Age of the Oligarchs? Is Mr. Trump a passing historical hiccup or does he signal something bigger? Around the globe, influential oligarchies appear to be entering an assertive new era. Vladimir Putin’s Russia is Exhibit #1. In Saudi Arabia, the longstanding oligarchy remains a forceful player in world oil markets and increasingly militant in its[…]

It’s all over but the shouting and the presidency of Donald J. Trump is upon us. In nine days, Mr. Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. Billionaire businessman, celebrity, tweetmaster, Mr. Trump has changed American politics even before taking office, rewriting the political playbook and sending shock waves[…]

Amid controversy over the extent of Kremlin penetration into the American electoral system (detailed last week in Investigative Bulletin), Donald Trump has doubled down on the Russian connection with his nomination of ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson to become the next secretary of state. Mr. Trump has been signaling a new Russia tilt for months and[…]

A bombshell Washington Post report Friday cast new light on the 2016 presidential campaign. According to the Post, the CIA in a secret assessment has concluded that “Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency.” Intelligence agencies identified “individuals with connections to the Russian government” who gave thousands of hacked[…]

We’re hearing a lot these days about “draining the swamp” of Washington corruption but as every serious student of crime and punishment knows, the swamp is not one, but many. The swamp contains multitudes. It is Washington. It is New York. It is San Bernardino County. It is the “high places before Jerusalem” — meaning[…]

President-elect Trump’s creative destruction of the established order in Washington continues to transfix the chattering classes and only a charlatan would claim to know where it all will end. Anti-corruption aficionados across the political spectrum are mesmerized by the spectacle of Mr. Trump’s vast business empire on a collision course with the presidency. In a[…]

The Trump transition is picking up steam and it’s clear we’re in for some interesting times in Washington. This is not going to be business as usual. But already there are danger signals flashing for the president-elect. Mr. Trump famously campaigned on “draining the swamp of corruption in Washington,” a call that resonated that across[…]

It’s a chaotic week over at the Trump transition. Former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, a Chris Christie ally, is out as senior national security adviser. Only days ago, the Great Mentioners were mentioning Rogers as the next CIA chief or Director of National Intelligence. So it goes at the court of the Sun[…]

Congratulations to President-elect Donald Trump. Presidents come and go, but scandal and crime are timeless. Here are three epic investigations that will reach an endgame in the new world of Trump. The Emailiad. Homeric in scope, the saga of HRC’s emails is one for the history books, with a major impact on the presidential race.[…]

Greatest Transparency Failures Ever? In one week, thank God, the presidential election will be over. But on one issue there is not a whit of difference between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Both represent the greatest transparency failures in the history of presidential politics. To Clinton watchers, Mrs. Clinton has followed a familiar pattern of[…]