by JohnBAlexander
Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)
Monday, May 19, 2025 (Dialykos.com)
Is there any level of corruption Republicans will not accept? The existential issue facing America is whether or not we choose to become a corrupt nation. In a mere four months the nation has experienced corruption on a scale never contemplated in our nearly 250 years of existence. At what point are we not like a cartel armed with nuclear weapons?
In March 2008, I was attending a conference at the U.S. Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership and giving a presentation on the Implications of Intelligence Scotomas. Much of the general discussion concerned the expansion and rising prevalence of transnational criminal organizations. Based on the observed behavior and accumulation of personal wealth by Vladimir Putin, I asked the question, “How do we deal with a criminal country- (especially one with nuclear weapons)?” Never could I have imagined that less than two decades later, the same question might be raised of the U.S.
It has long and often been speculated that Donald Trump’s administration conducts business in the style of organized crime, and with him as the Mafia Don. It is clear that extortion and coercion are his primary modes of intimidation. During his first term it was the attempted extortion of Volodymir Zelenskyy that led to his first impeachment. That extortion continued in his second term when he coerced Ukraine to sign over mineral rights in exchange for continued critical arms supplies and intelligence. Under Trump, America no longer engages in security based on principles but rather transactional economic interests.
Currently, backed by Elon Musk’s personal wealth, Trump basically is extorting all Republican members of both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. As the AP reported early on, “Elon Musk said his powerful political action committee (PAC) would ‘play a significant role in primaries.’” This overt threat resonated and was effective. One result was that the Senate knowingly confirmed a number of the most incompetent Cabinet members in recent history. Facing similar threats, the House passed the SAVE Act that requires documentation of citizenship to register to vote. It is a thinly disguised bill that was really aimed at voter suppression and a solution to the nearly nonexistent problem of voter fraud.
Extortion is a way of life for Trump. Consider his ruthless assault on lawyers and their firms. As The New Republic reported, “President Trump has completed his first successful shakedown of a major law firm. The organization Paul, Weiss has agreed to a ‘deal’ with Trump in which it gives the president major concessions in exchange for Trump agreeing to drop his corrupt use of state power against the firm. Speaking about this to reporters, Trump essentially said straight out that firms like these have the option to make similar ‘deals’ with him if they want to avoid getting targeted.”
Then he began extorting colleges and universities. Some, like Columbia quickly conceded to Trump’s demands, but still lost people. Others, including Harvard, fought back. The extortion plot was so severe that many colleges and universities banded together in preparation for a frontal assault by the U.S. Government. Over 230 colleges and universities signed an agreement for mutual defense against “unprecedented government overreach.” Education in general, has much to fear from Trump. After all, he did install a completely incompetent Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, with orders to dismantle the organization. She’s the one who famously didn’t know the difference between AI (artificial intelligence) and A1 (Steak Sauce).
Trump has also been extorting the media. Unfortunately, ABC quickly caved in over concerns about image by their parent company, Disney, and that licenses needed to be renewed. He also sued CBS and 60 Minutes for two billion dollars because he didn’t like the way an interview was edited. The management response caused long-time executive producer, Bill Owens, to resign as he felt their integrity had been compromised. Owens demonstrated, that unlike Shari Redstone, there still some people of moral character left in the media. The Des Moines Register was another target sued for “election interference.” That was simply because he did not like the results of a poll they published. The point of this media intimidation is to invoke fear of potential governmental suppression, especially in smaller media outlets that do not have the financial resources for extensive legal litigation.
Trump’s extortion proclivities have strategic implications as well. His dealings with NATO have nearly eliminated American credibility as well of that of NATO itself. As The Nation in February 2025 published, “Trump has broken with the bipartisan foreign policy consensus has been his belief that NATO and America’s other major alliances should be explicitly organized as protection rackets rather than as partnerships. For Trump, the function of NATO is to kick back money to the United States in terms of defense spending, deference on trade, and even outright control over member states’ natural resources. In addition, Trump wants NATO countries to kiss the ring ideologically by empowering far-right parties that share his worldview.” They further stated, “Trump’s desire to run NATO like a Mafia boss has become undeniable.” As I indicated in an earlier article, such actions are an existential threat to all humanity.
Donald Trump’s obvious criminality goes well beyond extortion to intimidate the foundations of American democracy. That is especially true with the blatant violation of Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. It states: No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State. Of direct concern at the moment is that the country of Qatar offered Trump an extravagant Boeing 747 as a gift, one he would take with him on leaving office.
But that is just the beginning of Trump’s grifts and overt corruption. Just before his inauguration, both Donald Trump and Melania created new crypto currencies. The incoming POTUS also created a meme coin that allowed anyone to invest, including foreigners. Using such assets he is enriching himself and his family by billions. It allows for uncontrolled influence by anyone with the money and he has even sold private dinners. It is known that there are foreign investors who have put large sums (billions of dollars) into Trump’s private enterprises.
Was that not enough, Trump has extensive private business dealings in many areas of the world. On his recent trip to the Middle East, it was noted that his sons were in the area dealing in each of the countries he visited, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE. As AP reported, “The presidential visit to the region, as his children work the same part of the world for the family’s moneymaking opportunities, puts a spotlight on Trump’s willingness to embrace foreign dealmaking while in the White House, even in the face of growing concerns that doing so could tempt him to shape U.S. foreign policy in ways that benefit his family’s bottom line.”
While the Qatar airplane did evoke some limited response from Republicans, their silence on most of the grifts has been deafening. It was interesting that the Attorney General, Pam Bondi stated that keeping the airplane would be completely legal. Not widely reported was that Bondi previously was a registered foreign agent for Qatar and made millions for her efforts. Again, as I have asked my friends who are Trump supporters: “Is there any level of corruption you won’t support?” The answer appears to be no. What should be more amazing is the response by Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson who stated, “Whatever President Trump is doing is out in the open. They’re not trying to conceal anything. . . . President Trump has had nothing to hide. He’s very up front about it.” By Congressional standards, you can be a criminal as long as you are open about it. Of course, SCOTUS did make that true for POTUS, as long as it is an official crime. However, just being up front that you are committing an illegal act does not make it any less of a crime
Many people have noted the correlation between Trump and the Mafia. On August 24, 2023, the New York Post headlines read La Maga Nostra. More recently Common Dreams La MAGA Nostra: Trump, the Mafia Metaphor, and the Corruption of Power. The Nation reported in a 2024 article, “just days before the presidential election, Donald Trump received an endorsement from a figure who doesn’t usually dabble in national politics: Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, former hitman and underboss for the Gambino crime family.”
The mob boss persona has long been associated with Trump. Consider the Congressional testimony of Michael Cohen, his onetime personal lawyer and consigliere), saying, Trump ran his operation “much like a mobster would do.” The AP reported, “In Cohen’s scathing testimony at a House committee hearing, he repeatedly described Trump, the onetime head of a family business, like a mob boss minus the body count: quick to bully and expecting others to do his dirty work. Cohen described himself as a consigliere, telling lawmakers he did Trump’s bidding for years, intimidating maybe 500 people and lying to scores, including the first lady. But Trump never directly told him to do it, he said. “He doesn’t give you questions, he doesn’t give you orders,” Cohen said. “He speaks in a code, and I understand the code because I’ve been around him for a decade.” A problem for Republicans, and MAGA members, is that they are willing to take his lies literally (he was joking about being a dictator or ending war on day one) to avoid responsibility.
That manner of discourse is obvious today. How many times has Trump told the press “I don’t know,” when he wants to avoid discussing an inconvenient topic? “I know nothing,” is his go-to excuse to avoid responsibility. “I don’t know,” even extended to his response when asked if he would uphold the U.S. Constitution, which is part of the oath of office.
There have long been tales of Trump’s ties to organized crime. As an Esquire magazine article stated, “But Trump’s main industries—development, casinos, and luxury real estate—were particularly infested with organized crime. And what makes him notable is that he sometimes appeared to do more business with the mafia than was strictly necessary.”
The critical/existential issue for the country is who are we? We must decide whether or not we have become just the largest cartel with nuclear weapons, or a democracy based on laws. The MAGA base equate personal loyalty to Trump with patriotism. Previously I have addressed fundamental problems facing senior officers in the Department of Defense. The Republicans of the US Senate cast their ballots when they confirmed the completely incompetent Signalgate offender, Pete Hegseth, for Secretary of Defense. He has already initiated a purge of flag officers, and it is clear that the primary consideration for retention and promotion will be unquestioned fealty to Trump rather than the U.S. Constitution. Most of them have the ability to choose whether to maintain their honor and integrity by retiring rather than submitting to potentially unconstitutional orders. In most danger are the senior field grade officers who have committed over a decade of service, want to continue to serve, and for whom retirement is not an option.
Anyone remaining in DoD in a visible capacity should be aware that they are vulnerable to the whims of Trump’s advisers such as rightwing nutcase Laura Loomer. While totally unqualified to make military judgements, it was Loomer who appears to have inflicted severe damage on the National Security Council (NSC) by suggesting certain people “weren’t loyal enough.” Under Trump, sycophancy, not competency, has become the most required traits. It is likely that senior officials, and military officers will continue to be confronted with illegal orders.
The high probability of senior officers being faced with illegal orders is not hypothetical. Remember, during his first term his first term, Trump wanted to shoot missiles into Mexico and have troops shoot protestors in the legs. These events, and more, were documented by former Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper, in his memoir, A Sacred Oath. To make matters worse, Trump has removed the traditional guardrails for DoD by firing the Judge Advocates General of the Army, Navy, and Air Force who were responsible for providing commanders advice on the legality of military actions.
To date, Trump has signed 143 Executive Orders (EO) and they have generated hundreds of lawsuits. Already, it is notable how many of the EOs that he has signed since 20 January have been blocked or found unconstitutional by federal judges and even SCOTUS. While many of the issues, such as budget constraints or firings, are open to litigation, use of lethal military force cannot be reversed. As Trump never accepts accountability, and misapplication of force will be blamed on a military officer.
Yes, this is a harsh assessment. Rationalization (that you can make things better) is not a viable option. Remember, in Trump’s first administration there were those talented and ethical senior officials who did provide guardrails for America. For anyone so inclined, remember the experience and fate of General John Kelly, General Jim Mattis, and General Mark Milley. The nation owes each of them a great debt of gratitude for preservation of our Democracy.
In closing, I will advocate General Stan McChrystal’s new book, On Character. As he pointed out on Fareed Zakaria’s GSP program Sunday morning (18 May), Trump does not possess the positive character traits required for leadership.
So, are we the transactional, unethical nation Trump portrays? Or will we become something better? Republicans in Congress have voted for immorality of the former choice. Now it is up to the people to demand we find our better angels.
