Trump and Russia; Spasiba, Harasho!

[Forty Two]

Indeed, that's why we need the Democrats back in power.

[Seabass]

Nothing to see here. Fake news. And if it isn't, then surely Killary is behind it.

F.B.I. Raids Office of Trump’s Longtime Lawyer Michael Cohen

The F.B.I. on Monday raided the office of President Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, seizing records related to several topics including payments to a pornographic-film actress.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan obtained the search warrant after receiving a referral from the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to Mr. Cohen’s lawyer, who called the search “completely inappropriate and unnecessary.” The search does not appear to be directly related to Mr. Mueller’s investigation, but likely resulted from information he had uncovered and gave to prosecutors in New York.

“Today the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York executed a series of search warrants and seized the privileged communications between my client, Michael Cohen, and his clients,” said Stephen Ryan, his lawyer. “I have been advised by federal prosecutors that the New York action is, in part, a referral by the Office of Special Counsel, Robert Mueller.”

Mr. Cohen plays a role in aspects of the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. He also recently said he paid $130,000 to a pornographic-film actress, Stephanie Clifford, who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump. Ms. Clifford is known as Stormy Daniels.

Mr. Ryan said Mr. Cohen has cooperated with authorities and turned over thousands of documents to congressional investigators looking into Russian election meddling.

The payments to Ms. Clifford are only one of many topics being investigated, according to a person briefed on the search. The F.B.I. also seized emails, tax documents and business records, the person said.

The seized records include communications between Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen, which would likely require a special team of agents to review because conversations between lawyers and clients are protected from scrutiny in most instances.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/09/us/p ... cohen.html

[Brian Peacock]

This is clearly persecution of the Trump organisation beyond the bounds of an out-of-control investigative body. We know this because of anonymous sources.

[pErvinalia]

This might be the final straw for him before sacking Mueller. Shit will get interesting if he does that.

[L'Emmerdeur]

The story that Erik Prince told to the US Congress of a chance encounter with a Russian fixer appears to have been a lie.

'Report: Mueller Has Evidence Contradicting Erik Prince’s Testimony About Russia Meeting'

Special counsel Robert Mueller has obtained evidence that raises doubts about Erik Prince’s testimony about his meeting with a Vladimir Putin confidant, sources have told ABC News. Prince, a prominent Trump supporter and founder of Blackwater, described his meeting with a Russian financier in the Seychelles last year as a chance meeting “over a beer.” However, a key witness in the Mueller investigation, Lebanese-American businessman George Nader, has reportedly told investigators that he set up the meeting between Prince and Russian sovereign-wealth fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev days before Trump was inaugurated. Documents obtained by Mueller suggest that before and after Prince met Nader in New York, a week before the trip to the Seychelles, Nader shared information with Prince about Dmitriev, contradicting Prince’s version of events. “I didn’t fly there to meet any Russian guy,” Prince told the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in November, claiming the United Arab Emirates officials he met there unexpectedly introduced him to Dmitriev.

[Forty Two]

Nothing to see here. Fake news. And if it isn't, then surely Killary is behind it.

F.B.I. Raids Office of Trump’s Longtime Lawyer Michael Cohen

The F.B.I. on Monday raided the office of President Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, seizing records related to several topics including payments to a pornographic-film actress.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan obtained the search warrant after receiving a referral from the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to Mr. Cohen’s lawyer, who called the search “completely inappropriate and unnecessary.” The search does not appear to be directly related to Mr. Mueller’s investigation, but likely resulted from information he had uncovered and gave to prosecutors in New York.

“Today the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York executed a series of search warrants and seized the privileged communications between my client, Michael Cohen, and his clients,” said Stephen Ryan, his lawyer. “I have been advised by federal prosecutors that the New York action is, in part, a referral by the Office of Special Counsel, Robert Mueller.”

Mr. Cohen plays a role in aspects of the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. He also recently said he paid $130,000 to a pornographic-film actress, Stephanie Clifford, who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump. Ms. Clifford is known as Stormy Daniels.

Mr. Ryan said Mr. Cohen has cooperated with authorities and turned over thousands of documents to congressional investigators looking into Russian election meddling.

The payments to Ms. Clifford are only one of many topics being investigated, according to a person briefed on the search. The F.B.I. also seized emails, tax documents and business records, the person said.

The seized records include communications between Mr. Trump and Mr. Cohen, which would likely require a special team of agents to review because conversations between lawyers and clients are protected from scrutiny in most instances.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/09/us/p ... cohen.html

Indeed, Trump's lawyer is bound to have the damning evidence of illegal collusion with Russia. It makes sense that the special prosecutor would get a warrant to search the office of a lawyer who may well be behind a rather doubtful, and not particularly high dollar value, campaign finance violation which is punishable by a fine of amount of money in question.

[Forty Two]

The story that Erik Prince told to the US Congress of a chance encounter with a Russian fixer appears to have been a lie.

'Report: Mueller Has Evidence Contradicting Erik Prince’s Testimony About Russia Meeting'

Special counsel Robert Mueller has obtained evidence that raises doubts about Erik Prince’s testimony about his meeting with a Vladimir Putin confidant, sources have told ABC News. Prince, a prominent Trump supporter and founder of Blackwater, described his meeting with a Russian financier in the Seychelles last year as a chance meeting “over a beer.” However, a key witness in the Mueller investigation, Lebanese-American businessman George Nader, has reportedly told investigators that he set up the meeting between Prince and Russian sovereign-wealth fund CEO Kirill Dmitriev days before Trump was inaugurated. Documents obtained by Mueller suggest that before and after Prince met Nader in New York, a week before the trip to the Seychelles, Nader shared information with Prince about Dmitriev, contradicting Prince’s version of events. “I didn’t fly there to meet any Russian guy,” Prince told the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in November, claiming the United Arab Emirates officials he met there unexpectedly introduced him to Dmitriev.

A clear violation of the law.... I'm surprised they haven't arrested Prince and Trump yet. So damning.

[Forty Two]

This might be the final straw for him before sacking Mueller. Shit will get interesting if he does that.

He's not going to sack Mueller. Cohen was likely not involved in anything other than the payout to the porn star.

Note, the search warrant is under seal. That's a red flag. The FBI doesn't want anybody to know what they were looking for. If it was something big and relevant to the main investigation, it would be public. But, here it's side issues. They apparently were looking for "taxi medallion" documents for taxi rights owned by Michael Cohen, and they seized some tax documents.

They must have something criminal on Michael Cohen, or if they don't it's a big problem, because to get attorney client privileged documents they have to have probable cause that the law firm was involved in the crime.

As for larger tax issues, it's unlikely that Cohen would have anything there. Trump used Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, a big Park Avenue law firm, for his taxes. That firm was also reported in the usual suspect press - New York Times, CNN - as having "deep ties" to Russia, LOL. So, let's see the feds raid Morgan, Lewis. That'll be a hoot.

Does anyone see anything here? Other than the fact that the FBI had the balls to raid a law firm here, over apparently at most a campaign finance violation, is there anything of substance that we've learned?

[Forty Two]

Alan Dershowitz, liberal civil rights lawyer, Hillary Clinton voter, lifelong Democrat -- http://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/38 ... rry-us-all

There is much speculation as to the significance of the search of the offices and hotel room of President Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen. To obtain a search warrant, prosecutors must demonstrate to a judge that they have probable cause to believe that the premises to be searched contain evidence of crime. They must also specify the area to be searched, the items to be seized and, in searches of computers, the word searches to be used.

Civil libertarians should be concerned whenever the government interferes with the lawyer-client relationship. Clients should be able to rely on confidentiality when they disclose their most intimate secrets in an effort to secure their legal rights. A highly publicized raid on the president’s lawyer will surely shake the confidence of many clients in promises of confidentiality by their lawyers. They will not necessarily understand the nuances of the confidentiality rules and their exceptions. They will see a lawyer’s office being raided and all his files seized.

I believe we would have been hearing more from civil libertarians— the American Civil Liberties Union, attorney groups and privacy advocates — if the raid had been on Hillary Clinton’s lawyer. Many civil libertarians have remained silent about potential violations of President Trump’s rights because they strongly disapprove of him and his policies. That is a serious mistake, because these violations establish precedents that lie around like loaded guns capable of being aimed at other targets.

I have been widely attacked for defending the constitutional rights of a president I voted against. In our hyperpartisan age, everyone is expected to choose a side, either for or against Trump. But the essence of civil liberties is that they must be equally applicable to all. The silence among most civil libertarians regarding the recent raid shows that we are losing that valuable neutrality.

What else does the raid tell us? It seems likely that special counsel Robert Mueller is bifurcating the investigation: He will keep control over matters relating to Russia, the campaign and any possible obstruction. But he has handed over to the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York any matters relating to Trump’s personal and business affairs. Mueller will work hand in hand with the New York prosecutors, but they will be in charge of the other matters. If they manage to find prosecutable evidence against Trump’s lawyer, they may try to squeeze him into cooperating against his client.

It is doubtful that Cohen would cooperate, even if he has anything on his client. But prosecutors often try to get lawyers to “sing” against their clients — to become “canaries” — in order to save their own feathers. Some flipped witnesses will tell prosecutors anything they want to hear in order to earn a “get out of jail free card.” They know that the “better” their story, the more leniency they will earn. So, in addition to singing, they “compose” by making up incriminating details.

I have seen this on many occasions. Mueller has already apparently flipped several witnesses, but Cohen would be his biggest catch in the unlikely event he could be induced to turn against his client. So, stay tuned to this unfolding drama, but remember that prosecutorial tactics used today against President Trump may tomorrow be used against Democrats — and even against you.

[L'Emmerdeur]

Defector from WikiLeaks accuses Assange of being aligned with Putin.

"Defector: WikiLeaks ‘Will Lie to Your Face’"

Last February, leaked messages from a private WikiLeaks chat group offered an unfiltered glimpse of Julian Assange, complete with misogyny, anti-Semitism, and a clear, early preference for a GOP election victory. Now the U.K. man who leaked those messages is stepping forward to explain why he turned on the secret-spilling group, which he argues has abandoned its truth-telling mission altogether.

...

[Iain, the defector] finally found what he sees as a kind of Rosetta Stone into Assange’s thinking in a leaked email Assange wrote way back in 2007 while soliciting support for the nascent WikiLeaks concept. One of the goals for WikiLeaks, Assange wrote, “is total annihilation of the current U.S. regime and any other regime that holds its authority through mendacity alone.”

The “total annihilation of the current U.S. regime” line, which got some attention during the Chelsea Manning leaks, explains everything, said Iain, including Assange’s curious embrace of alt-right conspiracy theories and memes during the 2016 election season and beyond.

WikiLeaks baffled some supporters when it started seeding or promoting fake news about Hillary Clinton’s health, Pizzagate, and even Democrats engaging in satanic rituals at the same time it was releasing genuine material stolen from the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign.

This was not, as it might appear, a cynical bid to garner Donald Trump’s favor; nor was it simple pandering to a new funding base, argues Iain. It was part and parcel of Assange’s alignment with Russian President Vladimir Putin against their common adversary, the United States.

In retrospect, the shift was apparent way back in 2013, during Assange’s failed bid to win a Senate seat in Australia, Iain said. To that end Assange established the country’s WikiLeaks Party, with a platform built on government transparency and libertarianism. But just weeks before the election the party was roiled by a controversy over its ranking of other political parties in Australia’s ranked-choice voting, preferencing, in two races, the white-nationalist Australia First Party and the right-wing Shooters and Fishers Party above the liberal favorite, the Australian Greens.

The WikiLeaks Party blamed the choices on an “administrative error,” and Assange took to Australian TV to deny any role in the scandal, saying he was too preoccupied helping Edward Snowden to pay attention to what was happening in the party he led.

But as soon as the election was over, the WikiLeaks Party transformed. Its website was suddenly overrun with posts that would have been at home on Kremlin outlets like RT and Sputnik. “The puppet politicians who Washington intended to put in charge of Ukraine have lost control,” read a post on the Ukraine conflict. “The government of Crimea, a Russian province… has disavowed the illegitimate government that illegally seized power in Kiev and requested Russian protection.” Posts on Syria described the 2013 Ghouta chemical-weapons attack by forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad as “unsubstantiated” and “staged.”

“The party’s website content now operated solely to legitimize Russian propaganda by placing it under the umbrella of WikiLeaks’ valuable brand of truth and transparency,” said Iain.

[Forty Two]

"WikiLeaks baffled some supporters when it started seeding or promoting fake news" --

Really? I had followed the wikileaks releases, and they all seemed to be accurate, real documents released. What examples can be linked to of Wikileaks "seeding" fake news, and what examples can be shown of wikileaks "promoting" fake news?

Things like Assad not being responsible for the 2013 Ghouta attack were widely reported, from sources other than Assange. The Guardian and NPR both reported on it: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/ ... assad-bild and https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way ... al-weapons and the White House released an "administration assessment" instead of an "intelligence assessment" because the intelligence community's assessment did not conclude sufficient evidence that Syria was behind the attacks: http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/09/obamas-c ... consensus/

That Daily Beast article sounds like a load of crap.

[L'Emmerdeur]

The Executive Summary from Avenatti's first findings of fact (link).

The Payment to Stephanie Clifford (aka Stormy Daniels) and Subsequent Reimbursement

• On October 27, 2016 Mr. Cohen caused a wire of $130,000 from Essential Consultants’ account at First Republic Bank to be sent to an Attorney-Client Trust Account of Keith M. Davidson & Associates at City National Bank located in California. The wire originated from First Republic Bank’s operations located in California. Note: this fact may provide the State of California with jurisdiction over possible state criminal charges associated with this payment.
• Mr. Cohen has previously claimed that the source of funds from the $130,000 payment was a home equity line of credit advance conducted on October 26, 2016. This has yet to be confirmed. However, as detailed below, within approximately 75 days of the payment to Ms. Clifford, Mr. Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian Oligarch with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, caused substantial funds to be deposited into the bank account from which Mr. Cohen made the payment. It appears that these funds may have replenished the account following the payment to Ms. Clifford.

The Daily Beast writes that they have confirmed Avenatti's allegation. But anonymous source, so surely nothing to see here.

[JimC]

Russia providing a pimp service for a US President. The civilised world doesn't know whether to cry or laugh...

[pErvinalia]

The Executive Summary from Avenatti's first findings of fact (link).

The Payment to Stephanie Clifford (aka Stormy Daniels) and Subsequent Reimbursement

• On October 27, 2016 Mr. Cohen caused a wire of $130,000 from Essential Consultants’ account at First Republic Bank to be sent to an Attorney-Client Trust Account of Keith M. Davidson & Associates at City National Bank located in California. The wire originated from First Republic Bank’s operations located in California. Note: this fact may provide the State of California with jurisdiction over possible state criminal charges associated with this payment.
• Mr. Cohen has previously claimed that the source of funds from the $130,000 payment was a home equity line of credit advance conducted on October 26, 2016. This has yet to be confirmed. However, as detailed below, within approximately 75 days of the payment to Ms. Clifford, Mr. Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian Oligarch with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, caused substantial funds to be deposited into the bank account from which Mr. Cohen made the payment. It appears that these funds may have replenished the account following the payment to Ms. Clifford.

The Daily Beast writes that they have confirmed Avenatti's allegation. But anonymous source, so surely nothing to see here.

It's not illegal for Russians to put money in an American's account. Therefore, nothing to see here.

[Seabass]

Russia-linked company that hired Michael Cohen registered alt-right websites during election

A company at the center of a widening questions involving President Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen is listed as the organization behind a string of websites targeted toward white nationalists and other members of the so-called alt-right.

Columbus Nova, a company whose U.S. chief executive Andrew Intrater and Russian investment partner Viktor Vekselberg have both reportedly been interviewed by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s team, is listed as the registrant behind a handful of domains for websites named after alt-right that were created during the 2016 election.

It is unclear if any of these websites were launched or ever hosted content.

These sites include Alt-right.co, Alternate-right.com, Alternate-rt.com, Alt-rite.com, and other similar combinations, which were all registered in the two days following a speech given by then candidate Hillary Clinton in August 2016 in which she excoriated the far-right movement known for its extremist, racist, anti-Semitic and sexist points. The sites are not currently operational.

Columbus Nova, which describes itself as an investment firm, has been the subject of significant public scrutiny after it was revealed that it had retained as a consultant Cohen, whose home and offices in New York were recently raided by federal investigators. Michael Avenatti, a lawyer for the adult film actress Stormy Daniels, circulated a document on Tuesday that purported to show that Columbus Nova gave $500,000 to Cohen in the first half of 2017.

more:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pol ... -election/