Courtesy of CNBC:
Moscow and Washington are in talks to create a joint cyber security working group, Russia's RIA news agency reported on Thursday, citing Andrey Krutskikh, a special presidential envoy on cybersecurity.
U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier this month he had discussed the idea of creating such a group with President Vladimir Putin at a summit of the Group of 20 nations in Hamburg, Germany.
But the idea was greeted with incredulity by some senior Republicans who said Moscow could not be trusted - and the U.S. president later tweeted that he did not think it could happen.
"The talks are underway ... different proposals are being exchanged, nobody denies the necessity of holding the talks and of having such contacts," Krutskikh said, according to RIA.
Svetlana Lukash, a Russian official who was at the Hamburg summit, said earlier this month that the two presidents had agreed to discuss cyber security questions, either via the United Nations or as part of a working group.
Okay so this is a Russian news agency so the first thing you think is "take it with a grain of salt."
And that is always a good idea, however also keep in mind that the Russian news agencies have reported on a number of things kept from the US press, such as that meeting with the Russian agents in the White House for instance.
Besides Trump seemed to be perfectly fine with the idea before he was lambasted by his fellow conservatives. But seriously, why would we think that any of that would have changed his mind?
Speaking of news coming out of Russia, there is also a report that Trump had more meetings with Putin than the two we have learned of thus far:
President Trump may have held more meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Group of 20 (G-20) summit earlier this month, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview published Friday. (Lavrov you might remember was one of the Russian agents that Trump invited into the White House.)
“They might have met even much more than just three times,” Lavrov told NBC News.
Lavrov did not deny the possibility of additional meetings but did dismiss the importance of the encounters, comparing it to children interacting at a kindergarten.
“When you are bought by your parents to a kindergarten do you mix with the people who are waiting in the same room to start going to a classroom?” he asked.
Wait, "There might have been much more than three?" When did we hear there were three?
So the American media was left in the dark about multiple meetings, but the Russians know all about them?
Well that certainly does not give you any confidence that the idea of a joint cyber security unit is out of the question, now does it?
Washington Post:
ReplyDeleteJared Kushner failed to disclose dozens of financial holdings that he was required to declare when he joined the White House as an adviser to President Trump, his father-in-law, according to a revised formreleased Friday.
A separate document released Friday also showed that Kushner’s wife, presidential daughter Ivanka Trump, had been paid as much as $5 million from her outside businesses over an 84-day span this spring around the time she entered the White House as a senior adviser and pledged to distance herself from her outside holdings.
Kushner’s new disclosure, released by the White House, detailed more than 70 assets that his attorneys said he had inadvertently left out of earlier filings. The new document comes as the presidential aide faces increasing scrutiny as part of investigations into alleged Russian influence in the 2016 campaign....
$5 MILLION?
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/busted-kushner-inadvertently-omitted-almost-80-assets-in-initial-government-ethics-financial-filing/
DeleteTime to fire Jared Kushner
DeleteCan't fire Ivanka's hub.
DeleteThe Senate & House have as much power as the President if they would only use it properly. Jared Kushner's security clearance should be revoked, which was attempted by the Democrats but the Republicans voted overwhelmingly NOT to do. So for now, we are stuck with that little Kushner weasel in the White House as Donald Trumps right hand man.
DeleteI hope that the FBI and CIA have been monitoring the Trumps and Kushner's shady dealings, while they continue to monetize the Presidency and I think probably also committed treason against this country.
Are the Russians torpedoing and dumping Trump for not delivering what the Kremlin has ordered Trump to do?
ReplyDeleteI was going to say the exact same thing
DeleteEither that, or they are planting fake reports, so our media will then be shown to be fake...
DeleteIf true about the Breaking News regarding Attorney General Jeff Sessions with the Russians then Sessions would have to resign which could mean Trump orders his new Attorney General to fire Mueller.
ReplyDeleteThis White House can't even end Friday on a good note. Every hour there's Breaking News.
ReplyDeleteDRIP DRIP DRIP
Sessions discussed Trump campaign-related matters with Russian ambassador, U.S. intelligence intercepts show
Deletehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/sessions-discussed-trump-campaign-related-matters-with-russian-ambassador-us-intelligence-intercepts-show/2017/07/21/3e704692-6e44-11e7-9c15-177740635e83_story.html
Jeff Sessions knows too much about Trump, his presidential election campaign and administration. Will Trump fire Sessions?
ReplyDeleteNah. Some unfortunate 'accident' or heart attack will happen to him. Or he will commit 'suicide', just like that Smith guy who went and spilled the goods on tRump campaign. (And, conveniently, his body got cremated, so nobody can prove any foul play...)
DeleteWHOA FRIDAY BREAKING: Jeff Sessions Somewhere Between ‘Medium-Rare’ And Well-Done With Ketchup
ReplyDeleteIt looks like Donald Trump may get his wish for a Jeff Sessions Resignation Happy-Time Fun-Bomb sooner than later, despite how Sessions, who no longer has the confidence of his boss, said he would stay Attorney General as long as was “appropriate.” According to the Washington Post, publishing at the usual GODDAMN WASHINGTON POST FUCK GAH time of 6:51 p.m. on a GODDAMN FUCK GAH Friday night, Sessions straight up flat out LIED to the Senate that confirmed him as AG when he said, unprompted, that he ain’t have no meetin’s with no Russia spy people! Oh, he did? Then it for sure certain warn’t about no Trump campaign!
Here’s what he lied to Al Franken at the time:
https://wonkette.com/620580/whoa-friday-breaking-jeff-sessions-somewhere-between-medium-rare-and-well-done-with-ketchup
‘They are lawless’: GOP strategist Rick Wilson blames Trump for leaking intercepts to get rid of Jeff Sessions
Deletehttp://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/they-are-lawless-gop-strategist-rick-wilson-claims-trump-for-leaking-intercepts-to-get-rid-of-jeff-sessions/
Being president is hawwd work. Soooo hawwd.
ReplyDeleteNot just watching military parades, state dinners, after election thank you rallies and flying on Air Force One.
President Obama didn't struggle like Trump has been experiencing in his first six months.
Trump and Ping Pang Pong played cannibal eons ago.
DeleteHis vocabulary sounds same.
I have grandkids in grade school/junior high that speak more intelligently.
DeleteThe Kremlin is getting interested in Russia’s youth ahead of next year’s presidential elections, amid a growth in students at opposition rallies and research showing increased interest in politics among young Russians. In a rare, kid-targeted event, the Kremlin is rolling out its most popular talent Friday afternoon: Putin himself, who will use his exhaustive Q&A style for a planned 2 1/2-hour discussion with the nation’s youth.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/world/why-is-vladimir-putin-holding-a-news-conference-just-for-kids/2017/07/21/15ce7a20-6b2d-11e7-abbc-a53480672286_story.html
Trump Suspected Of Leaking Damaging Russia Info On Sessions To Force Him Out
ReplyDeleteRepublicans are saying that it isn't a coincidence that damaging information about Jeff Sessions' communications with Russians was leaked days after the Trump said he wants him out. It is suspected that the leak about Sessions came from Trump.
The fingers are pointing directly at Trump for this story because the President has made it clear that he wants to be rid of his attorney general. The suspicion is that Trump wants Sessions gone so that he can appoint a more sympathetic AG who will shut down the Russia investigations.
Trump has used leaking to the press as his method of operation for decades. The damaging Russia info on Session will either force the Attorney General to resign or give Trump cause to fire him. It appears that Donald Trump has learned from Comey firing debacle, as he is now planting the cause for the firing in the press before he pulls the trigger.
Trump demands loyalty from those around him...
http://www.politicususa.com/2017/07/21/trump-suspected-leaking-damaging-russia-info-sessions-force.html
Why anyone would agree to work for Donald Trump is beyond me. He's all for himself and no one else - to include America and Americans.
DeleteThose that agreed to work in his administration have screwed their reputations royally.
Can someone remind him he's not in North Korea? Thanks.
DeleteDon't buy your popcorn for next week
ReplyDeleteBreaking News
(CNN) The leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee have cut a deal with President Donald Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort to avoid a high-profile public hearing next week, with the two men agreeing to provide records to the panel and to be privately interviewed ahead of any public session.
In a joint statement, panel Chairman Chuck Grassley and ranking member Dianne Feinstein said, "(W)e will not issue subpoenas for them tonight requiring their presence at Wednesday's hearing but reserve the right to do so in the future."
The committee has issued a subpoena for Glenn Simpson, the co-founder of Fusion GPS, the political firm that compiled a dossier at the center of the federal Russia probe.
What did I tell ya???
DeleteShhhhhhh
DeleteDemocrats Score Gigantic Win As Major Parts Obamacare Repeal Will Require 60 Senate Votes
ReplyDeletehttp://www.politicususa.com/2017/07/21/democrats-score-giagantic-win-major-parts-obamacare-repeal-require-60-senate-votes.html
The Mighty Hammer Of Bernie Sanders Socialism Is About To Crush Trump’s Obamacare Repeal Dreams
Deletehttp://www.politicususa.com/2017/07/21/mighty-hammer-bernie-sanders-socialism-crush-trumps-obamacare-repeal-dreams.html
Yea Obamacare/Affordable Care Act!!!
DeleteDems Post List Of GOP O’Care Provisions Said To Break Senate Rules
Deletehttp://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/senate-republican-bill-byrd-bath
If Jeff Sessions resigns, that means another million dollar book deal.
ReplyDeleteOnly if he spills and can do so without criminal repercussions.
DeleteI suspect, as brought up in the South, a gentlemen never tells.
A huge win.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/senate-parliamentarian-byrd-rule-health-care_us_59727d12e4b00e4363df9867?ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009
Jeff Sessions Is Toast As US Spy Agencies Have The Goods On His Russia Collusion
ReplyDeleteUS spy agencies intercepted Russian communications that detail Attorney General Jeff Sessions discussing Trump campaign related issues with the Russians. Sessions is not only a perjurer, but he has been caught working with the Russians to help Trump win the election.
http://www.politicususa.com/2017/07/21/jeff-sessions-toast-spy-agencies-goods-russia-collusion.html
Here’s how Russia could force Trump and the US military out of Syria
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/heres-how-russia-could-force-trump-and-the-us-military-out-of-syria/
Rachel Maddow can be good sometimes and other times she's just a drama queen.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how she goes the long way about explaining stuff. Without that added energy none of us would even know that these things were always in the works. Like the slow and steady flipping of our politicians by the Russians. Before we knew it we were shit deep in Russians, and Rachel tries to lead us back to where it all started. I like that. It confirms my belief that Putin has been wooing key figures for years, and now he is reaping the fruits of his crooked money. Donald was a long project for him. Maybe Melania is a spy like many conspiracy theories have suspected.
DeleteNothing is as it appears and Rachel helps us go through this web.
Rachel Maddow is absolutely the best on MSNBC. She explains in detail - has researched well and presents extremely well.
DeleteNo one on FOX or CNN is as good as she. Never miss her! Feel so well informed - especially when it comes to Trump and the antics he is pulling all over the place.
Trump sidelines Rex Tillerson to find a way to stop Iran Nuclear Deal against his wishes
ReplyDeleteTrump is putting Rex Tillerson and the U.S. State Department on the sidelines when dealing with Iran on the Nuclear Peace Deal negotiated by former President Barack Obama and a coalition of international states.
According to a report from Foreign Policy the move came after a “contentious” meeting between Trump and Tillerson. Trump told a group of staffers to find a “case” that he can use to justify a 90-day review of the deal. His hope is that he can find evidence to declare Tehran is not in compliance with the agreement, something the State Department has failed to do.
“The president assigned White House staffers with the task of preparing for the possibility of decertification for the 90-day review period that ends in October — a task he had previously given to Secretary Tillerson and the State Department,” said one source close to the White House.“This is the president telling the White House that he wants to be in a place to decertify 90 days from now and it’s their job to put him there.”
Three sources, who were invited into the new problem-solving group confirmed the story to FP. Each of them further described the new tactic as a “work around” from the State Department. They further confirmed that Trump asked Tillerson at the last review to “lay the groundwork for decertification.” Tillerson obviously wasn’t able to, so Trump is finding someone who can.
“The president kept demanding why he should certify, and the answers Tillerson gave him infuriated him,” a third source told FP. Trump along with Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka all questioned Tillerson about why recertifying would be good for the U.S. and Tillerson couldn’t answer.
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/trump-sidelines-rex-tillerson-to-find-a-way-to-stop-iran-nuclear-deal-against-his-wishes/
Even Republicans assume Trump leaked Kislyak intercepts to force out Jeff Sessions
ReplyDeleteWhether or not these leaked intercepts result in AG Sessions resigning or being fired, the revelations were stunning beyond the fact many concluded the Trump administration was the likely source of the disclosures.
Here’s what others gleaned from Friday’s bombshell report in The Washington Post:
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/even-republicans-assume-trump-leaked-kislyak-intercepts-to-force-out-jeff-sessions/
BUSTED: Kushner ‘inadvertently omitted’ almost 80 assets in initial government ethics financial filing
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/busted-kushner-inadvertently-omitted-almost-80-assets-in-initial-government-ethics-financial-filing/
I am getting really sick and tired of their 'inadvertent' omissions! Has NONE OF THEM a single brain cell that prevents them from 'inadvertently' forgetting every single important thing?!
DeleteJared Kushner Discloses Dozens More Assets in Revised Financial Filing
ReplyDeleteIvanka Trump disclosed $2.5 million in salary and severance from her father’s businesses
Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a senior White House adviser, on Friday released a revised version of his personal financial disclosure showing his initial filing omitted dozens of assets, including commercial real estate, bonds issued by the New York water and sewer authority, a personal art collection and a New Jersey liquor license.
According to the disclosure, 77 assets were “inadvertently omitted” from Mr. Kushner’s earlier form and were added during what the form’s footnotes describe as the “ordinary review” process with the government ethics office. Some 60 of those were related to one collection of bonds. The updated form also provides additional information about 77 other assets, offering more detail about the structure of Mr. Kushner’s real estate assets. Mr. Kushner’s initial disclosure, released in March, hadn’t then been certified by the Office of Government Ethics.
Ivanka Trump, who is the president’s daughter, a senior White House aide and Mr. Kushner’s wife, also disclosed her finances for the first time on Friday, including some details that had been previously disclosed on her husband’s form. Ms. Trump didn’t become an official White House employee until late March, so she had later deadlines. Unlike Mr. Kushner’s, her form hasn’t yet been certified by the ethics office, as required by law.
“Jared and Ivanka have followed each of the required steps in their transition from private citizens to federal officials,” Jamie Gorelick, a lawyer for the couple, said in a statement.
The new disclosure shows Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump collectively hold between $206 million and $760 million in assets. Mr. Kushner’s initial disclosure put the value of their assets between $240 million and $740 million. The changes in values may reflect divestments since the last filing and the broad range of valuation for assets.
The concentration of wealth in Mr. Trump’s White House and cabinet has meant that his appointees have faced a more complex and costly divestment and disclosure process than in previous administrations. Appointees are required to disclose their financial holdings and divest themselves of any assets that could present a potential conflict of interest with their new posts.
Don Fox, who served as the ethics office’s general counsel from 2008 to 2013 and as acting director from 2011 until 2013, said the number of omissions on Mr. Kushner’s initial form was unusually high. “That strikes me as a lot,” he said. But Mr. Fox, who was tapped to serve as general counsel by a Bush appointee, said it isn’t “terribly unusual” for wealthy individuals, particularly those who lack previous government experience, to need to revise their forms.
Ms. Gorelick said earlier this year that it was “very normal” for a financial disclosure form to be revised and that Mr. Kushner’s lawyers had prepared the form on his behalf. The Office of Government Ethics, which is charged with reviewing and certifying administration officials’ financial disclosure forms, didn’t respond to a question about whether it was customary to revise the form to the extent Mr. Kushner did.
The disclosures show Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump will both continue to be passive investors in each of their family’s real-estate businesses, receiving income from those holdings but not playing a role in decision-making. They will recuse themselves from government decisions that present conflicts of interest, a lawyer for Mr. Kushner said, though the White House isn’t releasing the ethics agreements that detail that process.
To enter the White House, Mr. Kushner resigned from 266 outside positions and Ms. Trump resigned from 292, their lawyer said, largely at subsidiaries of their families’ multilayered real-estate businesses.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/jared-kushner-discloses-dozens-more-assets-in-revised-financial-filing-1500678017
In his initial disclosure, Mr. Kushner didn’t identify business relationships with Goldman Sachs Group and billionaires George Soros and Peter Thiel through a real-estate tech startup called Cadre that Mr. Kushner co-founded and currently partly owns, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year. An investment in Cadre valued at between $5 million and $25 million was included on the new disclosure, which showed Mr. Kushner resigned from his position with Cadre in January.
ReplyDeleteThe lawyer for Mr. Kushner declined to comment on the delay. The filing says the Cadre investment was previously included under another umbrella investment and not specifically disclosed. The filing also shows Mr. Kushner reduced his ownership share in Cadre.
Also among the omitted assets is an art collection valued at between $5 million and $25 million. The attorney said he hadn’t initially included the collection because it was for “personal enjoyment,” not held for investment purposes, but ultimately decided on disclosure.
A Wall Street Journal analysis of securities and other filings earlier this year found Mr. Kushner also didn’t disclose loans totaling at least $1 billion, from more than 20 lenders, to properties and companies he partly owned. He also has provided personal guarantees on more than $300 million of the debt, according to the analysis. A lawyer advising Mr. Kushner said Friday he isn’t legally required to disclose those loans and they weren’t included in the latest disclosure.
Mr. Kushner has also filed revisions to a form required to obtain a security clearance that, in its initial form, didn’t list contacts between him and foreign government officials. He subsequently submitted information about “over 100 calls or meetings with representatives of more than 20 countries,” Ms. Gorelick has said in a statement. Those contacts weren’t made public.
Ms. Trump received $2.5 million in “salary and severance” from her father’s business operations, according to Friday’s disclosure. She also received a $787,500 advance for her book, “Women Who Work.”
According to the form, she is at least a part owner of T International Realty LLC, TTT Consulting LLC and TTTT Venture LLC, assets she valued at between $11 million and $55 million in total. Those entities are affiliated with the Trump Organization through which Ms. Trump and her siblings receive consulting and management fees, the lawyer said.
Instead of getting those fees, Ms. Trump now has an agreement with those entities to get guaranteed annual payments totaling $1.5 million, which means that the income is tied less directly to the success of the family business.
ReplyDeleteSeparately, Ms. Trump has her own clothing, accessories and lifestyle business, which she valued at more than $50 million. That business, which has been placed in a trust, generated more than $5 million from January 2016 through March 8, 2017 and another $1 million to $5 million since then. She is no longer involved in decision-making there.
The disclosure also shows Ms. Trump earned $50,000 for her work overseeing a trust for some of the children of Rupert Murdoch, the executive chairman of both 21st Century Fox and News Corp . Ms. Trump resigned at the end of last year as a trustee. 21st Century Fox and News Corp, which owns The Wall Street Journal, share common ownership.
Ms. Trump held positions, typically vice president or executive vice president, with more than 200 entities that are part of her father’s real-estate business.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/jared-kushner-discloses-dozens-more-assets-in-revised-financial-filing-1500678017
She has equity interests in relatively few of the entities. She owns part of the company’s hotel in Washington, a stake valued at between $5 million and $25 million that generated $2.4 million in revenue from January 2016 to May 2017, including a period when the hotel wasn’t yet open. She remains a passive investor in the Washington hotel and receives income from it.
ReplyDeleteWalter Shaub, who resigned as Office of Government Ethics director earlier this month after clashing repeatedly with the White House and who has called for overhauling federal ethics rules, on Friday criticized the White House for installing the agency’s general counsel, David Apol, as acting head of the agency.
Protocol calls for the post to automatically go to the agency’s chief of staff until the president officially appoints a new director. Mr. Shaub said Friday said the move suggested the White House “may be hoping to engineer looser oversight.”
The ethics office and the White House didn’t respond to requests for comment on Mr. Shaub’s complaint.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/jared-kushner-discloses-dozens-more-assets-in-revised-financial-filing-1500678017
Another mysterious death! Why do I think these are going to become more and more frequent?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.wsj.com/articles/joseph-rago-wall-street-journal-editorial-writer-dies-at-34-1500666198
Putin's list of victims starting in the US regarding the Donald Trump mess. Everyone with heads up their ass too deep to see it.
DeleteBecause they think they are being creative. Eye roll.
DeleteDon't think for one second that Donald doesn't know of the hit.
DeleteAs someone said earlier this week, The Sopranos now occupy the White House.
Rachel Maddow Just Busted The Senate Republican Plan To Save Trump From The Russia Scandal
ReplyDeleteRachel Maddow blew up the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman’s scheme to save Donald Trump with conspiracy filled hearing on Wednesday.
Maddow said:
This thing that is about to happen on Wednesday that just got scheduled tonight. This is the thing that I have been saying was coming. This is the thing I’ve been saying was coming from Congressional Republicans and Republicans who want to defend Donald Trump. Sen. Grassley has sent the subpoena tonight to head of Fusion GPS. He has canceled the testimony from Don Jr. and Paul Manafort and instead of hearing from them next week on the collusion issue, the Senate instead, will play host at a big open televised hearing to the big Republican pushback theory that they have been gearing up with, gearing up for on conservative media for a couple of weeks now.
This is the big push back in which they will claim that there is a Russian scandal, but it’s not a Trump/Russia scandal. It’s the Democrats, and the dossier on Trump, that’s the real Russia scandal. That’s from Russia, and the scandal is about Hillary Clinton and the Democrats. We have known this was coming. Now, as of tonight, we know it is arriving on Wednesday morning in the Senate, and the first subpoena has just gone out.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is the home base for the Republican defense of Trump on the Russia scandal in the Senate. People should have known that Grassley was going to pull a bait and switch.
Sen. Grassley is dipping into the right wing conspiracy theory pool in a desperate effort to distract from the real Russia scandal. Rachel Maddow smelled a rat here early on. She knew that Grassley was going to abuse his committee’s investigative powers to try and save Trump, and thanks to here people aren’t going to be fooled by the latest look over here gimmick that Republicans are trying to pull.
http://www.politicususa.com/2017/07/21/rachel-maddow-busted-senate-republican-plan-save-trump-russia-scandal.html
Dana Bash: ‘Hard to Imagine’ It’s a Coincidence That Sessions News Breaks After Trump Slammed Him
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mediaite.com/tv/dana-bash-hard-to-imagine-its-a-coincidence-that-sessions-news-breaks-after-trump-slammed-him/
GOP Rep.: If Trump Fires Mueller, There’d Be ‘Tremendous Backlash’ from Both Parties
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/gop-rep-if-trump-fires-mueller-thered-be-tremendous-backlash-from-both-parties/
Hannity: Shut Down Mueller’s Special Counsel Probe
Deletehttp://www.breitbart.com/video/2017/06/12/hannity-shut-muellers-special-counsel-probe/
“Honey badger don’t give a s---” is the Breitbart motto
https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/graphics/2015-steve-bannon/img/feat_bannon42__03.jpg
White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon ... https://cdn1.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2017/02/02/667a5dac-e902-11e6-925a-a992a025ddf7_1280x720.jpg?itok=Qc4vAn2w
Donald Trump may have just leaked Russia dirt about Jeff Sessions to finish him off – but it’ll backfire on Trump
ReplyDelete...If Donald Trump was indeed trying to prompt Jeff Sessions to resign by attacking him in the New York Times interview, it didn’t work. Sessions says he’s staying. So someone on Trump’s side may have leaked this damaging Russia dirt on Sessions in order to finish the job. With Sessions out of the way, Trump can try to appoint a new Attorney General who wouldn’t have to recuse himself from the Russia investigation, meaning that the new Attorney General could theoretically fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller. But this isn’t going to play out like Trump might hope.
Jeff Sessions hasn’t survived as a corrupt politician all these years by being a dummy; he only pretends to be dumb. If Trump leaked this to force Sessions to resign, Sessions will promptly figure that out. He’ll know that Trump has sold him out entirely. And it’ll motivate Sessions to flip on Trump and take him down. Moreover, at this point it’s unlikely that Trump could get the Senate to confirm any new Attorney General he might nominate. So if this is a plot to get rid of Mueller, it’ll fail. Once again, Trump has overplayed his hand out of spite.
http://www.palmerreport.com/politics/trump-lawyers-statute-of-limitations/3992/
It looks like Donald Trump’s historically inept legal team has stepped in it yet again. One of Trump’s attorneys tried to make the legal argument that Special Counsel Robert Mueller shouldn’t be investigating Trump’s financial crimes because the statute of limitations has expired by now anyway. But in so doing, the attorney essentially admitted that Trump is guilty of financial crimes – thereby validating Mueller’s decision to investigate Trump’s finances.
ReplyDeleteIt was Rachel Maddow of MSNBC who flagged a quote from Trump attorney John Dowd which was buried deep in an article from Bloomberg: “‘Most importantly,’ Dowd says, the transactions ‘are well beyond any statute of limitation imposed by the United States Code.'” (link). Maddow’s producer reached out to Dowd for further comment, asking him if this was indeed an admission that Trump has committed financial crimes. Maddow reported on-air on Friday evening that Dowd replied by saying that he’ll never speak to Maddow’s producer again.
So now we know that Donald Trump’s attorney John Dowd is a five year old. But more importantly, it points to Dowd having realized that he screwed up when he pointed to the statute of limitations. Innocent people and their attorneys don’t need to invoke that kind of legal defense, because their position is supposed to be that they didn’t commit the crimes to begin with. So Trump’s attorney just publicly admitted that he’s guilty.
http://www.palmerreport.com/politics/trump-lawyers-statute-of-limitations/3992/
‘He wants this investigation stopped’: Bernstein breaks down Trump’s end game if he leaked Sessions story
ReplyDeleteRumors that President Donald Trump may have leaked the story about his own attorney general meeting with the Russian ambassador are shocking enough — but one veteran journalist sees it as part of a larger conspiracy.
Discussing Friday’s bombshell news, journalist Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame told CNN host Anderson Cooper that the prospect of Trump leaking the story himself appears to fulfill the larger purpose of giving him justification for firing Sessions — and then firing Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller.
“The president can ask for this intelligence, and it would not surprise me if he did, particularly if he is intent on getting rid of Sessions,” Bernstein said.
Nevertheless, Bernstein said, Sessions’ firing would be a means to an end for Trump.
“He’s intent on is getting rid of Mueller,” Bernstein said. “That is his objective.”
“He’s doing everything he can to undermine him — he would like to fire him,” the veteran journalist continued. “And there is a possibility that this disclosure could give him the mechanism, as we’re talking about… to do that through a combination of recess appointments and other mechanisms.”
Bernstein went on to suggest that rather than simply getting rid of Sessions, this could be the first action in a longer endgame.
“That’s his ultimate goal,” he concluded. “He wants this investigation stopped. Yes, he’s talking about pardons — but he doesn’t want to go there. He would like to end the investigation.”
Watch Bernstein lay out the timeline for Trump’s firing of Mueller below, via CNN.
http://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/he-wants-this-investigation-stopped-bernstein-breaks-down-trumps-end-game-if-he-leaked-sessions-story/
New White House comms chief caught on Russian TV saying he wants to lift US sanctions
ReplyDeleteDonald Trump’s newly minted communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, wants to lift sanctions that were imposed on Russia in retaliation for its election meddling.
Scaramucci expressed this position in a pair of interactions with state-owned Russian media in January, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, while he was serving on Trump’s transition team.
His comments echo recent actions from the Trump administration currently pushing for the sanctions imposed by the Obama administration to be eased.
Scaramucci told TASS, the state-run Russian newswire, that Trump “has an enormous respect for the Russian people and the legacy of the relationship that the US has with Russia” and that Trump was “signaling” that he hoped to improve the relationship in the coming year.
He said the sanctions put in place by President Barack Obama had “galvanized the nation” with Putin, and were having “an opposite effect because of Russian culture.”
At the event, Scaramucci also slammed the sanctions to Russian state TV.
Noting that Americans and Russians have “common goals and common values,” Scaramucci said the sanctions were “not the best decision made by the Obama administration.” He told them that “Americans love Russians” and described Russia as “a country of great achievements.”*
http://shareblue.com/new-white-house-comms-chief-caught-on-russian-tv-saying-he-wants-to-lift-us-sanctions/
http://shareblue.com/russia-hints-at-blackmailing-trump-with-threats-of-exposing-more-secret-meetings/
Trump is Putins little beotch.
ReplyDeleteWill no Republican step up and rid us of this troublesome president?
ReplyDeleteYou already know the answer to that, mlaiuppa! I am beyond mortified.
DeleteFor the life of me, I do not know how any of those involved , from top to bottom, including congress and the likes of Palin etal supporters, sleep at night let alone look at themselves in the mirror and are okay with what is reflected back at them.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rawstory.com/2017/07/he-wants-this-investigation-stopped-bernstein-breaks-down-trumps-end-game-if-he-leaked-sessions-story/
ReplyDeleteThis makes sick. They are a bunch of treasonous traitors.
ReplyDeleteYes sir, you can be indicted.
ReplyDeletehttps://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/07/23/us/23dc-indictpotus/23dc-indictpotus-master768.jpg