Russia Collusion Megathread v.10: one guilty plea, two indictments, one resignation

[HOLA]

the judge should just slame his hammer and say "she lost. get over it."

But then who would daddy rage tweet about when bad news comes out?

 

[RockstarChris]

But then who would daddy rage tweet about when bad news comes out?

you could always get on your knees

 

[fartJokes]

Jimmie Dore is neither conservative or a Republican. He is a Progressive.
MSM is fucked. All they do is push the narratives that they are told to, like good prostitutes. Real journalism is found outside that bubble.

 

[Uncle Bingo]

What I wish is for every person indicted to swing from a rope.

calm down tough guy

 

[xcvbn]

https://apnews.com/6eed1ef61eb744e1aac584f8ac1f7247/trump-advisers-waged-covert-influence-campaign

Juicy details from August 2016:

Trump advisers waged covert influence campaign
By JEFF HORWITZ and CHAD DAY
Aug. 19, 2016

WASHINGTON (AP) — A firm run by Donald Trump’s campaign chairman directly orchestrated a covert Washington lobbying operation on behalf of Ukraine’s ruling political party, attempting to sway American public opinion in favor of the country’s pro-Russian government, emails obtained by The Associated Press show. Paul Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, never disclosed their work as foreign agents as required under federal law.

The lobbying included attempts to gain positive press coverage of Ukrainian officials in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press. Another goal: undercutting American public sympathy for the imprisoned rival of Ukraine’s then-president. At the time, European and American leaders were pressuring Ukraine to free her.

Gates personally directed the work of two prominent Washington lobbying firms in the matter, the emails show. He worked for Manafort’s political consulting firm at the time.

Manafort and Gates’ activities carry outsized importance, since they have steered Trump’s campaign since April. The pair also played a formative role building out Trump’s campaign operation after pushing out an early rival. Trump shook up his campaign’s organization again this week, but Manafort and Gates retain their titles and much of their influence. The new disclosures about their work come as Trump faces criticism for his friendly overtures to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump said Thursday night that, if elected, he will ask senior officials in his administration not to accept speaking fees, for five years after leaving office, from corporations that lobby “or from any entity tied to a foreign government.” He said it was among his efforts to “restore honor to government.”

Manafort and Gates have previously said they were not doing work that required them to register as foreign agents. Neither commented when reached by the AP on Thursday.

The emails show Gates personally directed two Washington lobbying firms, Mercury LLC and the Podesta Group Inc., between 2012 and 2014 to set up meetings between a top Ukrainian official and senators and congressmen on influential committees involving Ukrainian interests. Gates noted in the emails that the official, Ukraine’s foreign minister, did not want to use his own embassy in the United States to help coordinate the visits.

Gates also directed the firms to gather information in the U.S. on a rival lobbying operation, including a review of its public lobbying disclosures, to determine who was behind that effort, the emails show.

And Gates directed efforts to undercut sympathy for Yulia Tymoshenko, an imprisoned rival of then-President Viktor Yanukovych. The Ukrainian leader eventually fled the country in February 2014 during a popular revolt prompted in part by his government’s crackdown on protesters and close ties to Russia.

The emails do not describe details about the role of Manafort, who was Gates’ boss at the firm, DMP International LLC. Current and former employees at Mercury and the Podesta Group, some of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because they are subject to non-disclosure agreements, told the AP that Manafort oversaw the lobbying efforts and spoke by phone about them. Gates was directing actions and seeking information during the project using an email address at DMP International, which he still uses.

Manafort did not return phone and email messages Thursday from the AP to discuss the project. After the AP reported earlier this week that Manafort helped the Ukrainian political party secretly route at least $2.2 million to the two Washington lobbying firms, Manafort told Yahoo News that the AP’s account was wrong. “I was not involved in any payment plans,” Manafort said.

Gates said Thursday he was busy with Trump campaign focus groups and promised to review the AP’s questions in writing, then did not respond.

Manafort also said in a statement earlier this week that he never performed work for the governments of Ukraine or Russia. Gates previously told the AP, “At no time did our firm or members provide any direct lobbying support.”

Under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act, people who lobby on behalf of foreign political leaders or political parties must provide detailed reports about their actions to the Justice Department. A violation is a felony and can result in up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

The emails illustrate how Gates worked with Mercury and the Podesta Group on behalf of Ukrainian political leaders. None of the firms, nor Manafort or Gates, disclosed their work to the Justice Department counterespionage division responsible for tracking the lobbying of foreign governments.

“There is no question that Gates and Manafort should have registered along with the lobbying firms,” said Joseph Sandler of Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock, a Democratic-leaning Washington law firm that advises Republican and Democratic lobbyists.

Manafort and Gates have said that they did not disclose their activities to the Justice Department because they did not oversee lobbying efforts and merely introduced the Washington firms to a Brussels-based nonprofit, the European Center for a Modern Ukraine, which they said ran the project. The center paid Mercury and the Podesta Group a combined $2.2 million over roughly two years.

The emails appear to contradict the assertion that the nonprofit’s lobbying campaign operated independently from Manafort’s firm.

In papers filed in the U.S. Senate, Mercury and the Podesta Group listed the European nonprofit as an independent, nonpolitical client. The firms said the center stated in writing that it was not aligned with any foreign political entity.

The 1938 U.S. foreign agents law is intended to track efforts of foreign government’s unofficial operatives in the United States.

Political consultants are generally leery of registering under it, because their reputations can suffer once they are on record as accepting money to advocate the interests of foreign governments — especially if those interests conflict with America’s. Moreover, registering under the law would have required Gates, Manafort or the lobbying firms to disclose the specifics of their lobbying work and their efforts to sway public opinion through media outreach.

Ina Kirsch, who runs the European nonprofit, has said the group’s work was independent and its goal was to bring Ukraine into the fold of Europe. The center has declined for years to reveal specific sources of its funding.

Gates confirmed to the AP previously that he was working for Ukraine’s ruling party, the Party of Regions, at the time.

The chairman of the Podesta Group, Tony Podesta — the brother of Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta — said his firm believed Gates was working for the nonprofit. Podesta said he was unaware of the firm’s work for the Ukraine’s Party of Regions, led by Yanukovych. On Thursday, his firm said it had nothing new to add.

Mercury’s founder, Vin Weber, an influential Republican and former congressman, told the AP that his firm was aware of Manafort’s and Gates’ affiliation with Ukraine’s political party and said Gates never participated in Mercury’s lobbying work. Weber did not respond to questions after the AP said it had obtained emails contradicting this.

 

[regmma123]

Good sir, those are facts you're trying to use on a liberal. In case you're not aware, they are in fact allergic to facts. May I suggest going with a more "feelz" based approach.

You really smell like a russian troll

good job on learning american slang though

 

[Rational Poster]

Jimmie Dore is neither conservative or a Republican. He is a Progressive.
MSM is fucked. All they do is push the narratives that they are told to, like good prostitutes. Real journalism is found outside that bubble.

 

[method115]

They were not giving the actual physical servers. That much is correct.

Being given the relevant data rather than the physical hard drives is not "very odd," though. That's just a piece of bullshit you swallowed whole when you heard it from some other person.

Comey himself said it wasn't best practices. The DNC has made a huge deal about Russia interfering in the election, Hillary herself as well. Yet they wont give the agencies access to the server? Just some third party company that they hired? That's very odd IMO. If you don't think so then IMO your letting your bias get in the way.

I could understand if they hired some third party company first and then gave the FBI access to the server but they wont even do that.

 

[Rational Poster]

Comey himself said it wasn't best practices. The DNC has made a huge deal about Russia interfering in the election, Hillary herself as well. Yet they wont give the agencies access to the server? Just some third party company that they hired? That's very odd IMO. If you don't think so then IMO your letting your bias get in the way.

I could understand if they hired some third party company first and then gave the FBI access to the server but they wont even do that.

Now, if that was the only thing the Russians did to influence the election, you might have a leg to stand on.

But it wasn't, so you don't.

 

[method115]

Now, if that was the only thing the Russians did to influence the election, you might have a leg to stand on.

But it wasn't, so you don't.

Listen there is a reason it's not best practices to do things this way. I find it odd that they wont let the FBI approach this investigation in the best way possible. I just don't see any logical reason for it and none was ever given.

 

[Rational Poster]

Listen there is a reason it's not best practices to do things this way. I find it odd that they wont let the FBI approach this investigation in the best way possible. I just don't see any logical reason for it and none was ever given.

Yeah, but there still is a mountain of other evidence that still puts the blame firmly on Russia.

So, yeah. It's a pretty useless deflection.

 

[method115]

Yeah, but there still is a mountain of other evidence that still puts the blame firmly on Russia.

So, yeah. It's a pretty useless deflection.

Who's to blame doesn't matter to me at all really I could careless that's an open and shut case. My issue is with the way this was handled. This is the fucking FBI they shouldn't be going off documents handed to them by a third party company. Frankly it comes off as extremely irresponsible to put the FBI's reputation in the hands of a third party.

 

[Rational Poster]

Who's to blame doesn't matter to me at all really I could careless that's an open and shut case. My issue is with the way this was handled. This is the fucking FBI they shouldn't be going off documents handed to them by a third party company. Frankly it comes off as extremely irresponsible to put the FBI's reputation in the hands of a third party.

Their reputation is just fine and they're moving along with the mountains of evidence they have.

I'm not sure if you heard, but 3 people that we know of have been indicted and one of them has already plead guilty. I think it's very possible other people have plead guilty and we just don't know about them yet considering the guilty plea is months old.

 

[bobgeese]

You really smell like a russian troll

good job on learning american slang though

Was it Russians who showed up to the polls in November?

Was it Russians who showed up to the polls to win every single election since November?




You live in a safe space fantasy, and a perfect example of the inability of the modern day liberal to deal with opposing viewpoints.

 

[fartJokes]

I also think it's hilarious when the #RESIST party gets taken down by their own former team members.
TLDR: Even they believe the real criminals are the Democrats. True story!

 

[PastThePoint]

Now, if that was the only thing the Russians did to influence the election, you might have a leg to stand on.

But it wasn't, so you don't.

Russians didn't "influence" the election. Where are you getting this shit? They tried to interfere, but how did they influence?

I'm pretty sure our media influences elections, or at least tries to.

 

[Rational Poster]

Russians didn't "influence" the election. Where are you getting this shit? They tried to interfere, but how did they influence?

I'm pretty sure our media influences elections, or at least tries to.

OUR media is allowed to influence the election as they are an organization comprised of Americans.

Russian propaganda was read by 126 million Americans on Facebook alone.

 

[HOLA]

Russia organized 2 sides of a Texas protest and encouraged 'both sides to battle in the streets'

Russian actors organized both anti-Islam and pro-Islam protests in the same location at the same time on May 21, 2016, using separate Facebook pages operated from a so-called troll farm in St. Petersburg, the Senate Intelligence Committee disclosed on Wednesday.

http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-trolls-senate-intelligence-committee-hearing-2017-11

 

[HOLA]

Russians didn't "influence" the election. Where are you getting this shit? They tried to interfere, but how did they influence?

I'm pretty sure our media influences elections, or at least tries to.

And our media has members and entities that spew Kremlin talking points.

Look what happened to this very forum. SodaPopinsky lost his fucking mind over Pizzagate.

 

[Falsedawn]

Comey himself said it wasn't best practices. The DNC has made a huge deal about Russia interfering in the election, Hillary herself as well. Yet they wont give the agencies access to the server? Just some third party company that they hired? That's very odd IMO. If you don't think so then IMO your letting your bias get in the way.

I could understand if they hired some third party company first and then gave the FBI access to the server but they wont even do that.

Listening to you talk about security is giving me AIDS.

Physical access to a compromised server isn't required for forensic analysis, nor is it something that "has to be done" by any stretch of the imagination. If I capture an image with FTK Imager, and I send it to you for analysis, I expect a report with accurate analysis of that disk image. Likewise, evidence provided in that manner would be legally defensible should I have to go to court and present it. Not having physical access has no bearing on the accuracy of the report, and really has no bearing on the situation as a whole beyond people who have no idea what they're talking about wanting to inject impropriety into the narrative for partisan reasons.

So unless you're accusing Crowdstrike (a firm with a reputation that is quite sterling in the security field) of falsifying their report, these insinuations are asinine.