In the Obama administration’s last days, some White House officials scrambled to spread information about Russian efforts to undermine the presidential election — and about possible contacts between associates of President-elect Donald J. Trump and Russians — across the government. Former American officials say they had two aims: to ensure that such meddling isn’t duplicated in future American or European elections, and to leave a clear trail of intelligence for government investigators.
American allies, including the British and the Dutch, had provided information describing meetings in European cities between Russian officials — and others close to Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin — and associates of President-elect Trump, according to three former American officials who requested anonymity in discussing classified intelligence.
Separately, American intelligence agencies had intercepted communications of Russian officials, some of them within the Kremlin, discussing contacts with Trump associates.
Apparently the Obama administration also made sure to spread the information throughout the intelligence agencies and to politicians on both sides of the aisle "to ensure that as many people as possible inside government could see it, even if people without security clearances could not."
The concern of course was that members of the Trump Administration would be compromised by the Russians and that the investigation would be swept under the rug.
And it appears that they had reason for concern.
Courtesy of the Washington Post:
Then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) spoke twice last year with Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Justice Department officials said, encounters he did not disclose when asked about possible contacts between members of President Trump’s campaign and representatives of Moscow during Sessions’s confirmation hearing to become attorney general.
One of the meetings was a private conversation between Sessions and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak that took place in September in the senator’s office, at the height of what U.S. intelligence officials say was a Russian cyber campaign to upend the U.S. presidential race.
At this point you might be saying to yourself, "Well this sounds bad, but how bad is it?"
It's this bad.
Now of course today Jeff Sessions is denying ever talking to anybody in Russia, knowing how to find Russia on a map, or ever having put Russian dressing on a salad, but he is now with the Trump Administration so what did you expect?Here’s the money shot of Sessions lying to Franken (if you believe the WaPo report). pic.twitter.com/0vK12oMed1— Jamie O'Grady (@JamieOGrady) March 2, 2017
However despite denials, the noose is clearly getting tighter.
Courtesy of the AP:
White House staffers have been told to preserve any materials related to Russian intervention in the 2016 presidential election, according to The Associated Press.
The White House counsel’s office handed down the order on Tuesday in a memo to aides, the news wire reported.
The move comes after Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee asked the White House and law enforcement agencies to keep materials related to Trump associates’ alleged ties to Russia.
Separately, the Senate Intelligence Committee last month asked federal agencies to keep materials that tie into its investigation into Russian cyber hacking and other efforts to disrupt the election.
Paul Manafort, Carter Page, Mike Flynn, Roger Stone, Rex Tillerson, Jeff Sessions, is there anybody associated with the Trump Administration or campaign NOT compromised by the Russians?
And should we trust ANYBODY that Trump appoints to any cabinet position or opening in the Supreme Court?
Oh I think you know my answer.
Seriously, does a must be a "liar "prerequisite exist for trump nominees / staff ? It must?
ReplyDeleteOf course among other skills / requirements like , crude,hateful, stupid, manipulative arrogant, spineless, white kkk etc.
Where is Scarry Palin when you need her " motto"
"Kill them all! Sort them out later"!
Figuratively speaking of course.
As qualifying as $ara seems, $he's apparently too low even for prezzie bannon and his pet orange shitgibbon, and THAT says plenty.
Delete6:22- You forgot perpetrator of domestic violence, then threatening the victim for reporting it.
DeleteThat also seems to be a must.
Gryphen - the noose is definitely drawing tighter around trump's orange turkey-neck, and his enablers! The officials in the Obama administration are to be commended for their foresight! It seems that trump's "administration" is being cursed with continuous scandals that are gaining momentum daily. I feel that when all the facts are exposed, it will make Watergate look like a Victorian tea party!!
ReplyDeleteVictorian Secret Tea Party
DeleteDamn straight, Abbbafan.
DeleteGame's Afoot!
Hold on to your ass, this is about to get worse....
6:40-- You win my Internet for the day.
DeleteThank God for President Obama and his Administration folks. They did the right thing and read Trump and his to a tee!
ReplyDeleteThe Republicans need to be run out of D.C. on a rail and soon! Trump needs to be impeached!
nyet,nyet,nyet..Rosie was great,a must see!! Blatant traitors the nasty bunch over at the GOP, Oh I mean KGB,FSB (fucking son of a bitches). It's shit sandwich and it's got some stank!! lmao
ReplyDeleteAnd appearing right on schedule is the Chinese money connection to the Trumpeters:
ReplyDeletehttp://reverbpress.com/politics/exclusive-murky-chinese-money-trail-links-house-oversight-chairman-to-trumps/
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/says-who-piecing-together-the-michael-cohen-story
ReplyDelete"Then there was a venture into the Ukranian ethanol business. Here Cohen's where family relationships came most clearly to the fore. Michael Cohen's wife, Laura, is from Ukraine. Michael's younger brother Bryan is also married to a Ukrainian woman, Oxana Cohen. Oxana's father, Alex Oronov, is a naturalized US citizen who was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, in 1948. He is the founder of a Ukrainian agribusiness company called Grain Alliance,
Deletewhich is based in> SWEDEN"
Didn’t dictator donnie make a campaign stop at some Ukraine-American society? I thought it was odd at the time, but maybe these are pro russian Ukrainians or maybe he was picking up his latest orders from the Kremlin.
DeleteAt this point, anything is possible with traitor trump and comrades.
Ukrainian women>> mail order brides?
This Russian saga is getting real interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe amount of chum and blood in the water makes me think of the movie line ... 'You're gonna need a bigger boat.'
Donald and his friends need to be shopping for a HUGE boat.
...or, they're gonna need bigger buns to cover their quivering butts.
Delete"The press is doing an admirable job. But there is only so much it can do without such things as subpoena powers. Let's just make this clear. This is about a foreign and hostile power trying to influence our election while being in contact with close aides to the presidential campaign that the Kremlin wanted to win. Furthermore, there are serious questions about Mr Trump's longstanding ties to Russian money and influence peddlers. We don't know where this might go, but it isn't going away." "We don’t know what we don’t know.”
ReplyDeleteDan the Man Rather
How soon before the GOPpers in Congress vote to unanimously deny any subpoena powers to anyone but themselves?
DeleteScreechy should be grateful she was deemed "too stupid and annoying"
ReplyDeleteOT drumpf "I just spoke to our great Gen. Mattis just now, who reconfirmed that, and I quote, “Ryan was a part of a highly successful raid that generated large amounts of vital intelligence that will lead to many more victories in the future against our enemies.” Ryan’s legacy is etched into eternity. Thank you." The TRUTH>
ReplyDelete" the intelligence collected during the deadly raid has so far proven neither vital nor actionable. The renewed pushback comes a day after Donald Trump brought up the death of Navy SEAL William “Ryan” Owens in his address to Congress Tuesday night. Trump addressed Owens’ widow, Carryn Owens, lauding the fallen commando."
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/03/01/u_s_officials_dispute_trump_claim_yemen_raid_got_vital_intelligence.html
OK What is really going on.....Clean up.....Pig slop....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/03/01/rod_rosenstein_trump_s_pick_for_deputy_attorney_general_under_jeff_sessions.html
" they had been celebrated in the internal department newsletter for their “relentless pursuit to make [the city’s] streets safer by removing guns and arresting the RIGHT people for the RIGHT reasons.”<WTF?
Deletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/coretta-scott-king-jeff-sessions_us_58b7aa53e4b023018c6cffc8?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
ReplyDeleteAnd, just think, if it had been Obama or Clinton in talks with the Russians, there would have been a half-dozen committees to investigate by now.
ReplyDeleteYour kidding right, they would have already thrown them in prison.
Deletethose trump supporters are still going around with hillary for prison signs/t shirts.
They would have already been impeached, found guilty and either be in prison or further indicted for treason.
DeleteThen they'd be working on ousting Biden or Kaine so they could install Ryan as Pres.
@6:59 AM thanks for that site. Everyone should read it as the maze created by the Drumpf family and in-laws is so intricate and interwoven and crooked there aren't even words to describe the mess.
ReplyDeleteAnd we are being besieged every single day by the harm inflicted by them on our USA. Drumpf is a con man beyond any we have seen except dictators.
It appears there is not a shred of decency in any of the lot of them.
That includes his administration, campaign team and family. Rotten to the core and attempting to dupe us at every turn, and throw up every possible road block in the left's search for decency and honesty. The worst is especially Chaffetz.
Ha. Bunch of left wing media hype.
ReplyDeleteThis is going nowhere.
Wanna bet?!
DeleteI was afraid you were right, 8:00am, but now I don't think so. Story seems to have legs.
DeleteAll these stories don't just have legs, they have dozens of heads like a hydra. Glad to see RILL journalism again. And RILL patriotism, also, too, LouSarah. It takes brave souls to come forward to speak the truth in the trash heap that TRUMP has created.
DeleteSo much for left wing media hype.
DeleteWhat is your next brain washed comment going to be?
Sessions replied that he had not had communications with the Russians.
ReplyDeleteIn a statement late Wednesday, Sessions said: "I never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign. I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false."
==========================
Does he think we are really that stupid?
If he has no idea what the allegation is about, how does he know it is false.
Liar Liar pants on fire.
ASKING them to preserve evidence? Make the consequences public hanging if they destroy anything and see how loyal they are to dRUMPf and his cabal.
ReplyDeletePublic momentum builds for Sally Yates to be named Trump-Russia special prosecutor
ReplyDeleteNow that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been caught red handed having colluded with Russia during the election and having lied about it under oath, here’s a rich piece of irony: if he resigns, Sally Yates of all people might have been in position to once again become acting Attorney General — if Donald Trump hadn’t fired her a month ago. Now public momentum is building for Yates to be appointed special prosecutor in the Trump-Russia scandal.
https://www.palmerreport.com/opinion/sally-yates-trump-russia-special-proescutor/1735/
Steve Bannon had to have been coordinating the Russian collusion in the Donald Trump campaign
Only one person fits the timeline
https://www.palmerreport.com/opinion/steve-bannon-had-to-have-been-coordinating-the-russian-collusion-in-the-donald-trump-campaign/1733/
After getting caught up in Trump-Russia scandal, Jeff Sessions now has three bad options
Sessions is looking at bad, worse, and worst choices
https://www.palmerreport.com/opinion/after/1732/
Donald Trump tried to insulate himself with a cabinet full of Russia co-conspirators. It’s backfiring.
They were supposed to be Trump’s firewall. It’s not working out that way.
https://www.palmerreport.com/politics/insulate-donald-trump-russia-cabinet/1730/
Lindsey Graham calls for Trump-Russia special prosecutor, wants Jeff Sessions to recuse himself
Republican Senator Graham takes definitive stand against Donald Trump and Sessions
https://www.palmerreport.com/opinion/lindsey-graham-calls-for-trump-russia-special-prosecutor-wants-jeff-sessions-to-recuse-himself/1728/
House Republican Devin Nunes caves, agrees to investigate Donald Trump over Russia
House Intelligence Committee launches investigation into Trump-Russia
https://www.palmerreport.com/opinion/house-republican-devin-nunes-caves-agrees-to-investigate-donald-trump-over-russia/1726/
Jeff Sessions is toast: he colluded with Russian Ambassador and lied about it under oath
Sessions colluded with Russia while part of Donald Trump campaign
https://www.palmerreport.com/opinion/jeff-sessions-toast-colluded-russian-ambassador-lied-oath/1723/
House Intel Committee agrees to investigate Trump-Russia after House Judiciary Committee refuses to
Bipartisan agreement reached in House Intelligence Committee today
https://www.palmerreport.com/politics/house-intel-trump-russia-judiciary/1721/
The Obama White House Quietly Left Trail Of Russia Intel So Trump Couldn’t Destroy It
ReplyDelete...At the Obama White House, Mr. Trump’s statements stoked fears among some that intelligence could be covered up or destroyed — or its sources exposed — once power changed hands. What followed was a push to preserve the intelligence that underscored the deep anxiety with which the White House and American intelligence agencies had come to view the threat from Moscow.
It also reflected the suspicion among many in the Obama White House that the Trump campaign might have colluded with Russia on election email hacks — a suspicion that American officials say has not been confirmed. Former senior Obama administration officials said that none of the efforts were directed by Mr. Obama.
As Inauguration Day approached, Obama White House officials grew convinced that the intelligence was damning and that they needed to ensure that as many people as possible inside government could see it, even if people without security clearances could not. Some officials began asking specific questions at intelligence briefings, knowing the answers would be archived and could be easily unearthed by investigators — including the Senate Intelligence Committee, which in early January announced an inquiry into Russian efforts to influence the election.
http://www.politicususa.com/2017/03/01/obama-white-house-quietly-left-trail-russia-intel-trump-destroy.html
Is that why Trump is putting a special overseer in every department, supposedly looking for regulations that are wasteful? Could be their real job is to find all of the breadcrumbs and destroy them.
Delete800a watch how far it goes down. Hang on.
ReplyDeleteJeff Sessions Just Issued A Statement That Made The Russia Scandal Worse For Trump
ReplyDeleteThe problem with Sessions denial is that it contradicts itself. Attorney General Sessions doesn’t deny meeting with Russia, but he also claims that they didn’t talk about the campaign.
By admitting that he met with Russian officials, Sessions has opened the door for more questions about who he met with, when did he meet with them, and what did they talk about?
The Sessions denial wasn’t a flat and firm denial, and that makes life even more difficult for Donald Trump.
http://www.politicususa.com/2017/03/01/jeff-sessions-issued-statement-russia-scandal-worse-trump.html
Trump Blames Democrats For All Of Jeff Sessions’ Russia Lies
The Trump White House is blaming Democrats for the fact that Jeff Sessions lied about having contact with Russia during the presidential campaign.
...The obvious problem with the Trump White House’s attempt to blame Democrats is that the stories that were published in The New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal were all well researched and predated Trump’s speech to Congress. The second allegation that the Trump White House made was the standard claim that the story is fake news. The bellowing of fake news is the go-to response from the White House towards any story that is negative about them.
The White House’s claim that Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) is pushing the story was bizarre because Franken never asked Sessions if he had any contact with Russia. Franken’s question to Sessions during the confirmation hearing was what would Sessions do if evidence of contact was brought to him. It was Jeff Sessions who volunteered that he had no contact with Russia.
http://www.politicususa.com/2017/03/02/trump-blames-democrats-jeff-sessions-russia-lies.html
WATCH: Russian official rants about fake news while fleeing CNN questions about Trump
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/03/watch-russian-official-rants-about-fake-news-while-fleeing-cnn-questions-about-trump/
The clown show just keep rolling along, both entertaining and horrifying.
Delete
ReplyDeleteAs the Russian Dominoes Fall, Trump Will Soon Be Left With No One to Blame
"If Jeff Sessions is the AG 24 hours from now, understand -- Trump WH is fine with being lying, lawless & in bed with Russian intelligence."
http://www.politicususa.com/2017/03/02/russian-dominoes-fall-trump-left-blame.html
Watch Jeff Sessions Say That “No One Is Above the Law” When It Comes To Perjury
The man who is now accused of perjury during his confirmation hearing used to think perjury was a super big deal. In fact, during the Clinton administration’s Monica Lewinsky scandal, Sessions said on perjury, “No one is above the law.”
Watch the January 13, 1999 clip here:
http://www.politicususa.com/2017/03/02/time-jeff-sessions-perjury-no-law.html
The Noose Tightens As Nancy Pelosi Connects The Dots On Why Sessions Lies Are Trouble For Trump
Democratic House Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) connected the dots during her weekly news conference and explained why Attorney General Sessions' lies before Congress are a big problem for Trump.
...Pelosi said, “The reason we have been saying that Attorney General Sessions should step aside, and maybe should have never been confirmed is because he was a surrogate. He was a very important part. He was one of the first people in Congress to endorse President Trump, and now we see, although he has not told the truth about it, he had conversations with the Russian officials, which why didn’t he if they were innocuous admit it instead of lying about it? So this couldn’t be more stark in term of relationship to the campaign and who the Attorney General was speaking to.”
As Pelosi laid out, Jeff Sessions wasn’t just a supporter of the Trump campaign. He was a trusted surrogate who was on the inside. The scandal is getting closer to Donald Trump’s doorstep. Trump was criticized in many circles for nominating a person for attorney general who would not be independent.
http://www.politicususa.com/2017/03/02/noose-tightens-nancy-pelosi-connects-dots-sessions-lies-trouble-trump.html
Sean Spicer says that Jeff Sessions has Trump's every confidence.
DeleteNow you know Sessions is in trouble. That's exactly what Kellyanus Conjob said about Michael Flynn.
Now who will be in charge of the investigation? Sessions is recused. His appointed deputy isn't confirmed yet. The current deputy worked under the fired Susan Yates. So they'll delay until they can get their man in.
Meanwhile all of those overseers Trump is deploying to all of the departments looking for regulations to dismantle can also be looking for all that Obama evidence of Russian interference and get rid of that too.
ReplyDeleteBush’s Ethics Lawyer: Jeff Sessions May Go To Jail If He Lied To Congress
The Attorney General is accused of lying to Congress about conversations with the Russia ambassador.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/richard-painter-jeff-sessions-russia_us_58b7d1afe4b0a8ded67a525d?
It will all come down to semantics.
DeleteSessions is a weasel, er, lawyer. I'm sure he chose his words very carefully.
Republicans Rip Off Their Patriotic Masks With Un-American Defense of Jeff Sessions
ReplyDeleteRepublicans have their talking point, and it's that AG Jeff Sessions might want to maybe recuse himself from the Russia probe. If he wants to. Because patriotism.
http://www.politicususa.com/2017/03/02/republicans-show-lack-patriotism-defending-sessions.html
#UnholyTrinity wonder if Sessions to resigning might be the best option. Could help put the issue to bed sooner.
ReplyDelete#UnholyTrinity wonder if Sessions to resigning might be the best option. Could help put the issue to bed sooner.
ReplyDeleteWhen everyone comes into the office, and nobody says anything, but everyone feels the anger and tension. #finetunedmachine
https://twitter.com/RoguePOTUSStaff
https://twitter.com/AngryWHStaffer
ReplyDelete--To say we're in panic mode here is an understatement.
--Well the good times didn't last long here. POTUS is back to flipping out on us.
--POTUS keeps talking about how "that guy's widow" made him look good. He was gonna send her family a case of Trump steaks. I'm not kidding.
"that guy's widow" - what a low-life piece of shit! The fuckin' orange-faced limp-dick used her as a prop, then brushed her off promptly! I hope Mr. Owens keeps ripping trump a new asshole publicly!!
DeleteI'm sure her father-in-law is telling her "told you so", if they're even still on speaking terms.
Delete"that guy's widow" is probable working on some book deal.
DeleteI was just doing several Google searches, looking for the comments that President Obama made recently about 'things working out', which now seem to be a hint about the latest revelations regarding Trump/Russia connections. I couldn't find what I was looking for, but I did find links to many articles about Obama's efforts to spread the intelligence about Russian connections to many different places.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting, though certainly not surprising, to see the difference in perspective depending on the source of the article.
The respectable national and international news sources headlined their articles with variations of Obama 'racing to preserve the intelligence information'. Other sources, like Infowars, Daily Caller, and (naturally) Breitbart all claimed that Obama was "sabotaging" the Trump administration.
Damn, I miss that man!!!
Trump Jr. paid $50,000 for speech at think tank headed by man who nominated Putin for Nobel Peace Prize
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rawstory.com/2017/03/trump-jr-paid-50000-for-speech-at-think-tank-headed-by-man-who-nominated-putin-for-nobel-peace-prize/
$50K seems to be donnie jr's going rate for treason.
Deletesomeone in comments section questioned whether he has SS security at this time. Good question, taxpayer money spent for treasonous acts.
=====================
Donald Trump Jr. was paid $50,000 for meeting to discuss U.S.-Russia cooperation in Syria
A month before the November elections, Donald Trump Jr. attended a meeting in Paris to discuss the Syrian conflict and possible U.S.-Russian cooperation in the region. The Wall Street Journal now reports he was paid at least $50,000 to attend that meeting.
.... Kassis says she spoke with Donald Trump Jr. about potential U.S.-Russia cooperation in Syria during that meeting, and relayed Trump's own comments back to Russian diplomats later.
We knew of the meeting before, but the news that Trump Jr. personally pocketed at least $50,000 for his attendance appears to be new. And it means that the Trump family was directly profiting from Trump's new political stature even before the campaign was over.
The news that Trump Jr. acted as a seeming go-between for Russia-backed contacts and the campaign comes not long after we learned of contacts between multiple Trump administration officials and pro-Russian Ukrainian forces seeking to topple the current Ukrainian government in favor of one that would grant Russia long-term rights in the country. But those Trump officials weren't paid to consider the proposal; it appears Donald Trump Jr. was.
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/3/2/1639449/-Donald-Trump-Jr-was-paid-50-000-for-meeting-to-discuss-U-S-Russia-cooperation-in-Syria
$50K seems to be the going rate for donnie jr’s treason. Someone asked in the comments on the link about whether he had secret service detail at the time, using taxpayer money for his treasonous trips? Good question
Delete==================================
Donald Trump Jr. was paid $50,000 for meeting to discuss U.S.-Russia cooperation in Syria
A month before the November elections, Donald Trump Jr. attended a meeting in Paris to discuss the Syrian conflict and possible U.S.-Russian cooperation in the region. The Wall Street Journal now reports he was paid at least $50,000 to attend that meeting.
.... Kassis says she spoke with Donald Trump Jr. about potential U.S.-Russia cooperation in Syria during that meeting, and relayed Trump's own comments back to Russian diplomats later.
We knew of the meeting before, but the news that Trump Jr. personally pocketed at least $50,000 for his attendance appears to be new. And it means that the Trump family was directly profiting from Trump's new political stature even before the campaign was over.
The news that Trump Jr. acted as a seeming go-between for Russia-backed contacts and the campaign comes not long after we learned of contacts between multiple Trump administration officials and pro-Russian Ukrainian forces seeking to topple the current Ukrainian government in favor of one that would grant Russia long-term rights in the country. But those Trump officials weren't paid to consider the proposal; it appears Donald Trump Jr. was.
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/3/2/1639449/-Donald-Trump-Jr-was-paid-50-000-for-meeting-to-discuss-U-S-Russia-cooperation-in-Syria
" Sessions was an architect of the particular nationalist vision that drives Trump’s approach to policing, voting and immigration, it’s hard to imagine what the president (or Bannon) would want to do in those arenas that Sessions would not be ready to defend."
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/28/magazine/jeff-sessions-stephen-bannon-justice-department.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=0
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/03/be-careful-gop-intel-chair-threatens-to-investigate-reporters-for-persisting-on-sessions/
ReplyDeleteNixon's attorney general was prosecuted, resigned over same thing Sessions did.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/3/2/1639422/-Nixon-s-attorney-general-was-prosecuted-resigned-over-same-thing-Sessions-did
How much “intelligence” and other state secrets has trump sold to the russians?
ReplyDeleteHas he sold the nuclear codes yet? So what if they change everyday, more $$ for dictator donnie.