What Did I Miss?

During the month of December, I didn’t keep up with this blog or the news as much as I normally do. I had changed to a temporary schedule which took some time to get used to, and just as I had gotten used to the new schedule, I was hit with some sickness that pretty much broke me for the rest of the year.

Now that I’ve got the excuses out of the way, there were a few big stories that happened in late December that has shaped events today, and helps explain how someone like Senator Lindsey Graham went from being a Never Trumper leading an investigation into the President to hanging off the Dotard like a gnat on a dog’s dick.

REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE AND RUSSIAN MONEY

This one came in from the Dallas Morning News, after being rumored on Twitter for a while.

Story goes like this…

Several American citizens of Russian and Ukranian descent, like Len Blavatnik, donated a lot of money in 2016 to the Republican Party, the RNC, Donald Trump, and several members of the GOP leadership. Even some men that weren’t running for office in 2016, like Lindsey Graham.

The reason this is suspicious as hell is that traditionally, these people would donate less money in total, and to both the Democrats and Republicans. This time, their donations were almost all for the Republicans, and much greater than in previous years.

Accepting money from an American citizen is not illegal, even if they’re a dual citizen. Where things get murky is the possibility that these people were cutouts for Putin and Russia. It wouldn’t be the first time that he’s laundered money from the Russian state to invest in the United States.

REPUBLICANS GET TAX OVERHAUL THROUGH CONGRESS

The Republican Party railroaded their “Tax Reform” package through Congress. It’s a complete and total disaster. I’ll go into more details on that in the future.

REPUBLICANS RALLY AROUND TRUMP

This one struck me as weird, but since signing the tax bill, the Republican leadership has gathered around Trump even more than before.

They hate Trump. He adds nothing to their party, pushes people away like there is no tomorrow, and is dangerous to anyone he perceives as a threat.

I wonder why they’re getting so buddy buddy with him now…

MUELLER INTERVIEWED RNC OFFICIALS, ASKED THEM WHAT THEY KNEW OF TRUMP/RUSSIA COLLUSION, AND WHEN

Well, that explains that. During December, reports started leaking out about how Team Mueller had interviewed several members of the RNC about Trump’s digital operations during the 2016 Campaign. Most noticeably, Mueller asked them what they knew of the Trump/Russia collusion, and when they found out.

Investigators rarely go into a meeting like this without already knowing the answers to the questions they’re asking. If they’re asking RNC staffers what they knew and when they knew it, it’s because Mueller already knows.

IVANKA TIED TO $100 MILLION MONEY LAUNDERING SCAM INVOLVING DIAMONDS

Now, back to the Trump Family. Looks like Kremlin Barbie is in some deep trouble. Reports coming out of Dubai indicate that Ivanka Trump is tied up in a money laundering scam, in which the diamonds were used to launder about $100 million.

So, remember in Daily Check-In 11/30/2017, where I mentioned Zarrab testifying how he laundered money using gold for Iran in the UAE? A lot of the details are lining up to a very similar scheme with Ivanka.

But what this also shows is that the investigation is getting closer to Trump himself. So far, every other member of the family, except Tiffany and Barron, have been implicated in one way or another.

Ivanka, though, is his favorite. She’s the one that holds that creepy, special place for him that is right at home in a Greek tragedy. If she’s under investigation, he’ll lose what little sanity he has left.

Ok, that’s a pretty short update for late December. I should be back later tonight with a few updates for today. A couple big stories came out, including confirmation that Trump’s lawyers met with Mueller’s team to discuss a possible interview.

Thank you, and have a good one.

Daily Check-In 01/05/2018

It’s Friday. Looks like the holiday break is over, and we’re back to the “Jesus Christ on a Cracker, what now?” mentality.

NEW YORK TIMES DROPS BOMBSHELL ABOUT MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS TO OBSTRUCT JUSTICE AND INTERFERE IN RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION

There’s a crap ton in here. Let me list a couple bullet points.

Trump had Don McGahn lobby Jeff Sessions to keep from recusing himself from Russia.
A staffer for Sessions approached a member of Congress looking for dirt on James Comey
Sessions asked for a friendly media source to release one negative news story a day to discredit Comey
Trump lost his shit when Sessions recused himself
Reince Preibus took notes on this
A White House Staff Attorney told Trump he couldn’t fire the FBI Director without reason, in an effort to keep Trump from doing something monumentally stupid
Rod Rosenstein made a copy of the original Comey firing letter
He gave that letter to Robert Mueller
James Comey gave his memos to Mueller
Mueller likely has Reince’s notes, and has had this information for a long time.

REPUBLICANS BLOCKING INVESTIGATIONS FOR TRUMP

Senators Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham recommended to the DOJ to investigate Christopher Steele.

Paul Ryan backs Devin Nunes in his attempts to impede the investigation.

These are not the actions of innocent men, but complicit parties in a crime.

“FIRE AND FURY” BOOK BLOWS UP

The book was released today, 4 days early. After Trump’s lawyers sent a cease and desist letter to the author and publisher. It is selling out across the country.

When I convert this blog to a book, I want Trump to attack me. It’s like the Oprah book club stamp, but relevant.

MASS EXODUS IN WASHINGTON BEGINS

Several people announced that they’re leaving their government positions.

Traditionally, there are a few departures after the first year. Some people get in to politics, see it isn’t for them, and cash out with a high paying job.

But not like this. This is a flood of people noping the fuck out and running out the door.

Expect more of them to run after the one year mark.

The one that makes me raise my eyebrow like Spock is Mike Pence’s Chief Counselor. It’s pretty unusual for a lawyer to quit on the eve of the biggest case of his life.

PARSCALE: NO ONE DID ANYTHING WITH JARED KUSHNER OR ERIC TRUMP’S APPROVAL

Natasha Bertrand from Business Insider reports that Brad Parscale, the head of the Trump Campaign’s digital operations, threw Kushner and the Trump son that looks like he sniffed too much glue approved all of the decisions made in the election.

I haven’t seen someone thrown under the bus like this since the Mad Max movies.

KUSHNER DIRECTED FLYNN TO LOBBY FOREIGN OFFICIALS ABOUT U.N. VOTE

Speaking of the son-in-law…

I noticed a pattern with a lot of today’s news. They continue to bury Kushner, Trump, and Preibus, but not Bannon.

I wonder why that is?

FROM THE RUMOR MILL: BANNON FLIP?

Here’s a weird one from the Rumor Mill. According to multiple members, including Louise and Countercheckist, Steve Bannon has flipped on Trump.

This is a recent development, as it was reported a few months back that Steve was looking at espionage charges. In the United States, espionage carries a default punishment of the death penalty.

To be honest, I’m torn at this news.

On one hand, I was looking forward to Steve Bannon getting the fate that a traitor to the Republic deserves. He engaged in spreading Russian propaganda, inciting racists and fascists, and actively tried to harm the country and its people.

On the other hand, he was a witness to countless crimes committed by Trump, Sessions, Kushner, Pence, Preibus, and others. He puts Trump in the room with the Comey firing, and connects the Mercer family, Cambridge Analytica, and the Transition Team.

Speaking of the Mercer family, supposedly Rebekah Mercer cut off Steve Bannon. They were rumored to be dating, but that is over.

Now that I’ve scarred everyone with the image of someone voluntarily wanting to fuck Steve Bannon, here’s a picture of a cat staring at another cat.

Special Prosecutor Oscar Torretto keeps an eye on Osi.

Steve is saving his own ass, and likely handed information over to Mueller a long time back. He’s been leaking like a prostate cancer survivor to the press since Trump took office, so it makes sense that someone who thinks they’re the smartest person in the room with a chip on their shoulder would go after his new enemies.

That’s why it strikes me that Trump going after Bannon is the stupidest thing he’s done in at least 20 minutes.

Look at the stories released today and yesterday. Large scoops, all hurting Trump but not Steve.

I’m not saying he was the source on all of it. I’m implying that he was A source, but not THE source.

That’s it for today. At least, that’s what I’m going to write about. I’m still getting back into the swing of things. I want to cover what I missed while sick this weekend.

I’m wrapping this up, battery is low.

Thank you, and have a good one.

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

Daily Check-In 01/04/2018

It’s Thursday, or as they say in the native language of my people…Thursday.

TRUMP SENDS CEASE AND DESIST LETTER TO BANNON, ANOTHER TO MICHAEL WOLFF AND PUBLISHER OVER “FIRE & FURY” BOOK

This is rich. Trump’s legal team sent a cease and desist letter to Steve Bannon in regards to an interview in a book that place more than six months in a workplace where not only are non-disclosure agreements aren’t binding, but the reporter who wrote the book was given permission from complainant to interview everyone.

Let’s count the ways this won’t fly…

First, the NDA cited was signed in late 2016 for the Trump Campaign. The campaign ended with the election. The NDA, assuming it’s not worth less than toilet paper, which it is, would only apply to privileged events during the campaign. It would cease immediately upon the creation of the Trump Transition Team, since that was a separate legal entity.

Second, NDA’s can’t be applied to the White House. Everything that occurs in the day-to-day operation of the government is a matter of public record, aside from information restricted for security purposes. Because everything is on the public record, a non-disclosure agreement would be in direct violation of this. FUN FACT: The career politicians refused to sign the NDA’s before joining the White House, because they knew it wasn’t worth the toner used on the paper.

Next, Bannon gave his opinion on a topical event in the news as it was breaking, and talked about people and events he was not involved with. Trump wasn’t even the person Bannon was disparaging, it was Trump’s child, son-in-law, and a campaign staff member who was yet to be named the head of the campaign.

Trump’s standing for defamation is dubious at best. He’s a public figure, and the bar for libel and slander is VERY high. Not only would his team have to prove that what Bannon said was false, but that it was said with obvious malicious intent, and was intended to be injurious to the complainant. Trump would have to prove that Bannon was lying, knew it was a blatant lie, and intended to hurt Trump with this lie. This is a nearly unreachable legal bar to attain.

Finally, not only did Trump give permission for Bannon and the rest of the staff to speak to the author of the book, Trump took part in it, lambasting and attacking his staff and allies at every opportunity. Trump let Michael Wolff set up shop in the West Wing, and everyone and their mother talked with him, including Trump.

Trump doesn’t have a legal leg to stand on, and is trying to scare Bannon into staying silent. This will never see the light of day, but what it does do is create an enemy out of the head of one of Trump’s biggest supporters in Breitbart.

Worse yet for Trump, any attack in the courts against Bannon would likely be met with countersuits and motions to dismiss his precious NDA’s, which would open the floodgates for everyone who’s ever worked for Trump, but didn’t have the ability to fight him in court. Trump doesn’t hire good attorneys, because good attorneys wouldn’t work for him. Instead, he gets lousy attorneys from lousy law schools, that likely used the same boiler plate NDA for each and every Trump venture. All it would take is one lawsuit, and any and all NDA’s with that same language would be null and void.

By the way, Wolff taped dozens of hours of interviews.

WHITE HOUSE STAFF EXPECT MUELLER TO TAKE DOWN TRUMP

This book is the gift that keeps on giving. Not only does everyone think he’s an idiot, but Mueller is going to destroy him.

Might explain the stress eating.

U.S. TO END POLICY THAT LET STATES DECIDE MARIJUANA RULES

The Associated Press reports that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ordered the Department of Justice to roll back the Obama era orders that gave the states leeway on how and whether or not to prosecute marijuana related crimes. This move may effectively end medicinal marijuana in the country.

Last year, more than 64,000 people died of opiod overdoses. Not one person overdosed on THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

I look forward to Jeff Sessions receiving his eventual comeuppance.

TWO MEMBERS OF FREEDOM CAUCUS CALLING FOR JEFF SESSIONS TO RESIGN

Two members of the Freedom Caucus, the extreme right wing of the Republican Party, also called the Tea Party, are asking for Jeff Sessions to resign. This is being seen by anyone paying attention as an attempt to get Sessions out of the way so that Trump can get Mueller fired.

How? Since Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russian Investigation, that puts Rod Rosenstein as the only person who can fire Robert Mueller. If Rod is fired and Jeff Sessions is still in the Attorney General position. If Rod is fired now, the power to fire Mueller goes down the chain, not up. But, theoretically, replacing Jeff Sessions would allow that power to go back up the chain, or at least let them choose a crony under Rod who would do their bidding.

At this point, Mueller has game planned this out. He knows that Trump will try to fire him at some point, and has likely prepared for that scenario.

One of the lawyers on his team is Michael Dreeben, the best Appeals Prosecutor alive. He is one of a handful of attorneys to argue over 100 cases before the Supreme Court, and he has won most of them.

Why do I bring this guy up? Because I think part of Mueller’s plan is for Trump to either try to pardon him and/or his family, and to fire Mueller. Both of those actions are unconstitutional and/or illegal, but have never been argued before in Federal court.

Here’s what I think will happen: as soon as Trump tries to fire Mueller, or attempt to pardon himself or his family, sealed indictments charging him with felonies of Obstruction of Justice, and a few other things, will be unsealed. Simultaneously, lawsuits will be filed in both criminal and civil court, claiming that these actions by Trump are unconstitutional, and that they should be immediately stopped with an injunction. The Appeals court issue the injunction, and this case will get fast tracked to the Supreme Court. As this is going on, the greatest leakstorm will flow, including tapes of Trump conspiring with the Russians to sway the election.

When I say immediately, I’m talking less than a week from the time Mueller is fired to showing up before SCOTUS, and the injunction would be filed the same day.

Who better to argue the case of a lifetime in front of the SCOTUS than the best lawyer alive?

BLOOMBERG: MONEY LAUNDERING IS SERIOUS, TOO.

I’ve talked before about Money Laundering. Now, Bloomberg goes into some of what Bannon said in the book.

I’ve come to the conclusion that we may or may not see charges against Team Trump for espionage or treason, but we will definitely see some financial crime charges, including money laundering.

That’s is for today, so far. It’s early in the day, though, and as every other time I write a post in the afternoon, something explodes at night. I look forward to editing this post by 9pm EST.

Thank you, and have a good one.

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

Daily Check-In 01/03/2018

Happy New Year! It’s Wednesday, and a crazy one. I’m still getting caught up from being sick all of December, and there’s a few things I want to go over from my sick leave, but that’ll wait till my next post.

DEPUTY AG ROSENSTEIN, FBI DIRECTOR WRAY MEET WITH SPEAKER PAUL RYAN ABOUT DEVIN NUNES AND RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION

Nothing like a surprise meeting in the Capitol.

This is likely in relation to subpoenas that Devin Nunes, not the House Intelligence Committee, issued to the DOJ and FBI about their investigation into Russia.

NEW BOOK “FIRE & FURY” SHOWS THAT EVERYONE HATES DONALD TRUMP, LEADS TO FIGHTING BETWEEN TRUMP AND BANNON

This is gonna get good. I think this might be my next book purchase.

Here’s an excerpt. Holy Shit.

The author of the book, Michael Wolff, set up shop in the West Wing.

The staff thinks Trump is an idiot, and vice versa.

MANAFORT SUES MUELLER IN CIVIL COURT IN DESPERATE ATTEMPT TO GET SPECIAL COUNSELOR GUIDELINES THROWN OUT

Paul Manafort is trying to use a civil suit to keep his ass from a long prison sentence.

This is a desperate move to try to get the Special Counselor removed from the case, and his charges of money laundering and conspiracy against the United States thrown out.

It’s desperate, and will most likely be thrown out as frivolous.

FUSION GPS ATTACKS NUNES AND GRASSLEY IN NEW YORK TIMES OP ED, CALLING FOR TRANSCRIPTS OF TESTIMONY TO BE RELEASED.

The New York Times released this opinion editorial from Glenn Simpson of Fusion GPS, the company behind the Steele Dossier, laid into the Republican led Congressional committees over their partisan behavior, including how they ignored basic information about Trump and his history and attempted to discredit his company.

This is definitely worth a read, but the biggest part of the story to me was Glenn saying that the FBI had a source inside the Trump Campaign.

Read that sentence again. The FBI had an inside source telling them about Russia.

LEAKED RACIST STORY ABOUT MUELLER GRAND JURY SOUNDS A LOT LIKE TRUMP

Think Progress has a good write up about a very racist story that showed up in the New York Post, one of Trump’s favorite papers, written by one of his favorite writers, using phrases that he constantly uses like “Central Casting.”

There’s a good chance the story was made up by Donald Trump, and told to a friendly writer to try to make it look like a bunch of minorities were on the jury, trying to bait his racist base.

Trump has a history of using the tabloids to smear his opponents. He would often call the Post or National Enquirer under the alias John Barron, and attack his opponents or brag about his sexual conquests.

VOTING COMMISSION KILLED BY WHITE HOUSE

Good. This panel was being set up to suppress voting rights across the country.

This is just one night back! There’s a few things I want to go over from the last couple weeks, like Ivanka getting caught up in a $100 million diamond scam, and the increased attacks on the FBI and DOJ for the Right Wing Media.

Thank you, and have a good one.

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur