Friday, April 28th.  This is going to be a long one.

THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION:  VESELNITSKAYA IS A SPY, ADMITS TO BEING AN INFORMANT

• Lawyer Who Was Said to Have Dirt on Clinton Had Closer Ties to Kremlin Than She Let On

The Russian lawyer who met with Trump campaign officials in Trump Tower in June 2016 on the premise that she would deliver damaging information about Hillary Clinton has long insisted she is a private attorney, not a Kremlin operative trying to meddle in the presidential election.

But newly released emails show that in at least one instance two years earlier, the lawyer, Natalia V. Veselnitskaya, worked hand in glove with Russia’s chief legal office to thwart a Justice Department civil fraud case against a well-connected Russian firm.

Ms. Veselnitskaya also appears to have recanted her earlier denials of Russian government ties. During an interview to be broadcast Friday by NBC News, she acknowledged that she was not merely a private lawyer but a source of information for a top Kremlin official, Yuri Y. Chaika, the prosecutor general.

• Veselnitskaya memo from Trump Tower Russia meeting
• Russian who promised Clinton dirt to Team Trump has deep Kremlin ties
• Lawyer in Trump Tower meeting admits to being informant for Moscow

Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian Lawyer Spy that met with Trump’s team during the June 9th meeting, admitted in an interview with Richard Engle that she was “an informant” for the Crown Prosecutor of Russia, their equivalent of our Attorney General. She was caught editing legal documents that originated from the Crown Prosecutor, and modified them to work on a case she worked on.

The Swiss called her a spy a couple months back. (Daily Check-In 01/29/2018)

But the Russians only reached out to Trump before the election, right?

• Russians reached out to Trump team about Magnitsky Act sanctions after election, Democrats say

The outreach from the Russians after the 2016 election was one of the new details that stemmed from the release of the Republican report on the Russia investigation, as well as a lengthy Democratic dissent that disputed the Republican conclusion there was no evidence of collusion between Trump’s team and Russia.

In the dissent, Democrats cite a November 28, 2016, email from publicist Rob Goldstone to Trump’s assistant, Rhona Graff, which said that “Aras Agalarov has asked me to pass on this document in the hope it can be passed on to the appropriate team.”

“Later that day, Graff forwarded to Steve Bannon the email with Agalarov’s document regarding the Magnitsky Act as an attachment, explaining, ‘The PE [President Elect] knows Aras well. Rob is his rep in the US and sent this on. Not sure how to proceed, if at all.'”

…

Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the intelligence panel, told CNN’s Jim Sciutto on Friday that Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya reached out to the Trump family after the election with a request to follow up on efforts to repeal the Magnitsky Act, the 2012 Russian sanctions the US enacted over human rights abuses.

Wow.  November 28th, 2016.  That’s less than a week before Jared Kushner’s and Michael Flynn’s meeting with the Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak in Trump Tower. (Daily Check-In 12/01/2017). Of course, they wanted to talk about the Magnitsky Act.

But I’m sure that the Russians wouldn’t try to contact the Trump Team through other methods, right?

• Exclusive: NRA gathers documents amid scrutiny over ties to Kremlin-linked banker

Washington (CNN)The National Rifle Association is setting aside years of documents related to its interactions with a Kremlin-linked banker, as the gun-rights group appears to be bracing for a possible investigation, according to sources familiar with the situation.

The NRA has faced fresh scrutiny from congressional investigators about its finances and ties to Alexander Torshin, one of the 17 prominent Russian government officials the US Treasury Department recently slapped with sanctions. The gun-rights group has said it is reexamining its relationship with Torshin, who is a lifetime NRA member, in the wake of the sanctions.

The renewed attention has highlighted the close-knit if sometimes uneasy alliance between top NRA officials and Torshin — a relationship that ensnared members of Trump’s team during the presidential campaign, inviting further congressional scrutiny.

Ok, so the Russians used the NRA to establish contact with Team Trump through Jeff Sessions and the Foreign Policy team.  I’ve been on the NRA’s nuts like a tick on a dog’s dick for a while, (Daily Check-In 10/2/2017 and Daily Check-In 01/18/2018) but this is the first I’ve heard about them using the Keebler Nazi to get Trump to talk to the Russians.

But it’s not like these activities started back during the infancy of the campaign, right?

• Flynn And His Son Met With Russian Ambassador In December 2015
• Michael Flynn and Son Met With Russia Ambassador Before RT Gala

Oh, For Fuck’s Sake!

On their way to meet with Putin at the Russia Today Gala, they met with Kislyak at the Ambassador’s OWN FUCKING HOUSE?!  Really?!

This not only puts the seeds of treason being planted, but also directly implicates Mike Flynn Jr.  Flipping Flynn described several of their crimes, and that Flynn likely flipped to save his son’s life.

Of course, Mike Flynn is now a cooperating witness.  I wonder if he thought for a second about his battle if he didn’t cooperate.

• Judge tosses ex-Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort’s civil case challenging special counsel’s authority in Russia probe
• Judge Dismisses Manafort’s Civil Case Disputing Mueller’s Authority
• Spicy Mic: Manafort Complaint DENIED

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!  Fuck you Manafort!

This was a Hail Mary by Paul Manafort.  He had no realistic chance of getting the criminal charges dismissed through a civil lawsuit, but he could disrupt things and force Mueller to expose his plans against him.

But fuck that noise.

• Former CIA Director John Brennan: Trump should ‘stay tuned’ on Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation

HIJINKS ON THE HILL:  HOUSE INTEL REPUBLICANS CLAIM NO COLLUSION EVEN AFTER TRUMP CAMPAIGN MET WITH ADMITTED SPY, CATHOLIC PAUL RYAN FIRES CATHOLIC HOUSE CHAPLAIN FOR DOING GOOD CATHOLIC THINGS LIKE PRAYING FOR POOR PEOPLE

• House Republicans accuse U.S. intelligence community of ‘significant … tradecraft failings’ in report on Russian interference
• The House Intelligence Committee Just Released Its Report On The Russia Investigation. Read It Here.
• House intel panel releases final report on Russian election interference, marking end of its politically charged probe

House Intelligence Committee Republicans released a redacted version of their final reportfrom a year-long probe into Russia’s “multifaceted” influence operation, which accuses the intelligence community of “significant intelligence tradecraft failings” in determining that the Kremlin interfered in the 2016 election to help President Trump.

The report generally absolves Trump and his associates of wrongdoing, finding “no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded, coordinated, or conspired with the Russian government.” The report does, however, criticize both the Trump and Clinton campaigns for “poor judgment and ill-considered actions,” such as Trump campaign officials’ decision to meet with a Russian lawyer offering compromising information on Hillary Clinton in Trump Tower in June 2016.

It also criticizes the Obama administration for a “slow and inconsistent” response to mounting Russian threats.

House Intelligence Committee Democrats refused to endorse the report, claiming that the GOP intentionally steered the investigation away from scrutiny of the president as well as manipulating the interview schedule, refusing to issue subpoenas, and otherwise undermining the integrity of the probe, which they believe is still incomplete.

House Intelligence Committee Republicans stated that the report is based on interviews with 73 witnesses and a review of over 300,000 documents.

The Republicans in the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence just declared war on the United States Intelligence Community.  It will not end well for the Republicans.

Giving it a quick glance, this is one of the most twisted, ridiculous, partisan hack jobs that has ever come out of Congress.

Here’s a link to the report.

Nearly all of their findings can be debunked using OSINT (open source intelligence) like this blog, and ignore obvious things like facts.

The only thing it does, aside from piss off the IC, is give Trump the release and vindication he’s been looking for.

If I was in the prediction game, I’d say that we’re going to hear a lot about Devin’s role in leaking Intel to Portugal in the next week, and several other skeletons in his closet will be coming out soon.

• Minority View on House Intel Report, from the Democrats on the Committee
• Schiff: GOP Blocked Dem Effort To Learn About Trump Jr. Call Ahead Of Meeting
• No Collusion? 8 Key Takeaways from the GOP House Intel Committee’s Russia Report
• “Misleading and Unsupported By the Facts”: House Intelligence Democrats Slam GOP Russia Report
• Analysis | 3 ways the House Republicans’ Russia report directly contradicts the intelligence community
• House intelligence committee report recommends repealing law that experts say Trump campaign violated
• Caroline Orr on HPSCI Report
• Caroline Orr on the NRA Backchannel to Russia

I have not had a chance yet to read the minority view, but there was a ton of interesting information.

One of those pieces was the case of the blocked caller ID.

On June 9th, 2016, Donnie Jr. received three calls before the meeting.  The first and last were from people known to the investigation and related to the meeting.  The middle was a blocked number.  So, the call log was Meeting Member, Blocked, Meeting Member. All right in a row on a private cell phone that wasn’t widely circulated.

So, who was the blocked number?

According to testimony and research, Donald Trump uses a blocked number.  Karen McDougal confirmed this in her interview with Anderson Cooper. (Daily Check-In 03/22/2018).

Was the blocked number a bill collector, or Donald Trump?  This sounds like an important piece of information, and an easy one to get.  A subpoena or two to some telephone companies would identify the numbers and who owns them.  This should be something that the whole investigation wants to get to the bottom of, right?

Wrong.  The GOP blocked any and all efforts to find out whose number that was, and instead ran interference for the Trump Campaign.

Don’t worry about the phone number too much.  Mueller has it.

• Congressman Meehan Announces Resignation

He is the Republican representative from PA-7, and is the 45th Republican member of Congress to retire this in this session.

• Rep. Gaetz Sees Increased Probability of Medical Marijuana Bill Passing

Funny how it is that as soon as old white men stand to make money from weed, there’s a consistent push to legalize it.

• House Chaplain Allegedly Forced Out by Paul Ryan for Slamming Tax Cuts for Rich – Friendly Atheist
• Ryan Mocked for Ousting of House Chaplain
• Paul Ryan Allegedly Ousted House Chaplain for Disrespecting His Tax Cuts
• House Chaplain Who Prayed About GOP Tax Bill Fired By Paul Ryan

The Hill reported that four different sources ― two Democrats and two Republicans ― said Conroy was told he had to quit or he would be fired. There’s been no reason given for why he was let go, but Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) tells HuffPost that his GOP colleagues have pointed him to a prayer that Conroy made on the House floor last fall amid the debate on the GOP tax bill.

I know good Catholics, good Christians, and good people.  Paul Ryan is none of the above.

COHEN/STORMYGATE

• Feds seized more than a dozen of Michael Cohen’s phones
• Federal Agents Seized 16 Old Cellphones in the Michael Cohen Raids. Everybody’s Going to Jail

My question is what was the condition of these phones, what types, and how old were they?

I can see how a family could easily have a bunch of old phones lying around from the last decade or so. Between my wife and I, we probably have a dozen iPhones floating around the house, but only two are in use at one time. The kid isn’t old enough for his own phone yet, but in the next upgrade cycle or two, he’ll get one of our hand me downs. In that case, I can see how a man would have 16 phones in his house.

That said, it’s still a lot of phones to have lying around, and the Feds aren’t likely to bust a search warrant by grabbing a pile of phones belonging to the family. They probably had phone numbers, s/n’s, sim card numbers, and a bunch of other identifying info from the last few months, which indicates that these phones were active over the last few months. That’s some shady ass shit.

• Michael Avenatti’s stunning prediction: We’ll depose Trump before Mueller
• Judge temporarily puts Stormy Daniels lawsuit on hold

The judge is putting this on hold for 90 days.  Why 90 days?  Because Cohen will likely be indicted by then.

• AP: Cohen loaned taxi mogul $26 million before election | TheHill

So, the mobbed up lawyer who had to take out a second mortgage to pay a porn star $130,000 somehow had enough money laying around to loan $26 million to one of his buddies that owned a taxi medallion business?

COLD WAR 2.0

• North and South Korea agree to end Korean War in historic accord
• READ: Full declaration of North and South Korean summit
• North and South Korean leaders hold historic summit: Live updates
• The Washington Post: North and South Korea agree to work toward ‘common goal’ of denuclearization
• Korean War to be declared officially over after 65 years, following historic summit between North and South
• What playing Russian poker taught me about Putin
• How the UAE’s Chinese-Made Drone Is Changing the War in Yemen
• Deripaska agrees to relinquish control of sanction-hit Rusal

After 65 years, the two countries on the Korean Peninsula are finally ending their war.  It’s about time, but I’m suspicious about all of the underlying factors.

WHITE HOUSE CHAOS

• Several White House medical unit staffers describe pressure to hand out meds
• DEA official: Jackson may have broken the law by handing out Ambien

I’m sure that if I worked at the White House, I’d need a ton of drugs, too.

Here’s a great post about how the bad people around Trump have suffered.

If you ever feel bad about 45, think of how good his associates’ lives would be if he lost in 2016 and enjoy a little schadenfreude:

Adm Jackson would be up for promotion – instead he’ll head towards retirement

Manafort, Gates and Cohen would be happily taking money from oligarchs

Reince Priebus and Sean Spicer would be running an RNC on the cusp of major 2018 gains

Steve Bannon would be a primary kingmaker with a fully funded outrage machine

Keith Schiller and Hope Hicks would be making good money as top aides to Trump TV

Melania Trump would have returned to a life of lazy luxury, easily ignoring her husband’s myriad affairs

Michael Flynn and Popadopalous would be rich from lobbying for authoritarian governments like Turkey

The Mooch ~~would still be married to his wife and ~~ would have witnessed the birth of their first child

Tom Price would still be a congressman and head of a major committee

Rex Tillerson would still be CEO of Exxon have happily retired without being humiliated for a year before being canned on the can

Gary Cohn would still be at Goldman Sachs

H R McMaster wouldn’t have had to retire

And Finally –

Donald Trump wouldn’t have to wake up every morning knowing that he will fail in the biggest, most humiliating way possible, as his precious empire crumbles and the presidency he won turns into the dictionary definition of a Pyrrhic victory.

They made their choices. And they will all end up with nothing.

Edit: Mr. and Mrs. Mooch made up! You can make up the “suck his own cock” reference from there

Edit 2: for the “drain the swamp crowd”, this group consists of true public servants whose lives have been wrecked (McMaster), unqualified individuals who would never be near the White House in another administration, and individuals with sketchy/problematic pasts. These staffing failures begin and end with Trump’s belief in loyalty over quality.

A second note – he’s not “draining the swamp”. He brought a lot of this flotsam with him. Our institutions (the media, DoJ, FBI, the courts, congressional oversight) are pushing them out.

Edit 3: I forgot some!

Paul Ryan wouldn’t be retiring as Speaker

Rob Porter wouldn’t have been outed as a wife beater

Don Jr. wouldn’t have gotten divorced

• These Might Be Scott Pruitt’s Last Days. His Replacement Will Be Just as Bad.
• Mick Mulvaney Met With Lobbyist Donors While at Trump White House
• The Washington Post: Trump administration prepares to unravel Obama-era fuel-efficiency rules for automobiles

WORLD LEADERS AND TRUMP

• London mayor warns Trump that Britons will voice their ‘freedom of speech’ during his UK visit
• Britons are planning to make Trump’s visit to London very unpleasant
• President Trump meets Germany’s Merkel

#NEVERAGAIN

• They Were Trained for This Moment
• David Hogg on the NoNRA petition
• Man who wrestled gun from Waffle House shooter raises $150,000 for victims’ families – CBS News
• Pence tweets thanks to Waffle House hero

GOP:  THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD

• The End of Republican Accountability
• Arizona, Colorado Schools Close For 2nd Day As Teacher Uprising Rages On
• The Republican Party, Not Trump, Is the Real Threat to American Democracy
• Virginia Newspaper Runs KKK Recruitment Flyer In Full On Front Page
• Bill making it legal to ban gays & lesbians from adopting passes in Oklahoma
• Once eager to tout Trump friendship, Rick Scott now plays it down

THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE

• Anderson Cooper Blasts trump’s ‘FOX & Friends’ Interview: President Is Like ‘A Crazy Person On A Park Bench’
• Trump Had ‘Great Time’ Doing Untamed Fox Interview, Wants To Return Monthly
• You could be flirting on dating apps with paid impersonators
• Claims by Joy Reid’s Cybersecurity Expert Fall Apart
• ‘Mass firing’ at conservative site RedState

I was almost starting to like RedState.  They offered good insight from a conservative point of view without going full MAGA.

PUERTO RICO

• Puerto Rico opens bid for statehood, enlists 5.6 million islanders in US
• Anger spreads across Puerto Rico over lack of basic services

I look forward to one day welcoming Puerto Rico into statehood for the United State of America.

Espero algún día darle la bienvenida a Puerto Rico a la estadidad para el Estado de los Estados Unidos.

I hope Google didn’t fuck me on that translation.  Mi espanol es muy mal.

SAY GOODBYE TO THE ECONOMY

• U.S. economy slows in first quarter as consumer spending brakes sharply
• US economy slowed in first quarter after Trump’s $1.5tn tax cuts

Funny how it is that a tax cut for the wealthy that increases uncertainty on the middle class results in lower consumer spending.  That’s crazy talk, like saying the grass gets wet when it rains.

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

• Source: AG gave Cole County prosecutor evidence alleging new crime by Greitens The Missouri attorney general’s office has turned over evidence to the Cole County prosecutor accusing Gov. Eric Greitens of knowingly filing false … amp.kansascity.com       
• Tom Brokaw Accused of Sexual Misconduct — Including Groping — by 2 Women at NBC News: Reports
• Comey Responds To Trump’s Claim That He’s ‘A Leaker’: ‘He’s Just Wrong’
• Fifa refers to integrity rules after Trump’s threat over US World Cup bid
• Tax havens prepare to expose corrupt tycoons and oligarchs | News | The Times
• Yiannopoulos’ business implodes after death of crypto-billionaire

According to the sources, Yiannopoulos had been expecting to instead receive significant financial backing from the banking heir and cryptocurrency billionaire Matthew Mellon. But those hopes were dashed with Mellon’s unexpected death from an apparent drug overdose on April 16.

As sad as I would be about seeing Tom Brokaw get hammered on his accusations, I will doubly enjoy watching Milo suffer.

Besides, I’m getting used to watching my childhood heroes fall.  I grew up in the 80’s with Hulk Hogan, Joe Paterno, and Bill Cosby as some of my idols.

TIME FOR A CIVICS LESSON

• A Memorial to Lynching Victims Opens Today in Alabama – The Daily Beast
• Connecticut lawmakers pass measure to give electoral votes to presidential candidate who wins popular vote | TheHill

Connecticut is looking to join the National Popular Vote Coalition.  The idea behind this is pretty simple; states that join the coalition will pledge their votes in the electoral college to the winner of the national popular vote.  When a plurality of the electoral votes are pledged to the coalition, then the winner of the popular vote will also automatically win the electoral college as well.

Currently, including Connecticut, 11 states have pledged 165 electoral votes.  270 is needed to win the election, so another 105 votes are needed to enact the coalition.

RUMOR MILL

• Thread from TrickFreee about the HIC Report
• Eric Garland with a YouTube video about Middle East Foreign Policy
• Ale thread on Veselnitskaya’s emails
• Eric Garland thread on how crazy shit’s gonna get

I recommend reading all of the threads.  Especially the craziness of the last one.  Eric’s ideas only sound crazy when compared to normal reality, and not the clusterfuck of this timeline.

That’s it for today.  This is one of the longest daily entries yet.

Thanks to the House Intel Committee, I have an idea for an article in the next week or two.  I’m going to debunk their findings, using my findings, as far as possible, and see how much of their findings can be disproved using open source intelligence.  I want to see how much I’ve gotten so far.

That assumes I get time to write this weekend.  I have a very busy weekend ahead.

Thank you, and have a good one.

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

Wednesday, April 25th.

COHEN:  COHEN TO PLEAD FIFTH IN STORMY DANIELS CIVIL SUIT

• Cohen says he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right in Stormy Daniels case

Michael Cohen, the personal attorney to President Donald Trump, has declared his intention to plead his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination in regards to nearly every question he could be asked in his civil lawsuit against Stormy Daniels.

What is the Fifth Amendment?

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

There are several parts of the Fifth Amendment, including the basis of Eminent Domain, Double Jeopardy, establishment of military courts, and use of indictments from a Grand Jury, but when most people talk about the Fifth, they’re referring to the protections against self-incrimination.  In a criminal case, a defendant cannot be forced to testify against themselves.

Notice how I said a criminal case.  Civil cases do not have this type of protection, under normal circumstances. In a civil case, a defendant can be compelled to answer questions regarding their actions.  They cannot claim this protection, under normal circumstances.

The main exception to that is if there is a current criminal investigation, since testimony in a civil case can be used as evidence in a criminal case.

Here is the official filing.

What has Trump said on the record about the Fifth Amendment?

“The mob takes the Fifth Amendment,” Trump said at a campaign event in Iowa later that month. “If you’re innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?”

That’s a one-off, right?

“Why do u take the 5th if you have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide?” – Sean Spicer

Wow, it’s almost history is coming back to bite them in the ass.

• Lawyer: Trump to aid raids’ attorney-client privilege review
• Cohen Motion to Stay
• Trump offers to personally review documents seized by FBI in Cohen raid
• What does Cohen asking for a stay mean?

HANNITY MAY HAVE BENEFITTED FROM FRAUDULENT AUCTIONS

• Sean Hannity Kept Getting Deals on Properties Previously Owned by a Fraudster Specializing in Foreclosures

Oh, this is getting good…

“Brock did not use his own money to pay Doughty and Sullivan for not bidding competitively at the December 6, 2011 auctions; rather, he used money that outside investors had given him to acquire foreclosed properties,” the memorandum says, “To keep his investors informed, Brock instructed an employee to send them invoices documenting the payments that he made.”

The employee dutifully prepared an invoice documenting a $3,770 payoff for the Lakewood house. The sum seems altogether reasonable considering that county records show Brock paid only $21,130 for a house that had been purchased back in 1999 for $95,000 and subsequently carried a mortgage of $155,000.

The memorandum does not identify the investor who provided the payoff funds. Property records show that title to the house did pass from Brock to a Cobb County entity called The First Real Estate Corporation, though no purchase price is recorded and the property passed that very same day to one of Sean Hannity’s shell myriad companies, SPMKX GA LL.

Wow. This guy, Jeffrey Wayne Brock, would show up at the courthouse with a couple buddies for a property auction, and they conspired to bid low, keeping the house value down. Then, after purchasing the house for his investment company, he sold it to one of Sean Hannity’s shell companies THE VERY SAME DAY.

Think back to shows like Flip or Flop, where they buy a property from a government auction. For the auction to take place, many places require pre-registration, and a minimum number of participants, likely 3. That way, the government will get a fair number of bids. But, what if those three people were all working for the same common goal? That is a conspiracy to commit fraud, and is illegal in most places.

They misrepresented themselves to get in the auction in the first place. Brock’s buddies lied about wanting to bid on the house, and took the spot of an active bidder. Then, after a tiny battle back and forth, they’d let Brock win the auction at a very low price, far lower than anyone expected. Brock would then pay his buddies out of the money he received from his investor, and likely included that money in the transaction cost of the property back to the investor.

This reeks to high heaven, and is shady AF. What could make it illegal activity for Hannity is if he had prior knowledge of this scheme, and possibly what the purchase price of the property was. If it was very low, like just a small profit for Brock, this could be evidence that Hannity was in on the conspiracy.

THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION

• Manafort interviewed twice by FBI before joining Trump’s 2016 campaign, new documents show

The documents filed late Monday by prosecutors in the office of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who is investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign, show that the FBI had interviewed Manafort in March 2013 and again in July 2014. Manafort’s deputy, Rick Gates, who also held a top role with Trump’s campaign, was interviewed by the FBI in July 2014, the documents show.

I wish I could be surprised, and say that maybe this was a one-off, but who am I kidding?  Manafort being a criminal is why he was hired.

• Firing Mueller won’t end Trump investigation, Mueller made sure

The Cohen investigation is being run by the US Attorney; the Justice Department’s Tax Division and the National Security Devision at DOJ both also signed off on the charges to Manafort, so separate and apart from the Special Prosecutor, those charges exist, ensuring the investigations will persist separate and aside from the role of the Special Counsel’s office.

The Manafort search warrants came from the FBI’s International Corruption department, signed off by the US Attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia. The Special Counsel’s team has already rooted their investigation in all these other offices which will survive and presumably sprout new trees.

I talked before (Daily Check-In 04/03/2018) about Mueller’s dead man switch, and this is another way to short circuit any advantage Trump thinks he would get by firing Mueller.  He can’t stop this part of the investigation because it originates from the International Corruption Department in the FBI.  The Special Counselor’s Office is simply coordinating matters.

• Miss Universe 2013 Host Thomas Roberts Confirms: Trump Stayed Overnight in Moscow
• Trump’s apparently false Moscow alibi could be strong evidence of guilt
• The Washington Post: Giuliani reopens negotiations about presidential interview with Mueller, but cautions special counsel that Trump remains resistant
• News organizations seek access to Mueller materials in Russia investigation
• GOP senator: Firing Mueller could trigger impeachment

COLD WAR 2.0

• Scientist who developed poison used in Salisbury is run over by car Vladimir Uglev was rushed to hospital in his hometown in Russia after he was struck while walking over a pedestrian crossing, suffering injuries to his head, leg and arm. dailymail.co.uk       
• US senators push banks to disclose ties with wealthy Russians allied with Putin. Two Democratic senators, Jeanne Shaheen and Sheldon Whitehouse, have written to the banks, which include Bank of America Corp, JPMorgan C… cnbc.com       
• North Korea’s nuclear test site has collapsed … and that may be why Kim Jong-un suspended tests
• Trump’s just a “tower constructor” who can’t grasp complex deals, Iran’s president says
• France’s Macron says U.S. should not ditch Iran deal without new…
• Vincent Bolloré: French tycoon held over ‘Africa corruption’ – BBC News
• Expelled spies included Russians suspected of tracking compatriots resettled in US

WHITE HOUSE CHAOS:  PAY FOR PLAY, EPA, AND DUI IN THE VA

• Trump’s Budget Director Admits He Spoke Only To Lobbyists Who Paid Him
• Mick Mulvaney Casually Explains to Bankers How He Instituted a Pay-to-Play Rule for Lobbyists While in Congress
• Trump’s rumored next chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, admits to selling access as a congressman

Seriously, what the fuck is going on with this timeline?  The head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the government organization that is supposed to protect us from corporate corruption, just admitted to accepting bribes while in Congress.  In any normal universe, this would the top story of the month.  This timeline, it’s not even in the top five of the day.

• EPA chief signs proposal limiting science used in decisions
• EPA security chief to Scott Pruitt also worked for owner of National Enquirer publisher American Media Inc.
• Only Trump’s EPA would say cars that pollute less put too many lives at risk
• How Scott Pruitt Plans to Defend Himself on Capitol Hill: Spread the Blame – The New York Times

Pruitt’s Plan: Blame others.  Scott Pruitt has two interviews before Congress tomorrow, and I’m wondering how bad this could be.

• VA nominee drunkenly banged on female employee’s door during overseas trip, sources say
• VA nominee Ronny Jackson faces explosive new allegations of drinking, wrecking government vehicle
• Analysis: Too many Trump appointments made without vetting

Gee, what a surprise.  The doctor that said Trump was healthy (Daily Check-In 02/08/2018) has poor judgement.

TRUMP ORG AND CORRUPTION, FROM THE WATER IS WET DEPARTMENT

• Trump associate received more than $21M in Kazakh oligarchs’ alleged money laundering scheme
• Trump White House Now Just Openly Courting Corruption

#NEVERAGAIN

• Our president ignores an American hero: Trump’s silence on the Waffle House murders is deafening
• Suspected Waffle House shooter’s ex-boss urged feds to keep him locked up

CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA AND FACEBOOK

• Bannon turned Cambridge into ‘propaganda machine,’ whistleblower says Congressional investigators say the former Trump strategist sought research on Putin during the 2016 campaign. nbcnews.com       
• Cambridge Analytica whistleblower urges U.S. lawmakers to investigate company
• Did somebody say Brexit? Cambridge Analytica grilled: Brit MPs’ Fake News probe • The Register

THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE

• US falls to 45th on press freedom index, Trump labeled ‘media-bashing enthusiast’
• Tucker Carlson criticizes GOP for campaigning against Clinton: She ‘doesn’t run anything’
• Fox News blacks out Mick Mulvaney’s admission that he sold access to lobbyists

GOP:  THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD

• Republicans Lost Support in Every Special Election Since Trump Became President
• Millennials blame boomers for ruining their lives
• Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ Advice For President Trump: ‘Please Resign’
• Anger spreads across Puerto Rico over lack of basic services
• Rhode Island governor orders state agencies to only use internet services that follow net neutrality rules
• HUD Secretary Ben Carson wants to triple rent on poor people
• The Washington Post: More older Americans are smoking marijuana

SAY GOODBYE TO THE ECONOMY

• GOP senators weigh plan to raid Social Security for paid family leave
• How Senator Crapo’s Dodd-Frank Rollback Will Let Banks Bet More Of Your Money

BLUE WAVE

• Dems flip New York state seat that Republicans have held for nearly four decades
• Poll: Dem leads by 3 points in Tennessee Senate race

TRUMP HATES BROWN PEOPLE, THE IMMIGRANTS EDITION

• Third judge rules against Trump move to end DACA
• Federal judge orders government to continue DACA and accept new applicants, in toughest blow yet to Trump’s efforts to end program
• The Washington Post: Federal judge: Trump administration must accept new DACA applications
• The Washington Post: Conservative justices voice skepticism that Trump lacks authority for immigrant ban
• Kagan, Sotomayor Grill Trump Admin Lawyer: What If Travel Ban Targeted Jews?

IN OTHER NEWS…

• The Washington Post: ‘Golden State Killer’ suspect, a former police officer, arrested after DNA match
• Police Appear to Have Seized Revenge Porn Site Anon-IB “Cybercrime teams from the Dutch police have seized the Anon-IB forum in an ongoing investigation concerning criminal offenses.” motherboard.vice.com       

RUMOR MILL

Lincoln’s Bible on Mob Myths

This thread is definitely worth checking out.

That’s it for today.  I think this weekend I’ll update the Cast of Characters.  I didn’t get to that this past weekend, and I don’t like leaving things hanging.

Thank you, and have a good one.

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur