He’s Always The Guy In the Background

CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 21: on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump received the number of votes needed to secure the party's nomination. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Cleveland, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Republican National Convention kicked off on July 18. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) — CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 21: Tom Barrack, former Deputy Interior Undersecretary in the Reagan administration, delivers a speech on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016 at the Quicken Loa... CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 21: Tom Barrack, former Deputy Interior Undersecretary in the Reagan administration, delivers a speech on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump received the number of votes needed to secure the party's nomination. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Cleveland, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Republican National Convention kicked off on July 18. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) MORE LESS

By Josh Marshall

February 19, 2019 11:57 a.m.

THE BACKCHANNEL

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The connection between collusion with Russia and parallel and interwoven connections to the Gulf state monarchies has long been a central question of the entire Russia story. Clearly they’re connected. But just how and which is pushing which has always been unclear. Today this other Mike Flynn racket, building a bunch of nuclear power plants across the Middle East, is again back in the news with a new House investigation. But Tom Barrack – the chair of Trump’s inaugural committee, the guy who brought Paul Manafort into the campaign – is also again in the mix. And there’s one sliver of this story most people have forgotten.

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