Donald Trump’s Worst Deal – By Adam Davidson – The New Yorker

The New Yorker magazine article “Donald Trump’s Worst Deal” – By Adam Davidson ends:

“Senator Sherrod Brown, of Ohio, who is the ranking Democratic member of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, said, in an e-mail, that a federal investigation was warranted: “The Trump Organization’s Baku project shows the lack of ‘extreme vetting’ Mr. Trump applied to his own business dealings in corruption-plagued regimes around the globe. . . . Congress—and the Trump Administration itself—has a duty to examine whether the President or his family is exposed to terrorist financing, sanctions, money laundering, and other imprudent associations through their business holdings and connections.

”More than a dozen lawyers with experience in F.C.P.A. prosecution expressed surprise at the Trump Organization’s seemingly lax approach to vetting its foreign partners. But, when I asked a former Trump Organization executive if the Baku deal had seemed unusual, he lau ghed. “No deal there seems unusual, as long as a check is attached,” he said. ”  ♦

Source: Donald Trump’s Worst Deal – The New Yorker

Peanut Butter on the Trump Team’s Chins – Tom Friedman – NYT

“Government moves “at the speed of trust,” observes Stephen M. R. Covey in his book “The Speed of Trust.” “There is one thing that is common to every individual, relationship, team, family, organization, nation, economy, and civilization throughout the world — one thing which, if removed, will destroy the most powerful government, the most successful business, the most thriving economy, the most influential leadership, the greatest friendship, the strongest character, the deepest love. … That one thing is trust.

”Despite a bizarre number of meetings with Russians, no proof has surfaced that Trump’s team colluded with Russia. What our top three intelligence services have declared, though, is that Russia did hack our election on Trump’s behalf. And as more of our lives move to cyberspace, understanding exactly how that was done, how it is probably being done in European elections right now and how to deter this new weapon from undermining the West, which is Russia’s goal, is a vital security issue.”

This comment forced me to post the above piece. Note the connection to corrupt deals in Azerbaijan.

Susan Anderson

is a trusted commenter Boston 14 hours ago

“The emperor has no clothes. Neither that nor peanut butter fits this pampered country club brat with his nonexistent morality, sales skills, and thieving path to riches (Trump U anyone?). He was rescued by Putin oligarch allies who made huge investments after after his 90s business failures. He cheated and lied and scammed for a living all his life; his bank reference, Deutschebank, tells its own story.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/donald-trump-was-a-stock-market-disaste…

Thomas Friedman et al. are too polite. Trump has been embroiled with corrupt entities worldwide; e.g., the Azerbaijani collusion with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. How many free passes does he get? Roy Cohn, of Joe McCarthy, was a mentor.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/13/donald-trumps-worst-deal

He wanted to be president because it got him power and riches, while promoting hatred and exclusion and victim blaming.

His enablers, the bought and paid for Republicans in Congress (and, sadly, a few Democrats), the Kochtopus billionaire network, and the coalition of big fossil and other wannabe polluters and kleptocrats, are just as much to blame.

Comey’s decades long persecution of the Clintons seems to have obscured his particular chinbutter: he appears to obscure the Russian material in favor of his job, and there was his thumb on the scale just before the election.

Meanwhile, our earth, air, and water are in danger. Penny wise and pound foolish!”

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