Craig Unger tells Leonard about Trump's connection to the Russian mafia. (September 13, 2018)
“On November 9, 2016, just a few minutes after Donald Trump was elected president of the United States, a man named Vyacheslav Nikonov approached a microphone in the Russian State Duma (their equivalent of the US House of Representatives) and made a very unusual statement. ‘Dear friends, respected colleagues!’ Nikonov said. ‘Three minutes ago, Hillary Clinton admitted her defeat in US presidential elections, and a second ago Trump started his speech as an elected president of the United States of America, and I congratulate you on this.’ Nikonov is a leader in the pro-Putin United Russia Party and, incidentally, the grandson of Vyacheslav Molotov — after whom the ‘Molotov cocktail’ was named. His announcement that day was a clear signal that Trump’s victory was, in fact, a victory for Putin’s Russia. Longtime journalist Craig Unger opens his new book, ‘House of Trump, House of Putin,’ with this anecdote. The book is an impressive attempt to gather up all the evidence we have of Trump’s numerous connections to the Russian mafia and government and lay it all out in a clear, comprehensive narrative.” – Sean Illing, Vox. On Thursday’s “Leonard Lopate at Large,” Craig tells Leonard about just how deep President Trump’s connections to the Russian mob go.