Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump consistently denies he has any connection to Russia. In July of this year, Trump posted on Twitter that he has “ZERO investments in Russia.” But some brand new reports released by ABC News are calling into question Trump’s business involvements with the Russian Federation.
ABC News led an investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia. Their team of journalists have reported that Trump does have close ties with many people high up in Russian society. Apparently Trump has millions of dollars from various Russian businessmen and oligarchs to advance their own interests. A head of the U.S.-Russia business group told ABC reporters that many powerful Russian businessmen are very pleased to help Donald Trump in any way they can.
Trump has openly expressed support for working with the Russian Federation in various public conferences. For example, Trump said he supports Vladimir Putin’s policies and would work to strengthen ties to the Russian President. Trump also told American journalists that he supports Russia’s state-owned media.
Many people have criticized Trump due to the numerous Russian oligarchs and officials who have been close to the Trump campaign. Critics believe some of these Russian officials close to Trump may have been behind recent security breaches in the Democratic Party’s official websites.
Donald Trump has made quite a few big deals with Russia in the past, and he has gotten a great deal of money from these deals. One of the most publicized was Trump’s hosting of the 2013 Miss Universe Contest in the Russian capital of Moscow. Trump has also helped many Russians get real estate in the state of Florida. Indeed, so many Russians flocked to Trump’s properties in Sunny and Hollywood Islands that people call this area “Little Moscow.”
Apparently these oligarchs who now control Russia made their fortunes getting shares in state-owned companies back when Russia was still the Soviet Union. Once the USSR fell, these oligarchs were able to control all the major industries in the Russian Federation. Many believe that these oligarchs are the main reason why Vladimir Putin’s regime is in power right now. Some people estimate that Putin alone has anywhere between $70-$200 million in profits.
These oligarchs have sent a great deal of their money to Trump in recent years. Since they don’t like to keep all their money in Russia, these oligarchs have been investing in Trump real estate to diversify their portfolio.
A former KGB agent is actually calling out these Russian oligarchs. In this ABC News report, former KGB member Alexander Lebedev said that these oligarchs have no sense of honor and no appreciation of higher aims. Lebedev described these men as “cultural ignoramuses” who know nothing about art or social justice. These men, Lebedev says, believe that buying a new yacht is the only way to gain happiness.
The main reason why Russian oligarchs may be so supportive of Trump is because a Donald Trump White House would probably lift the sanctions currently imposed on Russia by the U.S. State Department. The U.S. government put these sanctions on Russia in 2014 after Russia invaded Crimea. These sanctions have had the effect of impeding the Russian oligarchs’ money laundering practices. Trump has only vaguely said that he would look into this issue, but has not said he would continue to impose these sanctions.
Democrats are hoping the FBI or some other agency can show that there is a direct conflict of interest here between Donald Trump and Russian interests. Many Democrats believe that Trump will not be able to deal with Russia honestly because he has too many personal finances tied up with the Russian federation. This could lead Russia to conquer Eastern Europe with even greater aggression.
Americans can easily watch ABC’s report on this issue to get more facts about Trump’s connections with Russia.