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One major cause of Trumpism: money laundering.
Trump has made much of his money over the past decade helping third-tier oligarchs launder their money.
This was money stolen from the people of Azerbaijan, Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, etc.
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Trump has made much of his money over the past decade helping third-tier oligarchs launder their money.
This was money stolen from the people of Azerbaijan, Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, etc.
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Trump did not earn their business by offering a better hotel or residential project. Trump charged far more than companies that are far better.
He earned their business by participating in their fairly obvious schemes.
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He earned their business by participating in their fairly obvious schemes.
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Including one scheme that was almost certainly aiding Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
This means that he was rewarded for his willingness to thwart laws in order to offer support to violent, anti-democratic people.
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This means that he was rewarded for his willingness to thwart laws in order to offer support to violent, anti-democratic people.
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This is why I--and many others who covered Trump's business--understood this man fully and are not at all surprised.
But it is also an indictment of our country's refusal to prosecute white collar crimes.
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But it is also an indictment of our country's refusal to prosecute white collar crimes.
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When some significant source of wealth is most easily attained through thwarting laws, then we are funding law-breaking and law-breakers.
I know we're not focused on this, now. But I so hope we see a transformation in our approach to white collar crime.
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I know we're not focused on this, now. But I so hope we see a transformation in our approach to white collar crime.
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When you look at healthy nations that collapse, the cause is pretty much always a shift in economy from value-adding to rent-seeking/theft.
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