Month: June 2018

Daily Check-In 06/13/2018

Wednesday, June 13th.

 

THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION

In a public court filing, Mueller’s team released two memos from 2013 detailing Manafort’s involvement in efforts to influence debate in Congress and in the U.S. press about the imprisonment of Yanukovych’s main political rival, Yulia Tymoshenko.

…

In what appears to be an incomplete, draft memo titled “US Consultants — Quarterly Report” and addressed to Yanukovych, Manafort wrote that he had “organized and leveraged the visits of” two Hapsburg group members “to make critical in-roads in how policymakers view Ukraine.”

The memo is dated April 22, 2013. Romano Prodi, a former Italian prime minister and a member of the Hapsburg group, had visited Washington and met with Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) and congressional staffers the month before.

“The strategy for the first quarter of 2013 was to heavily engage with the UGS [sic] and US Congress, using a strategy I built called ‘Engage Ukraine’ which focused the dialogue on positive key issues, and away from” Tymoshenko, Manafort wrote in the memo. “One of the most critical goals that we have achieved during this quarter is to prevent the application of any sanctions against the GoU or its officials. We have been able to accomplish this by implementing key messages from the ‘Engage Ukraine’ strategy, many of which resonate with key U.S. officials.”

The memo, which is clearly written with a desire to play up the impact of Manafort’s work for Ukraine in the U.S., goes on to boast about placing op-eds in American publications like the Hill and the Christian Science Monitor and about “pitching our narrative and messaging to key reporters and editors at the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and New York Times.”

Manafort is manaucked.  Friday’s the day he either strikes a deal or goes to prison.

The special counsel Robert Mueller’s office filed a protective order Tuesday to limit evidence sharing in the case against the 13 Russian nationals and three Russian entities indicted in February as part of the Russia investigation.

They were charged with conspiring to interfere in the 2016 US election by mounting a social-media disinformation campaign to sway voter opinions during the presidential campaign.

In its motion on Tuesday, Mueller’s office cited the risk of revealing to Russian intelligence the identities of “uncharged individuals and entities” believed to be “continuing to engage in interference operations” in the US.

“The evidence in this case will also include numerous reports and affidavits filed in connection with this investigation that describe investigative steps, identify uncharged co-conspirators, and disclose various law enforcement and intelligence collection techniques,” the document said.

Do not be shocked if more indictments against Russians, especially the hackers that did the deeds.

National security adviser John Bolton was paid $115,000 in the past year to participate in two panel discussions sponsored by the foundation of an Ukrainian steel magnate — including one in Kiev last September, during which Bolton reassured the audience that President Trump would not radically change U.S. foreign policy.

…

Bolton’s appearances at the Kiev event and at another event in Munich this February were paid for by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, according a financial disclosure form released Monday by the White House.

A spokeswoman for Pinchuk, Natalia Vovk, said the group invited Bolton to speak as part of an effort to “attract the best speakers who represent different points of view from the political spectrum of their countries.”

The payment from the Pinchuk foundation was the largest single speaking fee Bolton received in the past year, according to his disclosure. In all, Bolton reported making $747,000 in speaking fees and $2.2 million in total income, including $569,000 from Fox News, for which he was a paid contributor.

…

Pinchuk has donated more than $10 million to the family foundation of former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton. In 2011, Pinchuk met with one of Clinton’s aides at the State Department to relay a message from Ukraine’s president at the time, Viktor Yanukovych. The meeting was described in Clinton emails later released by the State Department.

In 2015, when Donald Trump was a leading Republican candidate for president, Pinchuk’s foundation donated $150,000 to Trump’s personal charity. The payment was for a 20-minute speech to the Yalta European Strategy group’s 2015 meeting in Kiev, made by video conference. The New York Times later reported that Michael Cohen — Trump’s personal attorney — was involved in arranging the payment.

John Bolton accepted money from a Ukrainian oligarch, and the payment was arranged by Michael Cohen.

During the Trump campaign, Mr. Barrack was a top fund-raiser and trusted gatekeeper who opened communications with the Emiratis and Saudis, recommended that the candidate bring on Paul Manafort as campaign manager — and then tried to arrange a secret meeting between Mr. Manafort and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. Mr. Barrack was later named chairman of Mr. Trump’s inaugural committee.

But Mr. Manafort has since been indicted by the special prosecutorinvestigating Russian meddling in the presidential election. The same inquiry is examining whether the Emiratis and Saudis helped sway the election in Mr. Trump’s favor — potentially in coordination with the Russians, according to people familiar with the matter. Investigators have also asked witnesses about specific contributions and expenses related to the inauguration, according to people familiar with those interviews.

Tom Barrack was the head of the inauguration committee.  Rick Gates was his chief of staff.  Barrack worked with George Nader on setting up the meeting with the Saudis.  Both of those men are Cooperating Witnesses.

COHEN

There could be a completely innocuous reason why Michael Cohen is getting a new legal team and telling all of his friends that SDNY was getting the paperwork ready to arrest his ass.

Most likely, Cohen flips.  If he flips, he has to cooperate with any and all cases in any jurisdiction.  That means Mueller’s work as well.

 

IMMIGRATION

What can we do?

Whatever you do, don’t click on the tweet above.  If you do, please don’t look up the nearest location and collect supplies like baby formula, diapers, books, and clothes.  And don’t tell others about it, either.  It would be a shame if thousands of people showed up at each and every detention center. /s.

For those unaware, the /s indicates that the previous statement was sarcastic.

 

COLD WAR 2.0

How in the Crystal Pepsi flavored fuck did we end up in the timeline where the President of the United States is threatening Canada, but praising North Korea?

Oh, that’s right. Trump is a traitorous piece of shit doing the bidding of China and Russia.

Yes, I put soccer shit in the Cold War section.  With the amount of corruption associated to the previous couple choices, I’d be surprised if there wasn’t some grift involved.

 

#NEVERAGAIN

I can’t wait for the NRA to attack the American Medical Association.  No, really.  I want to see this shitstorm.

 

THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE

The media is the enemy?

Ok, you narcissistic, parasitic, daughter fucking, racist, rapist, traitorous piece of shit.

I see it as my solemn duty as an American, a believer in Democracy, Decency, and the Rule of Law to stand up against you and your ilk.

I have tried for more than two years to find one redeeming quality about you, and I can’t find anything.  Not one piece of information, not one story, not one anecdote that even implies that you have even the slightest shred of humanity, integrity, humility, or decency.

Everyone else, even the criminals you surround yourself with, have something going for them.  Mike Flynn is a devoted father.  Paul Manafort is organized.  Michael Cohen is hard working.  Steve Bannon was devoted to his cause.

You… You have nothing.  You are duller than a 15 watt light bulb, thinner skinned than a piñata, a complete failure as a businessman and without a shred of creativity.

Either Democracy survives or you stay in power.

I look forward to your perp walk.  I may name my next kid after the person that puts you in handcuffs.

 

WHITE HOUSE CHAOS

 

GOP:  THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD

Rep. David Valadao, R-California, confirmed Tuesday his family was no longer operating their dairy farm after the Los Angeles Times reported a bank seized the property following his failure to resolve more than $8 million in loans that have not been repaid.

 

PUERTO RICO

 

ELECTION 2018

 

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

 

PROGRESS IS PROGRESS

 

THE ENVIRONMENT

 

FIXING THE INTERNET

 

SAY GOODBYE TO THE ECONOMY

 

IN OTHER NEWS…

Each star represent an American member of the CIA lost in the field in the line of duty.  Their actions, and even their names, are classified.  Odd are we’ll never know who they were, or what they were doing.

This is a thoroughly stupid idea with its roots in Russian propaganda.  The groups behind this push get their online support from the Russian Troll Farm.

 

RUMOR MILL

 

That’s it for today.  This week is building to some pretty big stuff.  Friday, both Cohen and Manafort have a day in court, and at least one of them is going to flip to avoid a harsher sentence.

UPDATE:  This from Business Insider just came out with the names of the witnesses that Manafort tried to tamper with.

The individuals are Alan Friedman and Eckart Sager, both former journalists based in Europe. Friedman and Sager spearheaded efforts by the Hapsburg Group — a lobbying group consisting of former European leaders — to lobby on behalf of former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych in Europe and the US.

They wrote a story about the Hapsburg Group, saying that they worked in the US and Europe.  Manafort contacted Friedman and Kilimnik reached out to Sager to tell them to change their story and their tune in that the Hapsburg Group only worked in Europe.  The journalists contacted Mueller’s team with this information.

The next couple days are gonna be crazy.

 

Thank you, and have a good one.

 

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

Daily Check-In 06/12/2018

Tuesday, June 12th.

 

THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION

U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller warned that Russian intelligence services have active “interference operations” in the U.S. and asked a judge to limit the pretrial evidence provided to a Russian firm indicted over meddling in the 2016 election.

Mueller asked a federal judge in Washington for an order that would protect the handover of voluminous evidence to lawyers for Concord Management and Consulting LLC, one of three companies and 13 Russian nationals charged in a February indictment. They are accused of producing propaganda, posing as U.S. activists and posting political content on social media as so-called trolls to encourage strife in the U.S.

The threat of public or unauthorized disclosure of evidence would help foreign intelligence services, particularly in Russia, in “future operations against the United States,” Mueller’s prosecutors wrote in a filing Tuesday.

A federal judge has ordered special counsel Robert Mueller to identify by Friday all the individuals and organizations involved in former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s alleged scheme to lobby on behalf of Ukraine without registering as a foreign agent under U.S. law.

Among the people Mueller will be required to identify to the defense are top European former politicians who took part in the influence campaign, as well as others whose testimony Manafort has been accused of trying to influence in recent months. Manafort’s alleged effort to shape the accounts of those people led to two new felony obstruction of justice charges last week.

The ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson Tuesday represents a rare courtroom win for Manafort’s defense, which is battling Mueller’s prosecutors in two different federal courts and faces two looming jury trials.

Prosecutors resisted the defense motion, but the judge’s decision is not likely to be significant since many of the names are well known to the defense and have been reported in the media.

For instance, former Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi and former Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer have acknowledged some involvement in paid lobbying work for Ukraine. However, they have said they were not paid by Manafort.

Several prominent Russians, some in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle or high in the Russian Orthodox Church, now have been identified as having contact with National Rifle Association officials during the 2016 U.S. election campaign, according to photographs and an NRA source.

The contacts have emerged amid a deepening Justice Department investigation into whether Russian banker and lifetime NRA member Alexander Torshin illegally channeled money through the gun rights group to add financial firepower to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential bid.

Justice Department officials dispute the recounting of the closed-door meeting detailed in the story, and Rosenstein now plans to “request that the House general counsel conduct an internal investigation of these Congressional staffers’ conduct” when he returns from a foreign trip this week, a Justice Department official said.
“The Deputy Attorney General never threatened anyone in the room with a criminal investigation,” the official said. “The FBI Director, the senior career ethics adviser for the Department, and the Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs who were all present at this meeting are all quite clear that the characterization of events laid out here is false.
“The Deputy Attorney General was making the point — after being threatened with contempt — that as an American citizen charged with the offense of contempt of Congress, he would have the right to defend himself, including requesting production of relevant emails and text messages and calling them as witnesses to demonstrate that their allegations are false,” the official added. “That is why he put them on notice to retain relevant emails and text messages, and he hopes they did so.”

 

COHEN

 

IMMIGRATION

 

BREXIT

A British public interest group has filed a lawsuit in a Mississippi court against two companies controlled by Arron Banks, the pro-Brexit donor, following allegations that the firms may have violated UK data protection rules in an attempt to sway the 2016 vote to leave the EU.

Fair Vote Project, a British activist group that is campaigning for changes to UK election rules, has launched the legal action against Eldon Insurance and a Bristol-based software development group, Big Data Dolphins. Fair Vote has asked a judge to permanently bar the firms from destroying any data that they might be holding in Mississippi.

At the heart of the complaint is an allegation that the companies may have used data that had been mined in the UK and combined it with information that had been collected from Eldon Insurance, which sells car insurance in the UK.

The suit further alleges that the data may have been brought to the University of Mississippi, where the companies sought to create their own version of Cambridge Analytica, the controversial firm that used data mined from social media networks to try to sway voters’ behaviour.

Fair Vote and the lead plaintiff in the case, a British resident called Kyle Taylor, have said in court filings that they want to determine whether any UK data was illegally transferred to Mississippi as part of the groups’ plans.

 

G7 FALLOUT

 

SINGAPORE SUMMIT

“Nuclear nonproliferation is a pillar of America’s national security.   We respect any serious and real diplomatic efforts to achieve that goal on the Korean peninsula.  Apparently, the President handed Kim Jong-un concessions in exchange for vague promises that do not approach a clear and comprehensive pathway to denuclearization and non-proliferation.

“In his haste to reach an agreement, President Trump elevated North Korea to the level of the United States while preserving the regime’s status quo.  The millions of families currently living in fear of nuclear weapons in the region deserve strong and smart leadership built on diplomacy and engagement with our regional partners and allies.

“The President’s marginalization of the vast expertise of the State Department and his habitual disparaging of our allies as demonstrated at the G7 Forum hinders a lasting, stable pathway to peace.”

”Honestly, I think he’s going to do these things. I may be wrong,” Trump said. “I may stand before you in six months and say, ‘hey, I was wrong.’ I don’t know that I’ll admit that but I’ll find some kind of an excuse.”

 

COLD WAR 2.0

The South Korean military issued a statement to NBC News saying: “Regarding President Trump’s comment regarding ending of the combined military drills..We need to find out the exact meaning or intention behind his comments at this point.”

Historically, the US has asserted that the bilateral, planned, and transparent military drills are legal while North Korea’s nuclear program is not, so it would be blackmail to suspend them for Pyongyang.

 

OTHER TRUMP CRIMES

 

#NEVERAGAIN

 

THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE

 

PUERTO RICO

 

WHITE HOUSE CHAOS

 

FIXING THE INTERNET

 

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

This month, the state attorney general in Pennsylvania is expected to release an 884-page report that will detail decades of clerical sexual abuse and cover-ups by the Roman Catholic church in six of Pennsylvania’s eight Catholic dioceses. The report has not yet been made public, but has been shared with the bishops in the six dioceses: Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton.

 

GOP

The truth of the matter is that anyone who willingly declares themselves a Republican is aligning themselves with an administration whose official policy is to torment minorities, to empty the public purse both for private gain and for sheer cruel parsimony, to strip away healthcare from the afflicted and to comfort the wealthy.

…

It is high time, when you find yourself next at a dinner party with someone who has gone Trump, to smash your glass to shards and leave. It is time to push yourself away from the table. It is time to cease to behave with subservient politesse towards those who embrace barbarity with unfettered glee.

Politics have always been about the fates of others; it is the height of privilege to pretend that they are merely a game, or a supplement to identity. To be a Trumpist should mean earning the total condemnation of your peers. The counterrevolution against cruelty will not be accomplished through appeasement. There is no other way to proceed but to fight.

Read more: https://forward.com/opinion/402990/no-we-dont-have-to-be-friends-with-trump-supporters/

 

ELECTION 2018

 

IN OTHER NEWS…

 

That’s it for Tuesday.

Expect more information about the investigation on Wednesday.  Several stories came out over night that could have future importance.

I didn’t post this last night, even though I was 90% done early in the day.  As I said on Monday, we had to put our cat to sleep, and to be honest, I was in no mood to do anything but sulk and cry.  Wednesday, I’m back in the lineup.

 

Thank you, and have a good one.

 

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

 

 

 

Daily Check-In 06/11/2018

The weekend to Monday, June 11th.

 

THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION

The Observer and Sunday Times of London obtained the some 40,000 emails sent by millionaire businessman Arron Banks, the chief financial backer of U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage’s Leave.EU campaign, and Andy Wigmore, Leave.EU’s director of communications.

The emails show show that Banks had previously undisclosed meetings with Russia’s U.K. ambassador (which were set up by an alleged Russian spy), and had made a previously undisclosed visit to Moscow at the peak of the Brexit campaign. Banks and Wigmore were also offered, at one point, a business deal involving several Russian goldmines that could have been worth a fortune for the men, according to the documents. There is a Trump connection, as the Sunday Times reports that Banks admitted that, months after the Brexit referendum, “he handed over phone numbers for members of Trump’s transition team to Russian officials” — though it’s not yet clear whose info he handed over, or what became of it.

WHY SHOULD MUELLER CARE?

Nigel Farage is already believed to be a “person of interest” to Mueller’s team, and his links to Banks could excite some interest in the businessman by the special counsel, especially the relationship with Yakovenko.

One of Banks’ meetings with Yakovenko took place on August 19, 201[6] — the day Steve Bannon became Trump’s campaign manager and just days before Banks, Wigmore and Farage traveled to Mississippi for a Trump rally, where Farage was introduced to the crowd as “Mr. Brexit.”

The fact that Banks was in Trump Tower with Wigmore and Farage just days after Trump’s surprise victory could also raise suspicion, especially given that Banks met with his Russian contacts on his return to the U.K. after that trip.

While a lot of attention has been given to Banks passing at least one phone number of the Trump transition team to the Russians, given that Mueller’s investigation is probing deep ties between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin it is unclear why Banks would have to pass on such small details.

Why would Banks pass on the transition teams digits to the Russians?  Think of this from the Intelligence or Mafia perspective.

Every player has a specific job, with specific duties.  The low-level guy doesn’t need to know what the boss knows.  They don’t need to know what the other guy next to them is doing, they only need to know their part.

From the IC perspective, getting these numbers gives the Russians both another backchannel connection, as well as kompromat.

From the Mafioso point of view, this shows Trump’s team that Banks thinks the Russians are goodfellas.  They’re people with a joint interest.

WASHINGTON 

Several prominent Russians, some in President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle or high in the Russian Orthodox Church, now have been identified as having contact with National Rifle Association officials during the 2016 U.S. election campaign, according to photographs and an NRA source.

The contacts have emerged amid a deepening Justice Department investigation into whether Russian banker and lifetime NRA member Alexander Torshin illegally channeled money through the gun rights group to add financial firepower to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential bid.

Other influential Russians who met with NRA representatives during the campaign include Dmitry Rogozin, who until last month served as a deputy prime minister overseeing Russia’s defense industry, and Sergei Rudov, head of one of Russia’s largest philanthropies, the St. Basil the Great Charitable Foundation. The foundation was launched by an ultra-nationalist ally of Russian President Putin.

The Russians talked and dined with NRA representatives, mainly in Moscow, as U.S. presidential candidates vied for the White House. Now U.S. investigators want to know if relationships between the Russian leaders and the nation’s largest gun rights group went beyond vodka toasts and gun factory tours, evolving into another facet of the Kremlin’s broad election-interference operation.

Wow, even MORE Russian contacts by the NRA! Daily Check-In 01/18/2018 was where I mentioned one of these meetings in Moscow.

Designated Entities and Individuals

Today’s action includes the designation of five Russian entities and three Russian individuals pursuant to E.O. 13694, as amended, as well as a concurrent designation pursuant to Section 224 of CAATSA.

Digital Security was designated pursuant to E.O. 13694, as amended, for providing material and technological support to the FSB.  As of 2015, Digital Security worked on a project that would increase Russia’s offensive cyber capabilities for the Russian Intelligence Services, to include the FSB.

ERPScan was designated pursuant to E.O. 13694, as amended, for being owned or controlled by Digital Security.  As of August 2016, ERPScan was a subsidiary of Digital Security.

Embedi was designated pursuant to E.O. 13694, as amended.  As of May 2017, Embedi was owned or controlled by Digital Security.

Kvant Scientific Research Institute (Kvant) was designated pursuant to E.O. 13694, as amended, and Section 224 of CAATSA for being owned or controlled by the FSB.  In August 2010, the Russian government issued a decree that identified Kvant as a federal state unitary enterprise that would be supervised by the FSB.

Kvant was also designated pursuant to E.O. 13694, as amended, for providing material and technological support to the FSB.  As of August 2015, Kvant was a research institute with extensive ties to the FSB.  Furthermore, as of April 2017, Kvant was the prime contractor on a project for which the FSB was the end user.

Divetechnoservices was designated pursuant to E.O. 13694, as amended, for providing material and technological support to the FSB.  Since 2007, Divetechnoservices has procured a variety of underwater equipment and diving systems for Russian government agencies, to include the FSB.  Further, in 2011, Divetechnoservices was awarded a contract to procure a submersible craft valued at $1.5 million for the FSB.

Aleksandr Lvovich Tribun (Tribun) was designated pursuant to E.O. 13694, as amended, for acting for or on behalf of Divetechnoservices.  As of December 2017, Tribun was Divetechnoservices’ General Director.

Oleg Sergeyevich Chirikov (Chirikov) was designated pursuant to E.O. 13694, as amended, for acting for or on behalf of Divetechnoservices.  As of March 2018, Chirikov was Divetechnoservices’ Program Manager.

Vladimir Yakovlevich Kaganskiy (Kaganskiy) was designated pursuant to E.O. 13694, as amended, for acting for or on behalf of Divetechnoservices.  As of December 2017, Kaganskiy was Divetechnoservices’ owner.  Previously, Kaganskiy also served as Divetechnoservices’ General Director.

 

 

IMMIGRATION

 

G7

 

COLD WAR 2.0

The husband and wife team produced and showed a documentary about Sergei Magnitsky, putting them in Putin’s crosshairs.

 

COHEN

 

OTHER CRIMES COMMITTED BY TRUMP

 

WHITE HOUSE CHAOS

The weakest point in the White House, however, might be Trump himself. The president is reportedly refusing to upgrade his iPhones, issued by White House IT agencies to make them more secure, calling the process “too inconvenient.” As of last month, he hadn’t had them checked by security experts for at least five months. To make matters worse, lawmakers have concerns about fake cell towers around the White House that could eavesdrop on smartphone calls.

 

VOTER PURGE

 

#NEVERAGAIN

As video game creators prepare for E3, the annual gaming trade show and public exhibition, the head of the industry’s trade group is squaring off against the National Rifle Association over that group’s continued suggestion that video game violence is a factor in recent real world school shootings.

…

“We know the NRA makes those arguments,” he said. “We also know they’re going to bear the burden of history. We will continue to be successful with policy makers as the industry continues to grow.”

 

THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE

 

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

The 47 people who were arrested so far in 2018 were approached by undercover officers posing as buyers. They were all charged with felonies. Some were put in diversion programs, according to the news site, while some were convicted. At least one man went to prison. And the amount they were selling can only be described as minuscule at best.

“Almost all of those cases involve a sale of 1-2 grams of marijuana for a total of $10-$20,” Assistant County Public Defender Jess Braverman wrote in a May 31 court document.

 

SAY GOODBYE TO THE ECONOMY

 

GOP

 

ELECTION 2018

 

#METOO

 

FIXING THE INTERNET

 

PROGRESS IS PROGRESS

 

IN OTHER NEWS…

 

RUMOR MILL: FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS EDITION

This is part two of their series, where they interviewed Carter Page.Here’s the link to the Australian Documentary.

Carole, a reporter for The Guardian, live-tweeted a call-in show hosted by Nigel Farage.  Nigel had Aaron Banks call in, who admitted to some “low-level collusion”.  I can’t help but think of that Arrested Development clip.

After that, Carole calls in, and Nigel loses his cool.  Apparently, the two of them have a history.

Louise was one of the first reporters to break the NRA accepting and laundering money for the Russians.  This story is a week old, but I just saw it on Twitter.

 

That’s it for today.  If I don’t see you tomorrow, it’s because I couldn’t focus after going to the vet.  If I do, it’s because I needed to distract myself.

One of my cats is severely ill. She has a large, cancerous growth on her paw which has caused her pain, discomfort, and caused her to lose about 10 pounds.  She was a REALLY fat cat before the cancer.  A few months ago, we were given a prognosis of a few weeks to a month.

We decided to make her as comfortable as possible, but that’s no longer an option.  As a last resort, we asked the vet for an estimate on amputating the paw.  It was around $2,500.  That’s a lot of money for a 12 year old cat that lost half her body weight in a few months.

Earlier today I scheduled an appointment to have her put to sleep Tuesday night.

 

Thank you, and have a good one.

 

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

 

Daily Check-In 06/08/2018

Friday, June 8th.

 

THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION:  KONSTANTIN KILIMNIK INDICTED

Konstanin Kilimnik, one of Paul Manafort’s most trusted advisers, was indicted earlier today on an superseding indictment against Manafort.

Kilimnik, a “former” member of Russia’s GRU, was charged along with Paul on the following charges:

  • Conspiracy Against the United States
  • Conspiracy to Launder Money
  • Unregistered Agent of a Foreign Principal
  • False and Misleading FARA Statements
  • False Statements
  • Obstruction of Justice
  • Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice

Kilimnik is currently in Russia after Ukraine dropped their investigation into Manafort’s crimes as part of a quid pro quo for missiles from the Trump Administration (Daily Check-In 05/23/2018 and Daily Check-In 05/02/2018).  However, if “Kostya from the GRU” ever tries to leave Russia for a vacation, he might have to get a connecting flight at Leavenworth.

Another major aspect of this move is that it makes a pardon of Manafort either a moot point or so beyond the pale that Trump would be removed from office by the end of the week.  Kilimnik is now a co-defendant in the case.  A pardon on one defendant doesn’t end the case.  If anything, it opens the other co-defendant up to greater legal liability.  Mueller continues the investigation against Kilimnik.  If Trump were to pardon a member of Russian Intelligence who actively attacked the United States, that might finally be a bridge too far for Republicans.

Then again, Manafort accepting a pardon would also ruin his life, too.  As I’ve discussed before in GTKYG-Pardon Limitations, a pardon only works on federal criminal penalties, not civil or state criminal charges.  Notice how the indictment includes asset forfeiture?  That’s right.  If Manafort accepts a pardon, then the government can come after him in a civil case and take his shit.  Then, as he’s left bankrupt, Virginia will come after him for criminal tax evasion.

So, let’s welcome Konstantin Kilimnik to The Indicted.

 

PDF of the Indictments

 

JOURNALIST LEAK INVESTIGATION

 

COHEN

Keith Davidson is now suing Michael Cohen.  During the back and forth on Twitter, Avenatti mentioned that Davidson’s stuff was raided on the same day that Cohen was raided.  I’m not sure if that was a typo, weird phrasing, or the truth.  We’ll wait and see.

Striking a note for transparency, a federal judge ruled on Friday that President Trump and his longtime personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, cannot proceed in total secrecy as they weigh in on the final stages of a laborious review of a huge trove of materials seized from Mr. Cohen during a series of raids by the authorities in April.

…

On Wednesday, the president’s lawyers, writing on behalf of him and Mr. Cohen, asked Judge Wood for permission to file their objections under seal directly to her, keeping them from the eyes of both the public and the prosecutors handling the case.

Within a day, the prosecutors responded with a more limited proposal, arguing that while Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen did not have to disclose the contents of the files they felt were privileged, there was “no reason why the government and the public should be deprived of access” to the legal analysis that led to their decisions.

In her one-paragraph ruling on Friday, Judge Wood sided with the prosecutors, saying that the Trump and Cohen legal teams had to submit their objections to the special master’s findings publicly “except for those portions that divulge ‘the substance of the contested documents.’”

A group of news organizations, including The New York Times, had written in support of the government’s position, claiming that the “public has a right to know” what categories of files Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen were trying to keep secret, if not precisely what was in them.

Kushner to Chaves to Cohen.  That’s the route the money took.

One of the most obvious and blatant examples of money laundering involving Michael Cohen came when he flipped a series of 4 condos in New York, nearly tripling the purchase cost.  Well, turns out it’s even more obvious than we knew.

That example had Herbert Chaves selling properties to Jared Kushner, and using the money from Kushner to purchase properties from Cohen for 3 times market value.  That’s textbook Money Laundering.

 

G7

At this point, it’s no longer a question of Trump being a traitor to the United States of America, but how much of this is him willingly destroying America’s place in the world, and how much of this is his fear that Putin will release the kompromat he has on him.

By the way, it’s a lot worse than hookers peeing on each other.

 

IMMIGRATION

 

COLD WAR 2.0

 

#NEVERAGAIN

 

PRUITT

 

WHITE HOUSE CHAOS

 

FIXING THE INTERNET

 

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

 

PUERTO RICO

 

THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE

 

PROGRESS IS PROGRESS

 

GOP:  THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD

 

IN OTHER NEWS…

Earlier this morning, the news broke that Anthony Bourdain, award winning chef and television host that was one of the few Americans on TV showing that the world isn’t scary but exciting and thrilling, died of an apparent suicide.

His is the second celebrity suicide of the week.  Fashion Designer Kate Spade was found dead on Wednesday.  I didn’t cover that story because, until Wednesday, I’d never heard of Kate Spade.  I just googled her, and I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around a $400 purse.  Maybe it’s a ten year or fifteen year purse.  Like with a great pair of shoes. Sure, the sticker price is $200, but they’re built to last a decade, and will be cheaper than owning 10 pairs of shoes from the discount rack at Payless, Walmart, or Target.

I had no connection to Kate Spade.  Anthony Bourdain was different.  He was an inspirational asshole.  He tried new things, went interesting places, and met great people along the way.  Every place he went, no matter what it looked like in the news, Anthony made it look warm and inviting.  He made the craziest food look delicious, and showed that the greatest way to destroy ignorance and bigotry was to get out and see the world.

Anthony Bourdain had possibly the greatest job in the world.  He was paid a lot of money to visit cool places, meet cool people, try new things, and eat and drink like a baller.  Yet, even through all of this, he still suffered from depression.

I know a little something about depression.  I was diagnosed with it many years ago, and I fight against it every day.  Some days are better than others, but it is a constant struggle to not give in.  One day, I expect it to beat me for good.  My battle is to make sure that today is not that day.

Here’s a BuzzFeed article on calling the Suicide Prevention Line. If you or someone you know needs help, call 1-800-273-8255 or text 741-741.

 

RUMOR MILL

 

 

 

 

That’s it for today.  I’m going to try to get something up this weekend, but I have a lot of things to do in the real world.  I will do my best to write, and I don’t plan on watching any Mister Rogers.

Kostya from the GRU has been indicted.  That’s 20 people indicted so far.  One of them has already served their prison sentence and been deported from the country.  Two of them are preparing for sentencing.  Two others are still cooperating.

Things are going to ramp up over the next week.  June 15th is Paul Manafort’s hearing for witness tampering, and if he doesn’t strike a deal before that, he’s going to prison.  The same day, Cohen’s team has to finish up with their review of the evidence in his case.  Next week could easily end with Trump’s former campaign manager in prison and his fixer indicted.

If Manafort isn’t in prison, it’s probably because he’s working on a deal.  That might be worse for Trump and Pence.

Keep your heads up, people.  We’re in a war against tyranny. This isn’t going to be won overnight.

 

Thank you, and have a good one.

 

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur