$10M cash withdrawal drove secret probe into whether Trump took money from Egypt —Washington Post

Political appointees rejected efforts to search for additional evidence investigators believed might provide answers, then closed the case.

Five days before Donald Trump became president in January 2017, a manager at a bank branch in Cairo received an unusual letter from an organization linked to the Egyptian intelligence service. It asked the bank to “kindly withdraw” nearly $10 million from the organization’s account — all in cash.

Inside the state-run National Bank of Egypt, employees were soon busy placing bundles of $100 bills into two large bags, according to records from the bank. Four men arrived and carried away the bags, which U.S. officials later described in sealed court filings as weighing a combined 200 pounds and containing what was then a sizable share of Egypt’s reserve of U.S. currency.

Based on the Washington Post report Oversight Democrats Launched Investigation into Allegations Trump DOJ Covered Up $10 Million Cash Bribe to Donald Trump from Egyptian President — Click Here to read the committee’s Sept. 3, 2024 press release

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JUST SAYING

BY RAUL HERNANDEZ

During “Sherman’s March to the Sea” in late 1864, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman led about 60,000 troops on a destructive campaign across Georgia during the American Civil War. Starting from Atlanta, Sherman’s forces marched to Savannah, covering approximately 285 miles in a month. Along the way, they destroyed railroads, factories, crops, and infrastructure, aiming to cripple the Confederacy’s war effort and morale.

Kudos for an excellent investigative report by the Washington Post

I’ve always loved that sharp-tongued quip about reporters from crusty Union General William Tecumseh Sherman: “If I had my choice, I’d kill every reporter in the world, but I’m sure we’d be getting reports from Hell before breakfast.”

As a former newspaper reporter for three decades, I like to think I was exactly the kind of journalist Sherman wanted to strangle. My job? Take no prisoners, ask the tough questions, and never back down—all while wearing a tie and a smile and probably getting on someone’s nerves by lunchtime.

In the courthouse beat, there were rules: Rule one? Never get caught up in courthouse gossip or people’s messy personal lives. Rule two? If someone wasn’t fuming at you by the end of the day, you clearly weren’t doing your job right.

So, let’s be honest: those reporters Sherman wanted to wipe off the map? Yeah, they’d have been my newsroom happy hour crew.

Reading or watching excellent investigative stories from newspapers or TV reporters is always good.

However, many journalists today are nothing more than overpaid listening posts who are reluctant to pose difficult questions and who aspire to the affection of those they cover on their beats.