Donald Trump Jr. has landed in hot water this week after it was revealed he met with a Russian lawyer connected to the Kremlin, supposedly so she could pass along “incriminating” information about Hillary Clinton. In copies of the emails arranging the meeting that were released today, it was made crystal clear that Jr was willing to collude with the Russian government to win the election for his father.
“Emin just called and asked me to contact you with something very interesting,” Rob Goldstone, a former tabloid writer turned PR flack, wrote in the email. “The Crown prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.”
“What do you think is the best way to handle this information and would you be able to speak to Emin about it directly?”
So who is Emin and how does he play into this sordid drama?
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Emin Agalarov, best known by his stage name, Emin, is the son of billionaire real estate tycoon, Aras Agalarov. The elder Agalarov is a friend of both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Agalarov and Trump worked together to bring the 2013 Miss Universe pageant to Moscow which was sponsored by the kleptocrat and held in one of his numerous properties.
Emin is a 37 year old hunky Russian pop star who was born in Azerbaijan and educated in the United States. He is also an executive vice president of Crocus Group, his father’s real estate company. At the time contract negotiations were happening for the pageant, Trump was also trying to build his first tower in Moscow – in conjunction with the Crocus Group. Trump also has a failed venture in Azerbaijan that was still ongoing in 2013.
The two families are so close, Trump even appeared in one of Emin’s music videos along with some of the Miss Universe contestants. Emin has also performed at least one concert at a resort owned by Trump.
Emin divorced his wife, Leyla Aliyeva, the daughter of the president of Azerbaijan in 2015. He has released ten albums so far with only one in the Russian language. He is Muslim.
But what about his music? Is he any good?
He’s not that bad, actually. His videos have an overly masculine vibe to them like Ricky Martin’s pre-coming out videos, but he’s a star in a country best known for their vodka, communism, and hatred of LGBT people.
Check out a few more of his videos below – including one of his Russian songs.
