Stephan: The corruption of Trump and his administration has brought into focus the appalling corruption of the American government. Citizens United legalized bribery, and not only the American uber-rich, and the corporations they control, have taken advantage of this to shape government policies in the United States, foreign nations have also come to understand how blatant America corruption has become and bought into the game with millions of dollars. Here is just one example, the Emirates, and this is far from the only example. Saudi Arabia is another blatant example, and there are others. And none of this is going to stop until we create a system of publicly funded elections and make giving money to a politician a felony offense.
Criminal Trump welcomes Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan into the Oval Office, May 15, 2017, a meeting followed by wild corruption to the benefit of the Trump family. Credit: Getty
The UAE has spent more than $154 million on lobbyists since 2016, according to Justice Department records. It has spent hundreds of millions of dollars more on donations to American universities and think tanks, many that produce policy papers with findings favorable to UAE interests. The intrepid John Hudson at the Washington Post reports that the US National Intelligence Council has produced a secret report detailing the ways in which the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has intervened in US politics, sometimes in ways that appear to be illegal and to shade over into espionage.
Hudson writes,
“The UAE has spent more than $154 million on lobbyists since 2016, according to Justice Department records. It has spent hundreds of millions of dollars more on donations to American universities and think tanks, many that produce policy papers with findings favorable to UAE interests.”
Albus Eddie
on Monday, November 21, 2022 at 5:22 am
Juan Cole has done, and continues to do, excellent work. It is difficult for the American people to buy back our politicians to represent our interests when they have sold themselves to foreign governments.
Juan Cole has done, and continues to do, excellent work. It is difficult for the American people to buy back our politicians to represent our interests when they have sold themselves to foreign governments.