Support the Arctic Sea Ice Forum and Blog

Author Topic: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation  (Read 172410 times)

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #350 on: June 05, 2018, 04:38:43 PM »
If anyone assumes that my comments amount to being a Trump apologist it is a very very foolish assumption. I was so well informed and judicious about U.S. politics and the Media I fully expected he'd win the election (all things being equal.) Nothing unfolding now is a surprise to me either. There's a civil war going on inside the U.S. 'deep state' apparatus and beltway. Been going on for ages unseen and unnoticed by the naive and gullible. Trump is but a minor manifestation of that. He's no less a patsy than GW Bush was. At least George eventually worked that out for himself with the benefit of hindsight toward the end of his final term.

Almost everyone else, Mr Abrupt included obviously, have not even begun to scratch the surface. A direct result of not paying attention to the evidence and data made worse by a distinct lack of genuine Objectivity and buckets of unobserved internalized Bias.

Mr Lurker,

I am both sorry and disappointed if you did not catch the drift of my reply. 

First, when the FBI started their investigations into potential wrong doing by the Trump Campaign in 2016, several times they went before FISA court judges and submitted sufficient evidence of potential wrong doing that the judges allowed them to open several investigations.  Then when Trump apparently obstructed justice on these several investigations by firing Comey in 2017, Rosenstein authorized the Mueller investigation because Sessions had to recuse himself due to his proven involvement in these matters.  While your post called for opening multiple investigations apparently related to your belief that an alleged 'deep state' involving the intelligence community, the legislature, etc. are also responsible for wrong doings; but you presented insufficient evidence to convince any judge that such multiple investigations are warranted. Thus I mistakenly assumed that you preferred the authoritarian approach used by Stalin, and others, to open investigations without adequate evidence and then to push through preconceived judgments on to executions.

Second, I recommend that either you move such lines of discussion in to the "Deep State" thread, or that you open other threads on the topics of other wrong doings that you want to discuss that are not related to either the Mueller or the Cohen Investigations, as no court/judge in this country is going to accept your preconceptions about 'deep state' activity based on the evidence that you have cited to date. See also the following article:

Title: "Trump's spiral into 'criminal deep state' madness continues"

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/huppke/ct-met-trump-spy-russia-mueller-huppke-20180523-story.html

Extract: "The person Trump was referring to as a spy is actually a longtime FBI informant (there’s a difference, Google it) named Stefan Halper. He’s an emeritus professor at the University of Cambridge in England and a lifelong Republican who was part of past GOP administrations. (Funny how all the VERY BAD Deep State traitors out to get Trump are Republicans, including Mueller himself.)"
« Last Edit: June 05, 2018, 05:25:17 PM by AbruptSLR »
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #351 on: June 05, 2018, 04:58:58 PM »
Mueller has evidence that Manafort sent encrypted messages to potential witnesses against him, encouraging them to commit perjury during the up-coming trials.  If the judge agrees then Manafort will likely be sitting in a jail cell for months while he awaits his trials; which will likely increase the chances that he will cut a plea deal, in order to reduce his time in jail:

Title: "Mueller accuses Manafort of witness tampering"

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/04/politics/mueller-manafort-witness-tampering/index.html

Extract: "The Special Counsel's Office has accused former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort of attempting to get witnesses to lie for him in court, and they've asked the judge to send him to jail as he awaits his trial, according to a filing in DC District Court Monday night.

One of the witnesses told investigators recently that Manafort wanted them to commit perjury about a lobbying effort they worked on for him in the US, the filing said."

See also:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-manafort/manafort-attempted-to-tamper-with-potential-witnesses-u-s-special-counsel-idUSKCN1J1043
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #352 on: June 05, 2018, 05:23:00 PM »
Trump's tweets are designed to push simple repetitive messages to his supporters, in order to politically pressure GOP representatives in Congress (particularly the House Oversight Committee and/or a future impeachment committee) into inaction.  Nevertheless, they regularly expose him to legal trouble, as is the case in his recent tweet, where he acknowledges that Sessions had reason to recuse himself in the Mueller investigation, which underscores the fact that the Mueller investigation is justified, at least because Sessions had legitimate reasons to recuse himself:

Title: "Trump Just Accidentally Strengthened the Case for Sessions’ Recusal"

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/06/jeff-sessions-russia-recusal-trump-tweets/

Extract: "President Donald Trump again expressed regret about appointing Jeff Sessions as his attorney general, claiming in a Tuesday morning tweet that had he known Sessions would eventually recuse himself from overseeing the ongoing Russia investigation, he would have “quickly picked someone else.”

In declaring that Sessions “knew better than most” regarding questions of collusion, Trump underscored the argument that Sessions’ recusal was in fact wholly appropriate by suggesting he had firsthand knowledge of events relevant to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #353 on: June 05, 2018, 06:18:54 PM »
Trump has beat the media down the point that they try to make Trump's criminal tweets seem reasonable.  The Inspector General Michael Horowitz, works for Trump, and in his tweet this morning Trump tells Horowitz that he is investigating 'Crooked Hillary' and 'Slippery James Comey' and Trump implies that if Horowitz does not report evidence of their wrong doing then the IG report must have been illegitimately 'made weaker' (i.e. the process is rigged by the deep state).  If there is any rigging going on regarding this report it is that Trump is telling his employee that he already knows that Hillary is crooked and that Comey is slippery, which is an attempt by Trump to politically weaponize the IG report before it is issued.

Title: "Trump criticizes 'numerous delays' in release of IG report on Clinton's email use"

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/05/trump-inspector-general-report-clinton-624178

Extract: "President Donald Trump complained Tuesday that there have been “numerous delays” in the release of the Justice Department inspector general’s report on the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state, expressing concern that the report is being “made weaker.”

“What is taking so long with the Inspector General’s Report on Crooked Hillary and Slippery James Comey. Numerous delays,” the president wrote on Twitter. “Hope Report is not being changed and made weaker! There are so many horrible things to tell, the public has the right to know. Transparency!”"

See also:
Title: "DOJ Inspector General Report Could Be ‘Decisive’ in Clinton Email Case"

https://thecrimereport.org/2018/06/04/doj-ig-could-be-decisive-voice-in-clinton-email-case/

Extract: "Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz may become a decisive voice in the partisan controversies over the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server when she was secretary of state, and its subsequent probe of the Trump campaign and Russia, the Washington Post reports. Horowitz is expected to release a nearly 500-page report criticizing the Justice Department and FBI for their handling of the Clinton email investigation. Meanwhile, he has intensified his review of the Russia investigation, interviewing the FBI agent who once led the case.  Those who know Horowitz say his findings will be as nonpartisan as they are thorough. His work is almost certain to be weaponized by President Trump against federal law enforcement, and some question whether it will quell the tension gripping Washington. “He’s going to be unflappable, he’s going to be apolitical, he’s going to call it like he sees it,” said Mary Jo White, a former U.S. Attorney in New York City who supervised Horowitz when he worked there."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

Neven

  • Administrator
  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 9470
    • View Profile
    • Arctic Sea Ice Blog
  • Liked: 1333
  • Likes Given: 617
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #354 on: June 05, 2018, 10:11:04 PM »
As much as I am interested in world politics and US politics in particular, I'm going to unsubscribe/unnotify from these discussions, so I can fully focus on the Arctic. I've learned a lot from these discussions, so my thanks go out to everyone participating in them.
The enemy is within
Don't confuse me with him

E. Smith

sidd

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6774
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1047
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #355 on: June 06, 2018, 12:52:34 AM »
Senate releases Page-Strzok texts: several hundred pages

Extent of antipathy for trump really comes thru. But worse, if these are the FBI's best, they are a pretty sorry lot. The backstabbing and maneuvering is reminiscent of Borgia politics.

Titbit from page 330 of the pdf: FBI has emails detailing extent of White House control or lack thereof of the investigation in August 2016

2016-08-05: 16:37:25 Fri: Strzok to Page: "And hi. Went well, best we could have expected. Other than [redacted] quote, "the White House is running this."

16:37:46 : My answer, "well maybe for you they are" \U0001f612 [Tears of Joy smilie ]

...

16:55:26 : Page to Strzok : "Yeah, whatever (re the WH comment). We've got emails that say otherwise"

https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Appendix%20C%20-%20Documents.pdf

sidd


sidd

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6774
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1047
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #356 on: June 06, 2018, 01:01:57 AM »
The Bill who features so prominently in the Page-Strzok texts is almost certainly Bill Priestap, Strzok direct boss and in charge of clinton email investigation (referred to as MYE in the texts)

Who is, right now, being grilled by House Judiciary Committee.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/lawmakers-question-fbi-officials-review-clinton-probe/story?id=55644798

Well, that testimony should leak innabit.

sidd

sidd

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6774
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1047
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #357 on: June 06, 2018, 01:39:13 AM »
Apparently Loretta Lynch (Obama Attorney General who met Bill Clinton during the hilary email investigation at the airport) knew when she made the statement on the first of July 2017 that DoJ would accept FBI director recommendation on Clinton charges that no charges would be filed.

Page to Strzok: 2016-0701:11:30:47 : "And yeah, it's a real profile in couragw, since she knows no charges will be brought. \U0001f612 [Tears of Joy] "

link to dump of texts upthread. Page 285 in the pdf.

sidd

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #358 on: June 06, 2018, 03:26:21 AM »
Maybe the negotiations for McCabe's immunity will cause Grassley to delay his hearings:

Title: "Andrew McCabe seeks immunity for testimony in congressional hearing over FBI handling of Clinton email probe"

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/andrew-mccabe-seeks-immunity-for-testimony-in-congressional-hearing-over-fbi-handling-of-clinton-email-probe/ar-AAygCkH?ocid=spartandhp

Extract: "Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe has requested the Senate Judiciary Committee provide him with immunity from prosecution in exchange for testifying at an upcoming congressional hearing focused on how senior officials at the FBI and Justice Department handled the investigation of Hillary Clinton's private email server, according to a letter obtained by CNN.

"Under the terms of such a grant of use immunity, no testimony or other information provided by Mr. McCabe could be used against him in a criminal case," wrote Michael Bromwich, a lawyer for McCabe, to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, who has requested McCabe testify next week.

Grassley, an Iowa Republican, has quietly requested that several former officials appear in front of the Judiciary Committee to discuss the long-awaited internal Justice Department report, which sources say will detail a series of missteps surrounding the Justice Department and FBI's investigation into Clinton's handling of classified information while secretary of state."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

sidd

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6774
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1047
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #359 on: June 06, 2018, 07:26:09 AM »
Grassley is an old hand at these games.

McCabe and Comey are in a knife fight on who knew what and when. McCabe lawyer has already accused Comey of lying. McCabe wants immunity as a get outta jail free card, but Grassley won't give it to him without sumpn juicy that he can trade. Remember, he is working on the tariff bite to iowa soybean to china, iowa fed pork to mexico as well.

Another interesting point is that Grassley wants Lynch on the hot seat too. Probably in the light of the fact that Grassley has been privy forawhile to the Strzok-Page text message dump. So he knew that her effective recusal on the hilary email case in her statement on the first of july that she would accept FBI judgement was made after she knew FBI would not proffer charges anyway.

sidd


AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #360 on: June 06, 2018, 08:01:10 PM »
Ryan confirms that Trump's claim of the existence of a 'Spygate' is inaccurate:

Title: "Paul Ryan: Gowdy's statement contradicting Trump on spying claims is 'accurate'"

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/390970-paul-ryan-gowdys-statement-contradicting-trump-on-spying-claims-is-accurate

Extract: "Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Wednesday pushed back against President Trump’s “spygate” claims, siding with Rep. Trey Gowdy’s (R-S.C.) defense of the FBI’s investigation into Trump’s campaign and Russia."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #361 on: June 06, 2018, 08:06:04 PM »
McCabe wants immunity as a get outta jail free card, but Grassley won't give it to him without sumpn juicy that he can trade.

If Grassley pushes too hard, McCabe will just invoke his 5th Amendment rights:

Title: "McCabe, fired FBI official, could invoke 5th Amendment before Senate panel"

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/05/mccabe-fifth-amendment-fbi-627754

Extract: "Andrew McCabe, the former FBI deputy director, “will have no choice but to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege” if called to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee next week without immunity against the use of his testimony in criminal prosecution, according to a letter from his lawyer to the panel’s Republican chairman."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #362 on: June 06, 2018, 08:20:52 PM »
Mueller is progressively building more and more evidence about the web of actives during the 2016 election that may well prove very damaging to Team Trump:

Title: "Cambridge Analytica director 'met Assange to discuss US election'"

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jun/06/cambridge-analytica-brittany-kaiser-julian-assange-wikileaks?CMP=share_btn_tw

Extract: "A Cambridge Analytica director apparently visited Julian Assange in February last year and told friends it was to discuss what happened during the US election, the Guardian has learned.

Brittany Kaiser, a director at the firm until earlier this year, also claimed to have channelled cryptocurrency payments and donations to WikiLeaks. This information has been passed to congressional and parliamentary inquiries in the UK and US.

Cambridge Analytica and WikiLeaks are already subjects of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, but the revelations open up fresh questions about the precise nature of the organisations’ relationship."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #363 on: June 06, 2018, 08:26:26 PM »
The dealing around the proposed Trump Tower in Moscow may provide a link from Putin to Team Trump:

Title: "Ivanka Trump Was In Contact With A Russian Who Offered A Trump-Putin Meeting"

https://www.buzzfeed.com/anthonycormier/ivanka-trump-putin-moscow-meeting-michael-cohen-tower?utm_term=.fubJyyQ1dW#.dmj3ww0XmO

Extract: "Her contact, a Russian Olympic weightlifter, said a meeting between Trump and Putin could expedite a Trump tower in Moscow."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #364 on: June 06, 2018, 08:33:19 PM »
It will be interesting to see whether Trump eventually gives Papadopoulos a pardon, before he is given a chance to testify:

Title: "Mueller was investigating Trump adviser George Papadopoulos as unregistered agent of Israel, his wife says"

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-mueller-george-papadopoulos-20180605-story.html

Extract: "Special counsel Robert Mueller last summer threatened to charge George Papadopoulos, a former campaign adviser to President Donald Trump, with acting as an unregistered agent of Israel, Papadopoulos' wife said Tuesday.

Simona Papadopoulos' assertion that Mueller threatened her husband with another charge, first reported by the Daily Caller, came as she conducted a series of media interviews this week in which she argued that her husband never conspired with Russia to assist Trump's campaign."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

sidd

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6774
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1047
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #365 on: June 06, 2018, 10:10:00 PM »

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #366 on: June 07, 2018, 01:49:20 AM »
Another law suit, this time against Keith Davidson:

Title: "Stormy Daniels sues former lawyer, accuses him of being a 'puppet' of Trump and Michael Cohen"

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/stormy-daniels-sues-former-lawyer-accuses-him-of-being-a-puppet-of-trump-and-michael-cohen/ar-AAyjq5u?ocid=spartandhp

Extract: "Porn star Stormy Daniels sued her former lawyer and President Donald Trump's attorney Michael Cohen on Wednesday, claiming they jointly "hatched a plan" to get her to falsely deny an affair with Trump on Fox News.

Daniels' suit alleges her ex-attorney, Keith Davidson, "abdicated his role as an advocate" for the actress, "and instead elected to be a puppet for Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump.""
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

Buddy

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
  • Go DUCKS!!
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 49
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #367 on: June 07, 2018, 02:47:32 AM »
Michael Avenatti is creating a REAL PROBLEM for Traitor Trump and his band of idiots like Sean Hannity.  I think the "wise men" have ANOTHER LEGAL PROBLEM now.......

Hmmmmm..... I wonder if Sean Hannity or his criminal attorney (which I assume he has hired by now) has taken a look at California Penal Code 182PC?

California Penal Code 182 PC:

Quote
As stated in California Penal Code 182 PC, a criminal conspiracy takes place when one....

1.agrees with one or more other people to commit a crime, and
2.one of them commits an overt act in furtherance of that agreement.1

Any member of the conspiracy may commit the overt act...which doesn't need to be criminal in and of itself. But does need to be performed before the commission of the agreed upon offense.

These guys are making the Watergate plumbers look like international spies.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/stormy-daniels-suit-my-old-lawyer-was-puppet-trump-cohen-n880476

https://www.shouselaw.com/conspiracy.html
FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #368 on: June 07, 2018, 10:34:26 AM »
Will Melania Trump be called as a material witness in Daniels suit against Cohen & Davidson, as she was at least in the room when Cohen & Davidson were texting each other about Daniels?


“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

Buddy

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
  • Go DUCKS!!
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 49
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #369 on: June 07, 2018, 02:03:33 PM »
Here's a good summary ..... of some of the activity by the Trump campaign in initially lying about Russian contacts during the campaign, as well as bringing in Cambridge Analytica and Wikileaks.  This is about a 15 minute video that is well worth you watching.....  And remember.... Mueller knows a LOT MORE than we do about this, and the public information is pretty damning already.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/new-cambridge-analytica-revelations-connect-trump-russia-dots-1250043459593?playlist=associated

Many of you can now likely see JUST HOW BROAD AND HOW DEEP the Mueller investigation runs.  It is WAY....WAY.... more deep and broad than Watergate ever was.  It deals with international banks, international companies, other governments (Russia, Ukraine, England, etc).

So while the "obstruction" part of the Mueller investigation may be "wrapped up" by sometime this summer or fall ...... the other parts of the investigation will definitely NOT be wrapped up.

And while Mueller will no doubt wait to subpoena Traitor Don until after the North Korea summit.... that is definitely coming this summer, as is a likely case (or two) going before the Supreme Court, and Donnie's ultimately invoking the 5th amendment.




« Last Edit: June 07, 2018, 02:12:18 PM by Buddy »
FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

SteveMDFP

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 2476
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 583
  • Likes Given: 42
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #370 on: June 07, 2018, 03:59:53 PM »

And while Mueller will no doubt wait to subpoena Traitor Don until after the North Korea summit.... that is definitely coming this summer, as is a likely case (or two) going before the Supreme Court, and Donnie's ultimately invoking the 5th amendment.

Trump will, no doubt, continue to dither about with "negotiations" about terms for an interview with Mueller--simply a stalling tactic.  Mueller will, no doubt, eventually resort to a grand jury subpoena.  It is inconceivable to me that Trump will actually give substantive testimony.  Even if he were as innocent a a newborn lamb, he's incapable of saying more than a paragraph without including a lie, i.e., criminal perjury. 

Most such truth-impaired individuals would simply invoke 5th amendment rights to remain silent.  Trump, being routinely over the top, might just refuse to comply with a GJ supoena to appear.  Supreme Court would surely order compliance, eventually.  Trump has enough chutzpah to defy the Supreme Court, maybe.  It's hard to imagine that federal Marshals would march into the Oval Office to drag him to the grand jury. 

There will surely be drama coming, but surely no substantive testimony from Trump, any way you cut it.

Buddy

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
  • Go DUCKS!!
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 49
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #371 on: June 07, 2018, 04:45:18 PM »
Tell me it 'aint so:

Retired US Army colonel levels stunning accusation about Trump's relationship with Putin
Quote

A retired US Army colonel lieutenant and military analyst said he believes President Donald Trump may be on the tip of the spear with Russian intelligence. Ralph Peters suggested during a CNN interview on Wednesday night that Russian President Vladimir Putin has "some kind of grip on Trump," pointing to the US president's documented affinity toward Putin, and his hesitation to speak critically of the Kremlin. Peters, who trained in Russian studies, the Russian language, and has experience with Russian intelligence officers, indicated that what he sees in Trump's behavior are the signs of someone who may be compromised by one of the US's most formidable enemies.


https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/805add13-950f-3627-b56c-5c294c0f4a7d/ss_retired-us-army-colonel.html
FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

Buddy

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
  • Go DUCKS!!
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 49
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #372 on: June 07, 2018, 05:36:56 PM »
This entry shows you just HOW AWFUL FOX News is  ....... and how AWFUL SEAN HANNITY IS.  He and FOX are nothing more than a LIE MACHINE.  And now..... Sean Hannity is telling people to BREAK THE LAW.

This is the same Sean Hannity that has been working WITH DONALD TRUMP TO OBSTRUCT JUSTICE FOR A YEAR OR LONGER.  SAME GUY.

http://www.businessinsider.com/sean-hannity-tells-mueller-investigation-witnesses-to-destroy-evidence-2018-6

And SEAN and FOX have been lying about global warming for the last 20+ years:



And FOX is the one who LIED ABOUT PHILADELPHIA PLAYERS ...... FOX saying they were "kneeling during the national anthem", when in fact they were KNEELING TO PRAY.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/06/05/media/fox-news-philadelphia-eagles-kneeling/index.html

Just 5 minutes of REAL JOURNALISM and FOX could have called the players in question and asked them why they were kneeling in the picture.  But that wasn't what FOX wanted to show.

FOX has NEVER been a journalism site.  All they are is a mouthpiece for whatever they want to push.  FOX lies about the lack of gun control in the US ...... FOX lies about global warming ...... FOX lies about what a traitor Donald Trump is.

FOX has always posed the most danger to a democracy in the US.... and they continue to do so today.  They don't care about kids getting killed in schools ..... they don't care about anyone getting killed in mass murders in the US ...... they don't care about the environment in the US or elsewhere ......  They are, quite simply, a LIE MACHINE.





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

Buddy

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
  • Go DUCKS!!
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 49
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #373 on: June 07, 2018, 09:45:45 PM »
Why is it that so many Trump roads lead to either Russia or the Ukraine?

Quote
"We started [JFA] in 2009, and through a series of very interesting and lucky circumstances we wound up doing a lot of work in Eastern Europe, mostly in Ukraine, from 2009 to 2013," Fotiadis said in a video interview with the Kiyv Post. "Then things went dark for a while, and now I'm back, because things seem to be coming back." The interview was videoed on location at the Skyline, a high-rise condominium in downtown Kiev that Fotiadis helped design.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/meet-the-new-york-architect-who-was-a-key-figure-in-trumps-deals-and-connections-in-eastern-europe/ar-AAyiBmz?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=iehp
FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #374 on: June 08, 2018, 05:19:05 PM »
The Senate Judiciary Committee is helping to link the Trump campaign & Russia:

Title: "Senate Investigators May Have Found a Missing Piece in the Russia Probe"

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/06/former-gop-congressman-embroiled-in-the-russia-probe/562343/

Extract: "An ex-congressman has attracted scrutiny from the Senate Judiciary Committee, as it continues to investigate whether President Donald Trump’s campaign conspired with Moscow to sway the 2016 presidential election.

Curt Weldon, a Republican and former Pennsylvania congressman, lost his reelection campaign more than a decade ago following an FBI probe into his ties to two Russian companies. He has “connections to both Russia and the Trump campaign” that are raising suspicions among senators, a spokeswoman for Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said. Feinstein is the committee’s ranking member, and wants to interview Weldon, the spokeswoman said."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #375 on: June 08, 2018, 05:34:00 PM »
As much as I am interested in world politics and US politics in particular, I'm going to unsubscribe/unnotify from these discussions, so I can fully focus on the Arctic. I've learned a lot from these discussions, so my thanks go out to everyone participating in them.

Smart move. I concluded my input yesterday. Nothing to see, do or know here or the other threads one can't easily access somewhere else already - if interested. When an opinion or personal insight or an historical background context or reference is expressed it's rare to find anyone who can actually understand what's being said and why. Or cares.  :)

May as well be here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/alt.politics where not much has  changed since 1997-1999 when I was reading that now and then.

Nothing is going to change much or improve in US politics anyway. It's a dead letter.

Mr. Lurker,

Does this post indicate that at some point you are going to stop posting in this thread, because it is a waste of your time?
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #376 on: June 08, 2018, 05:45:10 PM »
Mueller knows how to squeeze a crime syndicate:

Title: "Special counsel Robert Mueller's team is requesting that witnesses turn in their personal phones to inspect their encrypted messaging programs"

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/06/mueller-team-zeroes-in-on-encrypted-apps-as-witness-turn-in-phones.html

Extract: "Special counsel Robert Mueller's team is requesting that witnesses turn in their personal phones to inspect their encrypted messaging programs and potentially view conversations between associates linked to President Donald Trump, sources told CNBC.

Since as early as April, Mueller's team has been asking witnesses in the Russia probe to turn over phones for agents to examine private conversations on WhatsApp, Confide, Signal and Dust, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Fearing a subpoena, the witnesses have complied with the request and have given over their phones, the sources said."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #377 on: June 08, 2018, 06:47:27 PM »
Why would an innocent man be so fixated on the potential for him to pardoning himself?

Title: "Trump doubles down, says he has 'absolute right to pardon myself'"

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/391334-trump-doubles-down-on-claim-he-has-absolute-right-to-pardon-myself

Extract: "President Trump on Friday doubled down on his claim that he can pardon himself for any potential crimes but insisted that he would not have to because he hasn't broken the law.
"I have an absolute right to pardon myself," Trump told reporters outside the White House before departing for the G-7 summit."
« Last Edit: June 08, 2018, 08:36:33 PM by AbruptSLR »
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #378 on: June 08, 2018, 08:36:52 PM »
The long arm of the law strikes again:

Title: "Mueller Indicts Manafort and Associate With 'Ties to Russian Intelligence' on Charges of Obstructing Justice"

https://www.alternet.org/mueller-indicts-manafort-and-associate-ties-russian-intelligence-charges-obstructing-justice

Extract: "Special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday filed a superseding indictment against former Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

Mueller also indicted longtime Manafort associate Konstantin Kilimnik with conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Kilimnik, who Mueller identified in previous filings as “Person A” with “ties to Russian intelligence,” is a Russian-Ukrainian consultant …"
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

sidd

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6774
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1047
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #379 on: June 09, 2018, 10:53:37 PM »
Wolfe was the one leaking on Muellers case against Page to Watkins:

"It is not clear why Wolfe focused his alleged leaking on Page."

http://dailycaller.com/2018/06/08/senate-leak-carter-page/

sidd

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #380 on: June 11, 2018, 04:12:35 PM »
Good stuff above re. Elisabeth Warren.


What must be remembered is that while ending Citizen's United is a necessity, overturning that ruling isn't itself nearly enough. Corruption at every level of government existed well before Citizen's United had become the law of the land.


The Burr-Hamilton duel was fought in part over allegations of influence peddling and ties to the Holland Land Company. Things didn't improve in the centuries leading to the Citizens United ruling.
Undoing Citizen's United is a necessary first step, but that ruling simply codified practices that have been ongoing for a very long time.


Terry

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #381 on: June 11, 2018, 04:17:20 PM »
Some posts in this thread (e.g. Mr Lurker) indicate that the powers that be (i.e. the alleged deep state) are biased in favor of the Mueller Investigation, & implying that there is no more evidence indicating Trump-Russia conspiratorial actions than there is evidence for many other matters that such be investigated (that involve the alleged deep state).  However, the linked article indicates that Mueller has plenty of evidence (probable cause) of Trump-Russia collusion and thus should legally initiated investigation should continue without obstruction:

Title: "There’s actually lots of evidence of Trump-Russia collusion"

https://www.vox.com/2018/6/11/17438386/trump-russia-collusion

Extract: "Republicans from Donald Trump on down have made “no collusion” a mantra. The term itself is ill-defined in this context; you won’t find in the US code. But roughly speaking, the question is whether the campaign got involved with Russian agents who committed computer crimes to help Trump win the 2016 presidential election.

The verdict on this is unclear. But there is certainly plenty of evidence pointing toward collusion; what you would call “probable cause” in a legal context, or what a journalist might simply consider reason to continue investigating the story. And the investigating thus far, both by special counsel Mueller and by journalists working on the story, has been fruitful. The efforts have continued to turn up contacts between Trumpworld and Putinland, cover-ups, and dishonesty.

Even as recently as Friday afternoon, we got new indictments charging Trump’s former campaign chair and his former GRU operative business partner with witness tampering and obstruction of justice."

Also, I repeat that information of possible wrong-doing by the alleged deep state belongs in other threads.
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #382 on: June 11, 2018, 04:27:10 PM »
The special master in the Trump-Cohen case recently ruled that nearly all of the evidence seized from Michael Cohen’s office and residence are admissible in court. Donald Trump’s lawyers then asserted that they had the right to object to the evidence, while keeping the nature of their objections a secret. Last Friday, the judge in the case ruled that if Trump wants to file objections, he’ll have to make them public.  This is a clear win for the DOJ's investigations of Trump-Cohen:

Title: "Judge Denies Trump’s Secrecy Claim in Review of Cohen Documents"

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/08/nyregion/trump-cohen-secrecy-denied.html

Extract: "Striking a note for transparency, a federal judge ruled on Friday that President Trump and his longtime personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, cannot proceed in total secrecy as they weigh in on the final stages of a laborious review of a huge trove of materials seized from Mr. Cohen during a series of raids by the authorities in April.

For two months now, Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen’s lawyers have been fighting with prosecutors in Manhattan over how to handle the millions of documents and data files that federal agents hauled away from Mr. Cohen’s office, apartment and hotel room. The chief dispute concerned the question of who should get to determine what materials were protected by the attorney-client privilege that Mr. Trump enjoys in his dealings with Mr. Cohen. Those determinations are important because any file covered by that privilege could be withheld from the prosecutors who are investigating Mr. Cohen’s various business projects, including some involving Mr. Trump.

The battle over the materials — a vast cache of Mr. Cohen’s papers, data files from several of his iPads, cellphones and computer drives, and even the contents of one of his shredders — could determine how much and what kinds of evidence the government has at its disposal as it pursues its investigation."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

Buddy

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
  • Go DUCKS!!
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 49
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #383 on: June 12, 2018, 02:58:22 PM »
There’s actually lots of evidence of Trump-Russia collusion
The untenability of the “no collusion” talking point.

https://www.vox.com/2018/6/11/17438386/trump-russia-collusion

Matthew Yglesias writes a good article in VOX.  For anyone watching closely, there have been many signs of collusion and conspiracy between Donnies campaign and the Russians.

Just as in Donnies small crowd size on his inauguration ...... if Donnie says he had the biggest crowd in history, and he repeats it enough, some people are going to believe him.  And that has always been Trumps tactic:  Project and repeat.  Project and repeat....

The circumstantial case for collusion

Quote
It’s worth backing up to recall what we all saw on camera before anyone knew anything about an FBI investigation, before FBI Director James Comey was fired in an effort to halt the investigation, and before Mueller and his team revealed anything:
•Two separate hacks of Democratic Party emails — one purloining a trove of internal Democratic National Committee emails and one that stole a ton of correspondence from John Podesta’s personal Gmail account — were perpetrated over the course of 2016, by what are now believed to have been agents operating on behalf of the Russian government.
•These emails were not immediately released, and they were not released by the hackers who obtained them. Instead, the emails were disseminated to the public by using Julian Assange and WikiLeaks as an intermediary. Their releases also seemed strategically timed — the DNC emails disrupted efforts to create a show of unity between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders at the beginning of the Democratic National Convention, while the Podesta emails were released right after the infamous Access Hollywood tape.
•Trump and his campaign, at the time, believed these emails were a big deal and cited them frequently. Trump built substantial portions of his campaign messaging around narratives — typically half-true at best — contained in the emails, and made no bones about welcoming the hacking.
• “WikiLeaks, I love WikiLeaks,” he said on several occasions on the campaign trail, and he also explicitly called on the Russian government to hack and release Hillary Clinton’s emails.
•Trump also spent the 2016 campaign running an overtly pro-Russian campaign message, praising Vladimir Putin’s leadership, defending him from allegations of murdering his political opponents, and calling for a realignment of US strategy in Syria and Ukraine.

I would not necessarily call any of this “evidence” of collusion, but it’s certainly grounds for suspicion. It gave the impression that Trump was on some level coordinating his campaign messaging with the Russian hackers, and that either he was taking a pro-Putin line in exchange for Russian help or he sincerely believed in the pro-Putin line and therefore saw nothing wrong with accepting Russian assistance.

As Muellers team continues to work on the case.... and as investigative journalists continue to unearth more and more contacts between Russians and the Trump campaign (which the Trump campaign lied about previously, by the way) .... we can expect more and more layers of the onion to be peeled back.

Future indictments of Cohen, Manafort, Trump Jr. and others are sure to provide more insights into the conspiracy between Trumps campaign and the Russians.

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

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #384 on: June 13, 2018, 02:05:54 AM »
Mueller is required to take the high road, while the parties that he is pursuing (including Russia) are free to take the low road.  The system is rigged in favor of the bad doers:

Title: "Mueller worries Russia could use court case to spy on probe"

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/mueller-worries-russia-could-use-court-case-to-spy-on-probe/ar-AAyyupR?ocid=spartandhp

Extract: "Special counsel Robert Mueller's team is worried that Russian intelligence services will use a criminal case in Washington to gather information about its investigation and U.S. intelligence-gathering methods.

In court papers filed Tuesday, prosecutors are asking a federal judge to impose limits on the information that can be shared by attorneys in the first criminal case directly related to Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

So far, only one defendant, Concord Management and Consulting LLC, has appeared in the case, and prosecutors say they're worried information they provide to the company's attorneys could end up in the hands of other defendants or Russian spy agencies."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

Buddy

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
  • Go DUCKS!!
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 49
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #385 on: June 13, 2018, 01:16:26 PM »
Russia Keeps Meddling, Mueller Says in Bid to Guard Evidence

Quote
The Russians are accused of producing propaganda, posing as U.S. activists and posting political content on social media as so-called trolls to encourage strife in the U.S. The evidence includes between 1.5 and 2 terabytes of data and involves U.S. residents not charged with crimes who the government says were unwittingly recruited by Russians to engage in political activity, prosecutors wrote.

Hmmm.... I wonder where I could find a troll "lurking" on social media?  ;)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-12/mueller-seeks-order-protecting-evidence-in-russia-troll-case
« Last Edit: June 13, 2018, 01:28:58 PM by Buddy »
FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

magnamentis

  • Guest
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #386 on: June 13, 2018, 04:04:50 PM »
LOL

У нас есть наши заказы. Я должен выполнить их, или моя семья в России будет отправлена в ГУЛАГ в сибирской!

no we all know that you speak russian but a post in that language won't be shared with too many hence i'd call it's clogging the thread/forum.

perhaps you just wanted to make a joke or keep it private but that would be what PM is for if i may say so.

in case you're russian, i have no issues with that, my wife is from st. petersburg and my kids hold russian passports beside the swiss passport of course, just sayin' to avoid misunderstandings ;)

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #387 on: June 13, 2018, 04:45:28 PM »
It looks like Cohen is going to flip on Trump ;):

Title: "Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen likely to cooperate as his attorneys leave case, sources say"

https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-lawyer-michael-cohen-cooperate-attorneys-leave-case/story?id=55861988&cid=social_twitter_abcn

Extract: "As attorneys for Michael Cohen rush to meet Judge Kimba Wood’s Friday deadline to complete a privilege review of over 3.7 million documents seized in the April 9 raids of Cohen’s New York properties and law office, a source representing this matter has disclosed to ABC News that the law firm handling the case for Cohen is not expected to represent him going forward.

Cohen, now with no legal representation, is likely to cooperate with federal prosecutors in New York, sources said. This development, which is believed to be imminent, will likely hit the White House, family members, staffers and counsels hard."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #388 on: June 13, 2018, 05:24:12 PM »
As Manafort was allegedly illegally lobbying GOP Congressmen, I guess this means that some of Trump's Congressional allies (like Nunes) could soon be caught-up in the Mueller investigation.

Title: "Mueller unveils more proof Manafort led Ukraine lobbying in U.S."

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/12/mueller-manafort-evidence-ukraine-lobbying-643476

Extract: "Special counsel Robert Mueller made public new evidence Tuesday that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort directed an organized but unregistered lobbying campaign in the U.S. on behalf of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

In a public court filing, Mueller's team released two memos from 2013 detailing Manafort's involvement in efforts to influence debate in Congress and in the U.S. press about the imprisonment of Yanukovych's main political rival, Yulia Tymoshenko."

See also:

Title: "Rosenstein plans to call on House to investigate its own staff"

https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/12/politics/rod-rosenstein-house-investigation/index.html
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

RealityCheck

  • Frazil ice
  • Posts: 174
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 45
  • Likes Given: 6
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #389 on: June 14, 2018, 09:17:06 PM »
The statistics on time of postings for a given user can be informative as to location of that user. Everyone has to sleep sometime, even political operatives. I note for example that Kazakhstan is c. 6 hrs east of London. Adjacent areas are plus or minus one hour. Just sayin'.
Sic transit gloria mundi

Buddy

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
  • Go DUCKS!!
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 49
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #390 on: June 14, 2018, 10:13:21 PM »
*Remember when Donnie was doing his disco dance with the Saudis on his trip to Saudi Arabia?

*Remember that Jarred Kushner is good friends with Bibi in Israel?

*Remember that Donnie and Jarred blackmailed Qartar?


https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/tom-barrack-draws-mueller-s-eye-to-uae-saudi-arabia-nyt-1255451203631?playlist=associated

Yes.... this corruption goes MUCH MUCH deeper and wider than most people think.....
FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

Buddy

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
  • Go DUCKS!!
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 49
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #391 on: June 14, 2018, 10:33:57 PM »
Yes .... Mitt's niece is in DEEP DEEP SHIT.  I don't think even Uncle Mitt can save her sorry ass now.  As head of the RNC, she has been helping to cover up for Reince Preibus when he was the head of the RNC during the campaign.

After Reince moved to the White House ..... Ronna Romney moved to the head of the RNC where she has helped to cover up things.

BAD RONNA..... BAD.

Mitt has changed his tune on Donnie (now sucking up to Donnie) for two reasons:  (1) He had a rougher primary in Utah than he should have, and (2) he needs to try and save his nieces behind.

This ..... along with the NRA involvement, don't get enough "airtime".  But there is PLENTY of trouble ahead for both the NRA and the RNC.

http://www.palmerreport.com/analysis/rnc-chair-goes-berserk-cohen-trump/10793/
FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #392 on: June 14, 2018, 11:40:17 PM »
The implications of the Horowitz Report findings are that if the FBI had followed protocol, Clinton would be POTUS now:

Title: "The long-awaited inspector general report on the FBI, Comey, Clinton, and 2016, explained"

https://www.vox.com/2018/6/14/17448960/inspector-general-report-justice-fbi-clinton-emails-comey

Extract: "The report contradicts President Trump’s often-expressed belief that the investigation was rigged to get Clinton off the hook. Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz found little affirmative evidence on the whole that political bias affected officials’ handling of the probe itself.
...
Horowitz concluded that while Comey didn‘t act out of political bias, he “usurped the authority of the Attorney General,” “chose to deviate” from established procedures, and engaged “in his own subjective, ad hoc decision making.” He writes that the Clinton email case was indeed extremely unusual — but that established procedures “are most important to follow when the stakes are the highest.”

But even though Horowitz’s report largely isn’t about the Russia investigation, it’s being released in a political context dominated by both Mueller’s probe and Trump’s attacks on his Justice Department. Indeed, Trump has recently signaled that he’s eagerly anticipating the IG report, since it was expected to criticize Comey, and he is trying to undermine Comey’s credibility."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #393 on: June 15, 2018, 05:57:51 PM »
The link Axios article discusses the likely plan by GOP allies of Trump to try to use the Inspector General's report to undermine Mueller.  However, the reality of the matter is that any/all of the FBI's/Comey's departures from protocol occurred before Mueller as assigned to his investigation, and the IG report had no criticism of Mueller at all.  It appears that Team Trump is trying to pull a snow job on potential voters prior to the midterm elections:

Title: "Between the lines: GOP will use Justice report vs. Mueller"

https://www.axios.com/gop-justice-department-mueller-investigation-c51f2e5a-70a1-44e4-abbf-a3e90f58d757.html

Extract: "The Justice Department's inspector general report on the FBI's handling of its investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails during the 2016 presidential election gave new ammunition to President Trump and other Republicans to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, the Washington Post reports.

The big picture: Republicans touted the report as a meaningful development that will damage Mueller's credibility with the public and hold up President Trump."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #394 on: June 15, 2018, 10:51:55 PM »
Even if this LA Times reporting is advising readers not to get to excited, Trump must be having a meltdown now that Manafort is behind bars:

Title: "Is Paul Manafort about to take down the Trump regime? Whoa, there, let's not get too excited"

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-ol-enter-the-fray-will-manafort-behind-bars-mean-anything-1529081535-htmlstory.html

Extract: "A lot of anti-Trumpists are likely taking pleasure in the notion of Paul Manafort getting sent to jail today after a judge revoked his bail over allegations of witness tampering. But it’s unclear whether this will have much impact on the investigation by Robert S. Mueller III into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election.
Remember, the case against Manafort deals primarily with action taken before he became Trump’s campaign manager. The array of federal money laundering and conspiracy charges against Manafort are serious, especially with this new set of witness-tampering charges.

At best, though, those charges are pressure points for Mueller – as the risk of prison time becomes higher, the more incentive there is for Manafort to cut a deal and cooperate with Mueller on what he knows – if anything – about ties and contacts between the campaign and the Russians, or anything else, for that matter.

Presuming for the sake of argument that Manafort actually has information Mueller can use, he has a strategic gamble to make: Cooperate and enrage Trump, or sit pat and hope the pardon-happy president comes to his rescue (a long shot, that, given the political fallout).

For Manafort, the witness-tampering allegation is the second time he has allegedly behaved improperly since his indictment. The charges arose from contacts Manafort allegedly made with two witnesses, one of whom told investigators he believed Manafort was trying to get him to lie over the nature of Manafort’s lobbying efforts.

Earlier, Manafort co-wrote an op-ed in the Ukraine defending the work he had done there prior to joining Trump’s campaign. That appeared to violate a gag order in the case, though the judge did not sanction him then."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #395 on: June 15, 2018, 11:00:08 PM »
Trump's tweet cited in the linked article makes him look like both a whiner and a dictator wannabe by proposing to lock-up both Comey and Clinton without presenting evidence of 'probable cause' as Mueller did to get Manafort locked-up:

Title: "Trump: “Very unfair” that Manafort was sent to jail after alleged witness tampering"

https://www.vox.com/2018/6/15/17468684/trump-manafort-jail-mueller

Extract: "President Trump responded to a judge’s decision to send Paul Manafort to jail by ticking off his former campaign chair’s résumé.

“Wow, what a tough sentence for Paul Manafort, who has represented Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole and many other top political people and campaigns,” Trump tweeted Friday afternoon. “Didn’t know Manafort was the head of the Mob. What about Comey and Crooked Hillary and all of the others? Very unfair!”"
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #396 on: June 15, 2018, 11:30:35 PM »
If there is evidence that Giuliani received leaked FBI information about reopening the Clinton investigation, and then disclosed that unauthorized information; he could soon be in legal hot water:

Title: "FOIA Request – Federal Bureau of Investigation – Giulliani Leak"

https://www.citizensforethics.org/foia/foia-request-federal-bureau-of-investigation-giulliani-leak/

Extract: "CREW requests copies of all records pertaining to the FBI’s investigation of the source of the leak of information to Rudolph Giuliani in October 2016 that then-FBI Director James B. Comey was going to reopen the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email system, which Mr. Comey announced on October 28, 2016.

On October 28, 2016, 11 days before the election, then-FBI Director Comey sent a letter to Congress announcing that the FBI was reopening its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails in light of new information found, but not yet examined by the FBI. Two days earlier Mr. Giuliani telegraphed this announcement on Fox News, stating “I do think that all of these revelations about Hillary Clinton are beginning to have an impact. He’s got a surprise or two that you’re going to hear about in the next two days.” Mr. Giuliani subsequently admitted that he had received advanced notice of this development.

More recently, when asked whether Mr. Giuliani had received advance notice from the FBI about the FBI’s reopening of its investigation, Mr. Comey stated:

“I saw that same publicity and so I commissioned an investigation to see if we could understand whether people were disclosing information out of the New York office or any other place that resulted in Rudy’s report on Fox News and other leaks that we were seeing in the media.”

Any unauthorized disclosure of information about an FBI investigation would violate the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552a(b), and the Hatch Act, 5 U.S.C. § 7323(a)(1), if the disclosure was made with the purpose of affecting the result of the election."
« Last Edit: June 15, 2018, 11:36:04 PM by AbruptSLR »
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #397 on: June 15, 2018, 11:39:20 PM »
I believe that a case could be made that Giuliani should be charged with witness tampering due to his public suggestion that Trump might pardon those caught up in the Mueller probe, just hours after Manafort was put in jail for witness tampering:

Title: "Giuliani: Mueller probe 'might get cleaned up' with presidential pardons"

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/392533-giuliani-mueller-probe-might-get-cleaned-up-with-presidential-pardons

Extract: "President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani suggested Friday that Trump could issue pardons for those caught up in the special counsel probe.

Giuliani made the comments to the New York Daily News hours after a judge revoked bail for Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort over alleged witness tampering, sending him to jail pending his trial in September."

See also:
Title: "Giuliani predicts presidential pardons for those accused in Mueller probe"

https://www.axios.com/rudy-giuliani-paul-manafort-e20dd209-d2a3-4cfe-98ed-f3cb7c098927.html
« Last Edit: June 15, 2018, 11:47:21 PM by AbruptSLR »
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #398 on: June 15, 2018, 11:43:42 PM »
The judge in Daniels's defamation lawsuit against Cohen, protected Avenatti's right to free speech:

Title: "Judge rejects Cohen's request for gag order against Stormy Daniels's lawyer"

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/392506-judge-rejects-cohens-request-to-block-avenatti-from-speaking-to-press

Extract: "A judge has rejected Michael Cohen’s request for an emergency gag order against adult-film star Stormy Daniels’s lawyer."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson

AbruptSLR

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 19703
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 2268
  • Likes Given: 286
Re: Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation
« Reply #399 on: June 15, 2018, 11:56:49 PM »
Per Clapper, the U.S. intelligence community officials were "pretty confident" that they had correctly identified a "suspect" that worked for Russian intelligence and that passed DNC emails to WikiLeaks:

Title: "Clapper: There was a "suspect" in Kremlin-WikiLeaks DNC email transfer

https://www.axios.com/clapper-there-was-a-suspect-in-the-kremlin-wikileaks-dnc-transfer-1529075499-320be1a4-e31f-464c-9578-4b2dd983d1c0.html

Extract: "U.S. intelligence identified a "suspect" that worked for Russian intelligence to pass Democratic National Committee (DNC) emails and documents to WikiLeaks, James Clapper, the former Director of National Intelligence, told Yahoo News’ Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman on their podcast “Skullduggery."

Yes, but: Clapper said he doesn’t know whether the suspicions were validated. He also doesn’t know whether they were conveyed to Special Counsel Bob Mueller. Intelligence officials were "pretty confident at the time" about the suspect, "but not sufficient enough to publicize it," Clapper said. Clapper served in his role until January 20, 2017.

Why it matters: This chips away at President Trump's repeated denial of assessments that Russia was behind the 2016 information breach. It also strikes another blow against WikiLeaks’ claims that it did not obtain the hacked emails from Russia.

•   Clapper said Russia ensured the transfer to WikiLeaks was done through a "cut-out" so that its founder, Julian Assange, would have "plausible deniability" about where the emails and documents came from."
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.”
― Leon C. Megginson