Category Archives: Russia
Comey’s Response
The Devin Nunes memo released last Friday described an FBI application to the FISA court. The FBI was seeking permission to spy on Carter Page, a low level Trump advisor with Russian contacts. The application included the infamous Christoper Steele Trump dossier.
That would be the same dossier that former FBI Director Comey said contained “salacious and unverified” information. Not only that, the Clinton campaign funded the thing and possibly contributed information to it.
Comey’s Response
Comey’s response when he read the memo – That’s it?
Political Bias Investigation
Most everybody is either a Democrat or Republican. So it’s hard to find politically pure investigators.
Bias
Nine of the fifteen lawyers Robert Mueller hired to investigate Donald Trump made political contributions. A total of $62,043 of those contributions went to Democrats and $2,750 to Republicans according to Politifact.
Crack FBI agent Peter Strzok also referred to Trump as an “idiot” and a “douche.” And he went on to text that a Trump win was highly unlikely. Even so, he claimed an insurance policy was needed in the event of a Trump victory.
Trump won. And Mueller kicked Strock off the investigation.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein defended the Mueller special investigation against bias charges.
Paul Manafort Swamp Creature
Special Counsel Robert Mueller busted Paul Manafort on Monday. The charges included money laundering, tax evasion and failure to register as a foreign agent.
But there was no mention of President Trump colluding with Russians to steal the election. Which Trump was quick to tweet. What he didn’t tweet is why he hired a swamp creature like Manafort to run his campaign in the first place.
Manafort served as Trump’s campaign manager in the summer of 2016.
Swamp Creature Comforts
Prior to that gig Manafort took in $75 million representing the pro-Russian party in Ukraine. Here’s what National Review’s Kevin Williamson has to say about the president’s swamp creature:
In 1980, he founded a lobbying firm with Roger Stone, one of the most disreputable figures in Washington — no minor distinction — a habitual liar who boasts of his dishonesty and whose entrée into politics was setting up Richard Nixon’s dirty-tricks operation.
Manafort has earned a fortune working as a lobbyist for corrupt foreign governments and thugs and kleptocrats ranging from Mobutu Sese Seko to Ferdinand Marcos.
In the indictment Manafort’s accused of stashing Ukranian money in offshore accounts and using it to buy real estate in the U.S. Then he took out loans on those properties to raise cash to fund his lavish lifestyle, without paying taxes.
The future Trump campaign manager also used some of that money to hire the Podesta Group to seek favors for his Ukranian client. Tony Podesta resigned from his firm the same day Manafort was indicted.
Tony’s brother, John Podesta, was Hillary’s campaign manager.
Colluding With Russia
Sara Huckabee Sanders says, “everything that Hillary Clinton and the DNC accused Trump of doing, they were doing.”
And Mark Steyn says likewise: “Everybody was colluding with Russia except Trump.”
But Hillary says “baloney“.
So says Real Clear Politics.
Dossier Doozy
In 1980 Ronald Reagan debated George H W Bush in the New Hampshire primary. The debate was sponsored by the Nashua Telegraph. But the FEC ruled it violated election regulations. So the Reagan Campaign took over sponsorship of the debate.
When the day of the event arrived chairs were only arranged for Reagan, Bush and a moderator. Four other candidates stood awkwardly onstage. Reagan demanded they be included. Editor Jon Breen, the moderator, asked the sound tech to cut off Reagan’s mic. The crowd booed.
The Gipper angrily responded, “I’m paying for this microphone, Mr. Green.” His name was Breen but, whatever. The crowd went nuts.
Dossier
In 2016 Hillary Clinton paid for a dossier on Donald Trump. Among other things, the document claimed Trump paid Russian prostitutes to pee on a bed where Barack and Michelle Obama had slept in Moscow.
Journalists were aware of the dossier but considered it sketchy, unverified and un-newsworthy. At least most did.
The big questions were: Who paid for the dossier and did its allegations contribute to the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate Trump for Russian Collusion?
The Washington Post broke the story Tuesday night that the Clinton Campaign and the DNC paid for it. They used the law firm Perkins Coie to hire the opposition research firm Fusion GPS. That way Fusion GPS could claim attorney client privilege when questions were asked. Fusion GPS then subcontracted with British spook Christopher Steele to compile the Dossier.
A Republican donor initially engaged Fusion GPS but dropped out after Trump won the primary.
Update: The Hill reports The Washington Free Beacon hired Fusion GPS first.
