Saturday, January 20, 2018

Now about that #ReleaseTheMemo hashtag that is trending on Twitter.

Courtesy of WaPo: 

A document described by House Republicans as a top-secret memo about surveillance “abuse” contains talking points focused on discrediting Fusion GPS, the firm that hired a British ex-spy to compile intelligence reports about alleged connections between President Trump’s associates and the Kremlin, according to people who have read it. 

It suggests that the former spy, Christopher Steele, lied to FBI agents who interviewed him during their probe of the 2016 election and that this purported lie was included in a successful application for a federal court order to conduct electronic surveillance on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, said these individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing the material’s sensitivity. 

The document was produced by the House Intelligence Committee’s GOP majority, which voted Thursday to make it available to the entire House membership, though not to the public. The panel’s Democrats all opposed the move. 

In a statement issued Thursday, the committee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), called the document “profoundly misleading,” saying it was “drafted by Republican staff attacking the FBI.” He did not discuss the document’s contents. 

“Rife with factual inaccuracies and referencing highly classified materials that most Republican Intelligence Committee members were forced to acknowledge they had never read, this is meant only to give Republican House members a distorted view of the FBI,” Schiff said. “This may help carry White House water, but it is a deep disservice to our law enforcement professionals.”

Apparently this "damning" bit of "evidence" was created by Devin Nunes and his congressional cohorts and it is designed to end the Mueller investigation by destroying Christopher Steele's credibility.

Of course this seems to ignore the fact that the FBI investigation was not launched due to the dossier, but instead by a drunken conversation that former Trump staffer George Pappadopolous had with an Australian diplomat.

What's more House members who read this memo must sign a non-disclosure agreement because it contains classified information, which means that this whole #ReleaseTheMemo thing is a farce to suggest that there is something explosive in the memo which undercuts the credibility of Fusion GPS, without any real danger that it will be made public and Nunes will be exposed as once again making a mountain out of what barely qualifies as a molehill.

And it should come as no surprise to anyone that he is getting help with that from the Russian trolls.

Courtesy of The Hill: 

#ReleaseTheMemo is the top trending hashtag among Twitter accounts believed to be operated by Kremlin-linked groups, according to Hamilton 68, a website which tracks Russian propaganda online. 

Hamilton 68 is spearheaded by Clint Watts, an expert on foreign actors using American social media. Watts has testified before Congress multiple times on the matter. 

The #ReleaseTheMemo hashtag has increased by 286,700 percent over the past two days and is being used 100 times more than any other hashtag by accounts Hamilton 68 is tracking. 

The accounts have also frequently been tweeting out links to Wikileaks.org and specifically to its page to submit documents.

Keep in mind that if the Russians want you to believe something, you can guarantee it is not good for the country.

37 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:08 PM

    OT 'Gunmen storm Intercontinental hotel in Kabul'

    http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/01/gunmen-attack-intercontinental-hotel-kabul-180120172629710.html

    ' Pence starts Middle East tour amid Jerusalem anger'

    http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/01/mike-pence-starts-middle-east-tour-jerusalem-anger-180120143616771.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous2:09 PM

    Is there a RepubliKKKan anywhere that knows how to do anything but lie, cheat and steal? It gets old as they are so inept. Even those Rethugs I deal with on a daily basis are clueless about so much that goes on in our government - like who is their majority leader, who is Paul Ryan? and on and on. They don't know sic em but faithfully watch Faux Noise. and vote for the sexual deviant and excuse every move made by this administration. Disgusting!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous2:33 PM

    New Trump Ad Calls Dems ‘Complicit’ In Murders By Undocumented Immigrants

    https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-campaign-ad-calls-democrats-complicit-murders-undocumented-immigrants

    ugly stuff.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:26 PM

      Trump’s reckless ad backfires, accidentally implicates him in thousands of deaths

      A new ad released by Donald Trump hours after the Republican Party shut down the federal government has backfired, and given Trump and his party yet another rhetorical black eye.

      Seeking to cast blame for the shutdown on Democrats — even though polling already shows the American people acknowledge reality and know Republicans are to blame — the ad and accompanying press release from Trump’s re-election campaign alleges that Democrats are “complicit” in “all murders by illegal immigrants.”

      But to use the ad’s twisted logic, crimes committed by white supremacists, or other criminals like mass shooters, would thus be the fault of Republicans.

      Trump expressed sympathy for neo-Nazis, describing them as “very fine” people, even though one of them had killed a woman in Charlottesville, Virginia. He has also repeatedly amplified white supremacists and their messages on social media.

      By his own ad’s rationale, Trump and Republicans are therefore “complicit” in multiple killings perpetrated by white supremacists like the church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015.

      Indeed, when Democrats called for congressional hearings to look into the rise of white supremacist violence, Republicans refused to go along.

      Or perhaps Trump and the GOP would rather take the blame for the mass shooting in Las Vegas, where 58 people were killed, while 489 were wounded. Even though bump stocks were used to modify the shooter’s weapon, which enabled him to kill more people, Republicans have refused to do anything to curb their use, at the behest of the NRA.

      The Trump ad clumsily intensifies hostile rhetoric, months after members of both parties made the call for cooling off after a shooting during a Congressional baseball practice, which gravely injured Louisiana Republican Rep. Steve Scalise.

      The ad echoes Trump and his administration’s bigotry and race-baiting, showcasing cop killer Luis Bracamontes as a stand-in for all undocumented immigrants.

      The accompanying press release alleges that the video “contrasts Democrats, who stand by those who commit acts of ‘pure evil,’ versus President Trump” who backs building a border wall.

      https://shareblue.com/trumps-reckless-ad-backfires-accidentally-implicates-him-in-thousands-of-deaths/

      Delete
    2. Anonymous3:28 PM

      Trump blows up shutdown talks, releases unhinged new ad linking Democrats to murder
      Trump does his best to keep the government closed.

      Trump is releasing campaign ads.

      https://thinkprogress.org/trump-tv-ad-democrats-murders-97167efcc202/

      Delete
  4. Anonymous2:33 PM

    WaPo: FBI Was Alarmed By Presence Of Key Russian Elites At Trump Inauguration

    https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/fbi-concerned-presence-russian-business-elites-trump-inauguration

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:13 PM

      How about Mar a logo anniversary celebration? How many Russian elites?

      Delete
    2. Anonymous3:50 PM

      They turned the ship around and went back to Russia.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous4:31 PM

      Do they get back the $100k or the $250k? Are they too rich to care about small change?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous6:06 PM

      The #MarALago event is to fundraise for Trump to run for President again and for the Republicans. They get the money and Trump collects renting out his ballroom.


      The lady at #MarALago said some people may not attend but no one has asked for their money back. They are willing and able to donate $100 to $250 thousand to Republicans to win elections.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous2:34 PM

    The Trump Campaign Just Accused Every Democrat Of Being Complicit In Murder

    http://www.politicususa.com/2018/01/20/trump-campaign-just-accused-every-single-democrat-complicit-murder.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This from the party that hasn’t funded CHIP, is wroking as hard as possible to take healthcare away from millions and has blocked every attempt to stem mass shootings through gun regulation, forbiding all studies on guns and shootings, data collection, etc., is sending refugees back to countries where their safety is in jeopardy, deporting DACA recipients who have lived here most of their lives and in some cases have no family nor speak the language of the country to which they are being deported.

      I could go on.

      But the level of hypocrisy is mind boggling.

      But mostly it’s you own the White House, House and Senate so WTF?

      Delete
  6. Anonymous2:36 PM

    Trump Is Grounded And Not Allowed To Go To His Florida Party After Government Shuts Down

    ...It is clear that the adults in the White House have grounded the president and are not letting him go have any fun at all until after the government shutdown is resolved. Republicans were worried that Trump was going to try to cut a fast deal with Chuck Schumer so that he could get to his party, but when the deal fell through, Trump blew a gasket because he may have to stay in Washington and pretend to do some work.

    Trump won’t be spending the weekend with his rich friends in Florida deluding himself into believing that he is a successful president. Instead, Trump will spend the weekend in the White House mired in a shutdown that he created while hundreds of thousands of women and men protest his presidency.

    http://www.politicususa.com/2018/01/20/trump-grounded-not-allowed-go-florida-party-government-shutdown.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:12 PM

      He is like a prisoner.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous3:33 PM

      Ha, ha, ha! Good.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous4:55 PM

      He is like a prisoner.
      ======================
      HA HA it will be practice for the real thing.

      How much did we save on jet fuel and golf cart rental for secret service this weekend?

      Delete
    4. Anonymous7:22 PM

      4:55: we saved at least $3,000,000.

      Delete
    5. Oh, he is going to be so pissed he’s going to miss golf on Sunday.

      Plus all that adoration on Saturday Night.

      Yeah, he is going to be totally pissed. I’m sure Miller and Kelly are telling him it is all Schumer’s fault.

      Delete
  7. Anonymous2:37 PM

    Russian bots are busy at work promoting the GOP’s latest attempt to discredit the investigation looking into whether Trump colluded with the Russian government to sway the 2016 election.

    According the website Hamilton 68, which tracks the Twitter activity of propaganda accounts and bots linked to Russia, the hashtag #ReleaseTheMemo was tweeted 3,916 times on Friday, compared to just 23 times the day before. At the time of this writing, it had been shared 1,233 times on Saturday.

    It’s currently the top trend among the Russian-linked accounts monitored by Hamilton 68 — #SchumerShutdown and #Obamagate come in at numbers two and three respectively.

    The memo referred to in the hashtag is the document written by Republican staffers, in which they claim to have evidence that the FBI has abused the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in their efforts to investigate the Trump campaign’s connections to Russian interference efforts.

    Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) has led the Republican frenzy — Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) described it as “worse than Watergate” in a tweet — around the memo. Donald Trump Jr. tweeted about it over 30 times by Friday.

    http://www.politicususa.com/2018/01/20/bunch-russian-bot-accounts-pushing-releasethememo-social-media.html

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous2:45 PM

    Russia wants USA bogged down in irrelevancy, great job DUMP!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous3:02 PM

    Nunes has committed obstruction and should be indicted as such.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous3:17 PM

    Comrade Nunes is earning his rubles.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous3:21 PM

    OT Bunch of porn actresses have died recently. Maybe Donald has found a cheaper way to shut them up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:00 PM

      http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/porn-star-found-dead-three-month-time-span-article-1.3768085

      "Adult actress Olivia Lua was found dead at a California rehab facility, making her the fifth porn star to pass away within the last three months."
      "Family and friends had previously expressed “deep concern at the volume of prescription drugs prescribed to Olivia and the danger it posed her” should she mix the drugs with alcohol, which is the suspected cause of death, according to the statement.

      The actress appeared in a string of television series over the course of her career, including
      “Vixen” and “Hostel XXX.”"

      Delete
    2. Anonymous4:46 PM

      Their lives are often riddled with addictions; sex, drugs, you name it. They didn't go into porn because they were well adjusted teens with loving families, they did it because they were lost, addicted and desperate.

      Delete
  12. Anonymous3:24 PM

    Sarah Palin Threatens To Leave The GOP, what happened? http://www.politicususa.com/2014/06/13/sarah-palin-threatens-leave-gop-obama-flies-abandoned-kids-mexico.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:59 PM

      That was dated 2014

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:02 PM

      No one gives a shit about $arah except her.

      Delete
  13. Anonymous4:11 PM

    http://www.politicususa.com/2018/01/20/twitter-notified-republican-senator-john-cornyn-interacted-content-linked-russian-government.html

    "“Consistent with our commitment to transparency, we are emailing notifications to 677,775 people in the United States who followed one of these accounts or retweeted or liked a Tweet from these accounts during the election period,” read a post on Twitter’s blog.

    It’ll be interesting to see if any other legislators will come forward and let the public know that they either helped spread or consumed Russian content in 2016."

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous4:41 PM

    Has anyone seen the goofy lame picture taken in the WH today with Trump and his minions? Hope Hicks, Ivanka and the gang. All obeying and smiling.

    Reminds me of Dear Leader, like when Trump has those 'meetings' with everyone sitting around a table and they all must praise him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:58 PM

      Yes,he is suppose to be working to end the shutdown, not pose for photo ops.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous6:12 PM

      http://15130-presscdn-0-89.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/trump-shutdown-laughing.jpg

      They all look hardly working.

      Delete
  15. Anonymous5:28 PM

    Meanwhile, that document of Fusion GPS's Glenn Simpson's voluntary interview by the House Intelligence Committee sure makes for interesting reading!

    I suspect that is what the Nunes memo is supposed to distract us from.

    You can read it here:
    http://docs.house.gov/meetings/IG/IG00/20180118/106796/HMTG-115-IG00-20180118-SD002.pdf

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous7:12 PM

    RAWSTORY NOTICE TO ALL:
    'Note to our readers: Please share/tweet our articles. Trump supporting trolls targeted our accounts and reported them en masse, without cause. This triggered seemingly automatic suspensions. Twitter support has failed to address this issue. Thank you!'

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous9:35 PM

    gross. putin is desperate liddle man. he really has screwed up by attaching to the shithole like a ding dong berry. rump will never pay his debts. and eric cannot con his way out of it either. It is just a mess.

    ReplyDelete
  18. WA Skeptic10:07 PM

    The FBI, for all it's faults, has been one of our most effective weapons against the known attacks of Communist Russia and the current Russian State. We must not allow the Bots and the bought and paid for traitors (such as Trump and Nunes) to lose our best weapon.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Are you aware that Eric Prince is trying to get funded to be Trumps personal police force? Gestapo anyone. The Continuing resolution bill that went down on Friday night had a provision to allow Trump to move money from one agency to another --on his own-- to fund his policed force. Why is this not big news?

    ReplyDelete

Don't feed the trolls!
It just goes directly to their thighs.