TWGB: It Really Ties the Room Together

 

Breaking News: Thomas Barrack, a friend of Donald Trump and one of his top 2016 campaign fund-raisers, was indicted on federal charges of violating a law requiring lobbyists for foreign interests to disclose their work.https://t.co/G8FNAZWqGs

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 20, 2021

I couldn't help but chuckle to myself when I read about Barrack's arrest for working on behalf of UAE to influence Trump, because, goddamn it, didn't everyone? Well, maybe not UEA (although, I mean, Elliott Broidy) but you know. Barrack influenced Trump's campaign speech in a way favorable to UAE the same way Manafort influenced Ukraine policy during the 2016 campaign. He wrote an op-ed just like Mike Flynn did his oped for Turkey. (You know when Giuliani wasn't palling around with Russian-affiliated Ukrainians he was also doing his bit for Turkey, right? It's hard to keep things like this straight, but I do try.) And everyone knows Trump for whatever reason was always trying to have good relations with Russia. So what was the stated Trump foreign policy? 

Right: America First.  It's a punchline like "The Aristocrats" is a punchline, and the joke is pretty scandalous if not outright foul.

I was a little surprised that it didn't have anything to do with the Presidential Inaugural Committee stuff (I guess that was top of mind for me, thinking about how Allen Weisselberg was looped into that mess and yet they weren't going after him for that right now, either), but then I started thinking about Thomas Barrack the way one does.  Because he ties the room together. The little story that kind of never got to be the scandal it should be about what for all the world looked like the US was supporting SA and UAE blockading Qatar--and how Jared Kushner ended up getting his big old steaming 666 Fifth Ave debt taken care of (well, if the Chinese won't help...what can one do?) Barrack was right there.

Oh yeah, and then there was that madcap scheme he had with Flynn to sell nuclear tech in the Middle East because you know what? Why not? (You might wonder why Flynn, a paranoid Islamophobe, would think this idea was great, and the answer I have for you is, uh, well money, right? Because whenever I see that bantam rooster crowing about his patriotism, I feel like like I just ate a whole tinfoil sandwich.)

There's probably more there, but it's late at night and I'm just thinking about how that 74 year old wealthy dude is going to sit in jail thinking about stuff until next Monday. 

And I can't help but chuckle.