Thursday, December 27, 2018
THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION
WASHINGTON – A mobile phone traced to President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen briefly sent signals ricocheting off cell towers in the Prague area in late summer 2016, at the height of the presidential campaign, leaving an electronic record to support claims that Cohen met secretly there with Russian officials, four people with knowledge of the matter say.
During the same period of late August or early September, electronic eavesdropping by an Eastern European intelligence agency picked up a conversation among Russians, one of whom remarked that Cohen was in Prague, two people familiar with the incident said.
…
Both of the newly surfaced foreign electronic intelligence intercepts were shared with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, people familiar with the matter said. Mueller is investigating Russia’s 2016 election interference and whether Trump’s campaign colluded in the scheme. Mueller also is examining whether Trump has obstructed the sweeping inquiry.
McClatchy reported in April 2018 that Mueller had obtained evidence Cohen traveled to Prague from Germany in late August or early September of 2016, but it could not be learned how that information was gleaned.
If the foreign intelligence intercepts are accurate, the big questions now are whether Cohen has acknowledged to investigators that a meeting in Prague occurred, informed them what transpired and revealed what, if anything, he told Trump about it.
Four people spoke with McClatchy on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of information shared by their foreign intelligence connections. Each obtained their information independently from foreign intelligence connections.
The story they’re talking about was released on Daily Check-In 04/13/2018, but the new part is McClatchy has more sources and each source is independent of one another. So they’ve got four spooks saying that an Eastern European Nation **coughRomanianscough** were listening to the Russians and caught them talking about meeting with Michael Cohen. Even better, one of Cohen’s phones was caught pinging a cell tower in a suburb of Prague in 2016.
Here’s the thing with cell phone towers. If your phone has even the slightest amount of battery charge, it’s going to try to get a signal. It will send a request out to any nearby cell phone towers, and if one is available, it will respond with a time to return the message. Since we’re dealing with electricity and the speed of light, this happens in milliseconds. If there’s only one tower in range, there will be a record saying the phone is a certain time away, which can be calculated to a distance pretty easily, but all that means is that the phone is a certain distance from one tower. Most places, like a major city like Prague, will have multiple towers for the phone to ping. When multiple distances from known points are calculated together, that is called triangulation. The triangulation is usually accurate to within 50 feet. It’s not enough to find it in your apartment, but accurate enough to find what building it’s in. We’re not even talking about GPS yet, either.
The phone, the tower, and the provider all have a record of this transaction.
I wonder who he supposedly met.
It said Konstantin Kosachev, a longtime member of the Russian Senate and chairman of the Federation Council’s Foreign Affairs Committee, “facilitated” the gathering.
- From August 6: Sen. Rand Paul goes to Moscow and invites Russians to Washington in unofficial bid to boost ties (Daily Check-In 08/06/2018)
Wow. The same person that Rand Paul met on behalf of the Russian Government also worked on the Cohen Prague meeting. What a coinkidink.
Jan Neumann, the assumed name of a former Russian intelligence officer who defected to the United States years ago, said that Cohen’s electronic cell tower trail appears to reflect sloppy “tradecraft.”
“You can monitor and control cell phones in Europe same as you do it here in US,” Neumann told McClatchy. “As long as the battery is physically located in the phone, even when it’s turned off, the mobile phone’s approximate location can be detected and tracked. Any attempt to use an app, to get mail, send texts, connect to a Wifi network, your phone and your location will be detected.”
“It would not be very professional to take your phone to a secret meeting,” said Neumann, who has consulted for the U.S. intelligence community. In this case, he said, “it would be more logical to leave it turned on and connected to a WIFI network in a hotel in Germany.”
It was during the same late August-early September time span in 2016 that an Eastern European intelligence agency eavesdropped on a conversation in which a Russian official advised another that Cohen was in Prague, two of the sources said.
The sources could not definitively pin down the date or dates that the intelligence indicated Cohen was in the vicinity of Prague. Cohen has insisted that he was in Southern California with his son from Aug. 23-29, 2016, but his public alibis have not been so airtight as to preclude flights to and from Europe during the relevant period.
- Cell Phone Records Show Michael Cohen Was Near Prague When Alleged Meeting with Russia Took Place – Electronic eavesdropping also recorded a phone call between Russians discussing the Trump lawyer’s visit to the city
- Cell signal puts Cohen outside Prague around time of purported Russian meeting
- Report: Foreign Intel Agencies Placed Michael Cohen’s Cell Phone Near Prague
- Report: Michael Cohen’s cell phone signal puts him near Prague around time of alleged meeting with Russians
- Evidence corroborating a key dossier allegation against Michael Cohen is stacking up
- Scott Stedman: Two sources tell me that at least one major news org (perhaps two) have confirmation of the Cohen/Prague trip and are working on reports.
- Scott Stedman: On Cohen
-McClatchy, citing 4 sources, says Cohen was in Prague-area in Summer 2016 -2 sources tell me that another major news org has confirmation. -Cohen tweets he has never been to Prague -WSJ says Cohen told them he went to Prague in 2001.
Greg Gordon of McClatchy told a colleague of mine 10 days ago, “We publish what we have nailed down to an editor’s satisfaction…I can’t help noting that I was a Pulitzer finalist and also contributed to our Pulitzer Prize-winning work on the Panama Papers three years ago.”
McClatchy has updated their story to include Cohen’s recent denials. Privately to me, a source tells me that they “absolutely” stand by the story.
This is one of the last major pieces from the Steele Dossier that hasn’t been completely confirmed yet, along with the Rosneft sale and the Pee tape. Even though we’ve seen things pointing to those parts, we haven’t gotten hard confirmation from the mainstream press yet.
Yet.
I guess you could say that we’re making… Prague-ress on this story?
How about that this story… Czech’s out?
The Pun Jar is now at $250.
- Memorandum in Opposition
- Brad Heath: Also, apparently, among the millions of pages of records Mueller’s has collected on Russian election interference is a “nude selfie.”
- Robert Mueller Seized Russian Trolls’ ‘Nude Selfies’
Most likely, this is a nude selfie of the troll, but it might be worse. Much worse. Like Chris Christie or Sam Clovis naked worse.
- Jerome Corsi says Mueller team is “harassing” him and his family
- Giuliani: Trump won’t give Mueller any more written answers
- Here Is A Convicted Russian Spy In A Series Of Photos With Prominent Republicans
- Maria Butina’s ‘Red Sparrow’ Makeover Revealed on Russian TV
- Julia Davis: Russian state TV is anticipating upcoming revelations of a sexual nature. State TV host about Butina’s attempted infiltration of the GOP: “What if her intentions were purely sexual? Some people like to sleep with famous athletes and some with politicians.”
- Russia appears to target US power grid
- Russia Picked Donald Trump And Ran Him For President, Former Israeli Intelligence Officer Says
SHUTDOWN: DAY 6
- Prolonged standoff seems possible as shutdown hits Day 6
- Donald Trump Approval Rating Equals All-Time Low As Americans Blame Him For Government Shutdown: Poll
- Exploiting shutdown, Trump’s lawyers try to delay emoluments case
- Federal judge denies Justice Dept. request to delay deadlines in asylum ban case due to shutdown
- Federal Workers Express Outrage As Trump Shutdown Continues – Rantt
- Government workers are sharing their #shutdownstories on social media. They’re grim.
- More Americans blame Trump for government shutdown: Reuters/Ipsos poll
- Shutdown set to extend into new year after Congress punts on budget, border votes
- Tea Pain: According to Trump, those effected by the shutdown would rather have a wall than a paycheck, except the people effected by the shutdown are all Democrats and don’t want a wall at all. Politics is hard.
- The Government May Be Shut Down, But Taxpayers Are Footing The Bill For Mar-a-Lago Party Tents
- Trump now claims most furloughed workers ‘are Democrats’
- Trump Administration Suggests Furloughed Workers Do Chores for Landlords to Help Pay Rent
- Walt Shaub: Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner traveling during the Trump shutdown means Secret Service agents who are not currently receiving paychecks missed Christmas with their families so they could escort wealthy nepotists with no conception of public service.
- Stop treating federal employees like bargaining chips, Mr. President
COHEN, NEW YORK, AND THE OTHER LAWSUITS
- Exploiting shutdown, Trump’s lawyers try to delay emoluments case
- Trump lawyers, citing shutdown, ask court for delay in emoluments case
- ‘Self-Funded’ Trump Now Propped Up by Super PAC Megadonors: Ultrawealthy Donors Plow Millions Into Trump’s Political Operation, Despite Previous Promises
- The Trump Organization Is Not the Sitting President | emptywheel
- Experts: Trump Foundation Probe Likely to Implicate Trump’s Business Empire
- Probe of Trump’s charity could crash ‘like a Mack Truck’ into his real estate empire
TRADE WAR AND ECONOMY
- Trump’s white male supporters may lose their food stamps
- U.S. markets stumble after Wednesday’s big rebound as political uncertainty spurs volatility
- U.S. Shale’s Blows Leave Middle East Oil Producers Staggering
- Dow closes more than 250 points higher in wild session, erases 600-point drop
- Dow drops 400 points at the open after historic 1,000-point surge
- JCPenney stock is now 97 cents a share
COLD WAR 2.0
- Russian Search Engine and Facebook Align. What Could Go Wrong? – ClearanceJobs
- Bill Browder: This is unbelievable (if true). Facebook and Russian government controlled Yandex have a joint venture to share information. That means the Russian government could find out nearly anything about a Facebook user. Thank God I never used Facebook
- German army ‘could recruit EU citizens’
- John Schindler: It’s worth a shot. This model worked well before. On grounds of cultural inclusion, Berlin can call the Bundeswehr unit made up of Nordic volunteers Wiking, the French unit Charlemagne, maybe have a unit of Bosnians named after a Balkan knife.
- U.S. forces will stay in Iraq and could reenter Syria from there, Trump says
- Interpol’s ‘red notices’ are being abused. One ruined my life.
- An unnatural disaster
TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET A.K.A. INDIVIDUAL-1
- The Government May Be Shut Down, But Taxpayers Are Footing The Bill For Mar-a-Lago Party Tents
- Trump claims without evidence that ‘most of the people not getting paid’ in partial government shutdown are Democrats
- Trump: ‘Most of the people not getting paid’ in shutdown are Democrats
- Trump’s approval rating drops to Charlottesville levels during shutdown
- Trump apparently didn’t read Mattis’ resignation letter until cable news made a big deal of it
- Trump bragged to service members in Iraq about a 10 percent raise they haven’t been given
- Trump values unpredictability. He also values rising markets. He can’t have both.
- Trump wrong on size and timing of military pay increases
- Trump’s Iraq visit prompts concern over operational security
- CNN: Trump signing MAGA hats for troops may have violated Pentagon rules
- Donald Trump’s secret flight to Iraq to visit troops tracked online by aircraft spotters
- Trump flubs another routine presidential task
- Trump Put U.S. Troops In a ‘Very Bad Position’ By Politicizing His Iraq Visit, Retired General Says
- Fox News Hits Trump for Turning Troop Visit Into ‘Campaign Rally’
- Fox’s Hume, former CNN anchor O’Brien exchange blows on Twitter over Trump Iraq visit
- Iraqi lawmakers demand US withdrawal after Trump visit
- Iraqi Leaders Condemn Trump’s Surprise Visit as ‘Flagrant and Clear Violation of Diplomatic Norms’
- ‘Embarrassing’ and ‘entirely inappropriate’: One of the most highly decorated former US Army generals blasts Trump’s visit with US troops in Iraq
- Trump Tweet Reveals Covert U.S. Navy SEAL Deployment
- Trump Accidentally Exposes the Location, Identities of U.S. Navy Seal Team Five on Twitter
- Trump ‘accidentally reveals location and identities of US Navy Seals in Iraq’
- Angry White House Staffer: Guys: Chill with the “OMG Trump revealed covert SEALs thing.” He didn’t. It’s fine. Team 5 is a white (not classified) unit, whose department with Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Iraq (CJSOTF-I) is mostly-public knowledge. We can — and maybe should — discuss the wisdom (or lack thereof) in the comms team posting the video the way they did, but this isn’t going to directly harm any troops or ruin any careers. I’m more irritated by the blatant lie about pay and the unnecessary full kit photo op.
TRAITOR TOTS
Whitaker
- ‘Un-American Act’: Emails Describe Damaging Impact of ‘Fraud’ Firm Advised by Matthew Whitaker
- Read Desperate Emails From People Scammed by A.G. Matt Whitaker’s Business Associates
- The Justice Department deserves better than these guys
Mercer
- Billionaire donor Robert Mercer cuts back on GOP support after being scrutinized for backing Trump
- Robert Mercer Cuts Political Spending After Unwelcome Turn in Spotlight
FIGHTING BACK
- George Takei: I’ll bet we’ll soon learn Trump sent his fixer Michael Cohen to Prague to meet Russians and reward hackers of the Dems’ servers, just like the Steele Dossier said. Then Trump and Cohen denied it to the world, scoffed at reports. But the truth is, they were knee deep in this shit.
- Eugene Gu, MD: Fred Trump found not one but two separate doctors willing to lie about fake bone spurs and commit fraud to get Donald J. Trump out of the military draft. That says a lot about how doctors cater to the rich and powerful as much as it does about Trump being a silver spoon coward.
- Angry White House Staffer: Is anyone *actually* surprised that 5 deferment Donnie doesn’t really have bone spurs?
- Michelle Obama named America’s most admired woman in new poll
- Michelle Obama voted most admired woman, bumps Hillary Clinton: Gallup
- Obama Tops Trump as America’s Most Admired Person
- Fact check: Trump brags to troops about 10 percent pay raise he didn’t actually give them
- #UNFIT: Malignant Narcissism comes to Washington D.C.
- 18 Numbers That Explain Trump’s 2018
- The Inevitability of Impeachment
RIGHT WING TERRORISM & WHITE NATIONALISM
- Molly McKew: Patrushev, head of Russian Sec Council/fmr FSB dir, gave interview yesterday explaining how “Russophobia” is linked to neo-Nazism; US & Ukraine are working together to build a neo-Nazi alliance across Europe; & that US empowered Hitler 🙄Everyday is good day to rewrite history!
- Jemele Hill says calling Trump a white supremacist is like ‘saying water is wet’
- How white nationalists fooled the media about Florida shooter
- History or hatred? Selling Hitler’s belongings and Nazi artifacts stirs a backlash.
- ‘It’s very hard to be a Jew here’: After moving to the South to help keep Judaism alive there, a couple has second thoughts
SCOTUS & COURTS
#METOO & WOMEN’S RIGHTS
- Meet the seven new women — five Democrats and two Republicans — who will join the Utah Legislature in January
- ‘Heartbeat’ bill: Kasich veto of abortion bill survives – by one vote
IMMIGRATION
- Asylum Seeker’s Three-Year Detention Undermines U.S. Ideals, Judge Says
- After 2nd child dies in U.S. custody, Nielsen expands medical screenings, will head to border
- ‘Beyond Repulsive’: Outrage After Trump DHS Secretary Blames ‘Parents’ and ‘Open Borders’ Advocates for Deaths of Children in US Custody
- Federal judge denies Justice Dept. request to delay deadlines in asylum ban case due to shutdown
- Migrant Detention Center Conditions Are ‘Subhuman,’ ‘Like an Episode of Locked Up Abroad,’ Says Democratic Congressman
- Trump administration says it will keep a tent city holding more than 2,000 migrant teenagers open through early 2019
- $800 Million in Taxpayer Money Went to Private Prisons Where Migrants Work for Pennies
- Most Americans would rather spend the $5 billion Trump is demanding for the border wall on infrastructure, education, or healthcare
- Survey shows most Americans agree with Ocasio-Cortez: $5 billion should be spent on healthcare or education, not Trump’s border wall.
- Feinstein asks for hearing after deaths of two children in CBP custody
- When death awaits deported asylum seekers
- Why the Hell Are We Locking Up Migrant Kids at All?
#NEVERAGAIN
- Utah student’s 911 calls asked police to stop her harasser. Days later she was murdered
- Shannon Watts: Mostly male lawmakers in Utah passed laws that allow guns on campus, that don’t require civilians to report lost and stolen firearms, that make it easy for stalkers and abusers to get guns without a background check. Yet we wonder why our mothers, daughters and sisters are dying.
- Gun Owners of America sues Trump admin over unconstitutional banning of bump stocks
- Time is running out for federally funded mental-health clinics
- Hopkins researchers to launch free online class focused on gun violence prevention
- Tears, desperate texts, farewell letters: The trauma of school lockdowns
FIXING THE INTERNET
- Net neutrality battle heads to court in 2019
- Get Ready for a Privacy Law Showdown in 2019
- NFL playoff games could go dark on Verizon and Spectrum thanks to disputes with big media companies
THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE
- Maria Butina’s ‘Red Sparrow’ Makeover Revealed on Russian TV
- Julia Davis: Russian state TV is anticipating upcoming revelations of a sexual nature. State TV host about Butina’s attempted infiltration of the GOP: “What if her intentions were purely sexual? Some people like to sleep with famous athletes and some with politicians.”
- An Interview with UN Special Rapporteur David Kaye
- Caroline Orr: Trump is the “worst” perpetrator of misinformation on the internet, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression & Opinion David Kaye said in a new interview published today. THREAD
- Trump is the “worst” perpetrator of misinformation on the internet, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression & Opinion David Kaye said in a new interview published today.
- Fox News host Sean Hannity has seen his ratings fall as buddy Donald Trump’s problems have increased
STUDENT ISSUES
GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD
- The Republican Party as Presently Constituted Must Be Torn Down to Its Foundations. The Planet Depends on It.
- Opinion | How low will Trump go before Republicans flee?
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
- Spacey’s ‘Sexual Assault’ Accuser Filmed Encounter, Police Report Says
- He once offered rides on the ‘deportation bus.’ Now he’s had to turn himself in on fraud charges
PRIESTS & RELIGION
ENVIRONMENT & SCIENCE
- There’s a huge and hidden migration in North America — of dragonflies
- 2018 will be the first year with no violent tornadoes in the United States
- Boyhood at 12: Navigating a social ecosystem that prizes alpha males over quirky kids
- Chest binding can lead to chronic pain. This genderqueer massage therapist wants to help.
- Elon Musk: This is why I push myself to the brink
- Indonesia raises alert level as volcanic eruptions intensify
- Report on President’s Environmental Record So Far ‘Reminds Us That Trump Soap Opera Has Dire Real-World Consequences’
- The cost of natural disasters this year: $155 billion
ELECTIONS
- NEW: FEC filings released today reveal Cindy-Hyde Smith is NOT honoring requests from corporations for refunds of their campaign contributions. Union Pacific, Boston Scientific, Walmart, Leidos, AT&T, Pfizer, Ernst & Young, Facebook and Walgreens did not get their money back
- Two entities, MLB and Amgen, were able to reverse their contributions but only by canceling their checks. (Cattlemen’s Association refund appears unrelated.)
- Hyde-Smith did return money from the majority owner of the San Francisco Giants and his wife. (They are major GOP donors so perhaps there was pressure from above.) She also returned 5K to Peter Zieve after a http://Popular.infothat showed he was an outspoken racist
- Hyde-Smith is not legally obligated to return the money, but it may make it harder for her to raise money in the future. It’s like a clothing store that stops accepting returns. She’s strapped for cash. Only about 60K on hand and another election in 2020.
- I’ll be continuing to closely monitor this story in 2019. We’ll see who donates when they think no one is watching. To support the independent journalism that forced these companies to repudiate Hyde-Smith, please subscribe to my newsletter.
- California maneuvers to make bigger impact in 2020 election
- Farmers and car dealers break the law when they lie to make a sale. Why not politicians?
- What campaign contributions tell us about the partisanship of government employees
- Alabama attorney general probes disinformation that targeted Roy Moore’s Senate bid, saying he’s worried tight race was affected
THINKING AHEAD
PROGRESS IS PROGRESS
- ‘Vice’ looks back at how Dick Cheney’s daughter Mary shaped his views on same-sex marriage
- Airlines Will Begin Reporting How Often they Break Wheelchairs, Thanks to Tammy Duckworth
IN OTHER NEWS…
- “Tombstone” 25 years later: Revisiting the cast of the surprise western hit
- A dad longed to spend Christmas with his flight attendant daughter. He found a clever way.
- Opinion | Our favorite Washington Post op-eds of 2018
- The remarkable — and secret — first presidential visit to troops fighting overseas
RUMOR MILL
- John Schindler: SIGINT reflections (and NSA Third Party) #FTW
- Ming: Ming really icthing to tell em how,why and by who they were duped…….But Im not. Ming laugh and laugh
- 911corlebra777: This is the whole enchilada right here. Especially given the @McClatchyDC story . If discussions occurred about payments to hackers and how to hide those payments, it would constitute a conspiracy by a GROUP, overseen by Trump, to commit treason
- Louise Mensch: Exactly as I reported several months ago: Michael Cohen’s cell phone was picked up in Prague. Now confirmed by @McClatchyDC. 🙂
- John Schindler: REMINDER: “The Prague meeting is more than the vaunted ‘smoking gun.’ It would constitute proof of Trump’s collusion with the Kremlin to secure his election, something most Americans would fairly label treason.” AHEM…BIG HINT I dropped here ===> “Whatever the truth is, Team Mueller knows what Cohen has told them, and they have enough intelligence from myriad sources, some of them highly classified, to determine whether Cohen’s account is factual.”
- Countercheckist: “There are seasons in every country when noise and impudence pass current for worth; and in popular commotions especially, the clamors of interested and factious men are often mistaken for patriotism.“ — Alexander Hamilton
- Countercheckist: (Referring to “TheNation.Com”). DEZA ALERT: A Self-admitted asset sent to illegally manipulate our elections, is not a “citizen diplomat.” They even managed to fit in “Russophobia.” Almost like RT wrote it themselves… The article above shouldn’t surprise anyone… This isn’t new or less subtle Kremlin trolling from them.
- Countercheckist: Boy, if ppl are so excited about tower pings, wait until #TeamTreason’s actual messages come out. Especially the “encrypted” ones. Cc @DonaldJTrumpJr 🙂
- Ming: Looks like cohen was afraid of the putin and RUS mob in NY. Oh well, that horse has left the barn now….
- Bill Prady: Pay attention. Trump’s trip to visit troops is cover so he can get to Florida. He needs to get to Mar-a-Lago for NYE. They sold tickets to a party and promised access to the president.
That’s it for Thursday. I’m planning on doing a retrospective piece this weekend along with Friday’s Check-In. As far as next week, I’d like to not carry anything across the year change, so the weekend and Monday will be one post, then New Year’s Day for another.
There’s also some housecleaning I need to do with this site. I’d like to get that done as well.
Thank you, and have a good one.
“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”
– Katy Tur
None of this is Normal 
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