I trust both sources, but Steele dossier and Mother Jones article at odds re: building in Moscow:

[Leghorn21]

Dossier:

- So far TRUMP has declined various sweetener real estate business deals
offered him in Russia in order to further the Kremlin’s cultivation of him.
However he and his inner circle have accepted a regular flow of
intelligence from the Kremlin, including on his Democratic and other
political rivals

https://archive.org/stream/TheSteelDossierTrumpIntelligenceAllegations/The%20Steele%20Dossier%20-%20Trump-Intelligence-Allegations_djvu.txt

Mother Jones:

But this visit was significant because it revealed what motivated Trump the most: the opportunity to build more monuments to himself and to make more money. Trump realized he could attain none of his dreams in Moscow without forging a bond with the former KGB lieutenant colonel who was the president of Russia.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/03/russian-connection-what-happened-moscow-inside-story-trump-obsession-putin-david-corn-michael-isikoff/#b

...thoughts on this? Am I misunderstanding? (wouldn’t be the first time!!)

[berni_mccoy]

1. They are different points in time.

Mother Jones was talking about how he used the pageant to gain influence through business while the Steele Dossier is referring to his specific political ambitions by using the intel provided by Russia. At that point he didn’t need busines deals as much as he needed info.

[Leghorn21]

3. Thank you, berni! nt

[underthematrix]

5. Yes exactly

[Phoenix61]

2. Twitler is a greedy little pig

IMO, the "sweetener real estate deals" weren't good enough. Twitler regularly stiffed his construction crews and counted on that when figuring his profit. He wouldn't necessarily be able to do that in Russia. Also, Mother Jones wouldn't necessarily know about deals that were discussed with Twitler and the Russians if they were part of a cultivation effort on their part.

[Leghorn21]

4. Thanks, 61 - I did note that *sweetener* sounded a bit like small potatoes, so yeah, he was

looking for bigger/better plays - appreciate your response!