Proof of Conspiracy: How Trump’s International Collusion Is Threatening American Democracy

CNN analyst Abramson’s muddled follow-up to Proof of Collusion alleges a “Red Sea Conspiracy” hatched in 2015 by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates and then Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. Their plan, according to Abramson, was to illicitly help Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in order to gain his support for a “grand bargain” that would end U.S. sanctions on Russia in exchange for Vladimir Putin’s help in evicting Iran from Syria, pave the way for dozens of new Saudi and Emirati nuclear plants, and forge an anti-Iranian, pro-Israeli military alliance among Sunni Arab nations. Abramson’s talk of quid-pro-quo is unconvincing since the “bargain” to end sanctions never materialized and the only specific election meddling he identifies is an unproven theory that the UAE funded pro-Trump social media operations. His disorganized, repetitive, almost unreadable narrative instead traces labyrinths of murky “ties,” meetings, and business deals that add up only to nebulous insinuations. Buried beneath the avalanche of conjecture are Abramson’s serious criticisms of Trump’s foreign policy, including his support of the Saudi regime’s brutal war in Yemen. The result is a confused proof of nothing that obscures more than it reveals. (Sept.)