Thursday, June 29, 2017

Why Does Trump Surround Himself with Shady Characters?



Mike Flynn, Paul Manafort, Carter Page, Jeff Sessions, Jared Kushner, Felix Sater and Bayrock Associates, a gaggle of Russian oligarchs linked to Putin, and, more recently, both of Trump's lead lawyers; evangelical Jay Sekulow and his other mouthpiece, Marc Kasowitz - all under some shadow if not active investigation.

I can recall US administrations going back to Kennedy's but never one remotely as shady, right out of the box, as this one. And there's never been an administration with so many deep ties to a country America considers a hostile power, in Trump's case - Russia.

Fortune.com has an excellent piece exploring the known links between Trump and Moscow.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am highly unimpressed with all this "Russia did this, Russia did that" paranoic MSM rabble-rousing and the hearty chest-beating of 'Murica as if we were still in the middle of the Cold War. It's neocon flim-flammery at its worst in my opinion, and the reason that Killery and her Libyan adventure never gained traction with me, or I suspect with anyone who can google and read results. Of course, few bother, so I'm an outlier. The State Depart and the CIA on its usual misadventures for big business is the way I see it. Neocon Central. And the NYT and WaPo are complicit with it - in this I agree with Trump about fake news.

The Americans have wanted world hegemony since at least 1997, having checked their navels and discovered unilaterally that they are both exceptional and indispensable. So off they go on their usual invasion sprees spreading mayhem and destruction on a scale no terrorists has managed. They're illegally in Syria as well, saving us from what, exactly? A Russian gas pipeline to Europe through the Stans and Turkey. The US wanted Saudi and Qatari gas and Assad vetoed that crossing his territory in 2010. So civil war fomented by CIA as per usual and the demonization of Assad. Plus the USA meddled in every election since Greece after WW2, and all the Marshall Plan recipient countries - Germany, Italy and France. If you don't know this, well - time to start reading. History is important, and I'm fed up with shallow US commentary that is totally uninformed and only concerned with the present.

So when the US whines about Russian meddling in their election, and no solid proof has been offered other than rubbish a 12 year-old could have made up, I just wonder what they've been smoking and what nonsense I'm supposed to believe. All complete innuendo and no substance. As Hersh has shown, that last gas attack in Syria wasn't Assad. The Americans are the biggest liars going and they lie to themselves as well as everyone else.

JT buys all this BS and sends 400 soldiers to Latvia to stop the potential millions of sabre-wielding Cossacks from storming the bastion of Europe. Hah! Could there be any more childish, drumming up fear response? Nah. And the Strangelove military types want to beat up them Rooshians aided by their weirder NATO accolytes. It's all BS for bigger military budgets. And they've got old Donald on the warpath now as well, just so's he can prove he's a real 'Murican. We live next door to this insanity and I'm fed up with the relentless propaganda. I also am not impressed with China and Russia for other reasons. A pox on them all, but the US is the worst - say one thing, do another. Of course Trump is a dipshit of the first order, but the Republicans act like 15th century barons. Spend money on health care for our own people? No, we need 5 new aircraft carriers instead etc etc. - the need to fill the pockets of the super-rich with foreign gelt overides logic every time.

BM

The Mound of Sound said...

Sorry, BM, but I stopped reading at "Killery." You can do better than that.

Anonymous said...

You have lost a lot my my respect Mound by retorting with childish one liner to a well explicated point made by BM.
I trust that you can do better - by responding in full...
A..non

Anonymous said...

The chances are that Trump is guilty of being in debt to Russians Banks and little else.

That alone is enough to make his Presidency suspect.

Trump is all about money and pussy; he has little else to offer.

Could it be that Trumps shady deal making is a reflection on many Republicans and Democrats alike?

I suspect it is

The Greedy Bastards Club know no end to protect it's coffers.

TB

The Mound of Sound said...

A..non, you want to come in, come in. You don't, then don't. Your choice.

The Mound of Sound said...

TB, I think there's plenty of evidence of money laundering in Trump's past. That was the essence of Chris Steele's controversial "dossier." People just got carried away with the whores pissing on beds stories. My suggestion is to go back to Steele's dossier and follow the financial allegations. You'll find them investigated and reported upon in numerous publications. As I have you'll have to spend quite a few hours going through this stuff but it's there if you're willing to make the effort.