Who, What, and Why is Behind Trump
Kushner meets with big Russian bank (with strong ties to Putin) in December 2016 (one month before Trump took office) as he was
seeking loans to help finance “Kushner Tower.”
Highlights: Trump's son-in-law
and top adviser, Jared Kushner, met with the CEO of Russia's state-owned VnesheConomBank in December 2016, The New York
Times reported as indicated in this article from Business Insider. The meeting
— which had not previously been disclosed and came on the heels of Kushner's
meeting with Russian Ambassador Sergey
Kislyak at Trump Tower — caught the attention of the Senate
Intelligence Committee, now investigating Russia's
interference in the 2016 election to see whether any members of Trump's
campaign were complicit.
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As the old Cash song asks: “How high’s the water Momma?” Well this shït is deep
and rising with that Kushner stuff and now this about Michael Flynn:
Flynn
got lots of $$$$ from Russia and Turkey and apparently never got permission,
which the law requires, and failed to report it accurately. This is from the Washington Post and the extract
below from the AP:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Documents released by lawmakers show President
Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Ret. Army Lt. Gen. Michael
Flynn, was warned when he retired from the military in 2014 not to take foreign
money without “advance approval” by Pentagon authorities.
Now,
the Defense Department IG’s office confirms in a separate document that it is
investigating whether Flynn failed to obtain prior approval.
Meanwhile,
the chairman and senior Democrat on the House Oversight Committee say they want
the Army to rule on whether Flynn informed and asked permission for the
payments from Russian and Turkish entities. Note: Flynn earned tens of thousands of dollars from Russia's
state-sponsored/run RT television network and from a Turkish businessman linked
to Turkey's government for speeches, etc.
Basic question just like it was asked
during the Watergate Hearings: What
did Trump know and when did he know it about big foreign money deals/payment to
Kushner and Flynn? It is naïve to believe or think that Trump did not know
about those two events nor what has transpired on his behalf. And, more so with SOS Rex Tillerson and his former
company, ExxonMobil and money ties to Russia for oil drilling – some say worth
$500 billion.
All
signs indicate that Jared Kushner,
Michael Flynn, Rex Tillerson, Carter Page, Paul Manafort, and those listed
below were somehow in bed with Russia and key Russian operatives at the
same time they were connected to and part of the Trump campaign, the Trump
transition team, and now while in key official Trump administration positions.
This is very serious stuff
and hopefully the several congressional committees and FBI will prepare a final
report – even if that’s possible to be final in anyway and tell the truth about
the Trump-Putin/Russian ties for the past several years and it is further
apparent why Mr. Trump will not release his tax returns: They would show who
has borrowed money from and who is owes and therefore deeply indebted to
(Russia and China perhaps) and now the Kushner billion-dollar bank loan from a
well-known and Chinese communist connected bank for his “Kushner Tower.”
This quick review of the ties and web (that possibly bind) comes from the Washington Post with this great graphic:
Donald Trump, president. Trump’s connections to Russian business
interests are murky, thanks to his decision not to release his tax returns
during the campaign. We know that the Miss Universe pageant was hosted in
Moscow when Trump owned it and that he earned millions
of dollars for doing so. We know, too, that he’s repeatedly explored real
estate deals in the country. It’s not clear whether Trump has met Kislyak,
though the ambassador attended a
foreign policy speech Trump gave last spring and the reception that preceded
it. We know now that Trump has been in communication with Putin — but he also
claimed to have been in contact with representatives of the Russian president
(and Putin himself) before
the campaign.
Jeff Sessions, attorney general. Sessions’ relationship with Kislyak is
well-established by now. This is a good point at which to note, though, that
the existence of that relationship does not in any way imply wrongdoing by
Sessions. It’s just part of the network we’re establishing.
Jared Kushner and Michael Flynn –
discussed above.
Donald Trump Jr., son. The younger Trump visited France last October to speak to
an obscure Russian group. In 2008, Don Jr., who works for the Trump
Organization, famously told
a real estate conference that “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets” and that “we see a lot of money pouring
in from Russia.”
Paul Manafort, former campaign manager. Manafort’s links to Russian interests are well
established. New revelations that emerged during the campaign prompted
Trump to demand Manafort’s resignation. Manafort is one of the Trump campaign
staffers who reportedly made
contact with Russian interests during the campaign.
Rex Tillerson, secretary of state. Before he was confirmed to serve as the head of
the State Department, even Republicans questioned Tillerson’s
relationship to Putin. As the head of ExxonMobil, Tillerson helped negotiate a
massive agreement between the Russian government and ExxonMobil-Rosneft,
a partnership between the two companies. Tillerson was subsequently awarded the
“Order of Friendship” by Putin.
Wilbur Ross, secretary of commerce. Ross’s connections to Russian business interests
are less obvious than Tillerson’s. During the Clinton administration, Ross
served on the board of the U.S.-Russia Investment Fund,
an effort to bolster businesses in post-Cold-War Russia. During his
confirmation, questions arose about his ownership of a bank on Cyprus that, in
the words of McClatchy’s
Kevin Hall, “caters to wealthy Russians.”
Roger Stone, longtime and close Trump adviser. Stone’s connection to Russia is murky. During the
campaign, he drew attention for seeming to have inside knowledge on the WikiLeaks
document releases — releases that have been linked to Russian
interests by the government. More directly, the Times reports that
Stone is possibly under investigation by the U.S. government for his links to
Russia.
Carter Page, former adviser. Page is included in that alleged investigation as
well, but his links to Russia are clearer. Page pretty clearly met with Kislyak
last year during the Republican convention in Cleveland, as he admitted to
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes on Thursday night. He also has repeatedly addressed Russian business groups in that
country, including twice in 2016. Over a decade ago, he worked in Russia as an
investment banker (I posted more on Carter Page here).
J.D. Gordon, former adviser. Page is far in the outer orbit of Trump’s
circle, serving briefly as part of Trump’s national security advisory team.
He’s joined there by Gordon
a onetime Pentagon spokesman who also served as an
adviser to the campaign. Gordon, like Page, reportedly spoke
with Kislyak in Cleveland.
Washington Post Caveat: This document should be considered a work in
progress. As more information is released, it (and the graphic) will be
updated.
Again, none of the
relationships above are intended to show misbehavior by those involved. The
broad question at stake is the extent to which Russia sought to interfere in
the 2016 election and, if it did,
the extent to which it may have leveraged relationships with Trump’s team to
that end. That much-bigger question is
much harder to evaluate.
As always, stay tuned… I believe that this review is
well-intended and hopefully helpful to the readers. Thanks for stopping by.
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