Thursday

Mueller subpoenaed Trump Team for Russia-Related Documents

This story just came across the wire, but this is big.

Mueller subpoenaed the Trump Team for any documents related to their contacts with Russians during the 2016 election.

I know I’ve talked about this before, or at least it sounds like it, but this is a little different.

First, it’s proof that a subpoena has been issued against people currently in the White House.

Second, Mueller feels like they’re not getting everything. Before now, the campaign team has been voluntarily sharing information, but if they’re getting subpoenaed, it’s bad. Subpoenas are used for two reasons by prosecutors. They gain new information, and they show what is being withheld.

Finally, look at the timing. Mid-October. Before the Manafort arrest, but after George Papadopoulos pleading guilty to lying to the FBI.

What I think happened was that George provided them with a ton of information, and when they realized that Trump was holding out, they issued this subpoena.

Kushner Received Wikileaks Mails

Speaking of subpoenas, the Senate Judiciary Committee gave one to Jared Kushner.

Why?

Because Jared didn’t share his emails about Wikileaks with them.

How do they know about those mails? Not only were they mentioned in the news, but they have copies of those mails from other people. They have copies that Jared sent to others, and from other people sent to Jared.

He’s not that good at this, is he?

Chuck Johnson, The Go-Between

Chuck Johnson is a name we’ll hear a lot more going forward. He was the go-between for Julian Assange and Roger Stone. He arranged a meeting between Assange and Dana Rohrbacher to discuss a possible pardon.

And Chuck also worked on the campaign.

Trump Worth 1/10 of Stated Value

This isn’t such a surprise given Trump’s personality and history, but after studying his revenue streams, Trump’s New York Business has been externally valued at far less than what Trump has claimed.

Hope Hicks, Jared Kushner to be Interviewed Soon

Two high level members of the White House are set to interview with Mueller’s team in the next week. Hope Hicks and Jared Kushner.

Prosecutors don’t ask questions without knowing the answers ahead of time. At this point, they are setting a trap for them, baiting them for a lie.

My guess is that Hope tells the truth, but Jared lies.

Flipping the Turk

This is worth checking out. One of the people in a December 2016 meeting with Mike Flynn and Turkish Representatives was indicted several weeks ago in Southern District New York.

Earlier this week, that man was released on his own recognizance. It could be nothing, but the Rumor Mill is buzzing about this. This could be a cooperating witness against Flynn, Rudy, and a few others.

Wait and see.

Senator Al Franken Accused of Inappropriate Sexual Behavior

Al Franken was accused of sexual assault and harassment while on a USO tour in 2006.

Short version: one of his comedy sketch ideas involved a kiss, and there was a photo of him “groping” a woman while sleeping.

Al’s Response is Here. He accepts responsibility, knowing that sometimes his comedy ideas are in bad taste years later, and he calls for an ethics investigation on himself.

The Multiple Times Trump has been Accused of Rape

Just in case anyone has forgotten.

That’s it for today. I’m not sure what’s coming tomorrow, but I’ve got a feeling it’ll be unexpected. Also, I’m trying a different format tonight. Partially to see how it looks, and mostly because by the time I realized I did it this way, I was already halfway through the article. Oh well.

Thank you, and have a good one.

HSIOW. Holy Shit, It’s Only Wednesday

MORE WOMEN COME FORWARD ACCUSING ROY MOORE OF DATING THEM WHILE THEY WERE TEENAGERS

The sixth and seventh women have come forward, accusing Roy Moore of hitting on them while they were teenagers and he was in his thirties.

We are well past the point of random coincidence. Combined with further details that he was banned from the Gasden Mall for his constant and continued harassment of the underage girls working there, and that the YMCA banned him from their premises after he solicited girls for sex (yes, you read that right), he is a Grade A Creep.

This puts every single decision of his under scrutiny. Every judicial action gets a look. Every comment, every stance that he’s made in public gets thrown under a microscope.

This is on top of his shady, and likely illegal actions with his charity that he uses like an ATM.

By the way, his wife has gone on the offensive against the women accusing her husband of chasing after girls. She’s gone after them on social media, lying all over. And those lies are easily disproved, like saying that the restaurant that one woman worked at didn’t exist in 1977 when it did, or forging a letter of endorsement from 53 pastors by changing the date and text of the letter to reflect current events, or that the yearbook signature was a forgery.

By the way, Kayla Moore, then Kalya Kisor, was Classmates with Beverly Nelson, the fifth accuser.

I shit you not.

STEELE DOSSIER “70-90% ACCURATE”, SOURCES WERE NOT PAID

According to The Guardian, the Steele Dossier is “70-90% accurate.”

Before anyone gets their panties in a twist and scream “so, it’s wrong!”, let me explain how this works.

The Steele Dossier is a Raw Intelligence document, meant to serve as a guide to more in-depth raw and unrefined information. It uses sources like HUMINT (human intelligence, like investigative work), RUMINT (rumored intelligence, like gossip), and SIGINT (signals intelligence, like intercepted calls and mails).

Think of it like a first draft treatment for a novel or screenplay. A lot of the basics are there, like the main characters, plot points, and general settings, but things can change between the first draft and final version. Minor characters get combined or dropped, or a scene gets moved from Kiev to Milan due to … reasons.

Another important story about the Dossier is that Congress told the Trump Administration that none of the sources were paid.

This is important for two reasons.

First, one of the big talking points used to discredit it was that the sources were paid, and their testimony should be discarded.

Second, because the sources weren’t paid, and many of them may have even been killed, this information gains a little it more substance.

This increase in chatter about the Dossier could mean that something about it is likely to drop, perhaps some new piece is about to get verified. It could be nothing, but then again, Several pieces have already been confirmed.

UNITED KINGDOM CONFIRMS RUSSIAN CYBERATTACKS, 150,000 TROLL ACCOUNTS USED IN BREXIT

The Russians have attacked the IT infrastructure of several British utilities and other infrastructure . These attacks are not the first time that Russia has incurred into British sovereignty. Their role in Brexit is still being uncovered. Over 150,000 Twitter accounts were used by the Russians in support of Brexit.

SIX DEMOCRATS INTRODUCE ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT AGAINST DONALD TRUMP

Oh, by the way, This just happened. Multiple Articles of Impeachment were filed today against Donald Trump.

Don’t get too excited, we’re nowhere near the endgame yet.

These are preliminary moves to build a paper trail, and serve as a signal for others. As support for impeachment grows, more politicians will jump on board.

There were several attempts made at impeaching Nixon before he eventually resigned.

Remember, Mueller is still investigating Trump and hasn’t returned any indictments against him…yet.

That’s it for today.

Thank you, and have a good one.

“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”

– Katy Tur