As the FBI “raided” Trump’s Mar-a-Lago hangout, it set off a firestorm of political reactions, with MAGA pundits and politicians falling all over themselves to decry the “norm-breaking” affront. Never mind that it broke plenty of laws for a former president to abscond with 700 pages of classified documents, including nuclear secrets.
As details emerged throughout the month, the defense of Trump followed the usual victimization pattern: denial of any wrongdoing, followed by assertions that what he did wasn’t that bad, then deflections to supposed misdeeds by Hillary and the FBI. When all else fails, the Republicans pull out their ultimate Trump card: as president, he could do no (legal) wrong.
Amidst this whirlwind of weak defenses and bald-faced lies, though, one major question got sidelined: Why would Trump take classified documents?
Some have claimed Trump didn’t take them himself, they were just accidentally packed away in the rush to leave the White House. Others, attempting a straight face, claim Trump is just a man thirsty for knowledge. He never even read the briefings!
Trump is a money loving scab. He bankrupts and then sells companies, he’s a taker and a user. Who says he’s not selling these documents for big sums of money to the highest bidders. Any explanation that doesn’t include how it personally benefits Trump can be immediately discounted. Trump was a criminal. Trump is a criminal. Trump will be a criminal.
It is easy to see that Trump has a loose regard for the law, but to some it may seem unlikely that he would go so low as to sell out America.
History tells us otherwise.
The Saudi Deal
In April, the New York Times reported that the Saudi government agreed to give Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, $2 billion. This despite Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s (MBS) advisors warning against the “excessive” investment, citing Kushner’s inexperience.
Likewise, while Kushner was an official government representative, he crisscrossed the Middle East raising money for a charitable fund that, when Trump left office, suddenly disappeared. So, what did MBS and the other Middle East investors get for their investment? We still don’t know.
What we do know is that Trump was the water boy for Saudi Arabia while president. In June 2017, Trump and Kushner suddenly supported a blockade of Qatar that Saudi Arabia was seeking, reversing official U.S. policy and surprising then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who, you’d think, might be involved in such decisions. Notably, Qatar had declined to fund one of Kushner’s business deals.
In his recent memoir, Kushner admits that the Saudi dictator assured him their close relationship would be rewarding for Trump. But we don’t know what financial benefits MBS received from investing $2 billion in Kushner after Trump left office. What was in that deal?
Trump’s Russian Deals
Trump’s ties to Saudi Arabia are concerning, but his relationship to Russia has also always been shady.
Here are some facts: During the 2016 election, Trump was working on a deal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, yet repeatedly lied about it. The deal never went through, but it was likely in the works even while people were casting votes for president.
While in office, Trump freely gave classified information to Russian officials, potentially jeopardizing an ongoing Middle East operation and risking the lives of U.S. military personnel, not to mention burning bridges with the U.S. allies who provided that information.
Also, Trump repeatedly sided with Putin over U.S. intelligence, all the while praising the Russian president.
What does Trump’s affinity for Putin have to do with selling state secrets? Since the 1980s, Trump has repeatedly turned to Russia as a revenue stream. In 2008 Donald Trump Jr. claimed that “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets.”
With the Trump family facing serious legal jeopardy, their financial situation is as perilous as it has ever been. Does Putin have the assets Trumps need to survive, or vice versa?
More questionable connections
When Trump announced “The Abraham Accords,” a peace deal between Israel and Bahrain in September 2020, it was one of his few successes to receive little pushback. However, there was always something off about the deal. How did Trump’s White House manage such a feat?
It’s helpful to rewind to late 2016, when president-elect Trump received a delegation from Bahrain at his hotel in D.C. At the time, ethics lawyers warned that this represented a clear conflict of interest. Then in 2019, Trump, along with Kushner, was working to get U.S. businesses to invest in his “economic workshops” in Bahrain under the pretense that they would help bring about peace between Israel and Palestine. U.S. businesses leaders balked, and nothing much came of the workshop.
Clearly Trump saw Bahrain – and Middle East peace – as a money-making opportunity. The Abraham Accords, which saw Israel “make peace” with countries it had no direct conflict with, appear to be nothing more than an incidental result of the Trump White House’s business dealings in the Middle East, not the other way around.
A Pattern of Disloyalty
Let’s face it, the family that has been convicted of running a fake university and stealing from charities has no line they won’t cross to make money. Likewise, time and time again, Trump has willingly taken the side of U.S. adversaries when personal wealth was on the line. His “America First” rhetoric has always really meant “Trump First.” He will happily sell the country out.
Will Trump be held accountable for stealing America’s secrets? It would definitely break norms if a former president actually received punishment for his crimes. But we don’t live in normal times. Democracy depends on the DOJ accepting an irrefutable fact: It is time now to lock Donald Trump up for being what he is, an American traitor.