Donald Trump the Megathread part II - Mod Warning updated in OP 12/2/26

Based on the findings of the Mueller Report (2019) and the Senate Intelligence Committee Report (2020), here are five specific areas of evidence detailing how the Russian government worked to influence the 2016 election in favor of Donald Trump:

1. The "Information Warfare" Campaign (Internet Research Agency)
   The Russian-backed Internet Research Agency (IRA) conducted a massive social media operation designed to sow discord and bolster the Trump campaign.

• The Proof: Investigators identified thousands of fake accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram that reached an estimated 126 million Americans. These accounts promoted pro-Trump hashtags like #TrumpTrain and organized real-world rallies in swing states like Florida and Pennsylvania.

1. Hacking and Leaking of Democratic Emails (The GRU)
   The Russian military intelligence agency (the GRU) successfully hacked the servers of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the personal email of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta.

• The Proof: U.S. intelligence tracked the stolen data from Russian servers to "Guccifer 2.0" and "DCLeaks," which were later proven to be Russian fronts. These documents were then funneled to WikiLeaks and released at key moments to maximize damage to the Clinton campaign.

1. Targeting State Election Systems
   Russian hackers targeted the actual infrastructure of the U.S. election process to identify vulnerabilities.

• The Proof: The Senate Intelligence Committee confirmed that Russia probed election systems in all 50 states. In at least two cases (Florida counties), they successfully gained access to voter registration databases, though there is no evidence that any vote tallies were changed.

1. The Trump Tower Meeting (June 9, 2016)
   High-ranking members of the Trump campaign met with a Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, after being promised "dirt" on Hillary Clinton as part of a Russian government effort to help the campaign.

• The Proof: Donald Trump Jr. released an email chain in which he was told the information was "part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump." His response to the offer was, "If it's what you say I love it."

1. Sharing Internal Polling Data
   The 2020 Senate Report detailed a high-level connection between Trump’s then-campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and a Russian intelligence officer named Konstantin Kilimnik.

• The Proof: Investigators found that Manafort repeatedly shared private, internal campaign polling data with Kilimnik. This information was highly sensitive and could have been used by Russian intelligence to better target their social media influence operations in specific geographic areas.

Note on "Collusion": While these reports provided extensive evidence of Russian interference and numerous contacts between the campaign and Russia, the Mueller Report concluded that the evidence did not meet the legal threshold to prove a criminal conspiracy (coordination) between the campaign and the Russian government.

And this

There is no public evidence of a single, official "bailout" of Donald Trump by the Russian government. However, investigative journalists, legal filings, and statements from members of the Trump family have identified several instances where significant amounts of Russian capital flowed into Trump’s businesses during periods when traditional Western banks refused to lend to him.
The primary financial connections usually cited include:

1. Post-Bankruptcy Pivot (Early 2000s)
   After a series of corporate bankruptcies in the 1990s (including the Taj Mahal and Plaza Hotel), most major U.S. banks stopped lending to Trump. During this time, the Trump Organization shifted toward licensing deals and projects funded by foreign capital.

• The Connection: Real estate firms like Bayrock Group—founded by Tevfik Arif (a former Soviet official) and employing Felix Sater (a Russian-born businessman)—partnered with Trump on projects like Trump SoHo. Lawsuits from former employees alleged that Bayrock was backed by "mysterious" sources of capital from Russia and Kazakhstan that appeared whenever the business needed funding.

1. The Palm Beach Estate Sale (2008)
   During the peak of the 2008 financial crisis, Trump sold a mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, for a massive profit.

• The Transaction: Trump bought the estate for $41 million in 2004 and sold it four years later to Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev for $95 million.
• Why it's cited: The sale occurred while the U.S. housing market was collapsing. Rybolovlev never lived in the house and eventually had it demolished. Critics point to the $54 million profit as an unusual infusion of cash from a Russian oligarch at a time when liquidity was scarce.

1. The Deutsche Bank Connection (2010–2015)
   Deutsche Bank was one of the few major institutions that continued to lend to Trump, providing over $300 million in loans for projects like the Doral golf resort and the Washington D.C. hotel.

• The Russian Link: During the same period, Deutsche Bank was caught in a "mirror trading" scandal where it helped move $10 billion out of Russia. While no direct link has been proven between those specific Russian funds and Trump's personal loans, investigators have scrutinized whether Russian assets were used by the bank to guarantee or offset the risk of lending to Trump.

1. "Funding out of Russia" Quotes (2008 & 2014)
   Members of the Trump family have made public statements regarding the importance of Russian money to their business model:

• Donald Trump Jr. (2008): At a real estate conference, he stated, "Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets... We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia."
• Eric Trump (2014): According to golf writer James Dodson, Eric Trump told him, "We don’t rely on American banks. We have all the funding we need out of Russia," specifically referring to the financing of their golf courses. Eric Trump later denied making this statement.

1. Trump Tower Toronto (2010)
   The construction of the Trump Tower in Toronto was financed through a deal involving Alexander Shnaider, a Russian-Canadian billionaire.

• The Detail: Investigations by the Financial Times and others found that a Russian state-owned bank, Vnesheconombank (VEB)—which was chaired by Vladimir Putin at the time—provided $850 million to Shnaider's company around the same time he was funding the Trump project.
  

Because it was an active investigation during that time. How many times does we have to repeat this ?

the conspiracy theories is Trump and his cabal pull down the institutions and the dollar Fed etc rebuild through crypto and big tech holding sway in Digital ruled society which will be dystopian for anyone who outside “compliance” it’s kind of ironic because it’s exactly the kind of concept of anti government ethos MAGA red necks subscribe to

It's "Don't tread on ME".

It's not about personal liberty for all. It's about what gives them power. Look at it through that lens and their behaviour becomes totally consistent.

It appears hypocritical if you believe in overarching principles, but they're really just going with the flow - whatever promises the shortest, quickest route to the power position in any instance, even if that means a 180 turn in rhetoric.

As for Trump, we know he has no respect for democratic norms whatsoever. The idea that he'd voluntarily walk away from politics in 2029 is laughable. He could run for Senate or the House, but I don't think his ego would accept that 'demotion'. If he can't figure out a way to extend his presidency, he'd just hijack the Republican ticket and tell everyone that he'd really be the one making the decisions if it got elected.

Biden never interfered with the justice departments cause most presidents simply make a point of keeping the powers separate. On top of that, these were active investigations at the time so doing a file dump would have hampered and potentially ended ongoing investigations. The exact same can be seen with any ongoing investigations into Trump, Biden made a point of not getting involved.

Trump from early on in his term killed the Epstein investigations, he only restarted certain ones to target his political enemies. He's pretty much made a point of interfering in the DOJ for targeting political opponents. Any Epstein he's made a point of trying to cover up if his name crops up.

And let us not forget that Pam Bondi, only a matter of months ago, said that nobody else bar Epstein was involved and effectively the case was closed.

And recently Trump said that he would consider a pardon for Maxwell if he was asked.

They knew all of what is being released and still made those statements? Bondi should resign immediately

Maxwell is absolutely as guilty as sin. Absolutely neck deep in Epstein's shtt and fully complicit. She's basically Julia from Hellraiser. How Trump could spin a pardon, I don't know, but it's not as if he's ever needed to morally justify a lot of stuff.

But this is another reason why I don't think the Epstein files and controversy will unseat Trump. His followers should be enraged about his treatment of Maxwell, if they're so disgusted about Epstein. He's said of her, 'I wish her well' after her arrest, which is not only a rarity to hear a US President comment on the arrest of a common criminal, but then to extend well wishes to that specific one should have sent the conservative US media into a tizzy, if they really had principles on the matter.

But then to have her moved off to some cushy minimum security jail should have been alarm bell number two. Still almost nothing. There are American pundits trying to make hay with all of this, but they've not being able to claim MAGA's centre of gravity. At best, they have their audience who would probably still vote for Trump or a Trump endorsee when the time comes.

The way Maxwell is getting practically hotel treatment and reportedly prison officials are helping her write pardon requests is deeply corrupt. This president has granted pardons to serious white collar criminals like the Chrisleys. While that's different from sex offenders, I do think Trump identifies with the top 1% that he is part of, and gives them leniency in a way he wouldn't with the rest of the population.

He seems drunk on power and wealth. I think he feels untouchable and outside any kind of legal restraint.

I love the Hellraiser ref. Julia to Epstein's Uncle Frank.

Maxwell inevitably will get a pardon and there will be uproar for a day and soon forgotten.