ELECTION/FOREIGN DIGNITARIES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Donald Trump pledged to ‘drain the swamp’ of money and influence in Washington. But sludge has kept pouring in — and some of it is coming from foreigners who are trying to buy sway with the president and his advisers. Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, associates of Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, were arrested on Thursday [10-10-19] and charged with trying to aid Ukrainian and Russian foreign nationals by secretly directing $325,000 to a pro-Trump super PAC. And they are only the latest in a string of moneymen and women connected to Trump — including possible Middle Eastern donors to Trump’s inaugural committee, Mar-a-Lago neighbor Cindy Yang, GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy and imprisoned former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort — who have come under scrutiny since 2016 over funneling foreign money into American politics. The string of allegations reveal gaping holes in America’s defenses against foreign influence in its politics and elections, stretching far beyond the inadequate cybersecurity that Russian hackers exploited in 2016.”
–Maggie Severns, “‘A great big money party’: Foreign efforts to influence Trump keep piling up,” Politico, October 10, 2019 8:08 pm