We need the truth about Russia ties

I am surprised when I hear people saying that many Americans are not giving Mr. Trump a chance and that the concerns over the connections to Russia are political posturing. The Kislyak meetings with Flynn, Sessions and Kushner are well-established. Mr. Kislyak has been described by our intelligence agencies as a spy recruiter.

Paul Manafort, Roger Stone and Carter Page had connections to Russia and worked for or advised the campaign. Jared Kushner met in December with Russian Banker and Putin associate Sergey Gorkov. Gorkov has ties to the KGB successor organization the FSB.

The Trump Team wanted to work with Russia to improve relations and it's being reported that immediately after assuming the presidency, the administration pressed the State Department to develop a plan to lift U.S. sanctions against Russia.

The U.S. and E.U. had sanctioned Russia for the annexation of the Crimea, a region within Ukraine, and for Russian support for Ukrainian separatists. The sanctions included strict banking rules and the blocking of investment in Russian oil companies (the same companies that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson worked with in his previous position as CEO of Exxon. The sanctions were put in place by the U.S. and E.U. specifically as a signal to President Putin that his aggression would not be tolerated by the world community.

Trump and his family members have made numerous trips to Moscow in search of business opportunities, and they have relied on Russian investors to buy their properties around the world. In Florida, Trump flipped a mansion to a Russian billionaire at a shocking $50 million profit. 63 buyers with Russian passports invested $100 million in 7 of his luxury condo buildings in Southern Florida.

We need the whole truth as soon as possible.

David Troland

Arlington Heights