- Donald Trump called the mafia "very nice people" in a 2013 interview with David Letterman, three years before his electoral victory to become president of the United States.
- Trump said that he tried to stay away from organized crime "as much as possible" when asked about his business dealings, but said that "I have met on occasion a few of those people."
- The interview was unearthed in light of Trump's dealings with Ukraine, which led House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff to accuse him of doing a "classic, mafia-like shakedown."
- Trump has been accused of having ties to organized crime, but has always denied it.
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President Donald Trump said that the mafia "happen to be very nice people" in a 2013 interview - but joked that he would never want to owe them money.
In an October 2013 episode of "Late Show with David Letterman," Letterman asked Trump - who had been accused of working with crime families - if he had ever "knowingly done business with organized crime."
Trump replied: "I've really tried to stay away from them as much as possible."
"You know, growing up in New York and doing business in New York, I would say there might have been one of those characters along the way, but generally speaking I like to stay away from that group."
Read more: 15 vintage photos of the American Mafia that show their lasting legacy
In the interview, aired three years before he was elected presiden, when he was best-known as a wealthy property developer and a reality TV star, Trump said: "I have met on occasion a few of those people."
"They happen to be very nice people."
"You just don't want to owe them money," he said. "Don't owe them money."
You can watch the interview segment here:
The interview was unearthed by the UK's The Guardian newspaper on Wednesday, which noted that Trump was recently accused by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff of a doing a "classic, mafia-like shakedown" in his dealings with Ukraine.
Schiff was describing a July phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump asked Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden, the former US vice president and his election rival, and to help dispute the Russia probe.
He did so after noting that "we do a lot for Ukraine" and Zelensky said that his country needed more defense equipment in its ongoing conflict with Russia.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
President Donald Trump with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in New York in September.
Schiff noted that the exchange, which was revealed in an official White House memo that Trump authorized the release of, did not show Trump saying explicitly that he would withhold aid from Ukraine.
Read more: Here are all the documents that lay out the allegations in the Trump-Ukraine scandal
But Schiff said that it showed Trump acting like a mob boss: "What those notes reflect is a classic mafia-like shakedown of a foreign leader," he said.
The phone call has led to the start of an impeachment inquiry into Trump. He denies any wrongdoing.
Trump has been accused of using companies connected to the mob to build his New York buildings, Trump Tower and the Trump Plaza, in the 1980s.
Trump has always denied any connections to organized crime.