Proof of Conspiracy

September 1, 2019
One-time attorney Abramson extends the argument begun in Proof of Collusion: How Trump Betrayed America (2018) by widening the net of culprits. Donald Trump entered the field of presidential contenders without a discernible ideology save receiving money for nothing, a penchant that many actors were glad to serve. In this long, complex study, the author adds evidence concerning the principal actor, Russia, while layering on other parties: Saudi Arabia, Israel, Egypt, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. Each has served Trump in various ways--Saudi Arabia, for example, by once bailing Trump out from bankruptcy--and each has been rewarded in turn, with Egypt removed from sanctions, given more military aid than it requested, and legitimated even as elected members of the Muslim Brotherhood were branded as terrorists. There are geopolitical issues surrounding this network of "Red Sea conspirators," as Abramson dubs them: All are committed to the continued supremacy of the oil economy, all are positioned to contain Iran and Syria, and all are autocratic to one extent or another--and there's not much Trump likes better than an autocratic leader. Russia remains the principal villain of the piece, but, as the author writes, "the Saudis and Emiratis marked...the additional slate of possibilities opened up by the Kremlin's burgeoning interest in a political neophyte with malleable ethics." By Abramson's extensive account, malleability has shifted into full-blown corruption, as Trump and his associates accepted Israeli intelligence here, Russian offers of support there, and the like. The author's deft tracing of the undeclared international shuttling back and forth between interested parties of former Trump aide Michael Flynn will make readers wonder why he's not locked inside a maximum security prison. Abramson closes by connecting the dots in current newspaper headlines: Netanyahu wins reelection in Israel, Saudi Arabia declares war on dissidents and neighboring nations alike, Trump pledges an additional 10,000 American troops for deployment in the Middle East, a prelude to war in Iran.... A richly documented indictment of power and corruption that bears urgent discussion in the coming electoral cycle.

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September 9, 2019
CNN analyst Abramson’s muddled follow-up to Proof of Collusion alleges a “Red Sea Conspiracy” hatched in 2015 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates and then Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. Their plan, according to Abramson, was to illicitly help Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in order to gain his support for a “grand bargain” that would end U.S. sanctions on Russia in exchange for Vladimir Putin’s help in evicting Iran from Syria, pave the way for dozens of new Saudi and Emirati nuclear plants, and forge an anti-Iranian, pro-Israeli military alliance among Sunni Arab nations. Abramson’s talk of quid-pro-quo is unconvincing since the “bargain” to end sanctions never materialized and the only specific election meddling he identifies is an unproven theory that the UAE funded pro-Trump social media operations. His disorganized, repetitive, almost unreadable narrative instead traces labyrinths of murky “ties,” meetings, and business deals that add up only to nebulous insinuations. Buried beneath the avalanche of conjecture are Abramson’s serious criticisms of Trump’s foreign policy, including his support of the Saudi regime’s brutal war in Yemen. The result is a confused proof of nothing that obscures more than it reveals.