Flynn in major trouble for speaking to Russia about sanctions

[Luka Doncic]

http://www.phillytrib.com/commentary...db93b0b10.html

Russia still attacking U.S., trying to help Trump

12 hrs ago
Just as President Donald Trump was openly pondering the possibility of lifting sanctions against Russia, Microsoft revealed it has uncovered yet another Russian intelligence operation aimed at assaulting America's democratic ins utions and, it appears, at helping Trump.
There is no indication that Russia is anything other than very pleased with the result of its 2016 election meddling efforts.
Instead of lying low amid the political storm it triggered in the U.S., Moscow, it seems, is scaling up similar activities to influence the midterm vote in November.
This time, however, there is an interesting twist: The hackers went after Republican think tanks, creating false websites made to look like those of the Hudson Ins ute and the International Republic Ins ute (IRI) — prominent conservative groups — in addition to a website used by staff in Congress.
Why would Russian President Vladimir Putin's operatives target Republicans? Despite their strong conservative credentials, these think tanks have not been fully supportive of Trump and have been outspoken in their criticism of Putin's behavior — both at home and abroad.
Putin, not surprisingly, wants to undercut his detractors. And this hacking plan — aimed at Trump critics — suggests that Putin wants to continue helping Trump.
When Democrats challenge Trump, it feeds into his narrative; when Republicans do it, it threatens to shrink his already narrow base of support.
The Hudson Ins ute may have come to Russian attention when, during an event there, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coates described Russia as an aggressive force seeking to undermine democracy and divide Americans.
Some Hudson Ins ute fellows were withering in their criticism of Trump's summit with Putin, with one calling Trump's behavior during and after the meeting "ludicrous and dishonest."
For its part, the IRI stands for everything Putin is trying to dismantle. Searching its website for "Putin" brings up a menu of articles decrying the Russian president's repression at home and nefarious tactics abroad. IRI's board members include, among others, one of Trump's most effective critics, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
Some of Trump's most fervent supporters have branded the IRI an enemy, a proponent of the globalist agenda that Trump and his backers abhor.
This new wave of attacks by Russia highlights the widening divide between Trump's Republican Party and traditional conservatives. It also shows the extent to which Russia views Trump as an ally: Trump's foes are Russia's foes.
Microsoft said it had been tracking Russian hackers for two years. It decided to reveal what just occurred, said President Brad Smith, now that "facts are clear as day."
With just 10 weeks until the crucial midterm elections, Microsoft found the evidence so convincing that it was able to obtain a court order to take over six websites designed to look like something they were not.
The sites were set up by a hacking group called Fancy Bear, associated with Russian military intelligence and well known for, among other activities, its 2016 hacking of the Democratic National Committee.
After it hacked the DNC emails during the height of the presidential campaign, it handed a trove of emails to WikiLeaks for public release, trying to cover its tracks and inflict maximum harm to the campaign of Hillary Clinton and maximum benefit to Trump, Putin's favored candidate.
Trump, of course, continues to cast doubt on whether this occurred. Just this week, in an interview with Reuters, he again attacked the probe into the Russian interference as "a disgrace" and saying, "If it was Russia, they played right into Russians' hands." Notice the "if."
By now, there's no doubt that Russia meddled in 2016, just as it did in elections in a long list of countries. Russia interfered in Britain's Brexit vote and set its hackers to work in elections in the Netherlands, Austria, Norway, France, Germany and elsewhere.
Britain's new foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, is calling on the U.S. and Europe to stand "shoulder to shoulder" against Russia's transgressions. It is doubtful that Trump will acquiesce.
Ahead of the November elections, which could decide the fate of the Trump presidency, Facebook found a new influence campaign that looked very much like the one that inflamed divisions among Americans two years ago.
In a report to Congress last month, Facebook said it discovered and uprooted an operation much like the one staged by the Kremlin's Internet Research Agency, detailed in an indictment by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Across the United States, countless Americans are hard at work supporting their favored candidates in thousands of elections. Intelligence officials have warned the president that Russia is already working to interfere with U.S. democracy.
Local candidates and activists are working against shadowy obstacles. In Georgia, for example, the name of Brian Kemp, the Republican secretary of state, appeared in a just-declassified congressional report for refusing to cooperate with the federal government to protect election systems. Kemp, a fierce Trump advocate, is now running for governor.
A Mueller indictment says Russia targeted Georgia's vulnerable election machinery. But Kemp dismissed warnings from the Department of Homeland Security, claiming they were an excuse for "federalizing elections under the guise of security."
A disturbing pattern has emerged: Trump supporters are dismissive of Russian interference; Trump critics are targeted by Russia.
By now, the evidence is overwhelming, and it's not just coming from what Trump likes to call the "witch hunt" or from the professionals that his supporters dismiss as the "deep state."
It's also coming from the likes of Facebook and Microsoft, companies that have little to gain from revealing to their users that when they engage with their services they may be the targets of foreign spies.
During his Reuters interview on Monday, Trump said he would consider lifting sanctions on Russia "if they do something that would be good for us" in Syria or Ukraine.
It's unclear precisely what Trump had in mind. But what is clear is that as long as Russia continues to attack democracy and Trump continues to deny it is happening, everything he does regarding Russia will be viewed with su ion — not only by Democrats, but by the segment of the Republican Party that doesn't trust Russia, or Trump. — (CNN)

[boutons_deux]

Measuring Presidents’ Misdeeds

During Watergate, historians helped catalogue accusations made against past Presidents; their findings may be useful again.

These days, even Nixon’s underhandedness begins to look upstanding.

William McFeely, now eighty-seven, and retired from the University of Georgia, covered Andrew Johnson and Grant.

“I think Nixon was pretty bad, but I think that even he had a respect for the Cons ution, and for a cons utional sense of the value of the Presidency,” McFeely says.

“Trump trounces on those.”

Woodward, reviewing the 1974 findings, made a list of never-befores:

“Heretofore, no president has been proved to be the chief coordinator of the crime and misdemeanor charged against his own administration as a deliberate course of conduct or plan.

Heretofore, no president has been held to be the chief personal beneficiary of misconduct in his administration or of measures taken to destroy or cover up evidence of it.

Heretofore, the malfeasance and misdemeanor have had no confessed ideological purposes, no cons utionally subversive ends.

Heretofore, no president has been accused of extensively subverting and secretly using established government agencies to defame or discredit political opponents and critics, to obstruct justice, to conceal misconduct and protect criminals, or to deprive citizens of their rights and liberties.”

Trump has already done some of them—

not secretly but publicly, gleefully, and without consequence—

and is under investigation for more.

“However much Richard Nixon deserved impeachment and the end of his Presidency,” he says,

“what he did does not match the Trump Presidency in its malfeasance,

and in the depth of his failure as President.”

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2...Q2MjMyOTk4MQS2

[boutons_deux]

Vice President Pence Faces Heightened Scrutiny Over His Relationship with Paul Manafort

It was Paul Manafort who chose Mike Pence as Donald Trump's vice president.

The link between Manafort and Pence is leading to additional scrutiny for the vice president, as people ask just what Pence knew about Manafort and his connections.

Many are also curious about Pence's involvements with former adviser Mike Flynn,

questioning if he lied to protect the general in January of 2017 when he declared that Flynn had not discussed,

"anything having to do with the United States' decision to expel diplomats or impose censure against Russia" with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Flynn, in his guilty plea, admitted to discussing sanctions with Kislyak, and

that he was following the instructions of "a senior member" of the campaign.
Representative Elijah mings had also warned Pence about possible conflicts of interests surrounding Flynn in light of his visit to Russia and his ties to Turkey.

It is possible that, when Mueller concludes his investigation, that both Trump and Pence, amongst others, would be unable to fulfill the office of the Presidency.

It is worth noting that the last Republican president to face impeachment,

Richard Nixon, also lost his vice president as the administration became mired in controversy.

Vice President Spiro Agnew pled no contest to a charge of tax evasion and resigned on the 10th of October 1973, several months prior to Nixon's own resignation.

https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-po...-paul-manafort

[Chris]

[djohn2oo8]

[Chris]

[djohn2oo8]

Chris spending all that time copying and pasting for nothing to come true

[Pavlov]

Chris spending all that time copying and pasting for nothing to come true

The faith these mother ers put in a flamethrower nobody on Twitter is astounding.

[boutons_deux]

JeBo not influenced by politics

The Trump admin just hit the leaker who revealed Russian election hacking with unprecedented punishment

when former government contractor Reality Winner was sentenced to a staggering 63 months in jail

for leaking a classified NSA report on efforts by the Russian Federation

to hack into voting software supplier and the accounts of election officials during the 2016 election.

they smeared her reputation and painted her as a traitor for her social media posts, in which she was highly critical of that “soulless ginger orangutan” Donald Trump and openly disgusted with his election,

Once confronted with the evidence of her whistleblowing, Winner immediately admitted smuggling out the do ents and expressed

her frustration with the right-wing environment she was forced to work in,

citing multiple complaints about how they would play FOX News in her NSA office.

It’s the longest sentence ever handed down to a leaker.

https://washingtonpress.com/2018/08/...ed-punishment/

so the NSA brains are filled with Fox New bull ?

[Reck]

Chris spending all that time copying and pasting for nothing to come true

That nobody reads.

[Spurtacular]

A Russian bank paid Bill Clinton a $500,000 speaking fee on June 29, 2010 for a 30 minute speech while Hillary was the Secretary of State

Soon after Hillary approved the sale of 20% of our Uranium to the Russians

I wonder why

There was no pay for play

[Pavlov]

It's real but its fake

What are you even talking about?

[Spurtacular]

search them yourself, David.

It's the only way to get justice!

If she didn't commit any crimes, how come they had to botch the investigation?

[Pavlov]

If she didn't commit any crimes, how come they had to botch the investigation?

The only botching they did was publicly announcing the search right before the election.

There is no there there.

Also, name the crimes you claim she committed.

lol

[boutons_deux]

Alan Dershowitz goes bonkers on Fox: ‘If they can target Trump, they can target you — they can target anyone’



This is an attack on a president because you don’t like him.

Why is that allowed?”

Dershowitz immediately agreed.

“There’s no doubt about that,” he began.

“They have targeted the president, they have targeted his business…

The vulnerability is in the business YES!

and they have targeted.

They have said, ‘Look, we’ve known about Mr. Trump’s business dealings for years.

We’ve never looked into them.

But now, we’re going to start looking into them.'”

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/08/alan-dershowitz-goes-bonkers-fox-can-target-trump-can-target-can-target-anyone/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaig n=Feed%3A+TheRawStory+%28The+Raw+Story%29

Trash knows he's been in criminal financial activity for years. Then there's the Pootin/Russian oligarch .

Trash was pretty ing stupid to think he could be President and not be xrayed.

btw, whatabout Trash secret health records? Looking at him, I'd say he has pretty ed health.

[boutons_deux]

Roger Stone Maybe 'Bout To Get Indicted, Please Send Money For Commissary IN JAIL

Stone sent this bug fundraising email this weekend:


He seems pretty sure Mueller's coming, though.

Could it be in part because Robert Mueller is closing in on Stone's longtime aide Andrew Miller,

whom Stone calls a "pugnacious bantam rooster," because duh, that is just a normal nickname?

CNN reported this weekend that Miller was granted full immunity to testify for the special counsel's grand jury,

after Miller tried and failed to get a judge to declare Robert Mueller's entire face uncons utional,

which led to Miller being held in contempt.

However, CNN has changed its reporting like a common CNN, to simply state that Miller is still "resisting" the investigation. (He definitely still wants immunity, though.)

https://www.wonkette.com/roger-stone-maybe-bout-to-get-indicted-please-send-money-for-commissary-in-jail

[Reck]

Alan Dershowitz goes bonkers on Fox: ‘If they can target Trump, they can target you — they can target anyone’

That's usually how the law works.

[boutons_deux]

" people scared enough and stupid enough to believe the absolute bull "

10Ms of them, 60M+ voted for Trash, continue to vote Repug even though Repugs have screwed them down for 45 years.

These 10Ms of ignorant assholes will keep America from progressing to an improved country, and even take America backwards, which is exactly what the oligarchy wants and the oligarchy's Repugs have been, are doing.

[RandomGuy]

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jeezus, you trying out for the live action tweety bird movie? man, any more tweeting, and the Audubon society gonna be chasing you with a ing net.

[RandomGuy]

[shook twitstorm]

tldr

[ducks]

A 60-year-old case that'll be heard by a federal appeals court next month could set a precedent that could prevent special counsel Robert Mueller from issuing a final report on the Russia investigation, Politico reports.

[Winehole23]

If Democrats win control of the House in November, the whole debate is likely academic. In that scenario, the House Judiciary Committee could subpoena any report as part of an impeachment inquiry. A judge would likely approve that request because of a D.C. Circuit ruling in 1974 that approved transmission of a report to the House on President Richard Nixon’s actions in Watergate.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/...er-case-797373

[Reck]

LMAO Manafort wants to flip now.

[Winehole23]

those talks allegedly broke down. get ready for the next trial.

[Reck]

those talks allegedly broke down. get ready for the next trial.

Dude probably doesn't want to talk about Trump or Russia.

without those key aspects, he's really worthless. Let him rot in jail for the rest of his pathetic traitorous life. Trump doesn't need any help hanging himself.