At today's fifth extraordinary session of the Assembly of Serbia, the first committee question to the ministers was Fr General Staff. It was installed by Dragan Jovanović Ćuta. It was almost synchronous with the article about the first affair that shakes the Trump family, and was published in the "New York Times".
Namely, "The New York Times2, a respected American and world newspaper, published on June 9 an extensive analysis of "Resignations and criminal charges in Serbia due to the Trump family project", in which he described business plan of the son-in-law of the American president, who, in agreement with the Serbian authorities, was supposed to demolish the General Staff complex in Belgrade and build luxury hotels on that site.
President Trump's son-in-law
"President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has an agreement with the Serbian government to build a hotel and apartment complex worth half a billion dollars in the center of the capital, Belgrade. The Trump Organization, managed by the president's sons Eric and Donald Jr., is also involved in the project, as the luxury hotel will carry the Trump brand," writes the New York Times.
He further describes the events before and after the decision of the Government of Serbia to revoke the status of a cultural monument from the General Staff, stating that it opened the way for the Trump family, and that it is proof of how far the foreign government was willing to go to advance the financial interests of Mr. Trump's family.
Trump Hotel
"Even the appearance that U.S. foreign policy might be used for the president's personal financial gain flies in the face of how we've always understood public service," said Daniel I. Weiner, a government expert at the nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice, adding that "if foreign leaders believe they can influence Mr. Trump by lining his family's pockets, that may distort their own decisions."
Goran Vasic
The following is the part about the accusation of Goran Vasič, acting director of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, for falsifying the Proposal for the Government of Serbia to make a decision on revoking the status of a cultural monument,
"But one question that has been raised publicly is whether Siniša Mali, Serbia's powerful finance minister, pressured cultural heritage officials to support the project or to resign. Mr. Mali has ties to the White House through Rick Grenell, Mr. Trump's longtime ally and current special mission envoy. Mr. Mali declined to comment on the project, citing an ongoing investigation. Affinity Partners, Mr. Kushner's company, says the deal is under review. Mr. Vučić, the president of Serbia, downplayed the criminal investigation, saying that "there was no forgery."
Sinish Mali
On that occasion, the "New York Times" quotes Vuja Ilic, a political scientist at the University of Belgrade, who said that Mr. Vučić "has a political interest in developing this project in order to gain greater access to the Trump administration. Faced with the ousting of his prime minister in March and calls for early elections, Mr. Vučić wants to show that he has credibility with world leaders. Other bilateral issues are also at stake, including American tariffs and support for Serbia's bid to join the European Union."
The daily reports that "Mr. Vucic's office did not respond to a request for comment, but the Serbian leader said last year that he 'died laughing' at the thought that he 'used this for political influence on Trump.'
It all started back in 2013.
It all started in 2013, when Donald Trump was eyeing a Belgrade location for a hotel. The idea resurfaced during his first term as president. Mr. Grenell, then Trump's aide to resolve the strained relations between Serbia and Kosovo, encouraged Serbian leaders to consider restoring the site with American investment.
After Mr. Trump lost re-election in 2020, Mr. Grenell invited Mr. Kushner to take over the project and served as an early go-between. Mr Grenell met with the Serbian president in 2022 and 2023 and posted pictures of himself on social media with Mr Mali in 2021.
In one picture, Mr Grenell's arm was draped around Mali's shoulders with the caption: "Always a good time with @mali_sinisa#belgrade". The video showed two men singing in unison at a raucous evening party in a crowded Belgrade club.
Mr Grenell could not be reached for comment. By May 2024, the Serbian government had struck a deal with a company linked to Mr. Kushner. It has agreed to give investors a 99-year lease with no costs, which can be converted to ownership, also for free, according to the draft agreement. The Serbian minister publicly thanked Mr. Mal for the "energy and effort he invested" in the project.
Blackmail of Sinisa Mali
The following are the details of the resignations of the former director of the Republic and City Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, with an emphasis on Sinisa Malog's role in this.
"Support the project or resign," Mali told them, according to the daily.
The problem simmered for another six months, until Mr. Trump was re-elected. On November 14, the Government of Serbia announced that it had revoked the protected status of the site. At the Institute, Ms. Estela Zhivkov, then deputy director, said staff immediately began working on a letter stating that the government had "grossly violated the Law on Cultural Heritage."
The letter states that if the government violates its own law in this case, "any cultural property that inconveniences an investor or presents a political or other obstacle may be deleted in the same way." As she was getting ready for work at 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 18, Ms. Zhivkov said, she received a call from an official of the Security Intelligence Agency, the state intelligence and national security services. They were waiting for her at the institute.
In two follow-up phone calls, she said, she was "strongly advised" to quit. Undaunted, she sent a letter — which, she said, was signed by every one of the institute's 50 or so experts — to the government and the Ministry of Culture.
The New York Times at the time states that Ian Breke, the chief lawyer of Affinity Partners, Mr. Kushner's firm, flew to Belgrade immediately after the news of the initiation of proceedings against the acting director, that is, of forgery, in order to meet with a person familiar with the situation.
Serbian officials told him the controversy was down to a simple administrative error, but Kushner's team was still assessing the situation.
Meanwhile, the prosecutor's investigation progressed. According to the prosecution, there are 34 more names on their list for questioning.
Source: Nova.rs
