THE DONALD TRUMP SAGA

a.k.a Russiagate

LEGENDA

JS = John Schindler https://twitter.com/20committee

LM = Louise Mensch https://twitter.com/LouiseMensch
CT = Claude Taylor https://twitter.com/TrueFactsStated
RW = Rick Wilson https://twitter.com/TheRickWilson
EG = Eric Garland https://twitter.com/ericgarland

171122

Tea Pain @TeaPainUSA : THREAD on Mueller's progress

1) A couple of months ago, conventional wisdom said Mueller would proceed down
a path like this.
a. Indict Manafort
b. Indict Flynn
c. Indict inner circle
d. Get Trump
2) But the Papadopoulos indictment was so unexpected and bore so much fruit that
Mueller has flipped Sam Clovis and who knows who else.
3) Mueller is a frugal man by nature and wants to get the maximum effect from each
indictment. PapaD's arrest set off a chain reaction that may result in merging steps 2 &
3.
4) Don't be surprised that when Flynn is finally indicted that it's due to a plea bargain
(not unlike PapaD's) and will be accompanied by other folks from Trump's inner circle.
5) Like Tea has been tellin' ya, this "delay" in indictin' Flynn is a very good thing and
indicates a great deal of movement among the chess pieces. Mueller is not just shoootin'
for indictments, he's goin' in for the kill.
6) Don't be surprised if Mueller's next bombin' run yields an Obstruction of Justice
charge among members of Trump's inner circle with Trump as an "unnamed co-
conspirator." <eot>

171120

McClatchy -- The number of networks of Russian-sponsored trolls spreading

propaganda to the United States and Europe may number in the hundreds, including
the one team drawing wide attention for blitzing American social media outlets last year
with divisive information in a bid to tip voter sympathies to Donald Trump, according
to an Obama administration Pentagon official.

ABC News -- Travels by Trump campaign adviser Carter Page to meet with senior
officials in Hungary during the 2016 presidential election are being closely examined
by congressional investigators, given the increasingly close ties between Hungary and
Russia and the role of the country as a hub for Russian intelligence activity. The
Hungarian prime minister was the first foreign leader to endorse Donald Trump’s
candidacy.

171119

Politico -- The Hidden History of Trump’s First Trip to Moscow. In 1987, a young
real estate developer traveled to the Soviet Union. The KGB almost certainly made
the trip happen. (Luke Harding) 

NY Times -- The Trump Administration Is Making War on Diplomacy. Rex Tillerson

is widely seen as ill suited to diplomatic leadership and determined to dismantle his own
department, which has been central to America’s national security since Thomas
Jefferson ran the place.

Kremlin Trolls CI : In 1987 Trump ran $130k of full page ads aggressively attacking
NATO. And he did that during the cold war, right after returning from Moscow.

171118

CT : Source: story is going to break about Trump’s Panama Ocean Club Hotel. It
involves money laundering and human trafficking. Will keep on top of this one.

ABC News -- President Donald Trump will be presented with the recommendation to
finance and sell anti-tank missiles to the Ukrainian government — a move aimed at
deterring aggression from pro-Russian separatists, a State Department official told ABC
News.

AP — Earlier this year, a Russian-American lobbyist and another businessman

discussed over coffee in Moscow an extraordinary meeting they had attended 12 months
earlier: a gathering at Trump Tower with President Donald Trump’s son, his son-in-law
and his then-campaign chairman. The Moscow meeting in June, which has not been
previously disclosed, is now under scrutiny by investigators who want to know why
the two men met in the first place and whether there was some effort to get their stories
straight about the Trump Tower meeting just weeks before it would become public, The
Associated Press has learned.

171117

Sunlight Foundation -- An investigation by @globalwitness found millions of dollars of

drug money from Colombian cartels have been laundered through the @Trump
Ocean Club in Panama.

NBC News confirms WSJ scoop: Mueller's team has issued a subpoena to the Trump
campaign asking multiple campaign officials to produce Russia-related documents.

NBC News -- President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, failed
to disclose what lawmakers called a "Russian backdoor overture and dinner invite"
involving a banker [Aleksander Torshin, a former senator and deputy head of Russia's
central bank who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin] who has been accused of
links to Russian organized crime, three sources familiar with the matter told NBC
News. … Spanish anti-corruption officials have identified Torshin as a "godfather" in
the Russian mafia — something Torshin has denied.
The Hill -- Trump building in Panama tied to Russian mafia, international crime:
report >

CNN -- Senate judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and ranking member Dianne
Feinstein sent a letter Thursday requesting more information on President Donald
Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner related to his security clearance and
questions over whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 election.

171116

The Daily Beast -- The Freedom of the Press Foundation has routed half a million
dollars to WikiLeaks. But Julian Assange’s embrace of Trump split the group’s board,
which includes Edward Snowden, and now it’s on the verge of a major break.

The Hill -- Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators have issued a subpoena to
President Trump’s election campaign for documents related to Russia, according to
a new report.

Dena Grayson : Reza Zarrab (gold trader close to Turkish President Erdogan) is
cooperating w/fed prosecutors in money-laundering case & may be giving info on ties
btwn Misha Flynn & Turkish government‼

ABC News -- Rep. Cohen: "We believe that President Trump has violated the
Constitution, and we've introduced five articles of impeachment."

171115

Independent -- House Democrats start impeachment proceedings against Donald

Trump. Six Democrats in the House of Representatives have introduced articles of
impeachment targeting President Donald Trump. The legislators singled out five of Mr
Trump's actions they say merit impeachment, including his decision to fire FBI director
James Comey in May.

171114

Daily Mail -- Putin's lying machine: Revealed, how Russia's spewing out ruthless
propaganda from a Moscow-funded TV station - right next to Westminster.
EG -- The same day Theresa May announced there would be major pushback on Russia,
Daily Mail tears down RT as a propaganda operation.

Guardian -- Theresa May accuses Russia of interfering in elections and fake news
At lord mayor’s banquet, PM launches extraordinary attack, saying actions were
‘threatening the international order’. 'We know what you’re doing,' Theresa May tells
Russia .
[LM : What is truly shocking is UK press acting like this is new. I broke the Russian
twitter for Brexit last year. Russia did the same in France for Le Pen, I reported. They
did the same the world over. Were UK papers asleep? Where have you been?]
Reuters -- Attorney General Jeff Sessions acknowledged he was aware of contact
between Donald Trump's election campaign and Russian intermediaries, again
modifying a previous statement about the extent of connections to Moscow.

D.K.R.Boyd : As upsetting and provocative as it may sound, these revelations thus far
are similar to what was happening during the run up to WW2. The digital
enhancement is one thing; the human intrigue is quite another. @20committee is on
solid ground here and has been since he called it.

Adam Schiff : If true, these messages represent more secret communications between
the Trump campaign and cut-outs for the Kremlin, along with Roger Stone and
Cambridge Analytica. It also demonstrates again a willingness by the highest levels of
the Trump campaign to accept foreign assistance.

CNN -- Donald Trump Jr. has released exchanges he had with the WikiLeaks
Twitter account via direct messages during the 2016 presidential campaign.

171112

CNN -- Ex-DNI James Clapper: “The Russians do not harbor good intentions toward
the United States, and there should’t be any illusions or any ambiguity about that. And
our President fosters that ambiguity.”
[EG : Clapper’s statement is as clear as it is incendiary: Trump is damaging US national
security, and is basically Putin’s tool.]

The Hill -- Former CIA Director John Brennan said Sunday that President Trump
called him a political hack in order to cast doubt on his and other intelligence agencies'
conclusion that Russia sought to influence the 2016 election.

JS : Oh, OK -- glad we cleared that up.

CNN -- President Donald Trump downplayed on Sunday his past skepticism of

Russia's involvement in US election meddling, saying he sides with American
intelligence agencies over Vladimir Putin when it comes to assigning culpability for the
hack.
[“past” = 24 hours before …]

171111

JS : AGAIN: Tell Trump he has to resign and leave the White House but he can keep
tweeting like he's still POTUS. He'll accept in a heartbeat.

Donald J. Trump -- Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me "old," when I
would NEVER call him "short and fat?" Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend - and
maybe someday that will happen!
When will all the haters and fools out there realize that having a good relationship with
Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. There [sic] always playing politics - bad for our
country. I want to solve North Korea, Syria, Ukraine, terrorism, and Russia can greatly
help!
Does the Fake News Media remember when Crooked Hillary Clinton, as Secretary of
State, was begging Russia to be our friend with the misspelled reset button? Obama
tried also, but he had zero chemistry with Putin.
CNN -- One of Washington's most prominent lobbying firms is on the verge of
shuttering after becoming ensnared by special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
Kimberley Fritts, the chief executive of the Podesta Group, told employees during a
Thursday staff meeting that the firm would cease to exist at the end of the year,
according to two sources. Employees were asked to clear out their desks and were told
they may not be paid beyond November 15, multiple sources said.

JS: Trump has been a Kremlin agent-of-influence since 1987. Today, he dropped his
cover. Putin won't like this one bit. Time to end the op.

CNN -- Meanwhile, Putin's press secretary Dmitri Peskov told CNN that Putin and
Trump did not discuss meddling in the presidential elections. In a text, CNN's
Matthew Chance asked Peskov, "as far as you know, did the two leaders discuss
meddling?"
Peskov's response was "No."
The Hill -- JUST IN: Kremlin denies Trump asked Putin about Russian election
interference.
[JS: As a Chekist, Putin despises Trump. Thoroughly. So he just shot him in the head,
again. He knows Donnie is doomed.]

JS : POTUS just publicly sided with our main geopolitical foe. Against our IC. De
facto, Trump is on "the other side."
Cabinet needs to discuss 25A before Trump returns to the WH.

Donald Trump -- "I do have a very good relationship with Xi..it’s the biggest state
entrance at the biggest state dinner they’ve ever had. By far. In China. He called it,
‘state plus.” In fact, he actually said, “state plus plus,” which is very interesting."
"Having a good relationship with Russia is a great, great thing. And this artificial
Democratic hit job gets in the way...& that's a shame"- @realDonaldTrump speaking in
Vietnam after talking to Russian president Putin.

EG -- This seems accurate. On our side we have patriots such as Brennan, Clapper, and
Comey. On the other side - by Trump's own words - it's him and Putin.

CNN -- (Da Nang, Vietnam) President Donald Trump suggested on Saturday he's
done confronting Russian President Vladimir Putin over his country's election meddling
since it's insulting to the Russian leader.
"He said he didn't meddle. I asked him again. You can only ask so many times. I really
believe he means it."

Reuters – (DANANG, Vietnam) An alleged link between U.S. President Donald

Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and Russia is being fabricated by
Trump’s opponents as a weapon against Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin said
on Saturday.
[rule # 1 : BELIEVE NOTHING UNTIL MOSCOW DENIES IT]

CNN -- Republicans are leaving office at a higher rate than in recent congresses,
suggesting Democrats could pick up seats in the 2018 midterm elections. On
Thursday it was Virginia Republican Bob Goodlatte, the influential chairman of the
House judiciary committee.
Already, at least 25 Republicans have announced they are retiring, running for another
office or resigning outright. They're leaving from all over the map, from southern New
Jersey to southern New Mexico.

171110

WSJ -- Data Firm’s WikiLeaks Outreach Came as It Joined Trump Campaign

Cambridge Analytica said it reached out to Julian Assange to share Hillary Clinton-
related emails in ‘early June 2016,’ when the company had already started working for
the campaign.

Peter Evans (patribotics.blog) -- Exclusive: China Syndrome – Xi and Putin Partnered

in U.S. Election Interference. >>

WSJ -- Mueller is investigating an alleged plan involving Mike Flynn to forcibly

remove Fethullah Gulen from the U.S. and deliver him to Turkey in return for
millions of dollars—after he was named Nat. Sec. Adviser.

171109

Peter Evans (patribotics.blog) -- Exclusive: China Syndrome – Xi and Putin Partnered

in U.S. Election Interference. >>

WaPo -- Website and television station RT agrees to register as an agent of the

Russian government.

NBCNews -- Trump bodyguard Keith Schiller told Congress that before the Miss
Universe Pageant in 2013, a Russian participant offered to "send five women" to
Donald Trump's hotel room in Moscow.

171108

NBC News -- Former advisor to Pres Trump, Carl Icahn, has been subpoenaed by the
U.S. Attorney's office SDNY.

Axios -- Trump aide Keith Schiller testified on Russia probe. Schiller's closed-door
testimony to the House Intelligence Committee yesterday was one of the most vivid
signs yet of how deeply the Russia investigations are penetrating the president's inner
circle. Schiller was Trump's bodyguard in New York and became White House
director of Oval Office operations, but left in September.

Carl Bildt : Morning in the US one year after Trump election. Major Democratic win
in Virginia vote.

171106

Bloomberg -- Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said he will “probably not”

maintain his stake in a shipping firm that does business with a Russian company
with ties to the son-in-law of Russian President Vladimir Putin and an oligarch
under U.S. sanctions.
Newsweek -- Donald Trump Jr. told Russian lawyer "if we come to power," an anti-
Russian law would be reconsidered.

JS: Since Big News in #KremlinGate is looming, it's time for a brief tweetstorm on
what's really going on behind scenes with Team Mueller. /1
If you're surprised that #MoscowMisha is cooked, you've not been paying attention. Sr
& Jr are both going down on a bunch of charges. /2
Flynn, like Manafort, desperately wanted a deal from Mueller, but they had 0 to offer
that DoJ didn't already have. So, they're screwed. /3
The Team Mueller + FBI/IC joint investigation here is truly massive; a CI inquiry this
expansive hasn't been seen in DC since VENONA. /4
Together, they're investigating HUNDREDS of targets for poss ties to Russian spies &
mobsters. Public will be shocked when it comes out. /5
These CI targets include WH officials; Trump associates, friends & family;
journalists and lobbyists; even bloggers. It's a wide net. /6
It will take years for this CI inquiry to be concluded -- VENONA ran from 1943 to
1980, folks -- but the answers will stun the public. /7
Anticipate a bunch of indictments in the next year or 2, perhaps many more in the long
run; it depends how indictments rounds 1-5 go. /8
The Russian conspiracy in DC took years to metastasize, it will take years to
unravel it all. Marathon not sprint, as I say. Patience. /End

171104

The Hill -- Facebook estimates 200 million of its accounts are fake.

CNN -- Former President George H.W. Bush has a blunt assessment of Donald Trump:
"He's a blowhard." And his son, former President George W. Bush, has harsh words for
his Republican successor as well: "This guy doesn't know what it means to be
president."

171103

LM -- My sources report that Carter Page was instructed by both Russia and the
White House to trick Democrats into demanding Sessions firing 1/2
2/2 @tribelaw is absolutely right on this. Trump wants Sessions out so he can fire
Mueller. Do not fall for it @RepAdamSchiff

JS : POTUS has literally NO idea how USG works. None. We elected a Kremlin dupe
who's also a complete moron.

Business Insider -- President Donald Trump lamented in a Thursday interview that he

can't exert more influence over the Justice Department and FBI.
"The saddest thing is that because I'm the president of the United States, I am not
supposed to be involved with the Justice Department. I am not supposed to be involved
with the FBI,"

Telegraph, 01 Aug 2011 -- Twitter has confirmed it has received “significant funding”
from Yuri Milner’s DST Global. While the micro-blogging site did not outline the size
of investment led by the Russian investment company in a blog post, reports put the
deal at $400m plus another $400m in secondary funding.
NY Times -- Trump and Sessions Denied Knowing About Russian Contacts. Records
Suggest Otherwise.
Court documents unsealed this week cast doubt on both statements and raised the
possibility that Mr. Sessions could be called back to Congress for further questioning.

171102

EG : America will prevail. We have strength that Putin's mafia state could never match.
Hard power. Soft power. Culture. Our people.
Putin has spent years penetrating systems and compromising people. He's expending his
last resources. And we're just getting started.

JS : I've watched a lot of Russian intel ops. Way too many. Trump 2016 op was the
dumbest, most half-assed one ever. Run by idiots, for idiots.
SLClawyer @slclawyer, Trial attorney : But it worked.
JS : If it truly worked, you'd never have heard about it. It's in the media 24/7. Not
how #OldSchool Chekists roll.

CNN -- Attorney General Jeff Sessions is once again under scrutiny on Capitol Hill
regarding his candor about Russia and the Trump campaign amid revelations that he
rejected a suggestion to convene a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin
and Donald Trump last year.

CNN -- Jared Kushner has turned over documents in recent weeks to special counsel
Robert Mueller as investigators have begun asking in witness interviews about
Kushner's role in the firing of FBI Director James Comey, CNN has learned.
Mueller's investigators have expressed interest in Kushner, President Donald Trump's
son-in-law and a White House senior adviser, as part of its probe into Russian
meddling, including potential obstruction of justice in Comey's firing, sources familiar
with the matter said.

Richard W. Painter -- The fix is in. They set up Sessions to take the fall. After he is
gone, a new acting AG fires Mueller.

CNN -- Carter Page privately testified that he mentioned to Sessions he was traveling
to Russia during 2016 campaign.

Trump campaign foreign policy advisor Carter Page has spent more than five hours
behind closed doors w/ House Intel Cmte, w/o a lawyer.

The Hill -- NEW POLL: More Americans think Trump committed a crime than don't.

Business Insider -- Facebook now says as many as 60,000,000 of its accounts are fake.

Washington Examiner -- Suspected Russian spy, Joseph Mifsud, visited DC in 2014

promising to dole out money to students […]Mifsud expounded on his now-shuttered
Russian intelligence front, the London Academy for Diplomacy (LAD) and
encouraged students to join it.
Reuters -- The U.S. Justice Department has gathered enough evidence to charge six
members of the Russian government in the hacking of Democratic National
Committee computers before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the Wall Street
Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the investigation.

Bloomberg -- Renaissance Technologies’ Robert Mercer plans to step down as co-

chief executive officer effective Jan. 1, as he tries to distance himself from controversy
over his political ties to associates of President Donald Trump.
Mercer also said […] he was "mistaken to have supported" Milo Yiannopoulos, a
former Breitbart writer, and is severing ties with him because statements by
Yiannopoulos have caused "pain and divisiveness."
[JS : "I am hereby washing my hands of these kooky lunatics I created, nurtured,
funded, and then made powerful and famous."]

Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw

Former Special Counsel @DeptofDefense (2015-16). Founding co-editor-in-chief
@just_security. Chaired Prof NYU Law. Former Chaired Prof Harvard Law.
All eyes on Manafort-Flynn, but what if … Mueller indicts Russians Monday (or
soon)? It would be a game changer in several ways… <THREAD>
2. First and foremost: Indicting Russians would make it harder to (ever) fire Mueller or
shut down his investigation...
3. Indictment of Russians also undercuts Trump's ability to pardon his way out of this
mess. Politically hard to pardon Russians, and…
4. Even with sweeping pardons of Americans, Mueller’s investigation would have every
reason to continue (against the Russian suspects)....
5. Mueller could also indict Russians and name (pardoned) Trump associates as
“unindicted co-conspirators” (reduces incentive to pardon)...
6. Mueller’s naming any Trump associates as “unindicted co-conspirators” would be
very significant for public understanding of wrongdoing...
7. Trump associates are less likely to flip knowing Pres. may pardon them (Arpaio
pardon helped signaled to them he would for loyalty)...
9. Russian indictments also shape the narrative: core value of Mueller probe is getting
those responsible for interfering in our elections…
10. Core value of Mueller's prosecuting election interference may include Russian
interference in GOP primary too.
11. Russians likely committed offences in DNC hack, campaign interference, etc. So
don't be surprise by Russian indictments at some point...
12. It takes two to collude (need a Russian partner). So good reason to think evidence
may turn Mueller to indict Russians too. <end>

AP — Russia hackers had targets worldwide, beyond US election.

The hackers who disrupted the U.S. presidential election had ambitions well beyond
Hillary Clinton’s campaign, targeting the emails of Ukrainian officers, Russian
opposition figures, U.S. defense contractors and thousands of others of interest to the
Kremlin, according to a previously unpublished digital hit list obtained by The
Associated Press.

Joseph Mifsud, Papadopoulos's professor contact, has closed up shop in London, and
the Guardian can't find him.
[JA : Another SVR front shut down & access agent gone to ground]\
Jakub Kanda : Look which Western useful idiots got "trained" by Sputnik in
"journalism".

171101

Buzzfeed -- Twitter Offered Russian TV Network 15% Of Its Total Share Of US

Elections Advertising
RT, a Russian news outlet described by the US intelligence community as "the
Kremlin’s principal international propaganda outlet" was once a top sales prospect for
Twitter's US elections ad team.

The fullest collection so far of Russia's fakery on social media, see this page.
Amazing work: https://medium.com/@ushadrons

Renato Mariotti (Candidate for Illinois Attorney General. Former federal prosecutor.
Legal expert for TV and print.) –
THREAD: Is the President of the United States under investigation?
1/ Today in the @nytimes Trump told @maggieNYT that "I'm not under investigation,
as you know."
2/ When we commonly talk about someone being "under investigation," we mean that
they're a "subject" of the investigation.
3/ A "subject" of the investigation is someone whose conduct is within the scope of the
grand jury's investigation.
4/ So as long as Donald Trump's conduct is within the scope of what Mueller is looking
at, he is under investigation.
5/ Based on everything we know publicly, there can be no serious question that Mueller
is investigating Trump's firing of Comey.
6/ One obvious clue that Mueller is looking at the firing of Comey are the document
requests that Mueller made to the White House.
7/ Here is one of the threads I wrote about them at the time they were revealed: [..]
8/ For instance, Mueller wanted documents relating to Trump's meeting with the
Russian Ambassador the day after he fired Comey.
9/ Mueller also wanted documents about Trump's firing of Flynn.
10/ He also wanted documents about the statement allegedly dictated by Trump about
the Trump Tower meeting.
11/ Mueller requested these documents because he's looking at Trump's conduct.
Trump's lawyers are responding to those requests.
12/ In case there's any doubt Trump's lawyers know Mueller is investigating Trump for
obstruction, read this thread: [..]
13/ In that thread, I discuss a WSJ article that reports Trump's lawyers are presented
legal arguments to Mueller about obstruction.
14/ Lawyers don't make arguments to prosecutors about things that they're *not*
investigating. They know Mueller is looking at obstruction.
15/ So Trump's team knows he's under investigation. Reporters should not accept at
face value his assertion that he's not. /end

Countercheckist : Russia’s op wasn’t a one-shot deal. They were looking to

generationally destroy democracy. Think about that.
Russia’s election op essentially began w/the #SnowdenOp. RU needed USIC hobbled to
succeed— using the left to harm the left later in ‘16.

Will Saletan : 2D chess: Mueller released the plea to show collusion. 3D: He did it so
Trump would attack this witness, teaching others not to expect help.

Tea Pain @TeaPainUSA : Think about this. Papadopoulos was wearin’ a wire for
Mueller, now Papa is public. It means Mueller got everything he needed from him.

Adam Schiff @RepAdamSchiff : Russian social media campaign sought to hurt

Clinton, help Trump & sow discord. All ads must be released.

Slate – Facebook and Google Are Too Big to Stop Election Meddling on Their Own
At Tuesday’s hearing […] Facebook admitted that it is unable to know who it’s doing
business with, which is exactly how Russian-backed actors posing as faux activist
groups and nonprofits were able to buy ads and create inauthentic pages on Facebook,
Twitter, and Google.

Wall Street Journal -- New Facebook Data Shows Russians Targeted Users by Race,
Religion, Politics. Data was released by lawmakers as part of a probe into Russian
interference in U.S. presidential election

Newsweek -- Donald Trump Jr. almost immediately began

politicizing Tuesday's attack in his hometown of New York City in which eight people
were killed, using Twitter to jab at the Democratic Party. His father, the president, did
the same thing.

CNN -- Candidate Donald Trump did not dismiss the idea of arranging a meeting
with Russia's president when it was suggested in a meeting with his campaign foreign
policy advisers last year, according to a person in the room.
The idea was raised by George Papadopoulos as he introduced himself at a March
2016 meeting of the Republican candidate's foreign policy advisers, according to a court
filing.

Recode.net -- Facebook, Google and Twitter executives are back in Washington,

D.C., on Wednesday to take questions from Congress on how Russian sources used
their respective platforms to try and influence last year’s presidential election.

The Hill -- Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort owns multiple
passports and used a phone and email account registered under a fake name while
traveling, according to a new court filing obtained by CNN on Tuesday.
NBC News -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said accusations against Paul
Manafort were nothing to do with Moscow.
[rule # 1 : BELIEVE NOTHING UNTIL MOSCOW DENIES IT]

Newsweek -- Trump Team Considering Anthony Shaffer, Controversial Former Army

Officer, for Senior Defense Intelligence Role.
[JS: FYI the Fox idiot POTUS just hailed is a well known nutjob (famed for his 9/11
fantasies) & a #MoscowMisha mini-me.]

WaPo -- Has there ever been a covert action that backfired as disastrously as
Russia’s attempt to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign? […]f Trump seeks
to derail Mueller’s probe, he is implicitly colluding with Russia now.
[EG : "We Know Our Publication Said That Trump-Russia Was Entirely a Conspiracy
Theory, But Here Is Our Latest Analysis of Trump-Russia"]

LM -- False story in the Washington Post helped Jeff Sessions get confirmed as
Attorney General without any focus on his Russian hacking collusion.
 FBI reviewed Flynn’s calls with Russian ambassador but found nothing illicit
(WaPo, 23-01-17)

171031

Countercheckist : All roads lead to Jeff Sessions. He chaired the campaign’s NATSEC
committee that Clovis & Papadopoulos were on...

NBC News — Sam Clovis, the former top Trump campaign official who supervised
a man now cooperating with the FBI's Russia investigation, was questioned last week
by special counsel Robert Mueller's team and testified before the investigating grand
jury, a person with first-hand knowledge of the matter told NBC News.

Bloomberg -- Former Trump adviser George Papadopoulos made a significant claim in

an email: Top Trump campaign officials agreed to a pre-election meeting with
representatives of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

John Schindler : The Trump Campaign’s Spy-Ties to Moscow Have Been Exposed
Observer, 31.10.17  http://observer.com/2017/10/trump-spy-ties-to-moscow-george-
papadopoulos-paul-manafort-robert-mueller/

Business Insider -- Twitter will tell Congress that Russia's election meddling was
worse than we first thought.

Bloomberg -- Facebook to go the "We're shocked" route in testimony with

Congress on Russian social media campaigns.

JS : Enjoy today knowing that every Trumper who talked to George P since late July
now tries to recall the convo -- since the FBI has it on tape.

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump -- I hope people will start to focus on our

Massive Tax Cuts for Business (jobs) and the Middle Class (in addition to Democrat
corruption)!
[EG @ericgarland : Nope. Probably gonna focus on your treason. More interesting!]
CNN -- Trump 'seething' as Mueller probe reaches former aides.

CNN -- 'I want to quit': Some employees at Fox News were left embarrassed and
humiliated by their network's coverage of the latest revelations in special counsel
Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling, according to
conversations CNN had with several individuals placed throughout the network.

171030
NBC News -- The lobbying firms the Podesta Group and Mercury Public Affairs are
the unnamed companies in the grand jury indictment of former Trump campaign
chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, according to three sources with
knowledge of the investigation.

Reuters -- Facebook Says Russian-Backed Election Content Reached 126 Million

Americans.
(There were 134.5 million total voters.)

CNN -- Special counsel's office [Aaron Zelinsky]: Papadopoulos 'small part' of 'large
scale investigation'.

JS : BREAKING: Trump has absolutely NO IDEA how so many people in his

campaign had clandestine ties to the Kremlin + Russian spies and mobsters!

JS : Trump's DoJ nightmare explained: SIGINT ==> FBI investigations ==> Arrests
==> Deals/cooperation to catch bigger fish ==> Trump+Co go down.

Zoe Tillmann : Feds asked to seal Papadopoulos' case b/c disclosure could undermine
his ability to serve as "proactive cooperator.
[JS : Translation from FBI-speak: Cover for Papadopoulos to wear a wire when meeting
with Trumpers.]

So, Papadopoulos gets arrested on 27 Jul, we don't hear anything about it...but Kelly
becomes CoS the next day? Related?
JS : What. A. COINCIDENCE!

JS : The Papadopoulos case ALONE -- with its direct effort at collusion with RIS -- is
enough to sink Trump.

Jon Zal : Former Trump campaign advisor Papadopolous is cooperating with the Feds
and admits collusion with Russian government to obtain dirt on @HillaryClinton.
This is bigger than Manafort news.

JS : Important -- bigger than Manafort potentially -- because this ties Team Trump to
RIS. And he's surely cooperating.

ABC News -- Former Trump campaign advisor George Papadopolous has pleaded
guilty to making false statements to FBI agents.
Donald J. Trump -- Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the
Trump campaign. But why aren't Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????
[JS : Cool story, bro -- tell it to Mueller. PS. SAD! ]

The Hill -- President Trump on Monday is scheduled to have lunch with Attorney
General Jeff Sessions, just hours after Trump's former campaign chairman was
indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Sessions was invited to join Trump's weekly lunch with Vice President Pence, which is
closed to press coverage.

CNN -- White House source calls Manafort and Gates "bad guys"
Another source close to the WH echoes this sentiment, saying the bad behavior of
Manafort/Gates has little to do with the Trump campaign or the Russia investigation.
“These guys were bad guys when they started, they were bad guys when they left,” the
source said.

CNN -- "Today has zero to do with the White House," says source close to White
House

Counterchekist @counterchekist : LOL. Prophetic.

Sean Hannity @seanhannity
.@newtgingrich: "Nobody should underestimate how much Paul Manafort did to really
help get this [Trump] campaign to where it is right now."

JS : Charge One: Conspiracy Against the United States. The rest is #details...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Paul Manafort, a former campaign manager for U.S.

President Donald Trump, and an associate were indicted by a federal grand jury on 12
counts including conspiracy against the United States and money laundering, the federal
special counsel’s office said on Monday.

Kommersant.ru -- Глава предвыборного штаба Дональда Трампа Пол

Манафорт стал обвиняемым по делу о «вмешательстве» России в президентские
выборы. Как сообщает Reuters со ссылкой на официальное заявление управления
спецпрокурора, он и его деловой портнер Рик Гейтс обвиняются по 12 пунктам.
Среди обвинений — работа на территории США в качестве.

Spiegel – Trumps Ex-Wahlkampfchef Manafort stellt sich dem FBI

Er gilt als einer der Hauptakteure in der Russlandaffäre: Donald Trumps Ex-
Wahlkampfchef Paul Manafort hat sich den Behörden gestellt, um einer Verhaftung
zuvorzukommen. Ihm wird Verschwörung vorgeworfen.
Le Monde -- L’ancien directeur de campagne de Trump poursuivi pour complot
contre les Etats-Unis
Paul Manafort et son associé sont les premiers accusés dans l’enquête sur l’interférence
russe dans l’élection présidentielle américaine de novembre 2016.

BBC News -- Donald Trump's former presidential campaign manager, Paul

Manafort, has been charged with conspiring to defraud the US in his dealings with
Ukraine.
The 12 charges brought against Mr Manafort and one of his business associates, Rick
Gates, include conspiracy to launder money.

La Stampa -- Russiagate, Manafort e l’ex socio si consegnano all’Fbi.

JS : Manafort was the low-hanging fruit here. But the tree of Corrupt Kremlin
Trumpers remains large and fruitful.

JS : Let Trumpers cry more. Let Fox rant about Hillary. The big game has finally
started, and all that matters is Mueller and Friends. #WINNING

WaPO -- As Russia case unfolds, Trump and Republicans go to battle with Clinton
and Democrats.

LM : Article by @20Committee, John Schindler, explains why Paul Manafort was

arrested. It is ONE YEAR old.
https://20committee.com/2016/08/21/how-putins-spies-infiltrated-the-trump-
campaign/amp/

CNN -- Paul Manafort turns himself in to the FBI.

Paul Manafort: Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort surrendered today
to special counsel Robert Mueller.
Rick Gates: The former Trump campaign official also turned himself in this
morning.

CNN -- Dread, expectation hang over Washington before Mueller sweep.

A mood of fateful anticipation is cloaking Washington, with possible arrests imminent
after the federal grand jury in the Russia investigation approved its first charges.
By taking one or more people into custody, a prospect first reported by CNN Friday,
Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller would create a new, perilous reality
for the White House, reflecting the gravity of the investigation into Russia's interference
in the 2016 election and alleged collusion by President Donald Trump's associates.

171029

Donald J. Trump -- ...are now fighting back like never before. There is so much
GUILT by Democrats/Clinton, and now the facts are pouring out. DO SOMETHING!

Counterchekist @counterchekist : From 2/17. @20committee told you how this would
end 8 months ago while posers on TV obfuscated & said “no evidence.”
When everyone else was in despair + panic mode, you came out swinging against
treason. You’ve lifted spirits, given hope, and informed many.
JS: Thanks, brother. We're gonna win this one....eventually.

171028

CNN -- Poll: 71% of Americans say politics has reached a dangerous low point -- 51%
say Trump deserves "a lot" of the blame

------------------ ------------------- ------------------------------

HEADLINES July / October 2017

Exclusive_ Mueller Has ‘Dozens’ of Sealed Indictments, Including On Donald

Trump – patribotics
Forget Washington. Facebook’s Problems Abroad Are Far More Disturbing
First charges filed in Mueller investigation
Russia’s Troll Factory Made ‘Hillary Clinton’ Sex Tape
Senate Committee Escalates Russia Probe, Digs Into Finances
ROBERT MERCER — MONEY LAUNDERER FOR VLADIMIR PUTIN – q502 –
Medium
FBI watched, then acted as Russian spy moved closer to Hillary Clinton
Overview-of-RTs-Editorial-Strategy-and-Evidence-of-Impact
Schindler, J. - Poland Pushes Back Against Putin
Trump Campaign Staffers Pushed Russian Propaganda Days Before the
Election
The entire IRA story is what the Kremlin wants you to look at
An ex St. Petersburg ‘troll’ speaks out Russian independent TV network
interviews former troll at the Internet Research Agency
How Facebook Became the Assassin of Good Journalism
Russia Probe. Senate Asks Mike Flynn’s Son for Documents, Testimony
The Storm Gathers and America is Unready
What Facebook Did to American Democracy (The Atlantic)
Facebook scrubbed potentially damning Russia data
The making of a Russian disinformation campaign. What it takes (M.Weiss)
Trump Wanted Tenfold Increase in Nuclear Arsenal, Surprising Military
Google, Facebook and Twitter Scramble to Hold Washington at Bay
Schindler, J. - Reports Reveal Sorry State of Security at the National
InSecurity Agency
Schindler, J. - The Trouble With the Steele Dossier
Google uncovers Russian-bought ads on YouTube, Gmail and other platforms
NATO to launch Black Sea force as latest counter to Russia
U.S. Army unprepared to deal with Russia in Europe
German spy agencies want right to destroy stolen data and 'hack back'
70 million people may have seen Russian Facebook ads
Russia investigators_ Committee still searching for 'any hint of collusion'
US close to extraditing two Russian cybercriminals
Google, Facebook and peers represent an ‘existential threat’
Schindler, J. - False Flag Terrorism. Myth and Reality
Schindler, J. - The Dead Sing With Dirt in Their Mouths
Schindler, J. - Poland Readies to Resist Putin
The fake Tea Party Twitter account linked to Russia
Why Russia is threatening US forces in Syria
Estonia defense chief_ Russia would intervene militarily in Belarus if needed
Facebook's Reckoning Draws Nearer
How to Read Bob Mueller’s Hand
Schindler, J. - Can Trump Be Trusted With Nukes
Schindler, J. - How 911 Changed America, For Better and for Worse
Schindler, J. - How to Avoid America’s Coming Years of Lead
Schindler, J. - Richard Spencer and His Kook-Right Ilk Are Agents of Russian
Influence
Schindler, J. - The Tweets of August. Trump’s North Korea Calculus
Underestimates China
Schindler, J. - Trumpocalypse. A Nightmare From Which There’s No Normal
Exit
Schindler, J. - Ukraine Accuses Russia of the Unthinkable
Schindler, J. - We Are Now in Cold War 2.0
Schindler, J. - We Now Have Proof of Trump’s Collusion With Russians
Schindler, J. - Why Is Trump Enabling Russian Espionage in America
Trump Barrels Down a Road of No Return
Trump savages 'very weak' Attorney General Jeff Sessions
US government wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman
Russia gave $50,000 to author of UN report
Officials Suspect Russia Used U.N. Facilities to Impact 2016 Electio
Kaspersky Lab Has Been Working With Russian Intelligence
Mueller gives WH names of 6 aides he expects to question in Russia prob
Russia’s Facebook Fake News Could Have Reached 70 Million Americans
Facebook uncovers 'Russian-funded' misinformation campaign
Mueller teams up with New York attorney general in Manafort probe
Secret Service instructed to ban Gorka from White House
Trump’s business sought deal on a Trump Tower in Moscow while he ran for
president
Russian diplomats are dying. Is it murder or coincidence_
Sebastian Gorka Resigns From Trump Administration
New email found from top Donald Trump aide trying to set up Putin meeting
Mattis Emphasizes U.S. Support For Ukraine, Says Considering Lethal
Weapons
Russian Spies’ Hacker-for-Hire Pleads Not Guilty to Cracking Yahoo
Bannon licenziato. 'E' finita la presidenza Trump per cui abbiamo lottato
Steve Bannon vows to 'go to war' for Trump agenda after sacking
FBI raided former Trump campaign manager Manafort's home in July
Grand jury issues subpoenas in connection with Trump Jr
Chafing over thwarted rapprochement, Trump blames Congress for Russia
chill
Mike Pence reassures Baltic states over Russia 'threat'
EXCLUSIVE_ Russian Ambassador Kislyak’s Phone Hacked by Five Eyes –
patribotics
Putin orders intel services to achieve 'reset of Ukraine’s ruling regime'
How Putin sparked a Western military renaissance
How Russia Mercilessly Played Trump for a Fool
Trump ha chiesto ai suoi legali se può concedere l’amnistia a se stesso
Fox News Under FBI Counterintelligence Investigation – patribotics
EXCLUSIVE_ Eric Schneiderman Had Donald Trump Under State Surveillance
– patribotics
How the GOP Became the Party of Putin
Trump had undisclosed hour-long meeting with Putin at G-20 summit
RussiaTrump is about multiple Russian intelligence ops.jpg
Heading for Trouble - The Washington Post [2002]
Scandal of Donald Trump Jr's alleged Russian collusion will force his father
to resign
The connections between Donald Trump Jr
Russia's NATO Neighbor in Talks Over Anti-Aircraft Weapons - Bloomberg
What Donald Trump knew and when he knew it
Trump-Russia investigators probe Jared Kushner-run digital operation
Russian Dirt on Clinton_ ‘ I Love It,’ Donald Trump Jr. Said
U.S. tech industry fought to keep ties to Russia spy service
---------------------- ---------------- -------------------------

170723

CT == Schneiderman source-Trump Model Management being investigated for

human trafficking-which has ties with senior Kremlin official-Yuri Chaika.
Trump is the subject of a criminal invstgn by NYAG Schneiderman. These crimes-
which may include sex trafficking-are not pardonable by POTUS

170721

WaPo -- Sessions discussed Trump campaign-related matters with Russian ambassador,

U.S. intelligence intercepts show.

reuters --

Politico -- Spicer resigns as White House press secretary. The decision comes after
Trump decided to name Anthony Scaramucci to the job of communications director.
"This was a murdering of Reince and Bannon. They said Anthony would get this job
over their dead bodies," said one top White House official.

REUTERS - The Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya who met Donald Trump Jr.
counted Russia's FSB security service among her clients for years, Russian court
documents seen by Reuters show.

170720

JS : Trump publicly threatens Mueller not to do this. Mueller quietly announces he is

doing this. Love that guy.

Bloomberg -- BREAKING: Mueller has expanded his probe to Trump's business

transactions.

NY Times -- Trump warns Mueller not to look into Trump family finances unrelated
to Russia — and won't rule out firing him.

170714

CT : 5th person in room is Russian born, served in Soviet military and is a registered
lobbyist. There can't be that many in that universe...

NBC NEWS -- Another person was in the Don Jr meeting; a former Soviet counter-
intelligence officer suspected of current ties to Russian intel.

CT : Our new Russia policy: Regime change, full democratization, return trillions to
Russian people by Putin/oligarchs.

170713

AP --BREAKING: Senate Judiciary Committee chairman says he is asking Donald

Trump Jr. to testify; will subpoena if necessary.
JS : Let the fun begin!

170711

CT -- Pence, Kushner, Manafort, the Russians, Bannon - who is leaking to the NYT.
Hell, it could have been the Russians themselves. All possibilities. All signal chaos-all
goal in itself for some.

CT -- It's not much of an overstatement to say this White House itself is a Russian
Intelligence operation. They are connected at so many levels.

McClattchy -- Trump-Russia investigators probe Jared Kushner-run digital

operation.

JS -- We Now Have Proof of Trump’s Collusion With Russians

As Winston Churchill famously said, this is the end of the beginning >>

………………………………

170609

LM : Paul Ryan Taped With Russian Ambassador On GOP Money Laundering 

CT : Donald Trump is now the subject of Special Prosecutor's investigation.

Everything is on the table. Decades of illegalities will be exposed.

JS : NEW: Trump just tweeted that ComeyDay was his "total & complete vindication".
That's a bald-faced lie. Here's why. 

170608

CT : Comey has neatly assembled a case of criminal obstruction against the president.
He's presenting it wrapped and with a bow.

COTTON: "do you believe Trump colluded w/Russia?" COMEY: "a question I
shouldn't answer in open session. Investigation will figure that out"

JS : "Those were lies, plain and simple" Comey on Trump's defamation of the FBI.
Wow.

BBC -- The Russians interfered in the 2016 US election "with purpose and
sophistication," Ex-FBI Director James Comey says.

The Hill -- An effort to impeach President Trump grew twofold on Wednesday, with
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) joining fellow Democratic Rep. Al Green’s (Texas)
incipient bid to push the president out of office.

170607

Gianni Riotta : Clapper former director @NSAGov Watergate pales in comparison to

the assault on US institutions perpetrated by Russia and President Trump.
WaPo -- Top intelligence official told associates Trump asked him if he could
intervene with Comey on FBI Russia probe.

170606

The Hill -- House Dem drafting articles of impeachment for Trump.

KSDK News -- Flynn turned over about 600 pages of documents Tuesday to the Senate
intelligence committee as part of its Russia investigation.

CT : Just in...A source in DOJ confirms that Jared Kushner is being interviewed by
AG's International Criminal Division. At this very moment.

Yahoo News -- Four top law firms turned down requests to represent Trump.

USA TODAY -- Sen. Mark Warner: More state election systems were targeted by
Russians.

Donald J. Trump -- Sorry folks, but if I would have relied on the Fake News of CNN,
NBC, ABC, CBS, washpost or nytimes, I would have had ZERO chance winning WH.

170605

JS : TS/SI+ #NSA report on GRU hacking run today by Intercept was ALSO pub'd
on 5 May and Augusta = NSA Georgia. Looks like quite a coincidence.
So, DoJ announces arrest of the #NSA leaker the same day Putincept runs its YUGE
#NSA exclusive...#WINNING
The fact that Putincept blew Ms Winner's cover by going to #NSA with the TS/SI+
docs she stole is quite darkly hilarious. Way to go, guys!

CT : A senior Cap Hill staffer I've known for 15 years just told me GOP Senators/House
members are "starting to look for a off ramp for Trump".

170603

Jennifer Jacobs -- White House confirms: They are reviewing whether to invoke
executive privilege to prevent Comey from testifying before a congress next week.

170602

Riotta -- Secretary Tillerson declined a call with the @FedericaMog infuriating her
and straining U.S.-EU relationship under Trump.

CT : Why this matters. Guess who else is best buddies with Erdogan and has business
interests in Turkey. Trump. It involves WH intentionally overlooking Flynn-Turkey to
keep him in post. It's a bunch of crimes in one. They're on this bc Flynn talked – which
means they've been on this since the get go. Flynn talking is key. It brings in Kushner,
Trump and will expand to include obstruction.

Reuters -- Exclusive: Special counsel Mueller to probe ex-Trump aide Flynn's Turkey
ties.
CT : Here's the reality. Russia is Venezuela with nuclear weapons. Putin is not ten
feet tall. We can take him on and cut him off at the knees.

CT : Trump has been unsuccessful in lifting sanctions-returning Putin's spy compounds

is a sign to Putin that he's trying to keep their deal.
Even Putin is recognizing that it's all coming out. He had a deal with Trump: election
hack for sanctions removal. Quid Pro Quo.

Breaking: Speaker Paul Ryan was just reported to the FBI for fraud & obstructing the
#TrumpRussia investigations.

NBC -- CA, NY and WA governors reject Pres. Trump's decision; will convene
alliance of US states that want to uphold climate agreement.

Carl Bildt -- US VP Pence says “America is back” in the world. To me it looks more
like “America is gone”. Withdrawing instead of leading.

Yahoo News -- In the early weeks of the Trump administration, former Obama
administration officials and State Department staffers fought an intense, behind-the-
scenes battle to head off efforts by incoming officials to normalize relations with
Russia, according to multiple sources familiar with the events.

CT : Worth noting that Nicaragua isn't a signatory to Paris Accord because they were
protesting that it didn't go far enough.
Yep-it's basically us and Syria. Nicaragua didn't sign Paris Accord because it didn't go
far enough in reducing greenhouse gases.

Repubblica -- Con Siria e Nicaragua ora sono tre i Paesi al mondo che non fanno parte
della storica intesa presa nel 2015 da 195 nazioni.

Merkel, speaking in Berlin: "The USA's decision is extremely regrettable - and I'm
using very restrained terms there."

AP -- France, Germany, Italy issue joint statement saying Paris climate accord can't be
renegotiated.

NY Times -- President Trump announced that he will withdraw the United States from
participation in the Paris climate accord.

170601

ABC News -- US intel agencies formally ask DOJ to investigate Russia-related

'leaks,' as Trump uses media-bashing to raise funds.

Guardian -- Nigel Farage is 'person of interest' in FBI investigation into Trump and
Russia. 

The Resurgent -- White House Sources: Reince Priebus’s Departure is Imminent.

JS : SVR+GRU are spies, doing what they do. Point is DC not taking CI seriously FOR
DECADES means they get away with it.
JS : Hillary's mouthing off about Russians in 2016 does not help #KremlinGate
investigations; on the contrary. She needs to pipe down for now.
We need less partisanship, not more, if we want decent political resolution to
#KremlinGate. Hillary is a deeply polarizing figure, no help
Last, history will not be kind to Hillary's "I did nothing wrong, it was all the Russians"
line in 2016. Putin just isn't that powerful.
REALITY: Evicting Trump from WH will need support from sane & patriotic
Republicans. Hillary isn't helping.

CT : Former Lt General Mike Flynn is being offered a choice between dying old in jail
or flipping on Trump. He's choosing to flip. Wise choice.

170531

CNN -- Sources: Congress investigating another possible Sessions-Kislyak

meeting.
[CT : Sessions is screwed.]

Carl Bildt : Rumours that Trump will have the US joining the small club of rogue
nations Nicaragua and Syria in not accepting Paris climate agreement.

JS : Insane. Both facilities were RIS bases. MD 1 was a SIGINT collection site. Trump
needs to reward his benefactors.
Trump no longer cares that we all know he's a Kremlin pawn. GOP, you're on notice.
The world is watching you now.
This has no precedent in the Republic's history. This is a clear gift to Chekists. This is
an act of treason.

CT : Returning Russian spy compounds. That's it then. Trump is no longer trying to

hide or deny being Putin's bitch.

WaPo -- Trump admin moving to give Russia back facilities in MD and NY Obama
ordered shuttered over hacking elections.

CNN -- CNN: Congress is investigating another possible meeting between Sessions and
Russia's Kislyak, sources say.

WaPo -- House Intelligence Panel Issues Seven Subpoenas as Russia Probe Ramps
Up
[JS : Nunes & Co's play at equivalency between #KremlinGate & SIGINT unmasking
will end badly for the GOP.]

Four target former national security adviser Mike Flynn, Trump personal attorney
Michael Cohen, individuals say

CNN -- BREAKING: James Comey plans to testify that Trump pushed him to end FBI
probe into aide’s Russia ties, a source says.

LM : EXCLUSIVE: Devin Nunes has upper-level security clearance revoked for

leaking classified information
LM : EXCLUSIVE: Federal Marshals Execute Seizure Warrants At Trump Tower
and Manafort's Apartment.

AP -- Trump invites world leaders to call him on his cellphone, raising security, secrecy
concerns.

170530

CNN -- Sean Spicer refuses to answer whether President Trump knew about Jared
Kushner’s back channels with Russia.

JS : "information [w]as financial in nature and...the discussion centered on whether the

Russians had leverage over Trump's inner circle."
BLUF: Russians may have exaggerated their influence over Trump. Their kompromat
on POTUS is nevertheless real.
Again: #KremlinGate is a dirty money scandal to which espionage is merely an
outgrowth. It's really about decades of financial illegalities.

CNN -- Sources: Russians discussed potentially 'derogatory' information about

Trump and associates during campaign. One source described the information as
financial in nature and said the discussion centered on whether the Russians had
leverage over Trump's inner circle.

Donald J. Trump -- Russian officials must be laughing at the U.S. & how a lame
excuse for why the Dems lost the election has taken over the Fake News.
[CT : Putin is pissed bc they had a Quid Pro Quo deal. They help you fix the election-
you get sanctions lifted. And you're losing power to do it.]

JS : There are deep strains of anti-Americanism in Germany. Some are justified.

Trump embodies almost everything Germans despise about the USA.

Gianni Riotta -- Goodbye West.

Donald J. Trump -- We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay
FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military. Very bad for U.S. This will change.

RW -- Remarkable attack on Trump's treatment of Merkel by her chief rival Martin

Schulz. Trump brings people together.

LM : Donald Trump Sealed Indictment Started With Eric Schneiderman

170529

JS : We now know #NSA intercepted & decrypted hi-grade Russian dip comms
in 2016, so assume FBI knows everything Kislyak told Moscow about Trump.
It's too early to call this VENONA 2.0, but we may be getting close. Which is YUGE,
CI-wise. Team Trump should be crapping their pants now.

NY Times -- A Constitutional Puzzle: Can the President Be Indicted?

JS : My latest EXCLUSIVE ==> #NSA pulls out all the SIGINT stops to find evidence
of Russian collusion with Team Trump. 

170528

JS : Merkel on Trump: "The era when we could fully rely on others has passed. I have
experienced this in the last few days."
This is YUGE, folks -- and most depressing for anybody who cares about the West and
preserving it.

Buzzfeed -- Angela Merkel Says Germany Can't Fully Rely On The US Or The UK
Anymore. The German Chancellor said she realized this after spending the past few
days with Trump.

Focus.de -- Bierzelt-Rede in München - Merkel sieht in USA keinen verlässlichen

Partner mehr.
#Breaking: German Chancellor Merkel say the United States is no longer a reliable
partner.

NBC News -- Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly: Intelligence leaks are "darn
close to treason".
[JS : What about attempting to use SVR comms to communicate with the Kremlin?]

170527

The Hill -- Trump complained of trouble setting up golf courses in EU during

Brussels visit: report.

Chicago Tribune -- Trump's national security adviser H.R. McMaster says he wouldn't
"be concerned" about back channel communications with Russia.
[JS : HR is officially the Sam Power of this admin. But even Sammy didn't cover up
high crimes, merely failed policies.]

CT : Jared Kushner has a White House "hard pass". Having one comes with much
scrutiny-and a SF-86 form. Kushner's should have his revoked immediately. He's a
national security risk. We need MSM to ask why this hasn't happened-especially as WH
sets up War Room that will allow Kushner to talk to Kislyak and Russians through
secure communications. More importantly - this War Room will allow WH to generate
documents & communications that they can claim executive privilege on - shielding
them from investigation and facilitating the coverup.

CT : It's all coming out. Trump hasn't been in the hotel/casino business for 15 years.
He's in the Russian Mob money laundering business.

NBC News - Kushner Met With Russian Banker Who Is Putin Crony, Spy School
Grad.

CT : I miss the Cold War. When we have prosecuted all of Team Trump-I want to go
after Putin. Hit him w/ tools of democracy. Let freedom ring!

170526
Adam Khan-- More I examine Kushner's Russian, Chinese $ ties, more I'm convinced
Trump was just a vehicle to transport Kushner to the White House. [old tweet]

Ny Times -- Oleg V. Deripaska, a Russian oligarch once close to President Trump’s

former campaign manager, has offered to cooperate with congressional committees
investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election, but lawmakers are unwilling to
accept his conditions, according to congressional officials.

The Hill -- Trump's State Department quietly lifts restrictions on refugee admissions.

CT : This whole Administration are walking dead. Including Trump. They may be
slowly realizing they are bleeding to death. Perhaps not.

Nuno Felix : And that's Just US SIGINT....

JS: Exactly. Allied SIGINT has even more information on the Trump-Kremlin nexus.

JS : When DIRNSA alluded to damning SIGINT about Trump-Russia, WaPo just gave
you a sample. More & worse is coming.

CNN -- Washington Post: Kushner proposed secret communication channel with

Kremlin.

LM : This tweet is from 2014. Nobody has been on #SnowdenOp to #TrumpRussia

longer than I have except @20committee and he was a senior intel pro
>> Wikileaks : Former UK Tory MP @LouiseMensch (falsely) states that #Snowden,
#Assange are Russian spies, refuses to retract.

JS : FYI, this is just the first segment. The Lizard is bringing more very bad news for
Team Trump soon.....
So you know, The Lizard is a group of current & former Western spooks dedicated
to exposing the truth about Team Trump & #KremlinGate.
The name comes from the Lizard Union (Związek Jaszczurczy), the first secret Polish
resistance group against Nazi+Soviet occupation in 1939.

Observer -- Exclusive: NSA Chief Admits Donald Trump Colluded With Russia
(John Schindler) 

APN News -- Boehner: Trump’s time in office has so far been a “complete disaster".

CT : 1. Trump has been formally notified via a sealed target letter that he is a
suspect (target) in a Grand Jury investigation.
2. The notice was hand-delivered last week. Source says "we must assume that GJ
investigation may also serve as basis for impeachment".
3. This target letter is sealed because of the extraordinary circumstances. Target letter
can also be an invite to speak with investigators.
4. *A target letter is a "courtesy letter given by the federal government informing you
that you're a suspect in a criminal investigation".

CT : I've been saying that if Flynn has flipped (confirmed by source to me yesterday) it
can only mean that he's delivering Trump to prosecutors.

Der Spiegel -- It’s time to get rid of Donald Trump (19.5.17) 

CNN -- FBI Russia investigation looking at Kushner role.

LM : Swedish [against Assange] case was voluntarily dismissed so Ecuador can be

forced to throw him out with a fig leaf.

170525

The Hill -- Official: Trump 'looking at' future of US sanctions on Russia.

[CT: Regardless of this whole looming impeachment thing - Putin still expects to be
paid for services rendered.]

Jewish Insider -- H.R. McMaster was left out of Trump's Netanyahu meeting
Monday—but Jared Kushner was there.

CT : I have news...coming in...regarding Flynn...stand by.

This is what I have from a source with knowledge of the investigation. "Flynn has
begun the proffer process with U.S. Atty Office. This involves him sitting down with
the FBI & USAG and proferring what he could offer in a trial against his co-
conspirators. If his proffered info is deemed reliable, the government will file a 5k.1
motion, requesting a downward sentencing departure. This is absolute fact. His proffer
statement has begun". That's the full statement I received.

Independent -- Articles of impeachment being drawn up against Donald Trump,

says congressman. Representative Al Green says he is prepared to start the
impeachment process.

JS : So in ONE DAY, Trump managed to: Shove Montenegro's PM. Tell NATO it's
over. Call Germany "evil, very evil" & threaten trade war w/EU.
Today is a good example why the "Don't worry about NATO -- Mattis & the JCS got
this" argument may not hold much water with Trump as CINC.

Merkel at NATO in clear rebuke of Trump: "it is not isolation and the building of walls
that makes us successful but shared values"

JS : "The Germans are bad, very bad. Look at the millions of cars they sell in the USA.
Terrible. We will stop that." Orig SPIEGEL had Trump calling Germans "böse, sehr
böse" -- which can be "evil" or "bad." If he said evil...Jesus.

Spiegel -- Trump tells EU leaders: "The Germans are bad, very bad", will "stop"
German car sales to US.
[JS: What The F....? 25th Amendment, anyone?]

JS : Maybe if our NATO allies start extrajudicial killings of druggies or adapt barbaric
Wahhabism, Trump will obsequiously suck up to them too.

CBS -- DOJ says Jeff Sessions was told not to disclose meetings with foreign
dignitaries.

WaPo -- Top GOP senator warns Trump administration: Show progress with Russia or
we’ll pursue sanctions.
JS : Our Allies have been spying on DC more than usual since 20 JAN, trying to figure
out WTF is happening. Covert Action will be next.
Allies spy on each other. Snowdenwald lied to you. After Trump's NATO speech, get
ready for some serious CA by worried US Allies. Buckle up.

JS : Failing to mention collective security (Art V) in his big speech, Trump sends a
message which Putin will not miss.
Trump has been bitching about USA's no-good, free-loading allies for 30 years. Now he
delivered that same, childish message at NATO HQ.
I remind that Trump got on the screw-our-allies bandwagon in 1987, just weeks after
his 1st VIP visit to the USSR -- at Kremlin invitation.
In 1987, after USSR visit, Trump paid $94K for ads in major papers lambasting our
no-good allies. A big change from his previous RW view.
By getting Americans to regard NATO as some kind of Mar-A-Lago with membership
fees and annual dues, Trump has done Putin's work handily.
BTW folks, we're getting a good reminder this week that the Kremlin has burrowed
deeply into the US/Western Left as well as Right. Just FYI.

Ankit Panda : Trump refuses to endorse NATO Article V, which has been invoked
just once in the alliance's history: after 9/11. Remarkable moment.

Calò Bildt : Nervous mood in Brussels today, I guess. Just getting through some hours
of Trump without anything going too wrong. That would be success.

NBC -- Speaking in front of NATO ally leaders, Pres. Trump says the allies must spend
more for collective NATO defense.

The Hill -- House Intelligence Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) "ought to
have his ass kicked" for asking if ex-CIA head John Brennan had any evidence of
collusion, according to CNN analyst and former CIA agent Phil Mudd on Wednesday.

The BBC has learnt that police have stopped passing on information about
#Manchester bombing to the US following leaks.
[JS: Все идет по плану]

Guardian -- GOP candidate Greg Gianforte has financial ties to US-sanctioned

Russian companies.
[JS : Hey @GOP -- just a thought: Stop putting forward candidates who are violently
crazy & have dubious Russian ties.]
[RW : This Gianforte assault story is one of those moments where the cultural
collapse of the GOP into the Trump Troll Party is captured]

CNN -- British authorities warn of 'damage' to investigation from leaks.

Voanews -- Israel Alters Intelligence Sharing with US.

WSJ -- U.S Clarifies That Self-Declared EU Envoy Candidate Isn’t Up for Post
It turns out that Ted Malloch, the would-be ambassador, was never in running for
Brussels post.

170524
Buzzfeed -- NATO Is Keeping Russia Off Its Agenda For Trump's First Visit.
Moscow won’t be a formal topic for the alliance’s first major meeting with Donald
Trump, NATO officials tell BuzzFeed News. And that’s no coincidence.

LM : Exclusive - Mike Flynn spent at least one day spilling his guts to the @FBI.
Because his life is in their hands. 

Bloomberg -- Dems are asking Deutsche Bank to produce documents on Trump family
loans, see if there are any connections to Russia.

CNN -- Sessions didn't disclose meetings with Russian ambassador on his security
clearance form.

NY Times: US intelligence heard Russians talking about how to influence Trump

through Manafort and Flynn.

170522

McClatchy -- Despite deal with Trump, Carrier cutting more than 600 American
jobs from U.S. factory.

170522

JS : The only way Trump could get the IC to hate him even more was to do exactly this.
Trump's done. This is obvious obstruction of an on-going FBI investigation.

Apple News -- REPORT: Trump asked intel chiefs to push back against FBI
collusion probe after Comey revealed its existence. … Trump literally went around to
the directors of each intelligence agency & asked them to engage in a cover-up on his
behalf. … "The problem wasn’t so much asking them to issue statements, it was asking
them to issue false statements abt an ongoing investigation."

AP -- Associated Press reports former NSA Michael Flynn to decline Senate Intel C'tee
subpoena, invoke 5th amendment today.

CNN -- Trump's casino was a money laundering concern shortly after it opened.
House and Senate investigators both said they had obtained access to data housed at
Treasury's FinCEN -- which will include details of these violations and potentially
more, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
[JS : FinCEN are the IC's forensic accountants. They've known about Trump's money-
laundering ways for a long, long time.]

170521

Bruce Mainzer : POTUS does need to be notified when facing impeachment, and Cong
Green did start it on the floor. CNN story about WH lawyers fits timeline.

170520

Fox News -- Texas Democratic Rep. Al Green renewed calls for the impeachment of
President Trump on the House floor Wednesday, in the wake of new allegations
concerning the Russia probe -- as other lawmakers warned against a rush to judgment.
[LM : May have had incalculable legal significance.

LM & CT : Multiple sources close to the intelligence, justice and law enforcement
communities say that the House Judiciary Committee is considering Articles of
Impeachment against the President of the United States.

CT : WH is going to hire Trump a big name lawyer-word on the street is the big name
firms aren't returning WH calls.

CT : The number of unreported contacts between Russian officials & Trump officials is
not 18 as reported but close to 30-and expected to rise.

170519

The Independent -- Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner 'person of interest in

Russia investigation'

CNN -- Russian officials bragged in conversations during the presidential campaign

that they had cultivated a strong relationship with former Trump adviser retired
Gen. Michael Flynn and believed they could use him to influence Donald Trump
and his team, sources told CNN.

NY Times -- Breaking News: James Comey has agreed to testify in public before the
Senate Intelligence Committee.

The Raw Story -- ‘Trump’s best defense is dementia’: Internet in shock as Friday
bombshells abruptly rock White House.

JS : Takes a special kind of POTUS to brag to the Russians about firing his FBI director
because the "nut job" was on his ass about...Russians.

McClatchy -- Trump-Russia probe now includes possible cover-up, Congress is

told.

170518
NY Times -- The F.B.I. warned Republican congressman Dana Rohrabacher in 2012
that Russian spies were trying to recruit him, officials said, an example of how
aggressively Russian agents have tried to influence Washington politics.
[JS : They did.]

Yahoo News -- Exclusive: Trump sends private message to embattled Flynn: "Stay
strong".

Chicago Tribune -- Commentary: If you work for President Trump, it's time to quit
(Rick Wilson)

EG : Pence covered for Flynn on TV. He was head of the transition. THEY DID A
BACKGROUND CHECK. Then they went ahead. With their coup.
NY Times -- The Justice Department acknowledged that Jeff Sessions had twice
communicated with the Russian ambassador last year.

LM : The @FBI do not take lightly @Mike_Pence's treasonous collusion against the
President of the United States the day he expelled Russian spies;
CT – That's what informed sources are telling me. I'm not drawing any firm conclusions
but...
[Mopshell : Just a thought: A fence-jumper would be the perfect reason-cover for
locking down the WH and undertaking a thorough check of grounds... ½
...and interior including an electronic scan for bugs newly planted in, say, the Oval
Office... 2/2]

Wall Street Journal -- Russian State-Run Bank Financed Deal Involving Trump
Hotel Partner. Russian-Canadian developer put money into Toronto project after
receiving hundreds of millions from deal involving VEB.

CT : 1. The MOE (Marshal Order of Execution) began yesterday afternoon (confirmed

by NBC) is search and seizure in 10 physical locations in three jurisdictions. Aimed at
documents, servers, computers, hard drives, telephones etc.

LM : The real fools here are the Russians. They got PLAYED. @putinRF is a pawn,
not the player.

Mediocre Tweets -- It's becoming apparent Mr. Comey plays a mean game of chess.
And Team Trump is still trying to figure out how to play checkers.

LM : EXCLUSIVE: James #Comey's Computer Illegally Accessed, Data Passed to

Russian Diplomats. 

TheSternFacts -- Ex-NSA Exec: Republicans Will See “Large-Scale Political

Cleansing”. 

CNN -- Trump lashes out over special counsel appointment. Trump, casting himself
as the victim of the "single greatest witch hunt" in political history,

CT : Good News/Bad News about having Special Counsel. Robert Mueller will get to
the truth about TrumpRussia. The bad news is it will take years.

JS : Mueller's appt as DoJ Special Counsel is Really Bad News for Team Trump.
Whatever happens now, have confidence some justice will be served.
Politico -- Trump’s worst nightmare comes true — he fired Jim Comey and got Robert
Mueller instead

David Priess : My experience with Mueller leaves me unable to imagine a more

reassuring—tenacious, yet fair-minded—person to serve as special counsel

RW : This is unspinnably bad for Trump. Mueller is serious, and a good man. This
also signals that the FBI isn't playing games.

Reuters -- Former FBI chief Mueller appointed to probe Trump-Russia ties.

170517

NBC News -- Officials say multiple grand jury subpoenas & records requests have been
issued in connection with the 2 men in the past 6 months.
[LM : What do you MEAN "NBC news"? @TrueFactsStated broke the news of Grand
Juries in Trump Russia about 100 years ago Credit your rivals, MSM!]

Paste magazine -- Yesterday, The Failing New York Times broke the story that
former FBI Director James Comey—whom Donald Trump fired for doing a good
job—has spent the last few months not only slowly building a treason case but an
obstruction of justice case. At the same time. Against the president of the United
States.

Reuters : More Republicans back independent probe

Reuters : Online speculators increasing bets on early end to Trump presidency

Reuters : Wall St. tumbles as turmoil in Washington spooks investors.

CT : GOP needs to come to realization that Trump is mentally unfit for office before
the public blames them for allowing a mobster to be elected.

"I think we’re in impeachment territory" says David Gergen, former aide to Nixon and
Clinton.

WaPo -- Former CIA director Michael V. Hayden: Trump proves he’s Russia’s
‘useful fool’.

Carl Bildt : Reports of White House been in lockdown after someone tried to climb
over the fence. Doesn’t say in which direction. [HAHAHA !!!]

Jason Chaffetz : Letter to FBI requesting the Comey documents @GOPoversight.

NBC News -- Comey Wrote Memo Saying Trump Urged Him to Drop Flynn
Investigation: Sources.

FT -- The FT confirms: Donald Trump asked FBI Director James Comey to halt the
Michael Flynn investigation.
Lawfareblog -- Washington Post article about President Trump’s disclosure of
classified information to Russian officials was accurate in all material factual
respects. In fact, McMaster did not dispute any of the facts laid out in the Post article.
What he did dispute was that the President’s disclosure was “inappropriate.”

170516

NYT -- Free Advice to Trump Aides: Quit While You Can.

WaPo – Mike Pence used campaign funds to pay his mortgage — and it cost him
an election.

ABC News -- Trump's disclosure endangered spy placed inside ISIS by Israel,
officials say.

Broadsword_Six : My humor is fucking warped & very black. That said, I love
watching you suffer.

McMaster: Trump "wasn't even aware of where" the intel he shared came from.

LM : EXCLUSIVE: U.S Marshals Service Readying in #TrumpRussia case; plan

approved yesterday.

Full statement from @SenJohnMcCain re: reports of President Trump disclosing

highly classified info to Russians. "The reports that the President shared sensitive
intelligence with Russian officials are deeply disturbing. Reports that this information
was provided by a US ally and shared without its knowledge sends a troubling signal to
America's allies and partners around the world and may impair their willingness to share
intelligence with us in the future".
GOP Rep Amash wants details on #Trump's dump of *classified* intel to #Russia.

Giani Riotta : Trump scopre i suoi e riconosce di aver condiviso informazioni con
russi. Fonti indicano nello staff di McMaster la gola profonda del Post

Sr. German lawmaker: If Trump passes intel to others "Trump becomes a security risk
for the entire western world." [Buskhard Lishka, Bundestag’s intelligence overight
committee.]

WH/NSC spokesman Mike Anton emphatically denies that Pres Trump's tweets today
confirm disclosure of classified material to Russia.

AP -- BREAKING: Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman denies reports that Trump

revealed classified information to senior officials.

Donald J. Trump : As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly

scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining...

Carl Bildt : No, the White House denial isn’t really a denial when you read the
details. And that in itself speaks volumes.

170515

JS : Nobody in intel circles is taking McMaster's "denial" seriously. He's a good

soldier following orders. Price you pay for working for Trump.
FYI, McMaster didn't deny the Intel was passed to RIS -- only that it didn't contain TS+
S&M. Wake up, stop lying.

Buzzfeed confirms WaPo's report: "One official noting that 'it’s far worse than what has
already been reported.'"

JS : Dear USG & Allies: POTUS will throw you under the bus, maybe killing you,
because he wants to impress top Russians.

Reuters -- Trump revealed intelligence secrets to Russians in Oval Office:

officials.

WaPo -- Exclusive: Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian

diplomats in their Oval Office meeting last week.
President Trump’s disclosures jeopardized a critical source of intelligence on the
Islamic State, officials said.

Foreign Policy -- Exclusive: NATO is frantically trying to Trump-proof the U.S.

president’s first visit to alliance headquarters. 

James Garland : Hearings with intelligence officials have used the arcane and precise
dialect of those who observe, assess - but don't make policy. Comey changed all of that.
Started using the terms "U.S. attorney" and prosecutors. Named courthouses.

WaPo -- Republicans and Democrats agree: If Trump has tapes, he’ll need to turn them
over to Congress.
CNN -- No clear path for Trump to quell uproar over Comey.

Newsweek -- The lights were burning unusually late in the West Wing last night, as the
Trump family and advisers faced an inevitable hour of reckoning. It was always only
a matter of time before the judicial branch caught up with the public dossier of
investigative reporting on Donald Trump’s long history of dubious business deals with
Russia—his ties to Russian mobsters laundering money through New York real estate
deals, the foreign bank loans to the multinational octopus of the Trump branding
business—and connected it to Trump’s personal appeal to the Russians last summer to
hack Hillary Clinton

170514

CT : Update: I previously had reported that according to a source close to investigation,

28-42 individuals were targeted for indictment. That same source has just confirmed
that number is now signicantly higher-with upwards of 70 individuals/entities
targeted.

Stern (DE) -- Secret accusation against Trump - is the FBI now striking back?

CNN -- Donald Trump, for still not realizing that the presidency isn't the same thing as a
reality TV show, you had the worst week in Washington. Congrats, or something.

CNN -- Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper issued a stern

warning Sunday about the state of the US government after President Donald
Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey last week, saying he thinks US
institutions are "under assault."
When he was asked, “Internally, from the president?” Clapper said, “Exactly.”

Bloomberg –- Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election has been “well
documented,” but it’s still in the interests of the U.S. to attempt to improve relations
with Moscow, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said.

The Hill -- Trump weighing major shakeup that would include removing Priebus,
Bannon and Spicer: report.

Axios -- Scoop: Trump, irked at cabinet and staff, mulls sweeping shake-up.

CT : Sealed indictments out of Eastern District of Virginia-under Dana Boente. Trump,

Manafort and Flynn-among others under sealed indictment.

WaPo -- Trump must be impeached. Here’s why. (Lawrence Tribe)

CT : @LouiseMensch and I are reporting that a sealed indictment has been issued
against Trump by FISA court to serve as the basis of Impeachment.

EXCLUSIVE: Sealed Indictment granted against Donald Trump

By Louise Mensch and Claude Taylor
Separate sources with links to the intelligence and justice communities have stated
that a sealed indictment has been granted against Donald Trump.
While it is understood that the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution means that,
until Mr. Trump is impeached, he cannot be prosecuted, sources say that the
indictment is intended by the FBI and prosecutors in the Justice Department to
form the basis of Mr. Trump’s impeachment. The indictment is, perhaps uniquely,
not intended or expected to be used for prosecution, sources say, because of the
constitutional position of the President.

170513

LM : EXCLUSIVE: "Trump's Presidency ended March 9th" - intelligence sources

on politicized firing of #Comey

CT : A large % of evidence against Trump, family, associates-has come from friendly

IC countries. Chain of custody has been carefully maintained.

CT : Told by an IC source-now confirmed by legal source-that there is recorded

evidence of criminal wrongdoing by each of Trump's adult children.

Raw Story -- A bombshell New York Times report about the tumultuous inner workings
of the Trump team claims that Vice President Mike Pence was integral to President
Donald Trump’s planned firing of former FBI Director James Comey that rocked
American politics in the past week. Pence was among “the small group of advisers who
planned Mr. Comey’s ouster in near secrecy”.

170512

Financial Times -- Trump’s ‘frontal assault’ on US institutions. The dismissal of FBI

chief James Comey has fuelled calls for a special counsel to probe Russian links.

WaPO -- Clapper’s remarks constitute the third strike for Trump ... telling NBC’s
Andrea Mitchell in an interview that he never exonerated Trump of collusion, as Trump
claimed.

CT : 1. From an IC source re: Steele Dossier. Putin put three people mentioned in the
Dossier "in charge" of Trump. We have the names of two.
2. The first is Sergei Ivanof, mentioned throughout, who was head of the Russian
Presidential Administration (PA) and reassigned in August.
3. The second one was with Trump in the Oval Office the other day: it's Sergey Lavrov,
first mentioned in the Steele Dossier on page 28.
4. Ivanov's role is very interesting, as Putin fired him as head of PA on 8/12/16 and gave
him a smaller role. He speaks fluent English.

CT : Everyone needs to be patient. You may not see it but the process that will end with
Trump's resignation or impeachment has begun.

Senate Judiciary GOP & DEM leaders want briefings on the Russia investigation
from Deputy AG Rosenstein and Acting FBI Director McCabe.

CNN -- BREAKING: Former FBI Director James Comey is “not worried about any
tapes,” a source says
[RW : He just called Trump's bluff on that lunatic tweet from earlier.]

CNN -- Trump threatens Comey in Twitter outburst.

Donald J.Trump : James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our
conversations before he starts leaking to the press!

Donald J.Trump :.Maybe the best thing to do would be to cancel all future "press
briefings" and hand out written responses for the sake of accuracy???
CT : Paranoia, dementia, Narcissistic Personality Disorder-invoke the 25th
Amendment, Section 4. Its also perhaps the easiest way out.

NYmag -- Trump Tries to Intimidate Former FBI Director Into Silence With Tweet.

CNN -- Donald Trump just threw his entire White House staff under the bus. In an
interview with NBC's Lester Holt Thursday night, the President directly contradicted
the reasoning his staff -- as well as Vice President Mike Pence -- had laid out for his
decision to fire FBI Director James Comey.

CT : Reality. Nearly all GOP leadership knows that Trump was compromised and is a
pathological liar. They support him to get agenda passed.
Truth. McCabe is solid. Rosenstein is solid. There's 25 indictments under seal. More
search warrants will be going out. They are going down.

NBC News -- Comey did not request the dinner with Trump and did not tell him he
wasn't under investigation.

LM : There are rumors within the intelligence community that indictments are either
being prepared, or presently exist, sealed, against the Attorney General, Jeff Sessions.


170511

WaPo -- FBI searches Republican political consulting firm in Annapolis.

CNN -- The White House can't get its story straight on why President Donald Trump
fired FBI Director James Comey. Trump told NBC News on Thursday that he was
going to fire Comey with or without Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's
memo criticizing the director. That statement contradicts at least 10 times Trump's top
aides and advisers, including Vice President Mike Pence.

JS : It's field trip time, peeps. Taking the fight to the Chekists. Keep Cheeto Jesus in line
while I'm on the road. Don't let #TeamDeza win.

The Hill -- The Feds have 'Trump tapes' akin to Nixon's 'Watergate tapes.
[Dr. Dena Grayson: MSM finally reports what we already knew thanks to
@LouiseMensch�*every* interaction of Team Traitor w/#Russia is on tape.]

Sarah Smith : (1) THREAD: CONNECTING THE DOTS BETWEEN Strategic

Campaign Group (FBI warrant) & SCL/Cambridge Analytica.
SUMMARY: Today's FBI target founded 2 Bolton PACs, which are funded by Mercer,
and which use Firtash/Mercer-owned Cambridge Analytica.
How Mercer/Bannon used offshore companies to support pro-Putin agenda in Europe.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/politics/2017/apr/02/arron-banks-
interview-brexit-ukip-far-right-trump-putin-russia …
Beth Brigham : BREAKING: Ties found between GOP lobbying firm just raided by
FBI to Trump, via casino firm Penn Natl. Gaming.

Molly : Also, important to explicitly mention that Strategic Campaign Group is also
directly connected to Roger Stone. So this firm has a pretty direct connection to Paul
Manafort.

Washington Examiner : The FBI executed a search warrant at a Republican consulting

and fundraising firm in Annapolis, Md. on Thursday afternoon. According to a report
from WBAL, the search at the Strategic Campaign Group began Thursday afternoon.

CT -- More BREAKING. The basement of the EDVA was described as resembling a

"judicial Armada" with a dozen or more FBI and US Marshals vans.
MORE: I'm told the name of the GOP firm that was served with Warrant in Annapolis
is Strategic Campaign Group.

Reuters -- Senators pledge aggressive Russia probe after meeting with U.S. Justice
Department's No. 2.

Jayne Miller : Developing: FBI confirms agents are executing a search warrant at the
office of GOP Fundraiser/Consulting firm in Annapolis.

CT -- BREAKING: Legal Shock & Awe. Source in legal community reports large
number of Warrants from Eastern District of Virginia being executed by the FBI.
Source reports frenzy of activity inside the EDVA, large number of agents, US
Marshals. The battle has been joined.

LM -- EXCLUSIVE: RICO case being pursued against @GOP and @Reince45 over
Russian money laundering.

CNN -- White House furious after being trolled with Russia Oval Office photos.
CNN -- Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe Thursday rejected assertions by the
White House that FBI employees had lost faith in James Comey and that the bureau's
probe into Russian election meddling was one of its most minor concerns.

Reuters -- Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe promised on Thursday to tell the
Senate Intelligence Committee of any effort to interfere with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's probe into links between Russia and the 2016 Trump presidential
campaign.

JS : Lizard is currently held up in discussions w/lawyers....will make info public

ASAP. I've been asked to sit on it until resolved. Mea culpa.

JS : Trump-Comey spat was really about POTUS demanding his FBI head verify &
push a bunch of Kremlin-created FAKE NEWS.

LM : Two separate sources with links to the intelligence community say that the first
arrests in the criminal and counter-intelligence probe will shortly take place, possibly
as soon as Thursday, May 11th.

CNN -- Senate intelligence committee subpoenas Michael Flynn.

170510

JS : The Lizard is coming. Like I promised. Tomorrow.

Palmer Report -- Mike Pence caught in apparent lie over Donald Trump’s firing of
James Comey.

JS : I've received a briefing from a senior intel official who's worked #KremlinGate
from the beginning. I'll share the findings ASAP. Big stuff.

NBC News -- Senate intelligence committee has requested documents on Trump from
Treasury's money laundering unit.

-Feinstein: Is it true that European allies passed along intel re #TrumpRussia contact?
-Clapper: Yes & it's "quite sensitive".
[JS : IOW it's TS/SI/ECI ]

CPJ -- Police arrested Dan Heyman, a broadcast journalist with Public News Service
West Virginia, and charged him with "willful disruption of government processes" after
he shouted questions at Price and Kellyanne Conway, an adviser to U.S. President
Donald Trump.

CT : There's 25 sealed indictments. Thanks to Comey and the Assistant United States
Attorney. Waiting for them to be unsealed-it's when. Not if.

Matt Viser : It is outrageous that Russian media were allowed into the Oval Office, but
American media were not.
Michael McFaul : This really happened? Embarrassing. America first? #Maga ? Putin
would never do that.

CNN, Paul Callan -- Historians may one day remember May 9, 2017 as a fateful day in
American history. In firing FBI director James Comey, the 45th President of the United
States may well have set in motion a series of events that could lead to more
controversy and potentially even his impeachment less than a year after being sworn
into office.

JS : More even than arrogant & entitled, Team Trump is profoundly stupid. They
cannot grasp the YUGE legal tsunami about take them all out.

John McCain : Removal of Director Comey only confirms need for select cmte to
investigate #Russia's interference in 2016 election.

JS : The optics of firing the FBI director investigating your Russia ties then meeting the
Russian FM on THE VERY NEXT DAY defy easy description.

CT : Just in: Senate Intel Com sent lengthy letter to Treasury requesting detailed
financial info on transactions of Trump, family, & assoc.
A source with knowledge of the investigation says that nine sealed indictments came
down in one case with sixteen more expected in others.

JS : I am at a loss for words. Though COUP comes to mind.

CT : Just hearing back from a source on this. "Comey was ready. He anticipated this". It
didn't save Nixon. It won't save Trump.

Bill Kristol : The Rosenstein memo is dated...today. So there was no real

recommendation from DOJ. Trump wanted to do it, and they created a paper trail.

JohnMcCain : Removal of Director Comey only confirms need for select cmte to
investigate #Russia's interference in 2016 election

Carl Bildt : To say that the political situation in Washington is tumultuous and
confusing is an understatement of dimension.

170509

CNN -- Trump fires FBI director James Comey

CT : There are 3 grand juries on the Federal level working on TrumpRussia. There
were two-now there are 3. The 3rd has been set up just for FISA.

CT : What if Trump was the one that compromised Flynn and after that Flynn was "just
following orders"? Wouldn't that explain Trump's behavior?

170508

Olga_Lautman NYC : Trump has had dealings with the Russian mob for over 3
decades. Many Russians laundered money through his properties world wide.

Donald J. Trump : Director Clapper reiterated what everybody, including the fake
media already knows- there is "no evidence" of collusion w/ Russia and Trump.
[Caroline O. : Actually... James Clapper confirmed that Trump's Russian business
interests are the subject of an active investigation.]

NBC Exclusive: Obama warned Trump not to hire Flynn during their private sit down
right after the election, 3 former WH officials confirm.

JS: WH does not adjudicate clearances. IRL Obama fired #MoscowMike as DIA
director because he's an incompetent asshat.
There's so much dishonest desperation in this tweet you can taste it across the room.
Gonna be a bad week for Trump & his #KremlinGate pals.

Donald J. Trump : General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by the
Obama Administration - but the Fake News seldom likes talking about that.

CT : Bad news for Team Trump-and Paul Ryan. Amb Kisylak is....loquacious. He liked
to chat people up. Make deals. And every word was recorded.

170505

Keith Olbermann : NEW VIDEO: FBI Director Comey may have confirmed reports
that a Virginia Grand Jury is impaneled on Trump/Russia.
JS: Time for a minor tweetstorm on the issue of SIGINT "unmasking" since
#TeamDeza is pushing nonsense again to deflect from #KremlinGate /1
This BS, which started with @Circa and now @FDRLST too, per usual fashion is being
picked up by overt Kremlin disinformation fronts. /2
This is, at best, based on a deep misread of information released by ODNI on SIGINT
unmasking in recent years. Or it's pure deza. TBD /3
4/ Those who are interested in the FACTS on how SIGINT unmasking works IRL
should refer to my explanation here:  Trump Has a Problem With NSA—But So Does
Obama.
Unmasking requests to #NSA jumped significantly in 2016 over 2015. Of course they
did -- the #GOP nominee was in bed with the Kremlin. /5
This is being spun by the Usual Suspects as OMG OBAMA SURVEILLANCE!!! This
is no more than more pro-Trump BS without factual basis. /6
In other words, this is more anti-NSA and pro-Kremlin deza (see below) designed to
get Team Trump off the hook. /7
This #TeamDeza effort started with #SnowdenOp & led directly to the election of
Trump, as I've explained below.
At this point, any outlet which pushes this intentional distortion of USG transparency
about SIGINT is at best an unwitting Kremlin pawn. /9
I wish to caution journalists that their brazen involvement in pushing Kremlin lies has
gotten the attention of Western CI. Have fun.
USG is quite restricted in what it can do about journalists acting as Kremlin agents.
Some of our allies are less restricted, take note. /11

170504

CT : A source with knowledge of the investigation tells me the FBI has targeted from
28 up to 42 individuals.

LM : The NSA taped Sergei Kislyak throughout last year, including at the GOP
convention. Anybody who took his money is going down.

LM : Guys, James Comey is moving towards declaring indictments. Grand Juries are
there. @TrueFactsStated was right. Anti-Comey helps Trump.

Esquire -- As reported in the New Yorker, Mark Warner, the vice Chairman of the
Senate Intelligence Committee has reportedly put the odds at two to one against
Trump completing his full term.

CNN -- US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher talks Russian money laundering with

alleged ex-spy in Berlin.

170503

CT : Trump is realizing at a minimum they have him on Obstruction and/or Conspiracy.

He's on tape discussing shutting down investigations.

The Situation Room : Comey confirms there is an “active” counterintelligence

investigation into the Trump campaign and Russian ties.

Jask Tapper : In hearing, FBI Director Comey calls @wikileaks "intelligence porn,"
pushed out to do as much damage as possible to the US
JS : Would've been nice if Comey let the public know the "fact of" FBI's CI inquiry into
#KremlinGate before Nov 8th.

The Hill -- Former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.)
said Russia was "wildly successful" in sowing "mistrust" in the U.S. election process
through its meddling in the 2016 presidential race.

170502

Zembla.nl -- The American real estate development company Bayrock, through which
Donald Trump constructed hotels and apartment complexes, used Dutch letter box
companies in a network suspected of being involved in money laundering. A ZEMBLA
investigation suggests that Bayrock siphoned off $1.5 million dollars by setting up a
corporate structure in the Netherlands in 2007. In New York, Bayrock also stands
accused of large-scale tax fraud. This incriminating information could place Donald
Trump in an extremely difficult position, claims attorney F. Oberlander, who is
prosecuting Bayrock on behalf of the State of New York: “The maximum jail term
would be 30 years. So you’re in really serious trouble.”

CT : IC source: They have Trump on tape talking about trying to shut down
investigation. My source wouldn't be held to more specifics. ½
So unclear when and with who was on tape. It was overseas call and was picked up by
friendly IC and provided to investigators. 2/2

170430
Fox News -- Lt Gen H.R. McMaster on North Korea threat to U.S.: It means being
prepared for military intervention if necessary.

170428

The Daily Beast -- The Trump administration is actively exploring options to remove
controversial national security aide Sebastian Gorka from the White House and place
him at another federal agency, multiple sources tell The Daily Beast.

Phily – Tillerson eyes cutting 2,300 jobs at State Department.

[JS: Congress & the Pentagon have been screaming to increase State Dept's budget for
years, so let's slash it.]

JS : That's actually quite possible. Kremlin has mountains of kompromat on Team

Trump, should Putin ever tire of Donnie.

CT -- Folks. I'm frustrated too. At this rate, Putin may show us the proof of Team
Trump's Treason before the ongoing investigations do.

JS : We need to talk about the insanity of doing this at the exact same moment Trump
dares North Korea to start a war.

Reuters -- Exclusive: Trump vows to fix or scrap South Korea trade deal, wants
missile system payment
[JJS : f Trump wanted to destroy our alliance with the ROK while causing war with the
DPRK, what would he do differently?]

The Guardian -- Donald Trump warns of 'major, major conflict' with North Korea.
[JS: Let's goad a crazy regime with nukes into a needless war! One we don't have much
intel about either. Super!]

170427

Business Insider -- TRUMP: I was going to terminate NAFTA, but Trudeau and Peña
Nieto called, and I like them.

JS : Yep, Flynn is going down, no doubt about it. Dumbass mook doesn't even know
enough to get a sweet DoJ deal

CNN -- DIA warned Michael Flynn in 2014 against taking foreign payments, DOD IG
has launched probe, House Oversight Cmte tells CNN.
House oversight committee ranking democrat says department of defense inspector
general launching investigation into #Flynn.

NY Times -- Tillerson in No Rush to Fill Nearly 200 State Department Posts.

{JS : By "understaffing" we mean NO STAFFING. Trump WH has appointed
NOBODY below Tillerson. DoS is utterly paralyzed.]

170426
Independent -- Angela Merkel 'had to explain fundamentals of EU trade to Donald
Trump 11 times'. US President will now reportedly prioritise EU trade deal over post-
Brexit agreement with Britain.

170425

CNN -- Trump WH refuses Oversight Committee requested documents related to

Flynn's Russian money earned.

170421

CT : CNN has this wrong. Putin did not try to infiltrate the Trump campaign. They were
welcomed in. Call it what it was: Quid Pro Quo.

CNN -- Sources: Russia tried to use Trump advisers to infiltrate campaign.

Rick Wilson : Never forget; you WANTED this war with the IC. You trusted Trump
and the Russian IC over our own. Your call.

170420

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Nicolas Maduro may be struggling to feed

Venezuela but his socialist administration still managed to make a $500,000 donation to
Donald Trump's inauguration, records released Wednesday show.

CBS -- Intel chairman says Russia hired more than 1000 hackers to create fake, anti-
Clinton news in key states, won by Trump.

CNN -- US President Donald Trump said he was sending "an armada" to Korean
waters to potentially deal with threats from Pyongyang. But its no-show has caused
some South Koreans to question his leadership and strategy regarding their
unpredictable neighbor in the north.

170419

JS : RISS (RISI in Russian) = SVR. Zero degrees of separation there.

RISI's director is Mikhail Fradkov, a senior Chekist who was the SVR's director from
2007 to 2016. RISI's founder and longtime director, until recently, was Leonid
Reshetnikov, a retired LtGen, career KGB, then head of analysis for the SVR.
We can now state conclusively that the Kremlin plan to elect Trump was the creation of
the SVR, Russia's FI Service.
We can debate how much Moscow helped Trump, but that Russian intel conspired to
help POTUS isn't up for debate now.
Those who aided SVR's secret plan to elect Trump must now be viewed as the agents
(witting or not) of Russian intelligence which they are.

Riotta : #longstory intelligence e leaks capitolo Russiagate.

Christo Grozev -- This is WOW.

Reuters -- Putin-linked think tank drew up plan to sway 2016 U.S. election –U.S.
intelligence officials aquired the documents, which were prepared by the Moscow-based
Russian Institute for Strategic Studies [en.riss.ru/], after the election.

JS : Today we learned that lobbing TLAMs in #Syria & dropping a MOAB on AFG
failed to permanently remove #KremlinGate from the news cycle.

JS : #NSA friend recently told me that when #KremlinGate shakes out, Nunes will be
doing hard time. Now we know why

The New Yorker -- The Continuing Fallout from Trump and Nunes’s Fake Scandal.
“The bigger scandal is the coördinated effort to use the American intelligence services
to manufacture an excuse for Trump’s original tweet.:”

CNN -- The FBI last year used a dossier [Steele] of allegations of Russian ties to
Donald Trump's campaign as part of the justification to win approval to secretly monitor
a Trump associate [Carter Page], according to US officials briefed on the investigation.
[Ivan Jankovic : CNN story says pretty openly that FBI confirmed the central
allegations from Steele Dossier that Trump people colluded with Russians. Q.E.D.
JS : Indeed. Big Picture of the Steele Dossier -- Team Trump was in bed with Putin -- is
true. Some of details are not.]

170418

Hinterland Gazette -- Ethics Complaint Filed Against Former Trump Aide Paul
Manafort for Possible Racketeering.

170416

JS: #TrumPutin trolls are losing their minds -- expect even more noxious Twitter crazy
in coming days -- for two important reasons... /1
1st, everybody not totally stupid understands the connections between Putin, Wikileaks,
Snowdenwald, etc - the mask is off. No fun 4 them /2
Nobody outside the Kremlin-created cult cares anymore, while Julian & Eddie know
their fate will be unpleasant from here on out. SAD! /3
2nd, Alt-Right lunatics are dimly noticing that God-Emperor Trump is, in fact, the
biggest (((cuck))) of all - he played them very nicely /4
Trump is a 100% globalist bankster - basically Hillary with MOAR MidEast wars +
(((Goldman Sachs)). Pepe & Friends are finally getting it /5
Trump played his hardcore fans for the idiots they are, and now the FBI is on all their
asses. Sucks to be stupid. SAD! -- but not really /6

170415

CT : The question may not be has Carter Page flipped but when did he flip? Latest
word is that FBI got to him early last summer and he was wired.

CT : They have years of intercepts of Manafort talking to the Russians. Years. The
Germans handed over a decades worth.
[JS : Can confirm]
JS : Putin's notching up the #SpyWar over the last decade means Western intel is back
in the CI game with Moscow. Western services each know different pieces, but taken
together -- as with the FBI investigation of Team Trump -- Western CI knows a lot.

Independent -- Former MI6 chief Richard Dearlove says Donald Trump borrowed
money from Russia during 2008 financial crisis. Robert Amsterdam, a lawyer with
considerable experience in Russian affairs, told The Independent there was “no
question” that US intelligence agencies and the FBI had information about Trump’s
financial dealings with Russian entities prior to the 2016 US election.

170414

CT : The list of who is ultimately indicted in #Trumprussia will be longer than most
observers expect and will therefore have some surprises.

170413

Will McAvoy : This is a time when having the credibility to deny press reports is
important, and Trump administration has none.

Multiple sr defense officials say this report is "wildly wrong" "crazy." Pentagon
pushing back on NBC report, call it "extremely dangerous."

NBC -- EXCLUSIVE: U.S. may launch preemptive strike if North Korea reaches for
nuclear trigger, intelligence officials say.

CT : Just getting this. A source is telling me that two countries' Intel agencies have
handed over audio of Trump kids-criminal acts on tape.

JS : You'll know shit's getting real when IC drops what it knows about the "journalists"
who enabled Putin's #SnowdenOp.
Putin needed to politically take out #NSA to give his spies a chance at installing their
puppet. Western media was disturbingly complicit.
#SnowdenOp aimed at destroying the NSA-led Western intelligence alliance and
making anything NSA+IC said seem like a lie. Now you get why?

CNN -- CIA director slams WikiLeaks, Assange. CIA Director Mike Pompeo
criticizes Wikileaks and Julian Assange at a speech to CSIS on national security.

JS : Nice to see CIA publicly catch up to what I've been telling you since 2013.
Better late than....oh screw it, it's time for martinis.

TN : As @20committee and I and others said for years.

Reuters -- CIA Director Mike Pompeo on Thursday called WikiLeaks a "hostile

intelligence service," using his first public speech as spy agency chief to denounce
leakers who have plagued U.S. intelligence.

The Hill -- US prepared to launch preemptive strike if North Korea goes forward with
nuclear test: report.
Carl Bildt : Indications that North Korea is preparing a new nuclear test. But the
patience of Beijing might be running out.

Guardian -- British spies were first to spot Trump team's links with Russia.

170412

Gordonua.com -- Who is Mr.Cohen? Trump’s attorney received $350,000 for the

Izmaylovskaya Criminal Group — Felshtinsky

CNN -- Former Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page: "Of course" I wasn't acting
as an agent for a foreign government.

Reuters – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States is
prepared to tackle the crisis surrounding North Korea without China if necessary.

Reuters – Trump says NATO not obsolete, reversing campaign stance

Reuters – Putin says trust erodes under Trump, Moscow icily receives Tillerson.

170411

JS : So Nunes/WH game to distract from #KremlinGate was a total, cynical fabrication.

Lajes Creep hasn't merely obstructed justice, he's attacked the bipartisan compact on
Congressional IC oversight.

CNN -- Classified docs contradict Nunes surveillance claims, GOP and Dem sources
say. After a review of the same intelligence reports brought to light by House
Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers and
aides have so far found no evidence that Obama administration officials did anything
unusual or illegal, multiple sources in both parties tell CNN.

WaPo -- FBI obtained FISA warrant to monitor Trump adviser Carter Page.

Reuters -- LIVE: Mattis says he cannot say whether Russia involved in chemical attack.
U.S.-Russia tensions over Syria will not 'spiral out of control': Mattis.

JS : Sean Spicer is neither a Nazi nor a Holocaust denier. He's just a complete
blithering idiot. And the President's spokesman.

Reuters -- White House spokesman Sean Spicer triggered an uproar on Tuesday by

saying Adolf Hitler did not use chemical weapons. He apologized after his comments
drew immediate criticism on social media and elsewhere for overlooking the fact that
millions of Jews were killed in Nazi gas chambers.

Bloomberg -- Tillerson Says Russia Should Give Up ‘Unreliable Partner’ Assad.

Reuters -- Trump approves Montenegro's membership in NATO - White House

[JS : Putin's bag of #SpecialWar dirty tricks failed in Montenegro -- which matters.]

170410

Reuters -- May, Trump agree Russia should break ties with Assad: UK PM's office.
The White House later on Monday said Trump had spoken with May and separately
with German Chancellor Angela Merkel by telephone about the U.S. attack and
thanked them for their support.

Sean Spicer just called Russia an "ally." "working with allies, including Russia..."

JS : This is bad, even for Putin.

AP -- The United States has concluded Russia knew in advance of Syria's chemical
weapons attack last week, a senior U.S. official said Monday.

Reuters -- U.S. Navy strike group will move toward Korea –source.

Reuters -- Kremlin, angry at Syria missile strike, says Putin won't meet Tillerson.

Reuters -- U.S. cruise missile strike in Syria destroyed 20 percent of operational Syrian
aircraft - Defense Secretary Mattis.

CNN -- Nikki Haley says 'regime change' in Syria. Rex Tillerson doesn't. What gives?

CNN -- Inside the tense closed-door UN Security Council deliberations on Syria …

One council diplomat described the whole atmosphere as "exceptionally poisonous."

CNN -- After Syria strike, populist supporters abandon Trump at home and abroad.

Reuters -- Neil Gorsuch is sworn in to the Supreme Court during ceremony at the
White House.
170409

Bloomberg -- McFarland to Exit White House as McMaster Consolidates Power. K.

T. McFarland has been asked to step down as deputy National Security Advisor to
President Donald Trump after less than three months and will become U.S. ambassador
to Singapore, according to a person familiar with White House personnel moves.

170407

The Hill -- President Trump is considering ousting both White House chief of staff
Reince Priebus and chief strategist Stephen Bannon, Axios reported on Friday.

WSJ -- Donald Trump Considers Major Shake-up of Senior White House Team.
Crisis in Syria has sharpened president’s desire to cut some of the drama out of West
Wing.
[JS L: Bannon could be out. First #SyriaStrikes, now this. Pepe just shot himself in a
bathroom stall with a Luger.]

TN : If major actors have agreed to terms of attack and moved to limit damages, what is
accomplished by the attack itself?
1. Precedent established 2. Degraded Syrian air ability 3. International support.

The Kremlin was asked whether it's true that the Russian anti-missile systems were
switched off for the attack: "No comment".

JS : Time for a brief tweetstorm on Trump's TLAM strikes on #Syria last night... /1
I've always been a non-interventionst on #Syria; there hasn't been much militarily we
could without huge costs since at least 2012. /2
That said, if you're not gonna take action when a regime kills civilians with sarin --
when might you? Something had to be done here. /3
Last night was Trump's chance to look strong -- he's all about projecting strength -- at
really no cost to USG except 59 TLAMs. /4
Military airfield gets hit, impressive explosions, Trump sends message that he's not a
weakling like Obama, he looks like Big Man POTUS. /5
Today's BDA will reveal a lot less damage than 59 TLAMs should cause -- where'd
the airplanes go? -- and few dead Syrians. Get it yet? /6
TLAM strikes had to be coordinated with the Kremlin, which owns #Syria, de facto,
so of course Russians warned their clients in advance. /7
Today's Kremlin condemnation of the TLAM strikes as "aggression" should not be
taken seriously; this is all a stage-managed event. /8
Bottom line is Trump managed to enforce a "red line" in #Syria -- the exact one Obama
ran away from. Big win for Trump there, can't deny. /9

Gianni Riotta : US opposition divided on Syria: many supported a raid anti Assad, but
are wary of supporting Trump. The president takes the initiative.

Carl Bildt : Militarily the US strike was against Assad. Politically it was as much
against Putin. Could not defend its ally.
Most anticipated statement of today is the one eventually coming out of Moscow. Bow
down? Or go ballistic? I guess the debate is ongoing.
Gianni Riotta : Trump ordina attacco a basi siriane in rappresaglia contro i gas tossici dl
regime di Assad. Missili Tomahawk. Svolta della sua presidenza.
Trump's raid in Syria changes the equation with Putin. From partners to rivals maybe
enemies.
Tema strategico ora a Washington: contro Assad raid isolato o apertura campagna
militare?

TN -- My take so far: 1. This is not nothing. By the standards of this war, it hurts Assad
some, but not in a lasting way.
Still, it's the right thing to establish that Syria can be struck and that chem use is not
cost-free. /2
The Russians may be willing to just make Assad take this one for the team in order to
let some pressure off from US and world. /3
Less clear is whether they will let the US cripple Assad (or whether US even wants to
try) /4
Assad may well think this is his only punishment, and dig in. US response was
proportionate; not clear what to do if Syria doubles down /5
But at least the door is open, and two new facts emerge: US can strike; Russia not
instantly opposed /6
With that said, there are a million ways this can go wrong. And this is not the end of
this, but the start. /7x

McMullin -- I support stopping Assad's atrocities, but it's unnerving that Trump
changed his position on striking Syria 180 degrees in only 24 hours.

AP – Secretary of State Rex Tillerson: Russia has 'failed to deliver' on preventing

chemical weapons attacks in Syria. Tillerson says Russia is either complicit or
incompetent in its ability to guarantee the 2013 deal for #Syria to surrender cw
stockpile.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday said a missile attack in Syria ordered by
President Trump Thursday isn't a sign of a change in U.S. policy.

CNN : National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster says the strike in Syria did not stop
Assad's ability to carry out future attacks.

JS : We are 5 years past the point where TLAMs alone would do anything in #Syria
beyond posturing. Reality bites.

CNN -- Trump launches military strike against Syria.

170406

JS : NSA knew Trump was collaborating with the Kremlin last spring. Rest of IC knew
soon. Nobody in DC did a damn thing. Many tried, me included.

NY Times -- C.I.A. Had Evidence of Russian Effort to Help Trump Earlier Than
Believed.

Gianni Riotta : Repubblicani cambiano le regole al Senato per confermare giudice

#SCOTUS Gorsuch, America sempre più polarizzata addio a equilibrio politico
CNN -- Republicans could forever change Senate rules to get Gorsuch on the Supreme
Court. After failing to break the Democrats' filibuster against Supreme Court nominee
Neil Gorsuch, Republicans are moving forward with the "nuclear option" — meaning
they will change Senate rules for all future filibusters of Supreme Court nominees.

JS : In the Trump WH fight between Alt-Right Fanatics & NY Liberal Billionaires

Pretending to be Republicans, I'm #shocked the latter won out.

Daily Beast: Steve Bannon Calls Jared Kushner a ‘Cuck’ and ‘Globalist’ Behind His
Back.

JS : Lajes Boy divulged TS//SI//ECI on live TV. Gonna be fun for him henceforth.
Ethics Ctte is just the beginning.

The Daily Beast -- BREAKING: House Ethics Committee launches investigation of

Devin Nunes for spilling secrets.

NUNES to temporarily step aside from Russia investigation.

[JS : "As I have completed my mission to wreck the investigation, I will now focus on
impending indictments against me."
HPSCI investigation of #KremlinGate is officially dead. We knew that already. But
SSCI will keep going and most important, so will the #FBI.]

170405

Christo Grozev : No, it does NOT make @realDonaldTrump more presidential when he
says "my attitude to Assad may have now changed". It makes him an idiot.

Politico -- A reporter asks Trump if the chemical attack in Syria crossed a red line: "It
crossed a lot of lines for me".

Rick Wilson : You can have McMaster and Mattis. Or you can have Bannon.

Bloomberg -- Bannon Loses National Security Council Role in Trump Shakeup.

Intelligence director, Joint Chiefs chairman elevated. McMaster given greater authority
over security matters

JS : Deep inside AQUARIUM there's a bunch of top GRU officers watching Trump
stumble into war with DPRK thinking, "Dear God, what have we done?"

Bl;oomberg -- North Korea test-fires missile into sea ahead of Trump-Xi summit.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said: "The United States has spoken enough about
North Korea. We have no further comment."

TN : Also important: that both Obama and Trump have empowered Russia, the
country that sustains Assad, albeit in different ways. /1
Obama essentially outsourced US security in the ME to Russia as part of the Legacy
Holy Grail of the #irandeal /2
Meanwhile, Trump's resolute affection for Russia - one of his few consistent policies -
is a clear message that Syria won't be stopped. /3
#Russia and #Syria rolled Obama, and they're playing Trump on some nutty dangle of
an anti-Islamic alliance that's not real. /4
Trump, meanwhile, has created a situation were China and Russia will not take him
seriously, and thus will not restrain NK or Syria. /5
This is what isolationism, right and left versions, get you: nuclear danger, mass
slaughter and a weakened America. Good job, everyone. /6x

170404

JS : A lot of #GOP denial about #KremlinGate stems from their terrible fear+shame
that they allowed a Putin pawn to get their nom -- and the WH.
Key question now is -- what's Trump's approval floor? If it drops into the 20's, ie
hardcore Trumpalos only, #GOP will run away from him.

BuzzFeed News -- A Former Trump Adviser Met With A Russian Spy.

Carter Page told BuzzFeed News that he had been in contact with at least one Russian
spy working undercover out of Moscow’s UN office in 2013.

170402

JS : Now we're getting to the Big Questions about #KremlinGate.

RT CT @TrueFactsStated : When did Putin's aid to Trump really begin? Did Putin
sabotage Marco, Jeb or more mainstream candidates. Would Trump have won nom w/o
Putin?

El Pais -- The Spanish connection with Trump’s Russia scandal.

Alexander Torshin, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia and investigated in
Spain for money laundering, has infiltrated the US president’s circle

170331

JS : Trump will keep throwing out incoherent word salad tweets -- Unmasked!
Wiretapp! Obama! FAKE NEWS! -- right until indictments are unsealed.

JS : Putin knows Trump is a fool. Don's coming collapse, which will throw US politics
into unimaginable chaos, is welcomed by the Kremlin. SAD!

Politico -- Bannon denied owning part of Trump data firm Cambridge Analytica. But
PFD shows he owns owns $1m-$5m in stock. Now selling.

WaPo -- Trump’s closest aides hail from ranks of financial elite.

The disclosures showed that Trump’s top aides have generated millions of dollars from
Wall Street, Hollywood, real estate and the media, holding a slew of investments that
intensify the administration’s challenge in navigating potential intersections between
officials’ personal finances and their policymaking roles.
Together, 27 White House officials had assets worth at least $2.3 billion when they
joined the administration, according to an analysis of their filings by The Washington
Post.

Donald J. Trump : When will Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd and @NBCNews start talking
about the Obama SURVEILLANCE SCANDAL and stop with the Fake Trump/Russia
story?
Donald J. Trump : It is the same Fake News Media that said there is "no path to
victory for Trump" that is now pushing the phony Russia story. A total scam!

170331

NBC News -- Obama administration officials were so concerned about what would
happen to key classified documents related to the Russia probe once President
Trump took office that they created a list of document serial numbers to give to senior
members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, a former Obama official told NBC
News.

CBS -- BREAKING: US investigators are looking into whether Trump campaign reps
helped Russian intel carry out cyberattacks, @jeffpeguescbs reports

after @MajorCBS asks about Flynn, Trump leaves signing ceremony without signing
executive orders. Pence went and picked it up from desk.

Business Insider -- It looks like Flynn is willing to 'turn his back' on Trump — but the
FBI may not need him to. 

S.Hennessay : Keep in mind Congress usually offers "use immunity" (to not use
statement) and not immunity from prosecution.

Bloomberg -- Tillerson and Mattis Blast Russia as Trump's Moscow Reset Stalls.
The top U.S. diplomat and the Pentagon’s chief stressed the importance of NATO and
criticized Russia for aggression and meddling in other countries’ affairs, easing
European allies’ concerns about President Donald Trump’s commitment to trans-
Atlantic security. 

Bloomberg -- FBI Visits Office of Saipan Casino Run by Trump Protégé. 

The casino, run by an executive who cut his teeth in Atlantic City casinos then owned
by Donald Trump, enlisted a slate of luminary overseers including former leaders of
both the Republican and Democratic national parties in the U.S.
Its board members include James Woolsey, who ran the U.S. Central Intelligence
Agency in the early 1990s and was among national-security advisers to Trump’s
presidential campaign. Former FBI director Louis Freeh and Ed Rendell, a former
Pennsylvania governor and Democratic National Committee chairman, sit on an
advisory committee, as does Haley Barbour, the ex-Mississippi governor and
Republican National Committee chairman who’s now a prominent lobbyist.
Mark Brown, Imperial Pacific’s chairman who has also served as its chief executive
officer, is a former executive in President Trump’s Atlantic City casino empire.

170330

CNN -- The Obama administration is coming under scrutiny for its response to Russia's
meddling into the presidential race.

La Stampa -- L’ex Consigliere per la Sicurezza di Trump Flynn si offre di

testimoniare in cambio dell’immunità.
AP -- BREAKING: Lawyer: Michael Flynn in talks with congressional panels about
questioning, seeking to avoid 'unfair prosecution.'

CBS News -- Michael Flynn negotiating with intel committees, seeks protection,
lawyer says.

RedState -- Devin Nunes’s Sources Revealed: Nunes Former General Counsel

[Michael Ellis] and a Michael Flynn Protégé [Ezra Cohen-Watnick,].

170328

JS : "The recent antics of Devin Nunes are a classic provocation designed to divert
attention from the White House".

LM : Did Nunes Leak FISA Warrant Info via White House Lawyer Michael Ellis?

USA Today -- Trump's business network reached alleged Russian mobsters.

LM : I can't even hold my head up. A house full of Republicans doing nothing about
Russia's attack on the United States. Nothing.

Adam Schiff : Was today's open hearing cancelled because WH did not want Sally
Yates to testify re Gen Flynn's deception? Didn't want to assert privilege?

WaPo -- Trump administration sought to block former acting attorney general Sally
Yates from testifying to Congress on Russia.

Rick Wilson -- I'll keep reminding you: In 1974, the GOP lost 49 House and 8 Senate
seats. They were branded as defended a corrupt, criminal Presidency.

CNN -- Cheney: Putin made 'a very serious effort' to interfere in US election.
[JS : Dear God -- Trump is so totally nuts that even Cheney sounds reality-based and
reasonable now.]

CNN -- Amid turmoil, House Intel Committee scraps meetings this week. Democrats
called on Nunes to step aside because of his decision to brief President Donald Trump
on intelligence information he received from a source on White House grounds.

@Rep Swalwell on Chairman Nunes: "I don't think he should be anywhere near" the
Russia investigation … The White House is not an internet cafe where you can just
walk in and receive classified information.”

LM : If I am right about this, they will die in jail, to quote @20Committee source.
 Kushner and Trump: Taped At Secret Trump Tower Meetings With Russians?

CNN -- There's a Russian storm over Trump's struggling presidency.

170327

JS: Today, several members of Team Trump realized they're in the FBI's cross-hairs &
in bed with a regime that kills those it no longer needs.
Stupid Americans who don't realize that Russian spies are not our friends and the
Espionage Act is real tend to end badly. Very badly.

"All the reports I saw had nothing to do with Russia," @DevinNunes tells
@wolfblitzer.
[JS : What about, say, banks in Cyprus used by Russian oligarchs + spies to mass-
launder money? Just spitballin' here.]

JS : BLUF: Either Nunes, et al, broke laws+regs re SCIF access, or NSC (ie the Trump
WH) is fully complicit in this mess.

Fmr sr. WH offical: Even House Intel chair must be cleared into WH grounds: "It's just
not possible the WH was unaware or uninvolved.”

BREAKING: Devin Nunes tells reporters he will not step down after
@RepAdamSchiff calls for his recusal, says "everything is politics here"

Adam Schiff : After much consideration I believe Chairman should recuse himself
from involvement in investigation/oversight of Trump campaign & transition

Reuters -- BREAKING: Senate Democratic Leader Schumer calls for removal of

Nunes as chairman of House Intelligence Committee

JS : Ryan's sealed his political fate by backing Nunes at this critical juncture. Really, he
was a dead man walking after AHCA debacle anyway.

CNN -- Nunes says he was on WH grounds day before revealing Trump surveillance
info.
[JS : NSC offices, you say? Where the top WH #natsec lawyer works....who BY THE
WAY was Nunes' lawyer until 3 weeks ago?
Gotta say that Team Trump is pretty awful at the whole try-to-hide-the-conspiracy
thing. "Meet me on the WH lawn after dark" -- Really?
Nunes had to share his TS "bombshell" with Trump on Wednesday after seeing it
at...the building next to the WH the night before. Sure, Dev.]

JS : Bad News: Nunes' clumsy WH water-carrying killed HPSCI's investigation of

#KremlinGate. Good News: He sure gave #FBI lots to work with!

USA Today -- Intel chair Nunes met source of new surveillance documents at White
House.
[JS: Source Codename: Orange Throat]

JS : So, Amb Kislyak set up meeting between Kushner & head of a Russian spy front
which operates worldwide incl USA. Make of that what you will.

JS : Vnesheconombank (VEB) is a Russian govt-owned development commonly used

as a front for espionage by SVR and FSB. A coincidence, surely.
Evgeny Buryakov, a VEB official in NYC, was arrested in 2015 (late copped a plea) for
actually being an SVR Illegal.

Jeff Brady -- Jared Kushner held a previously undisclosed meeting with the head of
Russia state-owned bank [Vneshekonombank] hit by Obama sanctions
NY Times -- Senate Committee to Question Jared Kushner Over Meetings With
Russian Ambassador Kislyak.

JS : WH's newly hired senior #natsec lawyer, Michael Ellis, comes from the Hill,
where he was HPSCI GC, ie Nunes' lawyer. Another coincidence.

LM – Boris Epshteyn Named in July FISA Application; Did Nunes Obstruct

Justice? Mr. Epshteyn has, again, not even been indicted, far less convicted in any
court. But IF he is indeed under a top secret investigation and his buddy and Trump
lackey Nunes has just discussed both the evidence against him and the fact thathe is
under investigation, then it is Representative Nunes who needs to be arrested.

Christo Grozev : Kremlin and Russia's FBI (SK) claim "teenagers were offered
money to get arrested by police" during protest meetings.
In all prior protest rallies, Russian media accused "GosDep" (=State Department) as the
inciter/funder. But they can't use that anymore :)

NBC News -- Trump Son-in-Law Jared Kushner to Oversee Government Overhaul.

"The government should be run like a great American company.”

170326

Rick Wilson : This Kushner float tonight is laughable. Next thing you know he'll be
tackling waste, fraud, and abuse.

WaPo -- Trump taps Kushner to lead a SWAT team to fix government with business
ideas

Seth Abramson : MEGA-THREAD: MI6 agent Chris STEELE, author of history's

most explosive intel dossier, will soon testify against TRUMP. Read his story here.

Politico -- After Sen. Ben Sasse questioned why U.S. leaders were not commenting on
the suppression of Russian protesters, the State Department criticized Russia's
handling of peaceful protesters on Sunday, calling it "an affront to core democratic
values."

Sen. Ben Sasse on Protests in Russia -- "Putin’s thugocracy is on full display."

Lincoln, NE - U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, a member of the Senate Armed Services
Committee, issued the following statement regarding events in Russia.
"Putin’s thugocracy is on full display. The United States government cannot be silent
about Russia’s crackdown on peaceful protesters. Free speech is what we’re all about
and Americans expect our leaders to call out thugs who trample the basic human rights
of speech, press, assembly, and protest."

Reuters -- Roger Stone, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, said on Sunday he
has offered to testify before a congressional committee investigating possible Russian
meddling in the 2016 presidential election and ties to the Trump campaign.

JS : Putin seriously overplayed his hand. Team Trump are clowns who think they're
smarter than FBI/IC. They're not.
Never go to war with the Feds. They ALWAYS have more people & resources than you
do. La cosa nostra learned this, painfully. Trump didn't.
Putin went too far. Now millions of Americans know terms like disinformation &
Active Measures. Bad news for Trump.

Risk Wilson : I realized last night the Trump WH is organized exactly like a Russian
mafia.Trump is the Pahkan. The "Two Spies" are Bannon and Preibus.

JS : Russian tolerance for Putinism's massive corruption is waning with the economy
in increasingly dire straits. Repression won't change this.

Politico -- Need to reach Trump? Call Rhona. The president's acquired a White
House staff, but his old friends still prefer to go through his longtime Trump Tower
assistant.
[JS : On his non-secure cell phone ===> POTUS "spends his weeknights making calls
to old friends – [his] kitchen cabinet".
Translation: Any FI service with 21stC SIGINT capabilities knows exactly what
POTUS is thinking, every day. Super]

The Hill -- Democrats step up calls that Russian hack was act of war.
[JS : An act of Special War, certainly....]

JS : They're smiling because you made a complete fool of yourself, expending your
limited DC capital on an idiot bill.

Donald J. Trump: Democrats are smiling in D.C. that the Freedom Caucus, with the
help of Club For Growth and Heritage, have saved Planned Parenthood & Ocare!

170325

WaPo -- U.S. needs to stop Russian electoral interference, NSA’s top civilian leader
says. “This is a challenge to the foundations of our democracy,” said NSA Deputy
Director Richard Ledgett, 58, who is retiring at the end of April,

NPR Weekend Edition --

Politico -- Top Trump TV surrogate to leave high-profile post. Boris Epshteyn, a
special assistant to the president who oversees Donald Trump's television surrogate
operation, is expected to leave his high-profile post, multiple sources close to the
administration told POLITICO.
[JS: "We suddenly discovered that a member of our inner circle is, in fact, an incurable
asshole, & took proper action."]

Hollywood Reporter -- Trump Urges Followers to Watch Fox News Host Who
Demands Paul Ryan Resign.
Jeanine Pirro: "Paul Ryan needs to step down as speaker of the house.The reason? He
failed to deliver the votes on his healthcare bill."
[Risk Wilson : The clumsy, stupid attempt to unseat Ryan is beginning. Judge Janine?
REALLY?]

Molly McKew : Kremlin threatens to leak everything on Obama admin if leaks

continue from DC. The rabbit hole gets deeper and deeper.

Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova,

Moscow, March 23, 2017

Laura Rozen -- Asked spokesman for Flynn if he is cooperating w/the FBI. He said he
is not responding. Not denying or confirming, I asked. "Not responding"

Seth Abramson : BREAKING: Harvard professor and @CNN political analyst Juliette
Kayyem says, per sources, Michael Flynn may have flipped on Trump.

Juliette Kayyem (CNN) : From my sources and what has been openly reported, it
increasingly looks like #Flynn may have a deal with the FBI.

T. R. Ramachandran : Look who else was in that very meeting w/ Flynn & Turkish
officials – Devin Nunes!
The Raw Story -- House intel head Nunes took mysterious ‘dead of night excursion’
before making Trump surveillance claims.

JS: Surprisingly, unbalanced assholes who have no idea how DC works not really all
that persuasive

Bannon walked into Freedom Caucus meeting,said "This is not a debate. You have no
choice but to vote for this bill." And then...

The Daily Beast -- DEATH PANEL. Bannon Tells Trump: ‘Keep a Shit List’ of
Republicans Who Opposed You.

Adam Schiff : The American people demand – and deserve – the truth. Congress must
create an independent commission to #FollowTheFacts on Russia.

170324

David Kenner : After airstrikes killing as many as 200 civilians, Iraqi officer says
rules of engagement relaxed under Trump.

CBC Radio (CA) -- A former NSA analyst says the Russia investigations could end
Donald Trump's presidency. 

JS : So many unforced errors+screw-ups in just 2 months. Now AHCA debacle. You'd

almost think Team Trump has absolutely no idea what it's doing.

Christo Grozev : Trump blames the democrats for not giving him a single vote. No shit.
CNN – In a major blow, President Trump has asked Speaker Paul Ryan to pull the
GOP's plan to repeal and replace Obamacare.
[JS : "We’re going to win so much, you’re going to be so sick and tired of winning"]

The Hill -- "66 percent of those polled favor an independent commission, and 29
percent do not".

WSJ -- Ex-CIA Director Woolsey: Mike Flynn and Turkish Officials Discussed
Removal of Erdogan Foe From U.S. 

JS : Flynn became a mouthy RWNJ after Obama fired him from DIA. Assume he won't
take his humiliating NSC defenestration by Trump lightly.

JS : WH orchestrated Nunes' play-acting this week. They're now trying to run witness-
games with HPSCI. If they've lost Flynn, they're in deep.

JS : Trump's Kremlin Klowns are all begging for a deal -- they need that tennis prison.
Suddenly, Manafort, Stone & Page all say they want to talk to Congress about
#TrumpRussia. Nothing from Flynn yet. Fill in the blanks.

CNN -- NEWS: Carter Page willing to testify before the House Intelligence
Committee to "set the record straight" on Russia

CNN -- House Speaker Paul Ryan is at the White House to tell President Donald Trump
that Republicans don't have the votes to pass the GOP health care bill.

Ryan Liza -- I know that Nunes's Monday testimony was coordinated with WH
because top WH official told me, "Watch the predicate that is set" by Nunes.

JS : Trump's about to learn his just-throw-my-old-pal-under-the-bus routine doesn't

work on folks facing indictments + decades in Federal prison.
Looks like Trump's terrified that #MoscowMike's cooperating with DoJ. I always
suspected Flynn would flip first.

AmericaBlog -- National Enquirer brands Flynn a “Russian spy” — Trump just

threw Flynn under the bus. Why?
JS : As a Federal prosecutor, Schiff sent a crooked FBI agent who was spying for the
Kremlin to the slammer. It shows.

JS : Schiff reiterates call for 9/11 Comm-like independent inquiry into #TrumpRussia:
"This week's event have made that all the more necessary".

JS : Nunes went from #GOP Anti-Leak Crusader to (As Yet) Unindicted Co-
Conspirator in just 4 days, all in public view. Devin's got a gift there.

JS : WH full panic has set in....

Adam Schiff : BREAKING: Chairman just cancelled open Intelligence Committee

hearing with Clapper, Brennan and Yates in attempt to choke off public info.
JS : BLUF: Nunes thinks it's up to him to decide what legitimate SIGINT FI tasking
should be, and how USP unmasking should work. What an asshat.

The Daily Beast -- President Trump to House GOP: It's My Way or Obamacare Stays

RT -- House intel chair admits he doesn’t know ‘for sure’ if Trump team was
surveilled.
[JC : Never a good sign when the Kremlin signals to White House, "That dumbass
Nunes stunt was too obvious, you morons."]

NBC News -- Intel chair Devin Nunes unsure if Trump associates were directly
surveilled.
[JC : Wherein Rep Nunes admits that his entire Trumpian tirade against IC+NSA is
entirely speculative, based on 0 evidence]

170323

WaPo – Shut down Nunes’s investigation — and investigate him for leaking

CNN -- Schiff: New evidence shows possible Trump-Russia collusion.

White House Official May Have Violated Campaign Finance Laws. K.T. McFarland
appears to have used exploratory committee funds to promote her career as a political
commentator.

Chicago Suntimes -- WASHINGTON— GOP House leaders delayed their planned vote
Thursday on a long-promised bill to repeal and replace “Obamacare,” in a stinging
setback for House Speaker Paul Ryan and President Donald Trump in their first
major legislative test.

Rep. Ted Lieu : Cloud of treason means we must have total shutdown of any @POTUS
agenda item. No votes on any item. My stmt https://

Sen. Jack Reed calls for a special prosecutor after Nunes revelations; follows Sen.
McCain's call for independent investigation yesterday

AP -- U.S. Treasury Department agents have obtained information about offshore

financial transactions involving President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman,
Paul Manafort, as part of an anti-corruption probe into his work, The AP has learned.

JS : "Sorry I divulged a bunch of TS/SCI and totally compromised myself, our

committee, and our investigation yesterday"
I hope sucking up to the WH that's under FBI CI investigation was worth destroying
your reputation, Devin Nunes.

The Hill -- Nunes regrets briefing Trump before Intelligence panel. “At the end of the
day, sometimes you make the right decision, sometimes you don’t,”

The Hill -- Top Dem calls for investigation into House Intelligence chairman. Rep.
Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) on Thursday called for an investigation into House
Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), who bypassed the panel to brief
President Trump on information related to U.S. surveillance of his transition team.

Donald J. Trump -- Just watched the totally biased and fake news reports of the so-
called Russia story on NBC and ABC. Such dishonesty!
[LM : Traitor says what?]

170322

CNN -- US Officials: Info suggests Trump associates may have coordinated with
Russians.
[JS : The TS intel is devastating, as I've told you. Trump will be forced out & his
cronies will be indicted. Get ready.
There's a bunch of SIGINT + some HUMINT. Not all US in origin. FYI: this has
nothing to do with the Steele dossier.]

Shareblue -- Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff

dropped a bombshell when he revealed there was "more than circumstantial
evidence" of collusion between Donald Trump's campaign and the Russians.

Caroline O. : SenJohnMcCain says after Devin Nunes' actions today, "there is no

question that we need a select committee" to lead #TrumpRussia probe.

Rick Wilson -- In 1974 Republicans lost 49 House and 4 Senate seats. The perception of
defending corruption was deadly. Proceed accordingly.
In 1994, Democrats lost 54 House seats and 8 Senate seats. The perception of defending
corruption was deadly.

JS : Nunes' attack was either the end of the investigation or the beginning of the end of
Trump admin. We'll know soon.

CBS News -- Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee took the unusual step of
briefing President Trump on intel developments.

Adam Schiff : Today, Chairman Nunes shared information with WH still withheld from
our committee. He cannot conduct a credible investigation this way.
[LM : I note this falls short, woefully short, of a demand @DevinNunes step down. He
must. Do better please]
Schiff: "will need to decide if he is the chairman of an independent [cmte] ... or if he is
going to act as a surrogate of the WH"

JS : Nunes' little Trumpian shitshow just got called out....

By so blatantly carrying WH water, Nunes unwittingly made an ironclad case for a
bipartisan independent commission without his involvement.

SCHIFF, just now: Nunes has not shared intercepts with the committee
SCHIFF: "Because the committee has still not been provided the intercepts... it is
impossible to evaluate the Chairman's claims.
SCHIFF: I have expressed my grave concerns with the Chairman that a credible
investigation cannot be conducted this way.

Evan McMullin : This is @DevinNunes doing President Trump and Congressional

Republicans a favor by muddying the waters on the Trump/Russia investigation.

JS : If DC #GOP follows the lead of Nunes & his cynical, illegal stunt today, you can
forget about any good-faith Hill inquiry into #TrumpRussia.

JS : We are now just one diligent special prosecutor away from a whole bunch of
Republicans getting indicted for major crimes over #TrumpRussia.

Nunes (quote) "There's multiple number of FISA warrants out there, but there's nothing
criminal at all involved".

Rick Wilson : This was organized from the WH. Watch for the Trump tweet on it any
time now. Hard to see how this ends well for Nunes.

JS : Mon: Nunes rants on camera about leaks of SCI .

Wed: Nunes leaks SCI on camera, then briefs WH about the investigation OF THEM
What a week.
If we are still a republic of laws, Nunes must be removed from HPSCI, stripped of
clearances & prosecuted for this.

JS : I used to deal with FISA SIGINT all the time. That's some seriously compartmented
stuff, folks. I am still in shock about Nunes' disclosure.

Caroline O. : Surveillance of foreign agents is both legal & routine. Devin Nunes
knows this. Yet he chose to intentionally misrepresent the facts.

Eric Lipton : Nunes have given Trump a tremendous gift. Fodder for another month (or
2) of "wire tapped" stories. Bravo GOP.

WSJ -- Trump Transition Team Communications Were Incidentally Intercepted by

U.S., Rep. Devin Nunes Says. Republican committee chairman says surveillance was
done legally as part of foreign intelligence gathering

JS : Nunes' lame presser was latest failed stunt to hide some painful truths. Trump's in
deep trouble -- & so is Putin.  Putin’s Chekist Cover Has Been Blown (Observer)

Reuters -- BREAKING: Nunes says 'possible' Trump communications swept up in

incidental surveillance involving his campaign, not related to Russia.
MORE: Nunes said information was provided to him by an unnamed source, was
'normal, foreign surveillance'
[JS : AKA SIGINT Matters....which Trump & his Brain Trust didn't seem to be aware
of. Nunes should have his clearances pulled & be thrown off HPSCI now. It's
outrageous.]

CNN -- President Trump's son is criticizing the mayor of London in the immediate
aftermath of an attack in the city that killed four and wounded about 40 on the grounds
of the UK Parliament.

Politico -- Hill Republicans say they're growing frustrated with Mattis. The Marine
general was welcomed as a moderating force in the Trump administration, but his
moves to name Obama veterans to Pentagon posts are irritating allies in key
committees.

Reuters : BREAKING: House Oversight Committee requests documents from White

House, FBI on any communications, payments between Flynn and Russia

JS: Manafort has long looked like an RIS agent of influence. In CI terms he now looks
like a straight-up Kremlin agent.

The Hill -- WH insists Trump wasn't aware of ex-campaign chairman Paul Manafort's
work helping Russia. The White House on Wednesday downplayed a new report that
President Trump's former campaign chairman secretly worked for a Russian oligarch to
advance that country's political interests.
[JS : BREAKING: Trump and his inner circle of super-smart guys did not have Google
or Internet access in 2015-16.]
CNN -- "We're going to need to bring him in": Virginia Sen. Mark Warner wants to
know more about Paul Manafort's Ukraine dealings.

AP Top News -- AP Exclusive: Manafort had plan to benefit Putin government.

170321

WSJ -- A President’s Credibility. Trump’s falsehoods are eroding public trust, at home
and abroad.
[Rick Wilson : The WSJ nukes Trump. Wow.]

CNN -- Ivanka Trump to get top security clearance and office, WH official says.

The Atlantic -- Washington's Split-Screen Reality. As FBI Director James Comey's

congressional testimony contradicted several claims made by President Trump, the
presidential Twitter feed offered a distorted account of what Comey said.
Spin is not new in DC & presidents lie! But the brazenness, massive reach, & real-time
nature of the tweets felt new.

WaPo -- Trump aide hid payments from Ukraine party with Moscow ties, new
documents say. The new documents may revive questions about the ties between the
Trump aide, Paul Manafort, and the party of the former president of Ukraine, Viktor
Yanukovych.

170320

JS : Historical comparisons fail here. In the early 1950s, Democrats washed their hands
of the pro-Moscow Left. Today's #GOP is not equally wise.
Republicans today just better hope there isn't a VENONA 2.0 lurking out there...or a lot
of them will go to jail.

Reuters -- Exclusive: Tillerson plans to skip NATO meeting, visit Russia in April –
sources.

New York Daily News -- Ivanka Trump is getting a White House office, access to
classified info despite not being staffer.

JS : Russians saved Don when he bombed out in real estate. They own him. He will go
down with the Kremlin ship. Won't be pretty.

Forbes -- Exclusive: Powerful Russian Partner Boasts Of Ongoing Access To Trump

Family. “Now that he ran and was elected, he does not forget his friends,” Agalarov
says.

Mcclatchydc -- FBI’s Russian-influence probe includes a look at far-right news sites.

Federal investigators are examining whether far-right news sites played any role last
year in a Russian cyber operation that dramatically widened the reach of news stories —
some fictional — that favored Donald Trump’s presidential bid, two people familiar
with the inquiry say.

Garry Kasparov -- The house is on fire, Trump is running around with a box of
matches, and the GOP demands to know who called the fire department.
Fox News -- President Trump's daughter Ivanka will maintain a West Wing office,
though she is not technically serving as a government employee and will not receive a
salary, a senior White House official tells Fox News.

The Daily Beast -- White House and Republicans Admit Russia Isn’t ‘Fake News’
After FBI Bombshell, Trump’s team quit dismissing allegations of Kremlin ties after
James Comey said they’re being investigated. Instead, the GOP tried to claim the real
story is leaks and Paul Manafort was a temporary aide and Michael Flynn was just a
“volunteer.”

JS : Trump's election was enabled in no small part by Twitter & Jim Comey. Whole
lotta karma that those two, together, will be his downfall too.

Stand Up Republic -- Washington, D.C. — In response to the testimonies of FBI

Director James Comey and NSA Director Michael Rogers before the House Intelligence
Committee today, Stand Up Republic urges Americans to call on Congress to
establish a joint bipartisan select committee to fully investigate Russia’s multifaceted
attack on American democracy and any connections President Donald J. Trump’s
campaign had with the Russian government.

LA Times -- Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano is being kept
off the air indefinitely amid the controversy over his unverified claims that British
intelligence wiretapped Trump Tower at the behest of former President Obama.
[JS : HAHAHAHA!!!! When that makes sense....nice to see FNC has SOME standards.]

LM : Every day of this scandal I am shocked anew by the terrible partisan unpatriotic
attitude of republicans. I thought @TGowdySC was a patriot.
I honestly thought that @chuckgrassley @speakerryan were constitutional
conservatives. I am stunned at #ComeyHearing #TrumpRussia.
Not all Republicans, not @SenJohnMcCain @LindseyGrahamSC @MarcoRubio but,
alas. Most of them. #ComeyHearings #TrumpRussia
JS : No amount of #GOP obfuscation & redirection can change just how awful today
has been for the Trump WH. Comey's statements can't be unsaid.

JS : "Ok, ok, Flynn & Manafort had some weird stuff with the Russians, but we hardly
knew them; in fact, we insisted they always wear name-tags."

The Sun : The FBI is investigating Russian involvement in the 2016 US presidential
election.

Telegraph -- FBI confirms probe into links between Trump and Moscow as White
House spokesman Sean Spicer faces the press.

Corriere delle Sera -- Trump, Fbi conferma: «Indagine aperta su collusione con Russia
per le elezioni»

Le Figaro -- Le FBI enquête sur les liens entre Moscou et des proches de Trump.

Bild – FBI-Direktor und NSA-Chef sagen gegen Trump aus !

CNN -- FBI: Russia wanted to hurt US and Clinton, help Trump.

Evan McMullin : Moscow carried out an attack on our democracy and House
Republicans are focused on leaks. This is why they can't be trusted to investigate.

Donald J. Trump : The Democrats made up and pushed the Russian story as an excuse
for running a terrible campaign. Big advantage in Electoral College & lost!
Evan McMullin : No, you pushed the story by constantly praising Putin & maintaining
contact with Moscow while it intervened in our election on your behalf.

Lonnie Griesbaum -- Based on hearings so far @LouiseMensch deserves the Pulitzer

Prize for her Nov. 7 article in #HeatStreet #TrumpRussia,

Amy Siskind : NYT OWES THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AN APOLOGY! COMEY

BEGAN INVESTIGATING TRUMP-RUSSIA IN JULY. NYT REPORTED NO
FBI INVESTIGATION OCTOBER 31 ON P1!

Comey: They [Russians] were unusually loud in their intervention [in US election], it
was almost as if they didn’t care if we knew
JS: 100% correct. 2016 op was a very unsubtle kombinatsiya of provocation & Active
Measures. Putin wanted us to know.

President Trump : The NSA and FBI tell Congress that Russia did not influence
electoral process.
[JS : Not what Comey & Rogers said AT ALL. More bad WH lies. To be fair, this tweet
read better in the original Russian.]

Peter Daou @peterdaou -- NYT and WaPo both leading with #Comey undercutting
Trump's wiretapping claim. Wrong focus. It's Comey confirming #TrumpRussia
investigation.
LM -- Absolutely. Pathetic
CNN -- FBI confirms Trump-Russia inquiry, finds no evidence of Trump wiretap
claims. FBI Director James Comey said Monday he had no information to support
claims by President Donald Trump that he was wiretapped by his predecessor, Barack
Obama. Comey publicly confirmed for the first time that his agency is investigating
alleged collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign and whether any crimes
may have been committed during last year's election campaign.

#ComeyHearing BLUF:
1. Russia interfered in our election
2. To hurt Hillary+help Trump.
3. This, incl POTUS, is under FBI CI investigation

Rick Wilson : So far:

1. Trump was lying.
2. Russia was hacking us.
3. GCHQ didn't tap Trump.
4. The FBI is investigating

"We assess they used some kind of cut-out" says Comey about how Russian
intelligence maintains contact & control with Wikileaks.

LM : Ladies and gentlemen, @RepSwalwell and @RepAdamSchiff are asking

the right questions. Questions properly framed are key.

Comey's trying very hard to not confirm how much classified material
appeared in the press; Gowdy cares nothing about protecting classified.

Hey @TGowdySC -- every single compromise of SCI is investigated by #NSA

and, when appropriate, FBI & DoJ too. You know this. Cut the crap.

Gowdy is such a clown....asking questions about masking which DIRNSA

already answered in GREAT detail; again, "Russians" is the missing word

Comey just hinted, by omission, that IC+FBI have classified information about
Roger Stone's collusion with Wikileaks & Moscow. Whoopsie...
since Rogers can't say it, I will: remember that the WH's GCHQ lie is in fact a
Kremlin-manufactured lie ===>

TN : Rogers visibly angry at the implication that NSA would've asked GCHQ
to spy on Americans for them

"No president could" order a wiretap, says Comey. BOOM! Trump's

tweetstorm, on the record, is a complete & total lie. A Kremlin lie, btw.

Dir Comey flatly states re Trump's tweets "I have no information that supports
those tweets" -- says FBI & DoJ "have no information" there.

Gowdy's just beclowning himself. We get it: leaks are bad. Very bad. Forcing
FBI dir to state AGAIN it's illegal. Missing word: Russia.

How many times do Comey and Rogers need to state that leaking SCI, esp
FISA material, is a serious crime?

Chance that Flynn's USP ID in RUEMB calls was leaked by anybody at #NSA
is basically zero. Leak was in DC. DIRNSA can't say this, of course.

DIRNSA Rogers punts on hypothetical question from Rep Rooney about how
Flynn's ID was unmasked after his calls to RUEMB DC were intercepted.

BLUF re DIRNSA on unmasking of USP information: this is v rare & only 20

people at NSA, incl DIR, have unmasking authority. Which is true.

Per Rep Rooney's question, DIRNSA's explaining "incidental collection" at the

SIGINT For Dummies level...if only people would pay attention.

Comey confirms FBI has shared classified aspects of its investigation into
#TrumpRussia w/Congress but "I can't go into those details here."

Comey's on now.."I have been authorized by DoJ to confirm that FBI is

investigating" all CI aspects of RU interference in 2016 election.
DIRNSA says FISA 702 material is vital to NSA's investigation into Russian
cyber activities against the US, says cooperation w/FBI is vital.

DIRNSA is on...Rogers makes abundantly clear no details of SIGINT will be

discussed in open session. Emphasis: USP information is protected.

Now @RepAdamSchiff is on all the coincidences....#OUCH "Once is

happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action.

Schiff is now laying out his "circumstantial evidence" of collusion between

Trump associates and Russians.
Which from a counterintelligence -- if not necessarily legal -- perspective is
damning, severely so.
10:00 ET : FBI Director James Comey and NSA Director
Admiral Michael Rogers testify at a House Select Intelligence
Committee hearing on Russian interference in the 2016
presidential election. [all comments by JS]

Fox News -- Trump: Russia story is 'FAKE NEWS and everyone knows it!'
[JS : Somebody's nervous....wonder why.]

170319

JS : Obama failed to push back against weaponized lies from Moscow -- Trump now is
actively disseminating them.  Donald Trump’s White House Is Pushing Kremlin
Storyline

The Hill -- Poll: Trump job approval hits new low. President Trump's job approval
rating has dropped to a new low of 37 percent, according to the latest Gallup tracking
poll.

The Daily Beast -- Prosecutors in Ukraine are seeking to question former Trump
campaign manager Paul Manafort surrounding a corruption probe in the country,
according to CNN.

NBC News -- Rep. Schiff Defends Committee Examining Russia-Trump Connections:

“we need to know whether the circumstantial evidence of collusion and direct evidence
of deception is indicative of more.".

170318

JS : Senators Feinstein & Grassley are patriots who love our country. Hence their
expressions. Next up: 1000 EST Monday.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Grassley after closed door meeting with FBI
Director James Comey on Wednesday, March 15.
{ BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH ! }
NYTimes -- Roger J. Stone Jr., an informal adviser to President Trump, has been asked
by the Senate Intelligence Committee to preserve any records he may have in
connection to a broader inquiry into Russian attempts to interfere with United States
elections.

Politico -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein seemed to indicate Friday that she expects President
Donald Trump may disqualify himself from office over potential constitutional breaches
and conflicts of interest.
[JS : Feinstein chaired the SSCI for 6 years. She has a lot of friends in the IC. Just
leaving that there.]

JS : Gotten several messages today from friends in German intel, mil & LE about
Trump. None are repeatable on a semi-respectable Twitter feed.

JS : If Trump's secret agenda were to weaken the US while tearing apart NATO & our
closest partnerships (UK, GER), what would he do differently?
Trump started his let's-ditch-alliances kick with a $94K ad buy in 1987 just weeks after
he 1st visited the USSR.

JS : No IC snr official has ever spoken publicly like this -- but then, no POTUS has ever
called the IC Nazis+criminals.
Since DDIR just publicly called out POTUS as a lying moron, can't wait to hear what
DIRNSA has to say Monday AM...#NSA's always out front.

Reuters -- Allegations from the United States that British spy agency GCHQ snooped
on Donald Trump during his election campaign are "arrant nonsense", the deputy head
of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) said in an interview on Saturday. "It
belies a complete lack of understanding of how the relationship works between the intel
community agencies, it completely ignores the political reality of 'would the UK
government agree to do that?'", Ledgett said.

170317

GERMANY: Foreign ministry official says Trump 'uses rudeness to compensate for his
weakness, like Putin'.

Business Insider -- CNN commentator Jake Tapper on Friday called President Donald
Trump's attempts to justify his ongoing crusade over his unfounded wiretapping
allegations an "embarrassment." “What is the White House defending here?"Because it
damn sure isn't national security or American credibility before the world,"

JS : GOP must own its creation of the Trump monster, just as Dems must own they
demonized lots of decent conservatives.

The Sun -- WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE KIDDING? Russia is ‘behind’ the
White House’s wild claim that GCHQ tapped Donald Trump’s office, say top spies.

Reuters -- Russian elite invested nearly $100 million in Trump buildings. A Reuters
review found that at least 63 individuals with Russian passports or addresses have
bought at least $98.4 million worth of property in seven Trump-branded luxury towers
in southern Florida.
TN : NATO's had some bad days, but this one's up there now.

Trump turns to Merkel, "In response to wiretapping by this previous administration, at

least we have something in common perhaps".

Spicer on British wiretapping claim: "I don't think we regret anything. We literally
listed a litany of media reports in the public domain."
[JS : A White House composed of malevolent, unbalanced children]

Rep. Eric Swalwell : Juries use this rule everyday to determine credibility.
@realDonaldTrump's wiretapping claim was proved false. Apply this rule.
#TrumpRussia.

Full statement from Dominic Grieve, chair of Intelligence and Security Committee,
on GCHQ/Trump. POTUS can't ask for interception.

JS : Trump lies + Crackpot Fox News conspiracy + Idiot spokesman = Epic

international espionage fail without precedent.
Buzzfeed -- US officials won't say whether the White House actually apologized to
Britain for GCHQ wiretap claims.

The Telegraph -- US makes formal apology to Britain after White House accuses
GCHQ of wiretapping Trump Tower.
[JS : BLUF: Spicer needs to go, now. And POTUS needs to make a personal public
apology to HMG -- and Pres Obama. Period.]

170316

CNN -- British spy agency GCHQ denies 'utterly ridiculous' Trump wiretap claims.

JS : We now know Trump will do anything - create a Constitutional crisis, attack our
closest Allies - to defer questions about his ties 2 Russia.

Fox News -- Fox News Poll: Voters want congressional investigations into Russia.
Sixty-six percent want a Congressional investigation into Russia’s attempts to influence
the election, and 63 percent want lawmakers to look into possible connections between
the Trump campaign and Russia.

JS : The last Kremlin-connected president elected with secret KGB assistance was
named Allende. Somebody should tell Trump how that saga ended.

CNN -- Former top Trump aide Flynn paid over $30,000 by Russian TV, top House
Dem says.

CNN -- Paul Ryan: 'No such wiretap existed'.

170315

AP -- President Donald Trump's explosive allegation that Barack Obama wiretapped

his New York skyscraper during the presidential campaign has left him increasingly
isolated, with allies on Capitol Hill and within his own administration offering no
evidence to back him up.

JS: BLUF with today's DoJ reveal: FSB "cybersecurity" is cover for a global online
organized crime wave of unprecedented magnitude & severity.

CNN -- BREAKING: Russian spies indicted in massive Yahoo hack; at least 500
million accounts hacked.

Sen.JohnMcCain on @RandPaul: "The Senator from Kentucky is now working for

Vladimir #Putin."
[JS : I've disagreed w/@SenJohnMcCain plenty, but his actions in #TrumpRussia =
most important thing he's done in 60 yrs of service 2 our country.]

DevinNunes on Trump wiretapping claim: "that evidence still remains the same -- that
we don't have any evidence that that took place".
House Intel Committee chairman @DevinNunes says if one takes POTUS tweets on
wiretapping literally then clearly he was mistaken.
JS : Translation: "Trump made this all crazy shit up and I have no idea what to say."
170314

Rick Wilson -- 1/ The White House attempt to roll back the wiretapping claim is a
bigger deal than you think.
2/ He made Congress, his allies in the press, and the anti-anti-Trump media dive off into
the deep end of the kook pool.
3/ He exacerbated the IC war, even alienating FBI allies. Why? His claim presumed
they would commit a felony to illegally "tapp" him.
4/ He's made Spicer, Conway et al look even less credible (difficult, I know)...and
managed to put his Russia ties back front and center.
5/ More and more, Congress is realizing the upside of Trump on it's BEST day is,
"Well, he didn't do a Mean Tweet about me."
6/ They also know he played himself by doing this. It wasn't postmodern social media
genius. It was intemperate Grandpa Rant.
7/ He opened lines of inquiry that should have been left closed. And as in his entire
career, he expects others to pay the costs

Politico -- Trump rejects push to oust NSC aide. Bannon and Kushner prevail on the
president to override his national security adviser and keep a Flynn protégé. Trump has
overruled a decision by his national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, to
sideline a key intelligence operative who fell out of favor with some at the Central
Intelligence Agency, two sources told POLITICO. On Friday, McMaster told the
National Security Council’s senior director for intelligence programs, Ezra Cohen-
Watnick, that he would be moved to another position in the organization.

WaPo -- ‘Never Trump’ Republicans join call for select committee to investigate
Russia and Trump. Stand Up Republic, a nonprofit organization led by former
independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin and his running mate, Mindy Finn,
is launching a public campaign aimed at building support among Republicans.

170313

JS: In a high-functioning republic, the false accusation of high crimes against your
predecessor is grounds for impeaching the chief executive.

CNN -- Spicer: Trump didn't mean wiretapping when he tweeted about wiretapping.
The White House on Monday walked back a key point of President Donald Trump's
unsubstantiated allegation that President Barack Obama wiretapped his phones in
Trump Tower during the 2016 election.

Adam Schiff : POTUS deliberately made up wiretap charges, or more troubling, he

believes it. Either way, I've not seen a shred of evidence.

Raw Story -- Major Bernie Sanders’ backers suspect Russians flooded their social
sites with anti-Hillary memes.

JS : Since Trump has really no appointees below cabinet level, whole USG is getting
gummed up, esp inter-dept coordination. Bannon's actual plan?

CNN -- Congressional deadline arrives for DOJ evidence on Trump wiretap claims.
The House Intelligence Committee has set a Monday deadline for the DOJ to provide
the evidence, a source familiar with the matter has told CNN, and has sent letters
throughout the intelligence community this week to obtain records related to Russia.

Business Insider -- 'There's a lot more shoes to drop from this centipede': McCain
predicts further revelations about Trump's ties to Russia. In an interview on CNN's
"State of the Union," the Arizona Republican said there were "a lot of things about our
relations with Russia that trouble me a lot."

170312

The Hill -- Bush ethics lawyer on Trump-Russia ties: 'KGB agents running around the
West Wing'-

#BREAKING: @PreetBharara convicted Russian mobster who ran biggest NYC illegal
gambling ring—from inside of Trump Towers convicted Russian mobster who ran
biggest NYC illegal gambling ring—from inside of Trump Towers.

CNN -- Preet Bharara, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, tweeted
Saturday that he was fired after refusing to resign as requested by President Donald
Trump's administration.

170311

JS : BLUF: Trump knew Flynn was an unregistered agent for Erdoğan's Turkey, saw
no problem with his heading the NSC.

Buzzfeed -- Trump Appointee Who Tweeted About "Some Muslim Piece Of Shit" Is
Out From Energy Department. A Trump campaign worker appointed to the Energy
Department is a former massage therapist with a history of tweeting anti-Muslim
remarks.

170310

Raw Story -- Fox’s Chris Wallace tells Shep Smith it’s ‘Inconceivable’ Trump was
unaware of Flynn’s Turkey lobbying.

Daily Caller -- Former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s lobbying work for the
Turkish government involved payments to several former FBI officials and a retired
admiral who served in a top intelligence role for the joint chiefs of staff

NBC News -- Flynn Attended Intel Briefings While Taking Money To Lobby for
Turkey.

Washington Times -- Roger Stone, Trump confidant, acknowledges ‘innocuous’

Twitter conversation with DNC hackers.

Urve Eslas : President @IlvesToomas testifies on Russian cyber attacks and

disinformation before House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Operation Ferguson : 141.105.65.113 is one of wikileaks IP addresses, know where its

hosted? IP Location Russian Federation Moscow Mir Telematiki Ltd
170308

CNN -- Gen. Michael Hayden: I believe "WikiLeaks is acting as an arm, as an agent, of

the Russian federation"
[TN : As many of us, including me and @20committee, were telling you years ago.]
[JS : Like to remind that I've been calling out Wikileaks as a Kremlin front since mid-
2013. Took epic shit for speaking truth. Believe me now?]

170307

LM : So @JeffSessions illegally obstructed justice leaking #FISA evidence on ongoing

case to @RealDonaldTrump who tweeted it.

LM : Trump didn't just declassify, say, existence of a secret base. He talked about
evidence in an ongoing legal criminal case involving natsec.
And there you have it. @RealDonaldTrump tweets about the Trump Tower Tap were a
crime - interference with ongoing case. Then Trump's tweet was a crime - because he
tweeted brand new, unreported evidence in an ongoing money laundering case gathered
under #FISA.
Hence Wikileaks, Hence #SpinalWiretapp - both to distract from fact that
@realDonaldTrump tweeted new evidence in an ongoing case, broke law.

Donald Trump : For eight years Russia "ran over" President Obama, got stronger and
stronger, picked-off Crimea and added missiles. Weak!
[JS : The dodges to avert scrutiny over his Moscow links are getting increasingly
desperate. SAD!]

Politico -- Trump plan pays for immigration crackdown with cuts to coastal, air security
The proposed budget cuts for the Coast Guard, TSA and FEMA would be 'devastating'
and undermine the fight against terrorism, smuggling and illegal immigration, critics
say.

Politico -- Kremlin-backed media turns on Trump.

[JS: Kremlin always knew Trump was an incompetent fool, and the Russians are great
with that.]

170306

JS : Learned from very reliable IC sources that Trump WH, w/help fm Russian intel, is
targeting US journalists. Rough road ahead. Get ready, peeps.

JS : The good news is that the coming total fall of traitorous Trumpism will reinvigorate
the Vital Center of the sane Right and the sane Left.

JS : Want 2 thank @jessebwatters & @FoxNews -- your insane followers are issuing
death threats against me AND @observer. Well done, you criminals.

Christo Grozev : Trump's friend on CNN: "He was not happy. I have known him for a
long time and I know when he is not happy" << what is he, 3 months old?

Bloomberg -- Trump's Wiretap Tweets Raise Risk of Impeachment.

NY Times -- President Trump does not accept the contention of the F.B.I. director,
James B. Comey, that Mr. Trump falsely claimed that President Barack Obama had him
wiretapped, a White House spokeswoman said on Monday.
[JS : Delusional White House sets up public pissing contest/showdown with the #FBI.]

The Daily Beast -- US Warned of Foreign Intel Operations After Russian Met With
Team Trump at RNC.

CNN -- Trump has a huge problem. Half of Republicans (& 43% of Trump supporters)
in this CNN poll want a Special Prosecutor.

The Hill -- Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Sunday, about rump's
claims that former President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower before the
election. “If he [Trump] falsely spread this kind of misinformation, that is so wrong, …
"On the other hand, if it's true, it's even worse for the president. Because that means that
a federal judge, independently elected, has found probable cause that the president, or
people on his staff, have probable cause to have broken the law or to have interacted
with a foreign agent."

The Independent -- Russia's meddling in US election could be 'act of aggression', says

Nato commander.

170305

JS: I only tell you folks things about the IC, esp WRT something #YUGE like
#TrumpRussia, when I personally know the spooks telling me the news.
BLUF: 1 intercepted convo between 2 senior Kremlin guys talking about collusion
w/Trump isn't a big deal; a bunch of them = a very big deal.
I'm confident that any SERIOUS investigation of #TrumpRussia will find enough intel
to end Trump's admin & send people to jail.

RobS @RobPulseNews : So FBI director Comey rebukes Pres. @realDonaldTrump

for spreading fake news alleging Obama was wiretapping his phones. How
embarrassing!

Michael McFaul : Report: FBI director asked DOJ to publicly reject Trump wiretap
claims.

CNN -- Rogers: Trump is feeding 'conspiracy meter' .

[JS: Sane Republican @RepMikeRogers -- former HPSCI chair & Team Trump guy --
says the truth about POTUS's crazy tweets.]

JS : POTUS derailed the public debate for a couple days with his crazy tweets, but he
can't escape #TrumpRussia issue. Intel will tell the tale.

Tom@velo340 : Clapper is saying without saying that Russians were under

surveillance and Trump people kept calling/meeting them.
JS: BINGO. If you're in touch with legit FI targets -- eg RIS spies -- that's on you.
They're the target, not the USP.
LM : Trump now blaming "media reports" for idea he was wiretapped. NO MEDIA
have reported that.

NBC News -- Rubio: White House ‘Will Have to Answer’ to Trump’s Wiretapping
Accusations

NBC News -- EXCLUSIVE: CLAPPER - " there was no such wiretap activity
mounted against the president, president-elect, candidate or campaign.
[JS : And there it is. And, yes, the DNI would know. So POTUS just made it all up,
officially. Ball to you, @GOP]

JS: What Roger Stone described last night was employing a cut-out to maintain
clandestine comms with Wikileaks/Assange, by which we mean #GRU.

JS : All Putin's ratfuckers are terrified now & lashing out, from POTUS on down. Enjoy
this, they know what comes next. So do we. :)

Fox News -- 'FIREWORKS' IN THE WHITE HOUSE

Trump reportedly furious over AG Sessions' recusal from Russia probes

170304

Aleandra Aimee : So ah, guys.... Stone just admitted he was working with Wikileaks?
Seems kinda big
(NBC News Oct 12 2016 : Roger Stone Calls Claims of WikiLeaks Collusion
‘Categorically False’)

JS : The RWNJ contingent is lashing out because they know they backed a conman
traitor. They know what's coming.
Expect a lot of drama-creation ahead, a la Cheeto Jesus himself, from the
Fox/Breitbart/Infowars/RT/Kremlin axis. It's just panic. Savor it.
The moment for the #GOP to announce, "Hey, um, Trump is insane -- we can't do this"
was a year ago. Now they have nothing but awful choices.
Yes, we really elected a Kremlin-linked conman 2B POTUS. How we get out of this
now will decide the fate of our country for decades. Really.

JS : Having worked on a lot of FISA collection, the scenario Trump presents is

impossible without massive WH illegality. Up to him to prove it.
National Security attorney Mark S. Zaid: @realDonaldTrump may regret tweeting
about possible existence of a #lawful #FISA warrant that perhaps encompassed him or
his building.

RawStory -- One of Fox News’s top military analysts now says President Donald
Trump must release his taxes to prove that the Russian government has no financial
leverage over him. Ret. Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, the hawkish Fox analyst who infamously
called former President Barack Obama a “p*ssy” on air in 2015, warned Fox viewers on
Friday that Trump needed to get over his “lunatic” idea of a strategic alliance with
Russia, which he suggested was brought about by the president’s past admiration for
Russian President Vladimir Putin.
[JS : When you've lost Ralph ....]

ABC News -- In Russia probe, Congress casts wide net – including first family. No one
– not even President Trump’s children – will be off limits as Congress starts to
investigate purported contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

170303

JS: POTUS can declassify & release any intel he wants. If Trump has proof of this
shocking allegation, show the public.
If he does not, Trump needs to retract & apologize to Obama, and ponder resignation on
grounds of mental unfitness.

TN : People are jumping to the conclusion that Obama admin used govt power against
opponents because we know it happened before. Whether it happened *this* time, or in
this way, isn't clear yet. This is why it's important to wait for details. Wish POTUS
would too.

JS: Trump knows his illegal ties to Moscow will be exposed soon. Hence his panic. He
will do anything to save himself. Even provoking civil war.
So Hill #GOP needs to ponder how much of Trump's dangerous crazy they can tolerate.
Only they can stop him. If they don't, this is on them.

Politico -- Russia investigations a ‘witch hunt’? Not according to polls. There’s much
confusion about the Trump-Russia issue, but general consensus that it merits more
investigation.

Good morning, Mr President ? Nice day, isn’t it?

Donad J Trump : How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the
very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!

[JS: SIGINT collection authorized per FISA is hardly illegal wiretapping. If POTUS has
evidence of different, he needs to show it -- or shut up.]

Donad J Trump : Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in
Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!

[Risk Wilson : I love this tweet. This is "I am not a crook" wrapped in the Caine
Mutiny, covered in Trumpbart brittle, and with a creamy nougat filling.]

170302

JS : Gotta be a long night in the Kremlin as Putin & Co watch their Big Op get
exposed. Expect yelling, vodka, judo, and wrestling a tiger or 2.

JS: Seems like everybody on Team Trump had a pressing need to chat with a guy
who's at least as much top spy as diplomat. For Putin's Kremlin.
Having Trump's inner circle meet with known SVR officers would've set off alarm
bells. Kislyak provided some cover.

USA Today -- Exclusive: Two other Trump advisers also spoke with Russian envoy
during GOP convention. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is not the only member of
President Trump’s campaign who spoke to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at a
diplomacy conference connected to the Republican National Convention in July. At
least two more members of the Trump campaign’s national security officials also spoke
with Kislyak at the event.

JS : Team Trump's defense now boils down to; "We've all had so many meetings with
top Kremlin officials we can't remember what was said, when."

CNN -- Sessions recuses himself from Russia investigation.

AP -- BREAKING: Trump says he has "total" confidence in Jeff Sessions, amid calls
for the attorney general to resign or recuse himself.
[JS: Just like #MoscowMike Flynn then....]

MOSCOW (AP) — A senior lawmaker called it "hysteria." The Foreign Ministry said
it was "media vandalism." And the Kremlin lamented the "emotional atmosphere"
currently in Washington about Attorney General Jeff Sessions' meetings with a Russian
diplomat, saying it could thwart efforts to mend relations.

Politico -- Rep. Schiff accuses Comey of withholding information on Russia probe.

The ranking member on the House intelligence panel warns that lawmakers may have to
subpoena the FBI.
[JS: RepAdamSchiff takes the gloves off and throws them at @FBI & @sessions...it's
on!]
[LM : Rep. Schiff accuses Comey of following the law in an active #natsec criminal
investigation and #GLOMAR -ing him]

JS: #Sessions mess is distracting from far more important #TrumpRussia story which
broke last night @nytimes, which is based on a lot of intel.

JS : Sessions matters because it's yet 1 more Trump inner circle guy meeting with top
Russians - & concealing it. Big Picture here ain't pretty.
If Hill #GOP finds the courage to put country over party & demands a serious CI
investigation, Trump's done. If.

JS :BLUF: Team Trump was in close & continuing contact with top intel+dip officials
from the country that subverted our election last year.

FP -- Trump Taps Putin Critic for Senior White House Position. The selection of
Brookings scholar Fiona Hill comes as the Trump administration draws fire for
contacts with Russian officials.
[JS : Good choice. Seems McMaster isn't down with the Trump WH's default PutinLuv
setting.]

170301
JS : How deep in bed with the Russians do you have to be to ALSO have your AG --
your top law enforcement guy -- talking to the Russians too?

AP -- BREAKING: Attorney General Sessions says he "never met with any Russian
officials to discuss issues of the campaign."
[JS : They discussed the weather, zakuski, balalaikas, vodka...normal Bama stuff.]

JS: Sessions flat-out, bald-faced lied about being in contact with Russian officials.
Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.
BLUF: the country's top law enforcement official lied about his repeated contacts with a
country which has thousands of nukes pointed at us.
If Jeff Sessions is the AG 24 hours from now, understand -- Trump WH is fine with
being lying, lawless & in bed with Russian intelligence.

WaPo -- Sessions met with Russian envoy twice last year, encounters he later did not
disclose.
[JS: Sessions is completely compromised too. He must resign now. He has no business
being AG.]

JS : UK & Dutch intel knew of European mtgs between Kremlin reps & Team Trump.
FYI a 3rd service has info there too.
BLUF: IC has much intel, mostly SIGINT, incl from close partners, about Trump's dirty
Kremlin ties. Ball 2 Congress.

NY Times -- Obama Administration Rushed to Preserve Intelligence of Russian

Election Hacking.
[JS : Great reporting from the "failing" NYT. IC has the goods on #TrumpRussia --
but does Congress actually want them?]

JS – EXCLUSIVE: If his opponents don't get smart, fast, Trump is set to walk on
allegations of shady Kremlin ties.
Time for #realtalk: #TrumpRussia is the most important issue we face right now. At this
rate, Trump will prevail.
By relying on fake experts & partisan hackery, not serious analysis, Dems are blowing
their chance 2 take down Trump.
"Dull amateurism matched with naked partisanship constitutes most of what passes for
media analysis of this issue."  How Trump Is Beating the Russia Rap

170227

Chuk Ross (Daily Caller) : I wonder when we move from the innuendo phase of the
Trump-Russia thing to the fact-based one.
JS : Just as soon as a designated special prosecutor gets responses to subpoenas of IC
reports, Trump tax returns, et al.

ABC News -- Press Sec. to @jonkarl on calls for special prosecutor on Trump-Russia
ties: "A special prosecutor for what?"
[JS: Thus perfectly demonstrating why we need a special prosecutor.]

Salon -- GOP intelligence chairman Devin Nunes: “There’s no evidence of anything”

regarding Russia-Trump campaign contacts.
[LM : If @DevinNunes had ANY part in the #CarolinaConspiracy I will find it out.]
JS -- We need an independent Special Prosecutor. Now. SSCI & HPSCI chairs are
both compromised by WH ties.

Axios -- Exclusive: Spicer arranged CIA, GOP intelligence push-back.

[JS: New Trump WH #hottake: Actually, Deep State is totally cool when we can
manipulate it to cover up our Kremlin ties]

170225

Politico -- Top Democrat has 'grave concerns' about Trump-Russia investigation

Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, says he
won't tolerate 'White House interference.'

Jim McGovern : BREAKING: GOP @Rep Kevin Yoder joins growing list of
Republicans to call for #TrumpRussia investigation.

LM : RT America -- February 24, 2017 https://www.rt.com/shows/rt-america/378554-

rt-america-february242017/#.WLIlBzvplNI.twitter … OMG just clicked Im in this I
MADE IT EVERYONE
I'm genuinely excited by this. Thank you @RT_com I heart Russia we can get rid of
@PutinRF together

JS: Since RT has gone directly after me now, worth noting they have repeatedly asked
me to go on air with them. Never gonna happen. Jealousy?

Tom Nichols -- Seriously: RT has decided that John is enough of a pain in the ass that
they've gone after him personally.

Politico – A Republican congressman who aligned with President Donald Trump during
the 2016 campaign called Friday for a special prosecutor to oversee the investigation
into Trump associates' contacts with Russia. Rep. Darrell Issa said on HBO's "Real
Time" that Attorney General Jeff Sessions — who Trump appointed as the nation's top
law enforcement officer — should not handle the problem.

170224

CNN -- White House blocks news organizations from press briefing. CNN and other
news outlets were blocked on Friday from attending an off-camera White House press
briefing that other reporters were hand-picked to attend, raising alarm among media
organizations and First Amendment watchdogs. … The New York Times, the Los
Angeles Times, Politico and BuzzFeed were also among those excluded from the
meeting. … Reporters from The Associated Press, Time magazine and USA Today
decided in the moment to boycott the briefing because of how it was handled.

The Hill -- CPAC attendees tricked into waving Russian flags with Trump's name.

Politico -- McMaster Has the Islamophobes Worried. Good.

Trump’s new national security adviser can be a powerful counterweight to the baleful
influence of Steve Bannon.
[JS: As APNSA, McMaster will have little tolerance for the facile Bannonite War-With-
Islam crowd in the WH. Get popcorn.]
JS : WH tells FBI to get on-message about the Kremlin. FBI refuses. Trump attacks FBI
on Twitter. AKA New DC Normal.

Donald J Trump -- find the leakers within the FBI itself. Classified information is
being given to media that could have a devastating effect on U.S. FIND NOW
[JS: Publicly attack the secret police. Another smart move, Don. Maybe you need some
"plumbers" to stop the leaks?]
[LM : Excellent. Start with Giuliani in New York Flynn and your daughter in law Lara.]

170223

CNN – FBI refused White House request to knock down recent Trump-Russia
stories.

Rawstory -- Many Russians believe that President Donald Trump is a “puppet” in

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hands and is being used to fulfill his agenda of
discrediting democracies across the world, the editor-in-chief of the Moscow Times, a
prominent Russian newspaper critical of Putin’s politics, said Wednesday.

CNN -- Trump lawyer pushed pro-Russia deal for Ukraine, politician claims. krainian
lawmaker Andrii Artemenko said he discussed his left-field proposal for Ukraine in
January with US President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, who
offered to deliver the plan to the Trump administration.

JS : (RFE-RL ) Manafort's GRU handler -- sorry, buddy/translator -- admits they were

in regular contact during 2016 campaign

The Hill -- Republicans set to kill resolution demanding details on Trump’s ties to
Russia.

JS: Russian mafia has run scams from Trump Tower since 1992, when Vyacheslav
Ivankov AKA Yaponchik set up shop there.
Over 15 years ago -- I was there -- IC knew Trump was deep in bed with Russian
organized crime. Not legally. Imagine what they know now.
Donald Trump was a KGB agent of influence 30 years ago. Now he is POTUS. This is
the biggest win in all the annals of Russian intelligence.
We will not give up until Kremlin pawns are purged from the WH & replaced by
Americans who, whatever their flaws, are loyal to this country.

170222

Townhall -- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer thinks that Republicans are going
to abandon President Donald Trump by the time we enter the summer months.

Reuters --Mexico reacted with anger on Wednesday to what one official called
"hostile" new U.S. immigration guidelines as senior Trump administration envoys
began arriving in Mexico City for talks on the volatile issue.

Politico -- White House Chief Digital Officer Gerrit Lansing was among the six
staffers who were dismissed from the White House last week after being unable to pass
an FBI background check, according to sources.
Christo Grozev : "Corrupt media" "Bad, political courts" "Murderous government"
"Deep state" In 30 days, @POTUS has done more than 80 yrs of SU/RU propaganda

170221

MSNBC -- Mental health experts say Trump is unfit to serve. Some psychologists and
psychiatrists are speaking out about Trump because of a duty to warn. Lawrence talks to
two experts with this view: Dr. Lance Dodes and Dr. John Gartner, whose online
petition of mental health professionals has more than 26,000 signatures.

JS : It's happening. The hour of truth is inbound. Get ready, peeps. For our freedom &
yours. Za naszą i waszą wolność. The Lizard is coming.

WSJ -- Donald Trump Would Reconsider Bannon’s Role on National Security

Council If McMaster Asks. Press secretary Sean Spicer says president would consider
removing strategist if new national security adviser asked.

Adam Khan -- There are 100,000+ professional journalists in US. MAYBE *5* are
chasing down Trump-Putin collaboration.

Michael Weiss -- Now that Firtash is being extradited to the US, Paul Manafort may
have reason to worry.
JS: This is Manafort's nightmare come to life. Fortunately he has NOTHING to do with
Pres Trump or anyone close to him.
Adam Khan -- Thousands of journalists and only a handful tweeted about the
significance of Firtash extradition to the US today. Firtash could reveal
Putin/Trump/Manafort money laundering/transfer scheme–and more-of course his
extradition will be fought.

BuzzFeed -- Milo Yiannopoulos has resigned from Breitbart News.

WSJ -- Spies Keep Intelligence From Donald Trump on Leak Concerns. Decision to
withhold information underscores deep mistrust between intelligence community and
president.
[.@20committee was way ahead of this one]

Business Insider -- President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, was at
the center of a bombshell New York Times report published Sunday that said he hand-
delivered a "peace plan for Russia and Ukraine" to former National Security Adviser
Michael Flynn before Flynn was asked to resign.

Reuters -- White House delivered EU-skeptic message before Pence visit – sources.
[JS: Trump WH CF 2017: Vice President Pence backs EU & NATO, while President
Bannon doesn't.]

ANSA -- Il presidente dell'Europarlamento, Antonio Tajani sulle voci di una possibile

candidatura di Ted Malloch come nuovo ambasciatore americano a Bruxelles:
"Siamo disponibili ad ascoltare tutti i consigli e tutte le critiche, ma non siamo
sottomessi a nessuno, non prendiamo ordini da nessuno, non siamo disposti ad
accettare insulti da persone che probabilmente non conoscono l'Unione Europea e
che il parlamento europeo ha dichiarato non gradite".

170220

Fox News: @POTUS announces Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster will take over the role of
national security adviser after Gen. Michael Flynn resigned.
[JS : As long as Bannon's SIG operates as an alternate NSC with close access to
POTUS, McMaster will have a supremely difficult job.]

CNN -- Russian ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, has died suddenly in New
York, Russian Foreign Ministry says.
[LM:
So farewell then Vitaly #Churkin
you knew where the bodies were buried.
Now you're new where the bodies are buried.]

[JS: Kremlin's had a psychological assessment of Trump since at least 1987, when he
flashily visited the USSR. Don't fall for obvious #FakeNews.
Roman Motychak - and actually Churkin was the guy, orgnising that visit, - alongside
w/ Dubinin, the the USSR Ambassador in the US.]

WSJ -- Trump’s Former Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort Thrust Back Into Focus/
Alleged Russian ties that led political strategist to resign now at the center of
investigations into links between Moscow and people in Donald Trump’s orbit

JS: When MSM & Congress finally figure out the TrumpOrg-Sater-Mogilevich-RIS
connection, Trump's presidency will be over. So start digging.

170219

JS : Trump's secret deal with Russia was drafted by Mikey Cohen & Felix Sater.
Sater is a convicted felon, stock scammer & Russian mafia associate. Y'know, just your
average White House adviser.

Adam Khan : Paul Manafort, Felix Sater, Trump, and so much more...if you all are
feeling investigative.

NZ Herald -- Donald Trump aide Kellyanne Conway's husband George recently

represented a corporation accused of bribing Russian officials, it has been reported.

LM: Combine Pence tweets and the Comey #SCIF meeting and I would say we are
further towards President Pence than anyone expects
LM: The @VP Mike Pence hit Russia; affirmed NATO over and over; posed with
Merkel; Lithuania; the EU; it was all Steve Bannon hates and detests

WSJ -- Senator Lindsey Graham "2017 is going to be a year of kicking Russia in the
ass in Congress".

The Hill -- Priebus: Top levels of the intel community assured me no collusion between
Trump camp and Russia.

170218

LM: Only ONE thing happened today in history. It was @VP tweeting against Putin,
and, by extension, @RealDonaldTrump.
The other important thing was something that didn't happen, a la Sherlock Holmes
'Curious Incident'. The Senate Intel Cttee didn't leak.

Adam Khan : Senators' tight-lipped post Comey briefing could also mean they've no
faith in his ability to lead an unbiased investigation.

Fox News -- Amid Russia concerns, Comey's closed-door Hill visit results in uncanny
silence among lawmakers. … But after huddling with Comey for more than two hours,
the senators didn’t say anything. They didn’t have to. Their silence said everything.
There are classified briefings. And then there are classified briefings. …

VP Pence: Know this: The US will continue to hold Russia accountable, even as we
search for new common ground, which @POTUS believes can be found.
[LM : this is exquisite shade worthy of a master craftsman]

VP Pence: We must hold Russia accountable and demand that they honor the Minsk
Agreements, beginning by de-escalating the violence in eastern Ukraine.

VP Pence: In meeting w/ Baltic leaders @Grybauskaite_LT, @vejonis, &

@KerstiKaljulaid, I reaffirmed US commitment to their security & our partnership.

VP Pence: In meeting with President Poroshenko today, I underscored U.S. support for
Ukraine and full implementation of Minsk.

VP Pence: Just as US stood w/ Europe through end of the 20th Century, Europe stood
w/ US at the outset of the 21st & America will forever be grateful.

VoA -- President Donald Trump ramped up his criticism of the news coverage of his
administration Friday, again taking to his favorite social media platform."The FAKE
NEWS media," Trump wrote on Twitter, "is the enemy of the American People!"

BBC -- The US will be "unwavering" in its support for Nato, vice-president Mike Pence
told European leaders at the Munich Security Conference.
CNN -- Pence: US will hold Russia accountable.
Fox News -- NATO, WE HAVE YOUR BACK. Pence tries to calm skeptical Europe
after Trump's earlier remarks

170217
Rollcall -- Senators Silent After Meeting With FBI Director Comey.

170216

Fox News – @POTUS was in fact fully briefed on the content of those conversations
that Gen. Flynn had with the Russian ambassador.
[JS: BLUF: Harward wanted his own people on the NSC, not Flynn's Freaks; Trump of
course micromanaged & blew the deal.]

CBS ‘’ Vice Admiral Robert Harward rejects NSC post after he & White House had
dispute over staffing security council.

JS : Major IC reorg will need major buy-in from Congress & Pentagon, ie Mattis.
Trump has just no idea of the hornet's nest he's kicked here.

NBC -- Trump Asks Billionaire Steve Feinberg To Review Intel Agencies. .. Trump
believes the intelligence community "needs to be threshed and cleaned and bent to the
will of the executive."
[JS: Trump assigns billionaire pal to shut up the IC about Russia & POTUS. This will
end very badly. Not for the spooks.]

CNN -- Defense Sec Mattis contradicts Trump, says there is "no doubt" Russia tried to
hack elections. Promises no military collaboration w/ Russia.

JS: The good news for Moscow is they managed to get their guy into the White House.
Bad news is he's an incompetent, self-destructing fool.
Trump's deep, long-term Kremlin ties are ultimately about money. Involves much
RIS+ROC. Everything else is peripheral to the central story.

170215

JS -- KremlinGate Enters Uncharted Waters as Russian Links Overwhelm DC >>

JS : Now we go nuclear. IC war going to new levels. Just got an EM fm senior IC

friend, it began: "He will die in jail."

JS: BLUF: When the full extent of Trump's collusion with the Kremlin comes out –
incl. using RIS to spy on Americans -- people will go to prison.

Donald J. Trump -- Information is being illegally given to the failing @nytimes &
@washingtonpost by the intelligence community (NSA and FBI?).Just like Russia
[JS: He's totally losing it. #HINT: it's not NYT & WaPo which are failing right now.
IC leaking Trump's clandestine RIS contacts = Very Bad GRU stealing DNC emails &
leaking via Wikileaks = Very Good]

170214

NY Times -- — Phone records and intercepted calls show that members of Donald J.
Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and other Trump associates had repeated contacts
with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the election, according to
four current and former American officials.
[JS: SIGINT strikes again. They're going down. Putin used Wikileaks & his boy
Snowden to hurt #NSA -- bad. Now #NSA will sink Vova's boy Don. #Karma,
anyone?]

JS : Spicer's presser left more Qs than As. WH is a few Hill #GOPers away from the
Flynn fiasco snowballing into something which will sink Trump.

CNN -- Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee,
on Tuesday called for an exhaustive investigation into connections between
President Donald Trump and Russia and said the Intelligence Committee should
immediately speak with former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

McCain stmt: “Flynn’s resignation also raises further questions about the Trump
administration’s intentions toward Vladimir Putin’s Russia”

WaPo -- Mike Flynn’s resignation isn’t the end of the Russia story. It’s only the
beginning.

JS: US IC is understandably wary about getting to the bottom of Trump's Kremlin ties.
Our allies terrified of Cheeto Jesus are not as squeamish.

LM: Flynn Investigation Will Lead To Trump’s Impeachment, ‘Sooner Rather Than
Later’ [VIDEO]

Christo Grozev : My view: if Flynn had simply talked generically about sanctions,
@realDonaldTrump wd have defended him. It must be MUCH worse.

JS : First, the plagiarist headed to the NSC [Monica Crowley] had to go....not a
#natsec issue really, but I just despise plagiarists…
.. then #MoscowMike had to go -- can't have the NSC headed by a congenital liar in
bed with the Kremlin.

NY Times -- Michael Flynn Resigns

as National Security Adviser.
Michael T. Flynn, the national security
adviser, resigned on Monday night
after it was revealed that he had
misled Vice President Mike Pence and
other top White House officials about
his conversations with the Russian
ambassador to the United States.

170213

CNN -- Flynn on thin ice but still in at the White House after turbulent few days.
Administration officials, some of who were once unsure about the details of the story,
now believe the national security adviser did, in fact, discuss sanctions with the Russian
ambassador

Brad Jeffy -- Within the last 30 mins — NYT, WashPost, WSJ and Politico each
dropped pieces that have to be alarming for your future if you're Mike Flynn.
Reuters -- Trump's national security adviser Michael Flynn and Russian ambassador to
Washington did not discuss lifting sanctions – Kremlin.
[Rule# 1 : It is not true, until Moscow denies it]

WSJ -- Mike Flynn’s Position as National Security Adviser Grows Tenuous in White
House. Administration weighs whether to retain the security adviser after disclosure of
contact with Russia officials
[JS: Flynn went full jihad against Obama for firing him from DIA. Trump needs to be
very careful about ditching #MoscowMike, who knows...lots.]

170212

JS : We will respect no pieties. We will not play nice. We will have no #caring
whatsoever. We will take the White House back from the Kremlin.

The Observer (JS) -- The Spy Revolt Against Trump Begins >>

170211

ABC -- A senior administration official tells ABC News that Robin Townley, National
Security Adviser Mike Flynn's pick for the NSC's senior director for Africa, had his
request for special security clearance denied by the CIA.

170210

CNN -- For the first time, US investigators say they have corroborated some of the
communications detailed in a 35-page dossier compiled by a former British intelligence
agent, multiple current and former US law enforcement and intelligence officials tell
CNN. As CNN first reported, then-President-elect Donald Trump and President Barack
Obama were briefed on the existence of the dossier prior to Trump's inauguration.
[JS : Parts of Steele dossier on Trump are RIS disinformation, as I told you b4, but other
parts are clearly true -- as SIGINT now corroborates.]

Trump's second Army secretary pick drops out of running just a week after 1st one
bows out. Van Hipp, a lobbyist and former chairman of the South Carolina Republican
Party, said “personal and professional commitments” would not allow him to take the
job.

CBS -- Michael Flynn, an adviser to Pres. Trump, might have violated law when he
had a call about Russian sanctions.
[JS: If Flynn were a normal USG person he'd already be suspended over lying about
foreign contacts. Clearances yanked, possible charges pending.
#MoscowMike played VPOTUS 4 a fool, who then unwittingly played all of us 4 fools.
If Trump tolerates this, he's Flynn's bitch -- & Putin's.]

FP -- ‘The Chinese Learned that Trump Blinks.’ In a call with China's President, Trump
recognized, or at least nodded at, the one-China policy he'd earlier questioned.

CNN -- Trump nixes Elliott Abrams for State Department job.

[JS: Abrams out as DEPSECSTATE not because he's a neocon nut bag but because he
dared criticize HRH Donald last year.]
CNN -- Kremlin denies Flynn discussed sanctions with Russian ambassador.
[JS: It's only confirmed to be true when.. ]

LM: Mike Pence lied overtly to the Washington Post's @nakashimae and because of
that report, Jeff Sessions got confirmed so he can protect Trump

170209

WaPo -- National security adviser Flynn discussed sanctions with Russian

ambassador, despite denials, officials say … Flynn’s communications with Russian
Ambassador Sergey Kislyak were interpreted by some senior U.S. officials as an
inappropriate and potentially illegal signal to the Kremlin that it could expect a reprieve
from sanctions

The Hill -- A bipartisan group of senators is moving to check President Trump on

Russia by bolstering congressional oversight before he can lift sanctions. Sens.
Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Sherrod Brown
(D-Ohio), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) introduced legislation
Wednesday setting up a period of congressional oversight before Trump could roll
back financial penalties.

170208

BBC -- Trump under fire in Nordstrom Ivanka row. Mr Trump tweeted that "Ivanka
has been treated so unfairly" by clothing retailer Nordstrom. Press spokesman Sean
Spicer said that Nordstrom's decision was political, and the president was simply
reacting to "an attack" on his daughter.

Christina Wilkie (Huff.Post) -- Trump called up NSA Flynn at 3AM to ask whether a
strong dollar was better than a weak dollar, @svdate and I report.

CNN -- The White House is ramping up its search for a new communications
director in an effort to lighten the load of embattled White House press secretary
Sean Spicer, multiple sources told CNN. A source familiar with internal
communications said President Donald Trump is disappointed in Spicer's
performance during the first two weeks of the administration.

170206

FoxNews -- Report: Trump not fully briefed on exec order that gave Bannon seat
at NSC meetings.

170205

ABC -- Appeals Court Denies Justice Department's Motion to Lift Travel Ban
Restraining Order.

170204
FoxNews -- Justice Dept. formally appeals court ruling that suspended Trump's
immigration ban.

Bill O'Reilly's Super Bowl interview with President Trump> O’Reilly: “Putin’s a killer”
Trump: “There are a lot of killers. We’ve got a lot of killers. What do you think—our
country’s so innocent?”
JS : This is worse than anything said by Obama during any of his "apology tours".

Trump is the only president in modern history whose approval numbers have gone
DOWN in the 1st two weeks.

CNN -- President Donald Trump on Saturday morning took to Twitter to blast a federal
judge's decision to halt his immigration order nationwide. "The opinion of this so-
called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is
ridiculous and will be overturned!" he tweeted.
[LM: He's so-called because he is in fact a judge. Also no hyphen between law and
enforcement]

170203

Tillerson expected to pick Elliot Abrams as Deputy at State. Former Reagan State Dept
official experienced conservative knows the Dept.
[JS: Elliott Abrams? ELLIOTT ABRAMS??? The original neocon nutcase?]

Reuters -- Iranians fear attacks and economic isolation as Trump gets tough
JS: Good. Tehran has gotten away with terrorism & subversion for almost 4 decades
with too little pushback. Until now.

170202

USA Today -- ExxonMobil conducted business with Iran from 2003 - 2005, when the
nation was under U.S. government sanctions. Rex Tillerson, the president-elect's
nominee for secretary of state, held roles as senior vice president, president and director
of ExxonMobil during the timeframe.

The Hill – Sen. Graham announces Senate subcommittee will launch probe into
Russian election interference.

AFP (United Nations) - US says no lifting of Russia sanctions unless Crimea

returned to Ukraine.
[JS: Good to hear this. Strong start for Amb Haley. Too bad it seems wholly
disconnected from any actual WH policy.]

‘I haven’t eased anything’: Trump casually lies about backtracking on Russian sanctions

US Treasury just amended Obama's sanctions order to "authorize certain transactions"

with Russian FSB

Trump OK’d Yemen raid without sufficient intel — leaving SEAL and child dead:
military officials
WaPo -- This was the worst call by far’: Trump badgered, bragged and abruptly
ended phone call with Australian leader.
JS: For the good of the Republic, our allies, and world peace, this psychopathic monster
must be stopped. Now.

170201

The Hill -- Dem offers bill to remove Bannon from National Security Council.

WSJ --- Democratic Lawmakers Seek Pentagon Probe of Mike Flynn’s Russia Today
Ties.

JS : Bannon, now on the NSC, predicts war with China rather soon, eg SCS conflict
resulting in war. Seems important.

170128

JS : Yesterday's WH recasting of the NSC, letting Flynn+Bannon run it WITHOUT

DoD+IC, really amounts to a coup, at least in #natsec terms.The big story yesterday
was WH handing #natsec to wackos, not the immigration EO. But
MSM+commentariat took Trump's bait exactly as planned.
WH is being run by a revenge-obsessed general fired 4 incompetence & an Alt-Right
media mogul who says he's a Leninist.
USG has a whole #natsec system devised to prevent crazy and/or stupid decisions
by a tiny coterie in the WH. Trump just threw all that out.

170128

DNI and Chairman of Joint Chiefs no longer automatic NSC Principals Committee
members.
[JS: President Ash Carter has not been replaced by President Jim Mattis, but by
President #MoscowMike Flynn. Not a joke, it's really happening.
Handing our #natsec structure over to a bunch of angry & incompetent con-men who
can't stand any criticism will not end well for America.]

170127

Buzzfeed -- The Man Tipped To Be Trump’s Ambassador To The EU Compared It To

The Soviet Union. Ted Malloch said: “Maybe there’s another union that needs a little
taming.”

Business Insider -- A dossier with unverified claims about President Donald Trump's
ties to Russia contained allegations that Igor Sechin, the CEO of Russia's state oil
company, offered former Trump ally Carter Page and his associates the brokerage of a
19% stake in the company in exchange for the lifting of US sanctions on Russia.

170126

WaPo -- The State Department’s entire senior management team just resigned.
The Hill == Alex Jones: White House offered Infowars press credentials
[JS: If this is true, we're pretty much done here, folks. Non-crazy members of the #GOP
need to call out WH #tinfoil.
Of course Trump loves InfoWars. Alex Jones is a fake conspiracy theorist 4 $, just like
POTUS is a fake nationalist 4 votes. And both are crazy.]

JS : #GOP leaders said to be worried about Trump's mental/psychological state. No

kidding. If only there'd been signs....

170124

JS : FINALLY: #FBI agents headed to Prague to look into the case of the Russian
hacker arrested shortly b4 our election.

170123

FoxNews -- A liberal-funded watchdog group said Sunday it plans to file a lawsuit

against President Donald Trump alleging that he is violating the Constitution by
allowing his business to accept payments from foreign governments.

FoxNews -- U.S. counterintelligence agents have investigated communications that

President Donald Trump’s national security adviser had with Russian officials,
according to people familiar with the matter.

170122

JS : After that totally insane presser, I expect the WH PR Twitter feed and
@DPRK_News to be indistinguishable by the spring, at latest.
Between Trump's awful #CIA performance & the craziest WH presser ever, it's apparent
that new WH is unprepared & totally out of their depth.
Worst part: Team Trump seems to have absolutely no idea how stupidly unready they
are. We elected a narcissistic reality TV star with murky finances & a shaky grasp on
reality. Drop denial before it's too late for us all.

170120

CNN -- Senate confirms retired Gen. John Kelly to be Secretary of the Department of
Homeland Security.

NBC -- US Senate confirms retired Gen. James Mattis as US Defense secretary.

New York Times -- Intercepted Russian Communications Part of Inquiry Into Trump
Associates
[JS: Manafort has been in bed with GRU for years, as I told you months ago. We have
reams of intel on him+his "friends." Manafort is openly GRU, Page is on the Gazprom
payroll, and Stone boasts of ties to Wikileaks, an RIS front.
If brand-new-POTUS Trump tries to shut down IC investigation into his Kremlin ties,
the loaded phrase "Russian coup" then becomes operative.]

170118
JS: No tweets about "Intelligence" from The Don since word leaked of IC task force on
his ass since the spring. Talk about ruining the party.
Also, when full Trump+RIS story comes out, FBI, esp NYFO, has a scandal on its
hands that'll make Whitey Bulger look like a routine error.

McClatchy Washington Bureau -- The FBI and five other law enforcement and
intelligence agencies have collaborated for months in an investigation into Russian
attempts to influence the November election, including whether money from the
Kremlin covertly aided President-elect Donald Trump, two people familiar with the
matter said.
[JS: Translation: everything true in the Steele dossier the IC knew already. Seems
important. Also, Steele dossier was effectively cover for the real TS intel which the IC
uncovered on its own about Trump+RIS. Trump has been on IC radar for years for
RIS/OC ties. Was being investigated long before the Steele dossier appeared. It's a
distraction.

170116

JS : Dear Allies: If you're confused since new SECDEF strongly backs NATO but new
POTUS does not, so are all Americans with an above-room-temp IQ.

JS : This NATO crisis wasn't created by Trump: important to remember this as

PEOTUS tragically tears the Alliance apart.
Trump is wrong, but tragically NATO members have made the alliance semi-obsolete
due to their steadfast refusal to take defense seriously.
Bob Gates bluntly warned NATO in mid-2011 what would happen if the Alliance didn't
step up. Hardly anyone did. 5 years later, Trump follows the Kremlin line on NATO, &
sadly most alliance members still don't pull their weight.
If more alliance members took defense seriously, like Poland & Estonia do, there would
be no crisis. But there is.

170115

Bloomberg -- Donald Trump called NATO obsolete, predicted that other European
Union members would follow the U.K. in leaving the bloc, and threatened BMW with
import duties over a planned plant in Mexico, according to two European newspapers
which conducted a joint interview with the president-elect.
Trump, in an hour long discussion with Germany’s Bild and the Times of London
published on Sunday, signaled a major shift in trans-Atlantic relations, including an
interest in lifting U.S. sanctions on Russia as part of a nuclear weapons reduction
deal.
Quoted in German by Bild from a conversation held in English, Trump predicted that
Britain’s exit from the EU will be a success and portrayed the EU as an instrument of
German domination designed with the purpose of beating the U.S. in international
trade. For that reason, Trump said, he’s fairly indifferent to whether the EU stays
together, according to Bild.

JS : Fracturing of the US-led Western intelligence alliance -- which was the real aim of
#SnowdenOp -- will be complete on Jan 20th. Putin won.
IC has temporarily cut intel off from allies when their govts got too cuddly w/our
enemies. Nobody ever thought they'd have to cut off DC.
When jihadist attacks against the West start rising, thank President Trump for breaking
the Western intelligence alliance to placate Putin.

Sunday Times -- British intelligence asks for guarantees that its spies in Russia will
remain anonymous under the Trump administration.
[JS: Yes, things really are this bad. Our closest intel partner is worried Trump will
expose its operatives to Putin.]

170114

JS : #GOP your moment is coming soon when you'll need to save the country from a
traitor -- your traitor. Lincoln, TR, Ike & Reagan are watching.

Esquire -- The Trump Administration May evict the Press from the White House.
"They are the opposition party," a senior official says.

LM: President Obama extends sanctions on Russia over Ukraine by a year. Thank you
Mr. President.

Adam Khan : Quit wasting time on witty tweets about how Trump's an asshole, dig hard
into his Russia ties-earn back our trust.
Former Putin aide, Mikhail Lesin found dead in a DC hotel room had a falling out with
"Putin's banker" Yuri Kovalchuk.
When Trump says he'll lift sanctions, he means increase the wealth of Putin cronies like
Kovalchuk–follow the $.

Newsweek -- Estonia’s foreign intelligence service, the Information Board (EIB), last
year listened in on a meeting in an unnamed eastern European country between an
associate of Donald Trump and a pro-Putin member of the Russian State Duma,
Newsweek reported on Wednesday.
[JS: Does Estonian intelligence have the goods on Trump's secret ties to the Kremlin?
Important if true. Needless to say, NATO allies afraid of being invaded by Putin are
intensely interested in Trump's Kremlin ties. They know lots of things. In some areas,
these countries have better intel on Russia than US IC does. Trump should be worried
what they know.]

Sunday Times -- Trump team have told British officials that their first foreign trip will
be a meeting with Putin.

JS : 2017: When politics isn't about Left v. Right anymore, but whether it's ok for the
President of the United States to be the Kremlin's bitch.

JS : Every rant about Trump being illegitimate is a distraction from the real issue:
Unmasking Russia's secret role in 2016 -- & what PEOTUS knew

CNN -- President-elect Donald Trump harshly responded to civil rights icon and
Georgia Rep. John Lewis on Saturday, calling him "all talk" and "no action" after
Lewis said Trump was not a "legitimate" president. "Congressman John Lewis should
spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling
apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election
results. All talk, talk, talk - no action or results. Sad,"
LM : Sight of hundreds of politicians turning their backs live on global TV on
@RealDonaldTrump after @Mike_Pence is sworn in = effective protest

JS : Usual Trump MO in action: Kremlin wolves are circling. Create stupid fight -- civil
rights icon on MLK WE? Perfect! Dodge with MSM frenzy.

JS : I've chatted with more than a half-dozen intel services about Trump. All have
pieces of an ugly puzzle. Devastating.

Independent -- Former MI6 agent Christopher Steele's frustration as FBI sat on

Donald Trump Russia file for months.
[JS: First read, this doesn't look good for the Bureau....at all. Here's where that Senate
inquiry can really help.]

Exclusive: Steele was so concerned by revelations he worked without payment

after Trump's election victory in November

JS : Unlike the rest of Team Trump, Flynn was a career intel officer & Cold War vet.
He knows EXACTLY what he's doing getting in bed with Putin.
LTG (ret) Flynn, MI, didn't "just show up" at RT's 10th anniv gala in Moscow, seated at
Putin's table –
LTG (ret) Flynn, MI, didn't "just happen to call" RUEMBDC on the same day POTUS
sanctioned RIS –

Trump : INTELLIGENCE INSIDERS NOW CLAIM THE TRUMP DOSSIER IS "A

COMPLETE FRAUD!"
[Eric J. Garland : God, I would love to play poker against this man. The all-caps thing
is when he’s most full of shit. 100% all-caps? Ooh, you’ve got him.]

170113

Andrew Weiss -- Slippery slope alert: Trump says he'd relax cyber sanctions vs Kremlin
if Russia helps w ISIS, etc. Lest we forget: these were sanctions vs two of Russia's intel
services (FSB/GRU), senior GRU leaders & private cos responsible for hacking.

Evan McMullin -- BBC report that Trump's possible compromise by the Russian
government has multiple sources & is regarded as "credible" by U.S. intelligence.

Jack : Russian GRU general who recruited FLYNN to teach GRU suddenly died in
Moscow recently!

Sarah Kendzior : Once he's sworn in he will purge those who seem to oppose him. This
is not hypothetical, he has announced it. Violating laws and norms.

JS : So Trump will enter the White House under Senate investigation. For espionage.
Get the inauguration party started!

Politico.com -- Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said late Friday
that his committee would investigate possible contacts between Donald Trump’s
campaign and Russia, reversing himself one day after telling reporters that the issue
would be outside of his panel’s ongoing probe into Moscow’s election-disruption
efforts.
John Lewis : "I don't see this President-elect as a legitimate president," the long-serving
Democrat told NBC. "I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected.
And they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton."

JS: PEOTUS is angry at the opposition and his own party, basically everyone. His only
friend is the KGB thug in the Kremlin. Welcome to 2017.

JS: Remember: all the #natsec wonks who boarded the TrumpTrain are wondering if
they're under FBI investigation too. Hence their panicky tweets. [> Tony Schaffer]

JS: Biggest deal about last night's Flynn story is that as career MI he surely knows calls
to the RUEMBDC are intercepted. He didn't care.

JS : BREAKING: Hungarian model tells of how @realDonaldTrump tried to seduce

her in 2013 - in Moscow /1
Note that the model, Kata Sarka, told her story back in May, long before Trump
kompromat was a Thing....seems credible /2
Wasn't Trump just telling the world he's totally aware of how Russian hotel rooms are
wired so be a good boy? Was I imagining that? /3
So either Trump is a pathological liar (very possible) or he knowingly makes sex videos
for the FSB. No 3rd option anymore. /4
Trump "was not her type" -- details for those who don't know magyar /5
Apparently Trump's legendary germophobia goes away when he lands in Russia. Is
there an FSB spray? Could PEOTUS be a medical case-study? /6
I really don't care about Trump grabbin' pussy -- but if he did in Russia, which he JUST
denied ever doing, or even contemplating.... /7

Trump : Totally made up facts by sleazebag political operatives, both Democrats and
Republicans - FAKE NEWS! Russia says nothing exists. Probably...
[JS : Well if Russia says so....glad we wrapped that up.]

Rick Wilson : This is...explosive.

170112
JS : This is the most important story in months. Proof that Trump is a wholly owned
Kremlin franchise. Tell everyone.
When @IgnatiusPost speaks, Langley's 7th floor lips are moving. Zero disrespect,
just a fact. They are taking traitor Trump out now.
Why so many calls to the Russian Embassy, @GenFlynn? Is this because the Kremlin
paid you or your neo-Nazi son?

JS : New National Security Advisor spends a lot of time on the phone with top
Russians. Why? America has been betrayed. Fight while you can.
Flynn and his son have both been on the Kremlin's payroll. Verified by top-level
NATO intel. They're traitors who deserve a traitor's fate.

JS : My great-grandfather, after whom I am named, was @ the Battle of Warsaw. I will

be there when the latest Kremlin traitors get justly killed. We stopped them at the gates
of Warsaw in 1920. They have now gotten further in DC than Piłsudski ever allowed.
Now we must fight traitors.
Flynn is a traitor. Nothing to discuss. Americans have been executed for much less.

WaPo -- Why did Obama dawdle on Russia’s hacking? By David Ignatius

CNN -- Trump’s CIA director nominee Mike Pompeo says the intelligence on Russian
hacking “is sound”.

Newsweek -- Trump Team Considering Anthony Shaffer, Controversial Former Army

Officer, for Senior Defense Intelligence Role. 

JS : There's been a FISA-authorized IC Task Force looking at Team Trump's RIS ties
since mid-2016. Kremlin admits those ties. Do the math.
Kremlin outs Snowden, then Assange, then Trump+Co as their helpers. If you still deny
reality, you're the problem.
Sam Schulman : According to John, the Kremlin finds Trump such a useful tool that it
is trying to destroy his presidency before it begins. Got it.
JS : No, Putin is openly reminding Trump how much kompromat he has on him, so he
better behave as Moscow wishes.

Susdan Hennessey : When dossier was circulating privately, persistent refrain from
intel-types was that it *seemed* like it was written by someone legitimate.
Knowing Chris Steele is behind it only bolsters that. He's a real deal person, well-
known, and with credibility in the community. Steele involvement means that, while
facts haven't been corroborated, many insiders' initial gut instincts have been confirmed
as true.

Guardian -- Intelligence sources vouch for credibility of Russia dossier author. Ex-MI6
officer Christopher Steele, named as writer of Donald Trump memo, is ‘highly regarded
professional’

Reuters LIVE -- Mattis says need to realize Putin is trying to break NATO; thinks world
order 'under biggest attack since World War Two'.

Carl Bernstein: “#KellyanneConway Has Been An Anonymous Source For The Last
Ten Months Particularly During This Campaign When It Suits Her”.
Jake Tapper (CNN) -- There are 2 points Clapper makes here that deserve underlining.
First, Intel Community has not made a judgment on info in "dossier." (1)
(2) IC has "not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable."
Also says document is not an IC product.
(3) so he's saying: this isn't ours. We can't say it's reliable. He does not make a judgment
about any of the info in it one way or another
(4) then he explains why IC shared w PEOTUS the 2-page synopsis broadly describing
contents of dossier, as CNN and others reported.
(5) part of his obligation he says is to provide leaders w "fullest possible picture of any
matters that might affect national security."
(6) again, as we reported Tuesday, IC without vouching for UNCORROBORATED
info wanted PEOTUS to know what credible sources were sharing.
(7) those are just the facts. Have a great day!
[JS : BLUF: that the IC shared even the EXECSUM version of the dossier with "the
top" speaks volumes about their take here]

Ynetnews -- US intel sources warn Israel against sharing secrets with Trump
administration. Israeli intelligence officials fear that top-classified information that has
been exposed to the United States will be leaked to Russia – and from Russia to its close
ally, Iran.
[JS: Harming US intelligence agencies while fracturing US-led global intelligence
alliance. IOW, Pres Trump is just the last stage of #SnowdenOperation
2017: When the IC has to warn close US allies not to share intel with the new WH
because it'll go straight to Russia, then all Putin's pals.
20 JAN 2017 the IC will have to have to introduce a new, never-before-seen handling
caveat to its intelligence: NOPOTUS // NOWHITEHOUSE.]

BBC -- Trump Organization handover plan slammed by ethics chief. The director of the
US Office of Government Ethics has criticised Donald Trump's plan to hand control of
his business empire to his sons before his inauguration on 20 January. The plan does not
match the "standards" of US presidents over the last 40 years, Walter Shaub said.

170111

Southpaw -- Clapper's statement--while attempting to smooth things over--confirms

most of the reporting and contradicts the Trump team's factual claims.

BBC -- Chief US spy James Clapper denies Trump leak claim. The head of US spy
agencies has rejected President-elect Donald Trump's claim that US intelligence leaked
content from a classified briefing.
JS : EXCLUSIVE: Trump's real Kremlin ties are much worse than any alleged meeting
in Prague with Putin's spies.  Schindler, J. - Trump Addresses Dossier’s Pedestrian
Claims.pdf

Trump press conference

CNN -- Trump: 'I think it was Russia' "But maybe the intelligence agencies which
would be a tremendous blot on their record if they did that. A thing like that should
never have been written, it should never have been had and it certainly should have
never been released."
Damian Paletta : Trump suggests that U.S. intelligence agencies could have been
behind the leak of the Russia report. Quite an accusation.
Jeff/BDHQ : Trump 100% right that actual voters don't give a flying fig about his tax
returns. Whether they *should* is a different q. But they don't.
Trump not helping his case by talking about how he's technically exempt from conflict-
of-interest laws but he's just such an angel anyway.
JS : Man, Trump is really low-energy today....recent events have clearly shaken him
badly. Wonder why?
Trump's now publicly threatening the IC....not smart, Don, not smart.
This is the most rambling, incoherent, info-free thing I've ever seen on live TV...
Trump's going on about how great military bands are.
Trump calls leaks of classified a "disgrace" -- funny, his folks LOVED it when IC leaks
sank Hillary over #EmailGate
Trump admits hacking was Russians, and others, but pins blame on the DNC again.
Says RNC was not hacked. You sure there, Don? :)
OMG Trump is quoting today's Kremlin press release on "fake news" AGAIN. Cloud-
cuckoo-land, folks.
PEOTUS is now our national SSO, telling Americans not to misbehave in Russian hotel
rooms. Really. So ... no pussy-grabbing then?
Susan Hennessey : Let's be absolutely clear. The IC did not prepare document. The
IC did not release document. Trump knows it.

BBC correspondent: Ex-British intelligence officer ‘not the only source’ for Russia’s
Trump dossier

Tom Nichols : CNN: IC briefed POTUS and PEOTUS on Russian oppo material
NBC: No they didn't. That's where we are, it seems.

NBC -- Two U.S. officials told NBC News that materials prepared for Trump during
last week's intelligence briefing included damaging allegations — unverified by
American intelligence agencies — about his dealings with the Russians.

JS : What if releasing the 35-pp dossier is just a provocation to muddy waters and
distract from even worse Trump news? Just leaving that there.

Sarah Kendzior : Tillerson is dismissing open source information and reporting on

Russia, says he wants to wait for intel -- as Trump prepares to purge IC.
ABC -- Rex Tillerson says he has not yet discussed Russia policy with Trump;
@SenatorMenendez replies, "That's pretty amazing."
Andrew Weiss : Key passage from Tillerson testimony: "in absence of American
leadership...door was left open" for Kremlin's moves in #Ukraine, #Syria
Sarah Kendzior : Tillerson is saying it is impossible to be friends with Russia. HE HAS
AN ORDER OF FRIENDSHIP FROM VLADIMIR PUTIN.

LM : Those with the memories of goldfish may have forgotten @Russia boasted of
"frequent contact" and Trump denied it : Moscow had contacts with Trump team
during campaign, Russian diplomat says WaPo November 10, 2016

"I have nothing to do with Russia," says Trump. He does and so does team. Info backed
up with links, articles on @Khanoisseur timeline.
Trump: Russia just said the unverified report paid for by political opponents is "A
COMPLETE AND TOTAL FABRICATION, UTTER NONSENSE." Very unfair!
[JS: Our new CINC cites a Kremlin press release as his proof. This is really happening.]

Putin's spokesman Peskov has just denied allegations in the Trump report, says "the
Kremlin does not engage in collecting compromising info"
{JS: Never believe anything....until the Kremlin denies it.]

JS : FYI the raw intel dossier leaked by BuzzFeed has been circulating quietly for
months. It did not come from 4chan, Sen McCain or any American
The Grey Man: RUMINT says the Russians leaked this as a 'shot across the bow'.
JS: Why not? Kremlin has worse -- much worse -- on PEOTUS than golden showers
with whores.

Trump: Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO
WITH RUSSIA - NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!
[JS: The panic is now full-blown
Sarah Kendzior: "I have nothing to do with Russia," says Trump. He does and so does
team. Info backed up with links, articles on @Khanoisseur timeline.]
Tom Nichols: Best indicator that there's something to tonight's scandal: the parade of
zero-follower trolls showing up swearing it was a 4chan prank.

Jarub Kanda : WHAT WE KNOW NOW:

Adam Khan : 11. So both FBI and Congress were made aware of contacts between
Trump surrogates-Russians before the election and… …did nothing about it

Oh look, Putin pal Lev Leviev (I just like saying that) did transaction with Kushner
after news he might be implicated for money laundering
Leviev buys building for *3X* what seller paid for it 2.5 yrs earlier, sells to Trump's
son-in-law at major loss?
Putin's buddy Lev Leviev sold the Times Square building to Jared Kushner at a $230
million LOSS a few months ago. Now why would he do that?

Reported *after* the election: Trump's son met with the Russians, *one month before
the election*

170110
JS: If Trump wants this RIS nightmare to go away he must immediately: 1. Have his
lawyer talk to FBI. 2. Release tax returns & financial docs.
#GOP was informed back in the spring that Trump was a 1-man FSB kompromat
machine come to life. They did nothing. This is on them now.

Mr.Woods : Buzzfeed leaks the documents { pics}

Henning Kilset : Boris Johnson literally confirmed TODAY that MI6 has
corroborating intel on Russia meddling in US election.

JS: I told you Hillary would not politically survive #EmailGate. I told you Trump won't
politically survive his secret Kremlin ties. It's on.

JS: Once the full story of Trump's collusion with Russian intelligence comes to light --
it will, soon -- he will not be able to be POTUS.

CNN -- Intel chiefs presented Trump with claims of Russian efforts to

compromise him.
[JS: Who EVER could have seen this coming? Wait, laundering billions of $ for the
Russian mafia/FSB is....kompromat?
BOOM! "there was a continuing exchange of information during the campaign between
Trump surrogates and intermediaries for the Russian govt"
"exchange of information" between Team Trump & RIS = espionage more is coming
soon on those clandestine meetings
To be clear, Team Trump was in contact with Russian intel in 2016, regularly, to
coordinate attacks on Hillary. It's all coming out now.]

Money -- Publisher HarperCollins said Tuesday that it will stop selling a book by
Monica Crowley that a CNN KFile investigation found to have more than 50 instances
of plagiarism.

Pwn All The Things : Clapper seems to imply this was directed from the top ever since
2014, with more details for the classified session.
{Js: Wait, Putin felt confident running aggressive spy ops vs USA after Snowden gave
him 1.5M classified docs?]

Washington Times -- Susan Rice says she's 'available' to give advice to Trump's
national security team.
[JS : Only way Trump's NSC could get worse -- between nutball Kremlin-lovers +
plagiarists -- would be to listen to Sue.]

Adam Khan : Summary of Trump's ties to Russia, plus advisors who've lobbied to
support/are aligned with Putin's geopolitical objectives
170109

Sarah Kendzior : Two quotes you need to read side by side.

1. From Trump
2. From Trump's chief strategist, Steve Bannon
Spread this widely.

Politico -- Trump deputy national security adviser pick Monica Crowley plagiarized
parts of her Ph.D. thesis

AFP news agency -- #UPDATE US sanctions head of Russia's Investigative Committee,

Alexander Bastrykin and alleged Litvinenko killers

Daily Kos : Donald Trump was bailed out of bankruptcy by Russia crime bosses

Anders Östlund :

CNBC -- BREAKING: President-elect Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will be

named to position of Senior Advisor to the President, aide tells NBC.
JS : Kicking off with the below tweet - see whole thread - it's time to have an official CI
Tweetstorm on this issue. /1
Trump Org's secret ties to Russian OC are well known in certain circles, including
some IC folks. But MSM has been (mostly) derelict. /2
MSM has been reluctant to seriously explore Trump's Kremlin ties because Don loves
suing everyone. And his Russia mafia pals kill people. /3
Moreover, actually grasping what the Trump Org does -- which Don works hard at
anyone getting a look at -- requires a lot of knowledge. /4
You need to understand real estate finance, and Russian organized crime AND Russian
intelligence...if you do, the picture is quite clear. /5
Mogilevich is the biggest mob boss in Russia -- maybe the world -- and his
capos+footprints are all over the Trump Org since early 1990s. /6
Mogilevich launders money in the West, including the USA, on a gargantuan scale; he
is clever and good at this. FBI knows all about it. /7
In 1992, Mogilevich sent a capo to NYC to run his US show. That was Yaponchik AKA
Vyacheslav Ivankov, who was murdered in Moscow in 2009. /8
Yaponchik/Ivankov -- for 3 years until the FBI caught up with him -- was dividing his
time between Trump Tower & Don's Taj Mahal Casino. /9
There are literally dozens of Russian OC scams, some gargantuan, that we know were
based at Trump properties -- quite a coincidence. /10
The real issue is how Mogilevich made the Trump Org one of his overseas subsidiaries,
de facto, back in the 1990s. FBI knows this too. /11
Also, Mogilevich has a very cozy relationship with Putin & his special services, going
back to KGB days. They help each other non-stop. /12
Not long after Sasha Litvinenko told reporters about Putin's close links to Mogilevich,
FSB gave him atomic tea. Another coincidence. /13
[Tom Rogan : Adding a 13.B - Putin ordered Litvinenko murder.]
There's an old IC joke about Russian organized crime: "Who do you think organized
them?" Trump being in bed with ROC = in bed with FSB /14
End of Tweetstorm -- for now. Would be nice if Congress took a look at the evidence
here, it's overwhelming. Very, very soon would help. /15

Mike Walker : Wow! When will Congress do it's job?

JS : Sometime in the next 10 days would sure be nice.

JS: (I personally want to thank Meryl Streep for playing into Trump's desperate need to
distract Americans from this ===>)
IOW, Trump Org has functioned as money-laundering front for Russia's biggest
OC group, which is functionally RIS.
FYSA...it's all coming out now. You're either ok with this kind of POTUS or you're not.
No 3rd option anymore.
I can attest that #GOP was informed of this many months ago. They chose to ignore it.
Now, they go down with Trump.

JS : BOOM !
JS : #NSA+GCHQ follow known RIS hackers very closely, were onto the FSB/GRU
anti-DNC op by late 2015, saw it unfold. TS/SCI evidence is airtight.
IC witnessed the crime unfold -- Obama did basically nothing. Just like WRT
#Snowden, Assange, whole RIS network

170108

JS : When it became possible that Trump might get the nom, some IC folks reached out
to #GOP & told them about his RIS ties. They were ignored.

Trump @FoxNews: "We certainly don’t want intelligence interfering with politics and
we don’t want politics interfering …”
[JS : He means AMERICAN intelligence. Our new President is fine with Russian
intelligence interfering with our politics.]
Adam Khan :
1. A thread on something that's been bothering me: How on earth was Trump losing
money on his casinos while competitors were making bank?
2. You can say "haha what a dummy-losing money on casinos" but as I noted, Trump's
losses appear deliberate, planned
3. But what if there's more to Trump's casino losses, which ran billions of dollars. Was
it to disguise Russian money laundering?
4. Article below from 1995 notes how Russian mafia was laundering money in and out
of the US using dummy corps
5. A coincidence that Trump's projects–after banks ditched him–were financed by
Russian mafia linked Bayrock?
6. Soviet characters–Sater, Arif, Sapir, Mashkevich-suddenly pouring hundreds of
millions into a bankrupt Trump?
7. Were these Russian links established during Trump's casino run-he helps them with
laundering-they bail him out?
8. Recall the lawsuit against Bayrock naming Trump and kids alleges $250 million were
laundered, untaxed, to Russia
9. We know Trump was getting tax benefits for losing people's investments, but now we
have this laundering angle
10. Here is the smoking gun: US Treasury fined Trump's casinos $10 million for
"significant, long standing anti-money laundering violations".
[JS : Gosh, I wonder whose cash was getting washed ....]

JS : Kremlin has kompromat to keep Trump on-side, wasn't necessary to recruit him.
His insatiable vanity and constant need for cash were enough.
A bundle of secrets & severe pathologies like Trump was an incredibly easy mark for
Chekists. No coercion needed.
We know that Chekists have been interested in Trump for at least 30 years. Knowing
RIS tradecraft, the missing pieces are easily guessed at.

CNN -- Top Donald Trump aide Kellyanne Conway deflected questions about Russia's
hacking of Democratic operatives Sunday, while insisting those hacks did nothing to tilt
the presidential race's outcome.
{JS: Nice Chekist corner Team Trump has backed itself into ...]

JS : Heart of Trump's secret Kremlin ties is money, not espionage. But Russian intel +
mafias are tightly linked, which makes the mosaic opaque.

FoxNews -- Was Friday's declassified report claiming Russian hacking of the 2016
election rigged? “I also suspect the entire purpose of this report and its timing was to
provide President Obama with a supposedly objective intelligence report on Russian
interference in the 2016 election that the president could release before he left office to
undermine the legitimacy of Trump’s election.”
[EG : GOP's extreme conspiracy wing claims that all 17 intel agencies just working for
Obama, so ignore their findings. It is political arson to claim that 17 agencies are "in the
bag" for the executive branch. It de-legitimizes them. Which for Putin.
JS : Con-men, pure & simple ]
170107

Guardian -- UK intelligence gave US key tipoff about Russian hacking, report says

Businjess Insider -- The US intelligence report on Russian hacking directly implicates

WikiLeaks.
[Tom Nichols : Whoa - heads up to @20committee. We should have seen this coming at
least three or four years ago. *cough*]

1. Putin unleashes GRU & its fronts worldwide to help elect Trump. 2. Trump gets
elected. 3. Trump says Russia is our bestie. Get it yet?

Trump : Having a good relationship with Russia is a good thing, not a bad thing. Only
"stupid" people, or fools, would think that it is bad! We.....
[JS : Why double-down when you can triple-down? Again: why does Don ALWAYS
act like Putin's lawyer at EVERY opportunity? Saying we need to be BFF w/Putin the
day after the entire IC publicly states that the Kremlin helped elect you POTUS.. that's
damn special. A sane PEOTUS would have kept quiet about Russia for a bit. That
Trump is tweeting more PutinLuv now shows he's either insane or traitorous.]

Conway to CNN's Cuomo: Trump is not sheltering Russia 'and don’t you say that again'
[JS : Kellyanne haz a sad, drops into scolding-mom mode to deny the obvious.]

JS : IC finding means there will always be a big red asterisk next to Trump's name:
"*elected with covert Kremlin help" You made this bed, Don.

Trump : Only reason the hacking of the poorly defended DNC is discussed is that the
loss by the Dems was so big that they are totally embarrassed!
[JS : Basically GRU just grabbed the DNC by the pussy. Which happens in
TrumpWorld -- and really it's their own fault.]

Trump : Gross negligence by the Democratic National Committee allowed hacking to

take place.The Republican National Committee had strong defense!
[Adam Schiff : Gross negligence by Donald Trump to urge foreign adversary to hack
his opponent's campaign. Worse than negligence to deny it when Russia did]

Trump : Intelligence stated very strongly there was absolutely no evidence that hacking
affected the election results. Voting machines not touched!
[JS : 2nd sentence is true. 1st sentence is false. Yesterday's IC briefing had some impact
on PEOTUS, but not enough.]

170106

Comments on report
Jeff B/DDHQ : I don't doubt fundamental truth that Russia behind DNC/Podesta hacks,
but I also don't find this DNI report very impressive or enlightening.
Bradley P. Moss, Esq : It's not. Rather disappointing.
JS: Highly underwhelming, really.
JS: To compensate for necessary absence of TS/SCI intel that led to their conclusions,
IC packed RIS report with a lot of already-known fluff.
JS ; CIA-NSA-FBI joint report on RIS shenanigans is weak beer. Yes, all the good stuff
has to be taken out, but even for UNCLAS it's....boring.
The important takeaways from the IC report: 1. GRU stole DNC emails. 2. GRU passed
emails to Wikileaks. 3. Putin wanted to help Trump.
Since I've been publicly calling out Wikileaks as a Kremlin front since mid-2013, I find
the new IC assessment welcome but underwhelming.
Adam Khan : Assange stopped hitting Russia in 2011-right after Putin bailed him out,
gave him a visa, funded his RT show, turned him into a star

S.Hennessey : The unclassified report is underwhelming at best. There is essentially no

new information for those who have been paying attention. The report serves a few
limited purposes, namely setting forth the areas of factual agreement between the
agencies. It'll also force Trump to specifically disagree with or dispute facts, as opposed
to cast general doubts. May serve to limit him somewhat. But this is not a courageous
document. It is evidence that the typical " oh but sources and methods" types won out.
Sources and methods concerns are, of course, legitimate. But unwavering commitment
to being risk averse has been Obama's folly from day one.
1. The big one. Did any US Person, connected or unconnected with Trump campaign,
have knowledge of, procure or participate in the operation?
2. If the answer to the question above is anything other than "We have found no
evidence of that" is there an ongoing investigation?
3. What are Russia's priorities for shifting US policy. Lifting sanctions? Being
unopposed in Syria? Undermining NATO?
4. How can the United States ensure those goals and policies are not realized? How can
we ensure Putin gets no pay off?
If he had an ounce of political sense, Trump would seek to distance himself from
anything that could be viewed as favorable to Russia. His message should be "If Putin
thought he was getting a friend, he's the idiot."
Maybe Russia didn't change election outcome. But anything Trump now does that
rewards Russia, directly undermines our national security. It tells Russia, you can get
away with this (here and against our allies) and if it works, the rewards will be
immense, immeasurable even. The GOP Senate is duty bound to not confirm Rex
Tillerson as Secretary of State. Fair or not, it will be perceived as a reward by Putin.
Max Fisher : This DNI report is so odd I worry it will end up undermining facts that are
already established by open-source methods, e.g. Russian links.
Robert M. Lee : I imagine it is difficult for most to understand just how strong the
assessment in the ODNI report was; it is significant.
Thomas Rid: This is big: CIA, NSA & FBI publish perhaps the most high-profile
intelligence community assessment in US history

Noah Schachtman : There's a gaping hole in this Russian hack report.

The Daily Beast -- Friday’s report leaves “big looming unanswered questions,
including the ones no one really wants to ask,” according to Hennessey, the former
NSA official. “The big one is whether there is any evidence of a U.S. Person—
whether connected or unconnected with Trump campaign—who had knowledge of
or participated in the operation … Currently there is no public evidence of
collusion with Trump or his staff, but considering the President-Elect’s own
statements, it’s certainly on people’s minds. The U.S. government should
affirmatively put it to rest.
S.Hennessey : I get how crazy this sounds. But it's the question everyone is thinking.
Why not just put it to rest?
PoliticalKel : Because Trump has to be inaugurated before he can be impeached, if only
to avoid a constitutional crisis.
TBashil : it only feels "crazy" because it's too big for most ppl to process--including
journalists. But it's the logical next step.
Nancy : How common is it for Intelligence agencies to tell the world what they know
and how they know it?
Andy Keiserr : Protecting how we collect against Russia more important to the
intelligence community than winning a news cycle.
S.Hennessey : Undeniably true. But this is about a whole lot more than winning a news
cycle.

JS : If you don't understand why the IC report was regrettably so thin on details yet
robust in conclusions, you've never been indoc'd 4 TS/SCI.

CBS -- U.S. intel community releases declassified version of report on Russian

election hacking.

NY Times – After Security Meeting, Trump Admits Possibility of Russian Hacking.

JS: IC: "We assess with high confidence that GRU....relayed [stolen online] material to
Wikileaks". "We further assess Putin & the Russian Govt developed a clear preference
for PEOTUS Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments."

Trump following intel briefing: "We need to aggressively combat and stop
cyberattacks" Vows to appoint team within 90 days of inauguration.
[JS: more dodging -- not a good sign]

Reuters -- Trump to seek probe of secret report he says was given to NBC.
[JS : Shots fired! PS this is why I told you not to go with the spooks,
@realDonaldTrump -- & this is just the beginning]

WikiLeaks Task Force --We are thinking of making an online database with all
"verified" twitter accounts & their family/job/financial/housing relationships.
[JS : Sounds a lot like surveilling people to intimidate them. Gotta keep "enemy lists"
updated. Just like Chekists do.]

Pre-intel briefing, Trump calls focus on Russian hacking a "political witch hunt" in
intvu w
[JS: He's panicking now. He knows his Kremlin secrets will soon be in the open.]

JS : PEOTUS will be briefed in NY @ 1230 on Russian hacking/AM by an IC team led

by Clapper, Rogers & Comey. Flynn will shout a lot, helplessly.

JS : Fugitive rapist now complaining about leaks -- yes LEAKS -- because they look
bad for TrumPutin. Can't make it up.

JS : Trump knows it's all gonna fall apart when the IC releases intel on Kremlin +
election. Hence the increasingly crazed tweets about bullshit.

Conway: “What's disappointing is having leaks in the media before we actually have a
report on the alleged hacking and it's been very confounding to us and certainly to the
president-elect why this report if it wasn't prepared until yesterday, why operatives were
expelled, why punishment preceded actual conclusions.”
[Geller : Trump's team doesn't seem to understand how the IC assessment process
works.]

Reuters -- U.S. intel report identifies Russians who gave emails to WikiLeaks –
officials
[JS : When the IC releases the names of the RIS agents who cyber-attacked the DNC,
PEOTUS has to admit he's wrong or he has no legitimacy as CINC.]

Senate Intel Cmte just announced an OPEN hearing next Tuesday on Russian
Intelligence Activities. The big names will be there
[JS: The new admin's gonna need a couple days to collect the latest RT/Sputnik talking
points]

WaPo – Mattis clashing with Trump transition team over Pentagon staffing. The
Trump team is off to a bad start.

JS: PEOTUS's last 24 hrs on Twitter: 1. More Kremlin propaganda 2. Bitching at

Toyota...b/c why not? 3. Some crazy BS about Ahnold's ratings
Oh man. Japan has *COME OUT SWINGING* against Donald Trump's Toyota-baiting

170105

Old #NSA friend tells me that the term used by Kremlin higher-ups to describe Trump
is severely unflattering, much worse than "our bitch".
it's slightly misspelled "пиздюк" that means a) one insignificant, minor, dependent b)
offspring(e.g. small son)

WaPo -- U.S. intercepts capture senior Russian officials celebrating Trump win.

Daily Mail -- Ex-CIA head James Woolsey said he'd like to watch Edward Snowden be
hanged for treason
[JS : Translation: As a former DCI, I can't continue to be associated with this insane
Kremlin-directed shitshow. Woolsey's 11th hour defection from Team Trump is the
signal to spooks to walk away from the crazy, because the Kremlin-y ship is sinking.]

Senior U.S. intelligence officials testify on January 5 at a Senate hearing :

DNI Clapper said unclassified version of IC report on Russian hacking and meddling in
the election will be released "early next week"
Clapper says the FBI, CIA and NSA are all in agreement on assessment of Russian
malicious cyber activities targeting the election
DNI Clapper: The mix of Russian propaganda, disinformation and fake news continues.
Clapper asked whether Assange has put lives in direct danger. "Yes, he has." Seconded
by Rogers.
Will you ascribe a motivation to Putin? Sen. Nelson asks "Yes we will ascribe a
motivation,” Clapper responds.

JS : On one side we have the entire US Intelligence Community. On the other we have
Russia, a lying rapist on the lam, & the president-elect

24 hours after embracing Julian Assange, Trump begins to retreat. A bit.

[JS : Too late. Mask dropped, Kremlin face revealed. Damage done.]
JS : Trump embracing Assange against the IC was his official shark-jumping moment.
This may take a long time to play out but we know the ending.

170104

Reuters -- U.S. intelligence agencies obtained what they considered to be conclusive

evidence after the November election that Russia provided hacked material from the
Democratic National Committee to WikiLeaks through a third party, three U.S.
officials said on Wednesday.

JS : At some point the key question must be asked+answered: Why does Trump
ALWAYS defend Putin, no matter the issue, nor how flimsy the defense?

JS: 2017: When PEOTUS publicly ridicules US "intelligence" while backing a Kremlin
agent, fabulist & fugitive rapist to explain his election.
[A.Weiss: Speechless]

DT : Julian Assange said "a 14 year old could have hacked Podesta" - why was DNC
so careless? Also said Russians did not give him the info!

Look what we have here: Trump blaming China for hacking us and claiming the hack
"borders on being an act of war"!  Breitbart, Oct.27, 2016

JS: He's backed himself into a corner -- a Kremlin corner -- and Trump is getting
desperate now.
A year ago I told you #EmailGate would not end well for Hillary. Now I'm telling
you this won't end well for Don.

Breaking: We just found Tillerson Holdings-a company based in #Russia-is

owned by #Trump's Secretary of State nom

170103

A.Weiss: Please kill me. Kellyanne Conway hypes "bombshell" claim by Assange
Kremlin had nothing to do w Clinton/DNC hacking
S.Hennessey : I am speechless. Openly throwing their lot in with Assange? There are no

Adam Kghan : Not a coincidence that Wikleaks dumps–TPP, Saudi, Turkey, DNC,
Podesta-are timed to perfection to aid Putin's geopolitical objectives.

Trump : The "Intelligence" briefing on so-called "Russian hacking" was delayed until
Friday, perhaps more time needed to build a case. Very strange!
[ JS: Trolling the IC with public insults isn't smart, Don.
> Never thought I'd see any Pres insulting the IC. He is misreading most of US. We
respect our IC like vets. Many of them are.
> Jim Sciutto: Intelligence officials tell CNN briefing by DNI Clapper & CIA Dir
Brennan on hacking review never scheduled for today. US official says PEOTUS could
be "confusing" PDB he received today with in-depth briefing on hacking Intel review
ordered by POTUS
>"He's being really dumb to do this." -- Senator Schumer on Trump taunting US
intelligence agencies
S.Hennessay: Plausible theory: Trump has pretty good idea of what IC knows and is
looking to discredit, politicize, and undermine as preemptive strike.]

The Hill -- Congress likely will not form a select committee to investigate the
influence Russian hacking played in the 2016 elections, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)
said Tuesday. “Without the support of the leadership, then I would imagine it won’t
[happen],” McCain told CNN’s Manu Raju. “But we’ll move ahead in the Armed
Services Committee, and I’m sure other committees will.”

GQ -- Donald Trump’s Team Now Says He Won’t Reveal Anything About Hacking -
Which he knows “a lot” about, apparently!
[JS : Probably waiting for Assange's interview.]

JS: IC knows some very unsavory things about Trump + RIS. I've seen some of it, heard
more from trusted people. Expect very damaging leaks soon.

Kellyanne Conway on CNBC today: Pay “significant attention” to WikiLeaks’ Julian

Assange saying Russia wasn’t source for DNC/Podesta hacks.
[JS: Incoming White House wants Americans to believe a Russian intelligence front
over the US Intelligence Community
Left throws around the word "treason" far too casually regarding Trump + Putin -- but
this is getting damn close. Our Intelligence Community isn't perfect. But if you take
word of a fugitive rapist who wanted FSB bodyguards over the IC, you're a lunatic.]

Trump -- China has been taking out massive amounts of money & wealth from the U.S.
in totally one-sided trade, but won't help with North Korea. Nice!
[Sweetie, we understand you just learned some information about Asia, and that's
exciting, but this isn't very coherent.
[JS: Keep pissing off Beijing, Don -- as POTUS you'll have no channel to DPRK next
time the Norks do something crazy.]

170102

FT -- Zero evidence’ Moscow influenced US poll, says Trump press chief

President-elect does not want to jump to conclusions on Russian hacking claims

170101

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald J. Trump, expressing lingering

skepticism about intelligence assessments of Russian interference in the election,
said on Saturday evening that he knew “things that other people don’t know” about
the hacking, and that the information would be revealed “on Tuesday or
Wednesday.”
[JS : Guy who doesn't use email says he knows more about hacking than the IC. And in
20 days he's our president. This is really happening.
If said "revelation" is more covering for Putin, Trump will face a mass revolt by IC +
Congress b4 his inauguration.]

161231
SCOOP: Trump is considering lawyer George Conway, husband of adviser Kellyanne
Conway, to be US solicitor general.
[S.Hennessay : I'm sorry, this is fucking absurd. Conway's reasonably qualified. That's
not my issue. There's always fine line between political appointees and cronyism. But
this is obscene.]

Team Trump: We're the true target of Obama's sanctions

[JS: Wait, is Kellyanne publicly admitting Team Trump is actually Russian
intelligence?]

161230

Putin's a bad actor/foe of USA. Trump kisses his...ring. Question: What does Putin have
on Trump? Maybe proof Trump-world knew re hacking???
JS : Nope. Trump was down $915M in '95, then a couple years later was flush with
cash again. Wasn't any US banks.

Trump -- Great move on delay (by V. Putin) - I always knew he was very smart!

NY Times -- Vladimir Putin Won’t Expel U.S. Diplomats as Russian Foreign Minister
UrgedPutin's first gesture to Trump administration. He overrules tit-for-tat expulsions.
Clearly an orchestrated move.
[Putin's first gesture to Trump administration. He overrules tit-for-tat expulsions.
Clearly an orchestrated move.
Mc Faul : Putin has his list of higher priorities for establishing "good relations" -- lifting
sanctions, supporting Assad, recognition of Crimea.]

Tom Rogan : Trump people forget how Russia already treats US diplomats/spies.
Defecating in their homes, beating them up, harassing families.

“[Putin] has 100% confidence everything will be reversed in short order. Congress
should act now to make this impossible”
JS : Yes, Congress really should. Now. If Trump overturns all this, Putin really is
calling the key shots in DC

161229

JS: If Trump tries to overturn Obama's very belated Intel sanctions against Russia, he
will leave no doubts about his true agenda & loyalties.

Risk Wilson : What's closer to treason? Political opposition to a candidate, or siding

with a hostile foreign power in the Intel war?
So here's my question for Trump defenders; how much RUS intervention in our
elections is ok with you?

A remarkable, bold step: US administration sanctions GRU, FSB, others; publishes

names of contractors & individuals
[JS : Shutting down RIS "diplomatic" compound in MD makes it more difficult for
Russians to collect SIGINT, esp against #NSA. Again, long overdue.]

WH -- statement by @POTUS on U.S. actions in response to Russian malicious cyber

activity and harassment:
US Treasury Dept -- Today, Treasury sanctions two individuals for malicious cyber-
enabled activities. http://go.usa.gov/x9g3j

Susan Hennessey: The vocal GOP support on Russia sanctions may be the death knell
for Tillerson's confirmation if Trump doesn't get in line quick.

NBC -- " President-elect Donald Trump, asked about possible sanctions against Russia
in the wake of alleged cyber-attacks during the presidential campaign, replied "I think
we ought to get on with our lives." "I think that computers have complicated lives very
greatly, the whole you know age of computer has made it where nobody knows exactly
what's going on," Trump told reporters outside his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

161224

JS : Trump citing Putin approvingly on US politics is just double-down trolling of a

noxious kind which ought to gravely worry all Americans.

161223

Bloomberg -- Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, partnered this year
with a controversial technology company co-run by a man once convicted of trying to
sell stolen biotech material to the Russian KGB espionage agency.

Sen. Bob Corker's (R-TN): Committee won't demand Tillerson's tax returns during
confirmation for state position.

WSJ -- Tom Price, president-elect Donald Trump’s pick to run the Health and Human
Services Department, traded more than $300,000 in shares of health-related companies
over the past four years while sponsoring and advocating legislation that potentially
could affect those companies’ stocks.

161222

CNN -- Trump weighing tariffs as high as 10%

[Jeff B/DDHQ : Great way to ensure a recession that pummels working-class
Americans, a midterm GOP wipeout, and a 1-term presidency.]

Washington Examiner -- On conflicts of interest, Trump & Sons still doesn't get it
[JS : They have less than a month to figure this out -- or get impeached. Hill #GOP
owes Trump no favors.]

161221

Glomardisclosure -- FBI indicates Trump's pick for Treasury Secretary is under

federal investigation - seemingly for financial crimes

161218

NYTimes -- Bipartisan Letter Seeks Single Inquiry Into Russian Hacking Claims
Guardian -- Leak reveals Rex Tillerson is director of Bahamas-based US-Russian oil
company. Documents from tax haven will raise more questions over suitability of
Donald Trump’s pick for US secretary of state

Guardian -- White House faces exodus of foreign policy experts ahead of Trump's
arrival. An unusual number of the National Security Council’s more junior officials are
looking to depart, due to concerns about incoming advisor Michael Flynn

161217

@realDonaldTrump : China steals United States Navy research drone in

international waters - rips it out of water and takes it to China in unpresidented
act.
[S.Hennessey : Yes, it's funny he can't spell. It's more significant that he's conducting
highly-sensitive diplomacy via Twitter and before taking office. … Scary to think he
didn't even pause to look for red underline before sending message with international
security ramifications.]

161216

SYRIA: Trump says the US will establish safe zones in Syria and the Gulf States will
pay for them

WaPo -- FBI Director James B. Comey and Director of National Intelligence James R.
Clapper Jr. have backed a CIA assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election
in part to help Donald Trump win the presidency, according to U.S. officials.
[JS : Ball to you, Mr President-elect....
IC agrees Putin weaponized RU espionage to hurt Hillary. Trump must accept that --
stop the bad lies -- or be at war with his own spies.]
[Andrew Weiss: Intelligence Community circles wagons. FBI/DNI/CIA all agree now
that Moscow tried to help Trump win]

CNN -- Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher said Thursday that it was "terrific" that
voters got more truthful information about Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign,
regardless of whether the hackers were Russian.
[JS: Appalling. Just appalling. Longtime #GOP Congressman is a nationalist of a
foreign country....which hates us.]

The Hill -- Ivanka was finalizing Japanese business deal at time of Trump, Abe
meeting

Reuters Top News -- Trump team: Too early for timing on U.S. embassy move to
Jerusalem
{JS: It's a good thing Trump won't need any Arab allies to defeat #ISIS & AQ.]

BREAKING: China's navy has seized an unmanned, underwater U.S. Navy vehicle in
international waters of South China Sea.
[JS : Thanks, Don. Well played. Beijing wants to fight us and you're not even POTUS
yet.]
NPR -- Obama On Russian Hacking: 'We Need To Take Action. And We Will — at a
time and place of our own choosing. Some of it may be explicit and publicized; some of
it may not be."'
[S.Hennessey : These are the same exact words used in October (not response then).
And same used w/ OPM where no action against China was ultimately taken.]
[JS: Now? Shut that barn door good-n-tight, Barry, now that Vova stole all the damn
horses. What a farce.]

161215

Dailycaller -- Judge Napolitano Drops A Bomb: U.S. Intelligence Was Behind Hacks
— Not Russia
[JS : This is a lie. Pure & simple. Kremlin #FakeNews. Shame on @FoxNews giving
this BS a platform.]

Guardian – China should plan to take Taiwan by force after Trump call, state media
says

CBS - US intelligence sources confirm hacks could not have occurred without Putin’s
blessing

Rep. King -- Canceled intel briefing on alleged Russian interference in US election is

'disgraceful' |

The Hill -- Intel head: Several intelligence agencies refused to brief committee on
Russian hacking
{S.Hennessay : Not so much a briefing request as attempt to cross-examine, trap, and
undermine intelligence analysts before they've completed their work.]

NPR - Trump surrogate tells businesses in Moscow US sanctions on Russia should be

lifted

NBC -- U.S. Officials: Putin Personally Involved in U.S. Election Hack

161214

McMullin: "I know for a fact" GOP knew about Russian election meddling and
ignored

WaPo – “Trump wasn’t happy with his State Department finalists…” Bob Gates (no
friend of Putin) recommend Tillerson, and so did Condoleezza Rice.

JS : I hope Democrats realize that a serious investigation of Russian #SpyWar vs the

USA will wind up making Obama look every bit as bad as Trump

WaPo - Michael Flynn, Trump’s national security adviser, shared secrets without
permission, files show.

UNITED STATES: 20 Republican electors have contacted Harvard professor Larry

Lessig for legal advice on not voting for Trump
161213

Carter Page announced Tillerson in Moscow before Trump did in USA - also slammed
NATO. Page blamed America for “arrogant foreign policies” towards Russia, talked
about “restoration” of the U.S.-Russia relationship under Donald Trump, and expressed
his excitement for Exxonmobile CEO Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State.

JS : Tillerson is a CEO who's tight with Putin. Not a big deal. What's a big deal is that
Trump wants him as SECSTATE *because* of those ties.

JS: BIG ==> By choosing Tillerson as SECSTATE, Trump will get a bruising Senate
fight which will expose links to Putin.

(CNN) President-elect Donald Trump has chosen ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson
to serve as secretary of state, the transition team announced Tuesday
[Jeff B/DDHQ : Rex Tillerson is a shockingly poor+tone-deaf pick for SecState. I have
no idea whether he'll be rejected by the Senate, but he *should* be.]

BREAKING: Former Texas Governor Rick Perry to be nominated for US Energy

Secretary
[Lily Adams : The current energy sec is a nuclear physicist and before that it was a
Nobel prize winner. Rick Perry's last gig was Dancing w the Stars.]

Jeff B/DDHQ : Let me explain something that few on Left seem to grasp about what
#NeverTrump was/is to most of us who belonged: HE WON. THAT DAY IS DONE.
Hey there, Dems: we did our part. We PUBLICLY REPUDIATED OUR OWN
PARTY'S CANDIDATE. That basically never happens. Sorry yrs sucked so much.
But race is run. Trump won. Geographic spread of victory vastly more telling than
pointless popular vote. (Nobody cares about CA. Nobody.)

CNN - In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Dmitri Alperovitch, whose firm
investigated the DNC hack, said that their firm did, in fact, catch two groups associated
with Russian intelligence agencies in the act.
[JS : Just imagine what #NSA & the IC know.....]

161212

JS : Want to know what Kremlin-backed deza AKA #FakeNews looks like? Just like
this.
CIA Declares Washington Post Russian Hacker Story A Outright Lie
December 12, 2016 theamericanfirst
The Central Intelligence Agency is declaring the Washington Post’s much-
hyped story linking the Russian government to hacking the presidential
election to help Donald Trump an “outright lie,” according to CIA
personnel with direct knowledge of the case.

JS : Only way Democrats can blow the #YUGE weapon they have against Trump over
his Russia ties is by going overboard+nakedly partisan. They are.

BREAKING: Trump will tomorrow name Rex Tillerson as nominee for US Secretary
of State
BREAKING: Harry Reid claims Trump "was in on" Russian hacking and that the
electoral college has a "tremendous responsibility"
JS : Trump has weird ties to Moscow that need real unpacking. Saying he was "in on"
GRU SIGINT ops is literally insane.

BREAKING: White House: No doubt Trump benefitted from Russian hacking

Clinton campaign backs call for intelligence briefing before Electoral College vote
[JS : Team Hillary had a gorgeous view of Trump self-destructing by going to war with
the IC, then they do this. Fools. It gets attention off Trump...which is stupid; never
interrupt your enemy when he makes a mistake]

Washington (CNN)- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell broke with

President-elect Donald Trump over Russia on Monday, saying he supports a
congressional investigation into findings that Russian hackers attempted to
influence the election.

JS: EXCLUSIVE: There's no going back now. Trump's war on the spooks may finally
be his undoing -- b4 his inauguration. 

Report: Trump meeting with Carly Fiorina on Monday to discuss job of director of
national intelligence – NYT
[JS : Got nothing against Fiorina, but appointing a total spy-neophyte as DNI is
really dumb. There are many better, experienced candidates there.]

UNITED STATES: Trump says F-35 program is 'out of control'

JS : It's on. "To have an assessment dismissed, frankly, because it was unpleasant?
That’s just not acceptable."
General Michael Hayden : The President-elect's Dismissal of CIA's Election
Findings Is Not Acceptable, December 11, 2016

JS : This cat can't be walked back now. Trump finally went too far with his
Putinmania. #GOP+IC revolt is in full swing.

Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill says Putin is a 'thug and bully' and that
Russian involvement in US election is a 'form of warfare'.

BREAKING: There is now 'significant hesitation' in Trump team over appointment

of Rex Tillerson as US Secretary of State

JS : Moscow didn't "hack" DNC+Podesta. They used standard SIGINT methods. In

this case, GRU. They passed the take to Wikileaks. Not complicated.

JS : ICYMI, not-yet-in-place Trump admin jumped the shark today. Bolton's false-
flag accusation was when all normals asked, What the actual fuck?

Former UN ambassador Bolton suggests DNC hack was Obama administration

'false flag'
[JS : This is, to use the technical term, batshit crazy.]
JS : Trump's refusal to admit that Russia was behind election games is forcing his
cabinet nominees to lie publicly in ways the Senate will enjoy

Kellyanne Conway says Trump is “going to put his own people” in the
intelligence community
[JS : Good luck with that. Are you trying to make the IC destroy you before Jan 20?]

161211
Statement from prominent Republican and Democratic Senators on allegations
of Russian involvement in election.
Republican Senators supporting investigation into Russian involvement in US
election: - Lindsey Graham - John McCain - Bob Corker

BREAKING: Trump says CIA report that Russia helped him in election is
'ridiculous' Trump on Russia meddling in US election: 'I don't believe it'

161210
Rex Tillerson of ExxonMobil Expected to Be Named Trump's Secretary of State:
Sources

BREAKING: Group of Republican senators 'plan on giving Trump hell' over

Russia relations and nomination of Tillerson as Secretary of State

Jeff B/DDHQ : My BIGGEST concern abt Trump was (and remains) his indifference
to fact Russia will stop at nothing to undermine destroy US alliance system.
Make no mistake: Mitt Romney was/is right. Russia is America's greatest
geopolitical enemy. Bigger than China or ISIS. A near-eternal enemy.

Jeff B/DDHQ : To be clear: Tillerson SHOULD be rejected by the Senate if

nominated. This is hill to fight on. You cannot have an incompetent as SecState.

Jeff B/DDHQ : I am NOT skeptical at all of the conclusion that Russia was
meddling in US election--that's abundantly clear from the WikiLeaks stuff alone.
I AM more skeptical of explosive political point smuggled into that report, that
Russian meddling was done specifically to elect Trump.
I think the Kremlin expected (as we all did) a damaged HRC to take office, not
Trump. Now they're the dog who caught the car.
If Russia really cared about Trump per se, they wouldn't have RT pushing Jill Stein
recount. They care about eroding confidence all around.
Russia doesn't think in terms of partisan US politics. They are far more interested
in destabilizing entire system, sowing chaos & distrust.
Perhaps intent behind leaking the CIA Report was in fact to force Trump's hand on
SecState. I would find that very plausible, timing esp.
As a practical consequence. I suspect CIA Russia report makes Romney more
likely as SecState now, makes Tillerson/Rohrabacher impossible. I consider that
a good thing; Rohrabacher in particular is a lunatic who actually IS everything that
Trump is accused of being w/r/t Russia.

JS : ATTN @realDonaldTrump: going to war with the IC is a truly colossally stupid

thing to do, per this tweetstorm /1
I've been telling you for years -- esp last few months -- that the Kremlin is behind
Wikileaks. Now the IC is saying so openly. Big deal. /2
IC has hard proof at TS+ level that Moscow used Wikileaks to hurt Hillary and
help Trump in 2016. These are facts that will not go away. /3
The investigation demanded by Congress will reveal what we already know -- that
Putin wanted US political chaos & if possible a Trump win /4
Team Trump now has to decide to go along with the investigation of Russian
interference or fight it; seems they have chosen the latter. /5
Have you really forgotten about #EmailGate already, @realDonaldTrump?
Mocking the IC in public will result in big things you won't like. /6
The IC dislikes you intensely and they hate Flynn. The spooks have much more
on you than they had on Hillary. This is a #YUGE mistake. /7
Only way Trump can make the issue of Russian interference worse is by
impugning American intelligence. Which Don just did. Get popcorn /8
IC knows the full picture of what happened this year. They're not happy with you,
@realDonaldTrump. You have the weekend to walk it back. /9
If Don won't walk back his foolish attack on the IC, watch for leaked terms like
KGB, FSB, SVR, kompromat, Mogilevich, Organizatsiya... /10

161209
BREAKING: CIA assessment that Russia was helping Trump win presidential
election

President Obama orders Intelligence to report to Congress on Russian hacking

— before Trump takes office

BREAKING: Trump's transition team says claims of Russian involvement in

election "made by same people who said Saddam Hussein had WMDs"

UNITED STATES: Rex Tillerson, the chairman and CEO of Exxon, is now favourite
to become next US Secretary of State

Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway confirmed that the candidates for
secretary of state include Orange County Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, an
outspoken defender of Vladimir Putin who calls the idea of Russian human rights
abuses “baloney.

UNITED STATES: French diplomat says Trump is 'toning down' on talk of deals
and a rapprochement with Russia

121007
Trump picks Gen. John Kelly for Department of Homeland Security secretary

161205
BREAKING: Trump has chosen Ben Carson to be housing secretary

161204
BREAKING: Trump says there will be 35% tax on US companies that fire American
employees and build new plant in another country
US Secretary of the Air Force, Deborah James, says Russia is 'the number one threat
to the United States' and poses an 'existential threat'.

161203
BREAKING: China has lodged a protest with the US over Trump's call with
Taiwan's president

161202
BREAKING: Trump's team is studying new sanctions to implement on Iran

BREAKING: President-elect Trump has spoken to President of Taiwan, the first

such call since 1979, in move likely to anger China.

UNITED STATES: Trump did not consult with State Department before calls with
world leaders, including presidents of Taiwan and Philippines.

BREAKING: Chinese diplomat says Trump's call with Taiwanese president is 'very
dumb' and will 'infuriate' Beijing

BREAKING: US President-elect Trump told Rodrigo Duterte that Philippines was

conducting its drug war "the right way"

Trump nominee for Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis, said in April that Iran is
"most enduring threat to stability and peace in Middle East".

161201
BREAKING: General Mattis confirmed as Trump's US Defense Secretary
nominee

161129
BREAKING: Former Goldman Sachs partner Steven Mnuchin will be named by
President-elect Trump as Treasury Secretary

UNITED STATES: Trump says people who burn US flag should either face one year
in prison or lose their citizenship

161128
UNITED STATES: President-elect Trump 'very impressed' after meeting with
David Petraeus, a candidate for US Secretary of State

Trump Advisers Press For Major NSC Changes

President-elect Donald Trump retweets criticism of CNN and allegation of election

fraud

161127
IMAGE: Trump's National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and Greens
candidate Jill Stein at "Russia Today Gala Dinner" with Putin last year.

161123
BREAKING: Ben Carson accepts Trump's offer to serve as Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development

161122
BREAKING: Trump has officially offered Ben Carson position of Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development

161121
BREAKING: President-elect Trump to release notice of withdrawing US from
Trans-Pacific Partnership Process

151116
BREAKING: Trump has offered retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn the role of national
security adviser

UNITED STATES: Trump campaign source says Mitt Romney is a 'very serious'
candidate for US Secretary of State

161116
UNITED STATES: Senator Lindsey Graham calls for an investigation into
Russia's alleged cyber-attacks

161115
UNITED STATES: The "Prediction Professor" who has accurately called every
presidential election since 1984 forecasts Trump's impeachment

161011
UNITED STATES: Republican official says Trump will not fully repeal Obamacare,
build a wall, ban Muslim travel or mass deport illegals

161110
BREAKING: Members of Trump campaign told Middle Eastern officials to ignore
'campaign rhetoric' and that actual policy will be 'different'

US ELECTION: Trump campaign has contacted JP Morgan chairman Jamie Dimon

to gauge his interest in being Treasury Secretary

BREAKING: Trump has given America's highest security clearances to Chris

Christie, Rudy Giuliani, Newt

Gingrich and Mike Rogers

Cities with Anti-Trump Protests: - New York - Chicago - Boston - Philadelphia -
Seattle - Washington DC - Portland - Austin

161109
BREAKING: Trump's website deletes policy on banning Muslims from entering
the United States
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ before election ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

161103
Sarah Huckabee (Deputy Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy White House
Press Secretary) : When you're attacking FBI agents because you're under criminal
investigation, you're losing.
REMEMBER THIS TWEET !

161102
JS : EmailGate Has Destroyed Clinton, Inc.
No matter what happens on November 8, Hillary’s email antics have irreversibly
sabotaged a political dynasty 

161020
Cybersecurity experts. Podesta infiltrated by Russian hackers.

161007
Telegraph -- Russia lodged a formal complaint with the United Nations over a
condemnation of Donald Trump by one of its officials, it emerged on Friday.
Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, issued a verbal
“demarche” to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a private meeting on Sept 13,
according to three diplomats. It has revived claims Moscow is interfering in the US
presidential election.

160902
JS : FBI Data Dump Shows Clinton Is Criminal and Clueless
Hillary is either dishonest or dumb—there is no third choice.
Although the FBI’s press release is terse, the documents themselves indelibly
portray the Democratic presidential nominee as dishonest, entitled, and
thoroughly incompetent. 
Miscellaneous Trump tweets

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 3 Mar 2016

Senator Sessions will serve as the Chairman of my National Security Advisory

Committee. https://www.facebook.com/DonaldTrump/posts/10156714551570725:0 …

1,206 replies . 6,198 retweets 13,849 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 12 Sep 2012

No surprise. @DNC displayed Russian ships in tribute to vets http://bit.ly/RJMcla Did

they mean to honor the Russians?

58 replies . 188 retweets 47 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 10 Jul 2013

Snowden has given serious information to China and Russia-anyone who thinks
otherwise is a dope! He is a traitor who fled-he knew the crime!

193 replies . 275 retweets 168 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 1 Aug 2013

@kaplunm "@realDonaldTrump thoughts on Snowden being granted asylum in

Russia?" No respect for U.S. by Russia.

LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 1 Aug 2013

Snowden is handing over to Russia a treasure trove of intel. Our politicians are
incapable of dealing!

114 replies . 248 retweets 167 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 6 Sep 2013

I wonder how much our "leaders" have promised, or given, Russia in order for them to
behave and not make the U.S. look even worse?

290 replies . 1,185 retweets 910 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 12 Sep 2013

China, Russia and Iran are laughing at us. We have weak leaders who are threatening
our national security. Dangerous times.

315 replies . 1,265 retweets 820 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 31 Mar 2014

Because of President Obama's failed leadership, we have put Vladimir Putin & Russia
back on the world stage! --No reason for this.

305 replies . 1,025 retweets 806 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 29 May 2014

Have you ever seen our country look weaker or more pathetic: Snowden, ObamaCare,
VA, Russia, jobs, decimated military, debt and so much more

223 replies . 486 retweets 458 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump Jan 15

.@FoxNews "Outgoing CIA Chief, John Brennan, blasts Pres-Elect Trump on Russia
threat. Does not fully understand." Oh really, couldn't do...

8,319 replies . 11,610 retweets 46,031 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 27 May 2014

I am starting to think that TOP SECRET information should be done with pen to paper
and locked in a safe. Too many can break into computers.

284 replies . 756 retweets 1,074 likes

  LMVerified account @LouiseMensch 3m3 minutes ago

LM Retweeted Donald J. Trump

Is this account related to the agents who run @FBIRecordsVault, @TheJusticeDept?

LM added,

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump

The @FBIPressOffice, police & others are doing an amazing job. How genius was it
putting together that tape?
4 replies . 9 retweets 17 likes
  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 26 Mar 2012

He @BarackObama is caught on tape making election promises to

@MedvedevRussiaE on missile defense and national security http://abcn.ws/GRXRiP

69 replies . 145 retweets 20 likes

  LMVerified account @LouiseMensch 5m5 minutes ago

LM Retweeted Donald J. Trump

check the sites on this pic

LM added,

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump

"@slucch24: @AnnCoulter don't worry... we clearly don't have an illegal alien
criminal problem. #AdiosAmerica "
18 replies . 20 retweets 43 likes
  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 27 Apr 2015

"@blayne_troy: @foxandfriends Mr. Trump calls it like it is. HRC should be

investigated, prosecuted and put in federal prison."

18 replies . 37 retweets 47 likes

  LMVerified account @LouiseMensch 6m6 minutes ago

LM Retweeted Donald J. Trump

Be careful what you wish for, son.

LM added,

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump

"@blayne_troy: @foxandfriends Mr. Trump calls it like it is. HRC should be
investigated, prosecuted and put in federal prison."
6 replies . 42 retweets 144 likes

  LMVerified account @LouiseMensch 6m6 minutes ago

LM Retweeted Donald J. Trump

hmm @jeffsessions good question

LM added,

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump

When will lightweight hack Attorney General be investigated for his repeated
prosecutorial misconduct?http://on.wsj.com/1fOIEjT
7 replies . 43 retweets 130 likes
  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 10 Jun 2016

"@FoxNews: .@JamesRosenFNC: "Never before has a president endorsed someone

under investigation by @TheJusticeDept."

3,668 replies . 13,716 retweets 28,148 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 6 Jun 2016

A former Secret Service Agent for President Clinton excoriates Crooked Hillary
describing her as ERRATIC & VIOLENT. Bad temperament for pres

3,156 replies . 8,689 retweets 21,940 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 30 Oct 2016

Wow, Twitter, Google and Facebook are burying the FBI criminal investigation of
Clinton. Very dishonest media!

10,668 replies . 35,369 retweets 71,790 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 7 Dec 2015

"Credible Source on 9-11 Muslim Celebrations: FBI"

512 replies . 1,292 retweets 2,744 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 16 Oct 2016

“The vast majority felt she should be prosecuted..." -- even senior FBI officials thought
Crooked was guilty.

4,156 replies . 14,145 retweets 27,238 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 28 Oct 2016

"@Jmoschetti1363: @Johnatsrs1949 FBI must be outraged that their hands r tied she
has no regard or t secret service, FBI, or (Dallas)police"

1,047 replies . 8,146 retweets 19,881 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 30 Oct 2016

Hillary and the Dems loved and praised FBI Director Comey just a few days ago.
Original evidence was overwhelming, should not have delayed!

3,395 replies . 19,286 retweets 48,492 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 17 Oct 2016

EXCLUSIVE: FBI Agents Say Comey ‘Stood In The Way’ Of Clinton Email
Investigation:

2,322 replies . 15,818 retweets 25,565 likes

  LMVerified account @LouiseMensch 11m11 minutes ago

LM Retweeted Donald J. Trump

OK

LM added,

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump

Ronald Kessler's new book "The Secrets of the FBI" is a great book that should be read
by everyone.
19 replies . 14 retweets 73 likes
  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 2 Jul 2016

It is impossible for the FBI not to recommend criminal charges against Hillary Clinton.
What she did was wrong! What Bill did was stupid!

5,196 replies . 12,653 retweets 35,250 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 9 Oct 2016

ATTN: @HillaryClinton - Why did five of your staffers need FBI IMMUNITY?!
#BigLeagueTruth #Debates

1,664 replies . 15,063 retweets 35,374 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 26 Oct 2013

Isn't it amazing that the U.S. and NSA can listen to the highly protected phone
conversations of world leaders but can't get O's records!

184 replies . 545 retweets 283 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 23 Oct 2013

Why doesn't President Obama call upon the NSA to fix the badly broken website-then
they could spy on all of the many cheaters & arrest them!

105 replies . 199 retweets 122 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 10 Jun 2013

A coincidence that the NSA leaker is living openly in Hong Kong?! At the same time
the Chinese Pres. met with Obama in CA.

120 replies . 140 retweets 62 likes

  LM Retweeted

Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump Feb 15

Information is being illegally given to the failing @nytimes & @washingtonpost by

the intelligence community (NSA and FBI?).Just like Russia
LEGENDA

JS = John Schindler https://twitter.com/20committee

LM = Louise Mensch https://twitter.com/LouiseMensch
CT = Claude Taylor https://twitter.com/TrueFactsStated