Comrade Trump

[Pelado]

Nice fun article on Ted's favorite member of Congress

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/04/polit...ion/index.html

I didn't see any mention of Rand Paul in there.

[frank ryan]

I didn't see any mention of Rand Paul in there.

That's because Nunes is Ted's new fav. as Nunes is actively trying to sabotage Mueller to protect "Drumph."

[BlueK]

I didn't see any mention of Rand Paul in there.

I don't know. 99% of what ted posts now is pro-Trump rather than pro-libertarian. I'd have to say Rand's libertarian credentials are seriously in doubt also. Jeff Flake is a lot closer to it.

[frank ryan]

Sounds like Putin's friend gave Cohen a bunch of cash. Completely normal. Nothingburger. Clinton.

Firm Tied to Russian Oligarch Made Payments to Michael Cohen

A shell company that Michael D. Cohen used to pay hush money to a pornographic film actress received payments totaling more than $1 million from an American company linked to a Russian oligarch and several corporations with business before the Trump administration, according to documents and interviews.

Financial records reviewed by The New York Times show that Mr. Cohen, President Trump’s personal lawyer and longtime fixer, used the shell company, Essential Consultants L.L.C., for an array of business activities that went far beyond what was publicly known. Transactions adding up to at least $4.4 million flowed through Essential Consultants starting shortly before Mr. Trump was elected president and continuing to this January, the records show.

Among the previously unreported transactions were payments last year of about $500,000 from Columbus Nova, an investment firm in New York whose biggest client is a company controlled by Viktor Vekselberg, the Russian oligarch. A lawyer for Columbus Nova, in a statement on Tuesday, described the money as a consulting fee that had nothing to do with Mr. Vekselberg.

Other transactions described in the financial records include hundreds of thousands of dollars Mr. Cohen received from Fortune 500 firms with business before the Trump administration, as well as smaller amounts he paid for luxury expenses like a Mercedes-Benz and private club dues.
References to the transactions first appeared in a document posted to Twitter on Tuesday by Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for Stephanie Clifford, the adult film star who was paid $130,000 by Essential Consultants to keep quiet about an alleged affair with Mr. Trump. The lawyer’s seven-page document, titled “Preliminary Report of Findings,” does not explain the source of his information but describes in detail dates, dollar amounts and parties involved in various dealings by Mr. Cohen and his company. Most of the transactions involved two banks: First Republic Bank and City National Bank.

The Times’s review of financial records confirmed much of what was in Mr. Avenatti’s report. In addition, a review of documents and interviews shed additional light on Mr. Cohen’s dealings with the company connected to Mr. Vekselberg, who was stopped and questioned at an airport earlier this year by investigators for Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel examining Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/u...gtype=Homepage

[BlueK]

Lots of bad news for Trump tonight.

[frank ryan]

Nunes doesn't give a shit:

Secret intelligence source who aided Mueller probe is at center of latest clash between Nunes and Justice Dept.

Last Wednesday, senior FBI and national intelligence officials relayed an urgent message to the White House: Information being sought by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes could endanger a top-secret intelligence source.

Top White House officials, with the assent of President Trump, agreed to back the decision to withhold the information. They were persuaded that turning over Justice Department documents could risk lives by potentially exposing the source, a U.S. citizen who has provided intelligence to the CIA and FBI, according to multiple people familiar with the discussion and the person’s role.

The showdown marked a rare moment of alignment between the Justice Department and Trump, who has relentlessly criticized Attorney General Jeff Sessions and other top Justice officials for the probe into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

But it is unclear whether Trump was alerted to a key fact — that information developed by the intelligence source had been provided to the Mueller investigation.

The debate over the risk to the source is now at the center of a pitched battle between House Republicans and the Justice Department.

After the White House sided with the department’s decision to refuse the request, Nunes (R-Calif.) publicly vented his frustration, saying Sunday that he may try to hold Sessions in contempt for refusing to comply. He said that his classified-document request and subsequent subpoena to the Justice Department did not refer to an individual.

“They are citing spurious national security concerns to evade congressional oversight while leaking information to The Washington Post ostensibly about classified meetings,” he said in a statement to The Post. “Congress has a right and a duty to get this information and we will succeed in getting this information, regardless of whatever fantastic stories the DOJ and FBI spin to the Post.”

Several administration officials said they fear Trump may reverse course and support Nunes’s argument.

White House officials did not respond to requests for comment.

For the intelligence agencies, Nunes’s request threatened to cross a red line of compromising sources and methods of U.S. intelligence-gathering, according to people familiar with their views. Intelligence officials fear that providing even a redacted version of the information Nunes seeks could expose that person and damage relationships with other countries that serve as U.S. intelligence partners.

The role of the intelligence source in the Mueller investigation may now be seized upon by conservative Republicans who have publicly accused the Justice Department and intelligence agencies of overreach and misuse of their surveillance powers.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...=.79eff5827a72

[BlueK]

Sounds like Putin's friend gave Cohen a bunch of cash. Completely normal. Nothingburger. Clinton.

Firm Tied to Russian Oligarch Made Payments to Michael Cohen





https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/u...gtype=Homepage

How much of this money ended up in Trump's own pocket? And this was going on exactly when he was accusing Hillary for "pay to play"

[Commando]

How much of this money ended up in Trump's own pocket? And this was going on exactly when he was accusing Hillary for "pay to play"

It wouldn't have to cross his greasy palms to benefit him if Cohen is paying off his trysts left and right, with no indication that Trump himself was ever reimbursing Cohen for those payments.

[Uncle Ted]

Sounds like Putin's friend gave Cohen a bunch of cash. Completely normal. Nothingburger. Clinton.

Firm Tied to Russian Oligarch Made Payments to Michael Cohen





https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/u...gtype=Homepage

Oops... Michael Avenatti better hope that he has just made up this stuff:

Treasury probing how Trump lawyer's bank records got out

The Treasury Department's internal watchdog says it's investigating how detailed allegations about the banking records of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer became public.


At issue is an account of bank transactions involving Trump attorney Michael Cohen. The financial information was disclosed on Tuesday night by lawyer Michael Avenatti, who represents adult film actress Stormy Daniels.


Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 in October 2016 to keep quiet about her alleged tryst with Trump in 2006.


Word of the investigation comes from Rich Delmar, general counsel for the department's inspector general.
[...]

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nati...#storylink=cpy

[old_gregg]

Oops... Michael Avenatti better hope that he has just made up this stuff:


http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nati...#storylink=cpy

odd takeaway

[Uncle Ted]

odd takeaway

Thanks Odd_Greggory!

[Uncle Ted]

Michael Avenatti has some shady deals of his own...

Before Stormy Daniels, her attorney faced allegations of dubious business dealings at Tully’s Coffee

He’s become famous as the brash lawyer for the porn star who purportedly bedded the future president, but before Michael Avenatti accused Donald Trump and his attorney of a payoff scheme to muzzle Stormy Daniels, he faced allegations of dubious business dealings as owner of a flailing coffee chain.


Since his investment firm bought bankrupt Tully’s Coffee for $9.15 million at auction five years ago, Avenatti’s company has been named in more than 50 state and federal legal complaints, including commercial lawsuits, breach of lease actions and warrants for unpaid taxes, court records show.

All the while, Tully’s has shuttered store after store — from Everett to Bellevue, Tacoma to Seattle, and beyond — with employees left in limbo, landlords left unpaid and customers left holding now seemingly worthless loyalty cards.
[...]

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...ness-dealings/

Not to mention owing $5 million in back taxes!




https://www.documentcloud.org/docume...Complaint.html

It seems both lawyers are, well, just typical lawyers.

[Uncle Ted]

The case of more than one Michael Cohen...

Avenatti Accuses The Wrong Michael Cohens Of Making ‘Fraudulent’ Payments

Michael Avenatti, porn star Stormy Daniels’ lawyer, released a seven-page dossier on Tuesday containing a list of payments purportedly made to Michael Cohen, the lawyer for President Donald Trump.


But there is one problem with the document: two of the allegedly “fraudulent” payments were made to men named Michael Cohen who have no affiliation with Trump.
[...]

http://dailycaller.com/2018/05/09/av..._medium=social


Of course, lawyers are usually not that bright so I am sure this is a common mistake they make.

[Pelado]

Michael Avenatti has some shady deals of his own...


https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...ness-dealings/

Not to mention owing $5 million in back taxes!




https://www.documentcloud.org/docume...Complaint.html

It seems both lawyers are, well, just typical lawyers.

Wait, so Avenatti slept with Trump, too?

He’s become famous as the brash lawyer for the porn star who purportedly bedded the future president

[Walter Sobchak]

Frank finally changed his avatar. Probably because of the Kimmel/Hannity tiff?

Embedded Tweet

Greenwald shared this:

"There's an entire new site run by the spin-off of @TheOnion devoted to mocking and satirizing the trivialities, delusions and deranged conspiracy mentality of the #Resistance ... resistancehole.clickhole.com."

Resistance Win! This Artist Was Going To Draw Trump And Putin Kissing, But Was Worried That Seemed Homophobic, So He Had Them Kiss While Thinking About Pamela Anderson

itrotjjvagecccpwwe8f.jpg

Awesomesauce.