My previous diaries (here and here) laid out the case that it will be Trump’s financial connections with the Russians will be what brings him down. They are at the root of his campaign’s collusion with the Russians to affect the election, but the election shenanigans are not likely to connect directly to Trump and will be embarrassing, but not criminal. What scares the hell out of Trump are the financial ties, which probably pre-date the election campaign, are likely illegal giving the Russians leverage over Trump, and are likely big enough in scale to motivate Trump to make nice with Putin for a yuge payoff post-Presidency.
Things along these lines have been simmering and are starting to bubble up. Here is a clip from the Rachel Maddow show last night in which she interviewed Senator Ron Wyden who is all over this and has been for some time. He also believes that it’s all about the money … and dead bodies(!!):
Other developments to note:
1. Yesterday the FBI executed a raid on a GOP fundraising firm with links to Paul Manafort, Trump’s one-time campaign manager. If it’s about fund raising, it’s about money and there have been suggestions it’s about money laundering, something that Trump is believed to have helped the Russian with.
2. In a high-visibility USA Today op-ed piece, Laurence Tribe, Richard Painter and Norman Eisen focus in on another financial predicament for Trump:
In the end, the most important task is to credibly track down the details of the global financial entanglements that have ensnared this administration from the outset, and that have led to litigation against Trump under the Emoluments Clauses of the Constitution. That is likely the key to unlocking the mystery of what underlying conduct is so terrible that the Trump administration is willing to tie itself into knots and disgrace itself on the world stage to conceal its conduct.
Money feeds Trump’s narcissism and ego and is how he keeps score. It will be what knocks him off the wall. Wait for it.