Unless US President Donald Trump decides to return to his gilded Manhattan tower, the metastasizing crisis of his presidency will continue. Separate investigations in the US Congress are underway, and the investigation by the Justice Department’s special counsel, Robert Mueller, is just getting started.
WASHINGTON, DC – Unless US President Donald Trump decides that he has had enough, and returns to his gilded Manhattan tower, his presidency’s metastasizing crisis will continue to haunt him. Investigations in the United States Senate and House of Representatives are underway, and the most serious inquiry is being conducted by a special counsel, Robert Mueller, who is hiring a fearsome team of specialists in criminal law.
Investigators are looking into what Russia did to try to tip the 2016 US presidential election in Trump’s favor, and whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russian officials in that effort. The congressional inquiries are also supposed to recommend ways to prevent foreign powers from interfering in future elections, especially after recent reports suggesting that Russia’s meddling was even more ambitious than was previously known.
In a sign of where the special counsel’s investigation may be headed, Mueller, a former FBI director known for his thoroughness, recently hired a specialist in financial misconduct. US banks will not lend to Trump, owing to his private company’s long history of not repaying debts, including those from an ill-fated plunge into Atlantic City casinos in the 1990s. So he’s had to find other sources of financing. His most recent lender, Deutsche Bank, was charged earlier this year for laundering money on behalf of Russian entities.
To continue reading, please log in or enter your email address.
To read this article from our archive, please log in or register now. After entering your email, you'll have access to two free articles from our archive every month. For unlimited access to Project Syndicate, subscribe now.
WASHINGTON, DC – Unless US President Donald Trump decides that he has had enough, and returns to his gilded Manhattan tower, his presidency’s metastasizing crisis will continue to haunt him. Investigations in the United States Senate and House of Representatives are underway, and the most serious inquiry is being conducted by a special counsel, Robert Mueller, who is hiring a fearsome team of specialists in criminal law.
Investigators are looking into what Russia did to try to tip the 2016 US presidential election in Trump’s favor, and whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russian officials in that effort. The congressional inquiries are also supposed to recommend ways to prevent foreign powers from interfering in future elections, especially after recent reports suggesting that Russia’s meddling was even more ambitious than was previously known.
In a sign of where the special counsel’s investigation may be headed, Mueller, a former FBI director known for his thoroughness, recently hired a specialist in financial misconduct. US banks will not lend to Trump, owing to his private company’s long history of not repaying debts, including those from an ill-fated plunge into Atlantic City casinos in the 1990s. So he’s had to find other sources of financing. His most recent lender, Deutsche Bank, was charged earlier this year for laundering money on behalf of Russian entities.
To continue reading, please log in or enter your email address.
To read this article from our archive, please log in or register now. After entering your email, you'll have access to two free articles from our archive every month. For unlimited access to Project Syndicate, subscribe now.