Follow The Money Quote of the Day

"...you can’t work through even part of Trump’s business history without finding numerous ventures that look like they would not survive first contact with real prosecutorial scrutiny. A key element, perhaps the key element, of the counter-intelligence probe is examining the financial ties between Trump, members of his entourage and people from the Russian business and intelligence worlds. So a close examination of those ventures isn’t some fishing expedition. It’s at the heart of the investigation." (emphasis added) -- Josh Marshall, Talking Points Memo, in a compelling look at what investigators may now be looking at: "financial crimes" involving the money trail from Moscow to Putin loyalist and demagogue Donald "Rump" Trump.

As we've noted before here, here and here, at the core of the relationship between Rump and Russia isn't ideology (although Rump admires autocratic kleptocrats, being one himself). It's money, specifically the flow of Russian oligarch and state bank money, mostly laundered, into Trump Organization projects and properties. It was money that he was unable to obtain from U.S. lenders due to his multiple bankruptcies and questionable business practices. The FBI investigators are looking for evidence of "financial crimes" committed not only by members of Rump's campaign, but likely Rump and his family too.