U.S. President Donald Trump attends a campaign rally in support of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley, at Gastonia Municipal Airport in Gastonia, North Carolina, U.S., September 16, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Former high-ranking Justice Department official Andrew Weissmann tore into the latest reports of the shady Trump Tower deal that benefits President Donald Trump's family while enriching an oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin.
The whole situation, he said on MS NOW, shatters the entire illusion that Trump has built around his agenda.
"I think it's important to connect this to the story that you were just covering, which was sort of the incompetence of the leader of the Department of Defense when we are at war," said Weissmann to anchor Nicolle Wallace. "And here you have yet another story of ways that the administration is cozying up, not to our allies, but to our enemies and the individual oligarch ... is under sanction from the United States government, from the Biden administration, because of his anti-democratic, anti-United States activities."
Furthermore, he continued, "It does tie directly to the things that we were investigating so many years ago. So, this is one where there is just a complete through-line, and it is very hard right now to see this as anything that is in the interests of the United States."
"Just to further your point, Andrew, do you know who thinks that the Georgian government is anti-American?" noted Wallace. "Marco Rubio!"
"Exactly. The current secretary of state," agreed Weissmann, noting that Rubio unequivocally said Russia interfered in U.S. elections when he was serving in the Senate, only to now deny this while working under Trump.
The bottom line, he said, is "this is a president who ran on the slogan of America First. How is it America First to be supporting our enemy and to be doing deals with someone who is sanctioned for undertaking anti-democratic activities?"