JAZZMAN CHRONICLES IN THE AGE OF TRUMP
THE CARDINAL LIE:
A SELF-FUNDED
CANDIDATE
By Jack Random
“By self-funding my campaign, I am not controlled by my
donors, special interest groups or lobbyists. I am only working for the people of the U.S.!”
Donald J. Trump, Facebook September 5, 2015
Does anyone still remember the promise Donald Trump gave
when he first announced that he would run for the highest office in the
land? It was one of a number of
points that actually seemed to make sense: Why elect a rich man?
Because he doesn’t owe anything to anyone.
Like so much of what Trump said or promised, it was not
true. It was always a lie. From the very beginning Trump solicited
contributions from the elite of the Republican Party. In the beginning he did not get contributions from the elite
because they didn’t want him to be their candidate. After he clinched the nomination, however, they fell in line
and Trump’s promise of self-financing became the lie it had always been.
Trump spent an estimated $66 million of his own money on the
2016 campaign. According to Open
Secret, he had twelve corporate donors of one million or more. The largest by far was the giant hedge
fund firm Renaissance Technologies at over $15 million. Other big donors included the
professional wrestling organization McMahon Ventures, Disney, real estate
broker GH Palmer and assorted corporate entities in finance, entertainment,
banking and gambling.
In typical pay-to-play fashion at least six big time donors
were rewarded with executive appointments, including restaurant executive
Andrew Puzder, Secretary of Labor (since departed), wrestling magnate Linda
McMahon, head of the Small Business Administration, charter school promoter
Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education, TD Ameritrade’s Todd Ricketts Deputy
Commerce Secretary, Steven Mnuchin of Goldman Sachs, Secretary of the Treasury,
and billionaire investor and Bank of Cyprus executive Wilbur Ross, Commerce
Secretary.
This is not how you drain the
swamp. This is how you populate
the swamp with the vilest creatures on earth.
As of July 2018 Trump had raised
$88 million for his 2020 campaign.
While most of it came from small donors – the self-flagellating fools
known as Trump’s base – large donors (over $100,000) included Texas banker
Andrew Beal, real estate baron and Kushner partner Stanley Chera, Los Angeles
real estate baron Geoffrey Palmer and casino executive Cherna Moskowitz.
Whatever you otherwise think of Donald Trump, his campaign
is not and never was self-financed or free of obligation to big-time
donors. In fact the evidence
suggests that Trump and family run the White House as a money-generating
operation. Those who wish to curry
favor or buy a few minutes with the leader of the western world are encouraged
to stay at one of the president’s luxury resorts. Big time donors might get a round of golf with the Donald at
one of his championship golf courses.
In the first year of his presidency, according to a report
by Public Citizen, no less that 64 politicians, interest groups, corporations
and entities affiliated with foreign governments spent hundreds of thousands at
Trump properties. Foreign entities
included Malaysia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Domestic entities included the coal magnate William Koch, a
private prison corporation and the Chamber of Commerce.
The Donald told the nation he divested interest in his
company and business interest, handing control to his sons and promising not to
discuss business with them for the length of his presidency. We are compelled to take his word for
now. The Trump real estate empire
sold over $35 million worth of properties in 2017 to anonymous buyers – that’s
right, anonymous buyers. How is
that even possible?
Those who have dealt with Donald Trump as a businessman know
that he’s always been a con man and a hustler. He’s gamed the system for all its worth as a casino owner
and real estate developer. His
son-in-law Jared Kushner is sitting on one of the worst investments in recorded
history: 666 Fifth Avenue – a tower of offices bought at the peak of the real
estate bubble.
It is not a coincidence that no American banks will loan
Kushner or the Trumps money – even those who contributed to his campaign. If they were ever held to account on
their properties they might find themselves in bankruptcy court once
again.
Is it possible they would attempt to use the power and
prestige of the White House to pull out of debt and turn a profit? There is nothing in their history to
suggest they would not. There’s a
lot to indicate they fully intend to make as much money from Donald’s
accidental presidency as they can.
Never waste an opportunity.
If Trump goes down -- and I am
among those who believe he will – it will probably not be the Russian spymaster
connection but his life-long crooked financial dealings. There is a reason Trump attempted to
draw a red line for the Mueller investigation: Stay out of the family finances. It is not by coincidence that Mueller hired a team of
experts in money laundering and corporate fraud – Trump family
specialties. It is why Mueller
successfully subpoenaed records from Deutsche Bank – one of the few
institutions to work with Trump and family. The German bank has reportedly loaned Trump’s real estate ventures
hundreds of millions of dollars, while extending generous lines of credit to
the Kushners.
In 2014, long before anyone
considered the man a serious politician, Trump bought a couple of golf courses
in Scotland and Ireland for $79.7 million, an estate in Scotland for $12.6
million, a winery in Virginia for $16.2 million. Trump’s confidential adviser, sketchy attorney and sometimes
fixer Michael Cohen sold four buildings in Manhattan at three times their
buying price three years prior.
Cohen appears to have used a shell company for the deal.
The deals are shady for a number
of reasons: First, Mr. Trump went
on his spending spree during a global real estate crash? He was reportedly buried in debt so
where did the money come from?
Second, why did Trump use Cohen and a shell company to sell his
Manhattan properties, who was the buyer and why did they overpay?
Trump and company suffers from
an apparent duck problem. He
covers his deals with layers of deception, fake companies, false names and
unnamed investors. If it looks
crooked and walks crooked, it probably is crooked.
According to former Treasury
agent John Cassara: “Real estate
is a big issue for money laundering.
It has been for a long time.
If you’ve got a condo or a shopping center or a golf course…the
authorities aren’t going to look at that.
Once you see property, it’s assumed that’s good, that’s a legitimate
investment.”
Why did you think the Kushners
and the Trumps went into the business?
It was a natural fit. In a
strange way I feel sorry for Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen. They’re the little guys. The two-bit cons who got caught up in
the big boy’s game. They’re the
guys who are supposed to take the fall.
Layers and layers of big money deniability protect the Trumps and the
Kushners.
In the end it will not even matter whether Trump conspired
with the Russians to game the American election. It will only matter that our president is a crook. He has made a great deal of money over
a great length of time by nefarious means. He has engaged in money laundering, fraud, tax evasion and
who knows what other financial crimes.
If he didn’t want us to know about it, he should not have
run for president. If he didn’t
want to be exposed, he should not have won the presidency. In his heart of hearts, I think the
president knows as much. He wasn’t
supposed to win.
Jazz.
“The real reason Donald Trump
self-financed his primary campaign,” Vox, 18 July 2016.
“Six donors that Trump appointed
gave almost $12 million with their families to back his campaign and the party”
by Matea Gold and Anu Narayanswamy.
Washington Post, 9 December 2016.
“$88 Million and Counting: Trump
Amasses Huge Head Start for 2020 Campaign” by Kenneth P. Vogel and Rachel
Shorey. New York Times, 15 July
2018.
“Trump Properties Earned a
Fortune from GOP and Foreign Governments During President’s First Year: Report”
by Grace Guarnieri. Newsweek, 16
January 2018.
“Point of View: Regarding the
Trump-Russia probe, follow the money” by Jennifer Rubin. Palm Beach Post, 12 January 2018.
“Want to Bring Down Donald
Trump? Follow the People who Follow the Money” by Rebecca Gordon. Tom Dispatch, 30 April 2018.
“If Trump is Laundering Russian
Money, Here’s How it Works” by Garrett M. Graff. Wired, 11 May 2018.
