The Tyrant Billionaire

"You should know that a presidential candidate's campaign funds cannot be donated by foreigners, it's against federal law. If foreigners can freely fund our candidates, will those candidates sell out our national interests?"

"After learning about this, I felt the matter had great news value. But since it was only some scattered information, the specific details were my speculation based on these fragments, so I didn't report it to my newspaper but decided to investigate secretly.

"After investigating for a few days and finding no more clues, I came up with an idea: directly contact the other party and make him spill the beans. So I called Governor Dewey. Before contacting him, I made recordings and videos."

A senior FBI agent immediately asked, "Arnold, where are those audio and video recordings? Those pieces of evidence are crucial."

Arnold looked at him and said, "I can only hand them over to The Global Times because I recorded those materials for the company."

A reporter nearby urged, "Arnold, please continue."

"Alright, after speaking with Governor Dewey, he initially denied everything. I said I would make the information public, and he then admitted it, even offering me a sum of money $500,000 to keep quiet."

When Arnold finished speaking, a few reporters gasped softly.

$500,000 was a significant amount.

"Wasn't it a million? People found a suitcase with a million dollars in your car," a reporter pressed.

"That's because more things happened later."

"After negotiating with Dewey, I was afraid of retaliation, so I took the videos and recordings as evidence and mailed them to a friend. If anything happened to me, I told him to give the materials to the police or my company, The Global Times."

"I kept a cautious mind and didn't return to my rented apartment but hid nearby. I guessed correctly because, the next day, several people broke into the apartment and conducted a search. I filmed a video of that.

"I was scared at the time, so I contacted Dewey from a public phone booth. Dewey said he just wanted to talk. How could I trust him after they broke into my home? I demanded a million dollars, and they agreed. After hanging up, I bought a ticket to Los Angeles. New York was his territory, and I thought Los Angeles would be safer."

"I want to clarify that I wasn't trying to extort him. Dewey was once a famous prosecutor in the United States. As a law enforcer, I wanted to see how he would handle this matter. To be honest, I was somewhat disappointed. He not only failed to admit his mistake but also tried to silence those who knew the truth with money."

"I recorded the entire incident and intended to make a documentary about it, showing how a prosecutor deals with his mistakes. Even on the day of the transaction, I recorded it. I believe the tape is in police custody now, right?"

Arnold glanced at the FBI official.

The official nodded, "That's right. There was a suitcase with a million dollars in cash, a packet of documents, and a handheld video camera in your car, which was still running."

The FBI official corroborated Arnold's statement.

After the interview.

The major newspapers immediately rushed back to prepare their reports. As for the audio and video recordings, Arnold told the head of The Global Times, and together with the FBI, they found the remaining materials, which were shared between the two parties.

While the newspapers had to wait until the next day to publish, ABC News planned to broadcast the story that evening, showcasing the timeliness of television, faster and more immediate than newspapers.

ABC News specifically arranged a prime time slot in the evening to air the full interview with Arnold, accompanied by a commentator's explanation.

"Presidential candidate Dewey, this year's most popular candidate, unexpectedly violated federal law by accepting foreign political donations. After someone found out, instead of admitting his mistake, he secretly mobilized personnel from the prosecutor's office to illegally arrest the reporter, attempted to silence him with money, and might even be suspected of murdering the informant."

Any one of these actions would be enough to surprise people, but now all these points were combined, which was simply astonishing.

Scandal, This was definitely the biggest political scandal of the year.

...

A team of FBI agents, led by a senior detective, arrived at the office of the Governor of New York State. They pulled out a warrant and displayed it.

"Mr. Thomas Dewey, you are under investigation for allegedly accepting political donations and being involved in a murder case. This is a federal court investigation order. Please come with us for questioning."

Dewey stood up with a stern expression.

With a federal court subpoena in hand, Dewey had no choice but to comply.

As Dewey was being escorted out of the government office building, a crowd of reporters had already gathered outside. The moment Dewey emerged, they began taking pictures frantically.

A governor.

A presidential candidate.

Now, a suspect. This was undoubtedly sensational news across America and the world; the reporters wouldn't miss such an opportunity.

Dewey was taken away by the FBI for investigation.

Regardless of the outcome, this incident would bring severe negative repercussions for him precisely the effect President Johnson wanted.

If not to strike now, then when?

At the FBI's New York branch, the detective questioned Dewey. Regarding the political donations, Dewey didn't offer much of a defense. He admitted to meeting with a certain Mr. Song Yong and accepting a $5 million political donation from him.

This was easy to verify.

By checking bank records, the source of the funds could be clearly traced. The account in São Paulo, Brazil, was under Mr. Song Yong's name. Given the amount of money involved, it was impossible for someone else to manage it. Dewey had no room for denial.

Furthermore, if the money had come directly from Mr. Song, it might have been somewhat justifiable as a straightforward political donation. However, an untraceable source would be far more concerning, potentially fueling suspicions of a more significant conspiracy, perhaps even involving the Soviet Union, a country closely monitored by the U.S. As a result, Dewey opted to tell the truth.