"A crusading prosecutor in the Balkans comes under pressure to drop a big case. Vietnamese villagers learn they are to be evicted. A convicted crypto kingpin in the Gulf receives a pardon. All have one thing in common: they appear to be connected to the Trump family's campaign to amass riches around the world. Since Donald Trump's re-election a year ago, warnings that his use of presidential power to advance personal interests is corroding American democracy have grown ever louder. What is less understood and perhaps even more dangerous is the damage this is doing everywhere else."
"Trump's eldest sons, Don Jr and Eric, formally the custodians of the family business, are conducting a global dealmaking blitz. They have broken ground on new golf courses, received permission for new skyscrapers, rented out the Trump brand, and in cryptocurrency they have embraced a venture with the capacity to bring in more than everything that has gone before. They insist, in Eric's words, that there is a huge wall between this moneymaking and their father's position as the most powerful man alive. Nothing I do has anything to do with the White House, Eric told CNN recently."
"Kristofer Harrison, a senior foreign police official under President George W Bush who now runs an anti-corruption organisation called the Dekleptocracy Project, is among those accusing the Trumps of operating a pay to play system that benefits those who do business with the president's family. Such an approach could be manipulated, he said, especially by rival powers such as China. He said: Trump has made authoritarians' wildest dreams come true."
A crusading prosecutor in the Balkans faced pressure to drop a major case, Vietnamese villagers were told they would be evicted, and a convicted crypto kingpin in the Gulf received a pardon, each linked to the Trump family's global wealth campaign. Since re-election, concerns grew that presidential power is being used to advance personal interests, with worldwide consequences. Don Jr and Eric Trump are aggressively expanding business ventures—golf courses, skyscrapers, brand licensing, and cryptocurrency—with assertions of separation from presidential duties. Critics warn of a pay-to-play dynamic that could be exploited by rival powers and raise questions about policy, prosecutions, and technology transfers.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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