Buying Influence, Complicit Style

By now, many foreign kleptocracies recognize in con man and sociopath Donald "Rump" Trump and his family simpatico figures: ready to make a buck off of their positions, and ready to deal in influence peddling. First Lady Rump daughter and enabler Ivanka "Complicit" Trump has been branding herself as a self-made entrepreneur, portraying herself as the administration's leader for "women's empowerment," while her sexual predator father chips away at women's rights. That's why her talk on empowerment yesterday with a small group of well-to-do Saudi women was so cringeworthy in its hypocrisy. At least when she made a comparable pitch in Germany last month, she was booed by women there.

While in Saudi Arabia, Complicit used the assembled kings and emirs as an opportunity for a shakedown for her "empowerment" scam. Knowing that Complicit is the gateway to favorable treatment by Rump, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates coughed up a reported $100 million for her "International Women's Empowerment Fund," her ethically-challenged "project" which has raised huge red flags for influence peddling and ethics violations. The potentates justifiably believe that "contributing" generously to Complicit's grift will bring favorable treatment from the Rump administration.

This latter day Romanov family feels emboldened by the fact that no one has yet stepped up to seriously confront them on their ethics violations. Hopefully, some enterprising and patriotic U.S. attorney will take up the challenge.