CONSPIRACY CENTRAL: RUSSIAN DOLLS

Think about those "toy" Russian dolls. Lift up the top half of the doll, and there's another one inside, but wearing different clothes. And another different one inside that. And another, and another. Weird huh? A mystery inside a conundrum inside a ... what?

OK, gang, it's conspiracy theory time. No, this piece is not an Alex Jones special, like asserting that the massacre of school children in Sandy Hook was a hoax arranged by NRA haters, or that the murder of 3,000 people at the Twin Towers was the work of the US government, or the Israelis.

I advance a theory that is based on something rare in today's White House:  Facts.

I need not rehearse here all the facts indicating the remarkable closeness of Mr. Trump to Mr. Putin, and the latter's machinations to put the former in the White House. If you are not aware of them by now, leave this post and return to your local Fox News channel.  But I do want to point out how a recent bit of under-reported news may be a powerful indicator of a very scary conclusion.

Let's back up a bit. Last month, I wrote a couple of blogs pointing to a series of recent occurrences:

1. A former Russian spy, living in the U.K., was poisoned by a uniquely Russian method. After careful investigation, Theresa May openly accused Russia of that attack. Putin denied it. Whose side did Trump take? While most of the West joined May in denouncing Putin, the White House announced that the President would not join in Theresa May's criticism.

2. But then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, after speaking with British officials,  said the attack "clearly" came from Russia, and

3. Six hours later, without contacting Tillerson, Trump tweeted the announcement that Tillerson had been fired.

 I wrote:

"A coincidence of timing? This "last straw" has caused some to wonder anew if Putin doesn't indeed have something on Trump. The leading candidates are sex tapes and money laundering."

But of course it wasn't the last straw.  A week after Putin's "reelection," Trump and Putin spoke on the phone. In preparation for that call, Trump's National Security Adviser gave our president a note, and one paragraph was headed, in capital letters,

"DO NOT CONGRATULATE PUTIN ON ELECTION WIN!"

What was the first thing Trump did on the call?  He congratulated the brutal dictator on his "election win," and just to be sure there was no doubt about Trump's subservience, i) he failed to mention Putin's interference with our elections,  ii) he failed to mention Putin's invasion of Ukraine, and iii) he made no reference to Putin's U.K. poisoning of the former spy.

These "last straws" are obviously more evidence of the likelihood that Putin is holding an important Trump secret as a hostage.  

As to the nature of the secret, I concluded it was likely money because though he vigorously denies the golden showers story, Trump is now virtually immune from sex scandals. If Trump called Putin's bluff, what could the Russian leader do? Publish the tape? Trump would just say it was photo shopped (he said the Access Hollywood tapes were "a hoax") and besides, nobody gives a shit about that stuff. The Evangelicals, the Trump base, and the spineless Republican leadership in Congress would just give him another "Mulligan." 

And of course, once the tape was out, Putin would have lost all his leverage.

Nope, my bet was on money. I wrote, "But money laundering and bribery are not just scandals, ... they are crimes that could put Donald and his family in jail, whether during or after his presidency." And there is always the leverage of calling in all that debt the Russians helped to arrange.

And while a tape is a "single bullet" weapon, money is "an AK47 with a full magazine," "lots of evidence, lots of transactions." Putin could fire a bullet, and even a near miss is a reminder of where the next round might land. Terrifying.

I suggest Putin has just fired a reminder shot. Consider this: In June, 2016 Trump's campaign manager, his son, and his son-in-law (no "coffee gofers" in that crowd) met with a Russian team headed by Ms. Natalya Veselnitskaya, who represented herself as a private lawyer. (Put aside the fact that Trumps Jr. and Sr. lied about the subject of the meeting once it had been discovered. It was about winning the election for Trump, not adopting orphans!)

Surprise, surprise, when the U.S. Senate committee investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election asked Veselnitskaya about the meeting, she insisting, in writing, she was just a private lawyer: "I operate independently of any governmental bodies."

But the Russia inquiry pressure on Trump continued. Mueller was hyperactive, Trump lawyers were jumping ship, and the President's tweeting and bleating were getting more frantic.

Trump was obviously wearing thin, and Putin decided it was time to send a little reminder. You know, like when a kidnapper has taken a child, and is a bit worried the parents are not responding appropriately, the bad guy sends them an ear or a finger?

So Putin sent a "reminder round" in Trump's direction.  Ms.Veselnitskaya last week changed her story and admitted she was not just a private lawyer worried about orphans. She was "an informant for the Russian Prosecutor General!" 

This means that Trump's campaign emissaries met with a  Russian spy who reported directly to Putin's intelligence services! (And, interestingly enough, Veselnitskaya's new voluntary statement includes the fact that her work for the Russian intel services began in 2013. The date of the much-discussed Trump visit to Moscow? November, 2013. Coincidences abound.)

The news here is not that Veselnitskaya lied the first time. The news is she told the truth the second time, and that is something she would not have done without the direction of her bosses. Putin did this. Did his message register with Trump? You betcha. In his campaign rally two days ago, Trump was all over the lot trying to explain the Veselnitskaya disclosure, even conceding the obvious: this was a message from Putin!

Now the only question is, what exactly does the Putin message say? We don't need Bletchley Park to break this code. It says, 

"This is just a reminder, boychik, I have your career and your freedom and your family's freedom in the palm of my hand. Don't make me clench my fist!"

A bientot.