MR. SIMPSON: So our typical practice is you hire me for a flat fee, you don't tell me what to do, and I give you a report in 30 days. And you say, "I'm interested in this guy. I think he's a crook." And I say, "Okay, give me 30 days and X amount of money, and I'll give you a report."
If an engagement continues past 30 days, we tend to break out specific issues. So once you've done a survey, which is what that initial thing is generally called, then you know, "Oh, well, this guy has a long history of gambling problems, and we're going to do a separate on his history of gambling problems." It's a little like a white paper.
MR. SCHIFF: You've described the -- and, again, just focusing on the first phase information you found about property purchases that were concerning with potential Russian money, you've talked about the ties to Felix Sater -- were there any other Russian links that you found during the first phase?
MR. SIMPSON: I'm sorry for the pause. This issue came up in various guises, and I'm trying to think of some specifics. And offhand I just -- I mean, there were things like -- there were all kinds of random things.
There were, for instance, one of the -- you know, we bought all of Trump's books and all the books about Trump, and I remember there were things about trips to Russia, and that was a big thing.
And there was, prior to the 2013 Miss Universe fair, there was an earlier Trump vodka marketing project in Russia that later became something that we were very interested in.
It's difficult in my mind to get the chronology right, so, you know, a lot of these things were coming up in the spring, which is, you know, a period when we were ending the first part and starting the second.
MR SCHIFF: And what did you find notable about the Trump vodka
UNCLASSIFIED, COMMITTEE SENSITIVE
