Suspicious Palm Beach Real Estate Deal Between Trump and Russians Draws Scrutiny in the Senate

A 2008 real estate deal between President Donald Trump and a Russian investor is raising eyebrows in the Senate.

The property conveyed—6.3 acres in a particularly ritzy part of Palm Beach (bordering the home of TV surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz)—was purchased by Trump in 2004 for $41.35 million. Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev paid $95 million for the property just four years later.

While this might not seem untoward on the face of it (and, indeed, could even be viewed as proof of Trump’s normally-questionable claims about his outstanding business acumen), it becomes decidedly more suspicious with the revelation that the appraised value of the property was $30 million less than the sale price.

“In the context of the President’s then-precarious financial position, I believe that the Palm Beach property sale warrants further scrutiny,” U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon wrote in a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “It is imperative that Congress follow the money and conduct a thorough investigation into any potential money laundering or other illicit financial dealings between the President, his associates, and Russia.”