Russian Connection 4: Do Not Congratulate

[fraurosena]

1 hour ago, Howl said:

This ass hat is DESPERATE to know what Mueller knows.  Good luck with that, Devin. 

He was part of the transition team. At the very least he knows what happened during that time. But in light of his shocking shenanigans and egregious endeavours to discredit and/or stop the investigation, I think we can conclude with near certainty that he actively and wilfully took part in illegal (and quite possibly treasonous) activities regarding the Russians.

So of course he's scared shitless of what Mueller knows. 

[fraurosena]

Good news. Expected, but good nonetheless.

 

[Howl]

Is anyone familiar with observer.com?  Is it related to The Guardian?  I'm asking because I came across an interesting piece on The Observer, which confirms a thought I've entertained briefly: Putin put a lot of time and effort into Trump and is getting zilch on return and some bad publicity as well, so he may be willing to let Trump twist in the wind or even help the process along.  Forget Pee-Pee Tapes: the Kremlin Just Dropped a Bigger Bomb on the White House

Y'all recall the cute Russian lawyer who showed up at the Trump Tower meeting to talk about Russian "adoptions" (!) with basically, the entire cast of War and Peace in attendance?  It didn't make much of a dent in the news, but at the end of April she outed herself as a Russian informer -- basically a spy.  It make me realize that she was probably sent by the Kremlin to evaluate how each of the attendees might be utilized/compromised, dangling the possibility of compromising information on Hillary as bait.  

Anyway, The Observer article noted this in summary: 

Quote

Not much has changed to Russia’s benefit since Trump took office, while in some areas—for instance, dispatching defensive weaponry to Ukraine, which remains in a low-boil war with Russia—there are backsteps from Obama-era policies. In short, Moscow sees little to be gained in helping Trump save himself from his increasingly dire predicament with KremlinGate. On the contrary, Putin and his retinue now are seeking to inflict damage on our beleaguered and weakened president: More chaos on the Potomac is good for Russia, goes this perennial line of Kremlin thinking. The White House ought to prepare for rough seas ahead.

Oh, Lord Dampnut, lie down with dogs, wake up with fleas. 

[fraurosena]

Oh wowsers! This could be good, but I can't tell you yet as the site is unreachable because (of course) the whole world and her sister wants to read those transcripts now.

Oh, I see Natasha Bertrand has a part of it in one of her tweets:

And more info (but darn it, I still can't get to the site myself)

 

Yay, I found a much better link.

 

 

[fraurosena]

Just checking back in to update you all that of course Fredo-dumb has a bad case of the well-known "I don't recall" virus too. 

[AmazonGrace]

 

2 hours ago, fraurosena said:

Just checking back in to update you all that of course Fredo-dumb has a bad case of the well-known "I don't recall" virus too. 

Spanky Jr does not recall it that way.

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[GreyhoundFan]

"54 things Donald Trump Jr. couldn’t ‘recall’ or ‘remember’ in his testimony"

Spoiler

If there’s one thing Donald Trump Jr. cleared up with his congressional testimony, it’s that he doesn’t remember a lot of things.

In a newly released transcript of his testimony, Trump repeatedly couched his answers about that June 2016 Trump Tower meeting by saying he did not “remember” or that he didn’t “recall” certain things. Even when he was pretty sure, he'd say “not that I recall” or something like that. The result was a pretty cagey piece of testimony.

Below is a list of 54 substantive issues on which Trump cited his lack of a memory:

1. Details of the Trump Tower meeting in general: “Again, I don't remember too many details of it.”

2. The presence of an eighth person — Russian American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin — in the Trump Tower meeting: “As I mentioned in my statement, people have said there was an eighth person. I just can’t remember. … I’ve heard the name. I don’t recall now.” (Trump couldn’t remember this despite another attendee, Ike Kaveladze, saying Akhmetshin wore a hot pink outfit.)

3. Whether the meeting’s attendees were introduced: “I don’t recall, but I imagine that’s likely.”

4. Speaking with Russian pop star Emin Agalarov on June 6 and 7, despite phone records that show phone calls between them: “I do not recall speaking with Emin. It's possible we left each other voice-mail messages. I simply don’t remember. … I don’t recall if I actually reached him, no.”

5. Whether he talked with Agalarov on June 7 about publicist Rob Goldstone’s June 6 email pitching the Trump Tower meeting: “No, I don’t [recall.]”

6. Where he was when he got the email: “I don’t [recall], no.”

7. Whether he was traveling at the time: “I don’t recall that, no.”

8. Receiving an email from Goldstone saying Emin’s father, Aras Agalarov, and his important Russian friends supported Trump: “I don’t remember getting it, but I would have interpreted it as casual congratulations.”

9. Whether Goldstone sought to set up any meetings with Russian government officials: “None that I can recall, no.”

10. Whom he spoke with from a blocked number at 8:40 on June 6: “I don’t [know].”

11. A phone call with a number belonging to Paul Manafort on June 7: “I don’t know who it is now. No, I don’t. … I don’t recall that.”

12. Speaking to Manafort two days after the Goldstone email: “I don’t [recall], no.”

13. Speaking with Manafort on June 28: “I don’t [recall].

14. Whether he spoke with his father during a call on a blocked number on the afternoon of June 6: “I don’t [know].”

15. To whom he spoke on a June 7 call at 4:07 p.m.: “I don’t know.”

16. The contents of the call: “No, I don’t [recall].”

17. Whether he mentioned the potential meeting to top campaign officials when it was proposed: “I just don’t recall. I could have, but I don’t remember doing it.”

18. Having conversations about the meeting beforehand: “I don’t remember having any conversations about it.”

19. Having discussions about the meeting afterward: “I do not recall ever discussing it with Jared [Kushner], Paul [Manafort] or anyone else.”

20. How Kaveladze was introduced: “I actually don’t remember how he was introduced.”

21. Whether Kaveladze disclosed for whom he worked (a Russian company): “Not that I remember, but he works for Crocus.”

22. Whether Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya or her colleagues mentioned Bill Browder, the U.S. businessman behind the Magnitsky Act: “Not that I remember.” (Trump aide Paul Manafort, who was also in the meeting, jotted down several notes relating to Browder.)

23. Whether Veselnitskaya requested then-candidate Trump would take actions regarding her client, Prevezon Holdings, if he became president: “Not that I remember.”

24. Whether the attendees asked for action regarding the Magnitsky Act: “Not specifically that I recall.”

25. Whether Veselnitskaya provided names of Hillary Clinton or DNC supporters who were involved in a supposed tax scheme: “Not that I remember. … I don’t recall, but she may have.”

26. Whether the meeting’s attendees brought documents: “Not that I remember, no.”

27. Whether he discussed Prevezon Holdings or the Magnitsky Act between the meeting and when it was first reported in the news in July 2017: “I wouldn’t have even remembered those things until I read about it in the news.”

28. Hearing about the Ziff brothers: “And Ziff brothers sounds familiar, but I don’t recall specifically.”

29. Whether Goldstone saying the Russian government supported Trump alarmed him: “I don’t know because I don’t remember thinking about it at the time.”

30. Whether he and Kushner spoke about the meeting before the New York Times reported on it: “I don’t remember. … I don’t recall actually having the conversation.”

31. On what might have prompted them to have a discussion: “I don’t remember.”

32. On who asked Veselnitskaya for more clarity on her allegations against Clinton and the DNC: “I don’t recall who asked. I believe it was myself, but ‘we’ meaning myself, Paul and Jared were there. I don’t remember who asked.”

33. Whether he saw an email about a Russian social media company helping Trump: “I don’t recall seeing it. … I don’t know if I had an understanding because I don’t remember seeing it.”

34. The timing of his father’s June 7 campaign speech in which his father said he had “very, very interesting” information about Hillary Clinton: “I don’t remember the exact timing of it.”

35. When he first reviewed his actions surrounding the meeting: “I don’t remember the exact chronology.”

36. Information about meetings with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak: “I don’t remember the exact timing of when they took place.”

37. Who was in a post-election meeting with Kislyak: “I believe it was Jared Kushner, the Ambassador, maybe [Michael] Flynn, but I don’t remember.”

38. How he came to know Felix Sater: “I don’t remember.”

39. When he became aware of Sater’s criminal past: “I don’t remember when. … I don’t recall. … I just don’t remember when I found out.”

40. Other banks who were involved in the Trump Soho project: “I don’t remember.”

41. Whether foreign banks were involved: “I don’t remember the structure. … I don’t remember the construction side of it.”

42. Whether he did any due diligence on the developer for Trump Soho, the Sapir Organization: “I don’t remember.”

43. Whether other projects used the Trump Organization as a sponsor to sell real estate units: “I just don’t remember the structure of the sales teams.”

44. On whether the Trump Organization did due diligence on buyers of particular units: “I don’t recall.”

45. Who the counterparty was on an Azerbaijan development deal: “I don’t remember.”

46. His first introduction to Emin Agalarov: “I don’t remember how we were first introduced.”

47. How many Trump Organization deals in 2016 included considering Trump as the developer: “I’m sure we looked at stuff. I just don’t remember what it was.”

48. On whether there were any discussions of how to use the DNC and John Podesta hacks: “I don’t recall it ever happening. I just don’t know that if someone had a passing conversation with me and said, 'Hey, what do you think about that.’ But no, there was no substantive conversations that I can at all remember about any of that.”

49. When he first became aware of Podesta’s emails: “I don’t [recall].”

50. What Trump campaign aide Boris Epshteyn’s job title was: “I don’t recall that, but I know — I believe it was largely in communications.”

51. Much of anything about Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos: “I believe he worked on the campaign, and I know the name, but that’s about the extent of what I recall at this time. … I don’t recall [his work for the campaign] at this time.”

52. What Rick Gates’s specific job was: “I don’t recall the specific title or role, what it would have been.”

53. Whether he traveled outside the United States on June 29: “I don’t recall, but we could find out.”

54. Who brought a Fort Lauderdale project to his attention: “No, I don’t [recall].”

 

[Audrey2]

46 minutes ago, GreyhoundFan said:

"54 things Donald Trump Jr. couldn’t ‘recall’ or ‘remember’ in his testimony"

  Reveal hidden contents

If there’s one thing Donald Trump Jr. cleared up with his congressional testimony, it’s that he doesn’t remember a lot of things.

In a newly released transcript of his testimony, Trump repeatedly couched his answers about that June 2016 Trump Tower meeting by saying he did not “remember” or that he didn’t “recall” certain things. Even when he was pretty sure, he'd say “not that I recall” or something like that. The result was a pretty cagey piece of testimony.

Below is a list of 54 substantive issues on which Trump cited his lack of a memory:

1. Details of the Trump Tower meeting in general: “Again, I don't remember too many details of it.”

2. The presence of an eighth person — Russian American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin — in the Trump Tower meeting: “As I mentioned in my statement, people have said there was an eighth person. I just can’t remember. … I’ve heard the name. I don’t recall now.” (Trump couldn’t remember this despite another attendee, Ike Kaveladze, saying Akhmetshin wore a hot pink outfit.)

3. Whether the meeting’s attendees were introduced: “I don’t recall, but I imagine that’s likely.”

4. Speaking with Russian pop star Emin Agalarov on June 6 and 7, despite phone records that show phone calls between them: “I do not recall speaking with Emin. It's possible we left each other voice-mail messages. I simply don’t remember. … I don’t recall if I actually reached him, no.”

5. Whether he talked with Agalarov on June 7 about publicist Rob Goldstone’s June 6 email pitching the Trump Tower meeting: “No, I don’t [recall.]”

6. Where he was when he got the email: “I don’t [recall], no.”

7. Whether he was traveling at the time: “I don’t recall that, no.”

8. Receiving an email from Goldstone saying Emin’s father, Aras Agalarov, and his important Russian friends supported Trump: “I don’t remember getting it, but I would have interpreted it as casual congratulations.”

9. Whether Goldstone sought to set up any meetings with Russian government officials: “None that I can recall, no.”

10. Whom he spoke with from a blocked number at 8:40 on June 6: “I don’t [know].”

11. A phone call with a number belonging to Paul Manafort on June 7: “I don’t know who it is now. No, I don’t. … I don’t recall that.”

12. Speaking to Manafort two days after the Goldstone email: “I don’t [recall], no.”

13. Speaking with Manafort on June 28: “I don’t [recall].

14. Whether he spoke with his father during a call on a blocked number on the afternoon of June 6: “I don’t [know].”

15. To whom he spoke on a June 7 call at 4:07 p.m.: “I don’t know.”

16. The contents of the call: “No, I don’t [recall].”

17. Whether he mentioned the potential meeting to top campaign officials when it was proposed: “I just don’t recall. I could have, but I don’t remember doing it.”

18. Having conversations about the meeting beforehand: “I don’t remember having any conversations about it.”

19. Having discussions about the meeting afterward: “I do not recall ever discussing it with Jared [Kushner], Paul [Manafort] or anyone else.”

20. How Kaveladze was introduced: “I actually don’t remember how he was introduced.”

21. Whether Kaveladze disclosed for whom he worked (a Russian company): “Not that I remember, but he works for Crocus.”

22. Whether Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya or her colleagues mentioned Bill Browder, the U.S. businessman behind the Magnitsky Act: “Not that I remember.” (Trump aide Paul Manafort, who was also in the meeting, jotted down several notes relating to Browder.)

23. Whether Veselnitskaya requested then-candidate Trump would take actions regarding her client, Prevezon Holdings, if he became president: “Not that I remember.”

24. Whether the attendees asked for action regarding the Magnitsky Act: “Not specifically that I recall.”

25. Whether Veselnitskaya provided names of Hillary Clinton or DNC supporters who were involved in a supposed tax scheme: “Not that I remember. … I don’t recall, but she may have.”

26. Whether the meeting’s attendees brought documents: “Not that I remember, no.”

27. Whether he discussed Prevezon Holdings or the Magnitsky Act between the meeting and when it was first reported in the news in July 2017: “I wouldn’t have even remembered those things until I read about it in the news.”

28. Hearing about the Ziff brothers: “And Ziff brothers sounds familiar, but I don’t recall specifically.”

29. Whether Goldstone saying the Russian government supported Trump alarmed him: “I don’t know because I don’t remember thinking about it at the time.”

30. Whether he and Kushner spoke about the meeting before the New York Times reported on it: “I don’t remember. … I don’t recall actually having the conversation.”

31. On what might have prompted them to have a discussion: “I don’t remember.”

32. On who asked Veselnitskaya for more clarity on her allegations against Clinton and the DNC: “I don’t recall who asked. I believe it was myself, but ‘we’ meaning myself, Paul and Jared were there. I don’t remember who asked.”

33. Whether he saw an email about a Russian social media company helping Trump: “I don’t recall seeing it. … I don’t know if I had an understanding because I don’t remember seeing it.”

34. The timing of his father’s June 7 campaign speech in which his father said he had “very, very interesting” information about Hillary Clinton: “I don’t remember the exact timing of it.”

35. When he first reviewed his actions surrounding the meeting: “I don’t remember the exact chronology.”

36. Information about meetings with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak: “I don’t remember the exact timing of when they took place.”

37. Who was in a post-election meeting with Kislyak: “I believe it was Jared Kushner, the Ambassador, maybe [Michael] Flynn, but I don’t remember.”

38. How he came to know Felix Sater: “I don’t remember.”

39. When he became aware of Sater’s criminal past: “I don’t remember when. … I don’t recall. … I just don’t remember when I found out.”

40. Other banks who were involved in the Trump Soho project: “I don’t remember.”

41. Whether foreign banks were involved: “I don’t remember the structure. … I don’t remember the construction side of it.”

42. Whether he did any due diligence on the developer for Trump Soho, the Sapir Organization: “I don’t remember.”

43. Whether other projects used the Trump Organization as a sponsor to sell real estate units: “I just don’t remember the structure of the sales teams.”

44. On whether the Trump Organization did due diligence on buyers of particular units: “I don’t recall.”

45. Who the counterparty was on an Azerbaijan development deal: “I don’t remember.”

46. His first introduction to Emin Agalarov: “I don’t remember how we were first introduced.”

47. How many Trump Organization deals in 2016 included considering Trump as the developer: “I’m sure we looked at stuff. I just don’t remember what it was.”

48. On whether there were any discussions of how to use the DNC and John Podesta hacks: “I don’t recall it ever happening. I just don’t know that if someone had a passing conversation with me and said, 'Hey, what do you think about that.’ But no, there was no substantive conversations that I can at all remember about any of that.”

49. When he first became aware of Podesta’s emails: “I don’t [recall].”

50. What Trump campaign aide Boris Epshteyn’s job title was: “I don’t recall that, but I know — I believe it was largely in communications.”

51. Much of anything about Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos: “I believe he worked on the campaign, and I know the name, but that’s about the extent of what I recall at this time. … I don’t recall [his work for the campaign] at this time.”

52. What Rick Gates’s specific job was: “I don’t recall the specific title or role, what it would have been.”

53. Whether he traveled outside the United States on June 29: “I don’t recall, but we could find out.”

54. Who brought a Fort Lauderdale project to his attention: “No, I don’t [recall].”

 

Well, if he avoids prison, the NRA would love to have him as a future president, sometime after Oliver "I Do Not Recall" North is through with his term. 

[fraurosena]

Seth Abramson has a mega-MEGA thread on Fredo-dumb’s testimony. Of course, it’s incredibly long (203 tweets) as is his wont, but it’s totally worth your time to read it.

 

[AmazonGrace]

8 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

"54 things Donald Trump Jr. couldn’t ‘recall’ or ‘remember’ in his testimony"

  Reveal hidden contents

If there’s one thing Donald Trump Jr. cleared up with his congressional testimony, it’s that he doesn’t remember a lot of things.

In a newly released transcript of his testimony, Trump repeatedly couched his answers about that June 2016 Trump Tower meeting by saying he did not “remember” or that he didn’t “recall” certain things. Even when he was pretty sure, he'd say “not that I recall” or something like that. The result was a pretty cagey piece of testimony.

Below is a list of 54 substantive issues on which Trump cited his lack of a memory:

1. Details of the Trump Tower meeting in general: “Again, I don't remember too many details of it.”

2. The presence of an eighth person — Russian American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin — in the Trump Tower meeting: “As I mentioned in my statement, people have said there was an eighth person. I just can’t remember. … I’ve heard the name. I don’t recall now.” (Trump couldn’t remember this despite another attendee, Ike Kaveladze, saying Akhmetshin wore a hot pink outfit.)

3. Whether the meeting’s attendees were introduced: “I don’t recall, but I imagine that’s likely.”

4. Speaking with Russian pop star Emin Agalarov on June 6 and 7, despite phone records that show phone calls between them: “I do not recall speaking with Emin. It's possible we left each other voice-mail messages. I simply don’t remember. … I don’t recall if I actually reached him, no.”

5. Whether he talked with Agalarov on June 7 about publicist Rob Goldstone’s June 6 email pitching the Trump Tower meeting: “No, I don’t [recall.]”

6. Where he was when he got the email: “I don’t [recall], no.”

7. Whether he was traveling at the time: “I don’t recall that, no.”

8. Receiving an email from Goldstone saying Emin’s father, Aras Agalarov, and his important Russian friends supported Trump: “I don’t remember getting it, but I would have interpreted it as casual congratulations.”

9. Whether Goldstone sought to set up any meetings with Russian government officials: “None that I can recall, no.”

10. Whom he spoke with from a blocked number at 8:40 on June 6: “I don’t [know].”

11. A phone call with a number belonging to Paul Manafort on June 7: “I don’t know who it is now. No, I don’t. … I don’t recall that.”

12. Speaking to Manafort two days after the Goldstone email: “I don’t [recall], no.”

13. Speaking with Manafort on June 28: “I don’t [recall].

14. Whether he spoke with his father during a call on a blocked number on the afternoon of June 6: “I don’t [know].”

15. To whom he spoke on a June 7 call at 4:07 p.m.: “I don’t know.”

16. The contents of the call: “No, I don’t [recall].”

17. Whether he mentioned the potential meeting to top campaign officials when it was proposed: “I just don’t recall. I could have, but I don’t remember doing it.”

18. Having conversations about the meeting beforehand: “I don’t remember having any conversations about it.”

19. Having discussions about the meeting afterward: “I do not recall ever discussing it with Jared [Kushner], Paul [Manafort] or anyone else.”

20. How Kaveladze was introduced: “I actually don’t remember how he was introduced.”

21. Whether Kaveladze disclosed for whom he worked (a Russian company): “Not that I remember, but he works for Crocus.”

22. Whether Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya or her colleagues mentioned Bill Browder, the U.S. businessman behind the Magnitsky Act: “Not that I remember.” (Trump aide Paul Manafort, who was also in the meeting, jotted down several notes relating to Browder.)

23. Whether Veselnitskaya requested then-candidate Trump would take actions regarding her client, Prevezon Holdings, if he became president: “Not that I remember.”

24. Whether the attendees asked for action regarding the Magnitsky Act: “Not specifically that I recall.”

25. Whether Veselnitskaya provided names of Hillary Clinton or DNC supporters who were involved in a supposed tax scheme: “Not that I remember. … I don’t recall, but she may have.”

26. Whether the meeting’s attendees brought documents: “Not that I remember, no.”

27. Whether he discussed Prevezon Holdings or the Magnitsky Act between the meeting and when it was first reported in the news in July 2017: “I wouldn’t have even remembered those things until I read about it in the news.”

28. Hearing about the Ziff brothers: “And Ziff brothers sounds familiar, but I don’t recall specifically.”

29. Whether Goldstone saying the Russian government supported Trump alarmed him: “I don’t know because I don’t remember thinking about it at the time.”

30. Whether he and Kushner spoke about the meeting before the New York Times reported on it: “I don’t remember. … I don’t recall actually having the conversation.”

31. On what might have prompted them to have a discussion: “I don’t remember.”

32. On who asked Veselnitskaya for more clarity on her allegations against Clinton and the DNC: “I don’t recall who asked. I believe it was myself, but ‘we’ meaning myself, Paul and Jared were there. I don’t remember who asked.”

33. Whether he saw an email about a Russian social media company helping Trump: “I don’t recall seeing it. … I don’t know if I had an understanding because I don’t remember seeing it.”

34. The timing of his father’s June 7 campaign speech in which his father said he had “very, very interesting” information about Hillary Clinton: “I don’t remember the exact timing of it.”

35. When he first reviewed his actions surrounding the meeting: “I don’t remember the exact chronology.”

36. Information about meetings with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak: “I don’t remember the exact timing of when they took place.”

37. Who was in a post-election meeting with Kislyak: “I believe it was Jared Kushner, the Ambassador, maybe [Michael] Flynn, but I don’t remember.”

38. How he came to know Felix Sater: “I don’t remember.”

39. When he became aware of Sater’s criminal past: “I don’t remember when. … I don’t recall. … I just don’t remember when I found out.”

40. Other banks who were involved in the Trump Soho project: “I don’t remember.”

41. Whether foreign banks were involved: “I don’t remember the structure. … I don’t remember the construction side of it.”

42. Whether he did any due diligence on the developer for Trump Soho, the Sapir Organization: “I don’t remember.”

43. Whether other projects used the Trump Organization as a sponsor to sell real estate units: “I just don’t remember the structure of the sales teams.”

44. On whether the Trump Organization did due diligence on buyers of particular units: “I don’t recall.”

45. Who the counterparty was on an Azerbaijan development deal: “I don’t remember.”

46. His first introduction to Emin Agalarov: “I don’t remember how we were first introduced.”

47. How many Trump Organization deals in 2016 included considering Trump as the developer: “I’m sure we looked at stuff. I just don’t remember what it was.”

48. On whether there were any discussions of how to use the DNC and John Podesta hacks: “I don’t recall it ever happening. I just don’t know that if someone had a passing conversation with me and said, 'Hey, what do you think about that.’ But no, there was no substantive conversations that I can at all remember about any of that.”

49. When he first became aware of Podesta’s emails: “I don’t [recall].”

50. What Trump campaign aide Boris Epshteyn’s job title was: “I don’t recall that, but I know — I believe it was largely in communications.”

51. Much of anything about Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos: “I believe he worked on the campaign, and I know the name, but that’s about the extent of what I recall at this time. … I don’t recall [his work for the campaign] at this time.”

52. What Rick Gates’s specific job was: “I don’t recall the specific title or role, what it would have been.”

53. Whether he traveled outside the United States on June 29: “I don’t recall, but we could find out.”

54. Who brought a Fort Lauderdale project to his attention: “No, I don’t [recall].”

 

It's amazing he can recall to put on his pants in the morning.

[onekidanddone]

1 hour ago, AmazonGrace said:

It's amazing he can recall to put on his pants in the morning.

Maybe he didn't

[GreyhoundFan]

2 hours ago, onekidanddone said:

Maybe he didn't

Once again, you and I are on the same page. That was my exact thought!

[AmazonGrace]

https://www.gq.com/story/donald-trump-jr-self-own

 

"Why did he release this e-mail admitting to collusion?"

On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee released some 2,500 pages of transcripts from its closed-door interviews with Donald Trump Jr., Rob Goldstone, and other participants in the infamous June 2016 "If it's what you say I love it" meeting at Trump Tower. From a legal perspective, it remains unclear what these documents indicate, if anything, about the campaign's alleged attempts to solicit clandestine assistance from the Kremlin. What they prove beyond the shadow of a doubt, however, is that Donald Trump Jr. is a bumbling dolt whose very existence is the single strongest argument that can be made in favor of having more than one child, because as with most things in life, our first efforts are not always our best ones.

[GreyhoundFan]

An interesting analysis: "Mueller investigation enters Year Two: What comes next — and how it could end"

Spoiler

Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 election turns a year old on Thursday. In 365 days, Mueller's team has charged 19 people, as well as three companies, and secured five guilty pleas. He is showing no signs of slowing down.

The milestone might not mean much to Mueller, but it has important public significance. History has shown that the public does not have unlimited patience with independent or special counsels, and Mueller faces a particular challenge maintaining the confidence of the citizenry, given the regular attacks he faces from President Trump, who has decried the probe as a “witch hunt.”

Here is a status check of Mueller's probe at the one year mark, and a look at what could happen next.

Mueller was tasked with finding out if the Trump campaign coordinated with the Kremlin. What has he found so far?

Mueller still hasn't answered the biggest question: Did the Trump campaign coordinate with Russia to influence the 2016 election? But he has secured guilty pleas from three former Trump campaign or administration officials: national security adviser Michael Flynn, deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates and campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos. All are cooperating with Mueller's probe and presumably could tell him about coordination, if there was any. In their pleas, they have often admitted to being deceitful about contacts with Russians or those acting for Russian interests. Flynn, for example, admitted lying about his interactions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, and Papadopoulos conceded he made a false statement to FBI investigators who asked about his contacts with foreigners claiming to have high-level Russian connections.

Mueller has also indicted 13 people and three companies who were part of a Russian Internet troll operation that used online propaganda to push voters toward Trump. The Russians made contact with Trump campaign staffers in Florida, but they used fake identities. Mueller did not allege that Trump staffers were witting participants in the scheme.

Isn't Mueller investigating a lot more than that?

Mueller's main mandate was to investigate possible coordination, but his probe has expanded. He charged Gates and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, for example, with crimes related to their business dealings and work for a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine long before the Trump campaign. He is looking, or has looked, at the business dealings of Michael Cohen, Trump's personal lawyer, though that case seems largely centered in the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York.

Mueller is also exploring whether the president obstructed justice on a number of fronts, especially in allegedly asking FBI Director James B. Comey to let go of the Flynn investigation; firing Comey shortly thereafter, and toying with firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions over his recusal from the Russia case. After Sessions recused himself from the case, his deputy, Rod J. Rosenstein, took over and appointed Mueller.

Why is this taking so long?

Trump and his allies have long called for an end to the probe, and they were joined in recent weeks by Sessions and Vice President Pence, who both said publicly they hoped the probe would conclude. But legal analysts say, compared with other special and independent counsel probes, Mueller is moving remarkably fast.

By comparison, it took nearly a year and a half for the independent counsel to bring charges in what is now known as the Whitewater scandal — which began by exploring Bill and Hillary Clinton’s involvement in a suspicious real estate venture — against Arkansas’ governor and two others. That case stretched on for nearly eight years, drawing in multiple independent counsels and exploring a wide range of allegations about the Clintons. They were never charged, and Bill Clinton was impeached, but not convicted and removed, for obstructing justice.

“Judged by historical standards, I think that the special counsel has amassed a remarkable record of achievement in the first year of his tenure,” said David Kris, a former assistant attorney general for national security who now runs the Culper Partners consulting firm. “It’s fast and it’s productive, and there’s obviously more to come.”

Are Trump's attacks working?

The president has attacked the special counsel team relentlessly — decrying it as a witch hunt, claiming its members are biased against him and asserting he did not collude with Russia. By and large, the public still supports the probe, but legal analysts say that will not last forever. Indeed, a Monmouth University poll found that the percentage of Americans who say the probe should continue has shrunk over time, though a majority still want Mueller to keep working.

Robert Ray, who served as independent counsel toward the end of the Whitewater investigation during the Clinton presidency, said that in his experience, an independent counsel has only about 18 to 24 months “with the benefit of public sentiment to appropriately conclude the investigation.” But others say while Mueller might want to move quickly, he won't let polling dictate his actions.

“My answer to that is the special counsel does not stand for election,” said Jacob Frenkel, who worked in the independent counsel’s office in the late 1990s. “Polling and popularity never are a driving force behind a properly conducted special investigation.”

Will Trump sit for an interview?

This remains the big unanswered question. The special counsel recently gave Trump's lawyers the topic areas investigators want to broach with Trump, in hopes of convincing him to sit down and answer questions. Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president's lawyer, has suggested an interview is possible, but he has also said it was possible that Mueller would have to try to subpoena the president.

Ray said that investigators seeking an interview with Trump could be a sign their investigation is coming to head — at least regarding Trump’s possible role in coordinating with Russia. And he said that, if he were Trump’s lawyer, he might advise the president to meet with Mueller under tightly controlled conditions, if only to expedite the probe's conclusion.

“I think he understands that in order to make Bob Mueller go away, it’s going to have to happen,” Ray said. “Once that’s accomplished, the president can really ratchet up the pressure to bring this thing to closure. Without that, it’s really difficult to force the conclusion of the investigation.”

What will happen as the election approaches?

The Justice Department has a long-standing tradition of not taking overt steps in an investigation close to an election that might affect the outcome of that election. Because of that, those inside and outside the Justice Department expect Mueller's probe might slow, or at least make fewer public waves, as November approaches.

There will be some processes that Mueller's team can't avoid. Manafort, for example, is scheduled to go on trial in July and again in September. But legal analysts say the Justice Department typically observes the tradition religiously — and perhaps will do so even more after the criticism Comey faced when he revealed to Congress in October 2016 that the FBI was again investigating Hillary Clinton over her email practices.

Barak Cohen, a former Justice Department public integrity prosecutor now in private practice at Perkins Coie, said he even recalled a case in which investigators prematurely ended a wiretap in a case involving state legislators — potentially leaving evidence on the table — so they could bring charges well before an election.

“We were very reluctant to take any overt action shortly before an election that might affect the election,” Cohen said.

What is next, and how does this end?

Many in Washington ultimately expect Mueller to produce a report memorializing what he has found, in addition to laying out much of his work through criminal charges. Trump's fiercest critics hope Mueller's work ultimately leads to impeachment.

Legal analysts, say, though that Mueller is probably unconcerned with accomplishing a particular result — such as charging the president, or forcing his impeachment. Ron Hosko, a former FBI assistant director who worked under Mueller at the FBI, said Mueller’s main aim was always to be thorough, and “if at the end of that investigation he’s able to say, we found no evidence of collusion, kind of the core mission, I think Mueller would see it as, 'we’ve accomplished our mission.' "

That result might leave many disappointed, and Trump would almost certainly use it to claim he was right all along about the probe being a “witch hunt.” Analysts say, though, that while Mueller is sensitive to public perception, it's almost impossible it would govern his conclusion. Because no matter what he decides, many people will be upset.

“Look, I think that whenever you conclude an investigation, you’re not going to keep everybody happy with the result,” Ray said. “No matter what you do, there are gonna be people on both sides who are going to be unhappy with whatever conclusion you come to.”

 

[AmazonGrace]

So many criminals, so little time

[GreyhoundFan]

 

[Cartmann99]

On 5/16/2018 at 7:41 AM, Howl said:

Is anyone familiar with observer.com?

He was trying to sell it, but  Jared Kushner ended up transferring ownership of it to a trust controlled by his brother-in-law, Joseph Meyer. A guy named James Karklins is currently in charge of Observer Media.

http://thehill.com/homenews/media/377486-kushner-tried-to-sell-observer-to-top-clinton-ally-days-before-joining-white

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[GreyhoundFan]

 

[fraurosena]

The conspiracy runs deep, very, very deep. This NYT article explains much of current presiduncial policies in the Middle East.

And although it doesn't look like it at first glance, there are, of course, connections to Russia. 

Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election

Quote

Three months before the 2016 election, a small group gathered at Trump Tower to meet with Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son. One was an Israeli specialist in social media manipulation. Another was an emissary for two wealthy Arab princes. The third was a Republican donor with a controversial past in the Middle East as a private security contractor.

The meeting was convened primarily to offer help to the Trump team, and it forged relationships between the men and Trump insiders that would develop over the coming months — past the election and well into President Trump’s first year in office, according to several people with knowledge of their encounters.

Erik Prince, the private security contractor and the former head of Blackwater, arranged the meeting, which took place on Aug. 3, 2016. The emissary, George Nader, told Donald Trump Jr. that the crown princes who led Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were eager to help his father win election as president. The social media specialist, Joel Zamel, extolled his company’s ability to give an edge to a political campaign; by that time, the firm had already drawn up a multimillion-dollar proposal for a social media manipulation effort to help elect Mr. Trump.

The company, which employed several Israeli former intelligence officers, specialized in collecting information and shaping opinion through social media.

It is unclear whether such a proposal was executed, and the details of who commissioned it remain in dispute. But Donald Trump Jr. responded approvingly, according to a person with knowledge of the meeting, and after those initial offers of help, Mr. Nader was quickly embraced as a close ally by Trump campaign advisers — meeting frequently with Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, and Michael T. Flynn, who became the president’s first national security adviser. At the time, Mr. Nader was also promoting a secret plan to use private contractors to destabilize Iran, the regional nemesis of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates.

After Mr. Trump was elected, Mr. Nader paid Mr. Zamel a large sum of money, described by one associate as up to $2 million. There are conflicting accounts of the reason for the payment, but among other things, a company linked to Mr. Zamel provided Mr. Nader with an elaborate presentation about the significance of social media campaigning to Mr. Trump’s victory.

The meetings, which have not been reported previously, are the first indication that countries other than Russia may have offered assistance to the Trump campaign in the months before the presidential election. The interactions are a focus of the investigation by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, who was originally tasked with examining possible Trump campaign coordination with Russia in the election.

Mr. Nader is cooperating with the inquiry, and investigators have questioned numerous witnesses in Washington, New York, Atlanta, Tel Aviv and elsewhere about what foreign help may have been pledged or accepted, and about whether any such assistance was coordinated with Russia, according to witnesses and others with knowledge of the interviews.

The interviews, some in recent weeks, are further evidence that special counsel’s investigation remains in an intense phase even as Mr. Trump’s lawyers are publicly calling for Mr. Mueller to bring it to a close.

It is illegal for foreign governments or individuals to be involved in American elections, and it is unclear what — if any — direct assistance Saudi Arabia and the Emirates may have provided. But two people familiar with the meetings said that Trump campaign officials did not appear bothered by the idea of cooperation with foreigners.

A lawyer for Donald Trump Jr., Alan Futerfas, said in a statement that “prior to the 2016 election, Donald Trump Jr. recalls a meeting with Erik Prince, George Nader and another individual who may be Joel Zamel. They pitched Mr. Trump Jr. on a social media platform or marketing strategy. He was not interested and that was the end of it.”

The August 2016 meeting has echoes of another Trump Tower meeting two months earlier, also under scrutiny by the special counsel, when Donald Trump Jr. and other top campaign aides met with a Russian lawyer after being promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton. No evidence has emerged suggesting that the August meeting was set up with a similar premise.

The revelations about the meetings come in the midst of new scrutiny about ties between Mr. Trump’s advisers and at least three wealthy Persian Gulf states. Besides his interest in Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, Mr. Mueller has also been asking witnesses about meetings between White House advisers and representatives of Qatar, Saudi Arabia’s bitter rival.

A lawyer for Mr. Zamel denied that his client had carried out any campaign on Mr. Trump’s behalf. “Neither Joel Zamel, nor any of his related entities, had any involvement whatsoever in the U.S. election campaign,” said the lawyer, Marc L. Mukasey.

“The D.O.J. clarified from Day 1 that Joel and his companies have never been a target of the investigation. My client provided full cooperation to the government to assist with their investigation,” he said.

Kathryn Ruemmler, a lawyer for Mr. Nader, said, “Mr. Nader has fully cooperated with the special counsel’s investigation and will continue to do so.” A senior official in Saudi Arabia said it had never employed Mr. Nader in any capacity or authorized him to speak for the crown prince.

Mr. Prince, through a spokesman, declined to comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Advisers to the Court

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, the de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, the king’s main adviser, had long opposed many of the Obama administration’s policies toward the Middle East. They resented President Barack Obama’s agreement with Iran over its nuclear program, his statements of support for the Arab Spring uprisings and his hands-off approach to the Syrian civil war.

News outlets linked to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates fiercely criticized Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Trump’s Democratic opponent, when she was secretary of state, and diplomats familiar with their thinking say both crown princes hoped for a president who would take a stronger hand in the region against both Iran and groups like the Muslim Brotherhood.

Mr. Nader had worked for years as a close adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed of Abu Dhabi, and Mr. Zamel had worked for the Emirati royal court as a consultant as well. When Mr. Trump locked up the Republican presidential nomination in early 2016, Mr. Nader began making inquiries on behalf of the Emirati prince about possible ways to directly support Mr. Trump, according to three people with whom Mr. Nader discussed his efforts.

Mr. Nader also visited Moscow at least twice during the presidential campaign as a confidential emissary from Crown Prince Mohammed of Abu Dhabi, according to people familiar with his travels. After the election, he worked with the crown prince to arrange a meeting in the Seychelles between Mr. Prince and a financier close to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

Companies connected to Mr. Zamel also have ties to Russia. One of his firms had previously worked for oligarchs linked to Mr. Putin, including Oleg V. Deripaska and Dmitry Rybolovlev, who hired the firm for online campaigns against their business rivals.

Mr. Deripaska, an aluminum magnate, was once in business with the former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who has pleaded not guilty in the special counsel investigation to charges of financial crimes and failing to disclose the lobbying work he did on behalf of a former president of Ukraine, an ally of Mr. Putin. Mr. Rybolovlev once purchased a Florida mansion from Mr. Trump.

Mr. Nader’s visits to Russia and the work Mr. Zamel’s companies did for the Russians have both been a subject of interest to the special counsel’s investigators, according to people familiar with witness interviews.

A String of Meetings

Mr. Zamel and Mr. Nader were together at a Midtown Manhattan hotel at about 4 p.m. on the afternoon of Aug. 3 when Mr. Nader received a call from Mr. Prince summoning them to Trump Tower. When they arrived, Stephen Miller, a top campaign aide who is now a White House adviser, was in Donald Trump Jr.’s office as well, according to the people familiar with the meeting.

Mr. Prince is a longtime Republican donor and the brother of Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, and Mr. Prince and Mr. Nader had known each other since Mr. Nader had worked for Blackwater as a business agent in Iraq in the years after the American invasion. Mr. Prince has longstanding ties to the Emirates, and has frequently done business with Crown Prince Mohammed.

Mr. Prince opened the meeting by telling Donald Trump Jr. that “we are working hard for your father,” in reference to his family and other donors, according to a person familiar with the meeting. He then introduced Mr. Nader as an old friend with deep ties to Arab leaders.

Mr. Nader repeatedly referred to the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates as “my friends,” according to one person with knowledge of the conversation. To underscore the point, he would open his mobile phone to show off pictures of him posing with them, some of which The New York Times obtained.

Mr. Nader explained to Donald Trump Jr. that the two crown princes saw the elder Mr. Trump as a strong leader who would fill the power vacuum that they believed Mr. Obama had left in the Middle East, and Mr. Nader went on to say that he and his friends would be glad to support Mr. Trump as much as they could, according to the person with knowledge of the conversation.

Mr. Zamel, for his part, laid out the capabilities of his online media company, although it is unclear whether he referred to the proposals his company had already prepared. One person familiar with the meeting said that Mr. Nader invited Donald Trump Jr. to meet with a Saudi prince — an invitation the younger Mr. Trump declined. After about half an hour, everyone exchanged business cards.

“There was a brief meeting, nothing concrete was offered or pitched to anyone and nothing came of it,” said Mr. Mukasey, the lawyer for Mr. Zamel.

By then, a company connected to Mr. Zamel had been working on a proposal for a covert multimillion-dollar online manipulation campaign to help elect Mr. Trump, according to three people involved and a fourth briefed on the effort. The plan involved using thousands of fake social media accounts to promote Mr. Trump’s candidacy on platforms like Facebook.

There were concerns inside the company, Psy-Group, about the plan’s legality, according to one person familiar with the effort. The company, whose motto is “shape reality,” consulted an American law firm, and was told that it would be illegal if any non-Americans were involved in the effort.

Mr. Zamel, the founder of Psy-Group and one of its owners, has been questioned about the August 2016 meeting by investigators for the special counsel, and at least two F.B.I. agents working on the inquiry have traveled to Israel to interview employees of the company who worked on the proposal. According to one person, the special counsel’s team has worked with the Israeli police to seize the computers of one of Mr. Zamel’s companies, which is currently in liquidation.

In the hectic final weeks of the campaign and during the presidential transition, several of Mr. Trump’s advisers drew Mr. Nader close. He met often with Mr. Kushner, Mr. Flynn and Stephen K. Bannon, who took over as campaign chairman after Mr. Manafort resigned amid revelations about his work in Ukraine.

In December 2016, Mr. Nader turned again to an internet company linked to Mr. Zamel — WhiteKnight, based in the Philippines — to purchase a presentation demonstrating the impact of social media campaigns on Mr. Trump’s electoral victory. Asked about the purchase, a representative of WhiteKnight said: “WhiteKnight delivers premium research and high-end business development services for prestigious clients around the world. WhiteKnight does not talk about any of its clients.”

After the inauguration, both Mr. Zamel and Mr. Nader visited the White House, meeting with Mr. Kushner and Mr. Bannon.

At that time, Mr. Nader was promoting a plan to use private contractors to carry out economic sabotage against Iran that, he hoped, might coerce it to permanently abandon its nuclear program. The plan included efforts to deter Western companies from investing in Iran, and operations to sow mistrust among Iranian officials. He advocated the project, which he estimated would cost about $300 million, to American, Emirati and Saudi officials.

Last spring, Mr. Nader traveled to Riyadh for meetings with senior Saudi military and intelligence officials to pitch his Iran sabotage plan. He was convinced, according to several people familiar with his plan, that economic warfare was the key to the overthrow of the government in Tehran. One person briefed on Mr. Nader’s activities said he tried to persuade Mr. Kushner to endorse the plan to Crown Prince Mohammed in person on a trip to Riyadh, although it was unclear whether the message was delivered.

Asked about Mr. Nader’s plans to attack Iran, the senior Saudi official said Mr. Nader had a habit of pitching proposals that went nowhere.

Mr. Nader was also in discussions with Mr. Prince, the former head of Blackwater, about a plan to get the Saudis to pay $2 billion to set up a private army to combat Iranian proxy forces in Yemen.

Since entering the White House, Mr. Trump has allied himself closely with Saudi Arabia and the Emirates. His first overseas trip was to Riyadh. He strongly backed Saudi and Emirati efforts to isolate their neighbor Qatar, another American ally, even over apparent disagreement from the State and Defense Departments.

This month, Mr. Trump also withdrew from an Obama administration nuclear deal with Iran that both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had campaigned against for years, delivering them their biggest victory yet from his administration.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

Eric parking the Big Wheel was priceless.

[Cartmann99]

4 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

Eric parking the Big Wheel was priceless.

Kate McKinnon is so talented!