2018

SENATOR FEINSTEIN PUBLISHED FUSION GPS TESTIMONY FROM SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

That happened. Holy Shit, she did it. Diane Feinstein gave a giant “Fuck You” to Chuck Grassley and released the transcripts of all 10 hours from Fusion GPS’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

DiFei Released them here on her Senate homepage.

Direct PDF link to the 312 page long transcript.

There is a ton of information in here, so here’s a few bullet points.

Fusion GPS does opposition research during large campaigns, but this isn’t their main business.
They had researched Donald Trump before subcontracting the Russian research to Orbis.
Orbis is Christopher Steele’s company.
He was the head of the Russian desk at MI6.
Fusion GPS had researched Trump’s properties, taxes, and contacts with unions, the Mafia, and several foreign connections that were shady AF.
The basic research into Trump pointed to a ton of financial crimes, including tax fraud and money laundering.
Trump isn’t worth near a billion dollars, let alone the 10, 12, 13, or 15 billion he regularly claims.
Chris Steele and Glenn Simpson debated about taking this to the FBI.
Chris saw some shit that made him think that Trump was being blackmailed by the Russians.
Several subcontractors were hired, each with different areas of focus, like Latin America, China, Africa, etc.
They were originally looking into sweatshops in Nicaragua that were making Trump campaign gear like the Red MAGA hats.
Steele was freaked out by the partisanship and Pro-Trump bias of the FBI New York Office.
When they went to the FBI in the summer, the Feds freaked out. Not because Chris brought them new information, but because he had independently confirmed what they already knew.
The FBI had a mole in the campaign.
No sources were paid for their information.
At least one source was murdered.

STEVE BANNON STEPS DOWN FROM BREITBART, FIRED FROM SIRIUS XM

Steve Bannon is losing his bully pulpit.

Following his fallout with Trump and Rebekah Mercer last week, Steve Bannon is on the outside looking in.

I’m not exactly celebrating this move, but I’m cautiously optimistic that this will lead to Bannon leaking like an old Pontiac.

He is a wounded animal, ready to lash out, and the only thing keeping him under control was his company. Now that he doesn’t have it anymore, if he wants to get a story out, he has to talk to other press, which he’s well versed in.

More importantly, if the rumors of Bannon flipping are true, and Mercer found out, cutting him off would make sense.

ARPAIO RUNNING FOR SENATE IN ARIZONA

Fuck Joe Arpaio.

Aside from the fact that he’s a complete waste of skin, thoroughly unqualified, and a convicted felon, he’s 85 years old. He would be 86 by the time he would serve. That’s older than John McCain, Orrin Hatch, and Diane Feinstein.

VESELNITSKAYA SUPPOSEDLY EXCHANGED PLEASANTRIES WITH IVANKA TRUMP

NBC reported this yesterday, but I didn’t include it.

Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer that met with Donnie Jr and crew in Trump Tower in the June 9th meeting claims that she exchanged pleasantries on her way out of the building with a blond woman who bore a striking resemblance to Ivanka Trump.

While Ivanka wasn’t listed as a participant in the meeting, it’s not crazy to think she was in the building.

The Trump team denies everything about this meeting ever occurred, but their credibility is so low that I have to ask who is lying, the people around the President, or the cutouts for a corrupt Russian regime?

FEDERAL COURT STRIKES DOWN NORTH CAROLINA CONGRESSIONAL MAP AS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

The most gerrymandered map in the country is unconstitutional. This is the second time this decade that the map has been declared illegal.

That’s it for today. Let’s see what tomorrow brings. There’s a lot of chatter in the Rumor Mill about issues with different media outlets, but it’s a bit complicated. For example, the NYT breaks a ton of stories, but they also run stories that are very complimentary of Trump, or attack his opponents like those talking about Russia.

These are very large companies with multiple departments and managers. One group might run a Pro-Trump story one day and another an Anti-Trump story the next.

I’m not sure why the sudden push, but hopefully I can get to the bottom of this. Or, lose interest and say screw it.

Thank you and have a good one.

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

Daily Check-In 01/08/2018

It’s Monday. I wonder what happened today?

MUELLER LOOKING TO INTERVIEW TRUMP

This happened back in December, but was just confirmed over the weekend. Mueller met with Trump’s legal team to discuss how they’re going to interview the President. Trump’s lawyers want the Special Counselor to let him write answers down. Mueller wants a full interview, and may subpoena the President to get that.

Trump is fucked if he has to testify. He is a pathological liar. He can’t help but lie. He lies about stupid shit, like the weather and what time it is.

GRASSLEY WILL NOT RELEASE FUSION GPS TRANSCRIPTS

This isn’t much of a surprise, considering his bullshit tactics on Friday with Christopher Steele.

There is a workaround to get the transcript in the open. A Senator can introduce classified information into the public record by reading it on the floor of the Senate. This happened before with the Pentagon Papers back during the Vietnam War.

WHAT HAPPENED TO LINDSEY GRAHAM?

Something happened to Lindsey Graham back in December. He went from being a harsh critic of Trump to actively carrying his water. This all happened after Lindsey played a round of golf with Trump.

Why?

I’ve got two hypotheses.

First, the carrot. Trump’s Cabinet is falling apart, and there are several rumored positions opening up soon. Secretary of State, Interior, EPA, Attorney General, and possibly a few others. Trump gave Graham the wine and dine, and offered him a position if he’d help with the investigation.

Second, the stick. During the golf trip, Trump told Lindsey about what he knew about the investigation, including that Lindsey was implicated by accepting money from Russia, or some other Kompromat. Remember, Lindsey took $800,000 from Russian Americans connected to Putin for his re-election campaign, even though he wasn’t running for Senate in 2016. If Lindsey doesn’t want to go to prison, he’ll stop the investigation.

I think it’s a mix of these two. Lindsey’s former campaign manager, Chris Ferry, worked for Paul Manafort at the Davis Manafort consulting company, and his name is on some deals with Oleg Deripaska and other oligarchs. There is something that scared Lindsey.

I am honestly saddened by Lindsey’s heel turn. Heel turn is a wrestling term for someone becoming a bad guy. He was one of the few Senators who was putting country over party, only to go full Trump. What’s crazier is the timing. Trump is a cancer to anyone seeking re-election, and his popularity is dragging down everything he touches. Everyone he endorsed in November and December lost. Record numbers of Republicans are not running for re-election in 2018. The rays are fleeing the ship. So why join now?

That’s it for today. Things are heating up. The Rumor Mill is abuzz with activity. Each time something big happens, there’s an influx of troll activity. And things have been heating up recently. Combine this with the news of Mueller wanting to talk to Trump, and we’re in for some crazy shit.

Thank you, and have a good one.

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur

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