Taxes, kids' clearances, bank loans, bone spurs, what is said on all those Trump-Putin calls and more
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| What do they say on those calls (Voice of America) |
“We have been — I have
been the most transparent president and administration in the history of our
country by far,” Trump told reporters on the White House lawn in April 2019.
“We just went through
the Mueller witch hunt, where you had really 18 angry Democrats that hate
President Trump. They hate him with a passion. They were contributors in many
cases to Hillary Clinton. Hate him with a passion. How they picked this panel,
I don’t know.”
If that claim was true,
Americans would have answers about the many open questions about Trump’s life,
businesses, finances, White House and more.
“If I decide to run for
office, I’ll produce my tax returns, absolutely,” Trump said in May 2014. “And
I would love to do that.”
But the following year,
when he announced his candidacy, Trump suddenly decided that because he was
under audit, he wouldn’t release them.
“Tax
experts throughout the media agree that no sane person would give their tax
returns during an audit. After the audit, no problem!” Trump tweet, 10:20 AM - Feb 27, 2016
Since the audit has
ended, Trump has still refused.
2. How much did he benefit from
his own tax cuts?
Trump claimed in 2017
that the new GOP tax law would “cost me a fortune,” as a wealthy taxpayer.
However, the tax legislation seems to have benefited corporations and the
wealthy. Since the president isn’t releasing his own taxes, it’s
unknown how much he and his family members profited from his own legislation.
3. Why were Trump’s kids denied
security clearances?
The president has hired
Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump as key parts of his administration. At first, he
lied about their security clearances, saying it wasn’t an issue.
I
am not trying to get "top level security clearance" for my children.
This was a typically false news story. Trump tweet, 6:28 AM - Nov 16, 2016
By 2019, it was revealed that Trump pressured former chief of
staff John Kelly and former White House counsel Don McGahn to clear the two,
over objections.
To this day, Americans
have no idea why Ivanka and Kushner were denied the high level security
clearances.
4. Who is paying for influence
at Mar-a-Lago?
When Trump was elected,
he doubled the dues for his exclusive Palm Beach club from $100,000 a year to
$200,000. While Trump has been seen with many corporate influencers, Americans
still don’t know who is paying to have access to Trump at the club.
Similar to the list of
those visiting Mar-a-Lago or buying influence, the White House has refused to
release any visitor logs of who is coming to meet with Trump and his aides.
5. How bad was the United
States hacked in 2016?
Every U.S. and
international intelligence agency (other than Russia) says that Russia heavily
influenced the 2016 election. Not only were they running their own digital
operations with fake news sites and fake social media accounts, but they also
hacked the DNC and RNC, obtaining a treasure trove of documents, opposition
research and more.
While some information
was released by special counsel Robert Mueller, Americans still don’t know the
full extent of the hack.
6. Who paid off Brett
Kavanaugh’s debt before Trump appointed him?
Trump appointed Brett
Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court when former Justice Anthony Kennedy decided to
step down in 2019.
According to 2016 financial disclosures, Kavanaugh reported having between $60,000 and $200,000 in credit card debt and a loan. Each card had between $15,000 and $50,000 in debt, say the reports.
His Thrift Savings Plan loan was between $15,000 and $50,000, according to The Washington Post. The White House claimed it was all from Washington Nationals tickets.
According to 2016 financial disclosures, Kavanaugh reported having between $60,000 and $200,000 in credit card debt and a loan. Each card had between $15,000 and $50,000 in debt, say the reports.
His Thrift Savings Plan loan was between $15,000 and $50,000, according to The Washington Post. The White House claimed it was all from Washington Nationals tickets.
By the time Kavanaugh
was officially nominated to the High Court, all of the debt had mysteriously
vanished. Kavanaugh said that his “friends” paid him back for buying their
baseball tickets.
“His disclosures don’t
show any large financial gifts, outside income, or even a gambling
windfall,” Mother Jones reported. It was only one of the sketchy financial
questions that still follow Kavanaugh, and if Trump had a role in helping get
the Justice’s debt off the books.
7. Does Trump really have bone
spurs?
President Donald Trump
was able to avoid the Vietnam War with five draft deferments. Four of them were from him attending college and one
was for having bone spurs. The problem, however, is that bone
spurs never disappear.
Former Sen. Bob Kerrey
(D-NE) has demanded to see the X-rays of the president’s feet to
prove whether he lied to get out of serving in the military.
8. What other read-outs of
calls with international leaders are being hidden on the White House’s secret
system?
When Trump demanded the
release of the summary of his July 25 call with Ukraine President Volodymyr
Zelensky, it was discovered that it wasn’t the only call being hidden on a
secret NSA system.
After Trump claimed a conversation with a Mexican official said one thing while the Mexican officials said another, someone leaked the transcript of the call, proving Trump was lying. After that, Trump began hiding all of the read-outs of his calls on the secret server, which monitors who looks at them, so he could prevent further leaks.
After Trump claimed a conversation with a Mexican official said one thing while the Mexican officials said another, someone leaked the transcript of the call, proving Trump was lying. After that, Trump began hiding all of the read-outs of his calls on the secret server, which monitors who looks at them, so he could prevent further leaks.
Trump may have released
the Zelensky call, but it’s still unknown what else is on the secret server and what he may have
said to other leaders.
9. What really happened between
Trump and Russia?
While special counsel
Robert Mueller released his report about there are still many things that are unknown. Trump and his
family refused to testify to Mueller’s investigators about their involvement.
Mueller implied that several of Trump’s actions met the standard for
obstruction of justice, but given the Justice Department rules kept him from
indicting a president, he passed the information to Congress.
The wide-ranging
conspiracy of silence extends not just to Trump but to the others who refused
to cooperate with Mueller.
Another piece of the
Russia question is what Trump discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin
in their hours-long meeting in 2018 during a G20 summit in Helsinki.
As of Oct. 2019, Trump and Putin have had more than 16 conversations, and Americans have no idea what they discussed other than what the White House claimed. In some cases, Russia released a different account of the conversations.
As of Oct. 2019, Trump and Putin have had more than 16 conversations, and Americans have no idea what they discussed other than what the White House claimed. In some cases, Russia released a different account of the conversations.
The two men have met in person five times,
however, and voters have no idea what was discussed then either.
Trump has promised to be
transparent and even attacked former President Barack Obama for not being
transparent enough.
“Why
is @BarackObama spending
millions to try and hide his records? He is the least transparent
President--ever--and he ran on transparency.” Trump tweet, 12:31 PM - Jun 6, 2012
If such a claim were
true, Americans would have answers to the many questions above.