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"It is absolutely shocking to see that we are now in a position where foreign dictators now have a direct line to the pocket of the American president." On the pod, Casey Michel is so good on why there are many more ways to bribe Trump this time: newrepublic.com/article/189292…

Crucial point on our pod from Casey Michel: The supposed ethics pledge Trump is adopting has a huge loophole: Foreign actors can probably just set up entities and make deals with Trump's businesses to influence him. Our exchange on this, and a transcript: newrepublic.com/article/189295…

Things look dark now, with the new Trump oligarchy set for a corruption spree. But on the pod Casey Michel and I see parallels to 2004 and 1972, when GOP presidents looked invincible but then 2 years later their malfeasance undid them. Our exchange on this: newrepublic.com/article/189295…

The past few years have seen an absolute explosion in foreign money sloshing around Washington – especially from dictatorships. The golden age of global oligarchy in Washington is here. The only question now is: What are we going to do about it?

Extremely happy to help Bernie Sanders spread the word on the flood of dictatorial dollars pouring through Washington, and completely upending American democracy. It’s a deluge that only keeps growing. But can we do something about it before it’s too late?

"If the United States wants to uproot these foreign lobbying networks—and reveal just what effect they're having on democracy in the United States and abroad— what can actually be done?" Casey Michel dawnmena.org/how-mckinsey-h…

"Kleptocracy literally means rule of thieves." In this pod chat, Casey Michel does a nice job defining and discussing terms like "kleptocracy" and "mafia state," which we'll be hearing a lot more over the next four years:

We talked to Casey Michel, a reporter who covers lobbying and influence peddling, and he explains how Trump’s rewarding of friends and punishment of enemies are central to a bigger story: his creation of a new Trump kleptocracy that will now dominate us. trib.al/uxO3Ezh

“We’ve started to see a Russian variant of a domino theory emerge—one that has begun gutting Russian interests elsewhere, [illustrating] just how atrophied Russian power projection has become.” Why isn’t the West exploiting this? Brilliant by Casey Michel. foreignpolicy.com/2025/01/29/dom…

From Georgia to Transnistria to Belarus, the Domino Theory Is Coming for Putin. Great analysis by Casey Michel. foreignpolicy.com/2025/01/29/dom…

Last week was the single-worst week in US history in the fight against both kleptocracy and foreign influence campaigns. All because of decisions from Pam Bondi, Trump's new attorney general—who is herself a former lobbyist for a dictatorship. My latest from The Moscow Times:

For Trump, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was a “horror show for America,” Casey Michel writes. And thanks to his executive order, the legislation is now in effect dead. But the real “horror show” is the new administration’s approach to corruption, which will open the doors of

Opinion: Donald Trump’s approach to corruption is set to open the doors of America to all manner of bad actors on.ft.com/3CYiZHF

Trump wants peace Putin wants conquest Ukraine is fighting to survive Which one of those instincts is strongest? Abandoning Ukraine could force it to go nuclear—putting us all closer to armageddon. The surest path to peace is Russian defeat. Casey Michel wsj.com/opinion/the-pe…

The Peril of Ignoring Ukrainians - WSJ ⁦Casey Michel⁩ wsj.com/opinion/the-pe…

#OpEd While the rest of the world is shutting the door to the corrupt super-rich, President Donald Trump is welcoming them in, warns Casey Michel. themoscowtimes.com/2025/02/28/tru…

Are you going to be at SXSW next week? Join us for the debut of Human Rights Foundation (HRF)'s new, in-person Dictator's Laundromat, where you can learn all about how despots and kleptocrats rely on shell companies, lobbyists, and the sports industry to remain in power, and wash their money clean.

Excellent review by Casey Michel of a new book by Alexander S. Vindman 🇺🇸 about how US policy blunders enabled Putin. Not letting anyone off the hook! thebulwark.com/p/how-years-of…

“American politicians have been for sale for far longer than Mr. Trump has been around and in far more ways than he and his family have so far pioneered.” Great piece from ⁦Casey Michel⁩. Corruption is very much a bipartisan problem. nytimes.com/2025/05/18/opi… via @NYTOpinion