Thread by @saradannerdukic

It seems like they’re *this* close to getting cold, hard, indisputable facts about Trump’s finances, and who owns him.
msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/…

Let’s layer in some more context to this article (THREAD):
nytimes.com/interactive/20…

They start back in 1985. That year, Trump claims $45 million in losses, plus an additional $5.6 million he’d carried over. So he’s already in huge financial trouble, and has been for a while.

But what else was happening at that time? Let’s start a few years prior.

First data point: Rudy Giuliani becomes US Attorney for SDNY in 1983.

1984: Russian émigré David Bogatin - a leading figure in Russian organized crime - pays cash for five apartments in Trump Tower.
newrepublic.com/article/143586…

The same time Trump is taking cash from the Russian mafia, the KGB is urging its officers to be creative when looking for targets. He suggests using money and flattery as an inroad.

During this period, Trump - with the help of Roy Cohn - is also lying his way up the Forbes 400 list:
washingtonpost.com/outlook/trump-…

1984 is also when La Cosa Nostra is being rolled up, and the Russians are moving in.

Which brings us to 1985. The Mafia Commission Trial starts. The initial defendants include Paul Castellano and Tony Salerno of the Genovese and Gambino families. Trump had bought overpriced concrete from them for the construction of Trump Tower.

Trump is in a huge financial hole. According to NYT, only three other people took a bigger loss that year.

Trump was apoplectic. He was so stressed he was living in a separate apartment from Ivana in Trump Tower, staying up all night on the phone. He desperately wanted (needed, more likely) to purchase and develop the old Coliseum site, and loses the bid to Mort Zuckerman.

He won’t leave the apartment, is gorging on hamburgers and fries that he has delivered, and is getting fat and unkempt.

Does that sound like someone on top of his game?

vanityfair.com/magazine/2015/…

That same year, Trump's helicopter pilot is indicted on drug trafficking charges.  Trump doesn't fire him.

Instead, he leases his personally-owned unit in Trump Plaza Apartments to him with an agreement of half the rent is to be paid in cash, the other half in unspecified helicopter services. Miraculously, the case ends up in front of Trump’s sister, Judge Maryanne Trump Barry.

Let’s just pause and let all this sink in. Trump is up to his eyeballs in debt, is selling apartments for cash to the Russian mafia, has purchased concrete from La Cosa Nostra, and his helicopter pilot has been indicted for running drugs.

The following year (1986), it’s even worse. Trump takes a $68.7 million loss. This is when he meets meets Soviet ambassador Yuri Dubinin for the first time.

Trump starts making the rounds in the news, talking about negotiating with the Russians, and angling for a position in the Reagan administration.

Probably the most significant thing that happens that year is the death of Trump’s mentor and the family fixer, Roy Cohn, on August 2, 1986.

A few months later, the Mafia Commission Trial ends. The defendants who aren’t already dead are found guilty on all 151 counts on November 19, 1986.

There’s a void, and the Vor V Zakone are happy to fill it.

Now it’s 1987. David Bogatin’s 5 apartments in Trump Tower are seized by the Feds when he pleads guilty to his part in a massive gas bootlegging scheme with the Russian mafia.

Trump goes to the USSR for the first time - at their invitation - on July 4, no less. He starts talking to the media about nuclear bombs, and brags how his pilot had worked for Qaddafi.

The Art of the Deal is released - painting him in stark contrast to reality.

What happens with his finances? His debt suddenly (almost) evaporates - dropping $95 million. Additionally, his “interest” payments jump from $460,566 to $5.5 million. (graphic is from NY Times)

1988: Trump starts talking about running for president on Oprah. And buys a yacht from Adnan Khashoggi.

American Media Inc. (AMI) comes into being after Enquirer owner Generoso Pope dies. Among the interested parties are Robert Maxwell, the father of Ghislaine Maxwell - Jeffrey Epstein's partner.

Among the trustees of the Pope estate are Peter G. Peterson, a partner in the Blackstone Group - a private equity firm founded by Steven Schwarzman. This Steven Schwarzman: nytimes.com/2017/08/19/bus…

Trump’s “interest” payments soar even more, going from $5.5 million to $11.8 million. Despite this, his debt also drastically increases. The previous year he’d nearly wiped out all his losses. This year, they jump from $4.5 million to $42 million.

Which brings us to 1989. There’s a helicopter crash with 3 of the top Trump Org execs aboard. It’s Trump’s worst year to date. His losses double, jumping nearly 100% from $46.6 million to $90.3 million.

This is also the year that his “interest” payments - from what, we don’t know - climb from $11.8 million to $52.9 million. Despite the windfall, he falls deeper into debt - and it’s only the beginning.

From 1989 to 1994, his debt skyrockets to nearly $1 billion. During that time:
-he declares bankruptcy 4 times
-he sells his yacht to Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal
-he allegedly rapes and beats a 13-year-old girl at a party with Jeffrey Epstein

(cont'd)
-Christine Seymour, Roy Cohn's secretary (Cohn was Trump's mentor), who was set to publish a tell-all book, dies in head-on collision with tractor trailer

As Molly McKew pointed out, who was the source for the NYT story? And what were they trying to get in front of that’s worse than all of this? 👆

The NYT stops at 1994. Interestingly, some pretty huge things happen right after that, in 1995:
-Trump goes back to Moscow
-Trump is forced to sell the Plaza. Alwaleed bin Talal buys it; Barbara Corcoran brokers the deal.

(cont'd)
-Vyacheslav Ivankov - a brutal gangster in the upper ranks of the Russian mafia, is arrested. After having difficulty finding him, the FBI picked up his trail at Trump Taj Mahal, and then discovered that Ivankov had a luxury condo in Trump Tower.

I’m with our Dems. We deserve to know exactly who owns him, and at what price. I don’t blame them for staying focused on his finances, and other missing pieces of the puzzle before they make their next big move.

As many have demonstrated, this isn’t just about Trump or the election. It’s about transnational organized crime having a stranglehold on just about every facet of our lives.

I do want impeachment - I think it’s absolutely necessary; no question. But I also support our Dems in uncovering WTF Trump and his helpers are hiding.

If they’ve gathered steam on this front (and watching Maddow, it seems like they have), I can understand why they’d want to see it through before starting impeachment inquiries. If they can do both at the same time, even better.

To be clear: I want a ton of public hearings - tons and tons - before the vote.

https://twitter.com/saradannerdukic/status/1120354299396202496

BTW, sourcing for everything I’ve laid out above - and more - can be found here:
sutori.com/story/timeline…