Among the things that I find disturbing about Trump are his connections to Russian money. In reference to this I wrote Once Upon a Time there was a Developer. Trump also has a history of baseless lawsuits. So obviously The Developer I wrote about is not Trump.

Trump’s lack of financial transparency means that we have no idea what his connections and debts to the Russian oligarchs that surround Putin might be. There are suggestions that the Trump Organization has received hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from Russian sources. Add to this the favorable things that Trump has said about Putin and we have a picture of someone who must never be President of the United States.

The New Yorker is a great source of journalism. In addition to the article on Deutsche Bank and money laundering referenced in “Once Upon a Time” there was a recent article on the struggle in the Ukraine to create a country with the rule of law. This is taking place in the face of an invasion by Russia. Putin has consistently backed the corrupt factions in the Ukraine.

Putin is not a good guy. He is a bad actor on both the world stage and within Russia. This includes the murder of a number of journalists who have been critical of Putin. Putin and his circle have moved billions of dollars that have been looted from Russia out of the country. This is not government, but kleptocracy.

The fact that someone who received the Republican nomination may have markers out to Putin’s inner circle should is disturbing. The only way to find out if this is true or not would be for Trump to be transparent about his finances. And we know that this is not going to happen.