Bill Meyer is one of the most decently honest human beings on Earth. A while ago he performed an entire monologue about the Electoral College and why the USA has states like North and South Dakota.
I don't know if he knows the history of these very low population states or not, but, I ran across an article in a rather unique online publication called, "Alternet." I am fairly sure a walk to the library to validate the facts in this article is enough to make modern day Americans blood boil.
Here it goes. Evidently, "The West" was created out of gerrymandering. The difference between the state level gerrymandering and the low population states is a Congressional act or that of a presidential order.
Get this. It is about adding Republican Senators. The electoral college vote was sort of a side effect. The legislators of the time didn't consider an extra US House member as important as more US Senators.
Two days before (click here) the lame-duck President James Buchanan left office, he signed legislation carving off part of Utah Territory, which stretched across most of modern-day Nevada, about a third of Colorado and some of Wyoming, to form part of what we now know as Nevada. Congress would soon pass two more bills expanding Nevada at Utah’s expense.
This largely forgotten act of line-drawing enabled one of the most consequential gerrymanders in American history. Because the virtually unpopulated Nevada became its own territory, Republicans could admit it as a state just four years later. That gave the Party of Lincoln two extra seats in the Senate — helping prevent Democrats from simultaneously controlling the White House and both houses of Congress until 1893.
And why are there two Dakotas?
[T]he reason why there are two Dakotas — despite the fact that both states are so underpopulated that they each only rate a single member of the House of Representatives to this day — is because Republicans won the 1888 election and decided to celebrate by giving themselves four senators instead of just two.
By 2040, according to a University of Virginia analysis of Census population projections, about half of the country will live in just eight states — which means 16 senators for one half of America and 84 for the other half.
Just sayin'.
Love ya, Bill. Like, Assange in a Supermax? Really?
Saturday, May 11, 2019
From previous paragraph:
...The next day, on December 31 , 2016, Kislyak called Flynn and told him the request had been received at the highest levels and Russia had chosen not to retaliate as a result of Flynn's request.
***
Three stars as before to separate topics discussed within the Special Counsel report.
On January 6, 2017, members of the intelligence community briefed President-Elect Trump on a joint assessment-drafted and coordinated among the Central Intelligence Agency, FBI, and National Security Agency-that concluded with high confidence that Russia had intervened in the election through a variety of means to assist Trump's candidacy and harm Clinton's. A declassified version of the assessment was publicly released that same day.
Cup of tea:
Not much to say about that, except, the alarm sounded was never loud enough to reach Americans. They never realized and many that are No Information Voters don't still realize how they were manipulated by Russia and never question why Trump looked the other way, even when he realized the impact of the extent Russia was leveraging against Clinton.
Between mid-January 2017 and early February 2017, three congressional committees-the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) (Devin Nunes),...
Why does Devin Nunes, a dairy farmer, have a prominent position on the Intelligence Committee. Why hasn't he been replaced by California voters since 2003? He purposely blurs the lines between the Executive Branch and the Legislature. He even acts as a presidential spy on the US House at the very least. There has to be plenty of ethics violations he has accumulated. His constituency should know about his attack on the USA Constitution and why his activities with the President endanger the USA's government order in separation of powers. THIS IS NOT A CLUB. This is the government of the USA. If Nunes and Trump like each other's company so much they can go golfing together and travel to Marilogo together, but, Nunes should not be playing footsie with the Executive Branch for he purpose of politics. His salary is paid by the US House, not Trump.
... the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), and the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC)-announced that they would conduct inquiries, or had already been conducting inquiries, into Russian interference in the election....
There was a considerable concern by the federal government regarding the hacking of the DCCC and the Clinton campaign. Rightfully so. the same thing can occur to any US Senator or US House representative.
The entire idea the investigation into the Russian influence of the 2016 election started with the "Deep States" is nothing more than Dopey, Dirty Donald Trump's strange imagination for the purpose of his propaganda.
Noteworthy though, that in spite of the concern there is little that has passed into legislation to end the invasion by Russia to remove the USA Constitution.
Below, in italics, is a job description for the Director of the FBI. I can't believe an entire department of the USA government had to have their job descriptions carried by a news agency in hopes of clarifying the importance of their work. That illustrates to me how very concerned the information industry is with all the lies and deceptions of this administration.
There is no way this was drummed up by some "Deep State" within the USA government. There are too many eyes reading reports and too many ears hearing testimony to even begin to start to worry there is some kind of rogue agency at work within the federal government.
...Then-FBI Director James Corney later confirmed to Congress the existence of the FBI's investigation into Russian interference that had begun before the election. On March 20, 2017, in open-session testimony before HPSCI, Corney stated:
"I have been authorized by the Department of Justice to confirm that the FBI, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, and that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia's efforts .... As with any counterintelligence investigation, this will also include an assessment of whether any crimes were committed."
The investigation continued under then-Director Corney for the next seven weeks until May 9, 2017, when President Trump fired Corney as FBI Director-an action which is analyzed in Volume II of the report.
Other than the impending visit by Russia to the Oval Office and Trump's own problems with existing federal authority and permanent employees, there was no reason at all to terminate the Director of the FBI. Directors are hard enough to find and Trump just threw him out of the building. Amazing.
And he did it for political purposes. His followers demand the end of the Deep State. Dopey, Dirty Donald Trump is playing games and Comey gets thrown out of the building. That is the definition of a Banana Republic. The Director of the FBI, CIA and others, including Assistant AGs should be required to impeach and not simply fired. That goes for Special Councils as well and only Congress should be able to terminate their employment.
On May 17, 2017, Acting Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed the Special Counsel and authorized him to conduct the investigation that Corney had confirmed in his congressional testimony, as well as matters arising directly from the investigation, and any other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a), which generally covers efforts to interfere with or obstruct the investigation.
28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a) (click here) Section (a) defines jurisdiction.
(a)Original jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of a Special Counsel shall be established by the Attorney General. The Special Counsel will be provided with a specific factual statement of the matter to be investigated. The jurisdiction of a Special Counsel shall also include the authority to investigate and prosecute federal crimes committed in the course of, and with intent to interfere with, the Special Counsel's investigation, such as perjury, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, and intimidation of witnesses; and to conduct appeals arising out of the matter being investigated and/or prosecuted.
During the course of the Special Counsel investigation, I believe there were all those activities.
intent to interfere
Intent to interfere means that the actual interference did not have to take place. We know Trump was desperately trying to end the Special Counsel investigation regardless of the fact no one in the DOJ would end it, until Barr.
It is reported there are at least four boxes of records destroyed by orders from Trump. Evidently, those records were from the inauguration and/or campaign.
We also know both Trump and Guilliani were openly seeking to intimidate Michael Cohen through perceived death threats. They were all intent and/or actual actions in regard to the Special Counsel report. I believe they are indictable. The incidents with intimidation of Michael Cohen also included his family. If the USA government allows such acts of intimidation it will be an impediment to the future as well. I think the complaints by others regarding destroyed boxes of evidence and intimidation of Michael Cohen and his family have to be investigated and charged.
President Trump reacted negatively to the Special Counsel's appointment. He told advisors that it was the end of his presidency, sought to have Attorney General Jefferson (Jeff) Sessions unrecuse from the Russia investigation and to have the Special Counsel removed, and engaged in efforts to curtail the Special Counsel's investigation and prevent the disclosure of evidence to it, including through public and private contacts with potential witnesses. Those and related actions are described and analyzed in Volume II of the report.
It is not possible to unrecuse oneself from a legal status regarding a legal matter. The reason the recusal took place was because of FACTS leading up to recusal. The entire concept is another unreality from Trump. It is worthy to realize the two attorneys that followed Jeff Sessions never recused themselves. Acting Attorney General Whitaker stated he had spoken with ethics and it was his decision. That seems fairly lame to me. If there was a reason to speak to eithics regarding recusal, there was a basis for it.
to have the Special Counsel removed
The president frequently discussed the fact Jeff Sessions should have never recused himself. That is the corruption of this administration coming through very loudly. The only reason Trump stated he did not want Sessions to recuse was for one reason and one reason only, to have the Special Counsel removed. That is obstruction. If obstruction of justice is allowed to exist, what happens to our justice system?
...what’s behind a recusal. (click here) The reason why you recuse yourself is because you are indicating that you have some kind of interest or conflict that prevents you from being ethically being able to impartially decide whatever the issue is, particularly in law.
Barring some kind of explanation as to why that conflict or issue no longer exists, there’s no way to take that back. Additionally, *even if* the conflict or issue no longer exists, it’s still what is called the mere appearance of impropriety (i.e. it doesn’t matter whether it actually is inappropriate or potentially conflicted/unethical, merely as long as it may appear to be that way). For this reason it usually doesn’t even matter that the conflict of interest has been resolved or is no longer at issue.
That person then has no business deciding upon the issue they are or were conflicted about....
***
This is the end of this section. I will continue reading in the next entry. Until later.
...The next day, on December 31 , 2016, Kislyak called Flynn and told him the request had been received at the highest levels and Russia had chosen not to retaliate as a result of Flynn's request.
***
Three stars as before to separate topics discussed within the Special Counsel report.
On January 6, 2017, members of the intelligence community briefed President-Elect Trump on a joint assessment-drafted and coordinated among the Central Intelligence Agency, FBI, and National Security Agency-that concluded with high confidence that Russia had intervened in the election through a variety of means to assist Trump's candidacy and harm Clinton's. A declassified version of the assessment was publicly released that same day.
Cup of tea:
Not much to say about that, except, the alarm sounded was never loud enough to reach Americans. They never realized and many that are No Information Voters don't still realize how they were manipulated by Russia and never question why Trump looked the other way, even when he realized the impact of the extent Russia was leveraging against Clinton.
Between mid-January 2017 and early February 2017, three congressional committees-the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) (Devin Nunes),...
Why does Devin Nunes, a dairy farmer, have a prominent position on the Intelligence Committee. Why hasn't he been replaced by California voters since 2003? He purposely blurs the lines between the Executive Branch and the Legislature. He even acts as a presidential spy on the US House at the very least. There has to be plenty of ethics violations he has accumulated. His constituency should know about his attack on the USA Constitution and why his activities with the President endanger the USA's government order in separation of powers. THIS IS NOT A CLUB. This is the government of the USA. If Nunes and Trump like each other's company so much they can go golfing together and travel to Marilogo together, but, Nunes should not be playing footsie with the Executive Branch for he purpose of politics. His salary is paid by the US House, not Trump.
... the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), and the Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC)-announced that they would conduct inquiries, or had already been conducting inquiries, into Russian interference in the election....
There was a considerable concern by the federal government regarding the hacking of the DCCC and the Clinton campaign. Rightfully so. the same thing can occur to any US Senator or US House representative.
The entire idea the investigation into the Russian influence of the 2016 election started with the "Deep States" is nothing more than Dopey, Dirty Donald Trump's strange imagination for the purpose of his propaganda.
Noteworthy though, that in spite of the concern there is little that has passed into legislation to end the invasion by Russia to remove the USA Constitution.
Below, in italics, is a job description for the Director of the FBI. I can't believe an entire department of the USA government had to have their job descriptions carried by a news agency in hopes of clarifying the importance of their work. That illustrates to me how very concerned the information industry is with all the lies and deceptions of this administration.
FBI Director (job description) (click here)The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) manages the FBI, which describes itself as the “principal investigative arm” of the DOJ and a “full member of the U.S. Intelligence Community.” The director is appointed to a 10 year term by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
The FBI says it is “an intelligence-driven and threat-focused national security organization with both intelligence and law enforcement responsibilities.”
The agency says its investigative powers are the “broadest of all federal law enforcement agencies,” with the legal authority to investigate a broad array of cases ranging from domestic and international terrorism, to cyber crime, civil rights and white collar crime.
There is no way this was drummed up by some "Deep State" within the USA government. There are too many eyes reading reports and too many ears hearing testimony to even begin to start to worry there is some kind of rogue agency at work within the federal government.
...Then-FBI Director James Corney later confirmed to Congress the existence of the FBI's investigation into Russian interference that had begun before the election. On March 20, 2017, in open-session testimony before HPSCI, Corney stated:
"I have been authorized by the Department of Justice to confirm that the FBI, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, and that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia's efforts .... As with any counterintelligence investigation, this will also include an assessment of whether any crimes were committed."
The investigation continued under then-Director Corney for the next seven weeks until May 9, 2017, when President Trump fired Corney as FBI Director-an action which is analyzed in Volume II of the report.
Other than the impending visit by Russia to the Oval Office and Trump's own problems with existing federal authority and permanent employees, there was no reason at all to terminate the Director of the FBI. Directors are hard enough to find and Trump just threw him out of the building. Amazing.
And he did it for political purposes. His followers demand the end of the Deep State. Dopey, Dirty Donald Trump is playing games and Comey gets thrown out of the building. That is the definition of a Banana Republic. The Director of the FBI, CIA and others, including Assistant AGs should be required to impeach and not simply fired. That goes for Special Councils as well and only Congress should be able to terminate their employment.
On May 17, 2017, Acting Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed the Special Counsel and authorized him to conduct the investigation that Corney had confirmed in his congressional testimony, as well as matters arising directly from the investigation, and any other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a), which generally covers efforts to interfere with or obstruct the investigation.
28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a) (click here) Section (a) defines jurisdiction.
(a)Original jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of a Special Counsel shall be established by the Attorney General. The Special Counsel will be provided with a specific factual statement of the matter to be investigated. The jurisdiction of a Special Counsel shall also include the authority to investigate and prosecute federal crimes committed in the course of, and with intent to interfere with, the Special Counsel's investigation, such as perjury, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, and intimidation of witnesses; and to conduct appeals arising out of the matter being investigated and/or prosecuted.
During the course of the Special Counsel investigation, I believe there were all those activities.
intent to interfere
Intent to interfere means that the actual interference did not have to take place. We know Trump was desperately trying to end the Special Counsel investigation regardless of the fact no one in the DOJ would end it, until Barr.
It is reported there are at least four boxes of records destroyed by orders from Trump. Evidently, those records were from the inauguration and/or campaign.
We also know both Trump and Guilliani were openly seeking to intimidate Michael Cohen through perceived death threats. They were all intent and/or actual actions in regard to the Special Counsel report. I believe they are indictable. The incidents with intimidation of Michael Cohen also included his family. If the USA government allows such acts of intimidation it will be an impediment to the future as well. I think the complaints by others regarding destroyed boxes of evidence and intimidation of Michael Cohen and his family have to be investigated and charged.
President Trump reacted negatively to the Special Counsel's appointment. He told advisors that it was the end of his presidency, sought to have Attorney General Jefferson (Jeff) Sessions unrecuse from the Russia investigation and to have the Special Counsel removed, and engaged in efforts to curtail the Special Counsel's investigation and prevent the disclosure of evidence to it, including through public and private contacts with potential witnesses. Those and related actions are described and analyzed in Volume II of the report.
It is not possible to unrecuse oneself from a legal status regarding a legal matter. The reason the recusal took place was because of FACTS leading up to recusal. The entire concept is another unreality from Trump. It is worthy to realize the two attorneys that followed Jeff Sessions never recused themselves. Acting Attorney General Whitaker stated he had spoken with ethics and it was his decision. That seems fairly lame to me. If there was a reason to speak to eithics regarding recusal, there was a basis for it.
to have the Special Counsel removed
The president frequently discussed the fact Jeff Sessions should have never recused himself. That is the corruption of this administration coming through very loudly. The only reason Trump stated he did not want Sessions to recuse was for one reason and one reason only, to have the Special Counsel removed. That is obstruction. If obstruction of justice is allowed to exist, what happens to our justice system?
...what’s behind a recusal. (click here) The reason why you recuse yourself is because you are indicating that you have some kind of interest or conflict that prevents you from being ethically being able to impartially decide whatever the issue is, particularly in law.
Barring some kind of explanation as to why that conflict or issue no longer exists, there’s no way to take that back. Additionally, *even if* the conflict or issue no longer exists, it’s still what is called the mere appearance of impropriety (i.e. it doesn’t matter whether it actually is inappropriate or potentially conflicted/unethical, merely as long as it may appear to be that way). For this reason it usually doesn’t even matter that the conflict of interest has been resolved or is no longer at issue.
That person then has no business deciding upon the issue they are or were conflicted about....
***
This is the end of this section. I will continue reading in the next entry. Until later.
This was the paragraph I left off with yesterday.
There are a few people in this paragraph not previously introduced.
On December 29, 2016, then-President Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for having interfered in the election. Incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn called Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and asked Russia not to escalate the situation in response to the sanctions. The following day, Putin announced that Russia would not take retaliatory measures in response to the sanctions at that time. Hours later, President-Elect Trump tweeted, "Great move on delay (by V. Putin)." The next day, on December 31 , 2016, Kislyak called Flynn and told him the request had been received at the highest levels and Russia had chosen not to retaliate as a result of Flynn's request.
It was a Russian event and Former General Michael Flynn attended and was provided a seat right next to Vladimir Putin.
Interesting enough, Jill Stein was also in attendance, but, was not provided a seat next to the president of Russia. She and Flynn are also alone. Now, I am not saying I know the travel plans of these Americans, they may be traveling with spouses or a friend, but, it is noteworthy to realize they are seated at this table without anyone as a witness to conversations, except, other Russians. That isn't a smart thing to do. Both Flynn and Stein are compromised. The smart thing to do is to bring someone important to the gathering and insist they be seated next to them.
Putin had plans. He had the wife of Emir Kusturica sit next to Jill Stein. It was to allow Jill to feel at ease and comfortable. Putin always has an agenda. Ask any of the Russians at the table.
Sometimes public silence can be deafening or,(click here) for that matter, misleading.
For nearly two years now, the intelligence community has kept secret evidence in the Russia collusion case that directly undercuts the portrayal of retired Army general and former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn as a Russian stooge.
That silence was maintained even when former acting Attorney General Sally Yates publicly claimed Flynn was possibly “compromised” by Moscow.
The former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates was being to generous when she stated "possibly." There is ever indication Flynn was very compromised. Putin had made him a 'friend.' There is no "possibly" about that. Michael Flynn, Director of National Intelligence under Trump was compromised by the Russians.
No one serious about the national security of the USA will ever have the president of Russia as a friend. Not only was Flynn compromised, but, if monies changed hands and it was laundered Russian USA dollars, Flynn has broken the law and if those transactions were hidden in a bank somewhere, Flynn was guilty of more than possessing laundered Russian USA dollars. From one picture in the company of the wrong people with questionable context to that picture, the USA intelligence agencies have free rein to engage the question, "Is Michael Flynn, a former General of the USA, involved with Russia in a way that endangers the USA?"
End of discussion.
Don't think for one minute that Russian intelligence policy isn't as defined either. If a former Russia general was caught in the same circumstances, but, with Americans, there would be interrogations or worse.
The only way a Russian general would have friends that were Americans in a way that meant they could meet and enjoy dinner, a movie and a nightcap at an American home, is if that general defected. Even, then, there is Novichok.
Michael Flynn (click here) rose to the rank of lieutenant general over 33 years in the U.S. Army. He briefly served as President Donald Trump's national security adviser before resigning in February 2017. Later that year he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI over reports of his contact with the Russian ambassador....
Michael Flynn was a target and a businessman. He as an intelligence officer. What was he thinking? That his military past would be erased once he was a civilian? That is a fantasy in the real world. If he wanted a more lucrative career after leaving the USA military he could have had it, either working for the USA or it's allies. But, Russia? Ain't no way that was going to turn out any differently than it did.
After three years as intelligence chief of the JSOC in Iran, he returned stateside for top bureaucratic posts, but was forced out as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014.
Donald Trump's company frequently have Russian women as residents for "birth tourism." So, for all intentions and purposes, Russia looks like a fairly normal country where women are allowed and even encouraged to give birth in the USA. Of course, the Russian government approves of such activities of Russian women.
But, from an American business perspective, it is good business. There is nothing and USA business is required to discourage. The business could close out such activity, but, then the Russian government would seek to open that venue anyway. So, for the Trump Company Russia is a good customer and the women seem nice, personable and very pregnant needing all the demands of any woman preparing to give birth.
Never in the wildest imagination of a Trump Company family member does Russia or China seem hostile or worrisome. It is easy then to state the USA is overbearing and oppressive in worrying about American national security in regard to an American business accommodating Russian women. To the Trump Company it is a win-win situation and the USA government should never be involved.
These Russian women are not spies. They are not interested in anything else, except, giving birth to a baby in the USA. Russian women, including the current woman of interest of Vladimir Putin, travel to Europe as well. Why? Because it is safer to do so.
So, these women can make friends with Americans and I am sure they do. But, the fact is the people they meet are not former intelligence officers. The dynamics at work are very different. Not every Russia that comes to American soil will be seeking to compromise the USA by hunting down information regarding national security. The dinner with Flynn and Putin is a far reach from activities of Russian Birth Tourists.
There is absolutely no reason to ridicule the FBI or CIA or the Special Counsel as "The Deep State." Their loyalty to the USA and their work is vital to American sovereignty and national security.
By the way, Birth Tourism is stated by the extreme right wing constituencies as something that should be controlled. Perhaps, but, don't have a double standard for Latin Americans because they are poor and come for asylum. The Russian babies born in the USA will have dual citizenship and Russia smiles at that fact.
Ambassador Kislyak is the rotund man in the picture. Oh, other than Donald Trump.
The other man in the picture is Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Lavrov has been Foreign Minister to Russia for as long as I can remember. He holds meetings with Russian young people and talks about the country. He is a decent person to watch when such interactions take place. He treats Russian young people with a great deal of respect and carries their concerns with him. I always believed if there could ever be a breakthrough in Russian - USA relations it would be with him. I am wrong. I would never expect such blatant disregard to American integrity by allowing this relationship with Trump to define the relationship with the USA.
Russia invested a great deal in the 2016 elections and it was more than money, it was a national identity that would put The West in the crosshairs to end democracy and freedom as we know it.
January 14, 2018
By Brennan Weiss
Sergey Kislyak, (click here) the former Russian Ambassador to the US and alleged spy, has been at the center of the FBI's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, including whether members of the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow to tilt the election in his favor.
But Kislyak, 67, was involved with Russian foreign policy in the US long before Trump even announced he was running for president. He's been at the forefront of US-Russia relations for decades....
Kislyak is no longer ambassador to the USA. He values himself as a Ukraine ethnic. Currently, he is an officer in the Federation Council, the upper chamber of the government. He represents Mordovia (click here), an ethnic oblast within Russia. It is considered autonomous because it has a representative to the government.
That is job security. That is what it is like being a Russian. They don't worry about the ups and downs of the stock market at The West does. They always have a job doing something. It only stands to reason that a former Russian ambassador would be provided a comfortable area of Russia to spend his later years of life. There are pensions in Russia. I suppose that is one of the socialist sides of Russia. But, in the past year the people were told their pensions would be cut due to financial struggles of the very large land mass country. Large countries such as Russia are difficult to defend at times. Russia has an exceptionally long northern coastline. But, I digress.
Just as a flavor to the kind of work the Russian Duma performs:
March 27, 2018
Russia's State Duma (click here) has approved legislation that would block websites that publish what the authorities deem to be "fake news" and penalizing websites that "insult" authorities, state symbols, and what the legislation vaguely describes as Russian "society."...
Sounds like Sarah Huckabee Sanders is already influenced by Russia and Russia's verbiage adapted from Trump's freedom of speech.
...The bill penalizing those who insult the authorities, state symbols, or Russian society was passed by a vote of 327-40, with one lawmaker abstaining.
The legislation would empower the state-run media watchdog Roskomnadzor to determine what constitutes "fake news."
It also sets maximum fines for publishing "fake news" of 100,000 rubles (more than $1,500) on individuals, 200,000 rubles (more than $3,000) on public officials, and 500,000 rubles (about $7,600) on companies.
The "fake news" bill says publications officially registered with Roskomnadzor, including online media outlets, will be given a chance to remove reports deemed as fake news before their websites are blocked....
My, my.
continued in next entry
On December 29, 2016, then-President Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for having interfered in the election. Incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn called Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and asked Russia not to escalate the situation in response to the sanctions. The following day, Putin announced that Russia would not take retaliatory measures in response to the sanctions at that time. Hours later, President-Elect Trump tweeted, "Great move on delay (by V. Putin)." The next day, on December 31 , 2016, Kislyak called Flynn and told him the request had been received at the highest levels and Russia had chosen not to retaliate as a result of Flynn's request.
Interesting enough, Jill Stein was also in attendance, but, was not provided a seat next to the president of Russia. She and Flynn are also alone. Now, I am not saying I know the travel plans of these Americans, they may be traveling with spouses or a friend, but, it is noteworthy to realize they are seated at this table without anyone as a witness to conversations, except, other Russians. That isn't a smart thing to do. Both Flynn and Stein are compromised. The smart thing to do is to bring someone important to the gathering and insist they be seated next to them.
Putin had plans. He had the wife of Emir Kusturica sit next to Jill Stein. It was to allow Jill to feel at ease and comfortable. Putin always has an agenda. Ask any of the Russians at the table.
Sometimes public silence can be deafening or,(click here) for that matter, misleading.
For nearly two years now, the intelligence community has kept secret evidence in the Russia collusion case that directly undercuts the portrayal of retired Army general and former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn as a Russian stooge.
That silence was maintained even when former acting Attorney General Sally Yates publicly claimed Flynn was possibly “compromised” by Moscow.
The former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates was being to generous when she stated "possibly." There is ever indication Flynn was very compromised. Putin had made him a 'friend.' There is no "possibly" about that. Michael Flynn, Director of National Intelligence under Trump was compromised by the Russians.
No one serious about the national security of the USA will ever have the president of Russia as a friend. Not only was Flynn compromised, but, if monies changed hands and it was laundered Russian USA dollars, Flynn has broken the law and if those transactions were hidden in a bank somewhere, Flynn was guilty of more than possessing laundered Russian USA dollars. From one picture in the company of the wrong people with questionable context to that picture, the USA intelligence agencies have free rein to engage the question, "Is Michael Flynn, a former General of the USA, involved with Russia in a way that endangers the USA?"
End of discussion.
Don't think for one minute that Russian intelligence policy isn't as defined either. If a former Russia general was caught in the same circumstances, but, with Americans, there would be interrogations or worse.
The only way a Russian general would have friends that were Americans in a way that meant they could meet and enjoy dinner, a movie and a nightcap at an American home, is if that general defected. Even, then, there is Novichok.
Michael Flynn (click here) rose to the rank of lieutenant general over 33 years in the U.S. Army. He briefly served as President Donald Trump's national security adviser before resigning in February 2017. Later that year he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI over reports of his contact with the Russian ambassador....
Michael Flynn was a target and a businessman. He as an intelligence officer. What was he thinking? That his military past would be erased once he was a civilian? That is a fantasy in the real world. If he wanted a more lucrative career after leaving the USA military he could have had it, either working for the USA or it's allies. But, Russia? Ain't no way that was going to turn out any differently than it did.
After three years as intelligence chief of the JSOC in Iran, he returned stateside for top bureaucratic posts, but was forced out as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014.
Donald Trump's company frequently have Russian women as residents for "birth tourism." So, for all intentions and purposes, Russia looks like a fairly normal country where women are allowed and even encouraged to give birth in the USA. Of course, the Russian government approves of such activities of Russian women.
But, from an American business perspective, it is good business. There is nothing and USA business is required to discourage. The business could close out such activity, but, then the Russian government would seek to open that venue anyway. So, for the Trump Company Russia is a good customer and the women seem nice, personable and very pregnant needing all the demands of any woman preparing to give birth.
Never in the wildest imagination of a Trump Company family member does Russia or China seem hostile or worrisome. It is easy then to state the USA is overbearing and oppressive in worrying about American national security in regard to an American business accommodating Russian women. To the Trump Company it is a win-win situation and the USA government should never be involved.
These Russian women are not spies. They are not interested in anything else, except, giving birth to a baby in the USA. Russian women, including the current woman of interest of Vladimir Putin, travel to Europe as well. Why? Because it is safer to do so.
So, these women can make friends with Americans and I am sure they do. But, the fact is the people they meet are not former intelligence officers. The dynamics at work are very different. Not every Russia that comes to American soil will be seeking to compromise the USA by hunting down information regarding national security. The dinner with Flynn and Putin is a far reach from activities of Russian Birth Tourists.
There is absolutely no reason to ridicule the FBI or CIA or the Special Counsel as "The Deep State." Their loyalty to the USA and their work is vital to American sovereignty and national security.
By the way, Birth Tourism is stated by the extreme right wing constituencies as something that should be controlled. Perhaps, but, don't have a double standard for Latin Americans because they are poor and come for asylum. The Russian babies born in the USA will have dual citizenship and Russia smiles at that fact.
Ambassador Kislyak is the rotund man in the picture. Oh, other than Donald Trump.
The other man in the picture is Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Lavrov has been Foreign Minister to Russia for as long as I can remember. He holds meetings with Russian young people and talks about the country. He is a decent person to watch when such interactions take place. He treats Russian young people with a great deal of respect and carries their concerns with him. I always believed if there could ever be a breakthrough in Russian - USA relations it would be with him. I am wrong. I would never expect such blatant disregard to American integrity by allowing this relationship with Trump to define the relationship with the USA.Russia invested a great deal in the 2016 elections and it was more than money, it was a national identity that would put The West in the crosshairs to end democracy and freedom as we know it.
January 14, 2018
By Brennan Weiss
Sergey Kislyak, (click here) the former Russian Ambassador to the US and alleged spy, has been at the center of the FBI's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, including whether members of the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow to tilt the election in his favor.
But Kislyak, 67, was involved with Russian foreign policy in the US long before Trump even announced he was running for president. He's been at the forefront of US-Russia relations for decades....
Kislyak is no longer ambassador to the USA. He values himself as a Ukraine ethnic. Currently, he is an officer in the Federation Council, the upper chamber of the government. He represents Mordovia (click here), an ethnic oblast within Russia. It is considered autonomous because it has a representative to the government.
That is job security. That is what it is like being a Russian. They don't worry about the ups and downs of the stock market at The West does. They always have a job doing something. It only stands to reason that a former Russian ambassador would be provided a comfortable area of Russia to spend his later years of life. There are pensions in Russia. I suppose that is one of the socialist sides of Russia. But, in the past year the people were told their pensions would be cut due to financial struggles of the very large land mass country. Large countries such as Russia are difficult to defend at times. Russia has an exceptionally long northern coastline. But, I digress.
Just as a flavor to the kind of work the Russian Duma performs:
March 27, 2018
Russia's State Duma (click here) has approved legislation that would block websites that publish what the authorities deem to be "fake news" and penalizing websites that "insult" authorities, state symbols, and what the legislation vaguely describes as Russian "society."...
Sounds like Sarah Huckabee Sanders is already influenced by Russia and Russia's verbiage adapted from Trump's freedom of speech.
...The bill penalizing those who insult the authorities, state symbols, or Russian society was passed by a vote of 327-40, with one lawmaker abstaining.
The legislation would empower the state-run media watchdog Roskomnadzor to determine what constitutes "fake news."
It also sets maximum fines for publishing "fake news" of 100,000 rubles (more than $1,500) on individuals, 200,000 rubles (more than $3,000) on public officials, and 500,000 rubles (about $7,600) on companies.
The "fake news" bill says publications officially registered with Roskomnadzor, including online media outlets, will be given a chance to remove reports deemed as fake news before their websites are blocked....
My, my.
continued in next entry
The only enemies the President of the United States of America has are those that consider the USA an enemy. If the President has other enemies, he needs to leave the office. There is no such thing as a political enemy or an enemy of an ally. Ukraine and it's people are not an enemy of the USA and Rudy Guiliani was acting unlawfully in seeking to find or make trouble for a political adversary in a legitimate election in the USA. In carrying out illegal activity in another country Guiliani can be arrested by the other government and/or an American agent within Ukraine when official documents were issued in the USA.
This is Rudy Guiliani. He believes his understood power is enough to bring a government to his service at any cost. WRONG!
This is Rudy Guiliani. He believes his understood power is enough to bring a government to his service at any cost. WRONG!
Friday, May 10, 2019
Rudy Guiliani is a crackpot. He is drunk on anarchy and he is a threat to any Western country, including the USA.
He said, he isn't going to Ukraine because he would be walking into a group of people that are enemies of the president.
WRONG!
To begin, Guiliani doesn't set policy and he is not an authority that can carry out investigations for his own reasons.
The president doesn't have enemies, the USA has enemies. The president is supposed to protect the USA from its enemies. That aside, Ukraine is an ally. Ukraine is a friend to the USA. Ukraine is an aspiring power that adheres to values and standards of NATO.
Guiliani needs to apologize to the country of Ukraine because his politics of anarchy is an insult to any country that is an ally to the USA. Jerk!
He said, he isn't going to Ukraine because he would be walking into a group of people that are enemies of the president.
WRONG!
To begin, Guiliani doesn't set policy and he is not an authority that can carry out investigations for his own reasons.
The president doesn't have enemies, the USA has enemies. The president is supposed to protect the USA from its enemies. That aside, Ukraine is an ally. Ukraine is a friend to the USA. Ukraine is an aspiring power that adheres to values and standards of NATO.
Guiliani needs to apologize to the country of Ukraine because his politics of anarchy is an insult to any country that is an ally to the USA. Jerk!
I believe Mayor Weaver is innocent.
May 9, 2019
Detroit -- Flint Mayor Karen Weaver (click here) asked employees to redirect charitable donors to a nonprofit fund she created shortly after taking office in 2015, an ex-city official testified during a federal whistleblower trial in Detroit on Wednesday, May 8.
Weaver, who took the stand briefly Wednesday and may testify further Thursday, said she created the fund at the recommendation of other mayors or advisers from across Michigan, including former Lansing Mayor Virgil Bernero and Lansing Bishop David W. Maxwell, who assisted in the fund’s creation....
The so called whistleblower is not correct. Just because Flint is a city and has a city government and a mayor does not exclude it from developing and licensing a non-profit. Government organizations can lawfully create a non-profit to receive funds donated to the city. There is nothing wrong with that. The city uses such funds to protect monies for a particular purpose rather than placing donations in the general fund.
Mayor Weaver did not take monies for her personal accounts.
Detroit -- Flint Mayor Karen Weaver (click here) asked employees to redirect charitable donors to a nonprofit fund she created shortly after taking office in 2015, an ex-city official testified during a federal whistleblower trial in Detroit on Wednesday, May 8.
Weaver, who took the stand briefly Wednesday and may testify further Thursday, said she created the fund at the recommendation of other mayors or advisers from across Michigan, including former Lansing Mayor Virgil Bernero and Lansing Bishop David W. Maxwell, who assisted in the fund’s creation....
The so called whistleblower is not correct. Just because Flint is a city and has a city government and a mayor does not exclude it from developing and licensing a non-profit. Government organizations can lawfully create a non-profit to receive funds donated to the city. There is nothing wrong with that. The city uses such funds to protect monies for a particular purpose rather than placing donations in the general fund.
Mayor Weaver did not take monies for her personal accounts.
The Ukraine government does need more problems.
Rudy Guiliani is acting on behalf of Donald Trump's campaign. He will be seeking to defraud a Ukraine investigation to turn the tables on the innocent. Rudy Guiliani should be arrested when he reaches Ukraine as he already has stated he intends to change the direction of an investigation (meddling).
..."We're not meddling in an election, we’re meddling in an investigation, which we have a right to do," Giuliani said in an interview with The New York Times published Thursday....
I've got a better name for Donald Trump, "Dopey, Dirty Donald Trump."
Rudy Guiliani is not lawfully authorized to work within the government of Ukraine. He is acting as a foreign agent. He has no right to cause Ukraine scandal. I am fairly confident the President-Elect has security guards and an office by now. They need to protect him from the ill intent of Rudy Guiliani.
Any such investigation would be assisted by the United States of American Federal Bureau of Investigation. Rudy Guiliani is not affiliated with the FBI. Ukraine has not formally requested FBI assistance. There is a real question as to whether Ukraine even needs the help of the FBI.
Rudy Guiliani is completely inappropriate and most likely operating outside Ukraine, international and USA law.
..."We're not meddling in an election, we’re meddling in an investigation, which we have a right to do," Giuliani said in an interview with The New York Times published Thursday....
I've got a better name for Donald Trump, "Dopey, Dirty Donald Trump."
Rudy Guiliani is not lawfully authorized to work within the government of Ukraine. He is acting as a foreign agent. He has no right to cause Ukraine scandal. I am fairly confident the President-Elect has security guards and an office by now. They need to protect him from the ill intent of Rudy Guiliani.
Any such investigation would be assisted by the United States of American Federal Bureau of Investigation. Rudy Guiliani is not affiliated with the FBI. Ukraine has not formally requested FBI assistance. There is a real question as to whether Ukraine even needs the help of the FBI.
Rudy Guiliani is completely inappropriate and most likely operating outside Ukraine, international and USA law.
“Ukraine if your listening...”
Where did Giuliani get HIS information, Manafort or was it Putin?
Let’s hear it Rudy. What do you have? What’s wrong Ukraine won’t talk to Dopey Don for his personal alliance with Russia?
The Trump campaign cannot attempt to wash their hands of wrong doing by Rudy Giuliani by stating he is acting as a private citizen. Rudy Giuliani is a personal attorney to Trump, past, present or future. Additionally, Giuliani and Trump strutted impropriety in the White House when Giuliani took the position of President’s Physician. Giuliani and Trump are nothing but oil slicks in the American society, they stink and are slick. Now, that the Trump Campaign is playing footsie with “Private Citizen Giuliani” they are as corrupt as they have ever been.
Let’s hear it Rudy. What do you have? What’s wrong Ukraine won’t talk to Dopey Don for his personal alliance with Russia?
The Trump campaign cannot attempt to wash their hands of wrong doing by Rudy Giuliani by stating he is acting as a private citizen. Rudy Giuliani is a personal attorney to Trump, past, present or future. Additionally, Giuliani and Trump strutted impropriety in the White House when Giuliani took the position of President’s Physician. Giuliani and Trump are nothing but oil slicks in the American society, they stink and are slick. Now, that the Trump Campaign is playing footsie with “Private Citizen Giuliani” they are as corrupt as they have ever been.
Thursday, May 09, 2019
Standing up to bullies take many forms.
By Steve Contorno
Matt Gaetz in 2008. (click here)
An investigation into U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (click here) will proceed, the Florida Bar said Wednesday, meaning the Panhandle Republican could face discipline for allegedly intimidating President Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen.
A grand jury-like panel called the Grievance Committee will next decide whether there is probable cause that Gaetz’s tweet broke the state Supreme Court’s rules for lawyers. Gaetz, one of Trump’s top allies in Congress, is licensed to practice law in Florida.
If the Florida Bar had determined in its initial review that discipline was not warranted, then the case would have stopped. But it has not, meaning the Bar has decided that further investigation is needed.
In moving the case against Gaetz to this step, the Florida Bar is also signaling that its initial review determined that the allegations against Gaetz would, if proven true, be a violation of the rules....
Matt Gaetz (click here) represents the 1st district of Florida, in the panhandle. These ethics problems should be part of the dialogue when Gaetz seeks re-election. The people have a right to know what poor behavior is with their lawmakers.
Donald Trump is a man full of hate.
We are reminded of that all too often. He stated he can't imagine Mayor Pete with President Xi Jinping. I think Dopey Don called him President Xi. That was a bigoted remark against a gay man with aspirations to be president of the USA. That is just hate. There isn't any other good definition of a bigoted person.
I apologize to Mayor Pete Buttigieg. He didn't deserve that slight by Trump. I know it won't effect his run for the office, but, I think when Dopey Don makes stupid remarks someone needs to mark the incident.
I apologize to Mayor Pete Buttigieg. He didn't deserve that slight by Trump. I know it won't effect his run for the office, but, I think when Dopey Don makes stupid remarks someone needs to mark the incident.
The Trumps have no respect for anyone, except, money.
Twenty hours is a part time job. Most Americans work well over 40 hours per week, so I have no sympathy for million-billionaires that bemoan answering a subpoena to the US Senate.
Trump is starting his identity politics again. So, I have been trying to decide what name really identifies Trump.
Doc In no way.
Grumpy It has merit.
Happy I have never seen such a miserable human being as Trump.
Sleepy Probably after every round of golf.
Bashful Anyone that pads their crotch isn't bashful.
Sneezy Only from the standpoint he causes allergies to his presence.
Dopey Now that is a thought. Dopey Don. Yep. That fits him.
Dopey Don.
Trump is starting his identity politics again. So, I have been trying to decide what name really identifies Trump.
Doc In no way.
Grumpy It has merit.
Happy I have never seen such a miserable human being as Trump.
Sleepy Probably after every round of golf.
Bashful Anyone that pads their crotch isn't bashful.
Sneezy Only from the standpoint he causes allergies to his presence.
Dopey Now that is a thought. Dopey Don. Yep. That fits him.
Dopey Don.
Continued from the previous entry.
August 2, 2016 was after the Wikileaks escapades and after the FBI began an investigation into the hacked websites of the DCCC and the Clinton Campaign. But, it was game on for Paul Manafort still campaign manager of the Trump Campaign.
Separately, on August 2, 2016, Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort met in New York City with his long-time business associate Konstantin Kilimnik, who the FBI assesses to have ties to Russian intelligence. Kilimnik requested the meeting to deliver in person a peace plan for Ukraine that Manafort acknowledged to the Special Counsel's Office was a "backdoor" way for Russia to control part of eastern Ukraine; both men believed the plan would require candidate Trump's assent to succeed (were he to be elected President). They also discussed the status of the Trump Campaign and Manafort's strategy for winning Democratic votes in Midwestern states. Months before that meeting, Manafort had caused internal polling data to be shared with Kilimnik, and the sharing continued for some period of time after their August meeting.
Sorry, folks, but this is ridiculous. A man running for president of the USA now has Russians receiving campaign intelligence and is a partner in a winning strategy. To me that is a conspiracy. To the Special Counsel, it is unprovable. Why? I think only Robert Mueller can say. Perhaps because it wasn't Donald Trump directly, but, was it ever going to be Donald Trump directly? Heck, no.
February 8, 2019
By Katelyn Polantz
Donald Trump's 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort (click here) continued to keep in touch with his Russian associate Konstantin Kilimnik and discuss Ukrainian politics while he was working for the campaign and through last year, and that's become a central issue of Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation, according to a transcript of a closed-door court hearing.
A special counsel prosecutor also suggested in the hearing that the former campaign chairman was not forthcoming because Manafort was angling for a pardon.
Mueller prosecutor Andrew Weissmann told a federal judge Monday that a meeting Manafort and Kilimnik had in August 2016 was "of significance to the special counsel." A redacted version of the transcript was released Thursday.
At the meeting, Ukrainian policy -- and, it appears according to previous filings, a peace plan that would have benefited Russia -- came up. Manafort in interviews with the special counsel said the discussion with Kilimnik about the topic ended then....
Of course, a peace plan for Ukraine would have to be part of the moral discussion between Kilimnik and Manafort. But, this was to be no ordinary peace plan, it had to benefit Russia.
There already was a peace plan for Ukraine that Germany, Ukraine, Russia and the USA signed as a treaty. That treaty removed all and any forms of nuclear capacity from Ukraine and in exchange Ukraine was to live forever in peace without fear of invasion by either The West or Russia. So, why discuss a peace plan with Russians when they had already broken an international treaty? If there is a good answer to that question, I sure haven't heard it yet.
This CONSTANT relationship between the Trump Campaign and Russian operatives continued. Manafort had maintained a relationship with the Trump Campaign after the election and basically extorted monies from a Wannabee US Navy Secretary. It is my opinion, Paul Manafort was a back channel between Russia and the Trump campaign even if he wasn't campaign manager.
Fall 2016. On October 7, 2016, the media released video of candidate Trump speaking in graphic terms about women years earlier, which was considered damaging to his candidacy. Less than an hour later, WikiLeaks made its second release: thousands of John Podesta's emails that had been stolen by the GRU in late March 2016. The FBI and other U.S. government institutions were at the time continuing their investigation of suspected Russian government efforts to interfere in the presidential election. (Don't tell me President Obama did nothing.) That same day, October 7, the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a joint public statement "that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations." Those "thefts" and the "disclosures" of the hacked materials through online platforms such as WikiLeaks, the statement continued, "are intended to interfere with the US election process."
NO ONE WAS LISTENING. TRUMP SURE AS HECK WAS GOING TO BRING ATTENTION TO AN ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT THE VERY GOVERNMENT THAT MANAFORT WAS CONSPIRING WITH AND WAS BENEFITTING HIS CAMPAIGN.
NO ONE WAS LISTENING.
I heard the announcement. My reaction was, that is a fine kettle of fish because the damage was already done.
Konstantin V. Kilimnik is the young Russian probably destined to be the next Vladimir Putin all the way to the left, in the Carolina Blue shirt.
Post-2016 Election. Immediately after the November 8 election, Russian government officials and prominent Russian businessmen began trying to make inroads into the new administration.
Well, that's a surprise, isn't it? And, of course, Trump pushed the Russians right out of his life and back to Moscow, right? No, that isn't what happened at all. Donald Trump, "But, I want to do things with Russia."
WHILE:
"Paul Whelan's letters home only deepen the mystery surrounding his detention." (click here)
The most senior levels of the Russian government encouraged these efforts. The Russian Embassy made contact hours after the election to congratulate the President-Elect and to arrange a call with President Putin. Several Russian businessmen picked up the effort from there.
Kirill Dmitriev is Russian money. Now, why would Dmitriev be steered toward Erik Prince? Let's see this is December.
Kirill Dmitriev, the chief executive officer of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, was among
the Russians who tried to make contact with the incoming administration.
Well, looky thar. It is Kirill Dmitriev and the Saudi Prince. Isn't the Saudi Prince best friends with Jarad Kushner?
So, it is early December 2016 and Trump nominated Betsy Devos for Education Secretary on November 23, 2016. It is easy to realize why Dmitriev saw Erik Prince as a target for Russia.
In early December, a business associate steered Dmitriev to Erik Prince, a supporter of the Trump Campaign and an associate of senior Trump advisor Steve Bannon. Dmitriev and Prince later met face-to-face in January 2017 in the Seychelles and discussed U.S.-Russia relations. (Bingo) During the same period, another business associate introduced Dmitriev to a friend of Jared Kushner who had not served on the Campaign or the Transition Team. Dmitriev and Kushner's friend collaborated on a short written reconciliation plan for the United States and Russia, which Dmitriev implied had been cleared through Putin. The friend gave that proposal to Kushner before the inauguration, and Kushner later gave copies to Bannon and incoming Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
There is no reason for this cooperation. None. FROM THE BEGINNING, the Trump administration coveted Russia and I want to know why!!!!!!!!!
On December 29, 2016, then-President Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for having interfered in the election. (Did I hear President Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for interfering with the election?)
........................................................................................................
Quid Pro Quo
June 2, 2016
President Donald Trump’s administration (click here) moved quickly to try and lift economic sanctions on Russia and other punishments former President Barack Obama had put in place as soon as it took office in January, according to multiple sources who have spoken with Yahoo News.
“There was serious consideration by the White House to unilaterally rescind the sanctions,” according to Dan Fried, who retired in February as Coordinator for Sanctions Policy at the State Department.
Fried told veteran investigative journalist Michael Isikoff, a former national investigative correspondent for NBC News and Newsweek alumnus, that in the early weeks of the administration he got several “panicky” calls from U.S. officials. They asked: “Please, my God, can’t you stop this?”
The sanctions in question included those imposed by Obama for Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and others inflicted late last year to punish Moscow for its suspected efforts to interfere in the 2016 election. The plans Trump’s administration considered early on included returning diplomatic compounds seized from Russia in late 2016—recent reports say Trump is currently working to put this plan into action....
..................................................................................................................................
Incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn called Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and asked Russia not to escalate the situation in response to the sanctions. The following day, Putin announced that Russia would not take retaliatory measures in response to the sanctions at that time. Hours later, President-Elect Trump tweeted, "Great move on delay (by V. Putin)." The next day, on December 31 , 2016, Kislyak called Flynn and told him the request had been received at the highest levels and Russia had chosen not to retaliate as a result of Flynn's request.
Happy New Year.
There is a new section following this and I will pick up there tomorrow.
Separately, on August 2, 2016, Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort met in New York City with his long-time business associate Konstantin Kilimnik, who the FBI assesses to have ties to Russian intelligence. Kilimnik requested the meeting to deliver in person a peace plan for Ukraine that Manafort acknowledged to the Special Counsel's Office was a "backdoor" way for Russia to control part of eastern Ukraine; both men believed the plan would require candidate Trump's assent to succeed (were he to be elected President). They also discussed the status of the Trump Campaign and Manafort's strategy for winning Democratic votes in Midwestern states. Months before that meeting, Manafort had caused internal polling data to be shared with Kilimnik, and the sharing continued for some period of time after their August meeting.
Sorry, folks, but this is ridiculous. A man running for president of the USA now has Russians receiving campaign intelligence and is a partner in a winning strategy. To me that is a conspiracy. To the Special Counsel, it is unprovable. Why? I think only Robert Mueller can say. Perhaps because it wasn't Donald Trump directly, but, was it ever going to be Donald Trump directly? Heck, no.
February 8, 2019
By Katelyn Polantz
Donald Trump's 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort (click here) continued to keep in touch with his Russian associate Konstantin Kilimnik and discuss Ukrainian politics while he was working for the campaign and through last year, and that's become a central issue of Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation, according to a transcript of a closed-door court hearing.
A special counsel prosecutor also suggested in the hearing that the former campaign chairman was not forthcoming because Manafort was angling for a pardon.
Mueller prosecutor Andrew Weissmann told a federal judge Monday that a meeting Manafort and Kilimnik had in August 2016 was "of significance to the special counsel." A redacted version of the transcript was released Thursday.
At the meeting, Ukrainian policy -- and, it appears according to previous filings, a peace plan that would have benefited Russia -- came up. Manafort in interviews with the special counsel said the discussion with Kilimnik about the topic ended then....
Of course, a peace plan for Ukraine would have to be part of the moral discussion between Kilimnik and Manafort. But, this was to be no ordinary peace plan, it had to benefit Russia.
There already was a peace plan for Ukraine that Germany, Ukraine, Russia and the USA signed as a treaty. That treaty removed all and any forms of nuclear capacity from Ukraine and in exchange Ukraine was to live forever in peace without fear of invasion by either The West or Russia. So, why discuss a peace plan with Russians when they had already broken an international treaty? If there is a good answer to that question, I sure haven't heard it yet.
This CONSTANT relationship between the Trump Campaign and Russian operatives continued. Manafort had maintained a relationship with the Trump Campaign after the election and basically extorted monies from a Wannabee US Navy Secretary. It is my opinion, Paul Manafort was a back channel between Russia and the Trump campaign even if he wasn't campaign manager.
Fall 2016. On October 7, 2016, the media released video of candidate Trump speaking in graphic terms about women years earlier, which was considered damaging to his candidacy. Less than an hour later, WikiLeaks made its second release: thousands of John Podesta's emails that had been stolen by the GRU in late March 2016. The FBI and other U.S. government institutions were at the time continuing their investigation of suspected Russian government efforts to interfere in the presidential election. (Don't tell me President Obama did nothing.) That same day, October 7, the Department of Homeland Security and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a joint public statement "that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations." Those "thefts" and the "disclosures" of the hacked materials through online platforms such as WikiLeaks, the statement continued, "are intended to interfere with the US election process."
NO ONE WAS LISTENING. TRUMP SURE AS HECK WAS GOING TO BRING ATTENTION TO AN ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT THE VERY GOVERNMENT THAT MANAFORT WAS CONSPIRING WITH AND WAS BENEFITTING HIS CAMPAIGN.
NO ONE WAS LISTENING.
I heard the announcement. My reaction was, that is a fine kettle of fish because the damage was already done.
Post-2016 Election. Immediately after the November 8 election, Russian government officials and prominent Russian businessmen began trying to make inroads into the new administration.
Well, that's a surprise, isn't it? And, of course, Trump pushed the Russians right out of his life and back to Moscow, right? No, that isn't what happened at all. Donald Trump, "But, I want to do things with Russia."WHILE:
"Paul Whelan's letters home only deepen the mystery surrounding his detention." (click here)
The most senior levels of the Russian government encouraged these efforts. The Russian Embassy made contact hours after the election to congratulate the President-Elect and to arrange a call with President Putin. Several Russian businessmen picked up the effort from there.
Kirill Dmitriev is Russian money. Now, why would Dmitriev be steered toward Erik Prince? Let's see this is December.
Well, looky thar. It is Kirill Dmitriev and the Saudi Prince. Isn't the Saudi Prince best friends with Jarad Kushner?
So, it is early December 2016 and Trump nominated Betsy Devos for Education Secretary on November 23, 2016. It is easy to realize why Dmitriev saw Erik Prince as a target for Russia.
In early December, a business associate steered Dmitriev to Erik Prince, a supporter of the Trump Campaign and an associate of senior Trump advisor Steve Bannon. Dmitriev and Prince later met face-to-face in January 2017 in the Seychelles and discussed U.S.-Russia relations. (Bingo) During the same period, another business associate introduced Dmitriev to a friend of Jared Kushner who had not served on the Campaign or the Transition Team. Dmitriev and Kushner's friend collaborated on a short written reconciliation plan for the United States and Russia, which Dmitriev implied had been cleared through Putin. The friend gave that proposal to Kushner before the inauguration, and Kushner later gave copies to Bannon and incoming Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
There is no reason for this cooperation. None. FROM THE BEGINNING, the Trump administration coveted Russia and I want to know why!!!!!!!!!
On December 29, 2016, then-President Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for having interfered in the election. (Did I hear President Obama imposed sanctions on Russia for interfering with the election?)
........................................................................................................
Quid Pro Quo
June 2, 2016
President Donald Trump’s administration (click here) moved quickly to try and lift economic sanctions on Russia and other punishments former President Barack Obama had put in place as soon as it took office in January, according to multiple sources who have spoken with Yahoo News.
“There was serious consideration by the White House to unilaterally rescind the sanctions,” according to Dan Fried, who retired in February as Coordinator for Sanctions Policy at the State Department.
Fried told veteran investigative journalist Michael Isikoff, a former national investigative correspondent for NBC News and Newsweek alumnus, that in the early weeks of the administration he got several “panicky” calls from U.S. officials. They asked: “Please, my God, can’t you stop this?”
The sanctions in question included those imposed by Obama for Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and others inflicted late last year to punish Moscow for its suspected efforts to interfere in the 2016 election. The plans Trump’s administration considered early on included returning diplomatic compounds seized from Russia in late 2016—recent reports say Trump is currently working to put this plan into action....
..................................................................................................................................
Incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn called Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and asked Russia not to escalate the situation in response to the sanctions. The following day, Putin announced that Russia would not take retaliatory measures in response to the sanctions at that time. Hours later, President-Elect Trump tweeted, "Great move on delay (by V. Putin)." The next day, on December 31 , 2016, Kislyak called Flynn and told him the request had been received at the highest levels and Russia had chosen not to retaliate as a result of Flynn's request.
Happy New Year.
There is a new section following this and I will pick up there tomorrow.
I left off yesterday with this paragraph from the Executive Summary of Volume 1 of the Special Council Report.
This paragraph appears on page 6 of the Executive Summary of Volume 1. Page is also page 14 of 448 pages.
July 2016 was also the month WikiLeaks first released emails stolen by the GRU from the DNC. On July 22, 2016, WikiLeaks posted thousands of internal DNC documents revealing information about the Clinton Campaign. Within days, there was public reporting that U.S. intelligence agencies had "high confidence" that the Russian government was.behind the theft of emails and documents from the DNC. And within a week of the release, a foreign government informed the FBI about its May 2016 interaction with Papadopoulos and his statement that the Russian government could assist the Trump Campaign. On July 31, 2016, based on the foreign government reporting, the FBI opened an investigation into potential coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump Campaign.
The investigation found that the GRU, which is the Russian government, stole emails and documents from the Clinton Campaign. I hope every American realizes the degree to which Russia was intent on defaming Hillary Clinton to end any chance she would be elected President of the United States of America. It is important Americans realize their country is a target of other countries for nefarious reasons.
I want to contrast this to the long established hopes of American diplomacy. It was only within the last half decade that the USA took steps to sanction Russian and remove their president from the G8. The G8 is now the G7. Those are very deep cuts into the very efforts of diplomacy between Russia and the USA. Those diplomatic efforts span decades and multiple USA presidents. No one that believes in peace and mutual goals and hopes wanted that to happen. I was disappointed to say the least when Russia invaded Crimea and then Eastern Ukraine. I thought "that Russia" was dead and buried forever.
Former Presidents of the USSR and then the Russian Federation such as Boris Yeltsin and Mikhail Gorbachev had grown a far better relationship with the USA and Western Democracy in Europe. It was celebrated in this country when they turned their country from a course of mutual destruction and into nuclear non-proliferation. Those decisions opened the door to investment and trade with The West. The long wished for hopes were finally coming true.
When Vladimir Putin became the new president of the Russian Federation it was welcomed with as much anticipation of peace as the previous two presidents of Russia. President Putin was young and it was every American's expectation that he was equal to them and thought about the future in the same way. Americans can be naive that way. Most Americans didn't realize that communism was alive and well, that Russia was an emerging power and there were still profound problems in Russia reflected in longevity and health. The problem with alcoholism saturated Russia. I am not sure of the status of alcoholism today in Russia, but, if longevity hasn't improved much the best assessment is that it is still a sincere problem.
Vladimir Putin was a former KGB agent. He was knowledgeable about the world Russia was a part of and at no point in time did anyone expect Russia to invade Ukraine. That was the old world. But, here we were again with the same paradigm of aggression against innocent and unarmed people that was more than a shadow of the old USSR.
When Russia carried out a mission with their intelligence agencies to effect the elections of 2016, it meant it. Russia wanted someone who would be a president that they could expect cooperation from in the way of removing sanctions and providing whatever information Russia wanted and when it wanted it. Do not underestimate the level of invasion Russia carried out in the 2016 elections. Because we are a country well invested in agencies that protect this country, magnificent women and men that work within those agencies and an American population educated enough and open minded enough to realize the cyber world was not secure; there grew an understanding that Russia did something really wrong to this country.
July 2016 was the month when Russia launched the result of it's plans and it worked beautifully. Americans looked to Wikileaks to realize the extent the USA government might have private information about them when Edward Snowden risked his life and certainly his citizenship to allow the information to flow into the knowledge of Americans.
Again, when Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange used Wikileaks to display information from the USA military about a war in Iraq that didn't end when President Obama walked into the White House.
Of those two instances, Americans were mostly grateful and grew impatient with their government about aspects they never dreamed would touch their lives. Both Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning were Americans. They had messages for other Americans that would create a knowledge base that could effect elections.
But, in July 2016, Russia used that level of trust in "open source" information to taint the elections between Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump. It was all onesided. It came from a foreign power that was now estranged from USA trust and trade. It came from Russia with threats to the USA people that if Hillary Clinton were elected there would be nuclear war. Because Americans, like Snowden and Manning were accepted at some level by the American people, the same exact naive open mindedness was cast upon the attacks by Russia.
This was different and whether Americans want to accept it or not, it is very dangerous.
continued in next entry
July 2016 was also the month WikiLeaks first released emails stolen by the GRU from the DNC. On July 22, 2016, WikiLeaks posted thousands of internal DNC documents revealing information about the Clinton Campaign. Within days, there was public reporting that U.S. intelligence agencies had "high confidence" that the Russian government was.behind the theft of emails and documents from the DNC. And within a week of the release, a foreign government informed the FBI about its May 2016 interaction with Papadopoulos and his statement that the Russian government could assist the Trump Campaign. On July 31, 2016, based on the foreign government reporting, the FBI opened an investigation into potential coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump Campaign.
The investigation found that the GRU, which is the Russian government, stole emails and documents from the Clinton Campaign. I hope every American realizes the degree to which Russia was intent on defaming Hillary Clinton to end any chance she would be elected President of the United States of America. It is important Americans realize their country is a target of other countries for nefarious reasons.
I want to contrast this to the long established hopes of American diplomacy. It was only within the last half decade that the USA took steps to sanction Russian and remove their president from the G8. The G8 is now the G7. Those are very deep cuts into the very efforts of diplomacy between Russia and the USA. Those diplomatic efforts span decades and multiple USA presidents. No one that believes in peace and mutual goals and hopes wanted that to happen. I was disappointed to say the least when Russia invaded Crimea and then Eastern Ukraine. I thought "that Russia" was dead and buried forever.
Former Presidents of the USSR and then the Russian Federation such as Boris Yeltsin and Mikhail Gorbachev had grown a far better relationship with the USA and Western Democracy in Europe. It was celebrated in this country when they turned their country from a course of mutual destruction and into nuclear non-proliferation. Those decisions opened the door to investment and trade with The West. The long wished for hopes were finally coming true.
When Vladimir Putin became the new president of the Russian Federation it was welcomed with as much anticipation of peace as the previous two presidents of Russia. President Putin was young and it was every American's expectation that he was equal to them and thought about the future in the same way. Americans can be naive that way. Most Americans didn't realize that communism was alive and well, that Russia was an emerging power and there were still profound problems in Russia reflected in longevity and health. The problem with alcoholism saturated Russia. I am not sure of the status of alcoholism today in Russia, but, if longevity hasn't improved much the best assessment is that it is still a sincere problem.
Vladimir Putin was a former KGB agent. He was knowledgeable about the world Russia was a part of and at no point in time did anyone expect Russia to invade Ukraine. That was the old world. But, here we were again with the same paradigm of aggression against innocent and unarmed people that was more than a shadow of the old USSR.
When Russia carried out a mission with their intelligence agencies to effect the elections of 2016, it meant it. Russia wanted someone who would be a president that they could expect cooperation from in the way of removing sanctions and providing whatever information Russia wanted and when it wanted it. Do not underestimate the level of invasion Russia carried out in the 2016 elections. Because we are a country well invested in agencies that protect this country, magnificent women and men that work within those agencies and an American population educated enough and open minded enough to realize the cyber world was not secure; there grew an understanding that Russia did something really wrong to this country.
July 2016 was the month when Russia launched the result of it's plans and it worked beautifully. Americans looked to Wikileaks to realize the extent the USA government might have private information about them when Edward Snowden risked his life and certainly his citizenship to allow the information to flow into the knowledge of Americans.
Again, when Chelsea Manning and Julian Assange used Wikileaks to display information from the USA military about a war in Iraq that didn't end when President Obama walked into the White House.
Of those two instances, Americans were mostly grateful and grew impatient with their government about aspects they never dreamed would touch their lives. Both Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning were Americans. They had messages for other Americans that would create a knowledge base that could effect elections.
But, in July 2016, Russia used that level of trust in "open source" information to taint the elections between Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump. It was all onesided. It came from a foreign power that was now estranged from USA trust and trade. It came from Russia with threats to the USA people that if Hillary Clinton were elected there would be nuclear war. Because Americans, like Snowden and Manning were accepted at some level by the American people, the same exact naive open mindedness was cast upon the attacks by Russia.
This was different and whether Americans want to accept it or not, it is very dangerous.
continued in next entry
"...there has been created a perception...."
This is a "Real Clear Politics" video. (click here) There is a transcript as well. I think it is important at this point in time to understand how the FBI sees it's the responsibility in releasing information to the general public.
Sen. John Kennedy questioned FBI Director Christopher Wray during testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday about the underlying predicate for the bureau's investigation into then-candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 election....
By some strange and rare chance the video did not translate well here it can be found at the link above. Thank you.
Sen. John Kennedy questioned FBI Director Christopher Wray during testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday about the underlying predicate for the bureau's investigation into then-candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 election....
By some strange and rare chance the video did not translate well here it can be found at the link above. Thank you.
This is nonsense.
Besides the reasons of the US House Judiciary Committee the controlled environment where the MOSTLY unredacted Special Council report is held, hostage, the CONDITIONS placed by Barr are dysfunctional, intimidating and an insult.
May 6, 2019
By Madison Gesiotto
Despite their demands (click here) that Attorney General William Barr release the full unredacted report by special counsel Robert Mueller, Democrats have shown little actual interest in viewing it themselves. In a solid gesture of transparency, Barr allowed a dozen members of Congress, six Democrats and six Republicans, to access the report with most of the redactions removed. While grand jury material had to be redacted to comply with federal requirements, this version of the report does include classified information, materials related to ongoing investigations, and information that could damage reputations of individuals not charged with crimes....
There are 24 members of the US House Judiciary Committee alone. That does not account for the members of the US House Intelligence Committee or the equally important components in the US Senate. Limiting the scope of the number of Legislative members to read the MOSTLY unredacted Special Counsel document is a burden to the six CHOSEN by Barr.
The entire controlling environment is oppressive and designed to provide failure to the process the legislature has to carry out. The control under which these six exclusive members are allowed to read the documents is oppressive. They have to read it in a particular room that is controlled by Barr. There are no cell phones allowed. The notes the six members take have to remain in the room with the documents.
To begin the document is not completely redacted. The US House and US Senate have security clearance to have these documents. It is my estimation the Trump family probably has the same clearance to read the unredacted documents.
The idea there can be no notes to leave the room brings up all kinds of problems. Six members of 635 women and men that make up the US House and US Senate have to take time out of their responsibilities (these members are chairpersons to committees) to go to a room, read documents, take notes and then leave the notes behind to commit the entire unredacted areas to memory.
IT IS COMPLETELY UNWORKABLE.
The Trump administration has set a path that is completely clear, they intend to obstruct the government processes of the federal government and this is proof.
The idea the members of Congress would violate the law in having information regarding any ongoing Grand Jury is an insult to their oath of office. The US House wanted the Attorney General to join them in a court of law to find the Grand Jury testimony that can be released while other hearings continue. The fact there are ongoing Grand Jurys only brings up the question as to why the Special Counsel was disbanded in the first place.
Former FBI Director Mueller needs to testify to the US Congress as well as the members of the Special Council. The limits placed on the US Legislature regarding this report are ridiculous, providing no clear ability of the legislature to bring about law or changes in law to protect the USA from foreign influence that is harmful to its sovereignty.
May 6, 2019
By Madison Gesiotto
Despite their demands (click here) that Attorney General William Barr release the full unredacted report by special counsel Robert Mueller, Democrats have shown little actual interest in viewing it themselves. In a solid gesture of transparency, Barr allowed a dozen members of Congress, six Democrats and six Republicans, to access the report with most of the redactions removed. While grand jury material had to be redacted to comply with federal requirements, this version of the report does include classified information, materials related to ongoing investigations, and information that could damage reputations of individuals not charged with crimes....
There are 24 members of the US House Judiciary Committee alone. That does not account for the members of the US House Intelligence Committee or the equally important components in the US Senate. Limiting the scope of the number of Legislative members to read the MOSTLY unredacted Special Counsel document is a burden to the six CHOSEN by Barr.
The entire controlling environment is oppressive and designed to provide failure to the process the legislature has to carry out. The control under which these six exclusive members are allowed to read the documents is oppressive. They have to read it in a particular room that is controlled by Barr. There are no cell phones allowed. The notes the six members take have to remain in the room with the documents.
To begin the document is not completely redacted. The US House and US Senate have security clearance to have these documents. It is my estimation the Trump family probably has the same clearance to read the unredacted documents.
The idea there can be no notes to leave the room brings up all kinds of problems. Six members of 635 women and men that make up the US House and US Senate have to take time out of their responsibilities (these members are chairpersons to committees) to go to a room, read documents, take notes and then leave the notes behind to commit the entire unredacted areas to memory.
IT IS COMPLETELY UNWORKABLE.
The Trump administration has set a path that is completely clear, they intend to obstruct the government processes of the federal government and this is proof.
The idea the members of Congress would violate the law in having information regarding any ongoing Grand Jury is an insult to their oath of office. The US House wanted the Attorney General to join them in a court of law to find the Grand Jury testimony that can be released while other hearings continue. The fact there are ongoing Grand Jurys only brings up the question as to why the Special Counsel was disbanded in the first place.
Former FBI Director Mueller needs to testify to the US Congress as well as the members of the Special Council. The limits placed on the US Legislature regarding this report are ridiculous, providing no clear ability of the legislature to bring about law or changes in law to protect the USA from foreign influence that is harmful to its sovereignty.
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