Trumpublicons: Foreign Influence/Grifting in '16 US Election

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Re: NSA Chief Russia Hacked '16 Election Congress Must Inves

Postby seemslikeadream » Sun Apr 08, 2018 12:36 am

ʀaмpaʀт


THREAD: Emin Agalarov: The Perfect "Cut-Out" between Putin & Trump

The thread includes a couple meetings & interactions that, to my knowledge, are previously unreported. Some of the instances are lesser known & I roped in the well known meetings for context. Please read & share.

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Know/Unknown: Times & Places

NYC - Feb 1-2, 2013
Miss Universe NYC - Mar 7, 2013
Las Vegas - Jun 15-17, 2013
Trump Tower - Oct 8, 2013
Moscow - Nov 8-11, 2013
Moscow - Feb 1-5, 2014
Miami - Mar, 8-9 2014
Baku - Oct 21-23, 2014
Trump Tower - Feb, 2, 2015
Trump Tower - May 20, 2015


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2/ NYC - Feb 1-2, 2013: Pop stars can move all over the world without raising suspicion. Emin was constantly in & out of NY, not only for his music career, but also because his mother & sister live nearby in Tenafly, NJ. Here he is meeting with Rudy Giuliani. Who introduced them?

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3/ Miss Universe NYC - Mar 07, 2013: Emin flew into New York on March 2nd. March 7th, Emin met with Rob Goldstone at the Miss Universe Org building in NY, a block away from Trump Tower. They likely negotiated sums & logistics ahead of the June 2013, Miss USA, Las Vegas meeting.

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4/ Las Vegas - Jun 15-17, 2013: Miss USA beauty pageant in Las Vegas. In this meeting, the group hashed out the remaining details for the Miss Universe Moscow, future deals & a quid pro quo. ($$$) Emin & Aras Agalarov, Donald Trump, Rob Goldstone, Michael Cohen & Ike Kaveladze.

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5/ October 8, 2013: Emin Agalarov & Roman Beniaminov parked at 57th & 6th. They visited Trump Tower (57th & 5th) And/Or The Miss Universe Organization Building (56th & 6th). Roman is Emin's childhood friend, they went to Tenafly High School in NJ & Roman works for Crocus Group.

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6/ Ignoring the Occam's Razor aspect of it for moment, I asked the question: Could Emin have been there recording a song or visiting his music label? In fact, he had made those rounds prior to the 8th, from Oct 3-7, 2013, but both locations were 30+ blocks away, downtown.

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7/ Scott Balber, Ike Kaveladze’s attorney, told @thedailybeast that Roman Beniaminov told Kaveladze that he heard Rob Goldstone—Emin’s music manager—discuss “dirt” on Hillary Clinton before the June 9 2016 Trump Tower meeting. Both men work at Crocus Group



RISKY BUSINESS
Roman Beniaminov, a Low-Profile Real Estate Exec Turned Pop Star Manager, Knew About Russia’s ‘Dirt’ on Hillary
Investigators now may have another person to talk to about that infamous Trump Tower meeting.

BETSY WOODRUFF
11.20.17 4:12 PM ET
Days before the infamous Trump Tower meeting in June 2016, a low-profile real estate figure with ties to powerful Russians alerted a meeting participant that the topic of “dirt” on Hillary Clinton could come up, The Daily Beast has learned.

That figure, Roman Beniaminov, didn’t attend the meeting himself. But he had close ties to several figures in and around it, including Emin Agalarov, the Azeri-Russian pop star who helped set up that Trump Tower confab and whose father is an ally of Vladimir Putin.

Ike Kaveladze was one of the participants in the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, Donald Trump Jr., and Kremlin-connected attorney Natalia Vesilnitskaya. Kaveladze told congressional investigators that when he was first invited to participate, he was under the impression that he would just be there as a translator and that the meeting would involve discussion of Magnitsky Act sanctions.

Scott Balber, Kaveladze’s attorney, told The Daily Beast that before Kaveladze headed from Los Angeles to New York for the meeting, he saw an email noting that Kushner, Manafort, and Trump Jr. would all be involved. He thought it would be odd for them to attend the meeting, so he called Beniaminov before heading to New York. Both Beniaminov and Kaveladze have worked with the Agalarov’s real estate development company, the Crocus Group.

Balber said that Beniaminov told Kaveladze that he heard Rob Goldstone— Emin Agalarov’s music manager—discuss “dirt” on Hillary Clinton. It’s never become completely clear what kind of “dirt” the Russians were talking about.

According to Balber, Beniaminov was the only person to give Kaveladze any information about the meeting’s purpose.


“That was the only data point Ike had, which was inconsistent with everything else he had heard, which was that the meeting was about the Magnitsky Act,” Balber said.

The Opening Argument in the Trial of Donald J. Trump

Roger Stone: Sam Nunberg a ‘Lying A**hole’ and ‘Psycho’
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks about the designation of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism during the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, November 20, 2017.
Kelly: Rex Was on the Toilet When I Told Him He’d Be Fired
In all of the discussion about the infamous Trump Tower meeting, Beniaminov’s name has rarely, if ever, come up. So his alleged role in informing Kaveladze about the plans suggests he may be yet another important player who could have relevant information for the various, ongoing investigations.

Beniaminov could not be reached for comment.

Beniaminov went to Tenafly High School in Bergen County, New Jersey, with Emin Agalarov, according to NorthJersey.com. Emin posted a picture of the two together in high school on Facebook last December.

In the years since then, he was Emin’s close associate. He worked with Emin to promote his music, as he detailed in numerous tweets. And this past May, Emin thanked him on Instagram for helping arrange a concert at the Lincoln Center.

Beniaminov’s Facebook page is private, but The Daily Beast reviewed screenshots from this summer where he said he used to be Emin’s general manager. The same screenshot showed he listed the Crocus Group as his most recent employer. Aras Agalarov—Emin’s billionaire father—helms the company.


Balber said it appears Beniaminov is still working with Emin to promote his music career, and that he was doing so at the time of the Trump Tower meeting.

Trump’s connections to the Agalarovs and to Crocus Group are well-documented. When Trump held the Miss Universe pageant in Moscow in 2013, it was hosted at the Crocus City Hall, which Aras Agalarov owns.

Olivia Culpo, who was Miss Universe in 2012, appeared with Aras and Emin Agalarov—as well as Donald Trump—at the 2013 Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas, as a Getty photo documents. She also attended the U.S. premiere of one of Emin’s pop songs, along with Trump.

Culpo’s representative did not respond to a request for comment.

The Agalarovs have made no secret of their fondness for Trump. In an interview on the Crocus Group website, published Nov. 13, 2013, Aras Agalarov said he was considering going into business with the future U.S. president.

“We discussed our joint projects right before our interview,” he said. “We have just shared our views on such projects and he said they were quite interesting.”

“We will complete one project and then go down to the next one,” Emin added. “We may theoretically consider a possibility of building a Trump Tower as one of our sky-scrapers.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/roman-ben ... on-hillary


8/ Moscow - Nov 8-11, 2013: At this point, Trump & the Agalarovs were, of course, partners for Miss Universe Moscow. But, Trump went out of his way to be in Emin's Music Video before the pageant & press events began. They were close & Trump made it a point to keep it that way.

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9/ Miss Universe Moscow was rife with the Russian mob & cut-outs, too many to list but here's a few: Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, Herman Gref, Rotem Rosen, Alex Sapir, Tamir Sapir, Bob Van Ronkel, Chuck LaBella, Vladimir Kozhin, Artem Kylushin, Philipp Kirkorov & others listed below.

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10/ Moscow - Nov 8-11, 2013: It's alleged that Trump Skyped/Telephoned with Putin to solidify plans for: Trump Tower Moscow & Putin's assistance towards his Presidency. In attendance: Emin Agalarov, Yulya Alferova, Keith Schiller, Phil Ruffin.

(Woman in the 4th picture? Graff?)

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11/ Moscow - Feb 1-5, 2014: Ivanka was in St Petersburg on Feb 1st, she only spent the day before leaving for Moscow on the 2nd. She met up with Emin Agalarov on Feb 4th at Crocus Group. Notably, Ivanka was accompanied by both Wendy Deng & Dasha Zhukova. (Roman Abramovich's wife)

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12/ Miami - Mar, 8-9 2014: A month after Ivanka's Moscow trip, Emin Agalarov performed at the 2014 WGC-Cadillac Championship golf tournament, held at Trump National Doral near Miami, FL. Emin, Trump & Ivanka were all in attendance. Perhaps another effort by Trump to curry favor.

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13/ Bonus Round: On May 14, 2014, we find Emin Agalarov back in New York, outside Rockafeller Center, only 6 Blocks from Trump Tower. As I mentioned earlier, Emin was frequently in New York, but given the recent string of events & his proximity to Trump Tower, I found it notable.

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14/ Baku, Azerbaijan - Oct 21-23, 2014: Although I cannot confirm that there was a meeting, we know that Ivanka Trump & Emin Agalarov were both in "Old City,"(A part of Baku, Azerbaijan) at the same time. Emin had seen Ivanka in Miami & toured Moscow with her earlier in the year.

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15/ Baku, Azerbaijan - Oct 21-23, 2014: Here, Emin is pictured with his grandmother in Old City, Baku, where she lived. On the 23rd, Emin is pictured in Moscow's streets where he remarks "Freezing Moscow," this suggests confirmation that he had just returned from Baku that day.

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16/ Trump Tower - Feb, 2, 2015: Emin Agalarov visited Trump Tower in NY. Apparently, Russians involved in this conspiracy lacked social media discipline, just like us.

Cambridge Analytica started FB data harvesting with GSR in May 2014 & the social media weapon was nearly ready.

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17/ Trump Tower - May 20, 2015: Emin Agalarov visited Trump Tower in NY. It's true that a business relationship existed between Trump & Crocus Group with regard to Trump Tower Moscow but we now know these meetings were more than that, they were planning something, something big.

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18/ On Tuesday, June 16, 2015, less than a month after Emin Agalarov & Donald Trump's meeting in Trump Tower, Donald Trump gives a speech & announces that he's going to run for President of the United States.

Of course, weak & incoherent words on Russia.
http://time.com/3923128/donald-trump-an ... nt-speech/

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19/ September 2015. The FBI contacts the Democratic National Committee's help desk, cautioning the IT department that at least one computer has been compromised by Russian hackers. A technician scans the system and does not find anything suspicious.

2016 Presidential Campaign Hacking Fast Facts
https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/26/us/2016- ... index.html

20/ On Sept 18, 2015, Aras Agalarov does a tabloid interview. Trump's cultivation by a charismatic pop star is nearly complete.

"Emin & Mr. Trump have a good relationship, I have a good relationship."

"And Emin had seen him *recently*, there in America."

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https://www.kp.ru/daily/26435.5/3306339/



22/ On Sept 21, 2015, Hugh Hewitt interviews Trump, he brings up MU2013:
"I was with the top level people, both oligarchs & generals, & top of the government people. I can't go further than that, but I will tell you that I met the top people & the relationship was extraordinary."

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23/ In April 2016, @GeorgePapa19 meets with Joseph Mifsud who told him about Russia's cache of emails.

May 2016, George Papadopoulos told Australian diplomat, Alexander Downer, during a meeting in London, that Russia had thousands of emails that would embarrass @HillaryClinton.

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23/ On June 3, 2016, Rob Goldstone emailed Donald Trump Jr, offering up incriminating information on Hillary Clinton.

"This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr Trump"

"If it's what you say, I love it."

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24/ On June 9, 2016, the infamous Trump Tower meeting, discussing HRC dirt & sanctions. Attendees included Donald Trump Jr, Natalia Veselnitskaya (SVR), Rinat Akhmetshin (GRU), Anatoli Samochornov, Ike Kaveladze(Crocus), Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner & Rob Goldstone.(Emin's Proxy)

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25/ June 12, 2016, during an interview on British television, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says that the website has obtained & will publish a batch of Clinton emails.

Events leading up to & including the June 9, 2016 meeting, sealed the treason deal.

2016 Presidential Campaign Hacking Fast Facts
https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/26/us/2016- ... index.html



26/ It can be seen that Emin Agalarov played a key role in the hand holding & cultivating of Donald Trump. However, there wasn’t a huge amount Trump could do to say no. Trump knows what Putin has on him & it’s bad, real bad. @JohnBrennan knows & Robert Mueller, definitely knows.

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Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: NSA Chief Russia Hacked '16 Election Congress Must Inves

Postby seemslikeadream » Mon Apr 09, 2018 5:02 pm

At the direction of the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office, federal agents executed search warrants on longtime Trump lawyer Michael Cohen on at least THREE locations: office, home AND hotel room

CBS's Pat Milton reports the FBI stormed not only Michael Cohen's office, but also his New York residence, seizing documents and other material, as authorized in a search warrant.


This is just not about Stormy Daniels. "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."

George Takei

The FBI has conducted a raid of Michael Cohen’s office. Cohen is Trump’s personal attorney as well as general counsel for the Trump Organization. I’m going to sit back and sip a cocktail now. Perhaps a Dark and Stormy Daniels?


Michael Avenatti

See below and review my comments and predictions last week on CNN and MSNBC. An enormous amount of misplaced faith has been placed on MC's shoulders IMO. If he does not hold up, this could end very very badly for DJT and others. F.B.I. Raids Cohen Offices
https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti?ref ... r%5Eauthor



SEARCHED AND SEIZED: F.B.I. AGENTS RAID MICHAEL COHEN’S NEW YORK HOTEL

Law-enforcement agents spent several hours at the Loews Regency hotel on Monday morning, as they executed a search warrant against the president’s personal lawyer. Cohen’s attorney said they were referred by Robert Mueller.

Emily Jane FoxApril 9, 2018 4:08 pm
Special Investigation

TRUMP TRANSITION 1
Michael Cohen arrives at Trump Tower in Manhattan, January 13, 2017.
By Kevin Hagen/The New York Times/Redux.
The paparazzi lingering outside the Loews Regency on Park Avenue, hoping to get a photo of U.F.C. fighter Conor McGregor, appeared not to notice the stream of F.B.I. agents that entered the New York hotel early Monday morning, as they made their way up to the room where the president’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen has been staying. A handful of them remained upstairs for several hours, according to a source familiar with the situation. “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,” Cohen’s attorney, Stephen Ryan, said in a statement. “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.”

Downstairs, hotel jazz blared on speakers, as women with Louis Vuitton totes and men in Gucci loafers and gold-button blazers checked in and out, while kids in Yeezys and fur-trimmed puffer coats chased each other around the lobby. A woman who looked awfully like Caroline Kennedy made a quick pass through the restaurant, and hotel security seemed to arrange a way for a guest, perhaps McGregor, to make an exit through a side door without being spotted.

The cheery hotel scene belied what has become a growing legal headache for Cohen, as Mueller’s Russia probe has expanded to include inquiries into the Trump Organization’s business records and foreign dealings, including in Russia. Last week, McClatchy reported that the special counsel’s investigators showed up with subpoenas to the home of an associate of the Trump Organization, compelling sworn testimony and electronic records. The report indicated that investigators were interesting in interactions involving Cohen.

Monday’s F.B.I. raid was “completely inappropriate and unnecessary,” Cohen’s attorney said. “It resulted in the unnecessary seizure of protected attorney-client communications between a lawyer and his clients. These government tactics are also wrong because Mr. Cohen has cooperated completely with all government entities, including providing thousands of non-privileged documents to the Congress and sitting for depositions under oath.”

A spokesman for the special counsel’s office declined to comment on Monday. The F.B.I.’s New York office did not respond to a request for comment. Cohen’s cell phone, which is typically ringing off the hook, went straight to voice mail all day on Monday. The New York Times separately reported that the warrant was related to payments Cohen made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, among other issues.

Cohen, a loyal fixer for the Trump Organization and longtime personal friend of the Trump family, has been a person of interest in the Mueller probe since 2016, when his name surfaced in the Trump-Russia dossier compiled by Christopher Steele—a controversial opposition-research document that included claims that Cohen had traveled to Prague to meet with Russian operatives to “clean up the mess.” (Cohen has told me repeatedly that he has never been to Prague, and that the claims in the dossier are untrue; he filed a defamation suit earlier this year against Fusion GPS, which commissioned the dossier, and BuzzFeed, which published it, seeking $100 million in damages.) Last year, it was reported that Cohen had been working on a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, which did not materialize. In September, he was questioned by congressional committees over the course of two days as part of their investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.

More recently, Cohen’s relationship with the president has become headline news because of the payment he made to Daniels, 11 days before the 2016 election. In January, The Wall Street Journal reported that a shell company set up by Cohen had paid Stephanie Clifford, who goes by the stage name Stormy Daniels, $130,000 as part of a non-disclosure agreement barring her from discussing her allegation of a 2006 affair with Trump. Her attorney has since filed a lawsuit claiming that the agreement is void because Trump did not sign it; attorneys for Cohen have filed their own suit attempting to bring the matter into arbitration. Trump, who has denied the affair through spokespeople, said aboard Air Force One on Thursday that he did not know about the agreement—a contention Cohen has repeatedly made, as well. While ethics experts have suggested that the payment could represent an illegal campaign contribution if it were deemed to have been made for electoral purposes, Cohen has repeatedly told me that the payment came out of his own pocket and that it had nothing to do with the election. “What I did defensively for my personal client, and my friend, is what attorneys do for their high-profile clients,” Cohen told me last month. “I would have done it in 2006. I would have done it in 2011. I truly care about him and the family—more than just as an employee and an attorney.”

The arrival of F.B.I. agents at the Regency marks another dramatic escalation of the Mueller probe. While Trump’s allies have dismissed many of the people in the special counsel’s crosshairs as low-level campaign officials, or waved away the charges against Paul Manafort as unrelated to Trump, Cohen is inextricably and emotionally linked to the Trump family. He worked in Trump Tower every day, and still remains one of Trump’s personal attorneys, though he left the Trump Organization around the presidential inauguration. Last summer, he told me he would “take a bullet for the president.”

For months after Mueller’s appointment, Trump and Cohen did not speak regularly, at the advice of counsel, but earlier this year, they started to communicate more. He has had dinner twice at Mar-a-Lago in recent months, including a meeting with Trump on the eve of Stormy Daniels’ sit-down on 60 Minutes.

This article has been updated.
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/04 ... york-hotel


emptywheel

Also, as Michael Cohen squeals bc FBI raided his office for evidence of illegal hush money payment, remember that DOJ has taken a maximalist approach to sex worker free speech, most recently by shutting down Backpage.

If and when SDNY charges Cohen for hiring a thug to threaten Trump's former sex partner, he can ask for leniency by flipping on Trump on RU investigation.

Any bet how closely the crimes SDNY said they were raiding Michael Cohen to investigate align with the crimes DOJ just charged Backpage with?

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https://www.justice.gov/file/1050276/download

If and when SDNY charges Cohen for hiring a thug to threaten Trump's former sex partner, he can ask for leniency by flipping on Trump on RU investigation.
https://twitter.com/emptywheel/status/9 ... 1783291905



:P


Rick Wilson

Remember the AF1 press moment last week? These words:

"No, no. You'll have to ask Michael Cohen."

Mueller: You got it, chief!




emptywheel


SDNY: No comment
SCO: No comment
WH: No comment
Squire Patton Boggs: Totally cooperating, m8!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... story.html
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emptywheel

Note: there's a decent chance that Trump's disavowal of the Stormy Daniels payment on Friday precipitated this search.

A lesson for Trump: even lying publicly, not under oath, can create legal headaches.


For those asking my point:

1) It's likely Cohen's behavior w/Daniels DOES cross the line on several of these crimes.

2) The big indictment of Backpage today may make it harder for Trumpsters to push back on DOJ for investigating same crimes.



Goldman Sachs linked to sex trafficking of underaged girls
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=34395
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: NSA Chief Russia Hacked '16 Election Congress Must Inves

Postby stillrobertpaulsen » Mon Apr 09, 2018 5:54 pm

seemslikeadream » Mon Apr 09, 2018 4:02 pm wrote:This is just not about Stormy Daniels. "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."


Emails, tax documents and business records

Oh my!
"Huey Long once said, “Fascism will come to America in the name of anti-fascism.” I'm afraid, based on my own experience, that fascism will come to America in the name of national security."
-Jim Garrison 1967
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Re: NSA Chief Russia Hacked '16 Election Congress Must Inves

Postby seemslikeadream » Mon Apr 09, 2018 5:56 pm

better hurry up with that Breaking News forum :)



Last week, Michael Cohen's best friend from Brooklyn and former trump colleague Felix Sater turns state's evidence in the trump/Russia probe.

This week, Cohen's home and office get raided


The door was KICKED in :evilgrin
Things we know based on reporting that Michael Cohen was involved in that seem to be of interest to Bob Mueller
- The Stormy Daniels hush money payoff
- The "Ukraine peace deal" floated to the White House
- Trump's quest for a Trump Tower Moscow
Not clear what the raid was for.

Dumpster Fire of the Vanities
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Rosenstein had to sign off on this ...will he have a job tomorrow?

Pettypiece says:

Shannon Pettypiece

"Mueller brought information involving Cohen to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who decided that the matter should be handled by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York rather than by Mueller’s team" .


BANK FRAUD ....WIRE FRAUD...... CAMPAIGN FINANCE VIOLATIONS!!!!


the standard for getting that search warrant was so very high

It’s rare and extraordinary for a search warrant to be issued to seize records between an attorney and a client. However, attorney-client privilege does not apply to any conspiracy between attorney and client to violate the law.

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Renato Mariotti

2/ The @washingtonpost also reports that Cohen is under investigation for bank fraud and campaign finance violations. That is consistent with the original @nytimes reporting that records relating to Stormy Daniels were seized. Cohen was responsible for that agreement and payment.

3/ So what does this tell us? Many things. First, federal prosecutors in Manhattan presented evidence to a federal judge who concluded that there is good reason to believe that Cohen committed a crime and that evidence of that crime was located in Cohen's office.

4/ That means that Cohen is under investigation and that there is substantial evidence that evidence of a crime was at his office. It also means that federal prosecutors believed that they could not obtain the same records via subpoena. That's unusual and interesting.

5/ The United States Attorneys' Manual (DOJ's guidelines for federal prosecutors) disfavors search warrants of attorneys' offices. Section 9-13.420 states that "prosecutors are expected to take the least intrusive approach" and should consider subpoenas instead of a warrant.

6/ Section 13.420 requires authorization by the United States Attorney or Assistant Attorney General, consultation with the Criminal Division of the Justice Department, a search warrant that is as narrow and specific as possible, and procedures to safeguard privileged materials.

7/ The reason that searches of attorney offices are disfavored is because they can be abused by prosecutors who want to intimidate defense counsel or obtain privileged information. That is why all of those safeguards exist, and the fact that they were overcome tells us something.

8/ The fact that federal prosecutors obtained a search warrant tells us that they believed that they would not obtain the same records if they used a subpoena. That's not only what 9-13.420 requires, but it's also common sense--the prosecutors had an incentive to use a subpoena.

9/ Cohen is an attorney who has his own lawyer. If the prosecutors used a subpoena, Cohen's attorney would be obligated to go through all the documents and materials himself and produce only what's relevant to the prosecutors. He would be responsible for organizing them as well.

10/ Instead, prosecutors and FBI agents decided to take upon themselves the hefty task of seizing these documents, setting up complicated procedures to weed out privileged materials, and organize and digitize the documents. They wouldn't have done that if they didn't have to.

11/ This suggests that they have some information about Cohen that suggests that he would destroy evidence, hide evidence, or otherwise deceive the prosecution team. So what does this mean for Trump? It's an issue for him for at least two reasons.

12/ First, his relationship with Cohen appears to go beyond a typical lawyer-client relationship, by Cohen's own description. Communications between Cohen and Trump would be reviewed by a "taint team" that is separate and walled off from the investigators.

13/ If the taint team found communications between Trump and Cohen that were not privileged, those communications could be used in the investigation. An example would be communications that are completely unrelated to legal advice, or communications furthering an ongoing crime.

14/ Second, Trump should be concerned because Cohen appears to have significant potential criminal liability. He could potentially cooperate against Trump, although he appears unlikely to do so. Trump could pardon Cohen for any federal offense, but he cannot pardon state crimes.

15/ Most importantly, because the search warrant was required to be "drawn as specifically as possible," the fact that the FBI seized Trump's communications with Cohen suggests that the FBI believed that those communications may provide evidence in their criminal investigation.

16/ That should worry Trump. It doesn't necessarily mean that investigators believe Trump committed a crime, but it suggests that they believe that his communications would have potentially contained useful evidence. He was, at least, in close proximity of a crime.

17/ One question that is raised by this news that we cannot answer is why Mueller chose to refer this case to Manhattan prosecutors instead of handling it himself. Perhaps we will learn more in the days to come that could shed light on his decision. /end
https://twitter.com/renato_mariotti/sta ... 4212482048




emptywheel

For the numerous people who are informing me that last week's Mueller memo paid out that his authority includes charging people w/crimes so they'll flip, here's what I emphasized last week (not many people did).
Image
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: NSA Chief Russia Hacked '16 Election Congress Must Inves

Postby seemslikeadream » Mon Apr 09, 2018 9:25 pm


Michael S. Schmidt

SCOOP: Mueller investigating $150,000 donation Ukrainian steel titan made to Trump's foundation in 2015 for 20 min video talk Trump gave to conference in Kiev. Michael Cohen arranged the payment. Trump was running for R nom at the time.
https://twitter.com/nytmike/status/983500891700584448


Carole Cadwalladr


Squire Patton & Boggs, lawyers to Cambridge Analytica. Raided by FBI. Oh, and lobbyists to Gazprom. Did I mention that?
https://twitter.com/carolecadwalla/stat ... 1179193347


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president's personal attorney Michael Cohen

'You better get out ASAP': President's lawyer told Bethenny Frankel's partner to evacuate Trump Tower as fatal fire raged - but other residents are angry they were left in the dark
Residents in Trump Tower said they were not told to evacuate or given an evacuation plan and the front desk did not answer as the fire raged Saturday
However, Bethenny Frankel's some-time boyfriend, banker Dennis Shields, received a call from the president's personal attorney to evacuate 'ASAP'
Incredibly, as elderly residents were praying for their lives and left stranded, Shields received a call from Trump's attorney Michael Cohen to evacuate

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z5CELbGatT



50th floor Apt was SOLD
TrumpTower 50th floor apt sold on July 14th 2016 & same floor the apartment Trump campaign paid an extra $130k in rent for and Right after Cohen paid Stormy Daniels $130k. Someone’s pants are on fire-literally
Image
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
User avatar
seemslikeadream
 
Posts: 32090
Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2005 11:28 pm
Location: into the black
Blog: View Blog (83)

Re: NSA Chief Russia Hacked '16 Election Congress Must Inves

Postby seemslikeadream » Mon Apr 09, 2018 10:05 pm

“Where is my Roy Cohn?”

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MICHAEL COHEN’S STORMY WEATHER: FOUR OBSERVATIONS

April 9, 2018/3 Comments/in 2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe /by emptywheel
As you’ve no doubt heard, the FBI raided Michael Cohen’s office, home, and hotel today. They were looking for stuff related to his payoff to Stormy Daniels … and other things, including (per the WaPo) “possible bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations.”

Some thoughts:

GEOFFREY BERMAN, A SYMPTOM OF TRUMP’S CORRUPTION, IS RESPONSIBLE

As NYT first reported, this raid was a referral from Robert Mueller, not something executed by his team.

The prosecutors obtained the search warrant after receiving a referral from the special counsel in the Russia investigation, 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 most likely resulted from information that he had uncovered and gave to prosecutors in New York.

That means Mueller would have presented the evidence to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who would have made the decision to hand off the lead to Southern District of NY, with the folks there buying into not the investigation but the unusual raid of an attorney’s office.

Which, in turn, means it was approved by the US Attorney for SDNY. After Trump fired Preet Bharara (who was honing in on some of Trump’s corruption), he prioritized replacing Preet’s deputy, Joon Kim (who very recently returned to his former law firm). He replaced him not by elevating someone else, but by installing someone — Geoffrey Berman — he had interviewed personally. Berman is, if anything, a symbol of Trump’s abuse, not least because he hasn’t even been nominated formally. He’s a bureaucratic end-around.

And he had to have signed off on this raid (unless he recused, which will earn him the wrath of Trump all by itself).

TRUMP’S FRIDAY COMMENTS PROBABLY MADE THIS WORSE

This raid is not all about Stormy Daniels, but some of it is. Which suggests Trump’s comments on Friday, in which he disavowed the payment Cohen made on his behalf, probably made this worse.

Q Mr. President, did you know about the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels?

THE PRESIDENT: No. No. What else?

Q Then why did Michael Cohen make those if there was no truth to her allegations?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, you’ll have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney. And you’ll have to ask Michael Cohen.

Q Do you know where he got the money to make that payment?

THE PRESIDENT: No, I don’t know. No.


By claiming — almost certainly falsely — not to have known about the payment to Daniels, Trump probably scotched any claim Cohen might make to privilege. It also meant that Cohen either claimed to be representing Trump falsely, or is lying in sworn documents about doing so.

This raid would have had to have been approved over some time, not Friday afternoon. But one way or another, I imagine these comments made it easier for DOJ and a judge to approve the raid, at least with respect to the Stormy Daniels material.

MANAFORT WILL SHORTLY GET THIS RAID APPROVED FOR MUELLER

Last week, in my analysis of the Mueller filing explaining his mandate, I suggested he was getting some things approved that weren’t relevant to the Manafort challenge but were relevant to the larger investigation.

Like this:

The filing includes a quotation from DOJ’s discussion of special counsels making it clear that it’s normal to investigate crimes that might lead someone to flip.

[I]n deciding when additional jurisdiction is needed, the Special Counsel can draw guidance from the Department’s discussion accompanying the issuance of the Special Counsel regulations. That discussion illustrated the type of “adjustments to jurisdiction” that fall within Section 600.4(b). “For example,” the discussion stated, “a Special Counsel assigned responsibility for an alleged false statement about a government program may request additional jurisdiction to investigate allegations of misconduct with respect to the administration of that program; [or] a Special Counsel may conclude that investigating otherwise unrelated allegations against a central witness in the matter is necessary to obtain cooperation.”


That one is technically relevant here — one thing Mueller is doing with the Manafort prosecution (and successfully did with the Gates one) is to flip witnesses against Trump. But it also makes it clear that Mueller could do so more generally.

So when Amy Berman Jackson rules against what was ultimately a desperate bid by Trump’s campaign chair, she’ll be implicitly approving of practices like “investigating otherwise unrelated allegations against a central witness” if it’s “necessary to obtain cooperation.”

And just to be sure, Michael Dreeben will be on hand for this argument.

TRUMP HAS NO APPROPRIATE LAWYER TO THIS TASK

Trump is wailing right now about this raid.

So I just heard they broke into the office of one of my personal attorn[ey]s…It’s a disgraceful situation. It’s a total witch hunt. I’ve been saying it for a long time. I’ve wanted to keep it down. I’ve given over a million pages in documents to the special counsel. They continue to just go forward and here we are talking about Syria, we’re talking about a lot of serious things…and I have this witch hunt constantly going on for over 12 months now. Actually it’s much more than that. You could say right after I won the nomination it started.

When I saw this, when I heard about it, that is a whole new level of unfairness.

This has been going on. I saw one of the reporters who is not necessarily a fan of mine…he said this is now getting ridiculous. They found no collusion what so ever with Russia.

This is the most biased group of people. These people have the biggest conflicts of interest I have ever seen. Democrats — all. Either Democrats or a couple of Republicans who worked for President Obama. They’re not looking at the other side — Hillary Clinton… all of the crimes that were committed, all of the things that happened that everybody is very angry about from the Republican side and the independent side. They only keep looking at us.

They raided the office of a personal attorney early in the morning. It’s a disgrace. So we’ll be talking about it more.

[snip]

The stock market dropped a lot today as soon as they heard the noise you know of this nonsense that was going on. It dropped a lot. It was up — it was way up. It dropped quite a bit at the end. That we have to go through that. We’ve had that hanging over us from the very, very beginning. And yet the other side they’re not even looking. And the other side is where there are crimes and those crimes are obvious — lies under oath all over the place, emails that are knocked out, that are acid washed and deleted, 33,000 emails were deleted after getting a subpoena from Congress. And nobody bothers looking at that.

Amid the wailing, Trump suggested he might fire Mueller.

“Why don’t I just fire Mueller? Well, I think it’s a disgrace what’s going on. We’ll see what happens,” Trump said. “Many people have said you should fire him. Again, they found nothing. And in finding nothing, that’s a big statement.”

As he nudges closer to firing Mueller, remember: after having chased John Dowd off, Trump has no competent defense attorney.

He may well fire Mueller. But he has no one to guide him out of the morass that doing so will cause.
https://www.emptywheel.net/2018/04/09/m ... y-weather/


Hannity bingo for a big news night.
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Squire Patton & Boggs, lawyers to Cambridge Analytica. Raided by FBI. Oh, and lobbyists to Gazprom. Did I mention that?
https://twitter.com/carolecadwalla/stat ... 1179193347[/quote]

Special Counsel Mueller just scored a huge win in investigation against Trump’s Cambridge Analytica
BY GRANT STERN
PUBLISHED ON APRIL 9, 2018


The whistleblower whose inside info about Cambridge Analytica has caused an intercontinental political scandal just agreed to give testimony to Congress about Facebook and speak with Special Counsel Mueller’s investigators.

Pink-haired data scientist Christopher Wylie told NBC (video below) that he’s been contacted by both Special Counsel Mueller and investigators from the US Congress about his revelations of data theft and illicit psychometric targeting from GOP megadonor Robert Mercer’s company. This week, Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg is testifying to Congress after admitting that Cambridge Analytica stole 87 million user profiles, up from the previously reported 50 million.

Wylie says that he’s ready to cross the pond from London to DC with his allegations that present evidence of illegal foreign campaign workers on multiple Republican campaigns, including the president’s and his new national security advisor John Bolton’s SuperPAC. He told Meet the Press:



I have been contacted by American authorities. We’re just setting out dates that I can actually go and sit down and meet with them. It is both Congressional investigations, and also law enforcement and the Department of Justice.

“[Steve Bannon] was looking for a means of building his arsenal to fight a culture war. So coming to a military contractor that does psychological operations really appealed to him.”

“I think that there is a substantial risk that this data was misused, and given what we know about the company, you know, and what the lengths that they’re willing to do for their clients, I think it is worth a serious investigation and to take this seriously.”
Suspended Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix admitted reaching out to Wikileaks during the Trump campaign to try and help disseminate the material last year, but most famously, recently got caught on hidden camera investigation promising to use Ukrainian sex workers to blackmail or bribe politicians.

UK authorities recently raided the posh offices of Mercer and Bannon’s data firm in London, because Nix and Cambridge Analytica are tied up in a complex illegal campaigning scheme over the Brexit vote.

Then, Wylie’s revelations arrived with a warning to American investigators about the importance of the firm’s operations, which sparked the Massachusetts Attorney General to open an investigation last month.



It looks like American investigators are about to fully take Christopher Wylie up on his word and get to the bottom of Cambridge Analytica and the Trump campaign’s secretive relationship with an overseas psychological warfare company.

Wach the complete seventeen-minute interview with Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie here:
https://washingtonpress.com/2018/04/09/ ... analytica/
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: NSA Chief Russia Hacked '16 Election Congress Must Inves

Postby seemslikeadream » Tue Apr 10, 2018 8:07 am




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Suddenly, Michael Cohen, the bag-walking, dick-swinging swagger-monkey wannabe thug attorney and consigliere for Donald Trump’s far-flung penile enterprises is scared. If Cohen had a lump of coal in his ass the moment those search warrants arrived, he could have popped out a diamond. He realizes how deep this hole can become if he doesn’t roll over. He doesn’t have the resources to defend himself, and Trump isn’t exactly known for paying his bills in the first place. Cohen is scared, and he’s not alone.


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GULP
FBI Raid on Michael Cohen Is the Most Dangerous Day of Donald Trump’s Life
The president’s low-rent Ray Donovan can bully porn stars, but not Robert Mueller. The shtick is up.

Rick Wilson
04.10.18 5:02 AM ET
Monday’s FBI raids on Michael Cohen’s Trump Tower office, his hotel room, and his home all provided a proper dose of comeuppance to a man more accustomed to screaming threats, shit-tier legal theorizing, and putting his strip-mall law degree to work in service of Donald Trump.

Cohen, far from being the superlawyer to a billionaire real-estate tycoon, really only has one important job: covering up Trump’s alleged dalliances. It was Cohen batting cleanup, dealing with an army of models, escorts, Mistresses (large “M” and small “m”), actresses, porn stars, models, Real Dolls, fangirls, groupies, and random topiary at Mar-a-Delicto with a wall of nondisclosure agreements. Master of the NDA, Cohen thought attorney-client privilege would protect him.

He forgot he had a fool for a client. Trump couldn’t shut his mouth on Air Force One last week.

Even before Trump opened his mouth on that fateful day, Cohen had managed to repeatedly hoist himself on his own petard in his dumb legal fight with adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, hoping she would, like so many of Trump’s endless bimbo eruptions, go away after one of his spittle-flecked, apoplectic tantrums. If you ever wanted to see a proof of the Steve Jobs “As hire Bs and Bs hire Cs” rule, it was Trump hiring Cohen, and then Cohen hiring an attorney who was an even lower-rent knockoff version of himself. Hilarity ensued.

The image of Michael Cohen as a superlawyer was always laughable, and even the Trump fan club recognized that Cohen was a particular flavor of attorney: The Fixer. His desire to cast himself as a real-life Ray Donovan made him a kind of overwrought, grunting thug character destined for the cutting-room floor in even the most lurid soap-opera script.

Cohen, though, should be understood as an almost perfect metaphor for the Trump era, the Trump White House, and everything else orbiting this president like the hot chunks of waste spinning around the central oscillator at a sewage-treatment plant. He truly brings it all: the shoddy, hair-trigger temperament, the indifferent education and understanding of the world outside of dalliance-cleanup duty and real-estate branding deals, the malfeasance, the petty corruption, general shitheel behavior, the impulsivity, the tantrum-as-negotiation style, and the overall sketchiness of the Trump administration.


Like Trump, his enablers, and supporters, Cohen thought his position as a Trump inner-circle member would protect him indefinitely. He believed, after so many years of getting away with every kind of shenanigan at Trump’s behest, that the facts would never matter, the music would never stop, and the party would never end. Again, he’s a perfect metaphor for this administration

Stormy’s Porn Pal Alana Evans: I’m Also Going to Sue Cohen
Then the FBI came knocking. Imagine that moment, when he realized that they were going to raid his office, home, and hotel room. It was one thing for Cohen to pay Stormy’s $135,000 hush-money payment from his home-equity loan. “Happens all the time!” “Common practice!” “Trump never even met her, I’m just really generous!” (For you Trump readers, that’s called sarcasm.)

It’s quite another when the most experienced and determined federal prosecutors are giving you an investigative colonoscopy. If you think for one moment there’s nothing dodgy and damaging against Trump in the files of Cohen, think again.

Suddenly, Michael Cohen, the bag-walking, dick-swinging swagger-monkey wannabe thug attorney and consigliere for Donald Trump’s far-flung penile enterprises is scared. If Cohen had a lump of coal in his ass the moment those search warrants arrived, he could have popped out a diamond. He realizes how deep this hole can become if he doesn’t roll over. He doesn’t have the resources to defend himself, and Trump isn’t exactly known for paying his bills in the first place. Cohen is scared, and he’s not alone.

What has to strike absolute error into Trump at this moment is the fact that the Southern District of New York, acting on a referral from Robert Mueller, was able to obtain extraordinarily broad authority and was granted search warrants that may even penetrate attorney-client privilege.

Trump must know this may be one of the most dangerous moments in his entire life, not just his presidency. The likelihood is that Mueller and the FBI are now in possession of the Black Books of Trump, NDAs from enough of Trump’s various affairs, that you can staff a 12-pole strip club with plenty of girls left for the Champagne rooms. It’s only speculation at this point, but it’s quite likely that Cohen was the keeper of many of Trump’s lending documents, contracts, business arrangements, and the Kryptonite of Trump’s fragile self-worth: the long-sought tax returns.

It’s an open secret and has been for quite a while, but Trump isn’t worth $10 billion. As one of my hedge-fund friends (an actual billionaire) said of Trump in 2015, “He’s a clown living on credit.” For Trump to have the public learn that he may not be as wealthy as he has continued to claim as the central element of his branding would hurt him more than if Mueller then proved he took sacks of cash and a foot massage from Vladimir Putin. Collusion with the Russians is nothing compared to having his baroque finances revealed. Trump would rather be known as a traitor than as someone who isn’t one of the Masters of the Universe.

This is, of course, another one of those moments where Trump may listen to the devil perched on his shoulder and simply burn the entire Department of Justice to the ground. He is obviously unable to retain counsel skilled enough to control his constant verbal dysentery, even when his yammering puts him in enormous legal peril.

Cohen was one of Trump’s most vulnerable and dangerous keepers of secrets. If Trump had a brain, he would have been terrified this moment would come. Cohen simply lived in a state of idiot hubris that it wouldn’t.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/fbi-raid- ... rumps-life


GOP strategist Rick Wilson drops hammer on Trump: Mueller may have gotten those ‘long-sought tax returns’ from Cohen

Travis Gettys
10 APR 2018 AT 07:58 ET


Republican strategist Rick Wilson gloated over the FBI raid of attorney Michael Cohen’s office after President Donald Trump insisted he knew nothing about a hush money payout to a porn actress.

In a scathing column for The Daily Beast, the GOP consultant said Cohen wasn’t so much an attorney as a “bag-walking, dick-swinging swagger-monkey wannabe thug attorney and consigliere for Donald Trump’s far-flung penile enterprises.”

Wilson said Cohen believed attorney-client privilege would protect him from consequences in the Stormy Daniels case, but “he forgot he had a fool for a client. Trump couldn’t shut his mouth on Air Force One last week.”

The president blurted out to reporters Thursday that he knew nothing about the non-disclosure agreement, which strengthens claims by the porn star’s attorney that Daniels entered into the hush agreement with Trump under false pretenses — and opened up Cohen to potential charges.

“If Cohen had a lump of coal in his ass the moment those search warrants arrived, he could have popped out a diamond,” Wilson said. “He realizes how deep this hole can become if he doesn’t roll over. He doesn’t have the resources to defend himself, and Trump isn’t exactly known for paying his bills in the first place. Cohen is scared, and he’s not alone.”

Wilson said the raid must “strike absolute terror” into Trump because it could expose his most closely held secrets to public scrutiny.

“Trump must know this may be one of the most dangerous moments in his entire life, not just his presidency,” Wilson said. “The likelihood is that Mueller and the FBI are now in possession of the Black Books of Trump, NDAs from enough of Trump’s various affairs, that you can staff a 12-pole strip club with plenty of girls left for the champagne rooms.”

“It’s only speculation at this point, but it’s quite likely the Cohen was the keeper of many of Trump’s lending documents, contracts, business arrangements, and the Kryptonite of Trump’s fragile self-worth: the long-sought tax returns,” he added.

Wilson said neither man should be surprised to find themselves in the position they now face.

“Cohen was one of Trump’s most vulnerable and dangerous keepers of secrets,” he said. “If Trump had a brain, he would have been terrified this moment would come. Cohen simply lived in a state of idiot hubris that it wouldn’t.”
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/04/gop-st ... UA.twitter


Michael Cohen, National Deputy Finance Chair of the GOP, has disappeared in the last five minutes from their website.



Alan Dershowitz on the Michael Cohen raid: “It’s a tactic generally used against organized crime, against very serious, very serious criminals and lawyers who are operating outside of the protections of the law.”

ORGANIZED CRIME



Deutsche Bank subpoenas .......Mueller.....December........Cohen.........trump
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: NSA Chief Russia Hacked '16 Election Congress Must Inves

Postby seemslikeadream » Thu Apr 12, 2018 6:50 pm

MUELLER WILL LABEL DANGLING PARDONS AS OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE JUST AS HE DROPS MORE CONSPIRACY CHARGES

April 12, 2018/3 Comments/in 2016 Presidential Election, Mueller Probe /by emptywheel
NBC has a refreshingly sober and detailed report, explaining that Mueller and the President’s lawyers are giving up, at least for now, on the idea that Trump will be interviewed by the special counsel team.

Far more interesting than that news are the details about Mueller’s plans for his report on obstruction of justice. The report, originally slated for May to July, may come even sooner.

Prior to Monday’s raid, Mueller’s team had been aiming to finalize a report on its findings on whether the president has tried to obstruct justice in the Russia investigation in the coming months, as early as May or as late as July, three sources said. That timeline hinged in part on reaching a decision on a presidential interview, these people said. One person familiar with the investigation described a decision on an interview as one of the last steps Mueller was seeking to take before closing his investigation into obstruction.

Now, according to two sources, Mueller’s team may be able to close the obstruction probe more quickly as they will not need to prepare for the interview or follow up on what the president says.


And it appears that Mueller will accuse the President of obstructing justice in four ways:

Three sources familiar with the investigation said the findings Mueller has collected on Trump’s attempts to obstruct justice include: His intent for firing former FBI Director James Comey; his role in the crafting of a misleading public statement on the nature of a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between his son and Russians; Trump’s dangling of pardons before grand jury witnesses who might testify against him; and pressuring Attorney General Jeff Sessions not to recuse himself from the Russia investigation.


All of these are predictable (though some other details of obstruction, such as the role he asked Rod Rosenstein and Jeff Sessions to play to provide cover for Comey’s firing, are not in there).

But the most interesting is the no-nonsense claim that offering pardons to people who might incriminate him personally amounts to obstruction of justice.

That makes a lot of sense — but it is constitutionally aggressive, because it’s unclear whether there can be any limit to the president’s pardon power. And it will go to Congress in a report inviting impeachment around the same time as Mueller will be rolling out the far more serious charges against Trump’s spawn, probably with Trump himself named as a co-conspirator.

I’m not sure whether that report will affect Trump’s calculation on whether he should pardon people like Don Jr and Jared — or if Congress will act to impeach to limit the political damage of what’s coming to themselves.

But it may change the legal status of any pardons offered after that date.

https://www.emptywheel.net/2018/04/12/m ... y-charges/






The White House is preparing to cast Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as too conflicted to fairly oversee the Russia probe
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/12/politics ... index.html



Seth Abramson


Trump agents and enablers AMI catching and killing a story about Trump having an illegitimate child from a doorman for $30,000 in LATE 2013 is further confirmation that when Trump went to Moscow in November 2013 his closest allies knew he was running. We will learn Putin did too.

2/ The evidence Trump had decided to run for POTUS by the time he was negotiating a business deal with Putin and his agents in November '13 includes Trump-bought polls, statements by Michael Cohen, statements by Trump friends, statements from Russian business associates and more.

3/ The overlap between Trump paying off potential blackmailers and the Russia probe is simple: among other things, it helps prove whether Trump was secretly running a political campaign at the same time he was negotiating business deals with Russia, thus using his run as a chit.

4/ We already know Trump was *definitely* doing that when he set up a Trump Tower Moscow deal in the fall of 2015, the question is whether he was *also* doing that when he set up a Trump Tower Moscow deal in *late 2013*. Today's news is more evidence the answer is a clear "yes."

5/ Haven't you wondered why Trump lied about talking to Putin in 2013? (He told FNC he had—then retracted it after the Russia probe began.) What could *possibly* have happened during a call with Putin about BUSINESS while Trump was running for PRESIDENT that could pose a problem?

6/ It matters not at all—for the purposes of the Russia probe—whether the doorman's story was true. What matters is when the story came to light for Trump's allies, when they killed it, why they killed it, and why Trump is lying about why, when, and how his allies killed stories.

7/ Don't let people tell you these "catch-and-kill" stories are simply about Donald Trump being unfaithful to his wife over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.

They're about Russia—and the *selling of the presidency for cash*.


8/ Remember that as Trump agents and enablers AMI begin catching and killing Trump infidelity stories in late 2013, Steve Bannon is ramping up Cambridge Analytica's preparation for assisting a presidential campaign, "MAGA" has been registered, "drain the swamp" is being tested...

9/ This thread is an example of why media needs to be talking to people who have not just subject-area expertise but *also* a sense of the Trump-Russia timeline. Otherwise, explanations of why Mueller is looking at AMI and "catch-and-kill" become legally and factually incoherent.
https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status ... 4286599168



MJ Lee


NEW: Trump doorman Dino Sajudin releases statement: "I was instructed not to criticize President Trump's former housekeeper due to a prior relationship she had with President Trump which produced a child.” (via @soniamoghe)

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Trump's Lawyer Appears to Have Been Sitting on All Sorts of Sleaziness
https://www.gq.com/story/trumps-lawyer- ... sleaziness


Who is the National Enquirer working for? trump? Feds are focusing on communications between Cohen and National Enquirer executives

if this had been a story about Clinton would they have went with it on the front page? NO DOUBT!


In new book, Comey says Trump 'untethered to truth'

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former FBI Director James Comey blasts President Donald Trump as unethical and “untethered to truth” and calls his leadership of the country “ego driven and about personal loyalty” in a forthcoming book.

Comey reveals new details about his interactions with Trump and his own decision-making in handling the Hillary Clinton email investigation before the 2016 election. He casts Trump as a mafia boss-like figure who sought to blur the line between law enforcement and politics and tried to pressure him regarding his investigation into Russian election interference.

The book adheres closely to Comey’s public testimony and written statements about his contacts with the president during the early days of the administration and his growing concern about the president’s integrity. It also includes strikingly personal jabs at Trump that appear likely to irritate the president.

The 6-foot-8 Comey describes Trump as shorter than he expected with a “too long” tie and “bright white half-moons” under his eyes that he suggests came from tanning goggles. He also says he made a conscious effort to check the president’s hand size, saying it was “smaller than mine, but did not seem unusually so.”

The book, “A Higher Loyalty,” is to be released next week. The Associated Press purchased a copy this week.

Trump fired Comey in May 2017, setting off a scramble at the Justice Department that led to the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation. Mueller’s probe has expanded to include whether Trump obstructed justice by firing Comey, an idea the president denies. Trump has assailed Comey as a “showboat” and a “liar.”

Comey’s account lands at a particularly sensitive moment for Trump and the White House. Officials there describe Trump as enraged over a recent FBI raid of his personal lawyer’s home and office, raising the prospect that he could fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller, or try to shut down the probe on his own. The Republican National Committee is poised to lead the pushback effort against Comey, who is set to do a series of interviews to promote the book, by launching a website and supplying surrogates with talking points that question the former director’s credibility.

Trump has said he fired Comey because of his handling of the FBI’s investigation into his Clinton’s email practices. Trump used the investigation as a cudgel in the campaign and repeatedly said Clinton should be jailed for using a personal email system while serving as secretary of state. Democrats, on the other hand, have accused Comey of politicizing the investigation, and Clinton herself has said it hurt her election prospects.

Comey writes that he regrets his approach and some of the wording he used in his July 2016 press conference in which he announced the decision not to prosecute Clinton. But he says he believes he did the right thing by going before the cameras and making his statement, noting that the Justice Department had done so in other high profile cases.

Every person on the investigative team, Comey writes, found that there was no prosecutable case against Clinton and that the FBI didn’t find that she lied under its questioning.

He also reveals for the first time that the U.S. government had unverified classified information that he believes could have been used to cast doubt on Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s independence in the Clinton probe. While Comey does not outline the details of the information — and says he didn’t see indications of Lynch inappropriately influencing the investigation — he says it worried him that the material could be used to attack the integrity of the probe and the FBI’s independence.

Comey’s book will be heavily scrutinized by the president’s legal team looking for any inconsistencies between it and his public testimony, under oath, before Congress. They will be looking to impeach Comey’s credibility as a key witness in Mueller’s obstruction investigation, which the president has cast as a political motivated witch hunt.

He provides new details of his firing. He writes that then-Homeland Security secretary John Kelly — now Trump’s chief of staff — offered to quit out of a sense of disgust as to how Comey was dismissed, as well as his first encounter with Trump, a January 2017 briefing at Trump Tower in New York City. Kelly has been increasingly marginalized in the White House and the president has mused to confidantes about firing the chief of staff.

Comey also writes extensively about his first meeting with Trump after his election. Others in the meeting included Vice President Mike Pence, Trump’s first chief of staff, Reince Priebus, Michael Flynn, who would become national security adviser, and incoming press secretary, Sean Spicer. Comey was also joined by NSA Director Mike Rogers, CIA Director John Brennan and DNI Director James Clapper.

After Clapper briefed the team on the intelligence community’s findings of Russian election interference, Comey said he was taken aback by what the Trump team didn’t ask.

“They were about to lead a country that had been attacked by a foreign adversary, yet they had no questions about what the future Russian threat might be,” Comey writes. Instead, he writes, they launched into a strategy session about how to “spin what we’d just told them” for the public.
https://apnews.com/3e123c8153d6497c9e07 ... _medium=AP



FEDS GOT COHEN RECORDINGS


Polly Sigh

Scoop: Trump’s allies worry that federal investigators seized recordings made by his personal attorney Michael Cohen, who was known to store conversations as digital files & replay them for colleagues, even convos w/other top Trump advisers. OMG

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https://twitter.com/dcpoll



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Mueller doesn't need to interview trump to prove the case.....he just needs to offer him a chance to tell his story....if he turns it down Mueller just moves forward

NBC: Mueller likely to report at least four "findings" on Trump and obstruction of justice, including dangling pardons to grand jury witnesses:
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: NSA Chief Russia Hacked '16 Election Congress Must Inves

Postby Iamwhomiam » Thu Apr 12, 2018 9:50 pm

It's moments like this with Cohen that I wish I was a reporter and could ask him, "So, Mr. Cohen, how'd it feel being a lawyer?
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Re: NSA Chief Russia Hacked '16 Election Congress Must Inves

Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Apr 13, 2018 8:30 am

Wondering if Trump will be so distracted by Comey and his book tour that he'll forget to fire Rosenstein?

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Trump’s pardon of Libby contains an extra dose of revenge:

“Comey...was the guy who started the independent Plamegate investigation that ended up...convicting Scooter Libby...of serious crimes.”

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Trump Just Hired a Lawyer Who Says the FBI and DOJ Conspired to Frame Trump

Joseph diGenova thinks James Comey framed Scooter Libby, too.

Dan FriedmanMar. 19, 2018 6:19 PM

In the latest indication that the White House is taking a more combative stance toward Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, President Donald Trump has decided to add Washington lawyer Joseph diGenova to his legal team. DiGenova and his wife, Victoria Toensing, have a long history of engaging in legal work and commentary that advance right-wing causes, and both have been outspoken critics of federal law enforcement officials’ handling of investigations into Hillary Clinton and into Trump associates’ ties to Russia.

The New York Times reported on Monday that Trump is hiring diGenova to add “a more aggressive player” to his legal team. In January, diGenova publicly accused FBI and Justice Department officials of hatching a “brazen plot to illegally exonerate Hillary Clinton” and to “frame Donald Trump with a falsely created crime.” He referred to former FBI director James Comey, who Trump fired, as “America’s most dirty cop” and said that Attorney General Jeff Sessions should appoint a new special counsel or impanel a grand jury to investigate Comey and other current and former FBI and DOJ officials.

DiGenova and Toensing have a decades-long history of combining conservative legal activism and punditry to place themselves in the middle of scandals consuming Washington.
DiGenova, a former US attorney who prosecuted aides to former DC Mayor Marion Barry, has also pushed a theory, popular in right-wing publications, that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn should be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea for lying to FBI agents. That argument is based on a supposed conflict of interest involving the judge who originally oversaw the case. Former prosecutors have called the notion of Flynn withdrawing his plea farfetched.

DiGenova and Toensing share a law firm and a decades-long history of combining conservative legal activism and punditry to place themselves in the middle of scandals consuming Washington. In 1998, both claimed that they were targeted by a private investigator hired by the Clinton White House due to their frequent television appearances during the Monica Lewinsky scandal—a charge the White House denied. The couple later advocated for Scooter Libby, a former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice related to his role in exposing the identity of former CIA operative Valerie Plame.

The couple reemerged in the next decade as eager critics of Hillary Clinton. DiGenova in 2016 incorrectly predicted on Laura Ingraham’s radio show that Hillary Clinton would withdraw from the presidential race due to a likely indictment related to her use of a private email server. Comey ultimately announced that he would not recommend that the DOJ charge Clinton with a crime. When Libby had his law license reinstated just days before the 2016 presidential election, diGenova took the opportunity to slam Comey, telling the Daily Caller that “Comey and [former US attorney Patrick] Fitzgerald tried to frame Scooter Libby.”

For her part, Toensing has had several clients involved in various Clinton and Trump-Russia investigations. She represents William Campbell, a former FBI informant who asserted he had information indicating that Clinton had signed off on the sale of a uranium company with assets in the United States due to Russian contributions to her foundation. Egged on by Toensing, Republicans last fall touted Campbell’s claims. But lawmakers seemed to back away from Campbell after the Justice Department informed them that it had doubts about Campbell’s credibility. Campbell failed to provide any evidence supporting his claims during a January interview with congressional staff, Democrats say.

Toensing has also represented Sam Clovis, the former Trump campaign co-chairman, who encouraged efforts by former Trump campaign national security aide George Papadopoulos to use contacts with people the FBI now suspects were Russian intelligence agents to broker a 2016 meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (No such meeting ever took place.) Clovis withdrew from consideration from a top Department of Agriculture post due to his involvement in the scandal. Toensing has also worked for Erik Prince, the founder of the security contractor Blackwater and brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Democrats say Prince may have misled the House Intelligence Committee about a January 2017 meeting he attended in the Seychelles with a Russian investor close to Putin.

Trump’s decision to bring on diGenova comes as Mueller’s investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia appears to be accelerating. It follows other indications that Trump has decided to confront Mueller more aggressively, against the advice of many of his advisers, particularly Ty Cobb, the attorney who oversees White House interactions with the special counsel’s team.

Trump in recent days has celebrated Friday’s firing of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. McCabe’s dismissal, just days before he was set to retire, appeared aimed at stopping the FBI veteran from receiving a full pension. Though McCabe faced criticism in an inspector general’s report related to his handling of the Clinton investigation, Trump’s tweets suggest that the president views McCabe’s firing as deeply linked to the Russia probe.


Over the past year, Trump and his lawyers have repeatedly emphasized their desire to cooperate with Mueller’s team. But in his tweets this weekend, Trump publicly attacked Mueller by name, a move he had generally avoided in the past. In a tweet Monday, he referred vaguely to a “total WITCH HUNT with massive conflicts of interest!” Conflicts of interest are among the limited grounds for which Mueller could be legally dismissed. Last June, Trump reportedly pushed White Counsel Donald McGahn to seek Mueller’s firing based on questionable claims that Mueller has a conflict of interest because he once resigned from a Trump-owned golf club over fees and because Mueller talked to Trump about the job of FBI director before becoming special counsel.

Another Trump lawyer, John Dowd, also tied Sessions’ firing of McCabe to the Russia probe, suggesting it was now time for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to remove Mueller, as well. “I pray that…Rosenstein will follow the brilliant and courageous example of the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility and Attorney General Jeff Sessions and bring an end to alleged Russia Collusion investigation manufactured by McCabe’s boss James Comey based upon a fraudulent and corrupt Dossier,” Dowd told the Daily Beast on Saturday. Dowd originally said he was speaking on behalf of Trump, though he later said he was speaking only for himself.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 ... ame-trump/


THE LIBBY PARDON: TRUMP’S OBJECT LESSON IN PRESIDENTIAL FIREWALLS


April 12, 2018/78 Comments/in 2016 Presidential Election, CIA Leak Case, Mueller Probe /by emptywheel
There are two reports out tonight:

Rod Rosenstein will be fired in an attempt to quash any further investigation of Trump’s crimes.
Scooter Libby will be pardoned in an obvious attempt to present an object lesson in presidential firewalls.
This post will be an initial attempt to explain the Libby pardon.

Side note: For those who claim Richard Armitage outed Plame, let’s just agree that you have no familiarity with the actual record and leave it there for now. Trust me on this: Bush and Cheney were very concerned that the written record showed Cheney ordering Libby to out Plame (whom, some evidence not introduced at trial suggests, he knew was covert). We can fight about that later, but I’ve got a library of records on this and you don’t.

First: Libby has already had his right to vote and his bar license restored. This pardon is purely symbolic. I’m sure Libby’s happy to have it, but the audience here is Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen, and a slew of other people who can incriminate Trump.

This appears to be a stunt inspired by Joe DiGenova and Victoria Toensing (whom I’ll call DiG & T henceforth), who are great table pounders but not great lawyers. Also, remember that VT is representing Mark Corallo, Erik Prince, and Sam Clovis, all in some legal jeopardy, so this ploy may help them too.

Libby was Bush’s firewall because he was ordered–by either PapaDick Cheney and/or Bush–to out Valerie Plame as an object lesson to CIA people pushing back on their shitty Iraq case. By refusing to flip, he prevented Patrick Fitzgerald from determining whether Bush had really ordered that outing or whether Cheney and Libby freelanced on it.

Libby risked prison, but didn’t flip on Cheney or Bush. He avoided prison time with a commutation, not a pardon. While PapaDick pushed hard for pardon, it didn’t happen, in large part because Bush had far better lawyers than Trump has.

Here’s some of the differences between Libby and Trump’s many firewalls:

Manafort, Kushner, and Cohen are exposed to state charges, in addition to federal (even ignoring how the Russian mob may treat them).
Libby was the bottleneck witness. You needed him to move further, or you got nowhere. Not so with Trump, because so many people know what a crook he is.
Bush commuted but did not pardon Libby, then refused, against PapaDick’s plaints, because (smarter lawyer) his lawyer counseled that’d be obstruction [update, or counseled that Libby could still incriminate Bush]. Trump can’t fully pardon his firewall, for the same reason: bc these witnesses will lose Fifth Amendment privileges against self-incrimination (which, as it happens, Cohen is invoking as we speak in a civil suit, which also can’t be dismissed by pardon).
Di Genova and Toensing (who are not good lawyers but pound tables well) haven’t figured out that this won’t be a one-off: This won’t be one (Manafort) or two (Cohen) people Trump has to pardon. And THEY DON’T KNOW the full scope of who Trump would have to pardon here. There are too many moving parts to pull this off.
And finally, because Trump is in a race. As I noted before, Mueller has already signaled he will label dangling pardons — as Trump has already done — as obstruction of justice. That presents far more risk for Trump, even assuming Mike Pence wants to go do the route of half-term infamy that Gerald Ford did by pardoning his boss.
All that’s before the fact that the crimes that Trump and his are facing are far, far uglier even than deliberately exposing the identity of a CIA officer to warn others off of exposing your war lies.

Maybe this will work? But I doubt it. There are just too many moving parts. And there is too little understanding among Trump’s closest advisors what they’re really facing.

So, congratulations to Scooter Libby at being a free man again. Condolences to Rod Rosenstein at being a free man again, if the firing does happen as predicted tomorrow.

But this is just a gambit, and there’s no reason to believe it will work.
https://www.emptywheel.net/2018/04/12/t ... firewalls/
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: NSA Chief Russia Hacked '16 Election Congress Must Inves

Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Apr 13, 2018 12:40 pm

Rosenstein tells confidantes he is prepared to be fired

let the games begin!
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: NSA Chief Russia Hacked '16 Election Congress Must Inves

Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Apr 13, 2018 2:55 pm

Trump's lawyer Cohen arranged $1.6 million payout to Playmate after affair with top GOP donor led to abortion

Trump lawyer Michael Cohen arranged for a $1.6 million hush payout to a former Playboy model on behalf of Elliott Broidy, a top donor to the Republican Party who had impregnated her last year.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Broidy has admitted that he had a relationship with the woman, who subsequently had an abortion to terminate her pregnancy.

“I acknowledge I had a consensual relationship with a Playboy Playmate,” Broidy told the Wall Street Journal. “At the end of our relationship, this woman shared with me that she was pregnant. She alone decided that she did not want to continue with the pregnancy and I offered to help her financially during this difficult period.”

According to the non-disclosure agreement described by the WSJ’s sources, the woman says that the 60-year-old Broidy paid her money in exchange for an exclusive sexual relationship that lasted more than a year.

The contract states that she had the right to seek child support payments if she chose to carry out the pregnancy, although she ultimately decided to have an abortion.

The WSJ’s sources say that the former Playboy model is set to be paid $1.6 million over a two-year period, and that the first payment was supposed to have been made this past December.
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/04/trumps ... -abortion/



Polly Sigh

Finance chair of Trump's inaugural & top fundraiser Broidy [linked to Nader] has been selling access to Trump – offering up meetings w/ Trump to leaders of unsavory govts around the world while pursuing his own lucrative defense contracts w/ them.
https://nyti.ms/2GagTBX
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Trump donor Elliott Broidy, an associate of Nader [who's now cooperating w/ Mueller] is under scrutiny in Ukraine over an alleged deal with sanctioned Russian bank, VTB. In Oct, Broidy passed Nader info about his private meeting with Trump re UAE.
#Maddow https://twitter.com/dcpoll/status/971600032657965056https://twitter.com/WendySiegelman/stat ... 8268064769


You really can't make this up. Elliot Broidy is an associate of Nader: "By Oct 6, Broidy had become close enough to both the prince & Nader to send a detailed memo to Nader, recounting his advocacy on UAE's behalf during an Oval meeting with Mr. Trump."
https://twitter.com/dcpoll/status/971217628869152768


Two officials of the Trump inaugural committee have been convicted of financial crimes, Rick Gates & Elliott Broidy [a top Trump fundraiser now under scrutiny by Mueller]; the cmte treasurer was an unindicted co-conspirator in an accounting fraud.
http://bit.ly/2Dv7we6

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How a Mueller Witness & a GOP Donor Influenced the WH for Gulf Rulers. High on the agenda of George Nader, political adviser to leader of UAE & Elliott Broidy, RNC deputy finance chairman: Remove Tillerson.…

Convicted felon Elliott Broidy [top Trump fudraiser & RNC National Deputy Finance Chair] confirmed his affair w/ a former Playboy model, whom he paid to have an abortion. Cohen & the woman’s attorney, Keith Davidson, facilitated the $1.6M payment.

Michael Cohen negotiated a deal [resembling Stormy Daniels'] in late 2017 to pay $1.6M to a former Playboy model who said she had an affair & was impregnated by Republican fundraiser [& Cohen's fellow RNC deputy…

How a Mueller Witness & a GOP Donor Influenced the WH for Gulf Rulers. High on the agenda of George Nader, political adviser to leader of UAE & Elliott Broidy, RNC deputy finance chairman: Remove Tillerson.
Mission accomplished bc Trump is so easy.
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https://twitter.com/dcpoll/status/974323211004530690
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: NSA Chief Russia Hacked '16 Election Congress Must Inves

Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Apr 13, 2018 3:27 pm

Just a reminder that Broidy was Involved with all the people in the Seychelles meet which was set to establish a back channel with Russia and he is also under a criminal investigation in Ukraine..

So Cohen (trumps thug lawyer) arranging this deal may potentially be a big deal

Broidy’s agreement uses the same FAKE NAMES for Broidy & the woman he PAID TO HAVE AN ABORTION—David Dennison & Peggy Peterson—as the earlier agreement used for Trump & Stormy. Both agreements had separate side letters that listed the real names of the parties

trump called Cohen today to check in.........bad idea

_____________

Trump lawyer Michael Cohen under criminal investigation


President Donald Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen has been under criminal investigation for months, largely centering around his business dealings, federal prosecutors in New York said in court documents obtained by ABC News.

Add Donald Trump as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Donald Trump news, video, and analysis from ABC News.
Today, prosecutors acknowledged publicly for the first time Friday that they seized records this week from Cohen.

The revelation came as Cohen and Trump sought a court order barring federal prosecutors from accessing the records they took during raids on his home and office Monday morning.

Lawyers for Cohen and Trump, neither of whom was present in court, argue that at least some of the records are subject to attorney-client privilege and should not be viewed by prosecutors until they, or an independent third party appointed by the court, have a chance to review the material.

In raid on Trump lawyer, feds sought records from deals with women, media and campaign: Sources
'Start Here' podcast: We called Cohen
Trump-appointed US attorney recused from Michael Cohen investigation
Cohen "applied [Thursday] evening for an opportunity to take the first cut" at determining whether the documents are privileged or relevant to the investigation, Judge Kimba Wood said. "Both parties recognize the search of an attorney's devices and offices are subject to special consideration."

A hearing Friday in Manhattan federal court was put on hold until Monday after an attorney for Trump intervened and requested additional time.

"He as an acute interest in these proceedings," said Joanna Hendon, an attorney for the president who said she was hired Wednesday night.

Hendon noted the "exceptional nature" of her client and expressed concern about the prosecutors' internal "taint team" that separates evidence that is privileged from evidence that is available for prosecutors to view.

"We don't need to rush," Hendon said. "There is an appearance of fairness problem."

A taint team is a group of people who help determine what falls under attorney-client privilege and should not be shared with investigators. It's standard when searching a lawyer's office.

“The government’s use of a filter team appropriately protects applicable privileges," the court documents obtained by ABC News state.

Cohen “is being investigated for criminal conduct that largely centers on his personal business dealings,” according to court documents.

Cohen has not been charged with anything. He has not responded to news he is under investigation, declining to comment when contacted by ABC News.

Thomas McKay, one of the prosecutors handling the case, said the president's attorney-client privileges are no different than anyone else's. He accused the president and Cohen of delay tactics but promised prosecutors would not view any of the seized material until the judge makes her ruling following the hearing on Monday.

Also at issue was how much of this dispute will happen in open court. News organizations objected to parts of the hearing -- originally scheduled without notice -- taking place outside of public earshot.

“I don’t take this position lightly,” said Wood.

Rachel Strom, an attorney for ABC News, successfully argued to keep most of the hearing open to the public.

"This is the most important hearing that’s happening today and the public has a right to know how the court is going to handle the search of the president’s lawyer’s documents," Strom said.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-lawyer-m ... d=54450757


trump campaign chair: indicted
trump NSA: pleads guilty; cooperating
trump deputy campaign chair: pleads guilty; cooperating
trump campaign foreign policy adviser: pleads guilty; cooperating
trump personal lawyer: under criminal investigation
trump son-in-law: soon...
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: NSA Chief Russia Hacked '16 Election Congress Must Inves

Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Apr 13, 2018 6:16 pm

The prosecutors investigating the President's fixer specialize in public corruption, wire and bank fraud, and organized crime.

DUCK!

Prosecutors Probing Michael Cohen Have Nailed Financial Frauds, Corrupt Pols and Organized Crooks

Two of the lawyers come from the vaunted public corruption unit of the Justice Department’s Manhattan office. A third is with its organized crime section.
Justin Miller
JUSTIN MILLER
04.13.18 6:17 PM ET

Michael Cohen has never faced attorneys like the ones investigating him.

The federal prosecutors looking into Cohen, the longtime lawyer and fixer for Donald Trump, have deep and varied experience with financial crimes such as bank fraud, money laundering, and racketeering. On Friday, they submitted a court filing that gave the first glimpse into the investigation that exploded into the public eye with an FBI raid on Cohen’s office and home on Monday.

"The searches are the result of a months-long investigation into Cohen," according to the filing submitted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, into acts of concealment and fraud he may have committed. While prosecutors did not disclose those acts, the search warrant served on Cohen reportedly sought documents pertaining to his efforts to pay off two women during the 2016 presidential campaign who said they had sex with Trump, among other topics.

Cohen claims he paid $130,000 of his own money to Stephanie Clifford, a.k.a. porn star Stormy Daniels, in October 2016. In exchange for the money, Clifford signed a non-disclosure agreement stipulating she would not discuss her alleged affair with Trump. Cohen set up a shell company that obscured the payment and the agreement. The other woman, Karen McDougal, claims in a lawsuit that Cohen was secretly involved in her talks with the National Enquirer’s publisher to “catch and kill” her story on Trump.

“The prosecutors have deep and varied experience with financial crimes such as bank fraud, money laundering, and racketeering.”
Shady financial dealings are what Thomas McKay, Rachel Maimin, and Nicolas Roos are used to digging into. They are the assistant U.S. attorneys who wrote the court filing Friday in response to Cohen’s motion to a federal judge to keep records seized by the FBI out of prosecutors’ hands.


McKay and Roos are part of the public corruption unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, which goes after corruption crimes committed by government officials, as well as frauds committed against the government.

McKay was part of the team that convicted New York’s former state Senate majority leader, Dean Skelos, for crimes including using his office to pressure businesses to give his son hundreds of thousands of dollars. The 2015 conviction was overturned by an appeals court thanks to a 2016 Supreme Court decision that narrowed the definition of corruption; a retrial is scheduled for later this year.

Roos recently charged an NYPD detective with bank fraud for stealing $1.5 million from victims by depositing the money into accounts the cop controlled. A month earlier, he charged a graduate-school employee and students with conspiracy to commit wire fraud by creating a kickback scheme to pocket financial aid. Last year, he prosecuted an international money laundering scheme to bribe African officials and another plan to con financial institutions and investors into giving loans to phony businesses.

Maimin is a member of the violent and organized crime section of the attorney’s office, which has seen her prosecute multiple cases of racketeering, including the largest gang takedown in New York history that saw 120 members and associates of two rival Bronx street gangs charged in 2016.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/prosecuto ... ed-crooks/


Cohen was supposed to be in court today....judge is not happy

Cohen seems more concerned about signaling to certain networks than he is about signaling concern to the judge in his case.

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Cohen is not trump lawyer.......no privilege

thousands if not millions of documents have been seized

documents going back maybe 30 years

trump does not do email

Cohen ordered to appear in court on Monday

Cohen called trump today.....


I have a single client and I want to hear bad news immediately


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDXKAwzdxn4
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: NSA Chief Russia Hacked '16 Election Congress Must Inves

Postby Iamwhomiam » Fri Apr 13, 2018 6:54 pm

Post by Iamwhomiam » Thu Jun 08, 2017 4:11 pm

As we now most clearly see, Trump will surely fall and that through his very own actions.

The Russian thing will proly wind up with a slew of RICO warrants for his crew, with cases lasting perhaps for years.

http://rigorousintuition.ca/board2/viewtopic.php?p=639302#p639302
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