Friday, October 12, 2018
THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION
- Judge Unseals Watergate Report That Led To Articles Of Impeachment Against Nixon
- Letter from Glenn Simpson’s Attorneys to Bob Goodlatte, Chairman of House Judiciary Committee
- Rachel Maddow Twitter Thread on Fusion GPS Letter
- More than 60% of Donald Trump’s Twitter followers look suspiciously fake
KHASHOGGI
On the 12 steps toward authoritarianism, where is “Letting another country murder its political opponents, who are your legal residents, with impunity and tacit approval?” Justice for
#Khashoggi2/ Additional authoritarianism points: “Well, they buy our military products with which they slaughter Yemenites, and they book rooms in my Emolument Hotel, so they can murder whomever they like.”
3/ I follow a good number of conservatives. Other than the solid and admirable
#NeverTrumpers, the silence from the right about Khashoggi’s murder has been nauseating. The Full Trumpification of the Republican Party marches on.
- ‘It’s not a citizen’: Trump telegraphs a soft line on Jamal Khashoggi — even as evidence becomes more damning
- An Explainer: Senate’s Letter on Khashoggi and the Global Magnitsky Act
- Jed Shugerman on Kushner and MBS Ties
Jared Kushner and #Kashoggithread: How can Kushner be investigated for alleged corrupt ties to Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Qatar? The Foreign Emoluments clause arguably applies to Kushner as Senior Advisor ot the President as an “office of trust.” (But it’s complicated)… 1/
2/ Foreign Emoluments Clause: “No Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under [the US] shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”
3/ Is an unpaid Senior Advisor an “office of trust”? There is historical debate about the scope of this phrase, and courts have not resolved this question. But in 1982, the OLC (the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel) suggested broad coverage: https://www.justice.gov/file/22956/download …
4/ Kushner resigned as CEO from the Kushner Companies, but reports are that he only partially divested. He still benefits from the profits of these companies, and thus received emoluments from foreign governments…
5/ Last March, I wrote about Kushner Co. receiving a $184 million loan from Apollo under very shady circumstances. “One of the largest investors in Apollo’s real estate trust is the Qatari government’s investment fund, the Qatar Investment Authority.”
6/ And Kushner is getting bailed out of his disastrous $1.8 Billion purchase of 666 5th Ave by Brookfield, a Canadian firm whose largest outside investor is Qatar and whose board has ties to UAE.
7/ It was widely reported that Kushner could not find any takers on such an obsolete overpriced building. But Brookfield gave Kushner implausibly generous terms. A source, an expert on real estate deals, explains: “The $300M junior debt was written off…”
8/ Source:”The $1.1B was paid off as was Vornado by Brookfield. It looks like Kushner has recovered cost, so if the option is exercised they should make some money on the deal. For the Kushners, this seems like the best possible outcome one could hope for.” And no other bidders.
9/ Now recall a series of stories about Kushner’s corrupt links to Saudi. Kushner. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who allegedly is behind #Khashoggi‘s murder, bragged that he had Kushner “in his pocket.”
10/ It is my understanding from @ddd_reporterthat Canada has an anti-corruption law that bars transaction that violate that laws where the transaction takes place. Canada’s Brookfield is arguably violating the Foreign Emoluments clause in its purchase from Kushners… @CBCNews
11/ Canada regulators could inquire into Brookfield, Kushner, Qatar, Saudi, and UAE connections before approving this sale. And state attorneys general in the U.S. in NY, NJ, and Delaware could investigate. They all have quo warranto powers.
12/ If you want #JusticeForKhashoggi, contact your state AG. The Maryland and DC AGs @BrianFrosh@AGKarlRacinehave standing to sue Trump Org. for #Emoluments. State AGs have “special solicitude” in our federal system. Kushner emoluments endanger state/federal/foreign balance.
13/ And in particular, @NewYorkStateAG@TishJames@NewJerseyOAGGubir Grewal and @DE_DOJMatthew Denn all have established quo warranto powers to investigate the Kushner Companies for corruption, fraud, and emoluments violations. #JusticeForKhashoggi
14/ Finally, this is why winning the House is so important: subpoena power. If you want to know whether Russia, Saudi, UAE, Qatar, etc. have leverage over Trump and Kushner, you want Congress’s subpoena power.
- Caroline Orr: Asked moments ago if he plans to address Saudi Arabia’s human rights record in light of the disappearance and murder of WaPo journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Trump responds with … whataboutism. He literally couldn’t even condemn a country that just DISMEMBERED A JOURNALIST.
- CNBC withdraws from Saudi conference over concerns about journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance
- Graham to seek sanctions against Saudis if involved in Khashoggi’s death
- Greg Olear: If Jared Kushner exchanged US intelligence nuggets for help financing his white elephant of a building on 666 Fifth Avenue, as #Khashoggi was reportedly investigating, that is ESPIONAGE, of the kind for which the Rosenbergs were executed. #treason. Thread
- Hackers accessed personal information of 30 million Facebook users – CNN
- Here’s everything we know about the troubling disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi
- Jamal Khashoggi Is Mourned by His Friends in Washington – The Atlantic
- Media companies and top executives drop out of Saudi event over missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi
- Trump Jr. Boosts Smear Tying Missing Journalist Jamal Khashoggi to Islamic Terrorism
- Trump’s Not Gonna Let a Little Murder Get in the Way of His $110 Billion Arms Deal
- Trump’s Weak Khashoggi Response Tells Dictators They Can Get Away With Murder
- Turkey says it has tapes that prove Post columnist’s murder
- Turkish court orders release of U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson
- With Khashoggi Believed Killed, Ethics Watchdog Says: We Must Ask If Trump’s Silence “Being Dictated by His Business Interests” With Saudis
- Ben Rhodes: Saudi message is that no critic of MBS is safe anywhere in the world. Trump message is that America – and by extension the priceless values we stand for – are for sale.
- Bill Browder: If this audio and video recording exist, this would be a game changer in terms of giving mutiple governments confidence to invoke Magnitsky sanctions against Saudi officials responsible for this grisly murder
- Countercheckist: No one should be surprised that the wannabe Mussolini in the WH doesn’t care that a Saudi journalist was murdered by his own govt. Kushner’s trips to Saudi Arabia and lack of USAMB to the country is pretty self explanatory as to why tRUmp looks the other way… *hint*
- Donald Trump Only Cares About His Family’s Money and Not National Security or Presumed Killed Saudi Journalist, Says Joe Scarborough
- One Company Isn’t Distancing Itself from Saudi Arabia: The WWE
- Rouge Senior White House Advisor: Saudi Arabia buys $100’s of billions of US arms. *No one* – and especially not Trump – is going to do a damn thing about them. And SA knows it. Want change? Stop voting for corporatist, pro-military imperialists — on either side.
- Senators Urge WWE to ‘Pause’ Upcoming Saudi Arabia Event
- Tapper: Trump harder on Taylor Swift than Saudis
- Trudeau says Canada will maintain human rights pressure on Saudis
- Trump hasn’t condemned Saudis for journalist’s death. They’ve long supported his businesses.
- What is the Global Magnitsky Act, and why are U.S. senators invoking this on Saudi Arabia?
COHEN, NEW YORK, AND THE OTHER LAWSUITS
SCOTUS & #METOO
- Brett Kavanaugh should face Congressional investigation, majority of Americans say: poll
- Voters in competitive states prefer candidates who opposed Kavanaugh, poll finds
- Three Plans for Saving Voters From a Right-Wing Activist Supreme Court
- ‘This Is Pathetic’: Progressives Furious as Schumer Rubber Stamps 15 More Right-Wing Judges for Trump
- Democrats agree to confirm 15 of Trump’s judicial picks to have time to go campaign
TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET
- The Trump Rally: A Play in Three Acts
- Trump says single-payer ends Medicare “as we know it.” That might not be a bad thing.
- Trump’s effort to rig the Census is a deepening scandal
TRAITOR TOTS
- Bishop Talbert Swan: Let’s be clear, I think Kanye put on a minstrel show but you liberals need to fall back and stop tripping about “our White House“ being desecrated because he used profanity. Don’t act like Clinton didn’t get his freak on right on top of the resolute desk.
- T.I. ‘Ashamed to Be Associated’ with Kanye West After Bizarre White House Meeting: ‘I’m Done’
- Trump Meets with Kanye West During a Hurricane After Slamming Obama for Doing the Same Thing
- White House Aides ‘Hugely Embarrassed’ By Trump’s Lunch With Kanye: NYT Reporter
FIGHTING BACK
- Inside The Covert Group Of Lawyers Working To Fight The “Chilling Effect” Of Trump’s Abortion Policy
- Portman calls for action at Hollywood women’s luncheon
- Prince’s estate is asking Donald Trump to ‘cease all use’ of his music at his rallies
- Pro-privacy search engine DuckDuckGo hits 30M daily searches, up 50% in a year
- My Private Oval Office Press Conference With Donald Trump
- DoNotPay App Lets You Sue People Or Companies With Just A Few Taps
- Members of Prince’s estate tell Trump to stop playing his music at rallies
- Ralph Nader: Donald Trump is ‘a clear and imminent danger’ to the world
- Warren On ‘Arrogant Woman’ Jab: ‘McConnell Can’t Shut Me Up,’ Neither Can Kelly
- Why is the mob angry? Because Trump is ripping us apart with bigotry and hatred.
IMMIGRATION
- The people orchestrating this policy should be in The Hague
- Stephen Miller’s third grade teacher who said he ate glue as a kid has been suspended
- Chicago sues Trump admin for withholding police funding over sanctuary city policies
COLD WAR 2.0
- Exclusive: Five Eyes intelligence alliance builds coalition to counter China | Article [AMP] | Reuters
- Hackers stole millions of Facebook users’ highly sensitive data — and the FBI has asked it not to say who might be behind it
- Russia hits a snag in developing a hypersonic weapon – after Putin said it was already in production
#NEVERAGAIN
- GOP CT House Candidate Resigns Over Parkland Survivor ‘Can Burn In Hell’ Remark
- The government is finally tracking school shootings. The numbers are alarming.
THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE
- Trump Jr. Boosts Smear Tying Missing Journalist Jamal Khashoggi to Islamic Terrorism
- Tapper: Trump harder on Taylor Swift than Saudis
- Facebook has lost 30% of its value since July
- Facebook Accused of ‘Full-Frontal Suppression of Dissent’ After Independent Media Swept Up in Mass Purge
- YouTube’s secret life as an engine for right-wing radicalization
- The Myth of the Kindly General Lee – The Atlantic
- Anderson Cooper Offered a Stunning Reminder of Where Our President’s Attention Isn’t
WHITE HOUSE CHAOS
- John Kelly Called Elizabeth Warren An “Impolite Arrogant Woman” In An Email
- John Kelly reportedly got into a ‘physical altercation’ with a Chinese official over the nuclear football and wanted an apology under the US flag
- Melania Trump says President Trump’s alleged affairs are ‘not concern and focus of mine
TRADE WAR AND ECONOMY
The good times President Trump brought to the stock market may be ending.
The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index is down nearly 7 percent from its peak in late September, and the Nasdaq index, which includes many hot technology stocks, has fallen nearly 10 percent from its high.
Doubts appear to be overwhelming investors’ bullishness. They are concerned that Mr. Trump’s bellicose trade policy will disrupt corporate America’s supply chains and push up costs. Mr. Trump’s tax cuts have contributed to a ballooning fiscal deficit. Borrowing costs have also risen this year, which could dampen investment.
“Donald Trump has made uncertainty great again,” said David Rosenberg, chief economist of Gluskin Sheff. “His policies are doing more harm than good.”
The market reaction is a stark reversal. Investors had piled into stocks with abandon for much of Mr. Trump’s presidency. Taxes and regulations were being slashed, earnings were surging and the United States economy was performing better than many of its rivals. The S.&P. 500 is up 28 percent since Election Day 2016.
Crucially, to investors, it is not clear when the threats to the stock market will lift. But until they do, stocks could remain weak.
- Under Scott Walker, Wisconsin Lost 150 Manufacturing Plants: That’s the 12th Worst State Record in Nation
- US farmers relieved new NAFTA looks a lot like old NAFTA
- Second Major Coal Company Declares Bankruptcy During Trump Presidency
- China’s trade surplus with the U.S. hit a record $34.1 billion in September amid trade war
- Treasury Secretary Mnuchin isn’t worried about China dumping Treasurys: ‘There’ll be other buyers’
- Experts worry strong economy has nowhere to go but down
GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD
- Mike Pence’s wife is campaigning for one of the most anti-LGBTQ & sexist Republicans
- Punishing women with the death penalty would cut abortions, Idaho Republican candidate says
- Republicans worry about a new wave. This one’s green.
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
- U.S. border ban on Canadian cannabis workers lifted
- An Atheist Charity is Suing the IRS After Having Its Tax Exemption Revoked
PRIESTS
ENVIRONMENT
- Billionaires Are the Leading Cause of Climate Change
- Michael now one of four worst hurricanes ever to strike U.S.
- ‘The Guy Who Defended Company That Caused Worst Oil Spill in US History’ Just Confirmed to Head DOJ’s Environmental Division
- ‘I wasn’t going anywhere’: On land of former slaves, a sturdy home gives shelter from the storm
- 5 Virginia fatalities bring storm’s death toll to at least 11
- E.P.A. to Disband a Key Scientific Review Panel on Air Pollution
- Republicans worry about a new wave. This one’s green.
ELECTION 2018
- Nathan H. Rubin: Indiana purged 460k voters. Georgia is freezing 50k newly registered Black voters North Dakota is disenfranchising thousands of Native Americans Florida’s voter registration site went down two days before the deadline (and they never fixed it). Republicans👏cheat👏to👏win.
- Who’s Funding All Those Beto O’Rourke Attack Ads? Meet Ted Cruz’s Billionaires Club
- Beto O’Rourke registers voter after reading about him in the Guardian
- Beto O’Rourke raised more than $38 million in the third quarter — more than three times Ted Cruz’s haul
- Beto O’Rourke raises $38 million in 3rd quarter
- ‘We’ve never seen anything like this’: GOP overwhelmed by Democratic cash
- Analysis | Georgia’s held-up voter registrations reinforce black Americans’ fears about voting rights
- Fake Communists Booted From Arizona GOP After Donation Stunt
- Georgia’s Brian Kemp Urged to Resign Over Black Voter Suppression Allegations
- Report: Indiana Has Cancelled The Voter Registrations Of 469,000 Voters
- Republican pair apparently pose as communists to make Democratic donation
- Republicans Have a Secret Weapon in the Midterms: Massive Voter Suppression
- The Georgia Voter Suppression Story Is Not Going Away
- John Fugelsang: Gerrymandering = cheating Russia hacks = cheating Using stolen emails = cheating Merrick Garland = cheating 7% of Kavanaugh records = cheating Voter ID laws = cheating Slaveowners’ electoral college = cheating Kemp keeps 53k (70% black) GA ppl from voting = weapons-grade cheating
- Could 2020 be celeb vs. celeb? Democrats weigh outside-the-box options.
- Vermont legislator quits after racial harassment
- What stands in the way of Native American voters? | Center for Public Integrity
- Opinion | Democracy in Danger in Georgia
- Poll: Republican Kemp and Democrat Abrams statistically tied in Georgia governor race
- Taylor Swift and Rihanna told young people to register. They’re doing it, but are they going to actually vote?
- Taylor Swift’s Fans Are All Grown Up, And We’re Headed To The Polls
- Two AZ GOPers Posed As Communists To Make Damaging Contribution To Dem
- The lessons after threats drive a black legislator to quit
PROGRESS IS PROGRESS
- Two decades after Matthew Shepard’s death, 20 states still don’t consider attacks on LGBTQ people as hate crimes
- Arizona Could Be a Case Study for Turning Teacher Protest Into Power
RUMOR MILL
Gather ’round, it’s story time! 2 months before starting my current position I came across a data breach involving a PR firm named 720 Strategies. It contained proof of astroturfing efforts they had engaged in on behalf of bigname clients (masquerading as “grassroots campaigns”),
After identifying the likely origin of the data, I did the right thing and notified 720 Strategies of the exposure. At that point though, all I knew for sure was that the exposed backups had a great deal of apparent login credentials. Even the keys to their named “castle” server.
After receiving a suspiciously hostile, yet follow-up phone call from 720’s counsel (an attorney from the firm of Akin Gump), it occurred to me that 720 probably had something to hide and, considering the business they are in, it would probably be best to more-thoroughly review.
I’ll leave you with the two attached images. The first is a letter from 720’s attorney that I received (in which I have mercifully redacted her name). The second image is the response I emailed back to her. You’ll probably wonder what is blacked out near the end of my response.
All you need to know about that particular line is two things: 1. I never heard back from the Akin Gump attorney. 2. That redacted line has borne fruit.
- 911corlebra777: Heh heh heh. The FVEY Alliance has been busy indeed. Germany and Japan, amoung others, have been fully read in on China & Russia . Trump is fully boxed in 🙂
- Sara Danner Dukic: Short thread. And note that the woman pictured is Roman Abramovich’s wife. That’s right—the one living in Oleg Deripaska’s mansion. You know, the guy Manafort owed $ to? Kanye is an op. To distract from Alfa Bank, yesterday’s sentencing, and all the dead Russians.
- Lincoln’s Bible: I’m going to show you exactly whose strategy this Kanye thing is. At some point, what is being spun about those two as either ridiculous or “hidden genius” or “secret moderating force” needs to be called out for what it is: corruption. Oh, & I can find those pics that quick because I know what to look for. Because I once knew that social circle. It is tight, and fed by Russian mobligarch connections, money, & yachts.
- Lincoln’s Bible: I’ve been telling you… the whole Kanye thing is a Jarvanka brain child. They are all in the same, old social circle. Kanye married into it. This is the Malibu mobligarch yacht crew. And stupid Halloween party crew. And VIP event ticket crew. And SV get-rich-quick crew. Really.
- The Rosenbergs & The Trumps: A Russia Story – Greg Olear – Medium
That’s it for Friday. This was a busy last couple days, and I should be back to normal posting by Tuesday.
Thank you, and have a good one.
“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”
– Katy Tur
None of this is Normal 
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