“Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts…Perhaps the fear of loss of power.” – John Steinbeck
By Glen Reaux
American Diplomacy throughout history has been based upon the fine art of developing partnerships for the purpose of protecting the nation and its interest without the need for going to war. Since the mid-twentieth century, it has also focused on being the principal example of human rights and democracy on the planet. Under the constitution, the Executive Branch managed by the President is the only branch of government with the power to make treaties, appoint diplomats and command the military. But, it is Congress’s constitutional responsibility to make sure that the President uses these powers for the good of the nation. So basically, the two branches of government by design are supposed to work hand-in-hand on behalf of the people. Their relationship is supposed to be cooperative and not adversarial. Herein lays the problem. Judging from the behavior exhibited from this so-called-president, Congress is forced to ask the question; is Trump’s Payola Diplomacy Corrupt Dangerous and Treasonous? If so, does the Nancy Pelosi led House have the guts or wisdom to perform its duties of oversight which could lead to lengthy court battles and possibly impeachment? If not, will the corrupt and treasonous activities of Trump and his minions supreme National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cause this country’s destruction? A careful analysis of Trump’s foreign relations which are not really policies based in fact or historical precedent will reveal exactly what is going on in this administration and the perils that this country faces. This is evidenced by the fact that Trumps “Payola Diplomacy and Ukraine Scandal are Corrupt Dangerous and Treasonous.”
Much attention is given to the fact that Trump has insulted and disrespected our allies. Possibly, at Putin’s instruction, he has called for the dissolution of NATO. He has openly given classified intelligence information provided to us by our allies to Russia. And, Trump has gone to war with our own intelligence community which has documented treasonous activities between Trump and Russia. However, little attention is given to the manner in which Trump has fashioned foreign policy to comply with the wishes of the highest foreign bidders. Such actions need to be called exactly what they are, corruption and treason. Trump is conducting our nation’s foreign policy issues as if they were comedies being sold on the open market.
Throughout his dealings with Russia and his secretive meetings with Putin, Trump has not reported anything about the nature of these dealing to Congress or the American people. Just imagine two and a half years of relations with a foreign power and Congress knows nothing about the nature of these discussions. Despite the cyber war being waged against this country by Putin, Trump has removed sanctions placed upon Putin and his oligarchs for their interference in our election. He has refused to confront Putin about this act or openly denounce him on the national or world stage. These actions appear to be Trump’s payment to Putin for putting him in office. On the world stage, Trump has openly lobbied for Russia to be re-admitted into the G8. Since taking office, Trump has met with Putin five times in secret without anyone else present except an interpreter. The gist of these meetings are only known to Trump and his interpreter whom he has ordered not to speak to anyone else about the content or context of these meetings. Trump is the only president in American history to have ever taken such actions. Such unprecedented acts of secrecy can easily be interpreted as having corrupt or treasonous intent. What other motives could there be for excluding the people that elected him from knowledge of their constitutional right to foreign policy representation? The people have the right to know and Congress is the representative of the people.
In continuance of blatant corrupt actions is the fact that Trump’s foreign affairs appear to be linked to direct financial gain for Trump or his family members as evidenced by the following information.
On October 16, 2018, Trump tweeted:
In response to the Trump tweet, Fox News research tweeted the following on the very next day.
In August of 2017, the Washington Post reported that after two straight years of booking declines, a visit from Saudi officials to the Trump International Hotel in New York City helped to boost the hotel’s quarterly revenue by 13% in the first quarter of 2018. Additionally, in violation of the emoluments clause of the constitution, Trump has and continues to make millions from foreign governments and domestic corporations and lobbyists that book stays at the Trump International Hotel in the nation’s capital.
These financial transactions appear to have influenced Trump’s foreign policy when it comes to Saudi Arabia. In October of 2018, a Saudi Arabian dissident, American resident and journalist for the Washington Post was murdered in the Saudi Arabian Turkish embassy on the orders of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This murder of Jamal Khashoggi was confirmed by the Turkish government, United Nation’s Investigators and the CIA. In response, Trump ignored the findings of the CIA, embraced the Prince and spoke of the importance of the financial opportunities provided by Saudi Arabia to this country.
In May of 2019, Trump defied Congress by declaring a national emergency to approve an $8 billion sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. On June 19th in a 53-45 vote, the Senate passed legislation blocking Trump’s sale of the weapons. Trump responded by threatening to veto the legislation stating that blocking the sale: “would send a message that the United States is abandoning its partners and allies at the very moment when threats to them are increasing.”
Immediately after taking office in 2017, Trump set out on a foreign policy rampage. Despite strong opposition from our allies, he withdrew from the nuclear treaty with Iran which had been entered into by the US and its allies. Iran had not broken the treaty and was in full compliance. Trump immediately instituted strong economic sanctions on Iran which since have crippled Iran’s economy. Everything that he has done in his dealings with Iran has been designed to push us into a war.
National Security Advisor, John Bolton has for decades been a strong advocate for war with Iran. As a founding member of the Project for A New American Century, an extreme right-wing think tank whose other founding members included George W. Bush, Jeb Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, James Woolsey and Paul Wolfowitz, Bolton was considered one of the architects of the Iraq War. The group basically set the agenda for the Bush administration middle-eastern foreign policy. Since taking office in 2018, Bolton has pushed for regime change in Iran like he did with Iraq. Throughout its history, America has depicted itself as peace-loving. However, history shows that she has attacked countries that did not threaten it, most recently Iran under the George W. Bush administration which had John Bolton as its Ambassador to the United Nations from 2000-2006. It was under his Ambassadorship that the US lied to the United Nations and the world with claims that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction which subsequently led to an Illegal American war was waged against Iraq. Trump touts himself as being peace-loving and not wanting war with Iran but he has appointed the biggest war hawk in modern times as his National Security Advisor. This appointment is the very definition of an oxymoron. This means that Trump really does want a senseless war with Iran that would cost tens of thousands of American lives and incalculable other casualties.
The ongoing danger with the Trump administration’s Iran policies stems from what appears to be Trump’s ignorance of the fact that Russia and Iran are military allies and have also entered into an economic partnership. The American public needs an explanation of how this Iran policy works. First, Trump attacks and defies our historical allies that helped us enter into a nuclear treaty with Iran. Secondly, he ends our participation in the treaty. Third, he economically attacks Iran. Fourth, he lifts sanctions instituted against Iran’s ally Russia for its cyberwar activities against us. Fifth, he threatens military action against Russia’s ally, Iran. There is no logic to these actions, no policy and at the very least these acts dangerously compromises our national security, by confusing our allies and openly inviting war with Iran and its ally, Russia which as of 2018 vowed to help Iran combat Trump’s sanctions. Another dangerous situation has developed due to Trump’s Iran non-policies. Turkey, a member of NATO as is the US has also vowed to help Iran combat the Trump economic sanctions. Earlier this year, Turkey agreed to buy from Russia, the S-400 missile defense system. For a NATO member to buy a weapons system from a non-member is unprecedented. It has never happened before. Thanks to Trump, one of our military allies has now sided with Iran, entered into a weapons agreement with our enemy and weakened NATO at the same time.
In relations with North Korea, in stark contradiction to American policies and precedents, he has openly legitimized its government and hailed praise upon its dictator Kim Jong-un and referred to communications between him and Kim as love letters. These actions have drawn a great deal of scrutiny at home and abroad. Without any concessions on the part of North Korea and without notifying our South Korean allies or consulting the Pentagon, Trump has ordered the end to joint military exercises between the US and South Korea. This action severely hampers our military capabilities on the Korean peninsula and poses a threat to our military servicemen and women in the region, Japan and our national security. There can be no logical reason for this type of diplomacy except for the fact that Russia is North Korea’s most staunch ally and economic supporter. Also, they are the only countries that benefit from these policies. Trump must be doing Putin’s bidding.
Under the Trump administration, the Rex Tillerson and Mike Pompeo State Departments have nearly destroyed the American diplomatic corps. As of April 2019, 52 ambassadorships to countries and organizations like the United Nations remain vacant. In more than 17countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Cuba, Honduras, Panama, and Brazil, the Trump administration has not designated a nominee for Senate confirmation. In diplomatic terms, not appointing an ambassador to a country, is saying that this country is not important. We don’t care about it. In Mexico, a country that is critical to our national security and southern border, the lack of an ambassador makes it difficult to halt the surge of migrants coming from Central America that illegally enter our country. In March of this year, Trump announced that he will be ending $700 million of aid to Central American Countries. Since taking office, his Central American policies appear to be the catalyst behind the increase in illegal migration from Central America. Early in his administration, Trump referred to several of these and African countries as “shit-hole countries” and stated that America needs more immigrants from European countries. This was a racist code for saying that he wants to make America more white again.
Throughout his tenure as president, corruption and payola have been an ongoing theme of his administration. This appears true with Trump’s State Department. In an April 3rd report by NBC News {2}, an examination of nearly 2,000 nominees from Trump and former presidents provided evidence that Trump’s appointees are far less qualified than those of his predecessors. But, many of his appointees have one thing in common. At least 14 of Trump’s nominees for ambassadorship each contributed on average $350,000 to his inauguration. What is even more suspect is the fact that one of our strongest Middle Eastern allies, Saudi Arabia is yet to be appointed an Ambassador. This means that all information with respect to foreign affairs with that country is kept within a tightly knit circle of Trump, Pompeo and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law. This makes it easy for the facilitation of payola diplomacy. This appears to be the only reason for Trump’s defiance of Congress and his rebuking of all conventional wisdom and policies that have established successful American foreign relations for that region of the world.
A review of Trump’s foreign policy, none of it makes any sense unless it is placed in the context of payola diplomacy. Nothing else makes any sense when his Treasonous behavior in relation to Russia is examined under a microscope. His blatant disregard for human life and defiance of Congress when dealing with Saudi affairs can only be explained by payola diplomacy which is corruption on an unimaginable level and speaks volumes to the rest of the world about our character as a nation. Evidence shows that his foreign policy completely ignores the facts that Russia and Iran are allies and Turkey has sided with Iran over the US. This poses a grave danger to American forces in the region and NATO’s very existence. His love affair with North Korea and Kim Jong-un has given validity to one of the most dangerous dictatorships in history. Probably the most dangerous act to jeopardize our national security was when he committed an act of treason during an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopolous. In a June 12, 2019 interview when asked if he would accept derogatory material about an opponent from China or Russia, or instead call the FBI, Trump said :
“I think maybe you do both. I think you might want to listen; there isn’t anything wrong with listening.” This statement from Trump is an open invitation for any foreign power to intervene in our elections and help him win the 2020 presidential election.
At this time, all Americans must ask the question: Is “Trump’s Payola Diplomacy Corrupt Dangerous and Treasonous?” While Trump’s diplomacy on the surface appears to be nonsensical, it is destructive and deceptive by design. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin’s diplomacy is beneficial to Russia, highly calculated and based upon sound principles from Sun Tzu, The Art of War; “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” To Putin, America is the enemy.
https://www.gofundme.com/xplicit-news
Linked Sources and Documentation
- War Powers Resolution of 1973 pdf: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/political-science/17-471-american-national-security-policy-fall-2002/readings/TheWarPowersActof1973.pdf
- NBC News report: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/donors-trump-inaugural-committee-got-ambassador-nominations-are-they-qualified-n990116
Copyright © 2019, Glen Reaux, all rights reserved
