It’s even uglier than you think
This is stating the obvious, but the United States has a serious national security problem on its hands. No, I’m not talking about our borders. I’m talking about intelligence dumps to our enemies for profit.
Donald Trump’s taste for ruthless dictators isn’t just that he likes authoritarians. There are plenty of those all around the world to choose from. Rather, what he likes most (besides himself) is money. Who is fabled to be the richest man on earth? Well, I’ve got news for you: it’s not Jeff Bezos of Amazon. It’s Vladimir Putin. Just Google it. Putin is said to unofficially be the richest person on earth.
Who else would be right up there in this Dictators’ Ball? Well, the man who has the net worth of an entire country is going to do pretty well. And if that country was North Korea… You see where I’m headed here. I’ve got more news for you: the House of Saud is no wallflower either.
Trump’s shocking deference to Kim Jong Un is perfectly explainable when you understand that Kim has the wealth of an entire nation at his personal disposal. He lives a life of unimagined luxury in a country where most of the population suffers from malnutrition and intestinal worms. At least Putin shares some of Russia’s bling with his oligarchs.
But we’re not talking a mutual admiration society here. Trump desperately wants to be in these guys’ club and he can’t be. He’s not rich enough and he knows it. So what does he have to give them in exchange for them passing their magic wand atop his head? Why, he’s got cherry-picked intelligence that he can pass to Putin in Helsinki, and choice bits of top secret information Jared Kushner can serve up to Mohammed bin Salman for a nice, tidy, non-repayable “grant.”
With the solid reporting from the New York Times and the Washington Post on Jared Kushner’s security clearance pushed through by Donald Trump against his advisors’ recommendations, I think what’s happening here is our very security is being bought and sold by these guys. We don’t have all the evidence made public yet and we will probably never know all the details, but I think it’s obvious Mueller knows. Also, our Five Eyes nations have no doubt picked up on this from their intelligence. So the next time Trump and Kushner are introduced, and no one claps, ask yourself this chilling question: What do they know I don’t? I predict it’s a horror show.
TR Kenneth is the author of the thriller, A ROOM FULL OF NIGHT. You can read all about her at trkenneth.com and on Twitter