“Trust, but verify”, is the old Russian proverb that Ronald Reagan was so fond of quoting. It is a principle that his fellow Republicans might consider applying to their own President, when it comes to his dealings with the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
In a break with any and all precedent, Donald Trump chose to meet with Putin, one one one, for several hours, and the American people, let alone some of Trump’s top advisers, are still in the dark about what was discussed, what promises were made, or what skullduggery was mutually considered. We got a slight hint of what that might be when Trump gleefully hailed Putin’s “generous offer” to allow our investigators to speak to his 12 indicted military intelligence officials., but only in exchange for Trump coughing up our former Ambassador to Russia , Michael McFaul for questioning in Russia. Trump disavowed this great idea a few days later, but now he is set to meet with Trump again, in
the White House, to the surprise and chagrin of his Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats. It is therefore reasonable to question what’s going on here. Republicans can choose to trust Trump, but the American people are entitled to verify his bona fides, and reasons for such coziness with such a formidable US antagonist. At minimum, that could be done by Trump revealing his tax returns to “ verify” his claims that he has nothing to do with Russia. And that’s an important first step toward transparency. His continued refusal to do so only suggests that he does indeed have something to hide.
What could that be? Could it be that much of Trump’s funding for his many projects came from Russia related sources? Could it be that he owes a great debt of gratitude and money To Russians? Could that explain his reluctance to personally criticize Putin in any way ? Could it be that Trump is putting his own personal interests in front of the interests of the American people? That is worth verifying.
