Photo: Gage Skidmore (Trump); Russian Presidential Press and Information Office (Putin)
Foreword July 27, 2017: Wise Women for Clinton published this post ONE YEAR AGO TODAY, and how correct we were in warning of this abomination. Not only has it turned out that the Trump campaign was directly coordinating and communicating with Russian agents, but also that the Russians were spreading & targeting disinformation on social media, including to Bernie supporters, who ran wild with lies about Hillary and false “rigging” talking points. Add to that the possible GOP-directed voter suppression campaign, stonewalling by Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, and Comey/FBI (helped along by Giuliani & Roger Stone) and a perfect storm ensued.
There are now several timelines that will help you see the breadth and depth of the #TrumpRussia collusion and the assault on our democracy:
Mother Jones (best and first): http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/03/exhaustive-history-donald-trump-russia-scandal-timeline/
Bill Moyers: http://billmoyers.com/story/the-trump-resistance-plan-a-timeline-russia-and-president-trump/
NBC News (weaker, because it starts only in June 2016): http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/putting-trump-russia-timeline-perspective-n781236
Original Post July 27, 2016: After reading a number of articles over the past week on the heels of the Wikileaks email release, facilitated by Russia, i.e. Putin’s government, the real reason that Donald Trump is running for President has come into focus.
Let’s look at the facts:
1 – Trump is a failed businessman. His companies have filed for bankruptcy four times. His casinos lost money. He is facing 3500 lawsuits, many of them fraud-related, which could potentially cost him millions (see: RICO/Trump University). Indeed, he is expending millions just in attorney’s fees. Therefore, he may actually be broke.
2 – As a result of his many failures, he is blackballed from receiving credit from most, if not all, major U.S. banks. His debt load has increased from $350 million to $630 million. But, in America, there’s no one for him to turn to in order to borrow money to keep his Trump empire afloat. Trump has had business dealings with Russian mob figures in the recent past, in connection with Trump SoHo and other dealings.
Therefore, Russia is a huge source of investment for Trump’s businesses. Recently, they have made massive investments in Trump’s empire.
3 – Paul Manafort was hired as Trump’s campaign manager. Manafort is well-known as political consultant for dictators. One he served, in particular, for more than a decade, was the Putin-selected Ukrainian dictator Viktor Yanukovych. Trump’s campaign, just last week, went against the GOP stance against Russia invading the Ukraine; as the Washington Post reported, the only platform piece Trump fought for was “to make sure the new Republican platform won’t call for giving weapons to Ukraine to fight Russian and rebel forces, contradicting the view of almost all Republican foreign policy leaders in Washington.”
4 – Putin has ensured that all of the Russian media is aligned with Trump.
5 – As a result of all of this, last week, Trump declared that he could pull the United States out of NATO. He also said that, if Russia were to attack a NATO nation—presumably one of the Baltic states—he would first review if that nation had “fulfilled their obligations to us” (i.e. paid), before committing to coming to its aid. Furthermore, he has said that he would like to pull out troops from Europe and Asia unless they pay America protectionist money (like in the mafia).
Russia has a great interest in invading the Baltic states. Russia has always wanted troops out of Europe and Asia.
6 – This week, Trump said that he would like to pull the U.S. out of the World Trade Organization. Russia would love nothing more than the U.S. to leave the WTO.
7 – Julian Assange has a well-known connection with the Putin regime. Russian hackers hacked the DNC emails, and gave them to Assange to distribute, which he dutifully did, in order to hurt Hillary Clinton’s campaign and assist Donald Trump in becoming President. Assange has promised to continue to release the hacked emails during this election season.
8 – The David Duke and Roger Stone/Trump connection solidify Trump’s affinity for and alliance with the Putin regime.
9 – Donald Trump refuses to release his tax returns. Many, including conservative mainstay George Will, believe that is because his taxes would reveal ties to “Russian oligarchs.”
There is only one conclusion based on the above facts:
Donald J. Trump, owing millions to Russia, having vast business interests with Russian mafia, and possessing a well-documented affection for Vladimir Putin and his way of doing business in the world, is going to do Russia’s bidding if elected President.
Putin’s ROI (return on investment) seems to be promises from Trump to stand down upon Russia’s invasion of the Baltic States, pull out of NATO, the WTO, pull out troops from Europe and Asia to facilitate Putin’s larger imperialistic interests, and perhaps even hand over American interests to Russia.
Donald J. Trump is the living embodiment of the Manchurian Candidate.
Update July 27, 2016: And just today, Trump called for Russia to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails. Yes, the Republican nominee just asked for another nation to commit espionage and steal the emails of the former top diplomat of the United States, exposing state secrets to the world.
Update October 19, 2016: At the third presidential debate, Hillary Clinton explains the connection in detail to the American people and accuses Trump of being Putin’s puppet.
If only someone had warned us about this…#RussianHackers pic.twitter.com/v6pXbUZ6kS
— Parker ???️? (@Parker9_) December 10, 2016
Update December 9, 2016: Today, The Washington Post revealed a story that the CIA Russia was trying to help Trump win White House. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was consistently opposed to sharing the information with the American public.
Update March 23, 2017: “We told you so…” #wordsfail