One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Trump-Russia saga has been the president and his associates' eagerness to meet or cooperate with Kremlin-connected oligarchs and agents.
In report after report, President Donald Trump, his family and associates readily accept invitations that later place them under investigation -- and one detail in the bombshell Michael Isikoff-David Corn report stands in sharp contrast to their careless eagerness.
The report places Trump, a few Russians, a couple of beauty pageant winners and others on June 15, 2013, in a Las Vegas nightclub that would be shut down a few months later for "lewd" performances featuring women, urine and simulated bestiality.
Emin Agalarov, the pop star son of Russian oligarch Aras Agalarov, ran into the son of billionaire philanthropist George Soros in the owner's box at the nightclub The Act.
The singer soon chatted up Alex Soros and invited him to visit Moscow, but the American tapped the brakes.
“You should know, I’m no fan of Mr. Putin," said Soros, whose father funded opposition to the Russian president.
The younger Soros then added that he was an admirer of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an oligarch then imprisoned in Siberia for challenging Putin.
Emin laughed off the remarks, according to the report, and it's not clear whether Soros ever accepted the invitation.
By contrast, Donald Trump Jr. was invited to meet with a Russian attorney promising campaign dirt on Hillary Clinton in June 2016 by British music promoter Rob Goldstone, who was part of the group that visited The Act three years before.
Goldstone made the offer by email on behalf of Emin, and the Republican presidential candidate's son expressed no reservations about accepting campaign assistance from the Russian government, as the invitation made clear.
“I love it especially later in the summer," Trump Jr. replied.