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Mannafort in bed with the Russians

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  • Mannafort in bed with the Russians

    Source: https://www.axios.com/senate-intelligence-russia-interference-971619a8-a806-470a-9de6-1416220ab35b.htmlhttps://www.axios.com/senate-intelligence-russia-interference-971619a8-a806-470a-9de6-1416220ab35b.html



    Senate report finds Manafort passed campaign data to Russian intelligence officer

    The Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday released the fifth and final volume of its report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, which details "counterintelligence threats and vulnerabilities."

    Why it matters: The bipartisan, 996-page report goes further than the Mueller report in showing the extent of Russia's connections to members of the Trump campaign, and how the Kremlin was able to take advantage of the transition team's inexperience to gain access to sensitive information.

    Highlights
    Paul Manafort: The report found that the former Trump campaign chairman began working on influence operations for the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska and other pro-Russia Ukrainian oligarchs in 2004.

    Manafort hired and worked closely with Russian national Konstantin Kilimnik, whom the committee definitively calls a "Russian intelligence officer" that served as a liaison between him and Deripaska.
    On numerous occasions, Manafort sought to pass sensitive internal polling data and campaign strategy to Kilimnik. The committee was unable to determine why or what Kilimnik did with that information, in part due to the pair's use of encrypted messaging apps.
    The committee did, however, obtain "some information" suggesting Kilimnik "may have been connected" to Russia's hacking and leaking of Democratic emails. The section detailing these findings is largely redacted.
    The bottom line: "Taken as a whole, Manafort's high level access and willingness to share information with individuals closely affiliated with the Russian intelligence services, particularly Kilimnik and associates of Oleg Deripaska, represented a grave counterintelligence threat," the committee wrote.
    Roger Stone/WikiLeaks: The committee found that then-candidate Trump and senior campaign officials attempted to obtain advance information about WikiLeaks' release of damaging emails from Roger Stone, who they believed had inside information.

    It also assessed that Trump spoke with Stone about WikiLeaks on "multiple occasions," despite the fact that the president said he did not recall doing so in written answers to special counsel Robert Mueller.
    In July 2016, Stone drafted tweets for Trump — at his request — that "attacked Clinton for her adversarial posture toward Russia and mentioned a new peace deal with Putin."
    The committee also found "significant evidence" to suggest that WikiLeaks was "knowingly collaborating with Russian government officials." WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has long denied that the source of the hacked emails was Russia.
    2016 Trump Tower meeting: The committee found that Donald Trump Jr. expected to receive "derogatory information" that would benefit the campaign from a person he knew was connected to the Russian government, but that no information was ultimately transmitted.

    Two participants at the meeting, Natalia Veselnitskaya and Rinat Akhmetshin, had far more "extensive and concerning" ties to the the Russian government, including to Russian intelligence, than publicly known.
    Michael Cohen/Russia business deal: The report found that by the end of 2015, Trump’s former personal lawyer had “reached out to the Kremlin directly to solicit the Russian government's assistance” about building a Trump Tower in Moscow.

    “Cohen kept Trump updated on the progress of the deal. While these negotiations were ongoing, Trump made positive public comments about Putin in connection with his presidential campaign.” The report found Cohen and Felix Sater, a longtime business associate of Trump, “sought to leverage Trump's comments, and subsequent comments about Trump by Putin, to advance the deal.”
    Cohen made contact in January 2016 with a Russian aide to Putin spokesman Dmitri Peskov and reported to Trump that he had done so. Attempts to advance the deal stopped in the summer of 2016.
    Trump transition: Russia "took advantage" of members of the Trump transition team’s "relative inexperience in government, opposition to Obama administration policies, and Trump’s desire to deepen ties with Russia to pursue unofficial channels through which Russia could conduct diplomacy," the committee determined.

    The transition team "repeatedly took actions that had the potential, and sometimes the effect," of interfering with the Obama administration's diplomatic efforts, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn's conversations with the former Russian ambassador.
    FBI investigation: The report concluded that "certain FBI procedures and actions in response to the Russian threat to the 2016 elections were flawed," specifically with respect to the bureau's interactions with the DNC about the email hacks and its treatment of the Steele Dossier.

    Methodology: Together, the five volumes of the report represent "three years of investigative activity, hundreds of witness interviews and engagements, millions of pages of document review, and open and closed hearings."

    The committee conducted "follow-up interviews" with Michael Cohen, Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr., John Podesta, and State Department official Jonathan Winer — which were necessary after the committee "developed additional information since the initial interview that required clarification from the witnesses."
    The committee said it was limited in some aspects of its investigation by assertions of executive privilege, including by members of the Trump transition team. "The committee was surprised by these assertions because they were made inconsistently and because they have no basis in law," the report claims.
    What they're saying:

    Senate Intelligence acting chairman Marco Rubio (R-Fla.): “We can say, without any hesitation, that the Committee found absolutely no evidence that then-candidate Donald Trump or his campaign colluded with the Russian government to meddle in the 2016 election."
    Senate Intelligence ranking member Mark Warner (D-Va.): “At nearly 1,000 pages, Volume 5 stands as the most comprehensive examination of ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign to date – a breathtaking level of contacts between Trump officials and Russian government operatives that is a very real counterintelligence threat to our elections. ... This cannot happen again."

    © Copyright Original Source

    Glendower: I can call spirits from the vasty deep.
    Hotspur: Why, so can I, or so can any man;
    But will they come when you do call for them? Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part 1, Act III:

    go with the flow the river knows . . .

    Frank

    I do not know, therefore everything is in pencil.

  • #2
    As I've noted elsewhere, those of us who have bothered to stay informed know that the Senate Intelligence Committee is not to be trusted.

    Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee who has been leading a congressional investigation into President Trump's alleged ties to Russia, had extensive contact last year with a lobbyist for [Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska] who was offering Warner access to former British spy and dossier author Christopher Steele, according to text messages obtained exclusively by Fox News.

    [...]

    Secrecy seemed very important to Warner as the conversation with Waldman heated up March 29, when the lobbyist revealed that Steele wanted a bipartisan letter from Warner and the committee’s chairman, North Carolina Republican Sen. Richard Burr, inviting him to talk to the Senate intelligence panel.

    Throughout the text exchanges, Warner seemed particularly intent on connecting directly with Steele without anyone else on the Senate Intelligence Committee being in the loop -- at least initially. In one text to the lobbyist, Warner wrote that he would "rather not have a paper trail" of his messages.

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dem...stopher-steele

    Four months after the Mark Warner texts were made public, on June 8th, 2018, another headline story surfaced. An indictment for Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Security Director James Wolfe was unsealed on June 7th, 2018.

    Mr. Wolfe was indicted for leaking information from within the SSCI to four journalists; and lying to FBI investigators.

    Within the indictment we discover the FBI were conducting an ongoing leak investigation throughout 2017. Within that investigation a top-secret document was transferred to the custody of SSCI Security Director James Wolfe on March 17, 2017. The details inside that document were leaked to the media.

    The indictment describes FBI investigators informing Mr. Wolfe in October of 2017 about their investigation of national security leaks. In December of 2017 Mr. Wolfe was confronted with evidence of his leaking to journalists including a woman now working for the New York Times named Ali Watkins, with whom he was having a sexual relationship – implied as a possible quid-pro-quo.

    https://theconservativetreehouse.com...ig-as-spygate/
    Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
    But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
    Than a fool in the eyes of God


    From "Fools Gold" by Petra

    Comment


    • #3
      Manafort
      The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Mountain Man View Post
        As I've noted elsewhere, those of us who have bothered to stay informed know that the Senate Intelligence Committee is not to be trusted.

        Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee who has been leading a congressional investigation into President Trump's alleged ties to Russia, had extensive contact last year with a lobbyist for [Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska] who was offering Warner access to former British spy and dossier author Christopher Steele, according to text messages obtained exclusively by Fox News.

        [...]

        Secrecy seemed very important to Warner as the conversation with Waldman heated up March 29, when the lobbyist revealed that Steele wanted a bipartisan letter from Warner and the committee’s chairman, North Carolina Republican Sen. Richard Burr, inviting him to talk to the Senate intelligence panel.

        Throughout the text exchanges, Warner seemed particularly intent on connecting directly with Steele without anyone else on the Senate Intelligence Committee being in the loop -- at least initially. In one text to the lobbyist, Warner wrote that he would "rather not have a paper trail" of his messages.

        https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dem...stopher-steele

        Four months after the Mark Warner texts were made public, on June 8th, 2018, another headline story surfaced. An indictment for Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Security Director James Wolfe was unsealed on June 7th, 2018.

        Mr. Wolfe was indicted for leaking information from within the SSCI to four journalists; and lying to FBI investigators.

        Within the indictment we discover the FBI were conducting an ongoing leak investigation throughout 2017. Within that investigation a top-secret document was transferred to the custody of SSCI Security Director James Wolfe on March 17, 2017. The details inside that document were leaked to the media.

        The indictment describes FBI investigators informing Mr. Wolfe in October of 2017 about their investigation of national security leaks. In December of 2017 Mr. Wolfe was confronted with evidence of his leaking to journalists including a woman now working for the New York Times named Ali Watkins, with whom he was having a sexual relationship – implied as a possible quid-pro-quo.

        https://theconservativetreehouse.com...ig-as-spygate/
        Again, it's a bipartisan report MM, not a Senator Warren report.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
          Manafort
          Same problem with Steve "Banon" [sic]

          I'm always still in trouble again

          "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
          "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
          "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by rogue06 View Post
            Same problem with Steve "Banon" [sic]
            Folks, notice how quickly the discussion went from nefarious communications with Russians to spell-flaming.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by JimLamebrain View Post
              Again, it's a bipartisan report MM...
              So?
              Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
              But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
              Than a fool in the eyes of God


              From "Fools Gold" by Petra

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Mountain Man View Post
                So?
                So, your denial just goes to show that your mind is fixed in defense against facts.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by JimLamebrain View Post
                  So, your denial just goes to show that your mind is fixed in defense against facts.
                  Sorry, but Cow Poke schooled you on this nonsense in another thread.

                  http://www.theologyweb.com/campus/sh...l=1#post775472
                  Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
                  But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
                  Than a fool in the eyes of God


                  From "Fools Gold" by Petra

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Mountain Man View Post
                    Sorry, but Cow Poke schooled you on this nonsense in another thread.

                    http://www.theologyweb.com/campus/sh...l=1#post775472
                    To MM, who doesn't read the articles he's referring to, this is "nonsense" and being "schooled":
                    Both parties agree threat from Russia persists

                    The committee’s lengthy investigation further enforced Mueller’s findings that Russia engaged in a sweeping and multipronged effort to influence the outcome of the 2016 election, which has led to a bipartisan push in Washington to further address election interference threats from Russia and other foreign adversaries.

                    The report’s release comes less than two weeks after a top U.S. counterintelligence official warned that Russia continues to interfere in U.S. elections with the intent of denigrating presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and boosting Trump. Bill Evanina, the intelligence official who went public with his warnings, also noted that China and Iran are launching influence efforts that seek to undermine Trump.

                    Tuesday’s intel report, however, wasn’t without a dose of congressional bickering.

                    Six of the eight GOP senators on the committee offered additional views, included in a section separate from the bipartisan findings, saying that “after more than three years of investigation by this Committee, we can now say with no doubt, there was no collusion.”
                    And here's Trump licking Putin's dictatorial tuchus for being named Time's Person of the Year:

                    Trump Wrote Putin To Congratulate Him On Being Named TIME Person Of The Year

                    Gee, I wonder why:

                    Trump's oldest son said a decade ago that a lot of the family's assets came from Russia

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by whag View Post
                      Folks, notice how quickly the discussion went from nefarious communications with Russians to spell-flaming.
                      Spell-flaming? That's a thing?


                      (this is about me, isn't it?)
                      The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
                        Spell-flaming? That's a thing?


                        (this is about me, isn't it?)
                        Spell flaming is the last refuge of the scoundrel.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by whag View Post
                          Spell flaming is the last refuge of the scoundrel.
                          When a goofus acts like he's the smartest guy on the planet, and can't even spell the names he's calling the other guy, he deserves to get his hiney singed.
                          The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I think we should appease the democrats and the neocons. Just get it over with and nuke Russia already.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by seanD View Post
                              I think we should appease the democrats and the neocons. Just get it over with and nuke Russia already.
                              It's what Hillary would have done.
                              Some may call me foolish, and some may call me odd
                              But I'd rather be a fool in the eyes of man
                              Than a fool in the eyes of God


                              From "Fools Gold" by Petra

                              Comment

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