Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) sits on the House Intelligence Committee, which under Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) prematurely shuttered its Russia investigation in March 2018.
Now that Democrats will be in the majority come January, they are preparing to pick up where the Republican-led effort refused to go, issuing subpoenas and delving deeper into President Trump's financial ties to Russia.
In today's San Francisco Chronicle, Rep. Speier repeats the often-told story of Trump's curious sale of an uninhabitable Palm Beach mansion in 2008 to a Russian oligarch for more than double Trump's purchase price four years earlier. Trump never lived in the place and did no repairs.
Speier writes about how this transaction and others paint the picture of a president likely in debt to Vladimir Putin.
Though Trump had previously contemplated running for president, Putin had no idea whether that would come to pass. It was enough that Trump was a prominent figure and television star already sympathetic to Russia.
Rybolovlev’s purchase of the Florida mansion put about $74 million in Trump’s pocket. Trump suddenly had oxygen.
What had Trump done to earn such a favor? It may seem surprising, but the answer could be nothing. At least not then.
Trump was being enrolled in the Russian system of kompromat, of which Putin is a master. Grant a favor, ask for nothing. Both parties understand that someday something may be expected in return.
Read the full piece: Strange real estate deal raises specter of Putin buying Trump (SF Chronicle)