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sidd

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #250 on: May 20, 2018, 09:08:40 PM »
Missed this: third Trump staffer appproached by Halper was Sam Clovis:

Halper was CIA. So i think Brennan is in this neck deep, along with UK counterparts.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/secret-fbi-source-for-russia-investigation-met-with-three-trump-advisers-during-campaign/2018/05/18/9778d9f0-5aea-11e8-b656-a5f8c2a9295d_story.html

sidd

TerryM

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #251 on: May 20, 2018, 09:44:57 PM »

sidd

WaPo wants a dollar & info about me, so I'll have to find my sources elsewhere. Fortunately with the Case being outed, the information's everywhere!


Amazingly enough, even after Halpern's identity became known, the Nation hasn't dissolved, Washington hasn't been forced to declare Martial Law, and America hasn't yet capitulated.


National Security today seems just as formidable as it seemed last week - remarkable.

Terry

sidd

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #252 on: May 20, 2018, 10:35:12 PM »
Mr. TerryM : response to your comment is in a different thread.

https://forum.arctic-sea-ice.net/index.php/topic,189.msg155137.html#msg155137

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #253 on: May 21, 2018, 01:51:07 PM »
Traitor Don keeps moving closer and closer to the abyss.  This weekends tweet storm shows he is getting more and more fearful of the Mueller investigation.  So either he and his cohorts in the Republican Party are able to stop the investigation .... OR .... Donnie will be forced to go on a firing binge in the DOJ and possibly the FBI.

At the same time that the political/judicial processes are playing out ... we have (1) the continuing issue of gun violence that is eating away at most Republicans and it WON’T go away, and (2) we continue to head towards possible new record lows in both the Arctic sea ice and global sea ice levels.

Those two issues may provide more momentum for Dems over the coming months, and ultimately help to put even greater pressure on Traitor Don and his band of traitors led by Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan.

Pay SPECIAL attention to the election races in Florida:  Both for the Senate seat AND for Attorney General.  Dem’s currently hold the senate seat, but with a candidate who is behind Rick Scott (Medicare fraudster) by 4%.  If the Dems can possibly pull out those two wins in Florida, Donnie’s goose is thoroughly cooked for the next 10 years, and so are his kids .... BIGLY.

Rick Scott is a global warming denier, and he has NOT done nearly enough on the gun front.  Hopefully the Dems can pull that one out of the fire.

FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #254 on: May 21, 2018, 04:03:28 PM »
“Three predictions for what Mueller will do next.”  By  Nelson Cunningham.

I’m mobile right now.... or I would have supplied the link to the above article.  It is a “must read”.  I don’t agree will all the predictions .... but they are ALL possible.  And Nelson was an actual prosecutor, I only got my “law degree” (🤥) at Trump University. 🤡

Suffice it to say ...... we are heading into the home stretch .... too bad we don’t know for sure how LONG that stretch will be.  It WILL be exciting .... AND historic.
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #255 on: May 21, 2018, 04:21:45 PM »
Donald Trump has ordered an investigation of the investigation that is investigating his own potential wrong doing.  If that is not a conflict of interest then what is?  If the Democrats win control of the House in November, then after they gain control of the House Oversight Committee they should subpoena every GOP official (Nunes, Ryan, Trump, Sessions, etc.) who is facilitating this abuse of power (this is an abuse because Trump is not presenting any evidence of wrong doing on the part of the FBI, when he ordered this sham investigation):

Title: "The Democrats Need to Get Much Tougher on These Trump Scandals or They Will Lose the Midterms"

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-democrats-must-get-a-lot-tougher-on-the-trump-scandals-or-they-will-lose-the-midterms

Extract: "Sunday afternoon at 1:37 pm, the president of the United States tweeted that he is ordering an investigation of the investigation into him. His campaign, okay; but him. Think about that.

Imagine that Hillary Clinton were president and the Republicans were investigating the Clinton Foundation, and she ordered an investigation into that investigation, charging, based on no evidence whatsoever, that the FBI had improperly infiltrated the foundation. And no, this professor is not “proof” of “infiltration.” And anyway, if the FBI has credible reason to believe a crime may have been committed, isn’t infiltration of the enterprise suspected of criminality…their job?

Or imagine that Barack Obama had ordered an investigation into any of the various investigations of the Benghazi consular attack. Or for that matter that George W. Bush had ordered an investigation into the investigation into the Valerie Plame outing.

In any of those cases, Washington would have exploded. But now this president—who, it is documented, has spent 40 years lying to and defrauding people in business, and who lies nearly every time he speaks—and his apologists have so corrupted our system that some people are discussing Trump’s move as if it’s legitimate. Just another interesting twist and turn in Donald Trump’s Washington, ha ha.

No. It’s not. It’s a scandal. It’s the biggest sign yet that Trump knows and respects no law and will use every tool he can to thwart an investigation that is obviously legitimate. We learned over the weekend from the Times that Russia may not be the half of it, a Gulf emissary reportedly offered to help Trump win the election."
« Last Edit: May 21, 2018, 06:58:57 PM by AbruptSLR »
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #256 on: May 21, 2018, 06:59:05 PM »
The linked article from December 2017, reminds people that the FBI gave Trump lots of warnings that foreign adversaries, including Russians, were trying to influence/infiltrate his campaign.  This makes it clear that Trump's order to the DOJ to investigate the FBI's investigation of Russiagate is more of an attempt to obstruct justice than an attempt to root-out some kind of mythical 'Deep State':

Title: "FBI warned Trump in 2016 Russians would try to infiltrate his campaign"

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-warned-trump-2016-russians-would-try-infiltrate-his-campaign-n830596

Extract: "In the weeks after he became the Republican nominee on July 19, 2016, Donald Trump was warned that foreign adversaries, including Russia, would probably try to spy on and infiltrate his campaign, according to multiple government officials familiar with the matter.

The warning came in the form of a high-level counterintelligence briefing by senior FBI officials, the officials said. A similar briefing was given to Hillary Clinton, they added. They said the briefings, which are commonly provided to presidential nominees, were designed to educate the candidates and their top aides about potential threats from foreign spies.

The candidates were urged to alert the FBI about any suspicious overtures to their campaigns, the officials said."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #257 on: May 21, 2018, 09:41:40 PM »
Here is what you need to know about the Halper matter, which is much ado about nothing:

Title: "Everything you need to know about Trump’s FBI spy claim"

https://qz.com/1283291/trumps-fbi-spy-claims-about-stefan-halper-explained/

Extract: "Trump demanded an investigation into whether law enforcement “infiltrated or surveilled the Trump campaign for political purposes,” and has tweeted that there was an FBI representative “implanted” into the campaign. However, no public reports suggested that Halper was embedded or conducted extensive surveillance on the campaign. The Times and Post report, citing intelligence sources, that there is no evidence Halper did anything improper.

House Intelligence Committee chair Devin Nunes earlier this month subpoenad (paywall) the DoJ for all its information about Halper, but the Justice Department declined, citing Halper’s safety and relations with intelligence partners.

A few hours after Trump demanded an investigation, Rosenstein expanded an existing probe by the DoJ’s inspector general, an internal watchdog, who was looking into how the FBI had secured warrants to spy on Page. DoJ spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said the probe would examine “whether there was any impropriety or political motivation in how the FBI conducted its counterintelligence investigation of persons suspected of involvement with the Russian agents who interfered in the 2016 presidential election.”"
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TerryM

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #258 on: May 21, 2018, 10:32:07 PM »
ASLR
Do you believe that the venerable Halper, who's spying activities have been known since the 1980's has been put at risk since he was outed for this caper?


If not then other reasons for the FBI's reticence need to be examined.


Why would the FBI go to such lengths to keep this operation hidden? If Halper's activities were aboveboard why such heroic efforts to keep them shielded from public scrutiny? Halper was giving lectures on international intelligence and has been paid a $Million over the table by the government since 2012 - He was in no danger from being outed, the danger was to those who were directing his actions.


I had a very low opinion of the FBI since well before LBJ tasked their mincing leader with rooting out homosexuals in the Federal Government. Hoover and Clyde undoubtedly enjoyed the humor inherent in that request, and those that (finally) took over the reigns of the Bureau have been laughing up their sleeves at their political masters ever since.
The FBI - running amuck since 1924.


Terry - from the (relatively) safe haven of Canada.

AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #259 on: May 21, 2018, 11:08:14 PM »
Unless Mueller decides to try to indict a sitting president, then whether Trump's actions constitutes obstruction of justice is a political question to be resolved by congress; and in this regards, if the Democrats gain control of the House in 2018/19 then they will have control of the subpoena power of the House Oversight Committee, which would allow for a deep dive into Trump's (& Team Trump's) possibly criminal actions:

Title: "8 legal experts on whether Trump’s demand for an investigation into the FBI is legal"

https://www.vox.com/2018/5/21/17376154/trump-fbi-doj-brennan-rosenstein-mueller-probe

Extract: "Spoiler alert: It’s complicated.

Trump’s demand is being taken seriously by the Justice Department, and the inspector general has now expanded its investigation to include the questions raised by Trump.

This could eventually force a clash between the DOJ and the president, especially if Trump continues to use his power to influence or impede the special counsel investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign.

At the moment, two legal questions immediately present themselves. First, does Trump have the authority to order an investigation like this, particularly if the goal is to discredit a separate investigation into his own campaign? Second, does this constitute obstruction of justice?

But whether or not Trump’s “demands” are criminal, they are part and parcel of an unprecedented attack by a sitting president on the law enforcement apparatus of his own administration. Trump’s apparent belief in his personal entitlement to direct that law enforcement resources give priority to his own political ends is antithetical to the rule of law."
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Neven

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #260 on: May 21, 2018, 11:12:59 PM »
Unless Mueller decides to try to indict a sitting president, then whether Trump's actions constitutes obstruction of justice is a political question to be resolved by congress; and in this regards, if the Democrats gain control of the House in 2018/19 then they will have control of the subpoena power of the House Oversight Committee, which would allow for a deep dive into Trump's (& Team Trump's) possibly criminal actions:

What a great way to motivate Republican voters to prevent a blue wave.  ;)
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #261 on: May 21, 2018, 11:17:50 PM »
ASLR
Do you believe that the venerable Halper, who's spying activities have been known since the 1980's has been put at risk since he was outed for this caper?


If not then other reasons for the FBI's reticence need to be examined.


Why would the FBI go to such lengths to keep this operation hidden? If Halper's activities were aboveboard why such heroic efforts to keep them shielded from public scrutiny? Halper was giving lectures on international intelligence and has been paid a $Million over the table by the government since 2012 - He was in no danger from being outed, the danger was to those who were directing his actions.


I had a very low opinion of the FBI since well before LBJ tasked their mincing leader with rooting out homosexuals in the Federal Government. Hoover and Clyde undoubtedly enjoyed the humor inherent in that request, and those that (finally) took over the reigns of the Bureau have been laughing up their sleeves at their political masters ever since.
The FBI - running amuck since 1924.


Terry - from the (relatively) safe haven of Canada.

Terry,

I would appreciate it if you would stop asking me direct questions, as you have a tendency to imagine bogeymen where there aren't any.  For example in the Halper situation Rosenstein has already expanded the scope of the inspector general to look into Trump's concern.  I trust Rosenstein's decision in this matter, even if it appears likely that if the inspector general gives the FBI a clean bill of health on the Halper matter that Trump will probably brand this finding as "Fake News" and part of the "Deep State" "Witch Hunt" of the "Pure People's Champion" Donald J. Trump.
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #262 on: May 21, 2018, 11:22:34 PM »
Unless Mueller decides to try to indict a sitting president, then whether Trump's actions constitutes obstruction of justice is a political question to be resolved by congress; and in this regards, if the Democrats gain control of the House in 2018/19 then they will have control of the subpoena power of the House Oversight Committee, which would allow for a deep dive into Trump's (& Team Trump's) possibly criminal actions:

What a great way to motivate Republican voters to prevent a blue wave.  ;)

To quote Truman: "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."  ;)
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #263 on: May 21, 2018, 11:32:18 PM »
While Mueller is conducting a non-political investigation, everyone knows that if/when this matter is placed before Congress it immediately becomes a political issue.  Thus I think the Democrats should stop treating the Trump Administration with kid gloves, and instead they should make the Trump Administration's corruption a central theme of the 2018 midterm campaign:

Title: "Democrats Should Talk More About Trump"

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/05/democrats-should-be-talking-even-more-about-trump.html

Extract: "The president’s rampant corruption should be the central issue of this year’s midterms.

On Monday, Democrats unveiled an anti-corruption message meant to highlight the kinds of graft and self-dealing we’ve seen from Donald Trump and other Republican lawmakers. The message echoes Democrats’ successful campaign in 2006, when they recaptured the House by running against George W. Bush and a host of GOP scandals in Congress. But the new message is still too focused on a broad “Washington” and not enough on the singular figure of Donald Trump."
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Neven

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #264 on: May 22, 2018, 12:22:28 AM »
Central theme should be things that matter to Americans who can barely get by. Trump=Swamp comes into play as well, but if you make it your central theme, you're too dumb to cook.

And as Truman's wife said: If you can't cook, stay out of the kitchen.

And I don't think Mueller is conducting a non-political investigation. Either way, all of the attention and scandalizing will make it easier for Trump to say: The swamp people are trying to get rid of me because I'm not part of their swamp.

If there is no blue wave, Russiagate and the Mueller investigation, and so on, will be the number one reason it didn't happen.
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sidd

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #265 on: May 22, 2018, 12:23:41 AM »
Detail on million plus payment to Halper: hope he was worth it. Last payment was for 400+ KUS$ on sep 26 2016. Unlike the others, this was a "Purchase Order." What was he selling ?

https://www.usaspending.gov/#/search/68d183f62648f90913efbf55858f3893

sidd

AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #266 on: May 22, 2018, 12:32:47 AM »
Do people think that Trump's top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, was also working for the FBI, when he recommended appointing Halper to the Trump campaign?

Title: "Exclusive: Peter Navarro pushed Stefan Halper for Trump job"

https://www.axios.com/peter-navarro-trump-stefan-halper-fbi-informant-cc8a2601-dfe1-45a0-8899-62bfb7578599.html

Extract: "President Trump's top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, recommended appointing Stefan Halper, an academic and suspected FBI informant on the Trump campaign, to a senior role in the Trump administration, Axios has learned."
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sidd

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #267 on: May 22, 2018, 12:40:51 AM »
Wouldn't surprise me if Navarro had spook connections. He was in the Peace Corps for three years, that place has it's share of spooks.

Meanwhile here is a titbit i hadn't noticed. Wiki informs that Halper ran a bank that moved money to our man Ollie North, and set up a defense fund for him.

sidd

AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #268 on: May 22, 2018, 12:41:29 AM »
Central theme should be things that matter to Americans who can barely get by. Trump=Swamp comes into play as well, but if you make it your central theme, you're too dumb to cook.

The Democrats have added a proven recipe to their platform for cooking-up new seats in Congress in 2018:
 
Title: "Democrats' new platform focuses on corruption under Trump"

https://www.axios.com/democrats-unveil-a-better-deal-corruption-platform-cb48ef50-b2f9-4e62-8130-0bcc68738632.html?utm_source=sidebar

Extract: "Democrats unveiled a new plank of their "A Better Deal" policy platform today, which largely focuses on corruption under President Trump and campaign finance.

Democrats used a similar message in 2006, the Washington Post notes, focusing on pay-to-play politics after a number of controversies involving Republicans. Democrats picked up 31 House seats that year."
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #269 on: May 22, 2018, 12:44:52 AM »
Wouldn't surprise me if Navarro had spook connections. He was in the Peace Corps for three years, that place has it's share of spooks.

Meanwhile here is a titbit i hadn't noticed. Wiki informs that Halper ran a bank that moved money to our man Ollie North, and set up a defense fund for him.

sidd

Do you think that this qualifies as evidence that the mythical 'Deep State' actually exists, and if so why did the FBI reopen the investigation into Hillary's emails just weeks before the 2016 election?
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #270 on: May 22, 2018, 12:56:58 AM »
This murky deal probably stopped Trump from firing Rosenstein, but hopefully the murky deal also somehow stops Nunes from revealing national security issues for political gain:

Title: "DOJ, Trump strike murky deal in FBI informant spat"

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/21/trump-justice-department-fbi-informant-601572

Extract: "The breadth of the agreement was not immediately clear. The Justice Department had previously indicated that sharing details about its informant could risk lives and endanger national security. It's also unclear who will be permitted to view the documents. The Justice Department typically shares its most sensitive information with the so-called "Gang of Eight" — the Republican and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate, as well as the Republican and Democratic leaders of each chamber's Intelligence Committee."
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SteveMDFP

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #271 on: May 22, 2018, 01:04:08 AM »

Do you believe that the venerable Halper, who's spying activities have been known since the 1980's has been put at risk since he was outed for this caper?

If not then other reasons for the FBI's reticence need to be examined.

Why would the FBI go to such lengths to keep this operation hidden? If Halper's activities were aboveboard why such heroic efforts to keep them shielded from public scrutiny? Halper was giving lectures on international intelligence and has been paid a $Million over the table by the government since 2012 - He was in no danger from being outed, the danger was to those who were directing his actions.
 

This doesn't follow at all.  This exposure of Halper now makes him a potential target of Trump and/or his followers.  Halper didn't face this hazard prior to the leak of his identity.

Beyond Halper in particular, there's the issue of being able to assure anonymity to confidential informants to the FBI.  If the FBI can't assure anonymity, there will be far fewer informants.

And while many liberal-types like me might think that could perhaps be a good thing, to have fewer informants, the reality is that actual crimes should be investigated, and informants are routine and commonly crucial to these investigations.

I think the FBI was exactly right to object strenuously to Halper's outing.

AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #272 on: May 22, 2018, 01:10:59 AM »
For those who are interested, here is a Wikipedia write-up on Peter Navarro:

Title: "Peter Navarro"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Navarro
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sidd

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #273 on: May 22, 2018, 01:41:43 AM »
"the mythical 'Deep State' actually exists "

Thats a contradiction iinit ? if it is mythical, then it can't actually exist. A better question might be

"does the deep state exist ?" but that wasn't the posed question. If it were, i might answer that first  one might define exactly we mean by the deep state in the USA. But a presupposition that the deep state is mythical rather squelches that conversation.

" confidential informants to the FBI."

Mueller had his informants entrap Muslims for the better part of a decade  into fake terrorist plots. There is a movie called "(T)ERROR" that has a remarkable expose from both sides of the game. Filmmaker got the  informant and the guy he was setting up to let her shoot. Amazing.

But there are a lot more cases than that one. Mueller kept the FBI from torture (an I give him full credit for that) but his actions in stitched up terror cases certainly makes me think less of him.

sidd

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #274 on: May 22, 2018, 01:47:43 AM »
The politico story on the trump-DOH-FBI deal has a clause i think is significant:

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/21/trump-justice-department-fbi-informant-601572

"turn over to Congress and his own legal team"

He just got his own lawyers everything the FBI has on all dealings with Halper. And the DOD contracts.

crazy like a fox.

sidd

TerryM

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #275 on: May 22, 2018, 04:52:56 AM »
Terry,

I would appreciate it if you would stop asking me direct questions, as you have a tendency to imagine bogeymen where there aren't any.


Next time I'll be sure to quote your original statement before I ask you to defend it. :)
Terry

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #276 on: May 22, 2018, 05:35:04 AM »

Do you believe that the venerable Halper, who's spying activities have been known since the 1980's has been put at risk since he was outed for this caper?

If not then other reasons for the FBI's reticence need to be examined.

Why would the FBI go to such lengths to keep this operation hidden? If Halper's activities were aboveboard why such heroic efforts to keep them shielded from public scrutiny? Halper was giving lectures on international intelligence and has been paid a $Million over the table by the government since 2012 - He was in no danger from being outed, the danger was to those who were directing his actions.
 

This doesn't follow at all.  This exposure of Halper now makes him a potential target of Trump and/or his followers.  Halper didn't face this hazard prior to the leak of his identity.

Beyond Halper in particular, there's the issue of being able to assure anonymity to confidential informants to the FBI.  If the FBI can't assure anonymity, there will be far fewer informants.

And while many liberal-types like me might think that could perhaps be a good thing, to have fewer informants, the reality is that actual crimes should be investigated, and informants are routine and commonly crucial to these investigations.

I think the FBI was exactly right to object strenuously to Halper's outing.
Well, I could have quoted the Democratic claim I suppose:

"Publicly outing a source risks not only their life, but the lives of every American," a top Democratic lawmaker warns.
https://thinkprogress.org/calls-for-identity-of-fbi-source-trump-campaign-risk-national-security-c7575f6ea88b

AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #277 on: May 22, 2018, 05:21:15 PM »
The media coverage regarding the interaction between Halper and Papadopoulos can be misleading.  We may well need to wait until Mueller publically releases the results of his investigation before we have a clear understanding of events:

Title: "George Papadopoulos Was Trying to Hide Evidence He Thought Might Amount to Treason When He Lied to the FBI "

https://www.emptywheel.net/2018/05/21/george-papadopoulos-was-trying-to-hide-treason-when-he-lied-to-the-fbi/

Extract: "Chuck Ross’ description of a September 2016 conversation between Stefan Halper and George Papadopoulos has evolved over the course of his reporting on it.

Today’s story claims we don’t know what Alexander Downer told FBI. We do know one detail he omitted: That Downer told the FBI that Papadopoulos told him Mifsud said the Russians were going to release the emails to help Trump.

Ross leans on his misunderstanding of Papadopoulos’ guilty plea to argue today that FBI should have interviewed Papadopoulos back in August, rather than ask a lifelong Republican to ask the same questions while hiding the FBI interest.

That is, Ross argues that because Papadopoulos offered up that he met a weird guy named Mifsud who told him the Russians were offering dirt in the form of Hillary emails, he could be trusted to have been honest had the FBI asked him in August.

As I said, though, Ross’ first description of Papadopoulos’ guilty plea is wrong in several ways. Ross hides how important Papadopoulos said Mifsud seemed; the FBI describes Papadopoulos claiming Mifsud was just BSing. The former Trump aide similarly denied having any relationship with the Russian woman Mifsud introduced him to. Both those details make Papadopoulos’ lies about the timing more important: he lied about how important he believed these two were and he lied about the way their outreach to him tied to his role on the campaign.

And if the third and fourth version of Ross’ description of the Halper-Papadopoulos exchange is any indication, then it’s very clear why Papadopoulos would have always lied about the communications: because he considered the very same kind of back and forth with Russians tied to the email release treason.

Papadopoulos was trying to cover up evidence he thought might prove treason."
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #278 on: May 22, 2018, 05:32:05 PM »
Does the RNC's payment of legal fees for Hope Hicks amount to hush money?

Title: "RNC paid half a million to law firm representing Hope Hicks in Russia probe"

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/rnc-paid-half-million-law-firm-representing-hope/story?id=55328181

Extract: " The Republican National Committee has paid nearly half a million dollars to a law firm representing former White House communications director Hope Hicks in the ongoing Russia investigation, Federal Election Commission records show.

The two payments in April, totaling $451,779, were made to Trout Cacheris & Janis for "legal and compliance services." Hicks is represented by the firm’s founder, Robert Trout. Two additional attorneys at the firm represent other witnesses in the Russia probe. The firm has also represented Bijan Kian, the one-time business partner of former national security adviser Michael Flynn."
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #279 on: May 22, 2018, 05:40:09 PM »
The linked op/ed piece indicates that there is no truth to Trump's claim that the FBI planted a spy into his campaign, and makes the point that actually the FBI's actions help Trump to become president:

Title: "Press: Why Trump should thank FBI"

http://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/388697-press-why-trump-should-thank-fbi

Extract: "Trump tweeted early in the morning of May 18: “Reports are there was indeed at least one FBI representative implanted, for political purposes, into my campaign for president.” And lest there be any doubt what he meant by “representative,” he followed up with: “Apparently the [Department of Justice] put a Spy in the Trump Campaign.”

So what we are to make of this? Absolutely nothing. It’s simply not true, just the latest twist in repeated efforts by the Trump White House to undermine the credibility of special counsel Robert Mueller in anticipation of a damning final report. Their working premise is that if they call it a “witch hunt” often enough, people will start to believe it.

As both The New York Times and The Washington Post both quickly reported, the FBI did not plant any “spy” inside the Trump campaign. The FBI did, however, send an FBI informant to talk to campaign aides George Papadopoulos, Carter Page and Sam Clovis about their contacts with Russian officials. Which gets us to the heart of the matter, which most of the media have simply ignored.

All the speculation about a secret FBI “spy” hidden inside the Trump campaign is a waste of time. Here’s what’s really important. Not whether the Justice Department employed a spy, agent or informant, and who it was. But the fact that, as far back as Aug. 16, the FBI was investigating the Trump campaign for possible collusion.

Yet, surely, by keeping the Trump investigation secret, the FBI did influence the outcome of the election. Had Americans known that Donald Trump, like Hillary Clinton, was the subject of a criminal investigation, the election might have turned out differently. So, instead of attacking the FBI, Donald Trump should be thanking them. The FBI helped Donald Trump become president."
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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #280 on: May 22, 2018, 09:47:59 PM »
Do you actually see a difference between inserting a very well paid informer, who incidentally had deep connections with both American and British intelligence, and planting a spy?
Your vision is amazingly acute.


You cast aspersions on the RNC for paying a law firm less than $500,000, yet ignore the fact that the spy/informant was paid over $100,000 by Obama's government.


Personally I'd like to learn where the $50,000,000 raised so rapidly by DiFi's Chief of Security went. That's a real chunk of change. What emergency arose that required such a huge sum to fix. That kind of money is more often used in an attempt to keep information from seeing the light of day, than for uncovering new data.


Perhaps when Mueller has the time he'll look into it.
Terry

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #281 on: May 22, 2018, 10:37:27 PM »
"spy/informant was paid over $100,000 by Obama's government"

I think you dropped a zero.

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #282 on: May 22, 2018, 11:00:07 PM »
Mifsud a UK spook ? He worked with Claire Smith of the UK Joint Intelligence Comittee

" Misfud and Claire Smith of the UK Joint Intelligence Committee and eight year member of the UK Security Vetting panel both trained Italian security services at the Link university in Rome ..."

https://www.prisonplanet.com/assange-suggests-british-government-was-involved-in-plot-to-bring-down-trump.html

Downer a UK spook ?

"Created by former MI6 British Secret Service agents, Hakluyt is an ultra secretive firm ..."

"Alexander Downer had been on the advisory board of the London-headquartered firm since 2008 ... was forced to give up the position when he was appointed to head the Australian diplomatic post in London in 2014 ... Mr Downer has still been attending client conferences and gatherings of the group ... he also attended a two-day country retreat at the invitation of the group ..."

http://www.news.com.au/world/britain-is-concerned-about-australias-links-to-hakluyt-security-firm-created-by-former-mi6-agents/news-story/5d6a3c7ccbd5cd9992379aeecaa5e3dc

We know Downer arranged 25 million to the Clinton Foundation.

http://thehill.com/376858-australian-diplomat-whose-tip-prompted-fbis-russia-probe-has-tie-to-clintons

Mifsud has disappeared or been disappeared.  Lotsa people looking very hard for him i expect. Some of them will want him silenced. Some will want him testifying.

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #283 on: May 23, 2018, 12:07:16 AM »
Trump is using the mechanisms of government for the biased benefit of the GOP.  How long until Trump pushes for a one party system in America.  The Gang of Eight should have been in the meeting with the DOJ:

Title: "Democrats not invited to DOJ briefing on FBI informant"

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/22/fbi-informant-meeting-doj-gop-democrats-white-house-603275

Extract: "The White House has invited two senior House Republicans — and no Democrats — to a Thursday briefing to facilitate access for lawmakers to information about an FBI informant involved in the investigation of Russian contacts with President Donald Trump's campaign.

The briefing, coordinated by White House chief of staff John Kelly, was agreed to Monday when Trump met with FBI Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to discuss Congress' demands for these classified documents."
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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #284 on: May 23, 2018, 02:40:30 AM »
Freidman will have to spill his guts on Cohen in order to minimize his jail time:

Title: "Michael Cohen Associate Agrees to Cooperate With Prosecutors"

https://www.wsj.com/articles/michael-cohen-associate-agrees-to-cooperate-with-prosecutors-1527033575

Extract: "A longtime business partner of Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, according to people familiar with the matter.

Evgeny “Gene” Freidman, a New York City taxi mogul, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Albany County court to one count of criminal tax fraud. As part of his plea agreement, he agreed to help prosecutors with state or federal investigations, people familiar with the matter said."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #285 on: May 23, 2018, 03:23:11 PM »
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/dolly-downer-goes-to-london,6182


Throughout his three-hour ordeal in the witness box at the Cole inquiry yesterday, Alexander Downer defended the professionalism of his department but said more than 20 times that he had "no specific recollection" of cables, key conversations or events surrounding the scandal.
https://www.smh.com.au/news/national/i-might-have-got-it-wrong/2006/04/11/1144521339065.html


By Marian Wilkinson
April 12, 2006

Downer's memory lapses about AWB bribing Iraq and violating UN sanctions should have resulted in criminal charges for AWB and he should have been sacked for negligence. But this was years ago and hasn't any relevance to the Cohen investigation.

He is a pompous lying buffoon but he has absolutely no reason at all to be lying about George Papadopoulos. 

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #286 on: May 23, 2018, 07:03:39 PM »
If Clapper is correct, then this raises into question the legitimacy of Trump's election:

Title: "Clapper: Ryan and McConnell didn't care about election interference as long as Trump won"

http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/388803-clapper-ryan-and-mcconnell-didnt-care-about-election-interference-as

Extract: "Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper accuses Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in a new book of not caring about foreign interference in the 2016 election as long as President Trump won.

In his new book, “Facts and Fears, Hard Truths from a Life in Intelligence,” released on Tuesday, Clapper hammers the GOP leaders for not taking a harder stance on Russian meddling in the presidential race."
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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #287 on: May 23, 2018, 08:09:48 PM »
Calpper has form. The kindest thing one might say about his behaviour is that he is "economical with the truth." He lied about mass wiretapping to congress and he lied about press interviews. I do not think i shall read his book.

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Hefaistos

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #288 on: May 23, 2018, 09:41:18 PM »

"Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, received a secret payment of at least $400,000 (£300,000) to fix talks between the Ukrainian president and President Trump... Shortly after the Ukrainian president returned home, his country's anti-corruption agency stopped its investigation into Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort. ...One source in Kiev said Mr Poroshenko had given Trump "a gift" - making sure that Ukraine would find no more evidence to give the US inquiry into whether the Trump campaign "colluded" with Russia. "

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44215656

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #289 on: May 23, 2018, 09:41:49 PM »
A point that is not clear is whether the FBI encouraged Halper in seeking a job in the incoming Trump admin. I imagine infiltrating an elected administration would enrage that administration even more.

sidd

Martin Gisser

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #290 on: May 23, 2018, 09:48:07 PM »
Calpper has form. The kindest thing one might say about his behaviour is that he is "economical with the truth." He lied about mass wiretapping to congress and he lied about press interviews. I do not think i shall read his book.

sidd
Read the book. Maybe he has some explanation. The book promises to be the most interesting U.S. polit book in decades. Rachel Maddow had a long interview with Clapper last night.

AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #291 on: May 24, 2018, 06:51:07 PM »
While Rosenstein has skillfully parried Team Trump this time, Trump will try again to derail the Mueller investigation:

Title: "How Much Longer Can Rod Rosenstein Protect Robert Mueller?"

https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/how-much-longer-can-rod-rosenstein-protect-robert-mueller

Extract: "If Rosenstein were following the modern traditions of independence at the Justice Department, he would have rejected Trump’s request outright—but then he would have risked getting fired, and thereby potentially deprive Mueller of the protection that he has provided for the past year. So Rosenstein devised what was, under the circumstances, an artful finesse. He did not, as Trump seemed to demand, launch a criminal investigation of the F.B.I.; rather, Rosenstein took an intermediate step. He took advantage of the fact that the Justice Department’s inspector general is already conducting an investigation of the conduct of the F.B.I. in connection with its applications for surveillance of a Trump campaign adviser in 2016. Rosenstein just told the inspector general to add the issue of the use of informants in the Russia case to his existing investigation. This probe by the inspector general may well interfere with Mueller’s investigation, by subjecting its witnesses to another round of questioning, but Rosenstein probably figured, with reason, that it was the least bad alternative available to him. For the moment, at least, his offer seemed to mollify Trump, and an immediate crisis has been averted.

But no one should think that Rosenstein—or Mueller—is safe. Trump’s fake outrage about the nonexistent spy in his camp is just the latest assault on the independence of the Justice Department, the F.B.I., and the special counsel. At the same time that Rosenstein was brokering Trump’s demand for an investigation, the President directed his chief of staff to accommodate a request from House Republicans to view certain secret documents from the Russia investigation. Likewise, under modern ethical traditions, the House members should have been immediately refused; but, the White House wants to assist its congressional allies, and allowing them to see documents that they shouldn’t be allowed to see is part of that effort. In a similar vein, earlier this year, the Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, with support from the President, released the so-called Nunes memo, which was a tendentious and misleading account of supposed F.B.I. misconduct. Later, the committee members released a report on their own investigation, which found no wrongdoing by the President."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #292 on: May 24, 2018, 09:51:02 PM »
Per the linked NYT article, Emmet Flood, a lawyer representing Trump in the Russia investigation, was briefly in the first DOJ meeting on the confidential FBI informant.  I image that all crime lords would like to have their lawyers in a meeting to look at confidential FBI information.  Trump is trashing legal standards in this country.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/24/us/politics/fbi-informant-russia-congress-briefings.html
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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #293 on: May 24, 2018, 11:01:46 PM »
An interesting read if this hasn't been posted here or elsewhere on the site in the last 2 weeks.

Here’s a Theory About That $1.6 Million Payout From a GOP Official to a Playboy Model

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-24/u-s-jobless-claims-unexpectedly-increase-to-seven-week-high

Now.... like all good skeptics ..... you need to be SKEPTICAL:

1)  Who the hell is the "Daily Intelligencer" anyway?
2)  Are there ANY OTHER corroborating news stories on this issue (this article is all about a THEORY ..... so it is NOT a news STORY YET .... it is a NEWS THEORY.  BIG DIFFERENCE.

Something to "pin on the wall" or "chew on" for a bit.  Anyway .... thought I would post it in case nobody had done so as yet.


FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #294 on: May 25, 2018, 01:36:03 AM »
McConnell says that he saw nothing at the inception of the FBI investigation to warrant shutting-down the Mueller investigation:

Title: "McConnell Says He Supports Mueller Investigation"

https://www.npr.org/2018/05/24/614166059/mcconnell-says-he-supports-mueller-investigation

Extract: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told NPR in an interview that he continues to support the Mueller Russia investigation — and that nothing in Thursday's hotly anticipated secret briefing on the Russia probe to congressional leaders changed his mind.

"The two investigations going on that I think will give us the answers to the questions that you raise — the [inspector general] investigation in the Justice Department and the Mueller investigation," McConnell said. "I support both of them, and I don't really have anything to add to this subject based upon the Gang of Eight briefing that we had today, which was classified.""
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
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Buddy

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #295 on: May 25, 2018, 04:20:10 AM »
Coming soon to a theatre near you:  More fans .... and more shit.  And we all know what happens when those two get together. 

Crazy crazy crazy.  And FOX is going to look like fools.  Well done Sean Hannity ..... well done. 😱
FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #296 on: May 25, 2018, 05:30:42 AM »
Mueller has known this for a longtime, so the real question is can Mueller flip Stone or not:

Title: "Roger Stone sought dirt on Clinton from Assange during 2016 election: report"

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/roger-stone-sought-dirt-on-clinton-from-assange-during-2016-election-report/ar-AAxLvdR?ocid=spartandhp

Extract: "Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone wanted WikiLeakers founder Julian Assange to give him damaging information on then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Emails reportedly show Stone requesting an acquaintance ask Assange for emails about Clinton's alleged role in interfering with a possible peace deal in Libya in 2011, when she was secretary of State."
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #297 on: May 25, 2018, 03:14:33 PM »
If Erik Prince lied to Congress (under oath), then Mueller has more leverage to flip him against Trump:

Extract: "Putin ally suggests Seychelles meeting with Erik Prince more than chance encounter over a beer"

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/putin-ally-seychelles-meeting-erik-prince-chance-encounter/story?id=55408942

Extract: "The Russian fund manager involved in a January 2017 meeting in the Seychelles Islands with Trump supporter Erik Prince has become the latest person to raise questions about Prince’s claim during Congressional testimony that the encounter was unplanned – merely a casual chance encounter “over a beer.”"
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #298 on: May 25, 2018, 03:33:19 PM »
Assange has repeatedly as far back as mid-2016 refuted and debunked every claim of association or contact with Roger Stone repeatedly. Too many public sources out there to list. Google it or visit his website if interested. Stone is a bs'ing primadonna and a manipulative PR strategist of some validity. Honest? Not if he's talking.  :)

If/when Assange is booted from the Ecuadorian Embassy, Mueller could indict him shortly thereafter:

Title: "Julian Assange Could Be Booted From the Ecuadorian Embassy ‘Any Day Now’"

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/05/assange-could-soon-be-booted-from-ecuadorian-embassy.html

Extract: "After nearly six years, Ecuador may have had it with Julian Assange. CNN reports that while there have been threats to boot the WikiLeaks founder from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London before, his current situation is “unusually bad” and he could be forced out “any day now.”

Ecuador’s new president Lenín Moreno is reportedly facing increasing pressure from the U.S. to eject Assange."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

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Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #299 on: May 25, 2018, 03:41:44 PM »
Where there is smoke the is fire, & so I find it difficult to image that Mueller would find something illegal in Roger Stone's finances:

Title: "Mueller probing Roger Stone's finances: report"

http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/389317-mueller-probing-roger-stones-finances-report

Extract: "Special counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly investigating Roger Stone’s finances as part of the probe into alleged collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russia.

CNN reported Thursday that investigators have asked associates of Stone, an informal adviser to Trump's 2016 campaign, about his finances, including Stone's tax returns.

Stone told CNN that investigators were apparently "combing through" his personal life, including business affairs, but claimed it was because they lacked evidence of collusion."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson