I posted this below on Sunday, May 14, but the next morning Joe Scarborough (MSNBC Morning Joe) "off the top of his head", came up with a What If...what if Trump was involved in money laundering..since he had already been charged for money laundering by regulatory agencies and paid fines to settle the matter concerning his Atlantic City casinos. He noted real estate and casinos have often been used as the vehicle through which to launder money. If that appears to be the case in the current times, with or without Russian involvement, that kind of accusation would make charges of obstruction of justice pale in comparison. I had in a prior post noted that the Russians would know if money laundering were involved and could use this as a way to "compromise" Trump, making him vulnerable to blackmail and their control.
This totally falls into the category of conspiracy theories, and there is no proof of this happening that is revealed to the public, but if this were the case, as I wrote ast week in the post, Firing Comey the Mother of all Political Bombs, "The unanswered questions. What new evidence could have the FBI found? Would it have been Trump himself actual coordinating with the Russians during the 2016 campaign (aka treason) or that Trump told a lie about his business dealings with the Russians? Was money laundering or financial crimes were involved because a recent request to the Treasury department showed FBI investigators pursuing that angle? Or was Trump himself "compromised", open to blackmail by the Russians? The FBI viewed the investigation as Russian activities that involved espionage (counter intelligence) but not criminal activity, so it is not just matters of lying in sworn testimony or failure to file disclosure of being a foreign agent or failure to fill out a tax return correctly. Or is there something else? This is the time to get Trump's tax returns he has worked so hard to conceal, if the latter is a tree the FBI was barking up. An important clue may be in that. "
. In a blog posting May 13, Is It Time to Talk Impeachment", "What seems to me most likely is that Trump's business dealings with Russia, loans and investments in his businesses, may have compromised Trump himself, opening him to blackmail. That could also explain his “bromance” with Putin and his campaign advocacy for policies in synch with Russia’s, denial that there was any Russian interference in 2016 elections in spite of all intelligence agencies testifying to the contrary. It also explains why he as taking been great pains to keep his tax filings secret."
Update 5/19/17: Special prosecutor turns focus to financial dealings: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russia-probe-reaches-current-white-house-official-people-familiar-with-the-case-say/2017/05/19/
You can make this stuff up into a who dunnit political conspiracy theory legal issue fiction novel. I am a real fan of John Grisham and I have read nearly every book he has written. His first breakthrough novel The Firm educated the world how money laundering worked and the role off-shore banks played in it.
This totally falls into the category of conspiracy theories, and there is no proof of this happening that is revealed to the public, but if this were the case, as I wrote ast week in the post, Firing Comey the Mother of all Political Bombs, "The unanswered questions. What new evidence could have the FBI found? Would it have been Trump himself actual coordinating with the Russians during the 2016 campaign (aka treason) or that Trump told a lie about his business dealings with the Russians? Was money laundering or financial crimes were involved because a recent request to the Treasury department showed FBI investigators pursuing that angle? Or was Trump himself "compromised", open to blackmail by the Russians? The FBI viewed the investigation as Russian activities that involved espionage (counter intelligence) but not criminal activity, so it is not just matters of lying in sworn testimony or failure to file disclosure of being a foreign agent or failure to fill out a tax return correctly. Or is there something else? This is the time to get Trump's tax returns he has worked so hard to conceal, if the latter is a tree the FBI was barking up. An important clue may be in that. "
. In a blog posting May 13, Is It Time to Talk Impeachment", "What seems to me most likely is that Trump's business dealings with Russia, loans and investments in his businesses, may have compromised Trump himself, opening him to blackmail. That could also explain his “bromance” with Putin and his campaign advocacy for policies in synch with Russia’s, denial that there was any Russian interference in 2016 elections in spite of all intelligence agencies testifying to the contrary. It also explains why he as taking been great pains to keep his tax filings secret."
Update 5/19/17: Special prosecutor turns focus to financial dealings: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russia-probe-reaches-current-white-house-official-people-familiar-with-the-case-say/2017/05/19/
You can make this stuff up into a who dunnit political conspiracy theory legal issue fiction novel. I am a real fan of John Grisham and I have read nearly every book he has written. His first breakthrough novel The Firm educated the world how money laundering worked and the role off-shore banks played in it.
With great apologies to him, I have come up with a brief outline for his next novel, a sequel to The Firm.
As all fiction writers do, my plot outline is a disclaimer that the events described here are fake, and any resemblances to people living or dead are fake, too You can make this stuff up.
A Texas multi -millionaire finds himself in trouble with some business dealings as the 2008 financial crisis descends on him. The only money available to borrow to keep from going belly up is in an oil rich country far away. However, the country had been a one time enemy, but now relations had warmed up, but not enough to make it good PR to do much business with them. The only thing booming in the world economy is the price of oil, giving that country some serious pocket change to lend out. The would be lender suggests he gets a loan from another country’s bank, which is still in decent financial shape, and that the oil rich country would then buy the loan from that bank However to pay it back, the oil rich country has some favors to ask of of the Texan. Help them in the future with other deals and always be a friend to the oil rich country. The Texan agrees because he also knows the oil rich country could get him into trouble back home if the deal and future deals were disclosed. The Texan makes it big; becomes governor, and then through his business dealings abroad he qualifies for international credentials as a expert and becomes secretary of state, appointed by his good friend and past business associate, now President.. Near war breaks out over bordering territory to the oil rich state between the oil rich state and the US who believes the oil rich state is interfering with US strategic interests and the secretary of state is now in a dilemma, how can he help the oil rich state and the US at the same time and still not have the oil rich state blackmail him into making a settlement that favors the oil rich state. The only one who knows all of this is the Texan’s son who stumbled on some documents and confronted his father, and they had a huge falling out. The son is about to blow the whistle, The son is also a law school classmate of the usual Grisham character lawyer, slightly shady having done some money laundering defense work for clients, but the son calls the lawyer and asks him to find out what happened He found some copies of strange documents that he cannot decipher.….the novel takes it from there, with the lawyer untangling the question of who done it..suspecting maybe .the oil rich country that didn’t want the relations they were hoping for go south acting to protect the compromised, blackmailed father. Or maybe the President himself who was part of the original loan deal. All kinds of agencies get involved, the CIA, the Financial Crimes Bureau of the Treasury Department, and the President himself who hired the Texan, his former business partner, in the first place, not to mention vested interests in international money laundering. Witnesses keep disappearing, or turning up dead. The son disappears, too. Take it from there and have fun, John Grisham ...or are you already writing something like this?
Of course, some times real life and truth are stranger than fiction.
Of course, some times real life and truth are stranger than fiction.
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