QOTD: Blackmail And Trump

"I take Trump's infidelity as a given, and I guess the fact that he continues to lie about it should be a mark against him, but the state of his marriage isn't something that interests me or that I think should be used as cudgel against him. On the other hand, the fact that he paid a ransom to keep this affair secret does have relevancy to whether or not he is subject to blackmail and in the habit of giving things of value to people to keep his secrets." (emphasis added) -- Martin Longman, Booman Tribune, reflecting on the reported payment of hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her 2006 sexual liaison with serial adulterer and misogynist Donald "Rump" Trump out of the press.

That's precisely the pattern that relates to the question of what does Moscow have on Rump? The betting is that they know all about his money laundering and his indebtedness to Russian oligarchs and banks controlled by the Kremlin that are keeping his organization afloat. In return for Moscow remaining silent about his finances (which Robert Mueller certainly has a better picture of), Rump remains solicitous of and subservient to Russian interests. That's why Rump's "red line" for Mueller was the family organization's finances; it would reveal how the Kremlin is able to keep him on a leash and working for their interests.