Trump's Russian Laundromat

[ItsjustMe]

Craig Unger/July 13, 2017

https://newrepublic.com/article/143586/trumps-russian-laundromat-trump-tower-luxury-high-rises-dirty-money-international-crime-syndicate

How to use Trump Tower and other luxury high-rises to clean dirty money, run an international crime syndicate, and propel a failed real estate developer into the White House.

In 1984, a Russian émigré named David Bogatin went shopping for apartments in New York City. The 38-year-old had arrived in America seven years before, with just $3 in his pocket. But for a former pilot in the Soviet Army—his specialty had been shooting down Americans over North Vietnam—he had clearly done quite well for himself. Bogatin wasn’t hunting for a place in Brighton Beach, the Brooklyn enclave known as “Little Odessa” for its large population of immigrants from the Soviet Union. Instead, he was fixated on the glitziest apartment building on Fifth Avenue, a gaudy, 58-story edifice with gold-plated fixtures and a pink-marble atrium: Trump Tower.

A monument to celebrity and conspicuous consumption, the tower was home to the likes of Johnny Carson, Steven Spielberg, and Sophia Loren. Its brash, 38-year-old developer was something of a tabloid celebrity himself. Donald Trump was just coming into his own as a serious player in Manhattan real estate, and Trump Tower was the crown jewel of his growing empire. From the day it opened, the building was a hit—all but a few dozen of its 263 units had sold in the first few months. But Bogatin wasn’t deterred by the limited availability or the sky-high prices. The Russian plunked down $6 million to buy not one or two, but five luxury condos. The big check apparently caught the attention of the owner. According to Wayne Barrett, who investigated the deal for the Village Voice, Trump personally attended the closing, along with Bogatin.

Link to tweet

[Botany]

1. "The most catastrophic breach of national security in American history."

Link to tweet

[Meadowoak]

2. +1

[CharleyDog]

3. THIS is the only explanation that makes sense. When you add up all of

hints from day one. The "secrets" embrace all of Trump's fetishes: power, people kissing his ass, money, lots and lot and lots of money. It's like, "of course he sold secrets. That's like a drug and he could not stay away." We see the proof in this, that, for once his minions didn't know what he was doing, he HANDLED IT BY HIMSELF. Except probably Kushner did it with him.

[colorado_ufo]

4. I truly believe he has been passing secrets basically since day one.

He took all those documents with him to be sure that he had access to leverage when he no longer had access to them through the presidency. I hope and pray that we as a nation can remain safe.

[wss2001]

5. Hoping!

I’m hoping that the intelligence services saw Trump was he was from the start and worked to limit access to the most sensitive information whenever possible.

[MissMillie]

6. I remember reading the 2017 article

and wondering why it didn't get more attention then.

Unfortunately, I think it is likely that it still won't get the attention it deserves.