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Craig Unger

American journalist and writer175 QUOTES

Browse 175 quotes by Craig Unger — Craig Unger’s favorite and most popular sayings, only on dailyquotes.wiki.

Craig Unger is an American journalist and writer. He has worked as deputy editor of The New York Observer and as editor-in-chief of Boston magazine. His writing has appeared in major magazines, and he is known for reporting on U.S. politics and powerful political families. He has written about George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush for The New Yorker, Esquire, and Vanity Fair. He has also covered the Romney family, Hart InterCivic, and Donald Trump’s ties to the Russian mafia and Vladimir Putin. His work often focuses on political power, influence, and the networks around it.

“Kislin... came to Trump’s aid after his massive bankruptcies in Atlantic City in the nineties by issuing mortgages for condos in Trump World Tower...”

“[V]ast sums from the {{w|Russian Mafia}}'s various {{w|scam}}s had to be laundered. So in 1984, David Bogatin, a Russian mobster who had scored millions in the Red Daisy gas scam with Balagula, went shopping... at... {{w|Trump Tower}}... closing, with Donald Trump... in attendance... five condominiums ...$6 million... cash, the equivalent of... $15 million in 2020. According to the New York State attorney general’s office... the Russian Mafia had just laundered money...”

“"Trump was a dream for {{w|KGB}} officers looking to develop an asset," Shvets told me. "...with Trump it wasn't just weakness. Everything was excessive. His vanity ...Narcissism ...Greed ...Ignorance, excessive."”

“Trump... had a personality that was ideal for a potential asset—vain, narcissistic, highly susceptible to flattery, and greedy.”

“Shvets... had a front-row seat at the birth of post-Soviet Russia as a Mafia state and on the waves of kleptocrats and oligarchs... sweeping into the West, along with authoritarian right-wing populist politicians.”

“In 1995, Shvets published Washington Station: My Life as a KGB Spy in America, his memoir...”

“Yuri helped Litvinenko assemble and analyze a dossier linking senior {{w|Kremlin}} officials, including... Putin, to the Tambov organized crime group, which laundered money and facilitated drug trafficking for the Colombian cartel.”

“{{w|Bayrock Group}}... based in {{w|Trump Tower}}... [with] ties to the {{w|Kremlin}}, came up with a... business model to franchise Trump condos after he'd lost billions... which made the perpetually bankrupt... Trump rich again and would lead to a... {{w|kleptocracy}}... America... injected with... oligarchy... with Donald Trump in the {{w|White House}}.”

“[A]ccording to Shvets, Kislin... spotted Donald Trump, who... became a special unofficial contact—a rare variation of trusted contact that was applied to high-level {{w|KGB}} intelligence assets, like... {{w|Armand Hammer}} and... Robert Maxwell.”

“Sapir told {{w|Forbes}} magazine, his customers included the former Soviet minister of {{w|petrochemical}}s, who granted Sapir rights to distribute tens of thousands of tons of fertilizer and tens of millions of barrels of oil, while pocketing fees... [S]elling oil was impossible without {{w|KGB}} approval.”

“Kislin... and his partner, {{w|Tamir Sapir}}... set up... Joy-Lud Electronics... ultimately controlled by the {{w|KGB}}... always filled with KGB agents and high-level Soviet dignitaries. ..."The KGB was... paranoid about... bugging...” said Shvets. But since Kislin was... with the KGB, Soviet dignitaries had no such concerns.”

“{{w|Yuri Shvets}}... described... to me in great detail... the most successful intelligence operation in history... ending... with a Russian asset in the {{w|White House}}...”

“A serious counterintelligence investigation... would presumably have asked... whether Trump had been compromised... by Russia. ...[H]ow deeply Trump was indebted to the {{w|Russian Mafia}} ...laundering millions of dollars... Was he a Russian asset? ...How much did he make laundering ..?”

“[T]he Mueller probe... regarding criminal activities... led to.. indictment of thirty-four individuals and three companies. Ten men pleaded guilty or were convicted... including... Trump associates... Paul Manafort... Rick Gates... Michael Flynn... George Nader... Roger Stone.... {{w|George Papadopoulos}}, and... Michael Cohen.”

“[T]he Mueller Report... part... dealing with {{w|counterintelligence}} was one... paragraph, saying... the FBI "embedded personnel... did not work on the Special Counsel’s investigation, but... sen[t]... summaries of foreign intelligence and counterintelligence... to FBIHQ and... Field Offices. Those communications and other... not all... contained in this Volume." ...there was no counterintelligence investigation.”

“{{w|Criminal investigation}}s are intended to lead toward prosecution; {{w|counterintelligence}} are not. Instead, they... thwart... espionage, or {{w|sabotage}}... Even though... not... about breaking the law... counterintelligence... may... involve issues... far more serious. In this case... Russian interference in... elections. From {{w|cyberwarfare}}.... disinformation... Russian assets... groomed for... perhaps decades, and were... in place to... damage... vital American institutions.”

“[D]uring the 2016 election cycle, the... FSB... found plenty of ways to subvert America’s elections without breaking the law.”

“[I]ntelligence operations... [brought] Trump into the {{w|KGB}}'s fold... compromised him through... money-laundering schemes, sycophantic flattery... extravagantly well-paid franchising projects... [etc.]”

“[T]his is a country... in which it's possible to take money... [and] establish communications with Russian intelligence, and... to be a Russian asset without breaking the law. Russians can hire... attorneys as lobbyists, who... have access to... secrets... to get what they want.”

“[[w:Intelligence assessment|[I]ntelligence]] operations are designed to operate within the law... [L]ax regulations... enforcement, and the... nature of counterintelligence, has given the Russians... latitude.”