The Daily Grift

TDG: Stop Waiting For Someone To Officially Confirm Trump Is A Russian Asset

Nobody is coming to formally confirm what most of us already know. Today on the Daily Grift - we walk every receipt Donald Trump has paid Russia since the morning he first took the oath of office. The sanctions he tried to lift on day one. The press conference where he sided with Vladimir Putin over our own spy agencies. The afternoon he handed the Russian foreign minister classified intelligence that belonged to Israel, the day after firing the FBI director investigating him. The Kurds abandoned in Syria. The arms control treaties Russia wanted gone. New START allowed to expire. And the second-term sequel happening in real time, while Russia tells its own people the new sanctions are theater. Today’s episode is up now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.In other news:Last week, I published the final two essays in The Receipts: How Russia Bought an American President. Ten essays. This is the close. Essay 10A closes the loop on 2016 itself – the information warfare operation Russia ran on American voters, the bills Trump paid back once he got there, and the cover-up. Essay 10B goes deeper: where the playbook came from, how Russia field-tested it on Estonia, Georgia, and Ukraine before pointing it at America, and what it’s still pointing at right now. The Receipts · Essay #10A #10A From Asset to Authoritarian [https://rachelandthecity.com/trump-russia-receipts-from-asset-to-authoritarian/] A Kremlin propagandist named Konstantin Rykov sat down on Facebook in 2017 and casually confessed to the entire 2016 operation – Cambridge Analytica, the psychotype voter models, the timeline. “Our idea was insane, but realizable.” This essay closes the loop: the actual information warfare op, the bills Trump paid Russia back once he was in the chair, and the cover-up that’s kept half the country from believing it. Read Essay #10A → [https://rachelandthecity.com/trump-russia-receipts-from-asset-to-authoritarian/] The Receipts · Essay #10B #10B The Playbook: How Russia Pulled It Off [https://rachelandthecity.com/trump-russia-receipts-the-playbook/] The 2016 op wasn’t an improvisation. Russia had been running the same hybrid-warfare playbook – cyberattacks, information warfare, deniable special forces, all coordinated for a fait accompli – against Estonia, Georgia, and Ukraine for nearly a decade before they pointed it at America. The political-influence side goes back even further: a hundred years to Soviet front organizations. Same play, biggest target yet. And it’s still running. Read Essay #10B → [https://rachelandthecity.com/trump-russia-receipts-the-playbook/] The Full Series Ten essays. Every sourced name, date, and dollar amount that the TV coverage keeps leaving out. Read the Full Series → [https://rachelandthecity.com/the-receipts/] Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it. Podcast Sources * Trump Asked Tillerson to Drop Sanctions Against Russia - Yahoo News (Isikoff) [https://www.yahoo.com/news/yahoo-news-exclusive-trump-asked-tillerson-to-drop-sanctions-against-russia.html] * Trump Revealed Highly Classified Information to Russian Foreign Minister - Washington Post (May 15, 2017) [https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-revealed-highly-classified-information-to-russian-foreign-minister-and-ambassador/2017/05/15/530c172a-3960-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69_story.html] * Trump Told Lavrov Firing Comey Took ‘Great Pressure’ Off - New York Times (May 19, 2017) [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/us/politics/trump-russia-comey.html] * Israel Was the Source of Intelligence Trump Shared with Russia - NBC News [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/israel-was-source-intelligence-trump-shared-russia-sources-n760301] * ‘Horrified’ Israeli Intel Officials Were Shouting at US Counterparts Over Trump Leak - Times of Israel [https://www.timesofisrael.com/horrified-israeli-intel-officials-were-shouting-at-us-counterparts-over-trump-leak/] * Trump Plans to Tear Up a 31-Year-Old Nuclear Weapons Treaty (INF) - Time [https://time.com/5430388/donald-trump-nuclear-weapons-treaty-inf-withdrawal/] * Trump Administration to Withdraw from Open Skies Treaty - Washington Post [https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2020/05/21/882d460a-9b68-11ea-b60c-3be060a4f8e1_story.html] * Statement to the Conference on Disarmament (New START Expiry Confirmed) - U.S. State Department [https://www.state.gov/releases/2026/02/statement-to-the-conference-on-disarmament/] * Trump Pauses Military Aid to Ukraine After Oval Office Argument with Zelensky - CNN [https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/03/politics/trump-administration-ukraine-aid/index.html] * Trump Officials Say US Paused Intelligence Sharing with Ukraine - CNN [https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/05/politics/us-pause-intelligence-support-ukraine/index.html] * Trump Eases Russian Oil Sanctions as Iran War Sends Prices Spiking - NBC News [https://www.nbcnews.com/world/russia/trump-eases-russian-oil-sanctions-iran-war-prices-ukraine-europe-rcna263310] * Trump Administration Reverses Course, Extends Russian Oil Sanctions Waiver - The Hill [https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5837397-trump-extends-russian-oil-waiver/] * Russia Chides Donald Trump for ‘Bidenism’ After ‘Man-to-Man’ Agreement With Putin (Lavrov on Anchorage) - Newsweek [https://www.newsweek.com/russia-ukraine-war-trump-putin-lavrov-alaska-deal-11487798] * Mood in Russia Turns Bleak as War in Ukraine Drags On (Fifth Year) - Washington Post [https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/04/26/russia-public-despair-war-ukraine/] * Russian Receipts: How Russia Bought an American President - Essay Series Hub [https://rachelandthecity.substack.com] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rachelandthecity.substack.com [https://rachelandthecity.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

TDG: Putin Has a Rabbi. Jared Kushner Has the Same Rabbi. The FBI Knew.

Vladimir Putin has a rabbi. Jared Kushner’s family pays the rabbi’s organization. The FBI has known about it for six years. Today on the Daily Grift - I walk through a religious institution Putin built in 1999 with oligarch money, the $295M Manhattan real estate deal that connected it to Trump’s son-in-law, and the FBI memo that named Kushner as a Russian-money-laundering conduit. The Bureau gave the memo a case number, labeled it intelligence, and put it in a drawer. It only became public when a court forced its release a few months ago. And nobody seems to care. Today’s episode is up now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. In other news: Essay #9 of The Receipts: How Russia Bought an American President is live today. This one is the deal he lied about for two years straight. While Trump stood at rallies telling voters he had nothing to do with Russia, Michael Cohen was on the phone with the Kremlin negotiating Trump Tower Moscow. Felix Sater put it in writing: “Our boy can become president of the USA and we can engineer it.” The Receipts · Essay #9 · New Today #9 The Deal: Trump Tower Moscow and the Biggest Lie of the Campaign [https://rachelandthecity.com/trump-tower-moscow-biggest-campaign-lie/] While Trump told voters he had nothing to do with Russia, Michael Cohen was negotiating Trump Tower Moscow with the Kremlin. Felix Sater emailed: “Our boy can become president of the USA and we can engineer it.” Read Essay #9 → [https://rachelandthecity.com/trump-tower-moscow-biggest-campaign-lie/] The Receipts · Essay #8 #8 The International Pipeline: How the Network Took Trump’s Brand Global [https://rachelandthecity.com/trump-international-pipeline-toronto-panama-oligarchs/] Putin’s state bank financed Trump Toronto through KGB-linked companies. A broker for Trump Panama admitted half his buyers were Russian mafia. Kushner bought property from a Putin-allied oligarch through Deutsche Bank. Same network, three continents. Read Essay #8 → [https://rachelandthecity.com/trump-international-pipeline-toronto-panama-oligarchs/] The Full Series Ten essays. Every sourced name, date, and dollar amount the TV coverage keeps leaving out. Read the Full Series → [https://rachelandthecity.com/the-receipts/] Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it.Sources Podcast Sources * FBI Memo Says Israel “Compromised” Trump, Epstein Had Mossad Ties - Middle East Eye [https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/epstein-files-fbi-memo-says-israel-compromised-trump-epstein-had-mossad-ties] * The Odd Chabad Connection Between Putin and Trump - Washington Monthly [https://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/11/27/the-odd-chabad-connection-between-putin-and-trump/] * The Happy-Go-Lucky Jewish Group That Connects Trump and Putin - Politico [https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/04/the-happy-go-lucky-jewish-group-that-connects-trump-and-putin-215007] * As Kushner Testifies, Real Estate Deal With Israeli Oligarch Scrutinized - Times of Israel [https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-kushner-testifies-real-estate-deal-with-israeli-oligarch-scrutinized/] * Why Is Putin’s Private Slush Fund Courting Jared Kushner - Foreign Policy [https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/04/07/why-is-putins-private-slush-fund-courting-jared-kushner/] * Chabad’s Long Faustian Bargain With Russia and Putin - Haaretz [https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/2022-04-25/ty-article-opinion/.highlight/chabads-long-faustian-bargain-with-russia-and-putin/00000180-655d-d824-ad9e-e77d0d8b0000] * Narco-a-Lago: Money Laundering at Trump Ocean Club Panama - Global Witness [https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/corruption-and-money-laundering/narco-a-lago-money-laundering-at-the-trump-ocean-club-panama/] * Trump Toronto and Seabeco - NewsTRACS [https://newstracs.com/trump-international-hotel-tower-toronto-and-a-web-of-links-to-russia-no-container/2021/09/20/] * VEB Russia Bank Spy Ring - BuzzFeed News [https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/scottpham/veb-russia-bank-spy-ring] * Russian Receipts: How Russia Bought an American President - Essay #8 The International Pipeline [https://rachelandthecity.substack.com] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rachelandthecity.substack.com [https://rachelandthecity.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

TDG: Bessent's Gift to Deutsche Bank - Softer Laundering Rules for Trump's Lender

There is a boring little piece of paper that has caught billions of dollars of drug cartel money, terrorist financing, and Russian oligarch cash since 1970 - and the Treasury Secretary of the United States just announced he wants to soften it. Today on The Daily Grift, we follow the ten-day window between a quiet FinCEN rule change and Scott Bessent’s public speech asking for even less enforcement, then we trace who actually wins when those rules go limp - starting with Mexican cartel casinos that got caught, and ending with the one German bank that has lent Donald Trump the better part of two billion dollars. Today’s episode is up now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. In other news: Essay #8 of The Receipts: How Russia Bought an American President is live today. The network went global — Toronto, Panama, three continents, same Russian money. All the sourced names and dollar amounts below. The Receipts · Essay #8 · New Today #8 The International Pipeline: How the Network Took Trump’s Brand Global [https://rachelandthecity.com/trump-international-pipeline-toronto-panama-oligarchs/] Putin’s state bank financed Trump Toronto through a chain of KGB-linked companies. A broker for Trump Panama admitted half his buyers were Russian mafia. Kushner bought property from a Putin-allied oligarch and financed it through Deutsche Bank. Same network, three continents. Read Essay #8 → [https://rachelandthecity.com/trump-international-pipeline-toronto-panama-oligarchs/] The Receipts · Essay #7 #7 The Front Company: How Russian Intelligence Built a Business Inside Trump Tower [https://rachelandthecity.com/bayrock-russian-intelligence-trump-tower-the-front-company/] Bayrock Group set up shop in Trump Tower, staffed by a Soviet commerce official and a convicted felon turned FBI informant, funded by Kazakh oligarchs, and designed to move Russian money through luxury real estate. 77% of Trump SoHo units were bought with cash by shell companies formed days before purchase. Read Essay #7 → [https://rachelandthecity.com/bayrock-russian-intelligence-trump-tower-the-front-company/] The Receipts · Essay #6 #6 The Lifeline: Deutsche Bank, Russian Money, and Trump’s Only Option [https://rachelandthecity.com/deutsche-bank-trump-russian-money-the-lifeline/] After every major American bank cut Trump off following his Atlantic City bankruptcies, Deutsche Bank stepped in — and kept lending even after he defaulted and sued them. Deutsche Bank’s Moscow office was simultaneously running a $10 billion Russian money laundering scheme. The overlap is not a coincidence. Read Essay #6 → [https://rachelandthecity.com/deutsche-bank-trump-russian-money-the-lifeline/] The Full Series Ten essays. Every sourced name, date, and dollar amount the TV coverage keeps leaving out. Read the Full Series → [https://rachelandthecity.com/the-receipts/] Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it. Podcast Sources * Treasury Secretary Speech on AML Modernization - U.S. Department of the Treasury [https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases] * **FinCEN Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Bank Secrecy Act Enforcement - [https://www.fincen.gov/news-room] FinCEN.gov [http://FinCEN.gov]** * Treasury Sanctions Mexican Casinos for Sinaloa Cartel Money Laundering - OFAC [https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions] * Deutsche Bank Loaned Trump $2 Billion Over Two Decades - CNBC [https://www.cnbc.com] * Deutsche Bank and Trump: A Bond Born of Necessity and Ambition - The New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com] * Deutsche Bank $425M Mirror Trades Enforcement Action - NY DFS [https://www.dfs.ny.gov] * Deutsche Bank’s $10 Billion in Suspicious Russian Transactions - OCCRP [https://www.occrp.org] * The Compliance Officer Who Flagged Epstein and Kushner - The Lever [https://www.levernews.com] * The Epstein Whistleblower Who Was Silenced - Jacobin [https://jacobin.com] * Trump’s Chicago Tower Debt Forgiven by Deutsche Bank - CBS News [https://www.cbsnews.com] * Trump Taj Mahal Fined $10 Million for Money Laundering Violations - FinCEN [https://www.fincen.gov] * Wachovia Bank Laundered $378 Billion of Mexican Cartel Money - Bloomberg [https://www.bloomberg.com] * Binance $4.3 Billion Settlement for BSA Violations - U.S. Department of Justice [https://www.justice.gov] * Decade in the Red: Trump Tax Figures - The New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com] * Why Did Deutsche Bank Keep Lending to Donald Trump? - ProPublica [https://www.propublica.org] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rachelandthecity.substack.com [https://rachelandthecity.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

TDG: Being Told The Mueller Report Was A Hoax Was The Hoax

Before we go any further with my Russian Receipts essay series, we need to talk about the elephant in the room. I still see commenters saying the whole Trump-Russia connection was a hoax. That it was overblown. That Mueller cleared everyone. That’s absolutely, positively not true. I took the weekend to put this episode together so we could clear that up before I go any further. Today’s episode explains what the Mueller report actually said, in its own words, and why calling it a hoax was a frame job run by Trump’s own attorney general. Tomorrow I’m back with the next installment of The Receipts. But we can’t walk the next ten essays together until we’ve walked this one first. PODCAST SOURCES * Mueller Report, Volumes 1 and 2 (DOJ archives) [https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco/file/1373816/download] * Barr’s March 24, 2019 letter to Congress [https://www.justice.gov/ag/page/file/1147981/download] * Mueller’s March 27, 2019 response letter to Barr [https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/william-barr-s-letter-to-congress-and-robert-mueller-s-response/df8e4e69-e42d-48d0-88a7-40d8e929eb21/] * Senate Intelligence Committee Report, Volume 5 [https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/publications/report-select-committee-intelligence-united-states-senate-russian-active-measures] * Judge Reggie Walton ruling on Barr’s handling of the Mueller Report (EPIC v. DOJ) [https://epic.org/documents/epic-v-doj-mueller-report/] * Bill Barr Notre Dame Law School Speech, October 2019 [https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/attorney-general-william-p-barr-delivers-remarks-law-school-and-de-nicola-center-ethics] * Iran-Contra Christmas Eve 1992 pardons (Bush White House archive) [https://bush41library.tamu.edu/archives/public-papers/5237] * Donald Barr, [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1049728.Space_Relations]Space Relations [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1049728.Space_Relations] (1973) [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1049728.Space_Relations] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rachelandthecity.substack.com [https://rachelandthecity.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

TDG: 40 Years of Foreign Cash - Trump's Longest Running Deal

Every decade, the vehicle changes. The customers stay the same. In 1984, it was condos. Shell companies, all cash, Trump at the closing. Now it’s a memecoin dinner where 19 of the top 25 holders are likely foreign nationals - and the agencies that are supposed to stop it have been gutted from the inside. Today, I trace the full 40-year pipeline from Trump Tower to World Liberty Financial and ask the question nobody in Washington wants to answer. Today’s episode is up now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. In case you missed it, this week I published four essays in The Receipts: How Russia Bought an American President – ten sourced essays documenting the case that Russia’s relationship with Donald Trump didn’t start in 2016. It started in 1977. I’m taking the weekend off. Essays resume Monday morning at 8 AM Central. If you’re new to the series, all four published essays are below. Start with Essay #1 or hit the button at the bottom to read the introduction first. The Receipts · Essay #4 #4 Brighton Beach: How the Russian Mob Set Up Shop in Trump’s Buildings [https://rachelandthecity.com/brighton-beach-russian-mob-trump-buildings/] The Jackson-Vanik Amendment opened American doors to 600,000 Soviet emigrants. It also let in the Russian mafia. By the 1980s, Brighton Beach was the headquarters of America’s most ruthless criminal organization – and Trump’s buildings were their preferred address. The FBI documented it. Read Essay #4 → [https://rachelandthecity.com/brighton-beach-russian-mob-trump-buildings/] The Receipts · Essay #3 #3 The Invitation: How the Soviet Union Rolled Out the Red Carpet for Donald Trump [https://rachelandthecity.com/trump-1987-moscow-trip-kgb-invitation/] In July 1987, Trump flew to Moscow at the invitation of Soviet Ambassador Yuri Dubinin – via Intourist, a known KGB front. He came home and immediately spent $95,000 on newspaper ads attacking NATO, echoing Soviet talking points almost word for word. Two months later he was publicly mulling a presidential run. Read Essay #3 → [https://rachelandthecity.com/trump-1987-moscow-trip-kgb-invitation/] The Receipts · Essay #2 #2 The Test: Trump Tower Was Open for Business and the Mob Came Shopping [https://rachelandthecity.com/trump-tower-russian-money-laundering-the-test/] Trump Tower opened in 1983 and immediately became a magnet for dirty money. Baby Doc Duvalier, Russian mob operative David Bogatin, and mob-connected gambling kingpin Robert Hopkins all bought condos with cash through shell companies. BuzzFeed traced 1,300+ suspicious shell company purchases totaling $1.5 billion across Trump properties. Read Essay #2 → [https://rachelandthecity.com/trump-tower-russian-money-laundering-the-test/] The Receipts · Essay #1 #1 The Mark: The KGB Had a Checklist for Picking Targets and Trump Checked Every Box [https://rachelandthecity.com/trump-kgb-recruitment-checklist-the-mark/] The KGB literally wrote down what kind of person they were looking for – ambitious, egotistical, susceptible to flattery. Czech intelligence had been monitoring Trump since 1977 through his wife Ivana’s father, an StB informant. Roy Cohn connected him to the Russian mob. The recruitment profile was a perfect match. Read Essay #1 → [https://rachelandthecity.com/trump-kgb-recruitment-checklist-the-mark/] The Full Series Ten essays. Every morning at 8 AM Central. All the names, dates, and dollar amounts the TV coverage keeps leaving out. Start from the Beginning [https://rachelandthecity.com/trump-russia-receipts-introduction/] Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it. Podcast Sources * Secret Money: How Trump Made Millions Selling Condos to Unknown Buyers - BuzzFeed News [https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/thomasfrank/secret-money-how-trump-made-millions-selling-condos-to] * Trump’s Russian Laundromat - The New Republic [https://newrepublic.com/article/143586/trumps-russian-laundromat-trump-tower-luxury-high-rises-dirty-money-international-crime-syndicate] * Top Trump Crypto Buyers Vying for Dinner Seats Are Likely Foreign - Bloomberg [https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-trump-memecoin-foreign-crypto-traders/] * Trump’s World Liberty Financial Uses 5 Billion WLFI to Borrow $75 Million - CoinDesk [https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2026/04/09/trump-s-world-liberty-financial-borrows-usd75-million-against-its-own-token-trapping-depositors-on-dolomite] * Trump Pardons Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao - CNBC [https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/23/trump-pardons-binance-founder-cz-zhao.html] * Trump Pardon for Binance CEO Was ‘Corruption’ - Former DOJ Pardon Attorney - Newsweek [https://www.newsweek.com/trump-pardon-binance-ceo-corruption-doj-pardon-attorney-11058870] * Justice Department Office That Prosecutes Public Corruption Slashed in Size - NBC News [https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/justice-department-office-prosecutes-public-corruption-slashed-size-so-rcna195928] * Firings, Pardons and Policy Changes Have Gutted DOJ Anti-Corruption Efforts - NBC News [https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/firings-pardons-policy-changes-gutted-doj-anti-corruption-efforts-expe-rcna200571] * The Real Backstory to the Arrest of Two Ukrainian-American Trump Donors - Campaign Legal Center [https://campaignlegal.org/update/real-backstory-arrest-two-ukrainian-american-trump-donors] * Trump Tower Moscow: The Definitive Story - BuzzFeed News [https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/anthonycormier/trump-moscow-micheal-cohen-felix-sater-campaign] * Steve Witkoff Is Still Holding Trump-Linked Crypto Assets - Bloomberg [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-17/steve-witkoff-is-still-holding-trump-linked-crypto-assets] * World Liberty Financial Has Borrowed Millions Against Its Own Token - The Defiant [https://thedefiant.io/news/defi/world-liberty-financial-has-borrowed-millions-against-its-own-token] * He Championed the Trumps’ Crypto Venture. Now He’s Attacking It - WSJ [https://www.securitiesdocket.com/2026/04/15/he-championed-the-trumps-crypto-venture-now-hes-attacking-it-wsj/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit rachelandthecity.substack.com [https://rachelandthecity.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]