Сделаем Америку снова великой! Trump - Russia megathread

[kalm]

From Raw Story (meaning it's garbage), but red meat for anti Trumpies.

http://www.rawstory.com/2017/08/longtim ... nts=disqus

How dare they print that garbage from the Spectator and National Enquirer!

[Skjellyfetti]

A business associate of President Trump promised in 2015 to engineer a real estate deal with the aid of the president of Russia, Vladimir V. Putin, that he said would help Mr. Trump win the presidency.

The business associate, Felix Sater, wrote a series of emails to Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, in which he boasted about his ties to Mr. Putin and predicted that building a Trump Tower in Moscow would be a political boon to Mr. Trump’s candidacy.

“Our boy can become president of the USA and we can engineer it,” Mr. Sater wrote in an email. “I will get all of Putins team to buy in on this, I will manage this process.”



The emails show that, from the earliest months of Mr. Trump’s campaign, some of his associates viewed close ties with Moscow as a political advantage. Those ties are now under investigation by the Justice Department and multiple congressional committees.

There is no evidence in the emails that Mr. Sater delivered on his promises. Mr. Sater, a Russian immigrant, was a broker for the Trump Organization at the time, which means he was paid to deliver real estate deals.

In another email, Mr. Sater envisioned a ribbon-cutting in Moscow. “I will get Putin on this program and we will get Donald elected,” Mr. Sater wrote.

Mr. Cohen suggested that Mr. Sater’s comments were puffery. “He has sometimes used colorful language and has been prone to ‘salesmanship,’ ” Mr. Cohen said in a statement. “I ultimately determined that the proposal was not feasible and never agreed to make a trip to Russia.”

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/u ... tO7WHXoPkl





And, since it's easy to see these stories in isolation... a refresher from February...


https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/19/us/p ... .html?_r=0

[dbackjon]

No words. Trump is a traitor. Supporting Trump at this point means you are a fucking traitor as well.

[BDKJMU]

No words. Trump is a traitor. Supporting Trump at this point means you are a **** traitor as well.

Why are gay people such drama queens?

[Chizzang]

No words. Trump is a traitor. Supporting Trump at this point means you are a fucking traitor as well.

Jon,
That seems a little over the top
Some of the people that support Trump are extremely loyal American citizens

I would argue that most people that STILL support Trump
Do so knowing full well that he's likely a criminal and absolutely a first class swindler



In fact I'd guess some even admire him for his con artistry and dishonesty

Example:
Bonny and Clyde were murderers and criminals
but were beloved by the poor as hero's against "The Man"
Many Trump supporters at this stage simply see him as the last person fighting against the machine

[dbackjon]

No words. Trump is a traitor. Supporting Trump at this point means you are a fucking traitor as well.

Jon,
That seems a little over the top
Some of the people that support Trump are extremely loyal American citizens

I would argue that most people that STILL support Trump
Do so knowing full well that he's likely a criminal and absolutely a first class swindler



In fact I'd guess some even admire him for his con artistry and dishonesty

Which is their choice to support an anti=American traitor, just acknowledge that you are ok with it, just like they where ok supporting a pussy-grabbing, narcissistic, fraudster who is unqualified, is destroying America, and only cares if you are rich and related to him.

[Chizzang]

Jon,
That seems a little over the top
Some of the people that support Trump are extremely loyal American citizens

I would argue that most people that STILL support Trump
Do so knowing full well that he's likely a criminal and absolutely a first class swindler



In fact I'd guess some even admire him for his con artistry and dishonesty

Which is their choice to support an anti=American traitor, just acknowledge that you are ok with it, just like they where ok supporting a pussy-grabbing, narcissistic, fraudster who is unqualified, is destroying America, and only cares if you are rich and related to him.

Most people don't think the President (any President) can destroy anything but his own credibility
and certainly not "America"

Trump will do his worst and burn the house down and blame everybody else while holding the torch
But everything will work out okay in the end (probably)

[Skjellyfetti]

From an interview Sater gave a couple of weeks ago.

He couldn’t resist telling me, though, that something big was brewing. “In about the next 30 to 35 days,” he told me, “I will be the most colorful character you have ever talked about. Unfortunately, I can’t talk about it now, before it happens. And believe me, it ain’t anything as small as whether or not they’re gonna call me to the Senate committee.”

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/20 ... ation.html

[93henfan]

No words. Trump is a traitor. Supporting Trump at this point means you are a fucking traitor as well.

Jon,
That seems a little over the top
Some of the people that support Trump are extremely loyal American citizens

I would argue that most people that STILL support Trump
Do so knowing full well that he's likely a criminal and absolutely a first class swindler



In fact I'd guess some even admire him for his con artistry and dishonesty

Example:
Bonny and Clyde were murderers and criminals
but were beloved by the poor as hero's against "The Man"
Many Trump supporters at this stage simply see him as the last person fighting against the machine

This white, shirt-ironing nigga speaks da troof!

[93henfan]

A business associate of President Trump promised in 2015 to engineer a real estate deal with the aid of the president of Russia, Vladimir V. Putin, that he said would help Mr. Trump win the presidency.

The business associate, Felix Sater, wrote a series of emails to Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, in which he boasted about his ties to Mr. Putin and predicted that building a Trump Tower in Moscow would be a political boon to Mr. Trump’s candidacy.

“Our boy can become president of the USA and we can engineer it,” Mr. Sater wrote in an email. “I will get all of Putins team to buy in on this, I will manage this process.”



The emails show that, from the earliest months of Mr. Trump’s campaign, some of his associates viewed close ties with Moscow as a political advantage. Those ties are now under investigation by the Justice Department and multiple congressional committees.

There is no evidence in the emails that Mr. Sater delivered on his promises. Mr. Sater, a Russian immigrant, was a broker for the Trump Organization at the time, which means he was paid to deliver real estate deals.

In another email, Mr. Sater envisioned a ribbon-cutting in Moscow. “I will get Putin on this program and we will get Donald elected,” Mr. Sater wrote.

Mr. Cohen suggested that Mr. Sater’s comments were puffery. “He has sometimes used colorful language and has been prone to ‘salesmanship,’ ” Mr. Cohen said in a statement. “I ultimately determined that the proposal was not feasible and never agreed to make a trip to Russia.”

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/u ... tO7WHXoPkl





And, since it's easy to see these stories in isolation... a refresher from February...


https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/19/us/p ... .html?_r=0

I just have to say that anyone who, in 2015, was betting on a Trump presidential campaign victory was probably hedging their bets elsewhere. What were the odds then? 500:1 or worse?

[Ibanez]

Jon,
That seems a little over the top
Some of the people that support Trump are extremely loyal American citizens

I would argue that most people that STILL support Trump
Do so knowing full well that he's likely a criminal and absolutely a first class swindler



In fact I'd guess some even admire him for his con artistry and dishonesty

Which is their choice to support an anti=American traitor, just acknowledge that you are ok with it, just like they where ok supporting a pussy-grabbing, narcissistic, fraudster who is unqualified, is destroying America, and only cares if you are rich and related to him.

Yeah, but Bill Clinton is lauded by the Left and seated at the Left hand of the Father...Obama. How many pussies did that guy grab?


Oh wait...we're talking about Trump. Sorry...I hear pussy-grabbing and I automatically think about Clinton.

[Skjellyfetti]

I just have to say that anyone who, in 2015, was betting on a Trump presidential campaign victory was probably hedging their bets elsewhere. What were the odds then? 500:1 or worse?

The thing is that mob guys tend to not make high stakes bets unless they know something...

Less than one year later:

This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump - helped along by Aras and Emin.

What do you think is the best way to handle this information and would you be able to speak to Emin about it directly?

I can also send this info to your father via Rhona, but it is ultra sensitive so wanted to send to you first.

[93henfan]

Sounds like you've got it all figured out. Be sure to send this huge tip to Mueller!

[Skjellyfetti]

Naw. Not even close to having it all figured out. In the words of John McCain, this is a centipede with many more shoes to drop. I just enjoy documenting it as they do.

And, Mueller and his team of foreign bribery, fraud, and Eastern European organized crime and money laundering experts surely don't need my help.

[93henfan]

That is one tasty burger!

[Skjellyfetti]

[Jjoey52]

Could not copy the link but Podesta has admitted dealing with Russia for years, Dems might want to rethink things,


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Skjellyfetti]

Mueller Team Asking If Trump Tried to Hide Purpose of Trump Tower Meeting

WASHINGTON — Federal investigators working for Special Counsel Robert Mueller are keenly focused on President Donald Trump's role in crafting a response to a published article about a meeting between Russians and his son Donald Jr., three sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.

The sources told NBC News that prosecutors want to know what Trump knew about the meeting and whether he sought to conceal its purpose.

The meeting occurred at Trump Tower in June 2016 and was attended by Donald Trump Jr., Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. The meeting, which was first reported by The New York Times, also involved Russian attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya and former Soviet intelligence officer Rinat Akhmetshin.

At the time, the White House confirmed that Trump had "weighed in" as the response to the Times report was drafted aboard Air Force One on July 8 as the president returned to the U.S. from the G20 meeting in Germany. The Washington Post reported that Trump had "dictated" the response.

The initial response by Donald Trump Jr. that was drafted aboard Air Force One described the 2016 meeting as "a short introductory meeting. I asked Jared and Paul to stop by. We primarily discussed a program about the adoption of Russian children that was active and popular with American families years ago and was since ended by the Russian government, but it was not a campaign issue at the time and there was no follow up."

According to The Times, he added: "I was asked to attend the meeting by an acquaintance, but was not told the name of the person I would be meeting with beforehand."

By the next day the paper reported that the meeting was scheduled in order to convey damaging information about Hillary Clinton and her campaign — an account that Trump Jr. would confirm in a follow-up statement and in emails that he released publicly.

In a June 3, 2016, email, publicist Rob Goldstone told Trump Jr. that a Russian prosecutor had "offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary [Clinton] … and would be very useful to your father."

Trump Jr. responded, "f it's what you say, I love it."

Emails show that the following day, Goldstone and Trump Jr. began arranging the Trump Tower meeting.

A person familiar with Mueller's strategy said that whether or not Trump made a "knowingly false statement" is now of interest to prosecutors.

"Even if Trump is not charged with a crime as a result of the statement, it could be useful to Mueller's team to show Trump's conduct to a jury that may be considering other charges."

Ty Cobb, the attorney chosen by the White House as special counsel to oversee its response to the Mueller investigation, told NBC News that he assumed “the statement issued after the G20 is of interest, but I'm not aware of any crime associated with that. It was true at the time it was written and true now."

Cobb said that the statement "was not a bible of events leading up to and after the meeting, but it was not untruthful," pointing to the additional details that Donald Trump Jr. and his attorney have since made public.

"It was a simple response to a short request," said Cobb, and the president's role in crafting the statement was "minimal.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mu ... er-n796746

[93henfan]

Sounds a lot like certain tarmac meetings between attorney generals and former Presidents.

Just talking about grandkids and such.

[Ibanez]

Sounds a lot like certain tarmac meetings between attorney generals and former Presidents.

Just talking about grandkids and such.

Trump and Putin swap Borscht recipes, that's all.

[Skjellyfetti]

Sounds a lot like certain tarmac meetings between attorney generals and former Presidents.

Just talking about grandkids and such.

Yeah, and I've said many times that meeting was sketchy as fuck and worthy of investigation.

This particular story is always deemed a "nothingburger" and not even worthy of investigation, though. It's interesting.

[93henfan]

Sounds a lot like certain tarmac meetings between attorney generals and former Presidents.

Just talking about grandkids and such.

Yeah, and I've said many times that meeting was sketchy as fuck and worthy of investigation.

This particular story is always deemed a "nothingburger" and not even worthy of investigation, though. It's interesting.

Both were sketchy obviously. The Clintons have surrounded their corrupt enterprise with Teflon. I see you're salivating at the thought that Trump isn't as good a criminal.

[Skjellyfetti]

Special counsel subpoenas Manafort's former attorney and spokesman

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has issued subpoenas to a former lawyer for Paul Manafort and to Manafort's current spokesman, an aggressive tactic that suggests an effort to add pressure on the former Trump campaign chairman.

The subpoenas seeking documents and testimony were sent to Melissa Laurenza, an attorney with the Akin Gump law firm who until recently represented Manafort, and to Jason Maloni, who is Manafort's spokesman, according to people familiar with the matter.

Manafort is under investigation for possible tax and financial crimes, according to US officials briefed on the investigation. The allegations under investigation largely center on Manafort's work for the former ruling party in Ukraine, which was ousted amid street protests over its pro-Russian policies.

It's unclear what specific information the Mueller investigators believe Laurenza and Maloni may have. But issuing subpoenas to a lawyer of someone under investigation is unusual, in part because it raises potential attorney-client privilege issues that prosecutors tend to try to avoid. Maloni, as a public relations representative, doesn't have the same attorney-client privilege protections.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2017/08/29/poli ... index.html

[Skjellyfetti]

Good news.

Manafort and Schneiderman (NY's AG) working together. State crimes aren't pardonable.

Schneiderman also hired Preet Bharara's excellent public corruption prosecutor back in March, apparently for this case.

Mueller teams up with New York attorney general in Manafort probe

The cooperation is the latest sign that the investigation into Trump's former campaign chairman is intensifying.

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team is working with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on its investigation into Paul Manafort and his financial transactions, according to several people familiar with the matter.

The cooperation is the latest indication that the federal probe into President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman is intensifying. It also could potentially provide Mueller with additional leverage to get Manafort to cooperate in the larger investigation into Trump’s campaign, as Trump does not have pardon power over state crimes.

The two teams have shared evidence and talked frequently in recent weeks about a potential case, these people said. One of the people familiar with progress on the case said both Mueller’s and Schneiderman’s teams have collected evidence on financial crimes, including potential money laundering.

No decision has been made on where or whether to file charges. “Nothing is imminent,” said one of the people familiar with the case.

Manafort has not been accused of any wrongdoing and has previously denied it. A spokesman for Manafort didn’t return phone calls seeking comment.

A representative for Mueller’s office declined to comment, as did the New York attorney general’s office.

People close to Manafort say the team has pressured him by approaching family members and former business partners. A number of other firms and people who have worked with him have received subpoenas.

Federal agents also conducted an early-morning raid at Manafort’s home in late July, seizing documents and other items.

Manafort did not resist the search, his spokesman Jason Maloni said at the time of the raid.

State and federal prosecutors believe the prospect of a presidential pardon could affect whether Manafort decides to cooperate investigators in the federal Trump investigation, said one of the people familiar with the matter.

While Trump has not signaled any public intention to pardon Manafort or anyone else involved in the Russia investigations, the president has privately discussed his pardon powers with his advisers.

Mueller’s team has been looking into Manafort’s lobbying work and financial transactions, including real estate deals in New York.

Schneiderman has a contentious history with Trump. The president has mocked him relentlessly on social media and TV, denouncing him as a “hack” and “lightweight.”

The attorney general won a $25 million settlement last November after a lengthy investigation into fraudulent practices at Trump University. The president said he settled just to have the matter behind him, though his previous mantra was to never settle cases.

The New York prosecutor’s office also is looking into some of Trump’s business transactions and could potentially share those records with Mueller’s team, one of these people said. Those inquiries are in the preliminary stage.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/3 ... ral-242191




Tangentially related, but I'll include it in the same post so people don't complain about the number of posts.

I wonder what interest Mueller has in this meeting since he apparently ruled out any coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia back in May...

Russian lobbyist testifies before Mueller grand jury

A Russian lobbyist who attended a meeting between Trump campaign officials and a Russian lawyer has testified before special counsel Robert Mueller’s grand jury, The Financial Times reported Wednesday.

Rinat Akhmetshin, a former Soviet army officer, testified before the jury for several hours on Aug. 11, signaling that Mueller is including the controversial Trump Tower meeting in his investigation.

Mueller convened a grand jury earlier this month as part of his investigation into Russian interference into the election.

Akhmetshin was part of the controversial 2016 meeting that came to light last month, during which Donald Trump Jr., along with campaign head Paul Manafort and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, met with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.

Trump Jr. has denied any wrongdoing in taking the meeting.

One of the emails sent by Rob Goldstone, the man who helped to set up the meeting, promised the lawyer had information that “would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.”

“This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump,” Goldstone wrote.

“If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer,” Trump Jr. replied.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... 1504137180

[CID1990]

Good news.

Manafort and Schneiderman (NY's AG) working together. State crimes aren't pardonable.

Schneiderman also hired Preet Bharara's excellent public corruption prosecutor back in March, apparently for this case.

Mueller teams up with New York attorney general in Manafort probe

The cooperation is the latest sign that the investigation into Trump's former campaign chairman is intensifying.

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team is working with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on its investigation into Paul Manafort and his financial transactions, according to several people familiar with the matter.

The cooperation is the latest indication that the federal probe into President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman is intensifying. It also could potentially provide Mueller with additional leverage to get Manafort to cooperate in the larger investigation into Trump’s campaign, as Trump does not have pardon power over state crimes.

The two teams have shared evidence and talked frequently in recent weeks about a potential case, these people said. One of the people familiar with progress on the case said both Mueller’s and Schneiderman’s teams have collected evidence on financial crimes, including potential money laundering.

No decision has been made on where or whether to file charges. “Nothing is imminent,” said one of the people familiar with the case.

Manafort has not been accused of any wrongdoing and has previously denied it. A spokesman for Manafort didn’t return phone calls seeking comment.

A representative for Mueller’s office declined to comment, as did the New York attorney general’s office.

People close to Manafort say the team has pressured him by approaching family members and former business partners. A number of other firms and people who have worked with him have received subpoenas.

Federal agents also conducted an early-morning raid at Manafort’s home in late July, seizing documents and other items.

Manafort did not resist the search, his spokesman Jason Maloni said at the time of the raid.

State and federal prosecutors believe the prospect of a presidential pardon could affect whether Manafort decides to cooperate investigators in the federal Trump investigation, said one of the people familiar with the matter.

While Trump has not signaled any public intention to pardon Manafort or anyone else involved in the Russia investigations, the president has privately discussed his pardon powers with his advisers.

Mueller’s team has been looking into Manafort’s lobbying work and financial transactions, including real estate deals in New York.

Schneiderman has a contentious history with Trump. The president has mocked him relentlessly on social media and TV, denouncing him as a “hack” and “lightweight.”

The attorney general won a $25 million settlement last November after a lengthy investigation into fraudulent practices at Trump University. The president said he settled just to have the matter behind him, though his previous mantra was to never settle cases.

The New York prosecutor’s office also is looking into some of Trump’s business transactions and could potentially share those records with Mueller’s team, one of these people said. Those inquiries are in the preliminary stage.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/3 ... ral-242191




Tangentially related, but I'll include it in the same post so people don't complain about the number of posts.

I wonder what interest Mueller has in this meeting since he apparently ruled out any coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia back in May...

Russian lobbyist testifies before Mueller grand jury

A Russian lobbyist who attended a meeting between Trump campaign officials and a Russian lawyer has testified before special counsel Robert Mueller’s grand jury, The Financial Times reported Wednesday.

Rinat Akhmetshin, a former Soviet army officer, testified before the jury for several hours on Aug. 11, signaling that Mueller is including the controversial Trump Tower meeting in his investigation.

Mueller convened a grand jury earlier this month as part of his investigation into Russian interference into the election.

Akhmetshin was part of the controversial 2016 meeting that came to light last month, during which Donald Trump Jr., along with campaign head Paul Manafort and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, met with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.

Trump Jr. has denied any wrongdoing in taking the meeting.

One of the emails sent by Rob Goldstone, the man who helped to set up the meeting, promised the lawyer had information that “would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.”

“This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump,” Goldstone wrote.

“If it's what you say I love it especially later in the summer,” Trump Jr. replied.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administrat ... 1504137180

Its because Mueller is looking to see if Trump knew what the meeting was about beforehand, after apparently vetting the "adoptions" story after the fact. That would be material to a conspiracy investigation - but there is still nothing to indicate that they are linking this to collusion with Russia to throw the elections. Especially since it was a crank source (and would have WAY postdated any actual collusion to throw the election)

I feel like I have to keep saying this so when somebody gets indicted for tax evasion you won't be moving the semantic goalposts

I'll say it again: they aren't looking at Trump for colluding/coordinating/helping/aiding/whatever to throw the election




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