Omarosa vs. Trump may be the political pro wrestling match of the week, but a more serious confrontation could be prompted by a book that came out Tuesday, alleging that President Donald Trump may be a Russian asset compromised by billions of laundered dollars over decades of shady real estate deals.
In House of Trump, House of Putin: The Untold Story of Donald Trump and the Russian Mafia, veteran journalist and author Craig Unger names 59 Russians as business associates of Trump (who has claimed he has none) and follows the purported financial links between them and the Trump Organization going back decades.
The Trump White House did not immediately respond to Newsweek's requests for comment. In February 2017, Trump issued a blanket denial to questions about Russian money and his business. "I have no dealings with Russia. I have no deals that could happen in Russia, because we’ve stayed away," he said. "And I have no loans with Russia. I have no loans with Russia at all."
Newsweek spoke with Unger about ties he claims exist between the Russian mafia, President Vladimir Putin and the Trump Organization, as well as what a guilty verdict for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort could mean for the future of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
What is money laundering, and what role do you believe the Trump Organization played in it? Money laundering is taking money from illicit sources and essentially cleaning it and putting it into a Western bank. We are talking about huge sums, a trillion dollars in flight capital from Russia since Putin became president. With the demise of the Soviet Union, the floodgates opened for the Russian mafia. All of Russia's natural resources were up for grabs. If you needed to launder huge sums of money, the best ways are casinos and real estate—both of which Trump was in. Casinos have a $10,000 [reporting threshold under the Bank Secrecy Act]. The Trump Taj Mahal violated that more than a hundred times. But you can’t launder a trillion dollars that way. You really need something like real estate.
You allege that the Trump Organization laundered billions of dollars. How much of the money would it have gotten to keep? It did enrich him. He gets an 18 to 25 percent franchising fee for these [real estate] projects. Just as McDonald’s franchises burgers, Trump was franchising luxury condos in roughly 40 Trump Towers all over the world. But the larger point is the Russian mafia bailed him out. They own him.
You name numerous alleged mafia links to Trump. Isn’t that just how business is done in New York commercial development? It has been, absolutely. I think the Russian mafia’s role has been dismissed and not analyzed because people think that in real estate you have to pay off construction people. That has been true historically. But early in Trump's career, the Italian mafia began partnering with the Russian mafia, and the Russian mafia is very, very different, and that ups the ante. The major reason for that is that Russian mafia is a state actor.
There are two things that you say intersect here: the mafia and the Russian government. Explain. I interviewed [former] General Oleg Kalugin, who was head of counterintelligence for the KGB, and when I asked him about the Russian mafia, he said, "Oh, that’s another branch of the KGB."
Who is Semion Mogilevich? He is the brains behind the Russian mafia. He is worth $10 billion. He is the king of money launderers, and he is the financial genius behind many of their scams. Russia has no Wall Street, no Goldman Sachs. If you have financial acumen, you work for the Russian mafia. If he had been born here, he might be head of Goldman Sachs. The Russian mafia fetishizes brutality. Mogilevich helped elevate it from this thuggish world of extortion to sophisticated financial scams. He lives in Moscow. He has been on the FBI Ten Most Wanted list, and one of the people on the Budapest task force investigating him was Lisa Page, who was part of Mueller’s investigation. [Page resigned from the FBI in May.]
You call this the greatest intelligence operation of our time. What do you mean by that? It started out as a simple money-laundering operation at Trump Tower in 1984, when a Russian mobster came to Trump Tower with $6 million in cash and bought five condos. This is the template for what begins to unfold. At least 1,300 of Trump condos in the United States have been sold similarly. All cash purchases through anonymous sources. Those numbers reflect only domestic property. After the demise of the Soviet Union, the KGB decided to create multibillion-dollar companies to survive. The use of the term mafia state is not just a metaphor. It really explains how Russia works. The mafia essentially reports to Putin.
Do you think Trump knew he was being targeted, or did he just think the Russians were being nice and helpful? I have no idea what’s going on in his mind. But it's hard to believe someone can do 1,300 transactions and not know what is going on.
Both Trump sons have talked about how much money was coming into their business from Russia in the 2000s. Doesn’t that suggest that it was not a secret operation and that the U.S. government was fully aware of it? Regulations in real estate are so lax that the Trump Organization and Trump have repeatedly said they don't have to do due diligence. And, legally, that is largely true. Sometimes, what is most scandalous is what's legal.
How is it that the U.S. authorities never noticed the relationship you allege between Trump and the Russian mobsters? I think the whole story of the FBI’s role in this is another book, but there are important unanswered questions there. Before 9/11, the FBI was clearly on the trail of the Russian mafia, and they opened a task force in Budapest that was specifically going after Mogilevich. They chased Mogilevich back to Moscow, where there is no extradition treaty. Soon after that, 9/11 happened. The priorities of the FBI shifted dramatically.
How much so-called kompromat do you believe the Russians have on Trump, how far back does it go, and what is the nature of it? I am approaching things quite differently than looking for the pee tape. In a lot of ways, the kompromat is hiding in plain sight. I found 59 links between Trump and Russia. He said zero. I say 59. These cannot possibly be random or coincidental contacts. It evolves into something more than money laundering over time.
What is Manafort’s alleged role? What does he know about Trump? Manafort is an incredibly crucial link to Putin’s goals. He connected Trump directly to Putin's strategic objectives. One question people are not asking: Where is the Russian mafia money coming from? In my book, I identify two pipelines. One is the Ukraine energy trade, in which Mogilevich has a gas intermediary. They get gas at low prices and resell it at market prices, and through this, they were skimming $750 million a year off the Ukraine energy trade. They were getting all that money and wanted the political wherewithal to support it. Manafort was hired to assist Putin's candidate in Ukraine. He was paid in money that he had to launder. And some of that went through a shell company, and I tie that directly to Mogilevich.
How can Manafort hurt Trump? If he’s convicted, he can still flip. Manafort has known Trump for 30 years. He knows how the whole thing works.
Did any Russian mobsters either follow or threaten you in the course of your research? I have not had threats. But I dedicate this book to Paul Klebnikov and other Russian journalists who have been murdered. Dozens and dozens of people have been murdered. It takes real courage for the Russian journalists to pursue this.
Which of your findings do you think Americans would find most shocking? There is a Russian asset in the White House. He is an asset. I believe he is an agent, but it's hard to prove he is knowledgeable. When you look at the 59 Russians, some live in Trump Tower. The Russian mafia is a state actor, and it has direct ties to Russian intelligence, and they have been located in the home of the president of the United States!
Stop stealing someone else's hard work to answer on your behalf.
Btw on a personal note, it's not that I dislike you; I've admired your past independence to go against the grain and support Pat Buchanan. You merely...disappoint me (and likely many others) greatly.
Q: WHAT HAPPENED TO CHANGE YOU? (and turn you into pro-Communist/Fascist?)
I didn't change... I despise globalist George Fuckin-Dubya Bush as much as I ever did...
And even though I never voted for O'Bummer, I've come to equally despise the ignorant racist Birther Bigots who campaign with partisan smears instead of actual issues... And that includes Putin's buttboy buffoon...
I didn't change... I despise globalist George Fuckin-Dubya Bush as much as I ever did...
Well, we BOTH despised globalist Dubya Bush, Willie; On that issue, you're still right.
And even though I never voted for O'Bummer, I've come to equally despise the ignorant racist Birther Bigots who campaign with partisan smears instead of actual issues... And that includes Putin's buttboy buffoon...
Wait a minute; WHO is "ignorant"??
Willie, why were those who challenged the legitimacy of 0bama's BC characterized as "ignorant racist bigots"? TRUTH is the Issue.
But let's assume for a moment that 0bama's Birth Cert was discounted as a non-factor in your equation/condemnation; WHY would such a quest for truth and to vet the truth of exactly WHO 0bama was, his background, his education, his life philosophic, his agenda, and exactly what he meant by "Hope and Change" so wrong to you?
Many of us are still demanding answers from Dubya Bush and his cabal regarding 911 -- yet such a demand is NOT "racist", nor "bigotry", NOR "ignorant" to demand the truth when obvious fake answers and cover-ups won't suffice.
FACT: 0bama's records -- ALL of them -- WERE IMMEDIATELY SEALED. That includes ALL his school records and docs from Occidental and Harvard. Even his records from Indonesia and Hawaii WERE SEALED.
But for you that's NOT a red flag? Not challenging and demanding transparency and verification is the OPPOSITE of "ignorant"; It's wisdom. It's right. We are ENTITLED to demand full disclosure and honesty, aren't we?
Tell me -- why did 0bama and his reps keep on submitting fake BC after fake BC?? They never did submit the legit Birth Cert. NEVER. They were caught several times. Do they think we're stupid?? (Loretta Fuddy -- the Hawaiian official who last had access to the Truth of the Matter... was MURDERED, btw in that plane crash.)
Your mythical charge and smear projection of "ignorance" and "bigotry" for those who merely searched for and sought the BC truth is based on nothing but damage-control lies, projections, and circling-the-wagon of massive deceit.
The truth, Willie?
0bama's entire life history has been one monumental Deep State-controlled junk-yard rubber-tire fire that's been buried deeper than Area 51. It still smolders. YOU can't say that you know any differently.
Look -- 0bama lied through his teeth on thousands of issues. On what basis should he be trusted to tell the truth?
FACT: Despite 8 years in office he hung out Black people to dry. he never did make their safety, security, education and job vocations ANY priority.
Fundamentally Barry O has always HATED America, HATED white people (see Rev Wright Church), HATED "that flag", that pin, lied on his own actual religion (admitted to George Stephanoplous that he was a Mooslem, NOT a "Christian"); 0bama supported man/women marriage when he ran as Prez; changed his mind suddenly to become pro-Gay marriage AFTER his election.
Larry Sinclair exposed his perverted proclivities; Homo AND crack user. PROVEN. And then true to form, critics of 0bama became immediate targets of weaponized Gummint assault of freedoms.
As to your claim that Trump was/is "Putin's Butt-Boy" -- SERIOUSLY?? Come on -- stop. On what do you base that insane charge??
If ANYTHING, *0bama* was Putin's b*tch; Remembered when he whispered during a Hot-Mic session, promising to "be more flexible after the election"? "Flexible" about what exactly, Willie? SELLING OUT THE USA??
Willie Willie Willie. Willie Green. Who was that guy?
I'd posted and read the forum at Free Republic since 1999. I REMEMBER YOU. WELL.
For several years this Willie Green guy, this poster had established a reputation (and well-deserved at the time) as one of Free Republic's most principled, uncompromising, truth-seeker and conservative stalwart; one who refused to back down to consensus. One who proudly proclaimed himself a Pat Buchanan supporter, demanding transparency, honesty and a gummint that truly represented We The People of America instead of partisan globalism...
And then you changed on a dime.
0bama and his policies DEFINED "Globalism". He defined Group-Think. Everything you were NOT. But BECAME.
0bama defined Deception. He defined the typical "Politician" who SAID one thing and DID another. 0bama became to most divisive scheming bigot, hater and liar ever seen at this level of politics. Everything you USED to hate. But not anymore.
"Those [white] people". Those white working-class Americans. He ridiculed them, characterizing them as "bitter", contemptuously mocking them as "clinging to their guns or [Christian] religion." (And then he ordered his DoJ and IRS to harass, intimidate, and audit the same people as well as the Tea Party.)
0bama to Joe the Plumber when asked about a plan to help the economy:
"I wanna kinda spread his wealth around.”
0bama, on what might help advance his ideas for "hope and change":
"GET IN THEIR FACE!".
Barry 0bama's overall goal to help fully advance/coerce that "hope and change" was wished to be a "Civilian Army" that in numbers would actually exceed ALL of the US military. So who was/is Barry 0bama? A racist. Black Supremacist. A Fascist-Communist. One whose "Hope and Change" is easily deciphered as, "MAKE THE USA COMMUNIST!" ("By any means necessary").
Is that you too?
Willie Green, days past: One of Free Republic's champions of America's Liberty, of independence, opposing Globalist Tyranny. Willie Green -- stalwart of political transparency of person and agenda, and advocate straight talk that advanced the American Ideal.
Yes you've changed. A full 180 degrees. From basking in the light to embracing the dark.
I'm not perfect. Far from it. If I'm a "good" person, I'm "good" sometimes and not as often as I should be. "Good" is relative. A lot of the time I don't take my own advice. But here goes:
Remove the mask. Let go of the bitterness and blame, the victimhood and resentment. S*** happens in life, I know. Forgive. Others and yourself. unburden yourself. Seek peace. Seek God.
Return to your REAL roots. Return to being a stalwart of truth. The truth shall set you free.
