2018

Friday, March 9th.

NUNBERG ARRIVES BEFORE GRAND JURY, QUESTIONED FOR MORE THAN 6 HOURS

Sam Nunberg testified before the Special Counselor’s Grand Jury today for more than 6 hours. Unlike Monday, he appeared sober, calm, and not the least bit insane.

The more I think about Sam, the more I think his little outbursts were an attempt to send a message. What that message is, and who the recipient was is up for debate.

6 hours. That’s a lot of questions to answer.

GEORGE NADER AND DISMISSED CHILD PORN CHARGES FROM 1985

Back in 1985, George was busted coming in to the country with “inappropriate pictures of naked boys” from one of his trips to the Middle East. His house was searched, but the search warrant’s language was too vague, and evidence acquired during the raid was disallowed in his trial.

I don’t know how this is going to play into the whole mess. Trump’s team might try to use this to attack George’s character, but if that’s the case, how does that explain a decades worth of contact?

Andrew Laufer (@lauferlaw) said to keep an eye on this, as this will come back up. He’s one of the lawyers I follow on Twitter, and was digging into the Jane Doe Lawsuit I briefly mentioned on Daily Check-In 10/16/2017. I’ll go into more details about that when that comes back around.

TRUMP INVITED PUTIN TO MISS UNIVERSE 2013 PAGEANT WITH HANDWRITTEN LETTER

Bobby Three Sticks has a letter that Trump wrote a postscript to Putin, damn near begging him to show up to the pageant.

How in the Crystal Pepsi Flavored Fuck did Robert Mueller get his hands on this letter?

This went from Trump’s team to Putin’s team. There’s a VERY short list of people who would have access to that. Figure that maybe they made a copy of the original and kept it on file somewhere, only a handful of people would know where it was and where to look. There is the possibility that they have a scanned copy, since Trump is a luddite. That’s the most likely explanation.

This letter establishes a pattern of behavior and motive to work with Putin. It was the first public overture from Trump to Putin.

One last thing I find weird about this is the postscript says that Trump looks forward to seeing the “beautiful” women. I might be reading a little too much into this (I know, I know, I’m writing a blog about conspiracy theories, but still) but I think this was Trump’s attempt not only at making sure that Putin would come, but also making sure that Trump’s desires for women would be met. Putin saw this, and decided to supply Trump with what he asked for…women. Okay, women might be a little generous since the rumors were that they were VERY young looking. The Steele Dossier mentions Trump’s use of the sex industry in St. Petersburg and Moscow, as well as several items of sexual kompromat, including the Golden Shower tape that allegedly was created after the Miss Universe Pageant.

I’m wondering if Putin took this letter, and decided to use it, and Trump, to his advantage.

TRUMP’S LAWYERS TO PROPOSE ALLOWING INTERVIEW IN EXCHANGE FOR END TO INVESTIGATION

I highly doubt that Mueller would ever accept that, but if he did, I’d laugh my ass off if he finished the interview with the words “I promised to finish the investigation phase of your client. I’m done with the investigating phase, now I begin the prosecuting phase. Mr. President, we are indicting you on the following charges….” and then Mueller unrolls an old scroll that’s 90 feet long, and a staffer is writing new charges on the last few feet while Robert’s reading it.

TRUMP MET MARIA BUTINA WEEKS AFTER STARTING CAMPAIGN, TALKED ABOUT REMOVING RUSSIAN SANCTIONS

Maria Butina is Alexander Torshin’s protege, and was at a campaign rally where she asked Trump about “damaging” U.S. sanctions on Russia. After rambling for a minute or two, he said he’d get rid of them, because he’s friends with Putin.

Here’s the YouTube clip.

TRUMP ONCE AGAIN CONTEMPLATING A ‘FULL RESET’

He’s tried to reset more times than an old Nintendo. So far he’s removed the staff, tapped on it, blew on it, and slapped it. What he should try to is hold it by his tiny little hands until it catches, then slam it down and start playing.

SCOPE OF INVESTIGATION AND CRIMINALITY GREATER THAN JUST RUSSIA

It still comes back to Russia, but let’s not forget China, Israel, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. They’re his playmates in TreasonFest.

STORMY WATCH

From the WaPo story:

Common Cause‘s Paul Ryan (himself a former lawyer with the Campaign Legal Center) noted on Twitter that the use of Trump Organization resources likely violates 11 CFR 114.2(f). That reads, with our added emphasis:

“Corporations and labor organizations (including officers, directors or other representatives acting as agents of corporations and labor organizations) are prohibited from facilitating the making of contributions to candidates or political committees, other than to the separate segregated funds of the corporations and labor organizations. Facilitation means using corporate or labor organization resources or facilities to engage in fundraising activities in connection with any federal election …”

“The use of the Trump Organization email is evidence that Cohen’s services were, at least in part, being paid for by the Trump Organization,” Noble said in an email. “That would be an illegal corporate contribution to the campaign even if the company did not pay the $130,000.”

Michael Cohen has got to be one of the worst lawyers alive. At least, not in the respectable sense of the word. He’s like the Dollar Store version of Saul Goodman; he does the illegal shit that his clients shouldn’t do.

Also, in that ABC article, it says that Rosen is the lawyer in this case for BOTH Cohen and Trump. If Cohen acted on his own, how can the lawyer represent them both in this case? The only way this ends without hurting Trump is if Cohen gets run over, and that would be a major ethics problem for his lawyer.

FLORIDA GOVERNOR SIGNS NEW GUN LAW

This raises the age of long rifle purchases in Florida to 21, adds a 3 day waiting period, and allows for some teachers and school employees to conceal carry.

It took about 20 minutes for the NRA to file a lawsuit against this law. I haven’t read their lawsuit, but I’d put $20 down that they’re not suing to keep teachers from carrying guns.

EXCERPT FROM NEW BOOK ‘RUSSIAN ROULETTE’ SHOWS SOME OF HOW OBAMA AND STAFF REACTED

This book comes out on Tuesday. Looks like it’s getting added to the Audible queue.

ALMOST 200 BRITISH ARMED FORCES CONVERGE ON SKRIPAL’S WIFE, SON GRAVE SITES

Sergei’s son’s death is now being treated as suspicious. Possibly a homicide.

JOHN SCHINDLER WITH BACKGROUND ON SKRIPAL AND OTHER RUSSIAN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS IN THE WEST

This isn’t the first time that Russians have assassinated people on foreign soil, and unfortunately it won’t be the last time.

WHAT A COINKIDINK… TRUMP AND PUTIN USE SAME TALKING POINTS ABOUT RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

Gee, could it be because Putin’s writing them for Trump?

REPUBLICANS PREPARE FOR POSSIBLE LOSS IN LAMB-SACCONE RACE

This is a beautiful thing.

PA-18 is so heavily gerrymandered to support Republican voters, the Democrats didn’t even run against Tim Murphy the last couple elections. Trump won this district by 20 points. In a normal time, this wouldn’t even be a contest.

In 2018, things are different. Not only are people sick and tired of Trump’s crap and the sniveling nature of the sycophants that call themselves the Republican Party, but the times are changing.

The fact that Conor Lamb is doing as well as he is, and that the Republicans have funneled so much money in to the district is already a moral victory for Lamb. But if he can pull off an actual win, it should be an interesting election season.

COUNTRY STARS STARTING TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST TRUMP

When Country Music is catching up, shit’s about to get real.

Country Music is a very conservative form of music, playing to a very conservative crowd. I’m not going to get into a debate about the merits of different types of country music, or different artists, or that modern country is just catching up to pop music from the 1990’s, or that Stadium Country is Mad Libs sung by men who have never worked a day in their life .

SPEED ROUND!

REDDIT STILL HOSTS AND LINKS TO RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA

REDDIT FINANCIAL TIES CONNECT COMPANY INVESTORS TO TRUMP ALLIES

JOHN ASHCROFT REGISTERS AS FOREIGN AGENT FOR QATAR

KUSHNER TIES TO MOJAVE WATER PROJECT GO THROUGH APOLLO MANAGEMENT

SENATOR WARREN GOING AFTER HIS LOAN CONNECTIONS

$139,000 FOR SOME FUCKING DOORS?!

FED CHAIR SAYS STUDENT LOAN DEBT SHOULD BE DISCHARGEABLE THROUGH BANKRUPTCY

FCC COMMISIONER BROKE LAWS BY ENDORSING TRUMP

FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO PANAMA ON WHY HE COULD NO LONGER SERVE DONALD TRUMP

5 ILLEGAL VOTERS…OUT OF 1.3 MILLION

IDAHO NOT ALLOWED TO SELL BAD HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS

PHARMA BRO GETS 7 YEARS IN PRISON FOR FRAUD

RUMOR MILL: CLAUDE GETS DDOS’ed

Claude Taylor’s Political Action Committee MadDogPac, is under attack by the NRA. They’ve been battling each other the last few days, but now someone **cough**NRA friendly hackers**cough** have DDoS’ed his website, MadDogPac.com. The store’s still up for now.

MadDogPacDDoSed

That’s it for today. It’s going to be a busy weekend for me IRL, but hopefully I’ll get a story or two done on Sunday. One thing I’ve been thinking about is filling out some of the descriptions in the Rumor Mill. Either that, or talk about Three Stooges Syndrome.

Thank you, and have a good one.

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

Daily Check-In 03/08/2018

Thursday March 8th.

STORMY WATCH

Today was a busy day for news about the Stormy Daniels scandal. Here’s a few things that happened:

In any normal universe, finding out that President likely paid off a Porn Star weeks before the election with campaign funds would be the biggest scandal of the year. Now, I’m worried that this scandal could actually take the wind out of the other scandals, most importantly the breaking Seychelles story.

Well, breaking to the MSM. We’ve been on this like white on rice since at least Daily Check-In 8/18/2017.

TRUMP ACCEPTS NORTH KOREA’S INVITATION TO DISCUSS ITS NUCLEAR PROGRAM

So, the Dotard agreed to meet with Kim Jong Un of North Korea by the end of May. No POTUS has ever met with the North Korean President before, for the same reason that they don’t meet with the President of the Klingon-Albanian Cosplay and Diplomacy Society.

Doing so legitimizes them.

I’m hoping that this is Trump’s “Nixon goes to China” moment, but it’s more likely his attempt at distracting the press from, well, EVERYTHING.

Plus, this is likely a Putin Puppet meets Putin Puppet scenario. Trump is Putin’s Puppet, and we’ve seen repeatedly that North Korea gets belligerent when Trump needs a distraction. And let’s not forget that Russia supplied North Korea with missile technology over the last few years to move their nuclear program ahead by a couple decades.

MANAFORT TRIAL SET FOR JULY 10, FORCED TO WEAR SECOND GPS TRACKING BRACELET

You know you’re fucked when you have to wear TWO tracking bracelets.

Paul Manafort pleaded not guilty to bank fraud charges today in the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA). His trial has been set for July 10th. He was remanded to home confinement, and ordered to wear a tracking bracelet.

Now, Paul’s already has a tracking bracelet from the DC District Court, but EDVA can’t use the DC ones. Something like that they’re a different system or brand, or they just don’t have access to it. So, the only solution to that is to wear ANOTHER ankle bracelet.

ERIK PRINCE TO HOST FUNDRAISER FOR ROHRABACHER

Jesus fucking Christ, Erik. The timing on this is fan-fucking-tastic.

The same week that Erik Prince’s role in trying to set up a secret communication line comes out from the Special Counselor’s office, he decides that hosting a fundraiser for his old boss (Prince interned for Rohrabacher). Problem is, his old boss is neck deep in Russian shit, too.

TRUMP SIGNS TARIFFS, FLAKE TO INTRODUCE BILL TO NULLIFY TARIFFS

Trump’s tariffs are set to start in 15 days. It’ll be rough, but I think that Flake could find enough support in both houses for a veto-proof majority.

COREY LEWANDOWSKI MEETS WITH HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE. REPUBLICANS READY TO WRAP UP INVESTIGATION, DEMOCRATS WANT MORE THAN 100 SUBPOENAS.

We’re getting to the end-game of the House Intelligence Committee’s work. Any and all pretenses of bipartisanship left about a year ago, and there has been do desire from the Republicans to do their job.

It’s almost like they’re trying to run interference for Trump, and don’t care about doing their jobs for the Republic.

STATES WITH BACKGROUND CHECKS HAVE LOWER GUN VIOLENCE, STATES WITH LOOSE GUN LAWS EXPORT CRIME

This is from the “No Shit, Sherlock” Department.

These two points help explain each other, and also answer the classic argument used by gun enthusiasts “But what about Chicago? They have gun laws and high crime.”

Let’s say Gary wants to buy a gun, but has a little thing preventing him from getting one in his home state, like a felony conviction for knocking over a convenience store with a gun when he was younger. Gary also has anger issues, and once attacked someone in traffic in a road rage incident. Because of Gary’s record, he can’t buy a gun in his home state because they do background checks. He tries to buy a Glock 19, but they say “No, Nope. No fucking way.” Gary’s mad, and makes a note that he’ll shoot the prick if he ever sees him again.

So what does Gary do? His home state might have a background check, but the neighboring state doesn’t. He hops in his car, drives across state lines, gives the basic info required, buys the gun, ammo, and cleaning kit, then drives home.

A while down the road back in his home state, Gary has another road rage incident, but this time he’s armed and shoots up the car of a complete stranger because of a missing turn signal. In his rage, he kills a young mother and her child with a gun that he legally bought in another state, even though he wasn’t allowed to buy one in his home state.

DAILY CALLER HOSTS OP-ED WRITTEN BY OLEG DERIPASKA WITH PAUL MANAFORT’S HELP

Remember in Daily Check-In 12/06/2017 when Paul Manafort almost lost his bail because he was caught writing an op-ed piece with a Russian Agent?

Well, now the Daily Caller is hosting an opinion piece from Oleg Deripaska.

You know, just so we can get the Russian point of view on one of the largest conservative news sites in the world. Especially one that was founded by Tucker Carlson of Fox News. This is where I would normally link to the “About Us” page on their website, but I’d rather not link to their page. I don’t want to give them any clicks, and I’m honestly worried about what shit they might try to put in your cookies.

SKRIPAL STILL IN CRITICAL CONDITION

The graves of his wife and son have been cordoned off, possibly for exhumation.

21 people, including multiple first responders, have now become symptomatic.

There’s an above zero percent chance that someone either testified about Skripal before Congress, or someone with access to the classified intelligence gave this name to someone in the House Intel staff. That person could have given that name to Trump’s legal team, who forward that name to the Russians.

If so, those people committed espionage, and have earned the execution that the crime deserves.

RUMOR MILL: BURDEN OF PROOF

One argument I saw a couple times today on Twitter and Reddit was about the burden of proof that Robert Mueller needs to get charges through Congress and Senate for Impeachment and Removal from office.

Mueller knows how corrupt the current Republican Party Leadership is, and that he has one shot at taking down Trump through Congress. He has to make an undeniable case. A case that is so airtight, convincing, and damning, that it would be nothing less than political suicide to not vote for impeachment.

That’s one of the reasons why things are taking so long. The impeachment process is a political process. Only two Presidents have ever been impeached: Andrew Jackson and Bill Clinton. In both cases, the House voted along party lines to advance the impeachment articles to the Senate. Nixon faced two houses controlled by Democrats, but there were enough Republicans in the Senate that were going to vote to remove him from office, due to the overwhelming evidence in the case.

Now, things are different. Republicans hold both houses of Congress, and we are more partisan than ever. We’re fast approaching the end of this phase of the game, when Mueller brings charges against Trump and his coconspirators in Congress, like Devin Nunes and Matt Gaetz, for Obstruction of Justice and other easily provable crimes. If impeachment articles stall because of leadership not wanting to push them forward, expect the next series of indictments to fly, targeting the Republican Party under RICO charges, and going after the leadership directly.

At the same time, we’ll see whether or not a President can be indicted.

Although, I do have a question that I need to research. Impeachment requires a majority in the House, and removal requires 2/3rds majority. I need to find out if those numbers are based off of the total numbers, or the current membership. If a couple Senate seats are left open, are 67 still needed, or does the number drop based on the new total of seated senators? What if more than 33 senators are removed from or leave their offices at once? If there are 50 senators left, would they be able to hold a removal vote with 34 votes required, or are they stuck because they need 67 votes?

That might be my next research project.

That’s it for today.

Thank you, and have a good one.

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

Daily Check-In 03/06/2018

Tuesday, March 6th.

GEORGE NADER: COOPERATING WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION

Yesterday in Daily Check-In 03/05/2018, I talked about George Nader. Today, we found out a lot more. And so has Special Counselor Robert Mueller.

George Nader is an adviser to the United Arab Emirates. On top of all of his connections to the current members of the White House, George also set up the Seychelles Meeting with Erik Prince. Hell, George was there as Erik Prince, owner of his own mercenary army and suspected Chinese Intelligence asset, met with Kirill Dmitriev.

George Nader was there. He told Bobby Three Sticks all about the meeting.

George Nader is the newest cooperating witness to the Special Counselor. And he didn’t have much of a choice in the matter.

Around January 20th 2018, George Nader was on his way to Mar-A-Lago for Trump’s 1 year celebration. The one that Trump had trouble getting to because of the Government Shutdown. Well, after getting into the country, the FBI stopped him in the airport, and took his phone, put him in a tiny room, and he had a heart to heart with the FBI.

Sounds a lot like George Papadopoulos.

So, it’s time to update the list of known cooperating witnesses.

George Papadopoulos
Michael Flynn
Rick Gates
Richard Pinedo
George Nader

George Nader can deliver Erik Prince, Jared Kushner, and likely Donald Trump.

SPECIAL COUNSELOR INVESTIGATING TRUMP’S LAWYER MICHAEL COHEN

Michael Cohen is a total and complete scumbag, but he’s got big problems, all of which are deserved.

Special Counselor Robert Mueller is investigating Cohen’s connections to Ukraine, his role in trying to set up a deal for a Trump Tower in Moscow, his role as Trump’s fixer for things like paying women to keep their silence, and likely other potential crimes like receiving leaked information from the House Intel Committee.

That last one came out today. Turns out that someone testified in a closed session for the House Intel Committee, and an unknown staffer **cough**Kash Patel, staffer to Devin Nunes**cough**, informed Cohen’s lawyer Stephen Ryan of the testimony. Stephen Ryan then approached that witnesses lawyer. Not in a friendly manner, either.

So, not only is Trump’s lawyer getting investigated, but his lawyer might need a lawyer.

The Lawyer’s Lawyer might need a Lawyer.

Welcome to Lawyerception.

GARY COHN RESIGNS FROM WHITE HOUSE

Gary Cohn was Trump’s economic advisor, who almost resigned over Trump’s reaction to Charlottesville. I talked about it when it happened in August, as well in Racism And Politics Today.

Cohn has had enough of Trump’s shit, and has hit his breaking point. He will not stand by as Trump destroys the economy.

KELLYANNE CONWAY VIOLATED HATCH ACT

The Office of Special Counsel (Not to be confused with the Special Counselor’s Office) found and ruled that Trump’s spokeswoman Kellyanne Conway violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits sitting political figures from using their office to campaign or advocate for a candidate in an election, unless specifically in a campaign setting, and at that point they are a private citizen.

The Crypt Keeper used her official position as a spokesperson for the White House and Donald Trump to explain on Fox News, from the White House lawn, why people shouldn’t vote for Doug Jones for Alabama Senate.

The OSC forwarded their findings to the White House for them to punish her, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that. But it is more crimes for the pile.

STORMY DANIELS SUING DONALD TRUMP

Stephanie Clifford, a.k.a. Stormy Daniels, is suing Donald Trump, Michael Cohen, and the LLC Cohen created to pay her off. She is suing them to have the agreement thrown out as null and void because…

Wait for it…

Trump didn’t sign the contract.

Yes, Michael Cohen had ONE JOB. Get your client to sign the contract, pay the porn star. Yet, he managed to fuck that one up.

She also alleges that Cohen has harassed her and attempted to intimidate her into remaining silent.

From Reddit, user tlqr has a good write-up of how this could work.

Lawyer here.

This agreement is not invalid simply because Trump didn’t sign it. The terms are clear, and she was paid the money as contemplated by the agreement. The fact that Trump didn’t sign it is irrelevant because it was signed by his agent.

However, and this is the good part, all Trump needs to do to soundly beat this lawsuit is adopt the contract. If his lawyer had Trump’s authority to execute the agreement, then all Trump has to do is acknowledge and adopt the contract, and it is 100% binding.

Stormy Daniels’ lawyer knows this. But they also know that politically Trump cannot acknowledge or adopt this contract. This is win-win-win for them. Either (1) Trump refuses to adopt the contract, in which case she gets out of it and gets to sell her story to the networks, (2) Trump adopts the contract, and that in itself is a news story, or (3) she gets more money from Trump to drop the suit.

Edit: A few people are correctly pointing out that another issue for Trump is that asserting the contract was for his benefit may also have implications for an FEC violation.

That’s where we’re at now. The President of the United States can get out of a lawsuit by acknowledging a contract with a Porn Star, but doing so means he admits to his role, and that this payoff was an illegal election contribution.

REPUBLICANS LINING UP TO FIGHT PROPOSED TARIFFS TO AVOID A TRADE WAR

If there is one thing that might get the current GOP to stand up to Trump, it will be tariffs leading to a trade war. I covered exactly how bad of an idea tariffs are on Daily Check-In 03/02/2018.

McConnell and Ryan are playing the hedge game, but I wouldn’t be surprised that they actually do their fucking jobs and pass legislation to prevent this.

According to a recent study, 146,000 jobs would be lost due to steel and aluminum tariffs.

BOTH KOREAS PLANNING SUMMIT FOR APRIL

They haven’t met in over ten years, and these talks hope to lead to denuclearize the peninsula.

Hopefully, this doesn’t get fucked up.

FLYNN SELLS HOUSE TO PAY LEGAL BILLS

Mike Flynn’s selling his second house in Alexandria, VA. The house has been on the market since December 2017, listed at 845k.

I’m not used to the D.C. Metro Area pricing, but nearly a million for a 3 BR, 2.5 Bath townhouse is nuts. That’s mansion money in Pittsburgh.

Plus, if you’re gonna sell your house, clean up the closet and house before having the realtor take pics.

I’d almost feel sorry for him. Then I remember all of the treason, espionage, and corruption him and his son took part in. Losing a second home doesn’t even begin to make up for it.

THE EX-KREMLIN SPY APPARENTLY POISONED IN BRITAIN HAS LINKS TO THE MAN WHO WROTE THE EXPLOSIVE TRUMP-RUSSIA DOSSIER

I reported this yesterday in Daily Check-In 03/05/2018, but we have new details.

Sergei Skripal and his daughter are in critical condition after being found on a park bench.
11 first responders have also gotten sick.
Sergei’s wife and son died of mysterious circumstances in the past couple years.
Boris Johnson has said that an attack by the Russians on residents of Britain as an “act of war.”

MARYLAND SENATE PASSES BILL THAT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES MUST RELEASE TAXES

If this trend continues, and enough states pass similar laws, that would force Trump to release his taxes before the 2020 election, or not run*

*=Some exclusions apply. The odds of Trump making it to 2020 are smaller than his hands, and decreasing everyday.

SPEED ROUND!

STATES WITH STRICTER GUN LAWS HAVE FEWER SUICIDES AND HOMICIDES

EX-OLIGARCH DESCRIBES THE RUSSIAN MAFIA STATE

A TIMELINE OF JARED KUSHNER’S ALLEGED ACTIVITIES

THE NRA FACES A NEW KIND OF OPPONENT: KIDS WHO UNDERSTAND SOCIAL MEDIA

BALTIMORE STUDENTS WALK OUT OF CLASS TO MARCH DOWNTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY

CLAUDE’S BILLBOARD GOING UP NEAR MAR-A-LAGO

SENATE LOOKING TO UNDO DODD-FRANK RULES

THREE DISTRICTS TO WATCH IN TEXAS PRIMARY ELECTION

NUNBERG’S LAWYER CLAIMED TRUMP MAY BE RUNNING ‘SECRET SHADOW OPERATION’

GET TO KNOW EMMA GONZALEZ

REDDIT ADMITS TO HOSTING RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA

RUMOR MILL: BARREL TIME FOR ROGER STONE

One of the rumors floating around from a few places like the Anon Journal is that Roger Stone is about to get arrested within the next two weeks. Stone was one of Trump’s campaign advisors, is a long time friend of Paul Manafort, Sam Nunberg’s mentor, and an originator of the Post-Nixonian School of Dirty Tricks.

Roger is an expert in Shock and Awe politics, which is why he was a natural fit for Donald Trump. Distract and Attack are two of his basic plays while on the defensive. Distract from the problem at hand, and Attack against an enemy with one’s own weakness. Blame the opponent of what you did to take away their punch when they come after you.

Roger Stone worked with Julian Assange, a known Russian Asset, during the 2016 election. He coordinated with Assange and Wikileaks the release of the DNC emails, and likely coordinated the “discovery” of Hilary Clinton’s emails on Anthony Weiner’s laptop.

Yesterday’s incident with Sam Nunberg is a play right out of Stone’s playbook; Distract and Attack. Distract from the problem, and attack the enemy. The enemy, in this case, is Trump.

“But wait, didn’t Stone work for Trump? Aren’t they friends?”

Maybe, but this is war, and Roger knows how deep the whole he’s looking at is.

Listen to what Sam said yesterday. He buried Carter Page, Trump, the family, everyone but Steve Bannon and Roger Stone. Sam said he wouldn’t testify against Roger Stone at all.

There’s a strong chance that Sam either did what Roger Stone told him to do, or asked himself “What Would Roger Do?” Looks like that answer was “Get drunk and go on national television.”

To Sam’s credit, when he sobered up this morning, his lawyer released a statement that he would cooperate with the Special Counselor’s office, then get some treatment in a rehab facility.

That’s it for today. We’ll see how things go the rest of the week. We’re getting to the 3 Stooges Syndrome phase of Trump. There are so many things flying at once that can destroy him, it almost feels like they’re cancelling each other out.

Then, I sit back and remember that there are 330 million Americans, and 7 billion humans yearning for freedom. They’re looking to us to carry the flame of freedom on to the next generation.

We will prevail, but we must do it the right way. We are a nation of laws, not of men, personality, or wealth. That means that traitors and tyrants are stopped by and through the law.

Everything must be done by the book.

Thank you, and have a good one.

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

Daily Check-In 03/05/2018

Monday, March 5th. Today’s been a crazy one so far. I’ll give as much time as I can to some of these stories, but there were several bombshells over the past week.

SAM NUNBERG MAKES CASE FOR DUMBEST PERSON IN TRUMP CAMPAIGN

Ok, this one is pretty fucking nuts.

Early in the day, we got a hit list from Mueller’s team that was supplied by an unnamed recipient. The subpoena was asking for information on any and all communications between the recipient and the following people, beginning November 1, 2015.

Carter Page
Corey Lewandowski
Donald J. Trump
Hope Hicks
Keith Schiller
Michael Cohen
Paul Manafort
Rick Gates
Roger Stone
Steve Bannon

That by itself was pretty big, as we finally get to see one of Mueller’s subpoenas, and we get proof that the Special Counselor is asking for communications between, about, or even mentioning Trump himself.

While Twitter was all atwitter about who leaked this to the press, the Washington Post released the full subpoena.

Screen shots below grabbed off of Twitter.

NunbergSubpeona1 NunbergSubpeona2

Sam Nunberg was a staffer in the White House who had a long and… colorful history involving racism, extremism, and being a total and complete dick. He’s been a long time friend of Steve Bannon and Roger Stone, and his ties to Ted Cruz and Cambridge Analytica are definitely worth a look into things as well.

As if this wasn’t weird enough, Sam Nunberg told the Washington Post that he wouldn’t abide by the subpoena, and said “go ahead, arrest me.” Things went downhill from there, as Sam went on every cable news show he could, and proceeded to go completely off the rails and make a push for dumbest person in the Trump Campaign. Which is a pretty high/low fucking bar.

Here’s a partial transcript of his interview with Katy Tur.

NunbergTranscript

Nunberg dropped a bunch of info, everything from saying that Carter Page colluded with the Russians, Trump knew about the June 9 meeting, that Mueller thinks that Trump is the Manchurian candidate, that Roger Stone is the target of a Grand Jury investigation, and that he claims he was offered immunity to testify against Roger Stone, but said no.

If it helps his case, at least one interviewer asked if he was drinking. After he slurred a no, she said she could smell alcohol on his breath.

The consensus opinion from defense lawyers is Nunberg is PWF. Pretty Well Fucked.

SECOND STEELE MEMO FROM NOVEMBER 2016 ALLEGES THAT RUSSIA VETOED MITT ROMNEY AS SECRETARY OF STATE

The New Yorker has an amazing piece on Christopher Steele with an amazing scoop in it.

Steele talked at length with Mueller’s investigators in September. It isn’t known what they discussed, but, given the seriousness with which Steele views the subject, those who know him suspect that he shared many of his sources, and much else, with the Mueller team.

One subject that Steele is believed to have discussed with Mueller’s investigators is a memo that he wrote in late November, 2016, after his contract with Fusion had ended. This memo, which did not surface publicly with the others, is shorter than the rest, and is based on one source, described as “a senior Russian official.” The official said that he was merely relaying talk circulating in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but what he’d heard was astonishing: people were saying that the Kremlin had intervened to block Trump’s initial choice for Secretary of State, Mitt Romney. (During Romney’s run for the White House in 2012, he was notably hawkish on Russia, calling it the single greatest threat to the U.S.) The memo said that the Kremlin, through unspecified channels, had asked Trump to appoint someone who would be prepared to lift Ukraine-related sanctions, and who would coöperate on security issues of interest to Russia, such as the conflict in Syria. If what the source heard was true, then a foreign power was exercising pivotal influence over U.S. foreign policy—and an incoming President.

…

“It was as if all criminal roads led to Trump Tower,” Steele told friends.

You read that right. The Russians vetoed Mitt Romney as SecState, and pushed for Rex Tillerson. Remember, Rex was recommended to Trump by Paul Manafort, and Rex is a recipient of the Russian Medal of Friendship for his work in setting up a deal between Exxon and Rosneft worth half a trillion dollars.

So, here’s my guess of the “unspecified channels.”

Vladimir Putin talked to Oleg Deripaska. Oleg talked to Konstantin Kilimink. Konstantin talked to Paul Manafort. Manafort talked to Rick Gates, who was still on the Transition Team. Gates talked to Trump, Pence, and/or Flynn to give them the message from Putin about deep sixing Mitt Romney in favor of someone more … amenable to removing sanctions.

FORMER SOVIET SPY SERGEI SKRIPAL IN CRITICAL CONDITION AFTER BEING EXPOSED TO ‘UNKNOWN SUBSTANCE’

Sergei was poisoned in Salisbury. According to rumors on Twitter, Sergei is one of Christopher Steele’s sources.

COHEN SCREWED UP THE STORMY DANIELS PAYMENT, TRUMP IMPLICATED DIRECTLY FOR FIRST TIME

So, he missed two previous deadlines to pay Stormy because he couldn’t get a hold of Trump, his final payment was flagged as suspicious by the bank, and he complained that he hadn’t yet been reimbursed by Trump.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is Campaign Finance Fraud. Michael Cohen allegedly committed at least two felonies here. Improper use of campaign fund, and failing to declare an in-kind contribution.

Hell, the second one could have been avoided if he had disclosed it after the election. At that point, Trump won, and the FEC disclosure wouldn’t come out until after the inauguration. If he disclosed the payment, all that would have done was confirmed that Trump was a sleazebag. Instead, they out think themselves, and commit at least two felonies.

That’s Cooley Law School of Western Michigan University for you.

NETENYAHU SPOKESMAN FLIPS

This is like the third or fourth government employee to turn state’s evidence against the Israeli Prime Minister in the last few weeks.

When Bibi goes down, a whole ton of connections to Trump and Kusher will come out in the open.

OBAMA CHIEF OF STAFF: MITCH McCONNELL FORCED A WATERED DOWN RESPONSE TO RUSSIAN MEDDLING

From June 2017, before I started this blog, WaPo covered what Obama tried to do to stop the Russians. Recently on Daily Check-In 01/23/2018, Joe Biden described how Mitch McConnell didn’t do jack shit to stop the Russians.

We’re seeing a pattern here, for one reason.

Mitch McConnell is complicit.

USE OF PRESIDENTIAL SEAL ILLEGAL AT TRUMP GOLF COURSE

Add it to the pile of crimes. Profiting off of the Presidential Seal is punishable by six months in jail, per occurrence.

PAUL RYAN SPLITS FROM TRUMP OVER TARIFFS

Trump’s proposed tariffs would fuck over the GOP donors. Fucking with their money is one thing they won’t abide by.

REPUBLICAN SENATOR THAD COCHRAN TO RETIRE APRIL 1

For once, this isn’t about a scandal.

Thad Cochran is 81 years old and going senile. His aides have had to correct him on several of his votes, and remind him of where he was, and even who he was.

He waited until now to announce his retirement because the person likely to run in his place is tied up in another race.

PANAMANIAN POLICE EVICT TRUMP MANAGEMENT TEAM FROM TRUMP INTERNATIONAL HOTEL IN PANAMA CITY

Panamanian police finally kicked Trump’s team out of the hotel.

Here’s your moment of zen.

REDDIT ADMITS TO REMOVING A ‘FEW HUNDRED’ RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA ACCOUNTS, REDDIT USERS CALL FOR REMOVAL OF THE_DONALD SUBREDDIT, REDDIT RISES UP AGAINST CEO FOR HIDING RUSSIAN TROLLS

I’m not sure what’s going on, but the Battle of Reddit is just getting started.

GEORGE NADER UNDER INVESTIGATION AS GO-BETWEEN FOR UAE AND KUSHNER

Remember George Nader from Daily Check-In 01/22/2018? Well, he’s back in the picture. George Nader served as a go-between for the United Arab Emirates and the Trump Administration, specifically Jared Kushner.

Remember, Jared helped the UAE and the Saudis set up a blockade against Qatar after Qatar refused to loan Kushner Company money to get out from under 666 Fifth Avenue.

TRUMP ALLY BROIDY TRIED TO KILL 1MDB MALAYSIAN DOJ INVESTIGATION FOR $75 MILLION

I haven’t kept up with this scandal, but it looks like We’re already at the seizing yachts phase.

1MDB is an international money laundering scandal involving many countries, including Malaysia, United States, and Switzerland. They look like the company behind the Wolf of Wall Street money laundering case referenced from The Justice League.

Even Leonardo DiCaprio is caught up. He received gifts from one of the principals, including an old Oscar from Marlon Brando.

ALEX JONES CAUGHT UP IN SEXUAL HARASSMENT SCANDAL

Good. Couldn’t happen to a bigger prick.

TRUMP JOKES ABOUT BEING PRESIDENT FOR LIFE

I could talk about the outrage, the despotic dreams, and how Trump thinks he could make this happen, but here’s a quick prediction…

The only way that fat traitorous fuck becomes President for Life is if he dies of a heart attack by the end of the Summer.

RUSSIAN TROLL MOVED TO SUBURBAN WASHINGTON STATE

She wasn’t one of the 13 indicted Russians from the IRA, but as soon as Russian media said where she was, she tried to wipe her existence from the web.

RUMOR MILL: SAM’S PLEA FOR HELP

An interesting take coming from the Rumor Mill came after Sam’s breakdown and freakout today. At first, laughing and pointing at his craziness, but Claude was the first to say that maybe Sam should seek some help. Throughout the night, the narrative shifted from “look at this idiot” to “is he crying for help?”

Sam was drunk for at least one interview, and might know how screwed he really is. Not just the legal punishments, but Sam knows that Trump and his team are nuts deep in Russian Mob.

Here’s the hypothesis…

Sam’s scared for his life. He’s not a big enough fish to avoid getting whacked, and he can’t depend on a pardon or anything else like that. He’s scared shitless. If he’s out in public, he’s one random stranger away from a Russian Heart Attack.

But, if he makes an ass out of himself on national television, he might get the Special Counselor’s team to take him into custody. His only chance at survival might be getting locked up.

I don’t completely buy this hypothesis, but he’s under a shitload of stress. He became my choice for Most Likely To Pull an R. Budd Dwyer. Shit, I’m worried that not only will he do it, but it won’t even be the most fucked up thing to happen that day.

That’s it for today. If this is how Monday starts out, then we’re in for a LOOOOOOOOOOOOONGGGG week. It’s gonna get crazy. The pace is going to pick up from here. Think about what we got today.

We got proof that Mueller is looking directly at Trump for conspiring with the Russians. We got a story about the Russians choosing the Secretary of State of their choice. We got proof that British Intelligence told the CIA that Trump’s team was talking to the Russians during the campaign. We got a world leader going down in a corruption scandal. We have something that the spineless one Paul Ryan will stand up to Trump against.

It’s gonna get nuts. Fortunately, I’m already nuts, so I’ll be your tour guide.

Thank you, and have a good one.

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur