Turns out Trump’s foreign policy was for sale to the highest bidder. And it wasn’t just the Trumps cashing in.
See also Juan Cole and Heather Cox Richardson. Juan Cole wrote,
Donald Trump as president dumped the Paris Climate Accord, withdrew from the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, endorsed the 2017 blockade of Qatar by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and pushed for declaring the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. The Brotherhood had been part of the 2011 uprisings against Arab dictators, leading Arab monarchies to see them as subversives and dangerous to the status quo.
All of these steps were on a wish list of the United Arab Emirates, the fabulously wealthy Gulf oil state, with its capital at Abu Dhabi.
And Heather Cox Richardson wrote,
According to today’s charges, once Trump was in office, Barrack continued to lobby for the UAE until April 2018. He allegedly worked with allies in the UAE to draft passages of Trump’s speeches, hone press materials, and prepare talking points to promote UAE interests. Without ever registering as a foreign agent, he worked to change U.S. foreign policy and appoint administration officials to meet a “wish list” produced by UAE officials.
Barrack helped to tie the Trump administration to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, turning the US away from Qatar, an ally that hosts US air bases (although they are now being closed as bases and in the process of becoming housing for our Afghan allies before their US visas come through). From the beginning, the administration worked closely with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, who controls $1.3 trillion in sovereign wealth funds and essentially rules the UAE, and with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), whom Prince Mohammed championed.
In May 2017, Trump advisers Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon, along with Saudi and UAE leaders, met without the knowledge of then–Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to talk about blockading Qatar. When Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt launched a blockade on June 5, 2017, Trump cheered them on, although the State Department took a neutral stand and the Pentagon thanked Qatar for hosting US troops.
Trump’s first foreign visit as president was to Saudi Arabia, remember, which gave us the famous glowing orb moment:
Tom Barrack also was instrumental in bringing Paul Manafort and Rick Gates into the Trump campaign, which introduced the Russian connection as well. See also What Really Happened to the Inaguration Money? and The Trump Inauguration: Grifters Gonna Grift.
There are allegations floating around that Barrack took in about $1.5 billion from the UAE and the Saudis. When Trump finds out someone other than him was making money on his admnistration, he’ll blow a fuse.
Oh how the pieces start falling in place…or if you will the image becomes clearer as the dots are connected. The glorious word for all of this is parsimony. Too bad you can only communicate with that word in select social circles.
We all knew Trump was a sell out. We just lacked details on who was yanking his chain. Now we are on the path to understanding. Parsimony and truth tend to walk together.
I remember way back then, laughing at that idiot tRUMP's trip to Saudi Arabia.
It figured that a dim bulb like him would be mesmerized by a glowing orb. The Saudi's sure knew a simpleton when they saw one.
And I'm sure the men in white robes reminded him of some Klan rallies his daddy took him to.
The fact is, under tRUMP, pretty much everything was for sale!
We're lucky tRUMP didn't sell off Alaska, our Air Force, and America's mineral and water rights, to Pooty-poot and Russia.
And that's probably only because Putin thought that would be too obvious. At least in a 1st term. The 2nd? Bring in the moving vans!!!
OT: How Kevin McCarthy is boosting the integrity of the Jan. 6 investigation. I’m loving how Pelosi is running rings around Kevin McCarthy, rope-a-dope. The country may actually learn what happened up to and including 1/6.
Yeah, McCarthy looked like a deer in the headlights as he tried to flip the script on Pelosi. He used the tired old inverse accusation on Pelosi for that which he was guilty of himself. Then he tried make failure of security the overriding question that Americans should be concerned with.. When the overriding question should be: Who brought these misfits to the steps of the Capitol and what was in their heads that made the feel they were being patriotic as they desecrated the Capitol and tried to destroy our democracy.
I know the answer to that question, and so does McCarthy. That's why he's so eager to stop the American public from getting to the truth.
It's just the tip of the ice berg. The feds need to tighten the screws on Weisselberg to get a better picture of all the ways in which Trump received his grift. With over 500 LLC's and assorted legal contrivances to play with there's no doubt that Trump got his hefty piece of the pie. When the full picture emerges, if it ever does, it's going to make Meyer Lansky look like an incompetent compared to Weisselberg's financial wizardry in hiding Trump's grift, kickbacks, and political booty.
The possibilities are endless considering how Trump announced from the outset of his presidency in a very Kennedyesque fashion to "let the word go forth" that he was open for business. Whether the portals of infusion were through Ivanka's spa's or Eric's vineyard, or Jr's literary prowess, or MAGA hats and Trump regalia you can rest assured Trump's political booty exceeded all the treasures ever accumulated by Ali Baba.
A side piece to this is, who is running Trump Inc, with Weisselberg out of the picture? He understood how all those 500 LLCs worked, and was at it for decades. He knew all the shadowy deals + players. Pretty cool that there were two sets of books, so it's easy for the Feds to make their case.
Michael Cohen thinks Weisselburg will flip to avoid spending time at Club Fed, but on the other hand: he's in his 70s and might just decide it's honorable (in his mind) to take the hit, will be dying soon anyway. I just wonder what's in his mind.
If he files his tax return as married filing jointly, he'll flip. He's also got to shield his kids from some heavy handed prosecution.. The feds have a way of applying pressure to just the right points to scumbags like Weisselberg to get them to make the right decision. It's kinda like how Adolf Hitler got Erwin Rommel to commit suicide. He made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
Michael Cohen was swearing up and down how he would take a bullet for "Mr. Trump"…until his wife and family were put on the chopping block. The equation changed!
When the Fed's get done with Weisselberg he'll be known as the Cantor of Club Fed.
From TPM
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Seems to me that Barrack is being played by the feds skillfully. They paint him as being dirty and the architect of the scheme. If his lawyers want to defend that he was only following orders, they have to hand Trump out.
OT : I think the sudden change in GOP leadership attitudes toward getting the vax won't quickly be reflected in a jump in people getting the vax.The drumbeat of Covid doubting which dear leader is still pounding out won't be reversed by a single change-of-heart broadcast by Sean. The Trumpsters despise Mitch for dissing Trump so that vax endorsement is only gonna reinforce loyalty signaling (vax-resistance) even as infections surge.