I entirely agree, and would bet that this has the potential of going far and wide into the NY-based real estate mogul community (because I’m convinced this is a thing). Now that the Cheeto has been in government service for over a year, there might even be things now that could be labeled as treason, which, if I have my history correct, has a punishment up to and including death.
I am pleased that Muller is taking his time. He is no doubt getting his ducks in a row for a rock-solid prosecution.
Aside: People, please stop giving so much air to the bunga bunga parties. You’re allowing the distraction to happen.
The Russians got the immediate benefit of moving lots and lots of ill-gotten gains out of Russia and laundered through the Trump real estate holdings. The law actually requires a real estate developer to be responsible for making sure that the source of the funds was legal, which of course Trump did not do. It has been suggested (although I can’t verify this) that a lot of the money invested in Trump holdings was in cash.
The secondary benefit now is that Trump is in a position to make very favorable decisions about Russia, i.e. removing the sanctions, unfreezing bank accounts, ensuring that there would be no military action in the Ukraine, ensuring that we keep a fairly neutral posture toward the Syrian government, etc.
I don’t think Trump’s main fear is bankruptcy, I think he fears the illegality of his financial crimes coming to light.
I had to take a polygraph test once, oddly enough just to be a bag boy at Tom Thumb (my first job; wheeee). I have a near phobia of the blood pressure cuff for some strange reason and this thing is on you the entire time. I was practically hallucinating with fear in short order. I also realized that I could say any God damned thing I wanted and it would not register. Needless to say, I passed the test.
And I agree, at least 100%. My question was rather rhetorical; he fears something a whole lot more than another of his companies going bankrupt. What could it be that he fears so much? Money laundering, in my opinion.
It is also something that would be hinted at on a past tax return. So, it IS financial in nature (at least in part), was reported (perhaps inaccurately?) and is now a big liability. I say it was reported, but not ALL of it. Just the big connection or a piece of it. So, when we see the piece, we follow it to the next piece and so on.
Alternatively, as far as the tax returns go, it could be a lack. We will see a blank spot, look into his finances, see that A + B does not equal C, and that is the clue. And when we find out what that gap is, and who is involved, through what companies, offshore companies and countries, then the story will come to light.
I bet there has been not only silence money to porn stars, but actual murders, rapes and kidnappings. I do not for one second believe there is any morality to this person obsessed with personal image.
Since no one has said it yet: fuck John Brennan. He supported rendition and torture and ran an extra judicial assassination program while he was director of the CIA. He is a monster. He does not get to be a hero because he shits on Trump.
Agreed, but that doesn’t make him stupid or wrong about this. I expect he knows quite a lot about how people behave in various emotional states, particularly fear, and is probably quite good at recognizing that. He doesn’t need to be a hero to be credible in this instance.
I’m a Bayesian. If I can’t evaluate the truthfulness of a statement by other means,I’ll judge the probability that it’s truthful by the percentage of other statements that person has made that are or aren’t truthful. I don’t know of Stormy Daniels telling any public lies at all. Trump is amazing in being, by this metric, one of the few people even more likely to be lying than John Brennan. That’s a pretty serious achievement, to be even less of a reliable source than that fucking lying spook.
While I’m sure its been mentioned it is a no brainer that putin wants the control he has over trump far more than he wants the money. putin won, we lost. No payback wanted.
