However, a new, somewhat related story has just emerged -- so I'll put Qatar aside and come back to it later. The new story is not about using the executive power of the presidency to rake in money for personal use but rather about the mutual eagerness of the Trump campaign and foreign governments to help Trump get elected. This article suggests it wasn't just Russia.
The investigative reporting is from the New York Times, which has been condensed and summarized by Emily Stewart at Vox.com, on which I base this. Quotes are from the Vox article.
* * * * *
Donald Trump, Jr. not only met with Russians promising dirt on Hillary Clinton and offers to help get Trump elected. He and other aides "met with an emissary for the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia who said the countries' leaders wanted to help Donald Trump win."
Note that this was in August 2016, three months before the election -- and long before that first overseas trip Trump took as president, where his first destination was that lavish, celebratory entertainment by the government of Saudi Arabia.
"On August 3, 2016, Trump Jr. took part in a meeting with Erik Prince, a Trump booster, founder of the private security firm Blackwater and brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. George Nader, a business executive and emissary for the princes of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and Joel Zamel, an Israeli expert in social media manipulation.
"The men met at Trump Tower in New York . . . Nader told Trump Jr. that the princes of Saudi Arabia and UAE were 'eager' to help Trump win the White House, saying they believed he was a strong leader who would 'fill the power vacuum' they thought President Barack Obama had left in the Middle East. Zamel's company, Psy-Group, had put together a proposal for an online manipulation program to help elect Trump using thousands of fake accounts to promote him on Facebook.
"According to the Times, it's not clear whether the proposal was executed, and it's not clear who commissioned it in the first place. But Trump Jr. 'responded approvingly' and Nader joined the Trump-world fold, meeting often with Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and his former strategist, Steve Bannon.
"After the election, Nader paid Zamel as much as $2 million, and what the money was for isn't clear. White Night, a Philippines-based company linked to Zamel, reportedly provided Nader with an elaborate presentation about the importance of social media campaigning in Trump's win.
"There are multiple reasons the report matters. It indicates that it wasn't just Russia that was offering to help the Trump campaign ahead of the 2016 election. It also raises questions about what sort of repayment the Middle East countries in question might have received for their help. And it demonstrates the Trump campaign's reckless -- if not nefarious -- attitude toward campaign laws in the United States."
The Vox article then quotes from the New York Times:
It is illegal for foreign governments or individuals to be involved in American elections, and it is unclear what -- if any -- direct assistance Saudi Arabia and the Emirates may have provided. But two people familiar with the meetings said that Trump campaign officials did not appear bothered by the idea of cooperation with foreigners.
"Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for Trump Jr., told the Times that the younger Trump 'recalls' a meeting with Prince, Nader, and someone who 'may be' Zamel. 'They pitched Mr. Trump Jr. on a social media platform or marketing strategy. He was not interested and that was the end of it,' Futerfas said."
* * * * *
Putting this in the context of everything else we know about the Trump campaign and what the investigation has revealed (leaked) so far, I'd be inclined to believe the allegations in the Times article. For one thing, we know that Michael Flynn is cooperating with Mueller's investigation. He is listed as one of the people in the meeting with Nader, so this could have come directly from him.
Trump Jr.'s lawyer's statement is exactly what you say when you don't want to admit something but don't want to deny it either, in case there is corroborating evidence against you. In addition, what the Times said is certainly true: Trump campaign officials did not appear bothered by the idea of cooperation with foreigners.
Trump Jr.'s lawyer's statement is exactly what you say when you don't want to admit something but don't want to deny it either, in case there is corroborating evidence against you. In addition, what the Times said is certainly true: Trump campaign officials did not appear bothered by the idea of cooperation with foreigners.
Remember when Trump Jr. got the initial email-pitch from the Russians, his response was: "If it's what you say, I love it" [i.e. "dirt on Clinton."] One more fact: Trump's "TV lawyer" Rudy Giuliani said on Fox News just days ago that it's not illegal. But it definitely is.
As always, "follow the money" seems good advice. If someone can trace that supposed payment from Nader to Zamel, that might help. Maybe we need to stop calling this an investigation into "collusion with Russia" and call it "conspiracy with foreign governments."
Ralph
No comments:
Post a Comment