Part VI: Behind The Curtain
D. S. Mitchell
In part V we saw how Donald Trump’s poor judgment and lack of “give a shit” attitude, his branding and monetization of everything he touches is a direct cause of most problems besetting his administration. Scandal, ethics reviews, Senate inquiry and counter-intelligence investigations have plagued this recently installed White House. Most of the problems are Trump’s fault. Donald cares little about who he associates with, as long as they kiss the ring, rub his ego and equate everything to money.
Roger Stone, a disgusting creep, who is a self-described lobbyist, political consultant and “Republican operative” got together with Trump and they decided that Paul Manafort would make a great campaign chairman. OMG. This is the same guy who was making millions of dollars working against American interests in Crimea and the Ukraine. And between these two guys the only name they could come up with was Paul Manafort to chair the Trump campaign? That limiting of potential candidates for the job is mind bending, unless that already known relationship between Manafort and the Kremlin was considered a positive and defining qualification.
Once installed at Trump’s right arm, Manafort just two weeks before Trump was nominated as the Republican nominee for the president of the United States, he offered to “provide briefings” on the presidential race, through a European intermediary, to Russian oligarch and billionaire Oleg Deripaska. Deripaska is a known confidant of Vladimir Putin and because of his connections to organized crime has not been allowed to travel in the United States.
On July 7, 2016 Manafort wrote to his intermediary, “If he (Deripaska) needs private briefings we can accommodate.”
31.) Having that secret place to escape to 32.) “More isn’t always better” 33.) Drawing Smile Faces in the sand 34.) Trains 35.) Habitat For Humanity 36.) Homemade fudge with walnuts 37.) Plaid flannel shirts 38.) Frosted Margarita glasses their rims dusted with salt 39.) XXX’s OOO’s on a letter from Mom 40.) The seventh inning stretch 41.) Changing my hair color 42.) Brew pubs 43.) Bright, cold, autumn days 44.) That first cup of coffee 45.) The sound of a zipper going up or down 46.) Mornings on the boat 47.) Jumping over puddles and not getting your feet wet 48.) Park benches 49.) Candlelight 50.) Finger painting 51.) Sisters, OR 52.) Reading glasses slid to the end of my nose 53.) Cypress trees 54.) My quirky, oddball friends 55.) VIP seats 56.) “I love you” 57.) Having time to check my options 58.) Saturday Night Live with Alec Baldwin doing President Trump 59.) Australia’s Great Barrier Reef 60.) The Statue of Liberty 61.) After dinner walks 62.) Google Maps 63.) No one in the express lane 64.) Yesterday’s meatloaf in today’s sandwich 65.) Amazon 66.) Hugging Teddy after a really bad day 67.) Automatic garage door openers 68.) Hot air balloons over a New Mexico landscape. 69.) The sound of church bells 70.) Planting an avocado seed and watching it grow into a tree 71.) Losing ten pounds 72.) Quiet time 73.) Caramel apples 74.) Biking the prom 75.) Watching a Bumblebee kiss every flower in the garden 76.) Fall leaves gathered in large piles 77.) A thank you note written in calligraphy 78.) “A Separate Peace” by John Knowles 79.) A really funny dirty joke
