I’m really interested in how he’s gonna try to weasel out of the quotes below and attempt to claim little/no business or personal contact with or interest in Russia:
“I really prefer Moscow over all cities in the world…”
“We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia,” he said of T***rump Organization properties***.
“…in terms of high-end product influx into the US, ***Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets,***” … at the 2008 real estate conference
Understanding links to Russian leadership starts with the questioner’s understanding of the Russian mindset, or as the Russian’s say, “one hand washes the other.” Putin is doubtless far more wealthy than Trump, and he did it using the principle of gifting the leader with no strings attached in the hope of admission to the inner circle of power or at least the big tent. Putin gets crazy gifts: tigers, yachts, mansions, planes, etc. that he may never step foot upon or otherwise spend time with. How could he if his estimated wealth is more than Gates and Bezos combined, somewhere north of $200 billion? When that financial power radiates back on gifters, they have to continue to show gratitude. Trump, for example, in exchange for the US government was funded to maintain his appearance of billionairishness – and that’s where the rubber meets the road. Take a legit operation like Deutsche Bank, which does extensive business in Russia and globally. Say Trump needs $400 million (chump change for Putin), but Trump is radioactive with most legit US lenders, especially after his fourth large bankruptcy. He has to have a project to put his name on and he needs some sort of backing from a legitimate source to show the local bankers that some legitimate banks still trust him. So he needs collateral for that legitimate bank from a third-party source to guarantee the loan. And so he has a guarantee from some, say, Singapore-based investment company or bank. And so on, guarantee after guarantee back through six shell legal names until you get to Russian money guaranteeing the loan. The beauty of this arrangement is that not a penny leaves Putin’s bank account, and Jared or Donald Jr. waltz into their local Deutsche Bank branch to pick up the cash, for dad or even themselves. When challenged, Putin’s guarantee to some bank in Asia or Europe simply gets torn up and Trump is ejected from the tent. And even then he can’t blab.
If he doesn’t have a lawyer at this side stopping him from answering i think he could get caught up and reveal too much, the guy doesn’t strike me as being very bright.
It’ll be interesting if he accidentally spills something juicy
“First of all, Mr. Secretary, thanks for your service. Were our Russian allies able to provide any further information that would be useful to us in our investigations of Benghazi and the murder of Vince Foster?”
This morning’s WaPo:
How I wish there was some doubt about this.
(Shakes head)
Not too bright, but thinks he is. So if one of the democrats asks a question that lets junior show how much smarter and better-connected he is than his questioner, the game is afoot.
He’s going to lie his ass off or refuse to answer any questions. All of these Congressional hearings are just a sideshow; the main event is the Mueller investigation. I do hope we all remember how Congressional hearings helped Ollie North skate on Iran-Contra, but then to expect any historical memory in this day and age is a fool’s errand.
Dems will ask penetrating questions relevant to conspiring with Russians and financial shenanigans to launder Russian mafia money. Repubs will complement him on his hairstyle and ask him how he got so good at business.