Mueller Investigation & Cohen Investigation

[Buddy]

The US has NEVER had a president choose a Supreme Court Justice WHILE the president is under investigation.

Richard Nixon appointed 4 justices HIS FIRST TERM in office.  None of them were appointed while Nixon was under investigation.

This is something I have NOT heard the press mention..... and it is a BIG DEAL.

[Martin Gisser]

In any country that respects the rule of law Trump's SCOTUS pick should recuse him/herself from involvement in any Mueller, or Cohen, related court decisions:

Title: "Blumenthal says Trump's Supreme Court pick "ought to recuse" themselves from Russia decisions"

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sen-richard-blumenthal-on-face-the-nation-says-trumps-supreme-court-pick-ought-to-recuse-themselves-from-russia-decisions/

This is just noise. Classical Democrats: Busily discussing while waiting to get their leg pulled by the Republicans.

The ONLY question is how to prevent any Supreme Court nomination by Republicans.

[Hefaistos]

The US has NEVER had a president choose a Supreme Court Justice WHILE the president is under investigation.

Richard Nixon appointed 4 justices HIS FIRST TERM in office.  None of them were appointed while Nixon was under investigation.

This is something I have NOT heard the press mention..... and it is a BIG DEAL.

From having a US government we're getting a Trump regime.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/when-does-the-american-government-become-the-trump-regime

[Hefaistos]

It seems I missed this one from last March:

Quoth Daily Beast:

‘Lone DNC Hacker’ Guccifer 2.0 Slipped Up and Revealed He Was a Russian Intelligence Officer
...
Working off the IP address, U.S. investigators identified Guccifer 2.0 as a particular GRU officer working out of the agency’s headquarters on Grizodubovoy Street in Moscow. ...

Alternative interpretation: The IP belongs to a Russian guy (maybe his residential connection), and he happens to work at the GRU office, as evidenced from other sources. It's unlikely that he would use unsecure connections at work, we must assume that the GRU devices/procedures are highly secure. But it's  possible that he used other devices, e.g. at his home, and that these might have malware on them. If the latter, all the devices would appear as coming from that same (residential) IP address.

Other possibilities: IT security experts say that false attributions happens all the time. Cascading VPNs and hacked personal computers are often used as VPNs/proxies.
Evidence is really easy to fake.

I for one don't trust the US intelligence agencies, after having read the so called ICA report on the alleged Russian hacking. That report is just propaganda. Interestingly, one of the few proofs of Russian involvement in that report, is that they claim that Guccifer 2 is Russian. A claim that is disputed by many, e.g. Adam Carter. As the evidence is really thin here, and easy to fake, I wouldn't jump ships on what the Daily Beast tells us.
Carter discusses the matter in the second half of the following post, and maintains his previous conclusions at  http://g-2.space/ :
"... it's clear from the evidence that Guccifer 2.0 fabricated evidence to support the CrowdStrike narrative that was first publicized on June 14, 2016 in the Washington Post and that this makes it appear as though Guccifer 2.0 was working in cahoots with CrowdStrike (if not controlled by individuals there) and that a litany of other factors gives considerable cause for doubt on the attribution of Guccifer 2.0 to the GRU as it appears it was trying to create a narrative to tie WikiLeaks to Russia..."

https://steemit.com/wikileaks/@adamcarter/strikes-on-syria-white-helmets-skripal-poisoning-assange-isolation-transatlantic-trolls-and-the-mainstream-media-in-meltdown#commentsa

[Buddy]

Unlike most Republicans, it sounds like Michael Cohen has his loyalties in the right order:

1). Family and country
2). Trump

Uh oh .......😬

[jacksmith4tx]

It seems I missed this one from last March:

Quoth Daily Beast:

‘Lone DNC Hacker’ Guccifer 2.0 Slipped Up and Revealed He Was a Russian Intelligence Officer
...
Working off the IP address, U.S. investigators identified Guccifer 2.0 as a particular GRU officer working out of the agency’s headquarters on Grizodubovoy Street in Moscow. ...

Alternative interpretation: The IP belongs to a Russian guy (maybe his residential connection), and he happens to work at the GRU office, as evidenced from other sources. It's unlikely that he would use unsecure connections at work, we must assume that the GRU devices/procedures are highly secure. But it's  possible that he used other devices, e.g. at his home, and that these might have malware on them. If the latter, all the devices would appear as coming from that same (residential) IP address.

Other possibilities: IT security experts say that false attributions happens all the time. Cascading VPNs and hacked personal computers are often used as VPNs/proxies.
Evidence is really easy to fake.

I for one don't trust the US intelligence agencies, after having read the so called ICA report on the alleged Russian hacking. That report is just propaganda. Interestingly, one of the few proofs of Russian involvement in that report, is that they claim that Guccifer 2 is Russian. A claim that is disputed by many, e.g. Adam Carter. As the evidence is really thin here, and easy to fake, I wouldn't jump ships on what the Daily Beast tells us.
Carter discusses the matter in the second half of the following post, and maintains his previous conclusions at  http://g-2.space/ :
"... it's clear from the evidence that Guccifer 2.0 fabricated evidence to support the CrowdStrike narrative that was first publicized on June 14, 2016 in the Washington Post and that this makes it appear as though Guccifer 2.0 was working in cahoots with CrowdStrike (if not controlled by individuals there) and that a litany of other factors gives considerable cause for doubt on the attribution of Guccifer 2.0 to the GRU as it appears it was trying to create a narrative to tie WikiLeaks to Russia..."

https://steemit.com/wikileaks/@adamcarter/strikes-on-syria-white-helmets-skripal-poisoning-assange-isolation-transatlantic-trolls-and-the-mainstream-media-in-meltdown#commentsa

This is my favorite smoking gun link to why Trump got elected. The original story was at the Wall St. Journal but the link below adds a bit more detail. Since it disappeared down the memory hole I guess it's fake news now but it sure sounds plausible to me. Famous quote from Stalin went something like; "It's not important who gets the most votes, it's who counts the votes that maters."
http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93906
"The hack appeared to include a breach of the EAC’s administrative-access credentials as well as access to nonpublic reports on flaws in voting machines, according to Andrei Barysevich, an analyst with cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.
    Access to the reports could have allowed someone to exploit flaws in voting machines, Mr. Barysevich said. The stolen credentials could have been used to install malicious code on the EAC site, thus potentially infecting any user of it. The users could include state election officials, who might then use a thumb memory stick to interact with other machines, such as ballot machines not connected to the internet.
    The security firm, which assessed the hack as having likely occurred in November, turned the information over to law enforcement in December, and Mr. Barysevich has been cooperating with the FBI on its probe."

[AbruptSLR]

Is it possible that Justice Kennedy knew that his son Justin Kennedy did a financial favor for Jared Kushner, and that in exchange Jared is helping the neighbors of Qatar to sanction that country?  I imagine that Mueller is probably looking into the Russia connections in this matter.

Title: "Here's the Corrupt Financial Web That Links the Trump and Kennedy Families"

https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/heres-corrupt-financial-web-links-trump-and-kennedy-families

Extract: "Because Trump cares so much about money, that’s been suggested. And there’s smoke: the links between Trump, Kennedy and Kennedy’s son Justin. In years past we’d call that the League of White Men, taking care of their own, behind the scenes, The Way It Is. Today we tend to call it something else: collusion.
…
But as Stephanie Ruhle of MSNBC has reported, Justin Kennedy left Deutsche Bank long before the money laundering and had no direct connection to the bank's loans to Trump. The more interesting fact is where Justin Kennedy went next -- he became the co-CEO of LNR Property. And that brings us straight to the most immediately vulnerable member of the Trump family, Jared Kushner.
…
The plot thickens. As Bernstein and Rusk note:

-- There was a direct business relationship between LNR and Kushner Companies at the time Justin Kennedy and Jared Kushner were both CEOs. Even the future President was aware of the deal and commented on its respective merits.

-- In 2011, the year in which some of these negotiations took place, Justin Kennedy for the first time was ranked on the New York Observer’s 100 Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate at #36. Donald Trump clocked in at #12. At that time, The New York Observer was owned by Jared Kushner.

The 666 Fifth Avenue deal is generally regarded as the all-time stinker in New York commercial real estate. What did LNR see as the upside? Better question: Was there any upside? As we know, 666 Fifth Avenue went badly for the Kushners, so badly that they were scrambling for a partner. Where might one be?

The Intercept reported earlier this year that Charles Kushner, Jared's father, had discussed a financing deal for 666 Fifth Avenue with Qatari finance minister Ali Sharif Al Emadi in April 2017. A month after that deal cratered, a group of Middle Eastern countries, with Jared Kushner’s backing, led a diplomatic assault that culminated in a blockade of Qatar. NBC News reported that Qatari government officials visiting the U.S. “considered turning over to Mueller what they believe is evidence of efforts by their country’s Persian Gulf neighbors in coordination with Kushner to hurt their country.”"

[AbruptSLR]

The Senate Intelligence Committee's interim report summary indicates that Russia worked to help Trump win the 2016 election.  Now we will need to wait to see what evidence is eventually made public as to whether Team Trump conspired with the Russians.

Title: "Senate panel upholds finding that Russia backed Trump, contradicting House"

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/senate-panel-upholds-finding-that-russia-backed-trump-contradicting-house/ar-AAzxDpO?ocid=spartandhp

Extract: "The Senate Intelligence Committee has unequivocally upheld the conclusion of the intelligence community that Russia developed a "clear preference" for then-candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 election and sought to help him win the White House.

The assessment, announced in an unclassified summary released Tuesday, represents a direct repudiation of the committee's counterpart in the House - and of President Trump himself, who has consistently rejected assertions that Moscow sought to bolster his candidacy.
…
The Senate committee is still in the process of preparing the classified report detailing its conclusions about the ICA, which when completed will go through a classification review with an eye towards making a version public.

The Senate panel's overall investigation into Russian election meddling is also still ongoing, with interim reports like this one released on a rolling basis."

[Hefaistos]

The Senate Intelligence Committee's interim report summary indicates that Russia worked to help Trump win the 2016 election.  Now we will need to wait to see what evidence is eventually made public as to whether Team Trump conspired with the Russians.

Here is a highly critical analysis of the ICA report, by a former US ambassador in Moscow, Jack Matlock.

"...the report is full of assertion, innuendo, and description of “capabilities” but largely devoid of any evidence to substantiate its assertions. This is “explained” by claiming that much of the evidence is classified and cannot be disclosed without revealing sources and methods. The assertions are made with “high confidence” or occasionally, “moderate confidence.” Having read many intelligence reports I can tell you that if there is irrefutable evidence of something it will be stated as a fact. ...
Prominent American journalists and politicians seized upon this shabby, politically motivated, report as proof of “Russian interference” in the U.S. election without even the pretense of due diligence. They have objectively acted as co-conspirators in an effort to block any improvement in relations with Russia, even though cooperation with Russia to deal with common dangers is vital to both countries."
https://consortiumnews.com/2018/07/03/former-us-envoy-to-moscow-calls-intelligence-report-on-alleged-russian-interference-politically-motivated/

[Hefaistos]

It seems I missed this one from last March:

Quoth Daily Beast:

‘Lone DNC Hacker’ Guccifer 2.0 Slipped Up and Revealed He Was a Russian Intelligence Officer

Adam Carter and Forensicator claim that this is wrong. They provide evidence that Guccifer was working from the US:

Adam Carter:
"Guccifer 2.0’s American Fingerprints Reveal An Operation Made In The USA"

https://disobedientmedia.com/2018/05/guccifer-2-0s-american-fingerprints-reveal-an-operation-made-in-the-usa/

Forensicator: "We analyze the timestamp on an internal “track changes” entry created by Guccifer 2 when he modified a document that was published in his second batch of documents that were uploaded to his WordPress site.  We correlate this timestamp to the document’s “modified” (“last saved”) time recorded in the document’s metadata.  Based on this analysis, we reach the surprising conclusion that this document was created on a system which had Pacific Daylight Saving Time (PDT) settings in force, when the change was made.
The PDT finding draws into question the premise that Guccifer 2 was operating out of Russia, or any other region that would have had GMT+3 time zone offsets in force. "
https://theforensicator.wordpress.com/guccifer-2s-west-coast-fingerprint/

[SteveMDFP]

 Based on this analysis, we reach the surprising conclusion that this document was created on a system which had Pacific Daylight Saving Time (PDT) settings in force, when the change was made.
The PDT finding draws into question the premise that Guccifer 2 was operating out of Russia, or any other region that would have had GMT+3 time zone offsets in force. "
https://theforensicator.wordpress.com/guccifer-2s-west-coast-fingerprint/

This is an absurd conclusion.  It's trivial to adjust the time zone setting of any computer.  Do we assume the GRU is stupid enough to work on computers set to Moscow time?

[Hefaistos]

 Based on this analysis, we reach the surprising conclusion that this document was created on a system which had Pacific Daylight Saving Time (PDT) settings in force, when the change was made.
The PDT finding draws into question the premise that Guccifer 2 was operating out of Russia, or any other region that would have had GMT+3 time zone offsets in force. "
https://theforensicator.wordpress.com/guccifer-2s-west-coast-fingerprint/

This is an absurd conclusion.  It's trivial to adjust the time zone setting of any computer.  Do we assume the GRU is stupid enough to work on computers set to Moscow time?

True. But the issue is much more complicated than that!  There are deep manipulations done by Guccifer2 to the files' metadata and timestamps, he wanted to time stamp them to Moscow time zone to indicate he was working from Russia (or Romania). However, it seems he slipped when working on one batch of files, resulting in conflicting data, that reveals that his computer was in the US Pacific. I suggest you read the articles I linked, they are well researched.

Adam Carters verdict: "The logical conclusion drawn from the preceding analysis is that Guccifer 2.0 was operating somewhere on the West Coast of the United States when they made their change to that document. This single finding throws into shambles any other conclusions that might indicate that Guccifer 2.0 was operating out of Russia. This latest finding also adds to the previously cited evidence that the persona was probably operated by multiple individuals located in the United States.
Taken all together, the factual basis of the Russian hacking story totally collapses. We are left instead with multiple  traces of a US-based operation that created the appearance of evidence that Kremlin-allied hackers had breached the DNC network. Publicly available data suggests that Guccifer 2.0 is a US-based operation. "

Notably, Guccifer2 is the only real 'evidence' provided in the ICA report.

[Martin Gisser]

forensicator? disobedientmedia? Hahaaaaaahahahaha....

[Hefaistos]

forensicator? disobedientmedia? Hahaaaaaahahahaha....

Great contribution from intelligent person. Thx.
[both the pseudonyms 'forensicator' and 'adam carter' are highly regarded IT security experts]

[Martin Gisser]

forensicator? disobedientmedia? Hahaaaaaahahahaha....

Great contribution from intelligent person. Thx.
[both the pseudonyms 'forensicator' and 'adam carter' are highly regarded IT security experts]

[In the rightwing bullshit echo chamber. E.g. here https://climateaudit.org/2017/09/19/guccifer-2-emails/ (infamous climate denier) ]

Here's a sample of forensicator analytic prowess:
https://www.roughlyexplained.com/2017/08/does-a-new-study-prove-the-dnc-hack-was-an-inside-job/

While this one says "the “analysis” happened to be bullshit, not incompetency"
https://medium.com/@janedoe111/i-was-talking-about-error-messages-in-russian-exhibit-b-broken-links-not-metadata-39b2d061b9b3

Next time you quote the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity?

[Rob Dekker]

Sy Hersh has derived three simple lessons from his rule about reporting:

1. The powerful prey mercilessly upon the powerless, up to and including mass murder.
2. The powerful lie constantly about their predations.
3. The natural instinct of the media is to let the powerful get away with it.

I have a 4th Lesson

4. The majority of people in powerful nations are more than happy with this arrangement.

Did Sy Hersh already identify the location of that building in Khan Cheikhoun (Syria) that he claims was bombed ? And which he claims proves that the chemical attack on April 4, 2017 did NOT contain sarin, despite OPCW and other international investigators' claims ?

Or is he still waving his hands without evidence ?

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2017/06/25/will-get-fooled-seymour-hersh-welt-khan-sheikhoun-chemical-attack/

[AbruptSLR]

Mueller is beginning to tighten his net:

Title: "Mueller alleges that bank executive helped Manafort obtain loans while trying to get Trump campaign role"

http://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/395906-mueller-alleges-that-bank-executive-helped-manafort-obtain-loans

[jacksmith4tx]

McCain was also one of the ringleaders of the Keating 5.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keating_Five

"Lincoln Savings and Loan collapsed in 1989, at a cost of $3.4 billion to taxpayers.[1] Some 23,000 Lincoln bondholders were defrauded and many investors lost their life savings. The substantial political contributions Keating had made to each of the senators, totaling $1.3 million, attracted considerable public and media attention. After a lengthy investigation, the Senate Ethics Committee determined in 1991 that Cranston, DeConcini, and Riegle had substantially and improperly interfered with the FHLBB's investigation of Lincoln Savings, with Cranston receiving a formal reprimand. Senators Glenn and McCain were cleared of having acted improperly but were criticized for having exercised "poor judgment".

All five senators served out their terms. Only Glenn and McCain ran for re-election, and they both retained their seats. McCain would go on to run for President of the United States twice, and was the Republican Party nominee in 2008. As of 2018, he is still a senator."

[AbruptSLR]

The Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats are entitled to call both Justice Kennedy and his son to testify at Kavanaugh's confirmation hears in order to clarify any potential secret ties, or agreements, between Team Trump and these two Kennedys.

[AbruptSLR]

Brian Benczkowski's confirmation might possibly put the Mueller investigation at risk.   Like Sessions, I think that Benczkowski should also recuse himself from the Mueller investigation. It is time for Rosenstein to show his metal.

Title: "Despite Russia ties, experience, Senate confirms Trump's controversial DOJ nominee"

https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/watch/despite-russia-ties-experience-senate-confirms-trump-s-controversial-doj-nominee-1274997827547

[AbruptSLR]

Mueller turns-up the heat:

Title: "Mueller indicts 12 Russians for hacking into DNC"

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/13/mueller-indicts-12-russians-for-hacking-into-dnc-718805

Extract: "Special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 12 Russians on Friday, and accused them of hacking into the Democratic National Committee to sabotage the 2016 presidential election.
The indictments, announced by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, come just days before a scheduled Monday summit in Helsinki between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
...
They are the latest charges in a probe that has already netted guilty pleas from three former Donald Trump campaign aides while the president himself remains under investigation by Mueller for potential obstruction of justice."

See also:

https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/13/politics/russia-investigation-indictments/index.html

[jacksmith4tx]

RE: Rosenstein comments during the announcement mentioned that the Russians actually hacked parts of the voting system. Specifically he mentioned hacks of equipment used to validate voters and directly compromised some election officials.

I think this was one of the most interesting hacks:
http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93906
"The hack appeared to include a breach of the EAC’s administrative-access credentials as well as access to nonpublic reports on flaws in voting machines, according to Andrei Barysevich, an analyst with cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

Access to the reports could have allowed someone to exploit flaws in voting machines, Mr. Barysevich said. The stolen credentials could have been used to install malicious code on the EAC site, thus potentially infecting any user of it. The users could include state election officials, who might then use a thumb memory stick to interact with other machines, such as ballot machines not connected to the internet."

Yes you can change vote totals if you have EAC credentials.

[TerryM]

Yes you can change vote totals if you have EAC credentials.

In Canadian federal elections the paper ballots are counted by humans. Quick, reliable counts that are difficult to hack. No hanging chads, pregnant chads or difficult digital dilemmas.
Terry

[sidd]

pdf of latest Mueller indictment

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4598902/DOJ-Russian-Indictments.pdf

Interesting reading. Tradecraft not very impressive, reuse of servers, bitcoin wallets, mining ops, slips on anonymized routing ...

Pity it wont go to trial, audit log evidence would be nice.

"Organization 1" is wikileaks. I was half expecting Mueller to indict wikileaks as well, but i guess he didnt want to go that route after the Baer case.

sidd

[Martin Gisser]

I was half expecting Mueller to indict wikileaks as well,

That might still be coming, being part of the collusion complex. Mueller might first want to nail down Roger Stone et al.  First for the easier, purely Russian stuff.

[Susan Anderson]

I was half expecting Mueller to indict wikileaks as well,

That might still be coming, being part of the collusion complex. Mueller might first want to nail down Roger Stone et al.  First for the easier, purely Russian stuff.

Assange is clearly implicated in all this. Anyone who thinks he has not put his thumb on the scale due to personal resentments is ignoring reality.

[AbruptSLR]

I was half expecting Mueller to indict wikileaks as well,

That might still be coming, being part of the collusion complex. Mueller might first want to nail down Roger Stone et al.  First for the easier, purely Russian stuff.

The Mueller investigation will likely last for several more years:

Title: "Don't Expect the Mueller Investigation to End Anytime Soon"

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/j5aq48/dont-expect-the-mueller-investigation-to-end-anytime-soon

Extract: "A look at the history of special counsels show that the work generally takes years to complete."

[Buddy]

When thinking about the Mueller investigation you have to think more broadly about who was involved:

1). Mercer’s
2). FOX/Sean Hannity
3). National Rifle Association
4). Republican National Committee
5). Senators/Congressmen
6). Banks (Deutche Bank, Cyprus banks ... right Wilbur😉)
7). Cabinet members

You can start to see just HOW BROAD and HOW DEEP RussiaGate goes.  It will take a LONG TIME to wrap up the whole thing.  But there will be indictments throughout the process.

[Martin Gisser]

Methinks Mueller is a different ballpark. He works extremely fast. Next big thing: Manafort. I bet by the end of the year he gets enough stuff out to the public to toast Trump.

[Neven]

He's going to get Trump re-elected. Mission accomplished.

[AbruptSLR]

Will Putin turn the 'GRU-Twelve' over to Trump to face prosecution?

Title: "Trump faces more pressure to confront Putin at Helsinki summit after Mueller indicts 12 more Russians"

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/13/trump-faces-pressure-to-confront-putin-after-mueller-indicts-12-russia.html

[TerryM]

He's going to get Trump re-elected. Mission accomplished.

Not yet a fait accompli, but certainly well on it's way.
Note that even our own Buddy omitted the Russians when archiving Mueller's hit list.


Tail Gunner Joe would be proud to see his life work resurrected in such a grand manner, but at some point someone will be asking Mueller's Minions, "Have you no shame?" - and the revival tent will collapse in flames as a cold breath of fresh air roils through the miasma enveloping Washington.


Everyone that Buddy names has either millions of followers or billions of dollars. The backlash is building and I hope that an electoral victory will be enough to appease those that have been falsely accused.
Terry

[AbruptSLR]

The 'Conservatives' are slowly moving towards their own 'Night of the Long Knives':

Title: "Conservatives moving to impeach Rosenstein soon: report"

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/conservatives-moving-to-impeach-rosenstein-soon-report/ar-AAA2Cjn?ocid=spartandhp

See also:

Title: "House conservatives prep push to impeach Rosenstein "

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/13/house-republicans-rod-rosenstein-impeachment-719816

Extract: "House conservatives are preparing a new push to oust Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, according to three conservative Capitol Hill sources — putting the finishing touches on an impeachment filing even as Rosenstein announced the indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers for interfering in the 2016 election.

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, in fact, had the impeachment document on the floor of the House at the very moment that Rosenstein spoke to reporters and TV cameras Friday.

Conservative GOP lawmakers have been plotting to remove Rosenstein for weeks, accusing him of slow-walking their probe of FBI agents they’ve accused of bias against President Donald Trump.

Democrats contend Republicans’ fixation on Rosenstein is really an effort to undermine special counsel Robert Mueller, who reports to Rosenstein and has been making inroads in his investigation of the Russian election interference plot. Mueller’s probe has entangled members of Trump’s inner circle and Trump has increasingly assailed it as a politically motivated “witch hunt” as it’s presented greater danger to him and his allies.

Conservative sources say they could file the impeachment document as soon as Monday, as Meadows and Freedom Caucus founder Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) look to build Republican support in the House. One source cautioned, however, that the timing was still fluid.
…
It is unclear how much support conservatives will have in their effort. Rosenstein has become a punching bag for Trump and his allies as they vent frustration over the Russia investigation. Since Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself, Rosenstein has overseen the Mueller probe, which is also examining potential obstruction of justice charges against the president.

But House GOP leaders like Speaker Paul Ryan have clearly been uncomfortable with the notion of going after Rosenstein. It’s unlikely that will change anytime soon, especially so soon after the latest indictments. Ryan’s office was not immediately available for comment.

Rosenstein has clashed with House Republicans for months, with Rosenstein insisting that he’s working to comply with the GOP’s intensive demands for documents — some directly relevant to Mueller’s ongoing probe.

But Ryan and other top GOP lawmakers have accused him of stonewalling and flouting Congress’ oversight authority. Trump, too, has frequently sided with lawmakers to pressure Rosenstein to turn over more documents, an effort Democrats say is really meant to arm Trump with more insight into the Russia probe."

[Buddy]

It looks like the irrational actions of Mark Meadows, Jim Jordan, Gaetz and others now has an explanation:  They may have been receiving help during the 2016 election from the Russians as well.  In addition, there were likely Republicans that DIDN’T receive help, but KNEW about the help that others were receiving from foreign sources ..... and they didn’t say anything at the time, PLUS they have helped to cover it up since.

This now expands the possible number of people involved SUBSTANTIALLLY.  Trouble .... BIG TROUBLE for some Republicans.

No wonder the trolls have been so busy lately .....

The Republicans could also be in a pickle for any candidate that finds himself caught up in this mess who’s running for re-election.  If they have already held their primary, then the Republicans are screwed for that race.

If I am an “intrepid reporter” in any race, one of the questions I now ask of anyone running for the House or Senate is ..... “were you aware at the time, or anytime since, of anyone having access to stolen information during the 2016 election?”

“Furthermore Congressman, were you aware at anytime that the information was stolen by the Russians?”

There are going to be some VERY NERVOUS Republicans in the next few weeks.

[SteveMDFP]

   

Let’s put these questions aside for the moment and look at the report itself. On the first page of text, the following statement leapt to my attention:

    We did not make an assessment of the impact that Russian activities had on the outcome of the 2016 election. The US Intelligence Community is charged with monitoring and assessing the intentions, capabilities, and actions of foreign actors; it does not analyze US political processes or US public opinion.

Now, how can one judge whether activity “interfered” with an election without assessing its impact? After all, if the activity had no impact on the outcome of the election, it could not be properly termed interference. 

That's a ridiculous assertion.  It's logically equivalent to saying that attempted murder isn't a crime if nobody dies.

[Buddy]

History will NOT be kind to Traitor Trump, Traitor McConell, and Traitor Ryan.  McConell and Ryan had their chance to do the right thing ..... and instead they participated in a coverup, KNOWING what had happened.

McConell is now in SERIOUS legal jeopardy.... as he should be.

Buckle up .....

[Buddy]

OBAMA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sooner or later ..... you KNEW that Traitor Donnie was going to blame Obama for the Russian interference into our election.  It was only a matter of time..... and that time has come.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/indictment-ties-russian-government-election-hacking-041628861--politics.html

In Donnie's game of "MOVE THE GOALPOSTS" .......

1)  First .... "we don't know who did it.  It could have been a 400 pound guy in his parents basement or it could have been China."

2)  Then ..... "the whole thing is a witch hunt".  But that eventually came to an end as the tally of witches who have been caught continues to rise.

3) But now ..... IT'S OBAMA'S FAULT.

The absurdity of this one really smells to the high heavens.

I watched Nadal and Jokovitch go at in the semifinals of Wimbledon this morning, and during the last couple of games I was thinking:  "This is how Donnie's involvement in RussiaGate is going to end."

Great tennis match (I was rooting for Nadal).  And what was such a great match seemed to end SO QUICKLY.  Nadal, after not being able to close out the deal on match point, lost a couple of games later.

That is how Donnie is going to be taken down.  It will all seem to come at once.  And then.... like Tricky Dick .... POOF .... he's gone.  Now we don't know when that will be .... and even that is NOT a given.  But that is how I think it is going to go.  It will be an overwhelming confluence of information that can't be refuted.  And then Donnie will be gone.

[AbruptSLR]

pdf of latest Mueller indictment

https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4598902/DOJ-Russian-Indictments.pdf

Interesting reading. Tradecraft not very impressive, reuse of servers, bitcoin wallets, mining ops, slips on anonymized routing ...

Pity it wont go to trial, audit log evidence would be nice.

"Organization 1" is wikileaks. I was half expecting Mueller to indict wikileaks as well, but i guess he didnt want to go that route after the Baer case.

sidd

The indictment also claims:

1. “On or about August 15, 2016, the Conspirators, posing as Guccifer 2.0, received a request for stolen documents form a candidate for the U.S. Congress,”

2. “On or about August 15, 2016, the Conspirators … wrote to a person who was in regular contact with senior members of the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump.”

3. That the “Conspirators” reached out to a U.S. reporter “with an offer to provide stolen emails from ‘Hillary Clinton’s staff.’” The reporter apparently was interested, because the indictment also said the “Conspirators” soon sent him “the password to access a nonpublic, password-protected portion” of the stolen emails.

[AbruptSLR]

It is probably just a matter of time before Mueller indicts Stone:

Title: "Roger Stone: I'm 'probably' unnamed person mentioned in Robert Mueller indictment"

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2018/07/14/roger-stone-robert-mueller-indictment-russia-hacking-donald-trump/785103002/

Extract: "Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone acknowledged late Friday that he's "probably" the unnamed person mentioned in special counsel Robert Mueller's indictment against 12 Russian military intelligence officers who allegedly sought to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Mueller's indictment, unveiled days before President Donald Trump is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, asserts that the Russian suspects engaged in a far-reaching hacking scheme that targeted the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.

The indictment also referenced a U.S. person who "was in regular contact with senior members of the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump" and exchanging messages with the conspirators, who were posing as Guccifer 2.0."

[AbruptSLR]

It is probably just a matter of time until Assange is kicked out of the embassy, and then indicted by Mueller:

Title: "Charges undermine Assange denials about hacked email origins"

https://apnews.com/69b28dd8fc034cb0a2528048638d7893

[AbruptSLR]

Where there is smoke there is fire:

Title: "Charges undermine Assange denials about hacked email origins"

https://thinkprogress.org/sanctioned-russian-lobbyist-meeting-with-assange-df1865627145/

Extract: "The Guardian reported Wednesday that visitor logs at the Ecuadorian embassy  show that Adam Waldman, the longtime lobbyist for sanctioned Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, stopped by to visit Assange a total of nine times last year, more than nearly anyone else.

Waldman’s visits bookended Trump’s 2017 inauguration, with the most recent stop by the embassy coming last November."

[jacksmith4tx]

ASILurker,
One of these days you are going to have to ask yourself a question. Do you trust humans more than machines?
We may not be ready for a revolution in honesty but it's coming. DARPA is spending huge resources to develop this AI based technology for the government and military. For we peons this is an example of the technology the public can access today.

https://converus.com/

Lie Detection - 86% accurate in 30 minutes
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----
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----
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Credibility Assessment: IntegrityDetect Laptop
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Be confident that you’re hiring trustworthy people. Predict a person’s integrity by analyzing how the person implicitly associates him or herself to a set of issues.

Just like the famous Underwriters Laboratories seal of approval (UL) label, any source that hasn't passed a battery of credibility assessment tests will be suspect.

[AbruptSLR]

Mueller is using the classic approach of busting organized crime of starting prosecution from the outside of the ring and then moving inward:

Title: "Mueller’s map: What 35 indictments and pleas tell us"

https://www.axios.com/muellers-map-what-35-indictments-tell-us--7f9d178a-9e31-494a-8ab3-2c46c4a9ab2d.html

Extract: "Known knowns about Mueller:

•He has keystroke-by-keystroke reconstructions of online activities by the Russian "Conspirators," as the indictment calls them — down to their web searches.

•He's going broader, deeper, wider than people realize — following the money, following the keystrokes, following the concentric circles of characters."

[AbruptSLR]

Trump conditions his base to believe that both the EU and 'much' of the media is the enemy of the people of the USA, while preparing to hold a secret meeting with Putin, after Mueller has indicted twelve GRU operatives for meddling in the 2016 election:

Title: "“I think the European Union is a foe,” Trump says on eve of Putin summit"

https://www.vox.com/2018/7/15/17573836/trump-european-union-americas-foe

Extract: "The president is ratcheting up his criticism of US allies’ trade practices"

&

Title: "Trump lashes out at media, Democrats as he travels to meet with Putin"

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/397097-trump-lashes-out-at-media-democrats-as-he-travels-to-meet-with-putin

Extract: "President Trump on Sunday asserted that "much" of the media is the "enemy of the people" and blamed Democrats for division in the country as he prepared to head to Finland for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin."

[AbruptSLR]

Trump disrespects the grand jury finding of probable cause w.r.t. Russian meddling in the 2016 election, and he thereby disrespects the US Constitution. 

Title: "Trump sides with Russia against FBI at Helsinki summit"

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44852812

Extract: "After face-to-face talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Trump contradicted US intelligence agencies and said there had been no reason for Russia to meddle in the vote.

Mr Putin reiterated that Russia had never interfered in US affairs.

The two men held nearly two hours of closed-door talks in the Finnish capital Helsinki on Monday.

At a news conference after the summit, President Trump was asked if he believed his own intelligence agencies or the Russian president when it came to the allegations of meddling in the elections.

"President Putin says it's not Russia. I don't see any reason why it should be," he replied."

[Buddy]

And now, hopefully, some of you will understand why the ‘T’ word has been tossed around, and will likely take on a more prominent place in discussions going forward.

This is clearly going to raise the stakes in the upcoming elections ....

Just keep in mind that it is more than Trump selling out:  McConell, Ryan, Guilliani, and a whole host of others.

Keep eyes on Mattis .....

[AbruptSLR]

And now, hopefully, some of you will understand why the ‘T’ word has been tossed around, and will likely take on a more prominent place in discussions going forward.

No wonder Trump refused to allow any note takers during his 130-minute private discussion with Putin.  It's not hard to imagine how many treasonous acts of conspiracy Trump may have committed during those 130-minutes.  Yet his GOP base will undoubtedly remain loyal, as most of them don't want to hold any more elections now that their guy is in office.

[Tor Bejnar]

Yet his GOP base will undoubtedly remain loyal, as most of them don't want to hold any more elections now that their guy is in office.

Why would there be 'any more elections' one way or the other if President Trump is impeached and convicted (or not)?  My question is only 'valid' if one believes the GOP base actually knows how the U.S. electoral system works.  ...  I see now that the base might think there will be new elections because of an impeachment, so they remain steadfastly loyal.  Even this doesn't make sense.  Unless you are pro-Soviet (yes, I mean "Soviet"), supporting the current U.S. regime doesn't make much sense. ...

I better not try to wrap my mind around this any more, and close my computer and go canvassing (for For Our Future).

[Buddy]

A couple things of note:

1)  Don't forget that TRAITOR DON IS SEAN HANNITY'S BUDDY ..... THIS IS FOX NEW's PRESIDENT (not ours).  FOX and SEAN OWN THIS.    And I will NEVER .... EVER .... let them forget it.

2)  Odds of Donnie skipping out of Dodge, back to the USSR are now 35%.  On any trips to Saudi Arabia or Russia.... they go up from there.


Just remember that skipping out of the country is NOT Traitor Don's #1 option ..... it is his third.  But I have a sneaking hunch that his #2 option of going on a firing binge is NOT too far away.

Watch Mattis .....

Watch McMaster (he still hasn't spoken up since he "quit")....

Watch "moderate" Russians Republicans

[AbruptSLR]

Yet his GOP base will undoubtedly remain loyal, as most of them don't want to hold any more elections now that their guy is in office.

Why would there be 'any more elections' one way or the other if President Trump is impeached and convicted (or not)?  My question is only 'valid' if one believes the GOP base actually knows how the U.S. electoral system works.  ...  I see now that the base might think there will be new elections because of an impeachment, so they remain steadfastly loyal.  Even this doesn't make sense.  Unless you are pro-Soviet (yes, I mean "Soviet"), supporting the current U.S. regime doesn't make much sense. ...

I better not try to wrap my mind around this any more, and close my computer and go canvassing (for For Our Future).

My point is that according to polls, the majority of Trump's base would like to end democracy in the USA, and make Trump a dictator who does not need to face an election in 2020 (assuming that he is not impeached before then).