So I'm sorry for the long answer, but essentially, if people who seem to be associated with the Russian mafia are buying Trump properties or arranging for other people to buy Trump properties, it does raise a question about whether they're doing it on behalf of the government.
MR. SCHIFF: Now, whether they're doing it on behalf of the government or they're doing it -- whether they're doing it on behalf of the government, it would be your expert opinion that it would be known to the government if it's on --
MR. SIMPSON: Certainly.
MR. SCHIFF: -- any substantial scale?
MR. SIMPSON: Certainly, yes.
MR. SCHIFF: Might that provide the Russian Government leverage vis-à-vis now-President Trump?
MR. SIMPSON: Yes.
MR. SCHIFF: So if, as the President's son boasted some years ago, they were getting lots of financing from Russia and that financing were illicit, that would be known to the Kremlin.
MR. SIMPSON: I think -- I mean, yes, I think that's true. I think we had more specific reporting than that from Chris, and I think it's credible.
MR. SCHIFF: Now, the work that was produced during that first phase with the Free Beacon, what form did that take? Would you be providing, say, like 30-day reports to the Free Beacon, if you're able to answer? And maybe you can say more generically what form that would take.
We've seen the form of Christopher Steele's reporting, although we don't know what form that would have been presented to your client. But what form generally would this information take?
UNCLASSIFIED, COMMITTEE SENSITIVE
