Trump in debt to China and Goldman Sachs; close financial ties to Russia

Donald Trump's attack against Hillary Clinton for being associated with a foundation that takes foreign money or is too close to Wall Street ignores an old warning: Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.  Revealed by investigative reporters in the New York Times, he owes Goldman Sachs and China's goverment owned bank millions   His answer: well that is only a fraction of the value of the property he borrowed or benefitted from both China and the wall street titan. We will never know since he is not releasing his tax returns.


We will have to take his word for it, but that connection went underreported in campaign finance disclosures.

Documented, too, are Trump's financial ties to Russia. http://time.com/4433880/donald-trump-ties-to-russia/ For years he has tried to establish a business presence there, and he has borrowed money from oligarchs.

 A most recent ad from the Trump campaign insinusates that the Clintons made money from their charitable foundation, which as James Carville on MSNBC's Joe today noted they did not take a penny from the foundation but gave it a million dollars last year.  True: The Clintons made their money mostly by speaking fees and it is true some of those fees came from Wall Street.

Does this buy access? Is it pay to play? The Associated Press  did show non governmental related contributors did get  access to Clinton. 50% of all non governmental individuals who get access to her were contributors to the Foundation. So far there is no evidence that the access during Clinton's time at the State Department changed policy. AP did not find that link. That would be a bombshell negative if that link could be proved.

In Donald Trump's case, his foreign policy echoes much of what Putin has proposed, especially regarding declaring NATO obsolete, and showing sympathy toward Russia's takeover of the Crimea.  Their  "bromance" has received much comment.  Recently Paul Manafort, one of his main advisors, resigned from the Trump campaign because of connections with Russia and the deposed president of the Ukraine, now a refugee in Russia.   Some charge Manafort of being an agent of a foreign government without disclosing that as required.

In any case, there is a smell  attached  to both candidates, which is reflected in the unfavorability polls.

While Trump did not hold a critical government position, as did Clinton, and pay to play is a charge that can only be levied at her, his surrogates are demanding that the Foundation be closed down now.  It seems fair that if elected Trump should close down his business deals and refuse to go into debt with China or Goldman Sachs...or even do it now.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-donald-trump-companies-at-least-650-million-in-debt/
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CAMPAIGN_2016_CLINTON_FOUNDATION?SITE=AP
http://time.com/4433880/donald-trump-ties-to-russia/
Related blog postings concerning Trump's Russian ties and the result of Brexit. http://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2016_06_01_archive.html
Related blog postings on Clinton Foundation: mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2015_04_01_archive.html