The White House stressed that President Donald Trump was never briefed on intelligence reports – asking questions why, if true, that could be a problem. However, on Tuesday night, it was
New York Times reports that President Trump, indeed, was briefed on the Russian gift in February – three months before he unilaterally offered to invite
Russia to the G7 meeting.
At the very least, it is in line with Trump’s long pattern and his team avoids confrontation with Vladimir Putin, despite many provocations.
It also provides the latest example, the most urgent, why so many rise to the Supreme Court’s decision on whether Trump’s tax and business records can be submitted to members of the House of Representatives and New York district attorneys. The verdict is expected this week.
This is perhaps the Supreme Court’s most closely monitored decision of this session, with massive implications for the separation of powers and the ability of American voters to make decisions that are fully informed in the November presidential election.
Trump, of course, has violated with decades of precedent in refusing to waive his tax, often making false reasons why he could not do it (among them, that he was subject to what would be the longest tax audit in historical records). The truth is that he has done everything possible to avoid showing his finances to the Americans, with the Department of Justice General Bill Barr now acting like the President’s personal lawyer.
As CNN legal analyst Elie Honig stated, “In total, six different federal courts – three district courts and three appellate court courts – have heard of these cases, and all six have decided against Trump.” In addition, court cases stemming from corruption in the Warren G. Harding administration – known as the Teapot Dome scandal – are likely to
immediately applied. Next
Law 1924 stated that the Minister of Finance “must provide” tax information as requested by the relevant congressional committee, which was rejected by Trump’s Secretary of Finance Steve Mnuchin, citing “legitimate legislative objectives”.
But there is clear public and legislative interest to find out whether Trump has hidden business dealings with Russia, which might explain his bizarre but persistent reluctance to confront Vladimir Putin on clear matters of US national interests.
Before Trump’s political career, his son Eric repeatedly boasted about being able to cut
American Bank – many refuse to do business with the Trump organization – because the company can get all the money needed from Russia. In 2008, his son, Don Jr., told
real estate conference “Russia is a disproportionate cross section of many of our assets … we see a lot of money flowing from Russia.” And Reuters reports that 63 Russians are investing almost
$ 100 million in the Trump building.
Russia has a famous reputation
money laundering and two frequently visited destinations are luxury real estate and casinos – both of which are where the Trump organization has operated in the past.
This is far from an academic problem. CNN has counted no less than 25 times President Trump has been lenient with Russia – from denying Moscow to meddling in US elections for his benefit, to suggesting it could protect Ukraine’s conquered Crimea province, to undermine Obama-era sanctions, to withdraw US forces from Syria , praising pro-Russian leaders in Europe, for opposing NATO.
In addition, we have seen patterns of administrative officials told not to bring Russia and allegations of electoral interference to the President. Former head of the Department of Homeland Security Kirstjen Neilsen was told not to raise current concerns about the 2020 elections which interfered with Russia’s affairs with the President because he would react badly. That
former chief of staff Mick Mulvaney told another senior administration official that it was “not a good subject and must be kept below its level.”
In accordance with the original, when news of Russian gifts erupted, the White House ignored the substance and refused to talk about retaliation against Russia. Instead, as CNN Marshall Cohen points out in a fact-checking analysis of the comments of the White House press secretary: “During his press conference, (Kayleigh) McEnany spent more time criticizing American journalists than condemning Russia for his aggressive actions against US interests, which included the gift of in Afghanistan, interference in elections in 2016, and military action in Syria and Ukraine. ”
“It smells like the WH is trying to mislead the public,” added CNN national security analyst Susan Hennessey about the government’s back pressure. “It is common for different intelligence agents to attach different levels of trust based on the way that underlies intelligence; it is not the same as disagreement about whether something happens.”
Court Observer
warning that there is no guarantee that President Trump’s business or tax records will be seen by the public in the near future even if he loses both cases in a court decision. New York District attorney Cy Vance, for example, has issued a subpoena for Trump tax in the context of the Grand Jury investigation and that information will be held tight by the court. But accountability will lead to more transparency than we have ever had in the past on pressing issues that continue to confuse even some of Trump’s allies: why does Trump continue to praise Putin despite constant provocation?
The American people deserve to know the truth about Trump and Russia. And to find out the truth, we must follow the money. The Supreme Court can immediately decide whether truth – or partisan politics – will prevail before the American people go to the polls this November.
