“The amounts are immaterial,” it added.

Bucking the tradition of presidents for decades, Trump has not released his full tax returns to the public.

In comments similar to what’s reflected in his lawyers’ letter, Trump told NBC Thursday, “I have no investments in Russia, none whatsoever. I have had dealings over the years where I sold a house to a very wealthy Russian many years ago. I had the Miss Universe pageant, which I owned for quite a while. I had it in Moscow a long time ago. But other than that, I have nothing to do with Russia.”

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