Welcome back to the fifth year of Gaslit Nation and the fiftieth year of the quest for Donald Trump’s tax returns! 

This week we discuss a panoply of government criminals and their dirty donors, ranging from newly minted oligarch cash receptacle “George Santos” (or whatever his name really is) to fellow recipients of mafia money in Congress (sadly it’s nearly everyone) to Trump’s half-century free ride from the IRS (because, again, they’re all in on it!) to the backers of Putin and Netanyahu’s wars (again it’s the same network enabling the crimes!) We also discuss the chaos and corruption that will ensue under a GOP House, the disturbing rhetoric of new Democratic House Minority Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, and give an update into Putin’s war on Ukraine.

We come fully armed with receipts and discuss what this entrenched corruption means for American democracy in the year 2023, a year in which Congress may have lost its illusions but has not found its soul. We discuss the lackluster release of Trump’s tax returns and stress the urgent need for release of his returns going back to the 1970s, which is when he allegedly made a pact with the US government to not pay taxes for thirty years in return for unnamed favors. (Read about it in Sarah’s book HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT which is having a $2.99 Kindle sale.)

We are recording our weekly bonus episode, available to Patreon subscribers at the Truth-Teller level or higher, on Wednesday to mark the second anniversary of the January 6 attack on the Capitol and the continued inaction of Merrick Garland’s DOJ to hold the organizers accountable. We will also be answering your questions so please keep them coming! If you subscribe to Gaslit Nation at the Democracy Defender level or higher, you can ask us anything you want and we will answer it in depth! Subscribers at that level are also invited to a live Gaslit Nation taping on January 24! Stay tuned for more details and thank you for your continued support of the show – we could not make it without you.

Show Notes:

Russian Oligarch’s Cousin Funneled Cash to N.Y. Politician https://www.thedailybeast.com/republican-george-devolder-santos-got-cash-from-andrew-intrater-cousin-of-russian-oligarch-viktor-vekselberg

Conservatives turn to a new message: ‘God bless the Ukrainian people’ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/02/27/conservatives-cpac-ukraine/

Here's the first evidence Russia used Twitter to influence Brexit https://www.wired.co.uk/article/brexit-russia-influence-twitter-bots-internet-research-agency

Scrutiny mounts over tech investments from Kremlin-connected expatriates https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/12/19/russia-expatriates-links-probed/

The Russia Investigations: Another Oligarch Becomes Embroiled In The Imbroglio https://www.npr.org/2018/05/12/610466404/the-russia-investigations-did-a-nice-oligarch-pay-trump-s-lawyer

Russian Oligarch’s Cousin Funneled Cash to N.Y. Politician https://www.thedailybeast.com/republican-george-devolder-santos-got-cash-from-andrew-intrater-cousin-of-russian-oligarch-viktor-vekselberg

Moscow Heat: George Santos and His Moscow Trips https://petestrzok.substack.com/p/moscow-heat?r=1pz15w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Russians getting seized off the street by police to go fight in Ukraine https://twitter.com/Laurie_Garrett/status/1609668327525203969

Firm Tied to Russian Oligarch Made Payments to Michael Cohen https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/us/politics/michael-cohen-shell-company-payments.html

A tiny paper broke the George Santos scandal but no one paid attention https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/12/29/north-shore-leader-santos-scoop/

GOP operative convicted in scheme to funnel Russian money into Trump campaign https://www.axios.com/2022/11/18/trump-campaign-jesse-benton-russia

$858,000,000,000 - by Judd Legum - Popular Information

SBF and the Injustice Democrats - by Max Berger (substack.com)

Republican George Devolder-Santos Got Cash From Andrew Intrater Cousin of Russian Oligarch Viktor Vekselberg (thedailybeast.com)

The Ties That Bind: Ehud Barak’s Business Network - CTech (calcalistech.com)

‘Israel today, Israel tomorrow, Israel forever,’ Rep. Hakeem Jeffries says at NY rally – Mondoweiss