Thursday, May 17th.
THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION
- Manafort’s former son-in-law cuts plea deal with government
- Exclusive: Manafort’s former son-in-law cuts plea deal, to…
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The former son-in-law of Paul Manafort, the one-time chairman of President Donald Trump’s campaign, has cut a plea deal with the Justice Department that requires him to cooperate with other criminal probes, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
Jeffrey Yohai, COME ON DOWN! YOU’RE THE NEXT CONTESTANT ON LET’S MAKE A DEAL!
Yohai is Paul Manafort’s former son-in-law, and was a business partner of his on some of Manafort’s real estate/money laundering deals.
Yohai has pled guilty to undisclosed charges that remain under seal. This is part of the continuing effort to flip Manafort. Not that I think they need him, but it will make taking down Trump easier, and won’t require burning Intel sources to do so.
- Senate Transcripts Show That Trump, Jr., Wanted to Collude with Russians
- Michael Cohen’s efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow went on longer than he has previously acknowledged
- New Documents: Trump Made a “Secret” Request for a Meeting with Putin in 2013
- There are 186 things Donald Trump Jr. says he can’t remember or doesn’t know about the Trump Tower meeting
- Mueller’s office files unredacted memo outlining scope of Russia probe-filing
- In Year Two, Mueller Is Wading Into a Bottomless Pit of Trump Sleaze
- Trump Moscow: The Definitive Story Of How Trump’s Team Worked The Russian Deal During The Campaign
- Trump Jr.’s team wanted stories straight on Russian lawyer meeting
- Trump Jr. called a blocked number before and after the Trump Tower meeting. Whom did he call?
$20 says it wasn’t Ghostbusters.
- Trump Moscow: The Definitive Story Of How Trump’s Team Worked The Russian Deal During The Campaign
- A plane linked to the Russian government flew into the Seychelles the day before a secret meeting that Mueller is investigating
- As Mueller probes Seychelles meetings, details emerge about Russian plane: exclusive
A Russian plane linked to the country’s government flew into the Seychelles the day prior to a 2017 meeting now under review by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, according to the airport flight data obtained by NJ Advance Media.
Mueller’s team is examining a series of meetings that took place in the Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, as part of its broader investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
- Undermining an effective birth control funding program to promote abstinence is the height of stupidity
- Mueller Memo Under Seal
COHEN: FOLLOW THE MONEY & STORMYGATE
- Whistleblower Leaked Damning Cohen Financial Documents Because They Were Disappearing From Government Financial Crimes Database
- FBI agents said to be probing Michael Cohen’s deal with Korean firm
- Michael Cohen Scandal Goes Supernova With Foreign Money
- Trump’s personal attorney solicited $1 million from government of Qatar
- Michael Cohen’s Korean Translator Says He Was Questioned by the FBI
- Avenatti: Two more women claim Trump hush deals
- Michael Avenatti Says Other Women Claiming to Have Had Affairs With Trump and Signed NDAs Will Soon Be Revealed
From the interview clip, Avenatti’s team has just about finished vetting two women’s stories that match Stormy’s to a T, and there are others in the preliminary stages.
President Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen has reportedly confided in friends that he’s at his wit’s end with federal investigations into his business dealings, Vanity Fair reported Wednesday.
According to two people familiar with Cohen’s thinking who spoke to Vanity Fair, Cohen is “fuming” over Stormy Daniels’ attorney Michael Avenatti’s release of information about his bank records and has grown weary of all the news coverage surrounding his attempts to sell access to Trump after the 2016 election. Cohen has reportedly confided in friends that he “just can’t take this anymore” and is focused on protecting his family, whom he thinks is suffering because federal investigators want to get to Trump, a friend told Vanity Fair.
I only see two ways out for Cohen. Either he flips on Trump, or swallows a bullet.
- Donald Trump Can’t Stop Discovery in Summer Zervos Defamation Lawsuit
- FBI agents said to be probing Michael Cohen’s deal with Korean firm
- Michael Cohen’s efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow went on longer than he has previously acknowledged
- Kushners Near Deal With Qatar-Linked Company for Troubled Tower – The New York Times
COLD WAR 2.0
- FBI head warns against Trump deal with ZTE
- UK law firm accused of failings over Azerbaijan leader’s daughters’ offshore assets | World news | The Guardian
WHITE HOUSE CHAOS
- Schwarzenegger to Pruitt: Drink contaminated water ‘until you tap out or resign’
- Lawyer who repped Equifax will run office that investigates Equifax
- Trump’s decision to eliminate role of cybersecurity czar rattles experts. Here’s why.
- The Washington Post: Gina Haspel is confirmed as CIA chief despite scrutiny of role in interrogation program. She’s the first woman to lead the agency.
- White House cancels daily communications meeting after McCain joke leaks
They’re more worried about leaks describing how terrible they are, then they are worried about not communicating with each other and solving the country’s problems.
#NEVERAGAIN
- ‘I said, “Sandrea, Sandrea.” She didn’t reply’: Mom recalls daughter’s shooting in West Philly – Philly
- Evidence suggests Las Vegas shooter was motivated by pro-gun conspiracy theories
I have even worse news coming in the Friday post. Looks like another school shooting just took place in Texas. I’ll have more details on the next post.
THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE
- Trump accuses Obama of embedding spy in his campaign while citing no evidence for claim, in misspelled early morning tweet
- New York Times acknowledges it buried the lead in pre-election Russia-Trump story
- Blumenthal: Giuliani’s wrong, Trump can be indicted
- Giuliani: Mueller’s team told Trump’s lawyers they can’t indict a president
- Robert Costa (WaPo) calling Bullshit on Rudy’s Claims
- Trump is not above the law, can be indicted: Napolitano
- Giuliani: ‘Nothing illegal’ about Trump campaign looking for Clinton dirt with Russians
- Rex Tillerson Blasts Trump, Warns of Imminent End to American Democracy
Why, for the love of fuck, does anyone still give a flying rats ass what Rudy Giuliani says? He’s either senile, a corrupted lying snake, on the take, secretly working to compromise Trump’s team, or a combination of the above.
FIXING THE INTERNET
BLUE WAVE
- A Democratic-Socialist Landslide In Pennsylvania
- Vermont signs law to allow import of prescription drugs from Canada
- Voters Miss Obama. Why? Integrity.
GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD
- McConnell May Cancel August Recess To Keep Democrats From Going Home to Campaign
- Republicans are betting it all on aging white Trump voters
- How Baby Boomers Broke America
- Ryan to delay election security briefing, make it classified
- The GOP is quietly crafting work requirement waivers — for white people
- Almost half of US families can’t afford basics like rent and food
- Lawyer booted for racist tirade runs scared from cameras outside home
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
- ICE claimed a Dreamer was “gang-affiliated” and tried to deport him. A federal judge ruled that ICE was lying.
- It’s Not a Liberal Fantasy to Ask if Trump Committed Treason
RUMOR MILL
That’s it for today. Well, yesterday. I was a little under the weather, and needed to catch up on sleep. Sometimes I need a whole 5 or 6 hours.
Friday’s update will likely be posted on Saturday morning. I also need to update some other pages, thanks to the news about Yohai.
Thank you, and have a good one.
“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”
– Katy Tur
None of this is Normal 