Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Morning Reads (Including Trump "Bombshell" Story)


Let's get to it right away.

-- Newsweek's Kurt Eichenwald has a "bombshell" cover story out this morning on the business dealings of neo- fascist con man Donald "Rump" Trump.  It's copyrighted, but Raw Story has it here.  This is a snippet:
A close examination by Newsweek of the Trump Organization, including confidential interviews with business executives and some of its international partners, reveals an enterprise with deep ties to global financiers, foreign politicians and even criminals, although there is no evidence the Trump Organization has engaged in any illegal activities. It also reveals a web of contractual entanglements that could not be just canceled. If Trump moves into the White House and his family continues to receive any benefit from the company, during or even after his presidency, almost every foreign policy decision he makes will raise serious conflicts of interest and ethical quagmires.
-- In recently revealed emails, former Secretary of State Colin Powell has some choice words for Rump, calling him an "international pariah" and "national disgrace."  He's being too kind.

-- New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is opening an investigation of the Trump Foundation's compliance with laws governing "charities" in New York.  At the same time, House Democrats are asking the Justice Department to investigate the Foundation, including the Trump-Bondi pay for play bribery scandal. (It should be interesting to see if/ how Rump commissioning a large portrait of himself using $20,000 of the Foundation's money will wash.)