"The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off."Recently I bantered with a Facebook friend over Trump, an insanely polarising subject matter for which there is seldom a middle ground. She educated me with her version of history, the facts of which I was already well aware and can accept. Facts are facts. However, my retort is that there is a bigger picture history and other facts which are not mentioned, and the sum of those facts would present a different perspective of the issue. When it comes to Trump, one side discusses the full history, the other side focuses on the histrionics. Case in the point is the recent Trump-Zelensky meeting at the White House. There is always the one side that focuses on the vitriolic 5 minutes of histrionics and totally ignores the rest of the 40 minutes talk and dismisses the very real deal that Trump offers Zelensky a way out. I mentioned the tendency for most people to only wanting to hear what one wants to hear.
Gloria Steinem
Right on cue, she or he (I can't tell from the profile, but it's not important) leaned on the fallacy of authority and pulled out a 2022 Facebook post from Prof Tommy Koh. Referring to the book "House of Trump, House of Putin", Koh said :
"This is a frightening book to read. For a long time I couldn’t understand why Donald Trump was so pro-Russia and such a fan of President Putin. After reading this book, I think I understand why. Trump is indebted to the Russian oligarchs and the Russian mafia for their financial support. Russian money had bought many apartments in his developments in New York, Florida and elsewhere. When his credit was bad and no American bank would lend him money, the Russians did. As a businessman, Trump didn’t care whether the money was clean or dirty. Real estate is apparently one of easier ways to launder dirty money. It is now a proven fact the Russia had interfered in the 2016 US presidential elections by undermining Hilllary Clinton and supporting the Trump candidacy. When confronted, Trump had said that he had nothing to do with Russia. The author has provided the names of 59 persons in Trump’s Russian connection. It is puzzling that in spite of such damning evidence, he still has the support of the Republican Party. It is truly almost unthinkable that the American people would elect such a person as their president but they did. Would they do it again in 2024 ?"
I don't really care much the disagreements with the FB friend. Differences of opinions are fine. It's just some casual bantering, of no significance. Tommy Koh's post is different. It is something I had not seen in 2022 and I feel it is important to address such comments from an establishment figure. I have long held this view, which, to use Koh's own words. is 'frightening' that Singapore's establishment figures almost all hold the Guardian-reading, tofu-eating, wokerati point of view regarding Trump. He's a disruptor, morally corrupt, convicted felon, misogynist, Hitler, etc. It seems to me none of these good folks have never ever held any conversation with people in the circle of the leadership on the Right, such as Nigel Farage, Robert Fico, Marie le Penn, Donald Tusk, Viktor Orban, Cailin Georgescu, Alice Elisabeth Weidel, or even Georgio Meloni, etc. In other words, they are speaking from the echo chamber of the Left, the WEF silo.. That, to me, is very troubling.
My FB friend points to something Tommy Koh said, so that must be the truth. Koh points to what Craig Unger wrote, that must be the truth. And Craig Unger points to several people he spoke to, and that must be the truth. There is no consensus ad idem, just what they thought was a moment of epiphany simply on the say so of someone. In essence, there is nothing Aristotelian here.
Certainly brilliant people and those with expertise from various domains help us to make sense of the chaotic world. But that is neither to say they have perfect vision nor non-entities like us should neglect to sieve information with our own common sense capabilities. Occam's Razor reinforces my point. A simple illustration. Timothy Snyder is a well-respected Professor of History at Yale University. Brilliant mind, wrote lots of books, impeccable credentials, even has a seat at the prestigious Council of Foreign Relations, with special interest in Central/Eastern European and Soviet Union history. Of the Trump-Putin talk he remarked "If you are not at the table then you are on the menu". I like the cute quote, which was in reference to Ukraine's absence at the Riyadh peace talk. But he should know that was not a peace negotiation and that warring parties often need third parties to mediate and bring them together to sit down at a table. In relation to Elon Musk and DOGE entering Treasury to audit the department, he framed it as an attempt to seize control of the U.S. Treasury system and “of course it’s a coup.” You can agree with him only if you believe a CEO has no right to ask the internal auditor to go check the Finance Department.
I critiqued Tommy Koh once before in a blog some time back (read it here)) on how wrong he was on his observation of the US 2020 election. Let me explain his folly here again with reference to the book he waved like a Holy Bible and his idea of the Russian-Trump connection which he gleaned from a book, without any cross-reference or research..
First off we need to understand writing political books is big money in US. The more controversial, the better for the cash register. Of course, there are many well-researched books bearing good evidence for their propositions as there are many that do not stand up to close scrutiny. Craig Unger has good credentials in the journalistic world and has written several books. He was deputy editor of The New York Observer and was editor-in-chief of Boston magazine. Books he has written:
- House of Bush, House of Saud (2004)
- The Fall of the House of Bush (2007)
- American Armageddon: How the Delusions of the Neoconservatives and the Christian Right Triggered the Descent of America--and Still Imperil Our Future (2008)
- Boss Rove: Inside Karl Rove's Secret Kingdom of Power (2012)
- House of Trump, House of Putin:(2018)
- American Kompromat: How the KGB Cultivated Donald Trump, and Related Tales of Sex, Greed, Power, and Treachery (2021)
- Den of spies: Reagan, Carter, and the secret history of the treason that stole the White House (2024)
He has a reputation as a good investigative journalist. All these seven books are biased subject matter on dirt on Republicans. He has no interest in digging dirt on the Democrats. That inherent partisanship should have raised antennae immediately. Perhaps Prof Koh has no antenna.
'House of Trump' alleges connections between Donald Trump and Russian oligarchs, particularly those with ties to Vladimir Putin. Anything anti-Trump generates media buzz (good for book sales) which this book did as it raised questions about financial and political entanglements. However, the book is not considered authoritative in the academic or investigative sense. Critics have pointed out that the book relies heavily on circumstantial evidence, anonymous sources, and speculative connections. Supporters argue it pulls together a compelling narrative about Russian influence. But it doesn’t provide definitive proof of collusion or direct criminality. But of course, Prof Koh disagrees.
Unger paints a picture of Trump, his son Jared, Paul Manafort (Trump campaign manager) and Michael Cohen (Trump's lawyer) have close connections to these oligarchs who were fed certain information on Hillary Clinton, thus interfering with the 2016 election. But by 2022, Prof Koh should have known Democrat-appointed Special Counsel Robert Mueller had completed his report that Trump et al had contacts with Russian oligarchs but found no evidence of collusion of election interference. Mueller, unlike Unger, had the power of subpoena and had conducted a full investigation.
There is a big difference between walking into a business meeting and the people sitting on the other side of the table offers you some sensitive political information versus you engaging someone to obtain information against your political opponent. On the other hand, if you believed what you were told and use that information in your campaigns, then you stand at risk of being manipulated. In the 2016 election, there was nothing of the sort of information on Clinton that came out of Trump's team. On the other hand, we now know it was Hillary Clinton who commissioned the fake Steele Dossier to frame Trump. By 2022 Prof Koh should have been aware of all this.
Let me quote one specific mention in the book by Unger and I wonder if Prof Koh's antennae blipped to question the author's integrity. Aras Agalarov, a Russian-Azerbaijani billionaire real estate developer, organised the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting, where a Russian lawyer purportedly offered damaging information about Hillary Clinton. Unger discusses this event in his book, highlighting Agalarov's involvement in facilitating the meeting and the implications it had during the 2016 presidential campaign. But what was the dirt on Clinton? Unger does not provide the details. When it came dirt on Democrats, Unger maintains silence. It's either that, or there was actually nothing, just another concoction.
Koh: "When his credit was bad and no American bank would lend him money, the Russians did." The good professor can be sued for this. Trump borrowed not a cent from Russian oligarchs. Trump's real estate business were all highly leveraged and he was hit hard during the industry downturn in late 1980s. His major American bankers Citibank, Chase and Bankers Trust cut him off after several loan payment defaults. Deutsche Bank stepped in and is rightly his saviour, not Russian oligarchs.
"Deutsche Bank was one of the few banks that would lend to me. They were very loyal to me. And they were the ones who believed in me when others wouldn’t.”
Trump 2016
"We have a longstanding relationship with the Trump Organization, as we have with many other clients. We have followed all necessary legal and regulatory procedures in connection with these transactions."Koh: "Real estate is apparently one of easier ways to launder dirty money". Perhaps Koh has learnt from Singapore's experience. But what Koh didn't learn (because Unger didn't tell him) was that the bulk of Trump's real estate dealings with Russian oligarchs did not come about from his direct contacts. Almost all came through Deutsche Bank. By and large anyone dealing through a bank referral should have some comfort that the counterparty has been KYC vetted.
Deutsche Bank 2017
Unfortunately, in 2017 Deutsche Bank paid fines STG163m in London and US$425m in NY for failure to maintain good controls in anti-money laundering safeguards relating to Russian money laundering schemes in 2012 to 2015. In the same year, HSBC was fined US$1.92b for failing to prevent money laundering by Mexican drug cartels and for violating sanctions. Indeed, money laundering was a problem in US, and so too in many countries including Singapore. This is hardly Trump's fault and in no way does the bank's entanglement with the law specifically relates to transactions with Trump.
Koh: "As a businessman, Trump didn’t care whether the money was clean or dirty..... Russian money had bought many apartments in his developments in New York, Florida and elsewhere." A few property sales by Trump's companies indeed look suspicious, but no Russian buyers have ever been investigated nor charged. Unger and Prof Koh made it look like Trump was out gorging on Russian ill gotten wealth and beholden to them. Unger and Koh looked at the histrionics, the isolated event of sales of Trump's properties. The history is the full narrative of Russian investment in US real estate in the 1990s due to a massive capital flight out of Russia. Apart from Trump properties, they invested in :
- Non-Trump high-end apartments in Manhattan in areas like Central Park South, Upper East Side, and Tribeca of major real estate developers such as Related Companies and Silverstein Properties.
- Properties of Bayrock Group and Trump Soho Hotel (not owned by Trump but licenced brand name).
- Vonardo Realty Trust, a REIT with many properties in NYC.
- 550 Madison Avenue, an iconic office building.
- Florida real estate, especially Miami and Boca Raton where Russian billionaires bought up high-rise condos and beachfront properties.
- Beverly Hills & West Hollywood.
- Casinos and Resorts, especially in Las Vegas in which shell companies are used.
- The Ghermezian Family’s Mall Developments where Russians buy-in equities.
- U.S.-based firms such as Cushman & Wakefield, CBRE, and JLL saw a rise in Russian-backed real estate funds.
Prof Koh was focusing on histrionics. Like I said, a big picture view of history provides a better perspective.
After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Boris Yeltsin came into power as president of the Russian Federation. The communist collective economy was in shatters. Yeltsin proceeded to rebuild a new open market economy and sought the assistance of the West. From the US came 3 professors Andrei Shleifer, Jonathan Hay, and Jeffrey Sachs who came to be known as the "Harvard Boys". Many will probably be familiar with Sachs who has a prominent presence in social media. They preached a "shock therapy" treatment but got caught up with the systemic corruption going on in the Wild Wild West environment of the time during the growing pangs of a new country. Russia was at the mercy of Russian mafias and everyone was trying to grab a pie of the public wealth, including Westerners who had flocked there. To borrow Timothy Snyder's quote, the motherland was "the menu on the table". Trump's associates Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen too wanted something for themselves. Then arise the Russian oligarchs, the smarter guys who managed to carve out or buy off cheap, public assets. By the end of 1990s, the Harvard Boys returned to US in shame for a project badly managed and sullied hands. In addition to all these noises, Yeltsin had to struggle with challenges from left-over communist party big shots vying for lost power. It was a time when smart money made a run out of the country. Capital took flight, to be parked in some safer haven as fast as possible. The fastest and easiest way is real estate investment.
An ailing Yeltsin had to step down, and of all people, he turned to Vladimir Putin, an ex-KGB officer who was then mayor of Moscow. In the chaos of those dangerous times, Yeltsin chose a strong man to hand power to. In 1999 when he relinquished power, Yeltsin was reportedly to have told Putin his final words -- "Save Russia". Tough times require leaders of unshakeable resolve to lead. Lee Kuan Yew came at a time when Singapore was infested with triad gangs and communist infiltration. Trump comes to handle the chaos and lawlessness bequeathed by Biden. Of all people, Prof Koh of the PAP silo, should understand this.
Putin had to work with the oligarchs to rebuild Russia. The test of their loyalty is the oligarchs retain their wealth in the Motherland and help in the reconstruction. Bring your money back. Invest in Russia. Putin, without mentioning it, was closing an eye to wrongly acquired wealth as long as it is used to grow the economy. Those who don't work with him, he persecuted. Those who worked with him and his agenda, they got along, and became known as Putin's cronies. From the comfort of your armchair in air-conditioned room, whatever opinions you may have of Putin's methods is irrelevant. In the eyes of his countrymen, Putin saved Russia from the mafias, the lingering threat from Stalinist communists, and greedy capitalist Westerners, all out for a piece of the pie of the Motherland. An overwhelming majority of Russians consider him a hero for lifting them out of the poverty and chaos of the days of Gorbachev and Yeltsin..
Koh: "It is now a proven fact the Russia had interfered in the 2016 US presidential elections by undermining Hillary Clinton and supporting the Trump candidacy." The professor got it right technically, but nuanced his comment by not giving the whole picture. Election interference is not new — countries have long used methods like diplomatic pressure, lobbying, and media campaigns to influence the politics of other nations. In current times, cyber warfare and social media manipulation are new challenges. Russia's actions in 2016 marked a dramatic shift in how states can exert influence over elections via the digital realm. There were 3 investigations - US Intel Community Assessment, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and the Senate Intel Committee. All 3 reports confirmed Russia interfered in the 2016 by spreading misinformation and hacking into the Democrat National Convention. The Senate inquiry confirmed Russia also hacked into the Republican National Convention. But only the DNC emails were released to Wikileaks, obviously to damage Clinton. All 3 reports concluded the primary purpose of the interference was to sow discord in the voting process and create distrust. There was no evidence it had any impact on the voting. If Koh alludes to the interference as indication of Trump being a Russian asset then he needs to explain why the RNC servers were also hacked, and why all 3 investigations report evidence did not show there was direct support for Trump.
Koh: "For a long time I couldn’t understand why Donald Trump was so pro-Russia and such a fan of President Putin.". I wonder which news channel Koh tuned to. Obama sent Ukraine bedsheets. And Obama's Ukraine pointman, VP Biden, tried to hustle some qui pro quo from President Petro Poroshenko by withholding back some aid funds unless the Public Prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was investigating into oil company Burisma where Biden's son is a director, is fired. All mainstream media and Wikipedia says this is false, even till today they have not corrected this. Someone ought to share with Koh the video where Biden himself boasted how he twisted Poroshenko's arm.
In contrast, in his first term, Trump, who loves Putin according to Koh, gave Ukraine 210 Javelin missiles along with 37 anti-launchers as part of a broader defense package. Other aid sent to Ukraine were :
- Military Assistance which included Training and Advisory Support (boots on the ground), Counter-Artillery Radars, advanced communications equipment, Body Armor and other protective gear for Ukrainian soldiers.
- Non-Military aid covering humanitarian assistance, economic and governance support and energy security support.
Trump imposed on his so-called pal Putin the following sanctions:
2017 — Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA): This act targeted Russia for its interference in the 2016 U.S. election, annexation of Crimea, and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. Trump signed the bill although he felt it was "seriously flawed." 2018 — Election Meddling and Cyberattacks:
Sanctions on Russian intelligence agencies (FSB and GRU) and individuals linked to cyberattacks against the U.S. Punished the 13 Russians indicted by Robert Mueller for interfering in the 2016 election.
2018 — Skripal Poisoning in the UK:
The U.S. imposed sanctions after Russia used a nerve agent against former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England. 2019 — Nord Stream 2 Pipeline:
Sanctions targeted companies involved in building the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, designed to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany — a move seen as boosting European energy independence from Russia.
2020 — Alleged Human Rights Abuses:
Sanctions under the Magnitsky Act against Russian officials linked to human rights violations.
Koh: "The author has provided the names of 59 persons in Trump’s Russian connection. Koh does not tell you no evidence were shown by Unger. In other words, guilty by association! Is Koh aware that of those named, Trump sanctioned Oleg Deripaske, Viktor Vekselberg, Mikhail Kholorkorsky, Roman Abramovich, Igor Sechin, Andrey Kostin, Kirill Shamalov, Aleksandr Torshin, and Gennady Timchenko, some of whom were close to Putin.
It is very likely, almost a certainty, that some of those Russian buyers of Trump's properties used wealth that were acquired through questionable means during Yeltsin's maiden years of open market when capitalism brought forth the Russian mafias. The instability and uncertainties of Russia in 1990s caused capital flight into many countries both in Europe and US. In London and US, as evidence shows, financial institutions like Deutsche Bank and HSBC facilitated the movement of these illicit funds. These money flowed into mostly the high end property market. Trump's real estate company, together with others, benefitted from this capital inflow. But to believe in a contrived story of how Trump built this network of Russian oligarchs who financed him during times when his bankers refused him credit, and for which reason Trump is now beholden to Russia and Putin, is really juvenile, even more so in the absence of evidence. This is listening to the histrionics.
One needs to look at the bigger picture and the backdrop is the property market in US. Trump built his real estate empire in a very aggressive and highly leveraged way. The 1990s recession coupled with the Gulf War reduced consumer spending which brought a downturn to the property market. Trump's high leveraged model became unsustainable. He defaulted on some loans and his bank credits dried up. By 1992, Trump was forced into a restructuring deal with his creditors. He lost a significant portion of his empire but managed to retain ownership of key assets, including Trump Tower. His business empire shrank, but he still managed to hold on to his high-profile name and key properties. Property developers like Trump has fortunes that rise and fall with the market. During Bill Clinton's recovery years (1995-2001) Trump's financial health improved and then he went into his golden era during the housing boom years (2001-2007). His fortunes took another dive again in the global financial crisis of 2008. Since then he has moved away from direct ownership model and capitalised on his name brand into licensing which have proven very profitable. His name brand no doubt was turbo-charged by his "Apprentice" TV series. He has also gone into other non-real estate businesses. Unger and Koh ignores this fully documented episodes of his roller-coastal ride in his business and prefers the controversial and unproven story of Russian oligarchs and mafia propping him up.
Till today, Unger is not done with the Republicans. He is currently making his rounds declaring he is absolutely convinced Trump is a Russian asset, without showing the receipts. He has just published his latest book "Den of Spies". Controversy sells, so here's another one dealing with a conspiracy theory of what is known as "October surprise". On 4 Nov 1979 Iranian militants and students stormed the US embassy in Tehran and held 52 American hostages captive for 444 days. In the run up to the 1980 presidential election, there were expectations that Iran will finally release the hostages. That did not happen. Ronald Reagan won over incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter. On 20 Jan 1981, on the day Reagan was inaugurated, Iran released the prisoners. That set off the conspiracy theory that Reagan had made arrangements with Iran not to release the hostages before the election which would have boosted Carter's standing. The theory had the quid pro quo in the sales of American arms to Iran to override an arms embargo. Indeed, there were sales of arms to Iran between 1985 and 1986. Reagan denied any knowledge of this. This was a covert action authorised by the National Security Council and spearheaded by Colonel Oliver North. The sales was in exchange of American prisoners held by Hezbollah in Lebanon and proceeds went to fund Contra rebels fighting the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. Both activities were illegal. There was an arms embargo against Iran, and the Boland Act banned funding rebels in Nicaragua. This episode is known as the Iran-Contra affair. North was sentenced to jail but never served a day as he was pardoned by Bush. As this has nothing to do with the embassy hostages, Unger once again regurgitates and peddles old lies against Republicans.
Craig Unger interviewed a former KGB spy, Yuri Shvets, who also alleged that Trump was compromised by Russia since 1977. Unger of course was quick to put this in his next book "American Krompomat" in 2021. No second verification, nothing. Just the word of one man.
Here is a good example why one should avoid histrionics. There is a latest wild 'revelation' going round the internet. Former Soviet and Kazakh security official Almur Mussayev posted on Facebook February 2025 that he recruited Trump in 1987 and assigned him the code name "Krasnov." Mussayev claimed he was serving in the KGB's Moscow-based Sixth Directorate at the time, and it was the most important direction of the department's work to recruit business owners from capitalist countries. Details do not jive. Firstly, he was in the KGB from 1979 until 1986, when he moved to the Soviet Union's Ministry of Internal Affairs. Secondly, "Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency" states that the Sixth Directorate was responsible for "enforcing financial and trade laws, as well as guarding against economic espionage," while the First Chief Directorate was the KGB's main espionage arm.
More similar stories are likely to pop up as the Left's propaganda machinery goes into overdrive to paint Trump a Russian asset on the basis of his softer stand on Putin. All Trump haters and Prof Koh conveniently forget no one has a more softer stand on Putin than Hillary Clinton who custom-made for the Russian 'dictator' that Reset Button and personally presented it to him in Moscow Mar 2009.
One wonders how Prof Koh compares on his "frightening" scale, the sales of real estate properties vs the sales of uranium ores to Russian interests. A Canadian company Uranium One had acquired US mining rights of uranium ore. In 2010 Uranium One was sold to Russian company Rosatom. Hillary Clinton was wrongly accused at the time of authorising the deal. In reality she was not on board the two committees that approved the sales of such assets to foreign interests. However, it fools no one that such a transaction could have proceeded without the acquiescence of Clinton's State Department, indeed, all the way up to Obama himself. The reality is unrefutable when it was revealed that Frank Giustra, a Canadian businessman and philanthropist who played a role in Uranium One's acquisition of significant U.S. uranium rights, made some large donations to the Clinton Foundation about the time of the sale of Unranium One. It was also revealed several executives at Uranium One, including Ian Telfer (the former chairman of Uranium One), made donations to the Clinton Foundation. Prof Koh obviously cannot see the donations as a concealed lobbying effort., How can he, when he focusses only on the histrionics of the unverified claims in the "House of Trump" and ignores real history.
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