Trump-linked figures lead talks on $200m European pipeline contract | Donald Trump
Leading members of Donald Trump’s campaign to overturn the 2020 presidential election want a major European pipeline contract; The latest figures from the US president’s circle about mixing business and geopolitics.
Jesse Binnall, an attorney working on legal proceedings advancing Trump’s false claim claim that the votes were stolen from him and that Joe Flynn was undermine Joe Biden’s victor was in Bosnia this week to discuss the project.
The Southern Gas Link pipeline, designed to reduce the Balkans’ dependence on natural gas from Russia, will cost around $200 million (£149 million) to build.
Binnall told the Guardian that AAFS Infrastructure and Energy, the company he and Flynn represent, had not yet been awarded the $200 million contract. He said the meetings with Bosnian ministers were “for exploratory purposes while evaluating the potential project.”
“The Southern Link is a significant project with the potential to strengthen Bosnia-Herzegovina’s energy security and reduce regional dependence on Russian gas, and AAFS is excited about the opportunity to explore how American private capital and expertise can contribute,” Binnall said.
While much of the rest of Europe has given up on Russian gas after a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Bosnia imports almost all of its supply from Vladimir Putin’s regime. The 246-kilometer Southern Gas Link pipeline will connect Bosnia to a liquefied natural gas terminal on Croatia’s Adriatic coast. This would allow Bosnia to import its energy from the United States and elsewhere, reducing Moscow’s influence.
Bosnian officials after Trump took office last year we agreed He said US companies would build and operate the pipeline.
AAFS Infrastructure and Energy does not have an obvious track record in the industry. Corporate records show it was founded two months ago in Wyoming.
His website It displays an eagle, a symbol of American power. Although none of the company’s staff are named, it is stated that they have “decades of collective experience in energy, infrastructure, finance and international project development.”
Flynn and Binnall were in Sarajevo this week meeting Bosnian leaders “to discuss how American capital and resources could develop and operate the Southern Link gas pipeline,” according to an
Asked whether his and Flynn’s connections to Trump created a conflict of interest, Binnall said the embassy’s support was “consistent with its mission to support American businesses operating abroad.” He added: “AAFS is a private company that pursues opportunities through standard diplomatic and commercial channels.”
Binnall, a Virginia lawyer who enjoys diving with sharks, helped lead Trump’s efforts to discredit the 2020 U.S. election. After Trump lost to Biden, Binnall pushed his baseless claims of election abuse in court filings and congressional testimony. Room defended Trump is facing lawsuits over his supporters’ attack on Capitol Hill.
Flynn’s brother, Michael Flynn, served as national security adviser during Trump’s first term. He was convicted in 2017 of lying to the FBI about his dealings with Russia. Trump pardoned him in 2020.
The brothers now appear to be on opposing sides in the US struggle for influence in the Balkans against Russia.
While Joe Flynn seeks a contract for a pipeline to reduce demand for Russian energy, Michael Flynn recently took on the case of Milorad Dodik, the militant leader of the autonomous region of Bosnia called the Republika Srpska. Dodik is one of Putin’s loudest allies in Europe.
Dodik’s lobbyists describe him as a defender of Christian values. Trump in October lifting of sanctions The decision was made by the US to impose Dodik in 2022 due to “significant corruption” and “divisive ethno-nationalist rhetoric”.
Trump’s family has also been active in the former Yugoslavia recently.
Trump’s elder sons and custodians of the family business, Donald Jr. and Eric, have collaborated with son-in-law Jared Kushner on a $500 million Trump Tower Belgrade plan as part of their global money-making efforts. Serbian protesters and the prosecutor’s investigation into suspected illegal support for the project by members of the authoritarian regime dispelled this idea.
One social media postThe Bosnian foreign ministry said the meeting between ministers Binnall and Flynn “reaffirmed the shared determination to deepen cooperation, promote investments and accelerate the implementation of these vital infrastructure projects”.
