Something to Know - 13 December

The revelation of some pictures from the Epstein estate files really hit like a bomb on Friday.   The significance of the pictures is that they prove that Trump attempted to deceive and lie his way for years.   He previously had said that he would release the files, and then he would not release them.  Bear in mind that the evidence received so far is from the Epstein estate, and the actual DOJ/FBI evidence is yet to be released.   So, there isn't much of any reaction from the media so far, probably because we all know he was involved in stuff like this, so what's the big deal?   The Big Deal is that polling has been showing a consistent 32 to 36 percent general approval by Republican voters.   This Moral Wound that has hit the airwaves will undoubtedly make a negative hit on Trump; affecting voters and Republicans in Congress.   It will not be easy to politically support a moral monster, pedofile, and liar.   Trump will be heckled and shouted down by some in public appearances.  Now, I have a theory about Trump's problems.   We have already wondered why Trump is so friendly and supportive of Putin.   Remembering back to stories when Trump went to Russia a long time ago to see about building a Trump Moscow Tower?   I will bet that the cagey ex-KGB agent has lurid evidence of Trump in compromised activities scored by what KGB agents do so well in targeting potential victims.   Trump has the goods on Trump and has been blackmailing him all along.   Putin was able to convince Trump that it was in his best interests to do what was asked.  So, Trump obeyed.  Putin controls all the oligarchs in Russia, and he takes a cut of what was stolen when Russia privatized all of its industries.   Putin is the chief mob boss and Russian Banks channel money through Cyprus where Deutsche Bank is legally authorized to deal with Russia and the European Union and the United States.   Russian Rubles roll into Cypriot banks, and roll out the other side as US Dollars.   Deutsche Bank legally operates in New York.   The whole system is a Giant Laundromat, a legal operation.   Russian Oligarchs visit New York, make cash transactions  through the bank to purchase Trump property, Trump gets his cut on an inflated price, and the oligarch now has US dollars to buy stuff.  That is the essence of the business deals.   Putin needed Trump to work the deal, Trump got richer, and the Oligarchs had dollars in hand rather than useless Rubles.   If Trump did not follow the game plans that Putin set out for the Giant Laundromat of Russian foreign policy related to Ukraine and Europe, all Putin had to do was threaten Trump with his blackmail game.

Below are three separate articles from news media concerning two such schemes by Trump.   From the New Yorker magazine that I read back in 2017, the Trump organization was involved with trying to build a Trump Tower hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan.   He also was written up when he was running scheme with a building with luxury apartments, and then selling them to the Russians, who would pay much more than the selling price so that Trump got his cut and the Russians wound up with dollars instead of Rubles.  

Say what you might about my Theory above, if it is not true or not exactly like written, it would make a good script for a screenwriter.   I foresee many accounts of Trump's behavior and his rotten morality in the future. 

Courtesy of the Artificial Intelligent app Gemini, I was able to get the articles from 2017 for you to see the synopsis of both scams.

ps - If there are any errors or grammatical mistakes, it is because I just wrote it all out on the keyboard without proofreading, and I gotta get to sleep now.   I will hit the send key tomorrow.

The article you are likely referring to is titled "Donald Trump's Worst Deal," written by Adam Davidson and published in The New Yorker on March 13, 2017.

This piece investigates the Trump Organization's partnership to build a Trump Tower in Baku, Azerbaijan (which you referred to as "Baiku"). It is widely considered one of the most significant investigative reports regarding Trump's international business dealings.

Here is a summary of the key findings from that article:

1. The Deal and the Partners

• The Project: The plan was to build a luxury hotel and residence in Baku, a building shaped like a sail (similar to the Burj Al Arab in Dubai).

• The Trump Role: The Trump Organization did not own the building or invest money in it. Instead, they signed a lucrative licensing deal to lend the "Trump" name and manage the property in exchange for fees. Ivanka Trump was reportedly the key executive overseeing the project, visiting Baku to inspect the site.

• The Local Partners: The partners were the Mammadov family, led by Ziya Mammadov, then the Transportation Minister of Azerbaijan. The article describes the Mammadovs as "notoriously corrupt," with wealth that far exceeded their official government salaries.

2. The IRGC Connection

• The most explosive finding in the article was the connection to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

• The Mammadovs allegedly awarded multimillion-dollar contracts to build the tower to an Iranian construction firm controlled by the Darvishi family. The Darvishis were closely linked to the IRGC.

• Davidson reported that the project likely served as a money-laundering operation for the IRGC. While there was no evidence the Trump Organization knowingly participated in money laundering, the article argued they ignored blindingly obvious "red flags" about where the money was coming from.

3. Legal and Ethical Concerns

• Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA): The article suggested the Trump Organization might have violated the FCPA, a US law that makes it a crime for American companies to benefit from a partner's corruption if they should have known about it (willful blindness).

• Failure of Due Diligence: Despite the Mammadovs' reputation for corruption being public knowledge (even appearing in WikiLeaks cables), the Trump Organization proceeded with the deal.

4. Outcome

• The hotel never opened.

• The Trump Organization canceled the deal in December 2016, shortly before Donald Trump's inauguration, citing delays by the developer.

• The building stands empty in Baku today.

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Based on your request, you are likely looking for one of the investigative pieces by staff writer Adam Davidson, who covered this topic extensively for The New Yorker.

While several magazines covered this beat, The New Yorker focused heavily on the business model behind these deals rather than just a list of apartment sales.

Here are the most likely articles you are looking for:

1. "Trump's Business of Corruption" (August 21, 2017)

• Author: Adam Davidson

• The Gist: This is the most comprehensive New Yorker piece on the subject. Davidson argues that Trump's business model—licensing his name to developers in foreign countries with little due diligence—made his organization a magnet for money laundering.

• Key Details: The article details how the Trump Organization often partnered with "famously corrupt" figures. While it discusses the general flow of foreign money into Trump properties, it focuses on the pattern of behavior that allowed oligarchs (Russian and otherwise) to move money through his real estate.

2. "Donald Trump's Worst Deal" (March 13, 2017)

• Author: Adam Davidson

• The Gist: This article is a deep dive into a specific luxury hotel deal in Baku, Azerbaijan.

• Key Details: It investigates Trump's partnership with the Mammadovs, a family of oligarchs with ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. While these are Azerbaijani oligarchs rather than Russian, this story is frequently cited as the definitive "Trump and corrupt oligarchs" piece in The New Yorker.

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Are you thinking of The New Republic?

If you are specifically remembering a story about Russian mobsters buying individual apartments in Trump Tower (Manhattan), you might be thinking of a very famous viral article from The New Republic (a different magazine) that came out around the same time:

• Article: "Married to the Mob" (July 2017)

• Author: Craig Unger

• The Gist: This piece specifically chronicles the history of Russian mafia figures buying Trump condos. It details stories like that of David Bogatin, a Russian mobster who bought five condos in Trump Tower for $6 million in cash (in 1984), and discusses how Trump properties became a "laundromat" for Russian money.

Summary of the Distinction

• The New Yorker (Adam Davidson): Focuses on the business structure, foreign licensing deals (like Baku and Batumi), and the "willful ignorance" of the Trump Organization regarding their partners' sources of wealth.

• The New Republic (Craig Unger): Focuses specifically on Russian mobsters buying individual condo units in New York and Florida.

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Juan Matute

CCRC