Trump repeatedly has denied having financial or other ties to Russia, during and since the 2016 campaign. Cohen's guilty plea last week, and the documents that
Mueller cited in the court filings, conclusively prove that Trump's denials were false.
Based on these revelations, we now know that Trump was compromised deep into his run for the White House. Trump needed to curry favor with the Russian government to obtain approvals for the Moscow project. Further complicating matters, while Trump lied to the public about his business dealings with Russia, the Russian government had proof to the contrary -- in the form of written communications with Cohen -- which Russia could have used for leverage over Trump.
Because of his own financial dealings and lies to the public, Trump gave Russia the ability to influence and potentially manipulate him. Given that, it's no wonder Russia tried to help Trump win the election, as Mueller has alleged in the
indictment of Russian intelligence agency hackers.