Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States of America
So what’s it going to be for the President of the USA? We learn something new about his Russian obsessions every day, it seems. Now, of course, we have the extraordinary smoking gun that is revealed in those emails to his eldest son Donald Trump Junior about setting up a meeting with a Russian attorney who was, allegedly, offering the dirt on Hillary Clinton during last year’s Presidential campaign.
Donald Trump Junior
The meeting with the Russian was arranged with Donald Junior, who, at the time, was busy campaigning for his father.
Jared Kushner
Also there was Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and close adviser, now Head of the White House Office of American Innovation.
Paul Manafort
The third man on the list was Paul Manafort (Donald Trump campaign manager)., all of whom have denied at various times that they had any meetings with Russians during the Trump campaign.
Donald Trump with his son-in-law, Jared, and eldest son, Donald Jnr
Well, as time goes by, one American newspaper or TV channel after another have come up wth stories which contradict their statements and, each time, these three men’s stories alter. Now we know that they were at the very least giving us alternative versions of the truth and that the American media weren’t, after all, delivering fake news.
Vladimir Putin, President of Russia and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Federation
Whatever the final, real truth is about Trump and the Russians, we will probably find out and, American democracy being what it is, Donald Trump will probably, sooner or later, have to pay the price of his actions. One thing is already undeniable, the President of the United States, for all his many wildly inaccurate statements and tweets, has never said anything directly condemning about President Vladimir Putin whom, as almost everyone else knows, was directly involved in the hacking of the Hillary Clinton’s Presidential campaign. Far from condemning President Putin, President Trump, as we saw only too clearly at the G20 summit, gets on with him famously.
President Putin and President Trump at the G20 Summit 2017
As a citizen of the United Kingdom, currently a perilously leaderless country on the verge of the most calamitous moment in its history since the Second World War, I can hardly act all superior to the USA these days. I have great admiration for the USA and for the American people. Some of the cleverest, most impressive and innovative folk I know are American, but the current president only reinforces what was once an erroneous and minority prejudice in this country, that all Americans are vulgar, flashy and incurably addicted to money. Far from mocking all Americans, the American people have my sympathy for this breath-taking moment in their history.
President Trump on his first official overseas trip – in Saudi Arabia
President Trump does his country no favours overseas except in places like Saudi Arabia, Israel and Poland, where right-wing authoritarians are in government and have reason to praise this most vain-glorious of men. Oh yes, I should’ve included Russia in that list, silly me. The Russian, Polish, Saudi Arabian people have my sympathy too.
British music publicist, Rob Goldstone
The New York Times got hold of the now infamous emails between Donald Trump Junior and a British music publicist and former tabloid journalist called Rob Goldstone. The newspaper informed Donald Junior that they were going to publish them and Donald, on advice, rushed out the publication himself as a form of desperate damage limitation.
Russian pop star, Emin Agalarov
The exchange of emails spells out the facts. Mr Goldstone says, 3 June 2016, he has spoken to the Russian pop singer known as Emin (Agalarov), who has, apparently asked him to contact the Trumps because the Russian “Crown prosecutor’ had met the pop star’s father, the millionaire former Trump business partner, Aras Agalarov and ‘offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary (Clinton) and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.’
Russian millionaire businessman, Aras Agalarov
Rob Goldstone adds; ‘This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but it is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr Trump – helped along by Aras and Emin.’
Donald Trump with Aras Agalarov and Emin Agalarov in happier days
Donald Junior replied the same day: ‘If it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer. Could we do a call first thing next week when I’m back?” He meant back from being on the road campaigning with his dad. The meeting was arranged and happened at Trump Tower in New York six days later when Junior, Jared Kushner and Paul Mannafort met with the Russian attorney, Natalia Veselnitskaya (the Russians are claiming, as is KGB style, that she is merely a private citizen). Apparently, that day, President-elect Trump was upstairs in the same building.
Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya
Donald Junior released the emails with an explanatory note saying that ‘the woman’ had ‘no information to provide’ Even if this is true, Donald Junior, along with Kushner and Manafort went to the meeting with, at least, Donald Junior acting on the expectation that the Russian government was prepared to give valuable information that would incriminate Hillary Clinton in the American election. Eventually Mr Trump Junior will have to give his version of the truth under oath, but, don’t hold your breath, the Trump family believes in alternative truth.
In case you’re confused by the B-movie characters in this seedy but potentially dangerous affair, here are the principal players – they seem to be friends. President Trump co-owns the company that produces the Miss Universe Competition. The 2013 Miss Universe show came from Moscow and the Russian oligarch, Aras Agalarov invested $20 million into the event. Aras, remember, is the father of the pop star, Emin, who approached the writer of that email, the music publicist, Rob Goldstone. Thank God this story doesn’t get any seedier!
Miss Universe Competition in Moscow, 2013
Donald Trump and Miss Universe 2013
Donald Trump and Aras Agalarov
Vladimir Putin and Aras Agalarov
Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump
And, if any of you out there, were wondering about Russian pop star, Emin, here’s one of his videos brought specially to you by wolfiewolfgang. It could be an anthem for the Putin-Trump era: