Trump's Campaign Mgr. Took Millions from Russians

Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s campaign manager, took $12.7 million from the Russians over five years as a political consultant to improve the image of the former president of Ukraine, Viktor F. Yanukovych, who was ultimately overthrown by the Ukrainian people and fled to Moscow. As far as anyone knows, Manafort is still a Russian agent. That could explain why he’s working for Donald Trump, who seems to have a bromance going on with Vladimir Putin, Russia’s premier.

Speculation here with some evidence: Could this be why Donald Trump won’t release his tax returns? He, according to the New York Times, has been getting money for a project from an Icelandic corporation favored by Putin buddies in Russia and Kazakhstan, a relationship that would undoubtedly become clear if Trump released his tax returns. Trump claims he won’t release his tax returns because they’re being audited, but the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has made it clear that he can release his tax returns any time he likes. Being audited does not preclude revealing your tax returns.

Hillary Clinton has revealed her tax returns. Bill and Hillary made about $10.6 million last year, mostly in speaking fees (more for Bill’s than Hillary’s) and book royalties. They paid about a third of their income in taxes.

Whatever else she’s done or not done, Hillary is not in bed with the Russians. She called Vladimir Putin a "bully" that you have to "continually stand up to."

I’ve been under the weather for nine days with a really nasty summer cold. Had I been reading the New York Times on RAGBRAI and in successive weeks, I’d have known sooner about Paul Manafort. I’m embarrassed I didn’t know sooner.

The Daily Kos brought Manafort’s relationship with the Russians of at least five years’ standing to my attention today. I checked the story in the New York Times to make sure.

Why hasn’t this been on the CBS News or any of the news talk shows? Bill Moyers would have had it on public TV, but sadly, the Koch Brothers joined the board of National Public Television. The big corporations that own the Lame Stream Media have done a lot to turn broadcast news into what Sharyl Attkisson, in "Stonewalled," calls “weather porn” and stories cut obscenely short by the plethora of commercials with which the networks stuff us every day as we gaze at the screen looking at what passes for “news.”