10.5.26

WEBVTT
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Welcome to the reading of the New York Times for Monday,
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October 5th, 2025. As a reminder, Radio Eye is a
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reading service intended for people who are blind or have
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other disabilities that make it difficult to read printed material.
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Your reader for today is Mary Fullington. We'll start today's
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reading with the Merriam-Webster word of the day, which is perseverate. Perseverate.
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is a verb spelled P-E-R-S-E-V-E-R-A-T-E. To perseverate is to intently
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focus one's attention on a thought or thoughts. Perseverate can
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also mean to recur or repeat continually. Here are some examples.
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They teach that there is no use in perseverating about
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past regrets. Nervous thoughts perseverated in the back of her
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mind for weeks leading up to the event, but it
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was a complete success. Here's another example from Michael Rand
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in the Minnesota Star Tribune. April 14, 2025. Quote, why
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do we remember the close losses more than the wins?
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We perseverate on Milwaukee's 24-point comeback with 10 minutes left
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in the fourth quarter, but forget the Wolves trailed by
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16 with less than five minutes to play before beating
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Houston earlier this year. The Merriam-Webster word of the day, perseverate.
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Now we will read the front page headlines from today's
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print edition of the New York Times. U.S.-Russia talks on
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Ukraine now involve an oil deal tied to Trump allies.
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President Vladimir V. Putin brought up a sale of Russian
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energy assets with President Trump's envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff,
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pushing a deal that raises new questions about conflicts of interest.
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An outrage in 2019, no problem in 2026. Trump has
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moved the ethical line. The president's decision to hold an
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international summit at his own private golf club, an idea
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rejected in his first term, illustrates how much he has
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shattered norms. American high school students are selling guns bound
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for cartels. Drawn by money and status, teenagers in Arizona
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are buying, stealing, and selling weapons destined for criminal groups
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in Mexico. How Cornell punished each of the seven men
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accused of sexual assault. Summaries obtained by the New York
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Times offer a detailed look at the discipline meted out
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to the men accused of sexually assaulting a fellow student
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at Cornell University. First article. U.S.-Russia talks on Ukraine now
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involve an oil deal tied to Trump allies. President Vladimir V.
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Putin brought up a sale of Russian energy assets with
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President Trump's envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, pushing a
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deal that raises new questions about conflicts of interests. by
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Anton Troinovsky and Eric Lipton reporting from Washington. The Trump
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administration's talks with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine
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have expanded to include a multi-billion dollar oil deal that
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would benefit Middle Eastern business executives with ties to the
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two main U.S. negotiators, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The deal,
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which is contingent on approval from the U.S. government and
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the Kremlin, is for a sprawling set of oil fields, refineries,
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and gas stations around the world owned by Lukoil, one
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of Russia's biggest energy companies. The leading group seeking the
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deal includes an American investor, Todd Belli, who has donated
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$ 2 million to President Trump's political causes. two Middle Eastern
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groups that have done business with Mr. Kushner or Mr.
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Witkoff's family, and an arm of the U.S. government itself.
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The months-long negotiations, which were described by eight people familiar
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with them, shed new light on Mr. Trump's latest approach
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to settling a four-year war that has killed hundreds of thousands.
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The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because of
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the sensitivity of the negotiations. There is no indication that Mr.
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Kushner and Mr. Witkoff themselves stand to profit, but the
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pending deal represents a striking intermingling of personal business ties
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with geopolitics, even for an administration that has regularly dismissed
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concerns about potential conflicts of interest. President Vladimir V. Putin
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of Russia brought up the deal when he met with Mr.
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Witkoff and Mr. Kushner at the Kremlin on September 5th,
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according to three people familiar with the meeting. Mr. Putin
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proposed it get done as a way of showing Russians
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that they can do business with the United States, according
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to one of the people. The Americans responded that they
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would work on it. The person said, seeing it as
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a way to build goodwill with the Kremlin while also
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lowering global energy prices. But the deal is also a
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lucrative one for the buyers. U.S. approval for the sale
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would release the assets from American sanctions, instantly increasing their value.
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In Moscow, the decision on the deal is widely seen
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as Mr. Putin's to make, even though Lukoil is technically
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a private company. The upshot is that the giant transaction
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involving assets as varied as oil fields in Cameroon, refineries
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in Europe, and gas stations in New Jersey comes down
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to Mr. Putin and Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump has been
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promoting the promise of business deals with Russia since early
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last year, describing the country as a tremendous opportunity. The
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deal again brings Mr. Trump's World Liberty Financial Cryptocurrency Company,
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co-founded by Mr. Witkoff, into focus. One of the investors
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in the Lukoil deal is a part owner of World Liberty. Mr.
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Witkoff and Mr. Kushner, who have traveled repeatedly to Russia
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for meetings with Mr. Putin, have argued that the potential
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to rebuild economic ties with the West is could convince
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the Russian president to compromise on Ukraine. The administration has
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recently signaled it is open to deals with Russia, even
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before the war ends, as a way of showing it
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is serious about resetting the United States' relationship with Moscow.
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The Lukoil sale, people familiar with the matter say, is
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one of those deals. In a statement, a senior administration
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official confirmed that Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner played a
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direct role in helping negotiate the financial terms of the
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investment by the federal government in the deal to ensure
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that it included, quote, a substantial upfront payment and profits
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interest for the United States. A spokeswoman for Mr. Witkoff
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said that he, quote, takes no salary and travels the
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world on his own plane at his own expense, working
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on behalf of President Trump to negotiate peace and bring
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hostages home to their families. She added that Mr. Witkoff, quote,
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has no conflict of interest and no financial stake in
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this matter. A stalled bid and a new contender. Numerous
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potential bidders expressed interest in at least part of the
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Luke Oil's international holdings when the assets went on the
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market last fall, including U.S. energy giants like Chevron. The
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Washington private equity firm Carlyle reached a tentative agreement in
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January to buy a large share of the assets after
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making the pitch that bringing Lukoil's international portfolio under U.S.
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ownership would further the Trump administration's goal of energy dominance.
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But in recent months, as U.S. approval for Carlyle's bid stalled,
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a different group emerged as the leading bidder, one led
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by Mr. Bailey. a billionaire supporter of Mr. Trump's alongside
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well-connected figures in the Middle East and the U.S. government itself.
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The members of the partnership were reported last week by
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the Financial Times. Mr. Bailey is a co-owner of the
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Los Angeles Dodgers and donated $ 1 million to MAGA, Inc.,
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the Trump-aligned political committee, in December 2020. he gave another
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$ 1 million through his investment firm Eldridge Industries to Mr.
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Trump's inauguration. The U.S. government is taking a stake in
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the deal through the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. an
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agency that invests in and lends to projects overseas. A
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DFC official said in a statement that the potential luke
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oil deal, quote, would advance the Trump administration's commitment to
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strengthen U.S. economic security, advance U.S. foreign policy, and lower
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energy prices for everyday Americans. But it would not be
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an all-American purchase. A major equity holder would be the
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Qatar-based conglomerate controlled by Mutaz al-Qayyat and his brother, Ramez al-Qayyat,
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both of whom attended Mr. Trump's inauguration in 2025 and
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have since formed a partnership with Mr. Kushner and his wife,
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Ivanka Trump, one of Mr. Trump's daughters. to help finance
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a multi-billion-dollar luxury hotel resort project in northern Albania. Another
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major stakeholder would be an Abu Dhabi-based investment fund controlled
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by Sheikh Tanun bin Zayed al-Nayan, the United Arab Emirates'
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top national security advisor, who controls another fund that purchased
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a large stake in the Trump family's cryptocurrency company, WorldLiberty.
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run in part by Mr. Witkoff's son. Steve Witkoff was
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a co-founder of World Liberty, and Mr. Trump's sons are
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also involved in the company, which generated $ 799 million for Mr.
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Trump last year, in part because of an additional cryptocurrency
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purchase worth $ 2 billion that Sheikh Tanoun's affiliate made in 2025. Mr.
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Woodcoff himself has sold off his stake in World Liberty,
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a person close to him said. Sheikh Tanun also helps
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oversee an Abu Dhabi investment fund called Lunate, which is
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among the largest stakeholders in the private equity firm Mr.
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Kushner set up after he left the White House at
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the end of Mr. Trump's first term. This means Sheikh
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Tanun is effectively a business partner of Mr. Kushner's as well.
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an alarming set of entanglements. Hui Chen, a former Justice
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Department prosecutor and a white-collar crime and ethics advisor who
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served until the start of Mr. Trump's first term, said
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the connections between Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner to players
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in the Luke Hoyle deal illustrated why friends and family
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members of Mr. Trump's should not be top foreign policy advisors. Quote,
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This is an alarming and very concerning set of entanglements,
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said Ms. Chen, who has also worked as a corporate
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compliance lawyer. Quote, and it means you have to question
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how the Trump administration is evaluating the different bidders involved here.
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Are the personal interests involved going to wrongly influence the outcome?
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Luke Oil's international division, which is based in Austria, hired
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its own Washington-based consultant, who is close to Mr. Trump,
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Brian Lanza, who served as a senior advisor to Mr.
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Trump's 2024 election campaign and now works at Mercury Public Affairs.
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He is no longer working for Lukoil, a person familiar
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with the matter said. The deal is not yet final
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and would need to be approved by the Treasury Department,
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which oversees sanctions enforcement. But in the case of Lukoil,
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people involved said the key decisions are being made at
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the White House. Asked about its approach to the Lukoil decision,
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a Treasury Department spokeswoman said that the agency's Office of
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Foreign Assets Control, quote, implements foreign policy as determined by
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the White House. The September 5th meeting with Mr. Putin
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was the first time that Lukoil came up in the
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Russian president's conversations with Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner. one
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person familiar with the matter said. But Kirill Dmitriev, Mr.
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Putin's economic envoy, has been closely involved, people familiar with
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the sale process said. He traveled to New York and
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Washington for meetings last month and told reporters that dialogue
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with the United States was continuing across many areas, including energy.
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Luke Oil's refineries in the Netherlands, Bulgaria, and Romania play
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an important role. They produce diesel and jet fuel, which
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has been in short supply since the start of the
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Iran war, which has driven up prices and given Mr.
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Trump an incentive to support a deal that could provide
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more access to energy. Luke Oil valued its international assets
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at $ 20 billion earlier this year, but the price and
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structure of the proposed deal are not clear. An official
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with the DFC, the U.S. agency investing in the deal,
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described participation in the purchase as a way to strengthen
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the U.S. security, the energy security of U.S. allies. The
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official also said the deal would produce significant profits for
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the American taxpayer and keep strategic infrastructure away from adversaries.
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scramble for assets. The Trump administration imposed sanctions on luke
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oil a year ago, describing the move as new pressure
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on Mr. Putin to, quote, stop the killing. It also
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created a lucrative opportunity. Luke oil was forced to sell
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off its sprawling portfolio of international holdings. Investors around the
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world scrambled to bid on the assets, but the U.S.
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government held veto power. because it controlled how to enforce
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its sanctions. Because of Russia's autocratic system, Mr. Putin was
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seen as the final decision-maker in Moscow. The bidding frenzy
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accelerated last November, when the Treasury Department rejected an initial
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offer by Gunvor, a Swiss-based energy trading company with past
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ties to Russia, which had moved to buy Luke Oil's
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foreign assets. The Treasury Department said in a statement that, quote,
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as long as Putin continues the senseless killings, the Kremlin's puppet, Gunvor,
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will never get a license to operate and profit. Carlyle
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secured a non-exclusive agreement in January with Lukoil to sell
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its international assets. It was up to the Treasury Department
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to then sign off on the deal. As months passed
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with no final deal, Other bidders intensified their efforts to
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step in. Mr. Bailey has little experience in the oil
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and gas industry. He has made most of his money
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through investment firms such as Guggenheim Partners and Eldridge Industries,
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as well as sports team and entertainment industry investments, including
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Bruce Springsteen's music catalog. But over the last several years,
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the billionaire Kayat brothers, who were born in Syria before
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moving to Qatar during the Syrian Civil War, have begun
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to amass a collection of oil industry assets and planned
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projects in Syria, Libya, and Iraq. Even while the luke
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oil negotiations were underway, The Kayats were continuing to work
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with Mr. Kushner and Ivanka Trump over plans to build
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the luxury resort in Albania, an effort that included a
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meeting involving Ramez al-Kayat and Ms. Trump earlier this year
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in Albania, the Times reported. The decision over Luke Oil's
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fate has taken so long that the Treasury Department has
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had to repeatedly issue extensions to its sanctions action. so
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that local gas stations in the United States and other
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businesses around the world could continue to engage with other
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financial partners. The most recent extension lasts until October 29th.
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Next article. An outrage in 2019. No problem in 2026.
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Trump has moved the ethical line. The president's decision to
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hold an international summit at his own private golf club,
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an idea rejected in his first term, illustrates how much
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he has shattered norms. By Peter Baker, the chief White
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House correspondent, who is covering his sixth presidency, he reported
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from Washington. When President Trump decided in his first term
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to host the annual Group of Seven Summit of World
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Leaders at his own private golf club in Miami. The
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act of self-dealing was so astonishing. that it incited an
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uproar among fellow Republicans, forcing him to scrap the idea. Now,
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in his second term, seven years later, Mr. Trump has
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decided to host the group of 20 annual summit of
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world leaders at his private golf club in Miami in December.
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And this time, the plan has generated practically no protest.
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The unprecedented blitz of self-enrichment by Mr. Trump, his family,
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and his friends since he returned to the White House
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last year has become so extensive, so profligate, and so
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brazen that he has effectively moved the goalposts of what
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is considered out of bounds, an act that was deemed
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an outrage in 2019, is barely noticed. in 2026. Mr.
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Trump has blurred the line between personal and public interest
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so much that it is hardly distinguishable anymore. He personally
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made at least 2.2 billion dollars last year through government
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ventures and investments, many with implications for government policy. His
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family-backed firm introduced a cryptocurrency called Stablecoin just months before
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he signed legislation promoting Stablecoin. He accepted a luxury jet
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from Qatar. He arranged for his administration to grant him
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immunity for any back taxes and penalties that he owed,
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potentially more than $ 100 million. In recent days, Mr. Trump
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has ordered the government to use taxpayer dollars to air
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television advertisements lauding himself. Commercials that resemble campaign ads, even
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as voters are already casting ballots in this year's midterm elections. Mr.
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Trump's private business last month filed a trademark application for
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Trump TV, seeking to control the name of a streaming
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service that the White House, in theory, uses for official
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presidential communications. Melania Trump, who already was paid millions of
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dollars for a flattering self-promotional film by Amazon, a federal
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government contractor, now has a two-part docuseries about herself to
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be released this fall. Donald Trump Jr. allowed a Russian
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business mogul close to Russia's President Vladimir V. Putin to
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pay for part of his wedding after party in the Bahamas.
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And President Trump next month will headline, quote, the most
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exclusive dinner in the world for the crypto firm that
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runs his meme coin. The decision to bring the leaders
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of the G20 nations and their considerable entourages to Trump
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National Doral, Miami, from December 14th to 15th, in some
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ways offers the most clear-cut case of how the standards
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have changed, not just from other presidencies, but from Mr.
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Trump's own first term. Quote, let's be honest, in the
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world of all the bad things he's done, this is
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pretty small, said Paul Rosenzweig, who was a senior counsel
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to Ken Starr's investigation of President Bill Clinton. and later
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served in President George W. Bush's administration. But it is
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a really good, easily understood example of how he has
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defined deviancy down. When Mr. Trump announced plans in 2019
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to hold the G7 at Doral, it generated criticism not
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just from Democrats, but from some fellow Republicans and even
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Fox News hosts. At the time, he was facing impeachment
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over his effort to strong-arm Ukraine into investigating Democrats and
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allies said it would undercut his support. When Mr. Trump
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last year picked Doral for the G20 summit, he said
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he chose it because, quote, everybody wants it here. And
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he promised that it would be cost-free. Quote, we're doing
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a deal where it's not going to be money. There's
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no money in it, he insisted. Quote, I just want
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it to go well. He effectively hosted a practice run
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in March when he held a one-day meeting of Latin
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American leaders at the Doral Club, a gathering that produced
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no uproar. The White House did not respond to a
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request Friday asking why it was now appropriate to go
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forward with meetings at the president's own property after canceling
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a summit there in the first term. The only real
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Republican complaint about hosting the G20 at Doral was that Mr.
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Trump has invited Mr. Putin despite his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
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As for the self-dealing, Republicans who once saw that as
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inappropriate have gone quiet. In 2019, Representative Mike Simpson of
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Idaho called the idea, quote, politically insensitive because it looked like, quote,
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he's doing it for his own benefit. In 2026, by contrast, Mr.
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Simpson has endorsed the idea. Quote, Congressman Simpson supports what
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his colleague posted. Lexi Hamel, his spokeswoman, said, pointing to
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an online statement by Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, saying that he was, quote,
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thrilled that the G20 summit is coming to Doral in
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his Florida district. Asked about Mr. Simpson's switch in positions, Ms.
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Hamill said, quote, a quote from seven years ago is
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quite a stretch, without elaborating. There are at least three
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major differences from seven years ago. First, Mr. Trump has
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fashioned a more pliant party by systematically using primaries to
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purge Republicans who defied him, sending an unmistakable warning to
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those remaining to stay in line. Second, he has dismantled
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much of the regular apparatus of accountability in government by
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firing inspectors general, gutting the Office of Government Ethics and
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Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, paralyzing the Federal Election Commission,
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and demoting, transferring, or pushing out career prosecutors and FBI
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agents deemed disloyal. And third, Mr. Trump came into his
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second term more indifferent to criticism over possible ethical concerns.
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To win in 2024, he had to overcome two impeachments,
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four criminal indictments, and a jury trial conviction on 34
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felonies tied to hush money paid to an adult film actress,
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making him the first convicted felon ever to serve in
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the Oval Office. In an interview with the New York
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Times in January, he explained that he did not feel
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the need to impose as many limits. on his family's
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business activities this time around, quote, because I got no
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credit in the first term, end quote, because I found
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out that nobody cared. But while elected Republicans give him
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a pass, polls suggest that voters may in fact care
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when they decide this falls congressional elections. A record 89%
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of Americans said corruption is widespread in government, according to
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a poll released by Gallup last month, the highest level
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since the firm began asking the question two decades ago.
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A separate survey by The Economist and YouGov last month
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offered registered voters 13 adjectives like strong, effective, racist, and dangerous,
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and asked which described them. Mr. Trump. The top choice
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of all 13 was corrupt, which 53% said applied to Mr. Trump,
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while only 23% said it did not, and the rest
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had no opinion. Public outrage and pushback still work, said
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Donald K. Sherman, President of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics
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in Washington. a watchdog group. But Trump's second term has
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been filled with so much unprecedented and harmful corruption that
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it can be hard for the public to keep up
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with every story. And the members of his party who
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are still in power have been unacceptably permissive. Another example
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that got lost in the flood of news lately was
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the trademark application of filed by Mr. Trump's private business
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for Trump TV. The White House debuted Trump TV shortly
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after barring CNN, MSNOW, and Politico from the building, a
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decision temporarily blocked by a judge, and promoted it as
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an unfiltered substitute for his followers. Trump TV is a
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live streaming service showing Trump speeches and events at taxpayer
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expense on the White House website. But just before midnight
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on September 24, three days after Trump TV went live, Mr.
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Trump's private business filed a $ 1, 000 $ 400 application with the U.S.
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Patent and Trademark Office to assert ownership of the name. Quote,
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the applicant has a bona fide intention to use the
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mark in commerce, the application stated. Josh Gerben, a Washington
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trademark attorney, who first noticed and called attention to the application,
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said such a trademark, trademark, could allow Mr. Trump's business
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to require the government to agree to a licensing deal
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to keep using the name. It could also allow the
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president to essentially take what is currently a government operation
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with him after he leaves office. Quote, they're reaping the
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benefits from all the taxpayer funds that that are being
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used to create and run that channel, he said. Obviously,
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politics has changed a lot in however many years, but
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I'm 45 years old and I can't imagine any president
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before Trump getting away with this without being eviscerated in
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the media. There is some indication of pushback among Republicans
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as the election grows closer, Mr. Trump, while defending the
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partial financing of his son's wedding weekend by a Russian
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oligarch as quote, totally allowed, nonetheless told reporters after it
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was disclosed by ProPublica that quote, I understand that Don
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has paid him back. Senator John Curtis, Republican of Utah,
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comparing it to Hunter Biden's foreign financial business dealings, called
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for an investigation and was joined by a couple other
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Republican senators. But Mr. Rosentweig said that Mr. Trump's willingness
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to push boundaries more than his predecessors has changed the
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rules of the office, proving that the limits were generally
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voluntary and not mandatory. Past presidents did not mix business
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and government in the way that Mr. Trump has because
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it was thought to be inappropriate or politically risky. And
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so now new precedents are being set. Quote, He has
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succeeded by his own terms in demonstrating that almost everything
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about America was not law-based, but norm-based, said Mr. Rosenzweig. Quote,
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and by breaching the norms without fear of consequence, he
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has redefined the norms. Next article. American high school students
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are selling guns bound for cartels. Drawn by money and status,
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teenagers in Arizona are buying, stealing, and selling weapons destined
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for criminal groups in Mexico. By Paulina Villegas, reporting from Phoenix.
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They are too young to buy beer and barely old
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enough to drive. Yet, these four teenage boys have already
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found their way into the criminal underworld. On weekends, they
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drive into the Sonoran Desert outside Phoenix. I watched them
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line up AR-15s and AK-style rifles against their cars, pose
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for photos, and spend the afternoon shooting targets. At night,
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they head to parties, smoke pot, and scroll endlessly through
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their social media feeds. These teenagers are part of a
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growing network of American high school students and young adults
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who are helping to arm some of Mexico's most powerful
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and violent cartels. According to U.S. officials and trafficking experts
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who are tracking the trend, they source weapons like handguns
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and high caliber rifles. and sell them almost exclusively to
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cartel operatives based in the United States, the teenagers said.
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In repeated interviews, four weapons traffickers ages 16 to 19,
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all current or former high school students in West Phoenix,
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allowed me to observe how they buy firearms and sell
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them to the highest bidder. Sometimes they said, They steal
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the guns and then resell them. They aren't loyal to
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one criminal group or another. Instead, they say, they are
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motivated by making money, gaining status, and having a sense
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of belonging. The American teenagers spoke on the condition of
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anonymity because of the illegal nature of their activities. Their
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identities were corroborated through their official identification documents. I observed
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gun transactions unfold in real time through encrypted WhatsApp group
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chats and telegram channels. Other elements of their accounts were
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corroborated by current and former U.S. law enforcement agents and
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trafficking experts. After my first gun sale, I thought, This
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is it. I am set, said one 18-year-old trafficker who
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goes by El Flaco, Spanish for skinny. I don't want
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to be poor, and why would I if I found
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a way not to be? While the numbers are hard
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to track, the U.S. authorities say Mexican criminal groups are
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increasingly relying on teenagers and young adults. in border states
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like Arizona. The proximity to Mexico, a large presence of U.S.-based
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cartel operatives, and the promise of easy money have helped
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such networks flourish, according to current and former law enforcement officials. Quote,
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For the youth, sadly, this is an opportunity to make
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quick money, just like it would be to commit other
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types of crimes, said A.J., special agent in charge of
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the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Phoenix Field Division.
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New technologies, including encrypted messaging apps, have only accelerated the process,
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he said. Quote, The criminal organizations will prey on those
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that they can influence the most, Mr. Gibbs said. And
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then I think the youth fall into that. Federal data
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show that young people make up a significant share of
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gun traffickers. Of more than 11,000 traffickers whose ages were
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identified in ATF investigations from 2017 through 2021, about one-third
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were under 25. About 5% were under 17. The data
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cover investigations nationwide and do not specify how many were
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involved in supplying weapons to Mexico. Jason Redd, a former
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Homeland Security investigations agent who investigated Arizona arms trafficking networks
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with the ATF from 2015 to 2020, said every multi-person
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trafficking case he had handled involved at least one teenager.
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often a high school student. Mr. Red noted that while
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agents initially caught teenagers smuggling weapons to Mexico, deeper investigations
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showed young people were also sourcing guns online, through social media,
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or buying them legally at 18. Quote, cartels use anyone
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they can, Mr. Red said. To them, these are disposable buyers.
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Teenagers don't put a lot of thought into it. They
462
00:38:31.449 --> 00:38:36.630
don't think about the big picture consequences. Fueled by America's
463
00:38:36.789 --> 00:38:41.110
expansive gun rights and the permissive firearms laws of border
464
00:38:41.150 --> 00:38:46.150
states like Arizona, a relentless surge of weapons has flowed
465
00:38:46.250 --> 00:38:51.139
south to feed a bloody internal war within the Sinaloa
466
00:38:51.179 --> 00:38:55.980
cartel and counter an intensifying crackdown by the Mexican government.
467
00:38:56.980 --> 00:39:02.010
The scale of the illicit pipeline is staggering. The Mexican
468
00:39:02.050 --> 00:39:09.530
authorities estimate that as many as 500,000 firearms are smuggled
469
00:39:09.670 --> 00:39:16.539
from the United States into Mexico each year. Those arms
470
00:39:16.639 --> 00:39:21.360
fuel some of the country's most violent crimes, contributing to
471
00:39:21.380 --> 00:39:25.590
the bloodshed that has devastated entire communities and claimed tens
472
00:39:25.730 --> 00:39:32.340
of thousands of lives. Meta, the owner of Facebook and WhatsApp,
473
00:39:33.500 --> 00:39:37.699
says it does not allow the purchase, sale, or trade
474
00:39:37.780 --> 00:39:42.139
of weapons on any of its platforms. Though the boys
475
00:39:42.219 --> 00:39:47.849
demonstrated just how easily those rules can be bypassed, Arizona
476
00:39:47.909 --> 00:39:51.929
allows private gun sales without background checks or record keeping,
477
00:39:52.989 --> 00:39:56.070
which makes it even easier for traffickers to source weapons
478
00:39:56.170 --> 00:40:00.889
without getting caught. To avoid detection by both the authorities
479
00:40:01.010 --> 00:40:06.179
and companies like Meta, the smugglers said, they routinely create
480
00:40:06.239 --> 00:40:11.400
and delete group chats, avoid sharing personal information during conversations
481
00:40:12.000 --> 00:40:17.449
or gun transactions, and admit new members only through referrals. Quote,
482
00:40:17.869 --> 00:40:20.469
if we become aware of this type of activity on WhatsApp,
483
00:40:20.530 --> 00:40:23.800
we ban the accounts involved and we respond to valid
484
00:40:23.860 --> 00:40:29.079
law enforcement requests, Mehta said in a statement. Who they
485
00:40:29.119 --> 00:40:35.099
kill is not my problem. As J.M., one of the
486
00:40:35.139 --> 00:40:39.719
teenage arms dealers, tells it, he and two friends met
487
00:40:39.909 --> 00:40:44.650
in a school bathroom between classes two years ago to
488
00:40:44.690 --> 00:40:51.570
discuss a plan. pool $ 700, and buy a gun. To
489
00:40:51.650 --> 00:40:56.449
raise the money, one would sell snacks. Another worked at
490
00:40:56.469 --> 00:41:01.079
a restaurant. The third boy was 18 and could legally
491
00:41:01.119 --> 00:41:04.699
buy the gun at a licensed dealer. The three friends
492
00:41:04.800 --> 00:41:11.610
purchased a Kalashnikov-style rifle, sold it for $ 1, 200, and split
493
00:41:11.639 --> 00:41:19.900
the profits. They immediately invested in more guns over and
494
00:41:20.039 --> 00:41:25.949
over again. Now 18, JM says he coordinates dozens of
495
00:41:26.030 --> 00:41:31.829
students from at least 20 Phoenix high schools who acquire
496
00:41:31.889 --> 00:41:36.920
weapons through a variety of legal and illegal means. Most
497
00:41:36.960 --> 00:41:40.059
of those firearms, he said, eventually make their way south
498
00:41:40.139 --> 00:41:45.000
to Mexican cartel operatives. I met JM last fall through
499
00:41:45.079 --> 00:41:48.760
an Arizona-based cartel operative who told me that JM and
500
00:41:48.800 --> 00:41:51.880
his networks of high school students had become some of
501
00:41:52.179 --> 00:41:56.119
his main gun suppliers because of their ability to source
502
00:41:56.159 --> 00:42:02.829
high-caliber weapons. Current and former law enforcement officials say cartels
503
00:42:02.989 --> 00:42:07.690
often use teenagers for trafficking because they usually face shorter
504
00:42:07.769 --> 00:42:13.050
sentences if caught, tend to have clean records. and can
505
00:42:13.090 --> 00:42:17.730
be easily lured by the promise of easy money. The
506
00:42:17.750 --> 00:42:20.809
boys rarely dwell on what happens once the guns cross
507
00:42:20.829 --> 00:42:24.929
the border. Quote, What they do and who they kill
508
00:42:24.989 --> 00:42:27.849
is not my problem as long as I make my money.
509
00:42:27.869 --> 00:42:34.510
I am sure they are not innocent, said El Flaco, 18,
510
00:42:34.510 --> 00:42:38.469
referring to the cartels. He described himself as part of
511
00:42:38.550 --> 00:42:45.559
JM's crew. The teenagers speak about gun trafficking like seasoned
512
00:42:45.639 --> 00:42:51.880
entrepreneurs focusing on margins, suppliers, and logistics. They rattle off
513
00:42:51.920 --> 00:42:55.179
the names of pistols and rifles with the same enthusiasm
514
00:42:55.219 --> 00:42:58.920
they do about sneakers or sports cars they hope to
515
00:42:59.059 --> 00:43:04.280
one day own. J.M. insists his network is not aligned
516
00:43:04.300 --> 00:43:07.820
with any one criminal group, though he acknowledged that most
517
00:43:07.860 --> 00:43:11.840
of the weapons he supplies ultimately go to the Sinaloa cartel, which...
518
00:43:12.389 --> 00:43:16.230
according to the U.S. authorities, largely controls the Arizona Sonora
519
00:43:16.289 --> 00:43:20.469
gun and drug trafficking pipeline. He and his friends acquire
520
00:43:20.489 --> 00:43:24.760
the weapons through a range of sources. Students who are
521
00:43:24.860 --> 00:43:28.340
old enough to buy firearms purchase some from licensed dealers,
522
00:43:28.719 --> 00:43:33.219
the teenage traffickers said. They said others stole guns by
523
00:43:33.260 --> 00:43:38.079
breaking into homes and vehicles, and at times, stealing them
524
00:43:38.119 --> 00:43:43.110
from their own parents. Many scour WhatsApp and Telegram gun
525
00:43:43.150 --> 00:43:49.050
trading groups, El Flaco said, arranging meetings and at times
526
00:43:49.300 --> 00:43:54.739
purchasing weapons with counterfeit cash. When they obtain firearms, the
527
00:43:54.780 --> 00:43:59.699
traffickers said, they often remove the serial numbers with nail drills,
528
00:44:00.619 --> 00:44:05.829
making the weapons harder to trace. The teenage traffickers said
529
00:44:06.030 --> 00:44:10.599
they typically kept the weapons in stash houses. storage units,
530
00:44:11.679 --> 00:44:16.199
or even their own apartments until cartel operatives pick them up.
531
00:44:18.659 --> 00:44:21.489
Sometimes they pay other students to drive the guns across
532
00:44:21.530 --> 00:44:26.010
the border and deliver them to designated locations in Mexico,
533
00:44:26.090 --> 00:44:32.829
they said. J.M., a Phoenix native who lives alone while
534
00:44:32.889 --> 00:44:37.929
his parents remain in the Sinaloa state in Mexico, said
535
00:44:37.949 --> 00:44:41.610
that until recently, Gun stores were among the most important
536
00:44:41.670 --> 00:44:50.239
sources of supply. He described under-the-table arrangements in which store owners, managers,
537
00:44:50.519 --> 00:44:56.570
and employees inflated prices to pocket a share of the profits.
538
00:44:57.929 --> 00:45:02.570
One trusted supplier, he said, was Lawrence Gray, owner of
539
00:45:02.690 --> 00:45:09.440
Grips by Larry in Hereford, Arizona. Mr. Gray was indicted
540
00:45:09.579 --> 00:45:14.179
in March under the Anti-Terrorism Act on charges that he
541
00:45:14.239 --> 00:45:17.699
attempted to provide firearms to the Sinaloa Cartel and the
542
00:45:17.739 --> 00:45:24.860
Jalisco New Generation Cartel. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. Mr.
543
00:45:24.900 --> 00:45:29.369
Gray declined to comment through his lawyer. As J.M. took
544
00:45:29.469 --> 00:45:33.010
on larger deals, seasoned traffickers taught him the tricks of
545
00:45:33.030 --> 00:45:38.530
the trade, including how to avoid liability, if a firearm
546
00:45:38.570 --> 00:45:41.409
he had legally purchased was later recovered at a crime scene.
547
00:45:42.969 --> 00:45:47.269
The simplest trick, he said, was to report the weapon
548
00:45:47.309 --> 00:45:50.860
stolen soon after buying it. Quote, all you have to
549
00:45:50.900 --> 00:45:54.179
do is call 911, say it was stolen, give a location,
550
00:45:54.320 --> 00:45:58.639
give the serial number, and that's it, he said. Legally,
551
00:45:58.679 --> 00:46:03.030
that gun was no longer under your possession. The more
552
00:46:03.090 --> 00:46:06.590
guns he moved, the more trusted he became, J.M. said.
553
00:46:07.650 --> 00:46:13.150
Before long, cartel-connected contacts were offering him access to higher-end
554
00:46:13.230 --> 00:46:21.179
weapons and bigger deals. Cartels rarely buy firearms directly. Instead,
555
00:46:21.239 --> 00:46:27.429
they rely on layers of U.S.-based intermediaries, recruiters, and buyers
556
00:46:28.309 --> 00:46:34.309
to create distance between their operatives and the weapons. The
557
00:46:34.349 --> 00:46:39.460
profits can be substantial. A Beretta 9mm pistol purchased legally
558
00:46:39.519 --> 00:46:46.840
for about $ 700 can be resold for as much as $ 1, 500.
559
00:46:44.619 --> 00:46:50.469
A Colt. 38 Super Handgun, long favored by Mexican cartels,
560
00:46:50.570 --> 00:46:54.550
retails for about $ 1, 200 in the United States but can
561
00:46:54.590 --> 00:46:59.130
fetch as much as $ 2, 500 from cartel buyers in Mexico.
562
00:47:00.269 --> 00:47:04.670
In Mexico, J.M. said, his group has acquired a nickname
563
00:47:04.769 --> 00:47:10.340
among their clientele. the Phoenix Boys. Quote, we are here
564
00:47:10.449 --> 00:47:16.519
for whatever any group needs, he said. On a recent afternoon,
565
00:47:16.579 --> 00:47:20.179
a tall, lanky teenager known among his friends as Elguero,
566
00:47:20.659 --> 00:47:24.699
Spanish for blondie, pulled a $ 20 bill from his wallet
567
00:47:24.760 --> 00:47:28.800
and slid it across the table. Quote, could you tell us,
568
00:47:29.119 --> 00:47:31.519
could you tell if this is false or true money,
569
00:47:32.260 --> 00:47:34.960
he asked me with a goofy smile lined with braces.
570
00:47:36.550 --> 00:47:41.170
The bill looked entirely genuine, but it was fake. He
571
00:47:41.230 --> 00:47:43.309
later showed me that when held up to the light,
572
00:47:43.369 --> 00:47:49.829
the watermark clearly read, quote, for motion picture purposes. The
573
00:47:49.849 --> 00:47:53.329
19-year-old said he had used stacks of counterfeit cash of
574
00:47:53.369 --> 00:47:58.820
various kinds to buy firearms across Phoenix, a tactic the
575
00:47:58.860 --> 00:48:02.559
law enforcement authorities say is common among Arizona gun traffickers.
576
00:48:03.469 --> 00:48:07.670
He spends his days scrolling through telegram groups looking for
577
00:48:07.710 --> 00:48:11.469
people selling guns, he said. Once he finds a target,
578
00:48:12.489 --> 00:48:15.889
he negotiates a price, arranges a meeting in a parking
579
00:48:15.929 --> 00:48:19.880
lot somewhere in the city, and shows up carrying fake money.
580
00:48:20.980 --> 00:48:24.599
The weapons eventually make their way to J.M. and El Flaco,
581
00:48:25.760 --> 00:48:30.460
or to whoever needs it. For El Flaco, 18, The
582
00:48:30.480 --> 00:48:33.760
path to gun dealing began shortly after he started high school.
583
00:48:34.900 --> 00:48:41.420
He was 14. Owning a gun, he said, was extremely
584
00:48:41.500 --> 00:48:45.610
common among fellow students at his high school. Boys posted
585
00:48:45.639 --> 00:48:49.929
photographs of themselves posing with pistols on Instagram and TikTok.
586
00:48:51.170 --> 00:48:55.250
Some brought the firearms to school, leaving them locked inside
587
00:48:55.289 --> 00:48:59.789
their cars during class and flaunting them after school, he said.
588
00:49:00.969 --> 00:49:06.090
Sometimes they brought them into school, he said. El Flaco
589
00:49:06.150 --> 00:49:10.789
said he bought his first firearm, a Glock 19X handgun,
590
00:49:11.010 --> 00:49:15.809
at 14. Using money he had saved while working as
591
00:49:15.869 --> 00:49:19.230
a restaurant cook. He said he then sold it through
592
00:49:19.250 --> 00:49:22.510
a WhatsApp group. used the proceeds to buy a rifle
593
00:49:23.050 --> 00:49:25.070
and then sold that for nearly double what he had
594
00:49:25.110 --> 00:49:30.019
paid quote i knew i was set he said he's
595
00:49:30.059 --> 00:49:34.380
been in business ever since by last november shortly after
596
00:49:34.440 --> 00:49:40.230
turning 18 he dropped out of high school He is
597
00:49:40.329 --> 00:49:44.469
particularly fond of using his cash to spoil his girlfriends
598
00:49:45.159 --> 00:49:49.860
with expensive gifts and clothes. One of his most prized
599
00:49:49.940 --> 00:49:54.579
purchases was a French bulldog puppy that cost roughly $ 5, 000,
600
00:49:54.460 --> 00:50:02.349
he said. He spent about $ 1, 000 on an enormous bouquet
601
00:50:02.389 --> 00:50:07.889
of roses for a different girlfriend, he said. El Flaco
602
00:50:07.949 --> 00:50:11.409
said he often recruited friends who had recently turned 18
603
00:50:11.409 --> 00:50:19.219
to make legal purchases on his behalf from licensed dealers
604
00:50:20.659 --> 00:50:24.019
or at gun shows to avoid being flagged by the authorities.
605
00:50:25.079 --> 00:50:31.039
He also goes to online marketplaces like Arms List, WhatsApp groups,
606
00:50:32.239 --> 00:50:39.619
and personal contacts to source the guns himself. One afternoon, J.M.
607
00:50:39.880 --> 00:50:42.900
and El Flaco showed up at my hotel carrying a
608
00:50:42.940 --> 00:50:50.639
black backpack. Inside were a disassembled AR-15 style rifle and
609
00:50:50.679 --> 00:50:54.550
a hand grenade. J.M. said he had bought the grenade
610
00:50:54.590 --> 00:51:00.210
because he thought it was cool. Later that day, as
611
00:51:00.329 --> 00:51:03.309
I sat beside El Flaco, he scrolled through a gun
612
00:51:03.369 --> 00:51:06.820
trading WhatsApp group. and stopped at a photo of two
613
00:51:06.920 --> 00:51:12.369
AR-15-style rifles and six handguns. In the foreground, a cell
614
00:51:12.389 --> 00:51:17.309
phone displayed a fresh timestamp, a standard digital safeguard used
615
00:51:17.349 --> 00:51:20.969
by sellers and buyers to weed out scammers and undercover police.
616
00:51:22.070 --> 00:51:24.980
Within minutes, El Flaco was in the seller's direct messages
617
00:51:25.039 --> 00:51:29.559
haggling over a rifle. The seller offered it for $ 530,
618
00:51:29.460 --> 00:51:33.099
but El Flaco ultimately passed, betting he could find a
619
00:51:33.119 --> 00:51:36.210
better price elsewhere. This concludes the reading of the New
620
00:51:36.250 --> 00:51:40.809
York Times for today. Your reader has been Mary Fullington.
621
00:51:42.150 --> 00:51:45.909
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions concerning this program,
622
00:51:45.969 --> 00:51:51.639
please feel free to call us at 859-422-6390. Thank you
623
00:51:51.659 --> 00:51:54.659
for listening, and now please stay tuned for continued programming
624
00:51:54.719 --> 00:51:55.719
on Radio Eye.