Politics

Anthony Scaramucci, days after Trump hired him at the White House, reached out to promoter who helped set up Trump Tower meeting with Russians

Key Points
  • Anthony Scaramucci, days after he was appointed White House communications director in 2017, wrote an email to the promoter who played a role in setting up a meeting between Russians linked to the Kremlin and Donald Trump Jr.
  • "I don't officially start until the 15th Rob. But I just wanted to drop you a line to say if you ever need to pick my brains then my door is always open," Scaramucci wrote in a July 23, 2017, email.
  • In a statement to CNBC, Scaramucci denied that his email to Rob Goldstone had something to do with Russia.
Scaramucci emailed man who helped set up 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians
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Scaramucci contacted man behind 2016 Trump Tower meeting

Anthony Scaramucci, days after he was appointed White House communications director in 2017, wrote an email to Rob Goldstone, the music promoter who played a role in setting up a meeting between Russians linked to the Kremlin and Donald Trump Jr. and top campaign figures at Trump Tower in 2016.

In a statement to CNBC, Scaramucci denied that his email to Goldstone had something to do with Russia.

Anthony Scaramucci talks White House turmoil and the effect on the market
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Anthony Scaramucci talks White House turmoil and the effect on the market

Scaramucci's email to Goldstone came in late July 2017, after Trump appointed him to the senior White House role. Weeks earlier, reports broke about the Trump Tower meeting and Goldstone's role in helping arrange it.

"I don't officially start until the 15th Rob. But I just wanted to drop you a line to say if you ever need to pick my brains then my door is always open," Scaramucci wrote in an email dated July 23, 2017. The email was included in thousands of pages of documents released Wednesday morning by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

"Obviously there is still pressure on all sides, but if we remain consistent and united I don't envisage any issues we can't ride out," Scaramucci also wrote.

Scaramucci was fired as White House communications director at the end of July, less than two weeks after his appointment. He has since returned to SkyBridge Capital, an investment firm he founded, as a co-managing partner. Scaramucci's comeback at Skybridge came as China's HNA Group dropped its bid to buy the firm after months of U.S. government scrutiny.

Read Scaramucci's full statement to CNBC about the Goldstone email:

"I understand what people are trying to imply, because they are obviously after the president. They're trying to imply that the email had something to do with Russia, but I can state declaratively that it had nothing to do with Russia because I had no involvement there. Moreover, I supplied all of my emails as requested by both the House and Senate and have never been asked to testify before the Mueller investigators or the House or the Senate."