Friday, December 28, 2018
THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION
- The Mueller investigation now involves a nude selfie
- Giuliani struggles to keep his story straight on Mueller cooperation
- Steven Beschloss: What if Michael Cohen is denying he went to Prague or the Czech Republic because he knows that would flag to Trump & his co-conspirators that the gig is up? What if that was a deal w/ Mueller so that Mueller can hold off Trump’s final freak out until he’s ready to lower the boom?
- Scott Stedman: Cohen’s Italy alibi is officially blown: Scott Stedman added, @StevieVanZandt Haha not exactly. Ran into him in the courtyard of our hotel in Rome. He wanted me to meet his wife. Which I did. Very nice. That was it. We’ve never gone anywhere together.
- House Democrats scooping up staff, lawyers to power Trump investigations
- Trump-Russia: Republican probe of alleged FBI bias ends ‘with a whimper’
- Could Trump’s Relationship With Deutsche Bank Lead To Money Laundering Charges? Congress May Conduct Parallel Probe To Mueller Investigation
- Trump transition team under Mueller’s microscope
COHEN, NEW YORK, AND THE OTHER LAWSUITS
- Former Federal Prosecutor: Donald Trump Jr. Needs to Be ‘Worried’ About Michael Cohen’s Guilty Pleas
- Trump’s lawyers are using the government shutdown to delay emoluments lawsuit
- New Jersey AG has obtained evidence of possible crimes at Trump’s golf club — and Mueller, FBI are involved in probe – NY Daily News
New Jersey prosecutors have collected evidence that supervisors at President Trump’s Garden State golf club may have committed federal immigration crimes — and the FBI as well as special counsel Robert Mueller have played part in the inquiry, the Daily News has learned.
Anibal Romero, a Newark attorney who represents several undocumented immigrants who used to work at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, said Friday he recently met with investigators from the state attorney general’s office and handed over fraudulent green cards and Social Security numbers that management at the club allegedly procured and gave his clients, Victorina Morales and Sandra Diaz.
…
Before he met with the state prosecutors, Romero said he reached out to Mueller’s office because, while he wanted to contact federal authorities, he was concerned about looping in the Justice Department, which was headed by Jeff Sessions at the time.
“I wasn’t sure, one, if they’d take me seriously and, two, if this could backfire on my clients,” Romero told The News, referencing the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration agenda.
Mueller’s office, which is separately investigating Trump’s campaign for possible collusion with Russians during the 2016 election, made contact and informed Romero the matter was not within their jurisdiction.
A few weeks later, an FBI agent in New Jersey called Romero.
“He said to me that he had received a referral from Robert Mueller’s office and that he already knew the specifics and that he wanted to meet with me in person,” Romero said.
Romero then met with two agents at a federal office in Branchburg, N.J., and outlined the same evidence he had already given the AG prosecutors. The agents said they would “coordinate” with the AG’s office, according to Romero.
Romero said he’s stayed in touch with the FBI and the attorney general’s office but declined to confirm whether either of the agencies have formally opened investigations.
“I’m confident that federal and state authorities will conduct a complete and thorough investigation,” Romero said.
Remember the story a few weeks ago about Trump’s Bedminster club in New Jersey employing illegal immigrants, and they were provided with fake SSN cards and paperwork by the resort? (Daily Check-In 12/06/2018) It’s another one of those stories that got lost in the shuffle of a crazy day, but the short version is that Trump’s Bedminster golf club and resort hired at least 5 illegal immigrants. To get them on the payroll, the supervisors at the company produced fake paperwork like Social Security Cards for the illegals.
This is… highly illegal. So illegal that the lawyer for the illegal workers went to the New Jersey Attorney General and Bobby Three Sticks. Since this isn’t directly associated to Russia, they said it wasn’t their jurisdiction but did refer it to the FBI New Jersey office.
Nothing like an investigation across multiple sovereignties to raise the holiday spirits.
SHUTDOWN
- Video: CNN’S Don Lemon Shows ‘Priceless’ 2013 Clip of Trump Calling For Obama To Be Fired over Government Shutdown
- CNN’s Don Lemon airs 2013 clip of Trump saying Obama should be ‘fired’ over shutdown
- Senators are getting paid during the government shutdown. Many low-wage contractors aren’t.
- Shutdown could block federal aid to farmers hit by trade war
- Taxpayers Are Subsidizing Mar-a-Lago’s New Year’s Eve Party Despite Trump’s Shutdown
- Trump is keeping the government shut down over an immigration crisis that doesn’t exist
- Trump repeats threat to close southern border amid budget stalemate
- Trump Is Losing the Shutdown Fight in a Rout
- Trump said a shutdown is the president’s fault, and a fireable offense
TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET A.K.A. INDIVIDUAL-1
- Trump: Give Me a Wall or I’ll Engineer a Recession
- Trump Iraq visit: President “boasting about the dangers he’d faced” is “sort of embarrassing,” former general says
- Trump’s visit to Iraq prompts concerns about politicization of military
- President Trump threatens to ‘close Southern Border entirely’ if Democrats don’t fund border wall
FIGHTING BACK
- ‘I Did the Right Thing’: Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf Defends Tipping Off Immigrants Ahead of Ice Raid
- The comical incompetence of President Trump
- Trump Impeachment Is ‘Inescapable’ Says Watergate Journalist, President Is ‘Out Of Control’
- Once again, Democrats have to clean up the GOP’s mess
- Majority in poll want Trump impeached or censured
- The best way to force Trump’s hand? Ignore him.
- ACLU sues government to learn about NSA call records program
RIGHT WING TERRORISM & WHITE NATIONALISM
- White Referee Fired After Forcing Black Wrestler to Cut Dreadlocks
- Wrestler being forced to cut dreadlocks was manifestation of decades of racial desensitization
IMMIGRATION
- ‘I Did the Right Thing’: Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf Defends Tipping Off Immigrants Ahead of Ice Raid
- Trump is keeping the government shut down over an immigration crisis that doesn’t exist
- Trump repeats threat to close southern border amid budget stalemate
- Mollie Tibbetts’ mother took in child of Mexican immigrants after murder suspect’s arrest
- Trump used her slain child to denounce illegal immigration. She chose a different path.
- Migrant Baby Contracted Pneumonia After Five Days in a ‘Freezing’ Holding Cell
- Trump’s border wall was never just about security. It’s meant to remind all Latinos that we’re unwelcome.
COLD WAR 2.0
- Russian Envoy Says Moscow, London Agreed To Partially Restore Diplomatic Missions
- Bill Browder: After U.K. expelled dozens of Russians diplomats for Russia using chemical weapons in Salisbury, the U.K. gov’t is now reportedly allowing Russia to partially restore their diplomatic mission. This is according to Russia. If true, this is appalling
- How Russia’s military intelligence agency became the covert muscle in Putin’s duels with the West
- Syria’s Kurds, Abandoned by U.S., Ask Assad Government for Protection
- U.S. commanders recommend letting Kurdish fighters in Syria keep weapons
#NEVERAGAIN
THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE
- Julia Davis: #Russia’s state TV: Panelist points out that the leading countries of the world are now headed by the politicians with nationalist leanings, mentions Trump. With sarcastic satisfaction, state TV host Evgeny Popov adds: “Putin installed them. It’s all thanks to our interference.”
- How Mark Burnett Resurrected Donald Trump as an Icon of American Success
- Retiring Republican gets real about Fox News: “Sean Hannity yelled fire and [Trump] fell in line”
- Dem lawmaker: Trump lives in ‘delusional world fed by Fox News’
- Doctors say Sarah Sanders isn’t telling the truth
TRADE WAR AND ECONOMY
- What Minimum-Wage Foes Got Wrong About Seattle: An initial study said the increase to $15 would cost workers jobs and hours. That didn’t happen.
- Scott Walker’s parting gift: A corporate welfare deal costing each Wisconsin taxpayer $1,800
- Living paycheck to paycheck is disturbingly common
GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD
- Michigan governor signs bill making ballot drives harder
- This GOP governor wants to throw out a voter-approved constitutional amendment that takes on lobbyists and gerrymandering
- Once again, Democrats have to clean up the GOP’s mess
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
- National Crime Agency – Live-streaming blackmailer who ran child abuse site jailed for eight years
- Wells Fargo is paying $575 million to states to settle fake account claims
PRIESTS & RELIGION
56% of all abortions are by white women. 89% of which consider themselves Christian. Instead of being up in my mentions pretending you give a #%#* about black babies being aborted, you hypocritical evangelicals need to go have a talk with your own wives, daughters & mistresses.
You hypocritical bigots talking about black abortions are the same ones who want to take away healthcare & assistance programs from the Black women you want to have the babies, stereotype them as irresponsible & promiscuous, and label the kids as ‘thugs’ when cops murder them.
All while you erroneously use the ‘immorality’ of Black people to sound your fake moral alarm, you evangelical ‘christians’ are supporting pedophiles, rapists & sexual predators for elected office & think a porn star banging unrepentant racist pathological liar is God‘s anointed.
When it comes to the vile, degenerate profligacy of your morally deficient ‘anointed’ leader in the WH, you evangelical charlatans bend over backwards lowering the standards of moral living to excuse away his malfeasance in the name of grace, which you never offer anyone else.
Evangelicals use ‘Black abortions’ as a racist cudgel to delegitimize Black Lives Matter. They minimize the legitimate grievance of the extra judicial murder of Blacks by police because of abortion, a practice legalized by white Republican judges to benefit white women.
Evangelicals harp on ‘Black abortions’ but turn a blind eye to their GOP heroes like Scott Lloyd, Elliott Broidy, Tim Murphy, & Scott DesJarlais, who push anti abortion legislation while simultaneously knocking up their mistresses/girlfriends and insisting they have abortions.
There is something very wrong with your theological and political ideology when your “pro life“ champion is a POTUS who tried to have his daughter Tiffany aborted and has paid for at least eight other mistresses to have abortions.
ENVIRONMENT & SCIENCE
- Mercury Limits on Coal Plants No Longer ‘Appropriate,’ EPA Says
- Democrats Establish a New House ‘Climate Crisis’ Committee
CONGRESS
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says U.S. Has ‘Allowed Weapons Budget to Explode’ but Can’t ‘Write Laws Properly’
- Americans agree with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, not Trump: Spend money on education, healthcare, not border wall, poll finds
- Hoyer says House will not seat a North Carolina Republican amid questions about integrity of election
- North Carolina elections board dissolves amid fraud investigation
- Democrats Establish a New House ‘Climate Crisis’ Committee
- House Democrats scooping up staff, lawyers to power Trump investigations
RUMOR MILL
- Ming: So, you think GOP only doing onlie harassment and voter suppression? Think again. ie ‘fruitfly malware’ Ming smile.
- FBI solves mystery surrounding 15-year-old Fruitfly Mac malware
This is gonna give me nightmares for a while. Macs are much harder to get into and pwn, but it is possible. The Fruitfly malware took advantage of three elements to get access to a system.
- Users leaving the default functionalities like Back to My Mac open.
- Weak or no passwords
- Most Mac users don’t run antivirus software.
I could go into the specific details and fill a couple papers with the security differences between Windows and MacOS, but the short version is that MacOS s a Unix operating system with a really pretty front end. Because it’s Unix, functionality for different user roles is sandboxed off from each other. This makes standard virus exposure just from visiting a site next to impossible, but like I’ve said before in Voter Rolls – The Easy Target, there’s more than one way into a system.
Most Mac malware infections come from either phishing attacks or trojans. Both require the user doing something stupid. Given a lifetime around computers and their users, I can categorically say the weakest part of any computer security system is the user.
Where Fruitfly differs is that the infector installed it directly on the computer using built-in backdoors for Apple software like Apple File Protocol or Back to My Mac. These programs would default to a set number of ports on the computer. The infector would scan those port numbers (which is actually pretty easy to do) and see what was there. If they came back with the default apps, the infector would try to connect to the Mac. If he hit little or no resistance on the user name and password, he would go in and install his little program buried so deep in the computer that nothing would find it. He’d then use that program to occasionally connect back to his server and upload pics from the target computers.
If the port numbers didn’t have the default apps, he wouldn’t go further. That means that either the apps he needs to use as a backdoor are either offline or moved. If they’re offline, he can’t get in. If they’re changed, then he’s dealing with a power user, and if they’re going to the trouble of changing port numbers, then they probably have a bunch of booby traps and tough passwords.
This also explains why Back to My Mac was discontinued in Mac OS Mojave a few months ago.
What’s Ming getting at? I’m not sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we hear about Republican operatives trying to use similar methods to pwn various devices of Democrats and others.
- Sara Danner Dukic: I promised receipts on the wall guy, and here they are (sorry for the delay – holidays – when you see how long this is, you’ll understand). (Thread)
- Thread by @saradannerdukic: “I promised receipts on the wall guy, and here they are (sorry for the delay – holidays – when you see how long this is, you’ll understand). […]”
Daily Check-In 12/20/2018 first mentioned this story, but Sara breaks down a very peculiar past for Brian Kolfage. This is definitely worth a read, but the main takeaway is that starting in 2011 he went from organizing for Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona to getting caught up in Sheriff Joe’s shenanigans in Maricopa County. Joe Arpaio is “allegedly” mobbed up to his neck, and this Kolfage guy bounced around from Arizona to Ukraine (while Manafort was there) to Florida.
Also, this GoFundMe attracted A LOT of attention from the Russians.
- Countercheckist: A govt of the people is, by its nature, imperfect. Throughout history we’ve always worked to correct our imperfections, even through a civil war. Over the last 20 years, we became obsessed with ideological triumph over betterment; paralyzation over progress. We must do better.
- Tea Pain: Trump’s party has the White House, the Senate and the House and when he can’t accomplish anything, it’s the Democrats fault? Trump’s the guy that strikes out at a bar, then claims it’s because all the women there were lesbians.
This is the part that historians will point out that this is the third shutdown in 2018, and the only times that a shutdown occurred when one party had control of the White House, the Senate, and the House. That’s like an NFL team losing a game to a High School JV team, and accusing the JV team of cheating.
- John Schindler: What about an RIS dacha outside the city? That wouldn’t be in Prague, technically — would it, counselor? Asking for a friend. PS Mueller really does know everything.
- Louise Mensch: Sources said “hotel WiFi” They didn’t say a phone accessed it, they did not specify.
This is once again splitting hairs on the Cohen Prague story, but is worth a deeper look. Louise’s sources said that Cohen’s device accessed the hotel WiFi, but didn’t say if it was a phone, tablet, or laptop. Other sources are saying it was one of his phones that pinged cell phone towers. It’s possible they could both be correct. If Cohen used his laptop at the hotel to check his mail, his phone could independently contact the cell tower. I talked about how that works yesterday. (Daily Check-In 12/27/2018)
- 911corlebra777: For reasons I’ve been requested not to go into, this new acct is indeed the real Gregg Smith, former CEO of Erik Prince’s FrontierServicesGroup. I have independently confirmed his identity. Oh, & by the way, Prince is fully f*cked. Y’all gonna love it
- 911corlebra777: Elliot Broidy so far connects to ; Mikey Cohen=Russia Nader=Erik Prince=China UAE Saudi Arabia China Jho Low 1MDB GOP Why do you think Mueller’s investigation has ended up in the Middle East? Because all the players all intersect in the Persian Gulf
- Gregg Smith: Broidy has flipped. Nader has flipped. Every dirty deed we worked on flowed through the UAE. Shell Companies, Funds transfers, Weapons, Technology, Aircraft, many many vey bad guys. Only good news for any of the clowns is that MBZ has no incentive (yet) to give them up.
There is so much shady shit going on in Dubai and the related area that anyone tied to Erik Prince should be very, very worried right now.
- Greg Olear: Kosachev = head of Rossotrudnichestvo. Per Steele, he’s the Russian whom Cohen met with in Prague (or elsewhere) to discuss financial details of Trump/Russia collusion. Rand Paul was at an event in Bowling Green (hahaha) 25 Aug 2016. After that, his feed is generic til 9/1. 🤔
- August 6: Senator Paul and Chairman Kosachev Agree on U.S.-Russia Engagement
- Greg Olear: Steele report says Konstantin Kosachev is an “important figure in the Trump campaign-Kremlin liaison operation” & that he organized the Cohen/Prague meeting. WTF did @RandPaul fly to Moscow to meet with him? What message from Trump was delivered?
Remember, Rand Paul hand delivered a letter from Trump for Putin. (Daily Check-In 08/08/2018) That’s not standard operating procedure for an open and clear communication channel. That’s the kind of shit spies and mobsters do.
I’m going to make a Jill Stein/Green Party primer, so that any time someone pulls some Pro-Stein bullshit, I can send them a list of her shadiest shit.
So, sometime in the next few weeks, get ready for this story to drop. By the way, accepting hacked emails is a crime. Especially if they came from a foreign government and were meant to sway an election.
That’s it for Friday. I’m going to start on my retrospective piece in the next few hours, along with other some work on the site. It’s time to update the Russian Hypothesis and create a page for the Grand Bargain Theory.
Like I said yesterday, I’m putting the weekend on Monday’s post, and starting fresh on Tuesday with a new year. I also want to do some housecleaning on the site. One idea is to go through the Daily Check-In Collection and put a quick blurb next to each day with the highlights. It might help with navigating the site.
Thank you, and have a good one.
“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”
– Katy Tur
None of this is Normal 