This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The current flap about Barack Obama spying on the Trumps is a red herring designed to divert attention from the Trump-Russian entanglements, political and financial. National security may be an issue but the real elephant in the room remains the lack of transparency concerning Donald Trump's financial web in Russia.
Trump enterprises' Russian involvement, including Jared Kushner's personal investments, is reported to be huge. There are reports that the Trumps have a sizable profit expected to come from a proposed Russian pipeline (ditto for the steel needed for the U.S. Keystone pipeline). Then there is the spider web of Trump loans involving the Deutsche Bank that relate back to Russia. And the approximate $60 million Trump profit from the house sale in Florida paid by a Russian billionaire.
On top of all the money lurks the Russian/CIA involvement in the November election via email attacks on Hillary Clinton. This is not one elephant in the room, it's a herd.
Of course, if the president would release his tax returns — as all previous presidents have done in recent times — some light might be shown on the Russian mess. No greatness will come to this country until honest clarity returns.
Mary Johnson
Millcreek