The never-ending stream of news linking Trump to Putin and Russian influence just never stops - yet the right in this country, right which used to adamantly oppose foreign influence, continues to go through any mental contortion necessary to construct a denialist mentality, just as they do with climate change. Why? Is the truth that threatening, that Trump, whose financial dealings with Russian oligarchs, Central Asian ex-Soviet oligarchs, and the Russian mob are well documented and go back decades, is in knee-deep with Russia, and must do their bidding or face a dumping of records which detail his dealings and indebted to Russia, to money-laundering, to dealing with some of the most unscrupulous individuals on the planet?
This is why Trump is fighting subpoenas for Deutsche Bank's records tooth and nail, as they were the only bank that would lend him the hundreds of millions of dollars he needed for various projects - loans which he then reneged upon, and sued the bank. The German bank, as documented by various reporters including for the NYTimes, was keen to make it big on the Street, and engaged in dubious activities in order to build a portfolio and presence on the street - a bank which, by the way, funded construction of Nazi concentration camps, sold gold taken from prisoners' teeth, funded the aryanization of Germany, and other atrocities. The mob presence in Trump's condos in NY and Florida has been well documented as probably money laundering schemes as well - individuals from Russia, Kazakhstan and elsewhere from what used to be "behind the Iron Curtain" - who paid way over the asking price for condos, many times over, with the reasonable belief that having paid these over-inflated sum, they then would get the condo, have the excess returned to them in US dollars (minus a Trump service fee) and then have a presence in the US, and dollars in the bank - dirty money turned into real estate, a bank account, and an ongoing relationship with Trump. And as usual in US real estate, no questions asked, or needed, about where the money comes from. If the Supreme Court upholds the right of the House to have these records, which they should, then that will begin the process of revealing Trump's shady and sleazy past, and how Russia helped him into office.
And now we have the outgoing director of intelligence warning that Putin and Russia are meddling in the elections again - removed because he made this announcement. Anyone who doesn't think that Russia is doing whatever they can, wherever they can, to disrupt American politics and keep their puppet in office is naive, and in many ways, aiding and abetting this ongoing foreign influence and keeping the most corrupt president in US history in office. John Brennan just today warned again about Russian influence, and already the right-wing trolls are online, harping about Hillary and Podesta, overlooking the fact that they have been investigated and cleared, and also ignoring the president's clear connections to Putin.
It's a disgusting political moment we find ourselves in, and with Trump's continuing attacks on anything remotely progressive or public-minded, further reminder that fascism begins when you have a gullible and inactive public.
This is why Trump is fighting subpoenas for Deutsche Bank's records tooth and nail, as they were the only bank that would lend him the hundreds of millions of dollars he needed for various projects - loans which he then reneged upon, and sued the bank. The German bank, as documented by various reporters including for the NYTimes, was keen to make it big on the Street, and engaged in dubious activities in order to build a portfolio and presence on the street - a bank which, by the way, funded construction of Nazi concentration camps, sold gold taken from prisoners' teeth, funded the aryanization of Germany, and other atrocities. The mob presence in Trump's condos in NY and Florida has been well documented as probably money laundering schemes as well - individuals from Russia, Kazakhstan and elsewhere from what used to be "behind the Iron Curtain" - who paid way over the asking price for condos, many times over, with the reasonable belief that having paid these over-inflated sum, they then would get the condo, have the excess returned to them in US dollars (minus a Trump service fee) and then have a presence in the US, and dollars in the bank - dirty money turned into real estate, a bank account, and an ongoing relationship with Trump. And as usual in US real estate, no questions asked, or needed, about where the money comes from. If the Supreme Court upholds the right of the House to have these records, which they should, then that will begin the process of revealing Trump's shady and sleazy past, and how Russia helped him into office.
And now we have the outgoing director of intelligence warning that Putin and Russia are meddling in the elections again - removed because he made this announcement. Anyone who doesn't think that Russia is doing whatever they can, wherever they can, to disrupt American politics and keep their puppet in office is naive, and in many ways, aiding and abetting this ongoing foreign influence and keeping the most corrupt president in US history in office. John Brennan just today warned again about Russian influence, and already the right-wing trolls are online, harping about Hillary and Podesta, overlooking the fact that they have been investigated and cleared, and also ignoring the president's clear connections to Putin.
It's a disgusting political moment we find ourselves in, and with Trump's continuing attacks on anything remotely progressive or public-minded, further reminder that fascism begins when you have a gullible and inactive public.