Suppose you were a fabulously rich oil kingdom and you wished to funnel money to the President of United States. It would be illegal to directly give money to the president for his political party. What is needed is a way to safely transfer money through a third party while maintaining the appearance of propriety.
Tomorrow kicks off the first big event in the 10 year alliance between the WWE and Saudi Arabia. Labelled the “Greatest Royal Rumble” available on Pay Per View for $44.99. This is the start of a great slosh of money flowing back and forth between the McMahon wrestling empire and the Saudi kingdom.
Unlike the vast majority of WWE shows, the Greatest Royal Rumble is sponsored by the Saudi General Sports Authority, which is the government body responsible for all sports events in Saudi. As a result, the card is entirely funded by the Saudi government. Until WWE’s Q2 report comes out, though, there’s no way of knowing just how much Saudi Arabia is paying for both this show and its 10-year contract with WWE in general. But given the sheer size and spectacle of the card, it’s safe to assume no expense was spared. — Deadspin
This provides opportunities to launder money to political interests.
One of the problems in using money to influence politicians is it is hard to find a safe way to transfer money. The Trump administration is particularly problematic. Consider the former Campaign manager Paul Manafort. He reportedly pocketed $10 million dollars given to him by the Filipino President intended for Ronald Reagan. Trump’s cabinet is full of petty ante grifters willing to settle for cheap hotel rooms and luxury air flights.
Luckily there is one person in the Trump administration who has a good track record of delivering money to Donald and the Republican party, Linda McMahon. Because of their work in building the WWE the family is worth an estimated $1.7 billion. They have been the largest contributors to the Trump’s “Charitable” Foundation giving $5 million dollars between 2007 and 2009. They gave $6 million dollars to the Trump SuperPac.
Linda McMahon is an exceptional Trump cabinet member. She is by all reports honest and hard working as the Administrator for the Small Business Administration.
The long term Saudi wrestling agreement could easily work as a money pipeline to Republican politicians. If an extra tens of millions of dollars are paid for the exhibitions in Jeddah and the McMahons give a few extra dollars to the Trump campaign who can say there is any connection?
Of course to think this one would have to believe that the “Drain the Swamp” President who do anything untoward.