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By Michelle Goldberg
The New York Times
11/29/18
One of the chief questions in the Trump-Russia scandal has been whether Vladimir Putin has leverage over the president of the United States, and, if so, what that leverage looks like. That’s also why evidence of Trump’s business involvement with Russia would be significant, as Trump himself acknowledged shortly before his inauguration, when he tweeted, “Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA — NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!” We still don’t know for certain if Russia has used leverage over Trump. But there should no longer be any doubt that Russia has leverage over him. On Thursday morning, Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen — the former executive vice president of the Trump Organization — pleaded guilty to making false statements to Congress about efforts to build a Trump-branded property in Moscow that extended into the 2016 presidential campaign. Efforts to obtain Russian government approval for a Trump-branded development in Moscow went on until “approximately June 2016,” after Trump had effectively secured the Republican nomination for president. Cohen, Mueller’s document said, “discussed the status and progress of the Moscow project with Individual 1” more than three times. He also “briefed family members of Individual 1 within the company about the project.” [Note: Individual 1 is Donald J. Trump] So we now know that Trump lied to the American people about at least one part of his business relationship with Russia, a geopolitical foe that interfered in our election process on his behalf.
In a Jan. 11, 2017, news conference, Trump said that the “closest I came to Russia” was in selling a Palm Beach mansion to a Russian oligarch in 2008. While we’re just learning precisely how dishonest this was, Putin has known it all along. That means that throughout Trump’s campaign and presidency, Putin has had the power to plunge him into political crisis. “If the Russians are aware that senior American officials are publicly stating things that are not true, it’s a counterintelligence nightmare,” Adam Schiff, the California Democrat in line to take over the House Intelligence Committee, told me. As he points out, this issue contributed to former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s downfall. Flynn, you might remember, appeared to have lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. This alarmed Sally Yates, then the acting attorney general, because the Russians would have known that Flynn was deceiving Pence, and could have used that knowledge against him. “Logic would tell you that you don’t want the national security adviser to be in a position where the Russians have leverage over him,” Yates told the Senate last year. The same, said Schiff, “is true in spades for the president of the United States.” There are still many shoes to drop in this scandal. But even before those inquiries begin, we can see that Putin has been in possession of crucial information about Trump’s business interests that the president deliberately hid from the American people. In a normal political world, Republicans would have enough patriotism to find this alarming and humiliating. Every day of the Trump presidency is a national security emergency. The question now is whether Senate Republicans, who could actually do something about it, will ever be moved to care.
Trump Is Compromised by Russia
Due to his transactional nature and his unceasing dishonesty with the American people concerning all things Russia, Donald J. Trump has been and continues to be a national security risk.
Many previously inexplicable Trump behaviors are beginning to make damned good sense now;
The constant "hoax" and "witch-hunt" pejoratives, Trumps ubiquitous praise of Putin, his reluctance to sanction Russia, his unwavering belief in the KGB Colonel regarding Russian election meddling, his secret Helsinki meeting with Putin, etc. etc.
Related: Cohen Lied. Here’s Why It Matters.
Trump Is Compromised by Russia
Due to his transactional nature and his unceasing dishonesty with the American people concerning all things Russia, Donald J. Trump has been and continues to be a national security risk.
Many previously inexplicable Trump behaviors are beginning to make damned good sense now;
The constant "hoax" and "witch-hunt" pejoratives, Trumps ubiquitous praise of Putin, his reluctance to sanction Russia, his unwavering belief in the KGB Colonel regarding Russian election meddling, his secret Helsinki meeting with Putin, etc. etc.
Related: Cohen Lied. Here’s Why It Matters.
Does this mean no one with any foreign investments can be president?
If they're honest about their conflict of interest, maybe.
Let's say I own a tech company where 50% of my customers are in China. How can I effectively represent the American people in trade negotiations when I'm so conflicted?
But it gets worse:
Let's say I am trying to make a deal with China but I hide this from voters. I deny that I have any involvement with China. The Chinese know that is a lie. Now the Chinese have leverage over me. I know that if I upset them, they can release the truth. Don't you think that's a problem?
Obviously, since he was looking into a possible real estate development there..,like all the other places on Earth he has done so.
Let us know when he IGNORES RUSSIAN CRIMES to allow Putin control of 20% of our uranium reserves, and then allows Russia to ILLEGALLY EXPORT URANIUM out of the country to EUROPE, than then WHO KNOWS WHERE...willya?
Does this mean no one with any foreign investments can be president?
What deals has Trump done with Russia that you think is a conflict of interest?
His intention to build a tower in Russia.
If he plays nice with Putin, when he's out of office Putin will reward Trump and his family with a tower. That's how the game is played.
Moscow is one of the most expensive cities in the world. A Trump tower in Moscow would be huge. People don't want Trump towers anywhere else. Trump needs to play nice with Putin.
And the OP is about Trump being compromised. He was lying to the American people while Putin knew the truth.
Sorry to dissapoint you, but here’s what went down.
Muller sat on the Cohen re charging for months because he was waiting for Trumps answers. Trump lrovided them and a couple of follow-ups. Mueller was unable to catch the president in a perjury trap, so he’s trying up loose ends.
Remember the Mueller report will be one from a prosecutor with no opportunity for rebuttal by Trumps defense team. He will be damning the President just as a prosecutor does in his opening remarks to a jury. This cuts both ways: it produces a one sided report, but highlights the political rather than legal nature of this investigation.
If Trump is not “charged”, then where will you go from here?
No, I mean what has Trump done with Russia as president that shows he is being influenced by his conflict of interest? What deals has he done with Russia you think is bad or biased?
We now understand that his positive disposition toward Putin was not based in a political philosophy but in motive for personal profit. He defrauded the American public.
No, I mean what has Trump done with Russia as president that shows he is being influenced by his conflict of interest? What deals has he done with Russia you think is bad or biased?
He's been Positive with all enemy leaders.... Putin, Rocketboy, and Xi... that's his style. IDK how that actually works as a negotiating tactic... but it's what he does...
He's been Positive with all enemy leaders(That he isn't threatening militarily)... Putin, Rocketboy, and Xi... that's his style. IDK how that actually works as a negotiating tactic... but it's what he does...
We now understand that his positive disposition toward Putin was not based in a political philosophy but in motive for personal profit. He hid this point and lied about it, and therefore he defrauded the American public.
If they're honest about their conflict of interest, maybe.
Let's say I own a tech company where 50% of my customers are in China. How can I effectively represent the American people in trade negotiations when I'm so conflicted?
But it gets worse:
Let's say I am trying to make a deal with China but I hide this from voters. I deny that I have any involvement with China. The Chinese know that is a lie. Now the Chinese have leverage over me. I know that if I upset them, they can release the truth. Don't you think that's a problem?
So...what business deals does Trump have with Russia?
What do you think he has lied about?
And do you REALLY think Trump will do anything Russia tells him to do?
Trump Is Compromised by Russia
Due to his transactional nature and his unceasing dishonesty with the American people concerning all things Russia, Donald J. Trump has been and continues to be a national security risk.
Many previously inexplicable Trump behaviors are beginning to make damned good sense now;
The constant "hoax" and "witch-hunt" pejoratives, Trumps ubiquitous praise of Putin, his reluctance to sanction Russia, his unwavering belief in the KGB Colonel regarding Russian election meddling, his secret Helsinki meeting with Putin, etc. etc.
Related: Cohen Lied. Here’s Why It Matters.
Does this mean no one with any foreign investments can be president?
Oh Jesus. This is getting a little old. You guys have been saying this for two years now. It's not a crime for an international businessman to do international business, just as it wasn't a crime for the Clinton Foundation to accept donations from every thug and thug country in the world.
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