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The Robert Mueller Investigation


Hugo Stiglitz

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Manafort meeting with Assange in Ecuador and then Wikileaks releasing information on DNC/Hillary emails makes for an elaborate connect the dots scenario.  And by elaborate, I mean there are two dots.  Connect those dots.  With a straight line.  Or no line.  Just check out those two fucking dots.

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25 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I haven't pieced the timeline together yet -- wasn't Manafort only Trump's campaign manager from June to August 2016?  Does any of this cross into that timeframe?

Not that it absolves anybody but it would be spun as less important.  It does appear that he "joined" the campaign in March 2016, whatever that means.

At the very least, it appears that sometime after (or around) the March 2016 meeting with Assange, Manafort approached Trump and asked to join the campaign for no salary.

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21 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I haven't pieced the timeline together yet -- wasn't Manafort only Trump's campaign manager from June to August 2016?  Does any of this cross into that timeframe?

Not that it absolves anybody but it would be spun as less important.  It does appear that he "joined" the campaign in March 2016, whatever that means.

The earliest interactions could be dismissed based on this line of reasoning. The one in 2016 is much more difficult to wave off.  That also happens to be the one where the meticulous logs that the Ecuadorians hired a private security company to keep and transmit did not capture his visit. 

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23 minutes ago, Kringelbert Fishtybuns said:

I get it.  I have been keeping up with things to some extent.  But sometimes when you slow down and think about it again, the weight of the asininity sink in.  I was just trying to say that if the dude while on the staff of a presidential candidate strolled into a foreign embassy in a foriegn country to meet an enemy of the state in broad daylight through the front door wearing chinos.....well that is a bit much - right?

Manafort wouldn’t be caught dead in chinos.

It strains belief. But I wouldn't put it past Manafort or Stone. 

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I think it's rude for the people who did the surveillance on Manafort entering the embassy to describe his shoes 7 times too large, red and comically bulbous around the toes.



I find it spot on.

All these stupid fucks dress like clowns...always wearing Burlington coat factory suits that fit them 3 sizes too big.

They don’t know what a tailor is.
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34 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I haven't pieced the timeline together yet -- wasn't Manafort only Trump's campaign manager from June to August 2016?  Does any of this cross into that timeframe?

Not that it absolves anybody but it would be spun as less important.  It does appear that he "joined" the campaign in March 2016, whatever that means.

Here's the sequence of events

March 2016: Manafort joins Trump campaign as an advisor

Spring 2016: Manafort meets with Assange in person

June 9, 2016: Trump Tower meeting

June 20, 2016: Manafort is appointed Trump's campaign manager

July 2016: Wikileaks releases hacked DNC emails

It's almost like Trump brought him on for that specific purpose.

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Note the Chris Steele dossier reference:

”In a memo written soon after the DNC emails were published, Steele said: “The [hacking] operation had been conducted with the full knowledge and support of Trump and senior members of his campaign team.”

Apart from the obvious main takeaway re Trump conspiracy w Putin’s Russia, it’s important to realize that what is known and possessed by Mueller has largely been known by investigators from the very beginning.  

The massive bridge not yet being fully reported is the timeline, multiple pathways, and volume of RUS cash flow shifted into Trump campaign and related entities in parallel with the progression of steps Trump campaign took re willingness to conspire both on the Russian election attack and with key policy shifts extremely favorable to Putin. 

Key points in time appear to relate to Trump/Manafort/Assange/Putin-GRU contacts and negotiations around coordinating an offer to hack (Manafort/Assange), actual hacking (RU-GRU), and release of hacked materials (GRU/Assange).

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2 minutes ago, triplehorn said:

Note the Chris Steele dossier reference:

”In a memo written soon after the DNC emails were published, Steele said: “The [hacking] operation had been conducted with the full knowledge and support of Trump and senior members of his campaign team.”

Apart from the obvious main takeaway re Trump conspiracy w Putin’s Russia, it’s important to realize that what is known and possessed by Mueller has largely been known by investigators from the very beginning.  

The massive bridge not yet being fully reported is the timeline, multiple pathways, and volume of RUS cash flow shifted into Trump campaign and related entities in parallel with the progression of steps Trump campaign took re willingness to conspire both on the Russian election attack and with key policy shifts extremely favorable to Putin. 

Key points in time appear to relate to Trump/Manafort/Assange/Putin-GRU contacts and negotiations around coordinating an offer to hack (Manafort/Assange), actual hacking (RU-GRU), and release of hacked materials (GRU/Assange).

Re: the Steele dossier, which 1) Trump repeatedly refers to as "discredited," and 2) whenever any facts actually do come out, they match up with what was recorded in the dossier....I have a question....

Does "discredited" mean "dead-on, balls accurate?"  Because I have a confuse.

Marisa-Tomei-Mona-Lisa-Vito.jpg

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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/418411-gop-senator-shutdown-would-be-stupid-grave-mistake-for-dems-to-add-mueller

Quote

 

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said Monday that it would be a "grave mistake" for Democrats to attempt to add legislation protecting special counsel Robert Mueller to a spending bill as Congress attempts to prevent a government shutdown.

"That very well could lead to a government shutdown," Kennedy said, adding that a shutdown "would be stupid," according to CNN

 

Legitimate question here: what is the explanation for this, other than "they are all in on it?"

 

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Quote

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/418411-gop-senator-shutdown-would-be-stupid-grave-mistake-for-dems-to-add-mueller

Legitimate question here: what is the explanation for this, other than "they are all in on it?"

Many, many Rs in Congress are compromised imo. It's the only explanation for kissing the ring to this extent.

Edited by retread
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2 minutes ago, retread said:

Many, many Rs in Congress are compromised imo. It's the only explanation for kissing the ring to this extent.

i cannot help but put on my tin foil and think this as well.

how many took nra money? that nra money is dirty.

i think we will never understand the depth of the problem, but i simply cannot understand why republican reps and senators are still lining up to tongue this president's asshole.

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Investigators:  Did you visit with Julian Assange in the embassy in Ecuador?

Manafort:  No.  Absolutely not.  I can say that with certainty and I'd also urge you to check the visitation logs where you'll see I've never been there.

Investigators:  What about these photos of you entering the embassy in Ecuador to visit Julian Assange?

Manafort:  Hmm.  That's uh ... hmm.  Life can be pretty crazy, huh?  We're all gonna look back on this some day and have a huge laugh, am I right?  Anyway, how have you guys been doin'?

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1 minute ago, retread said:

Many, many Rs in Congress are compromised imo. It's the only explanation for kissing the ring to this extent.

Or alternatively, they're dumb gomers who are just trying to play by the same rules they've always played by but don't understand that the game has changed. I think you're underestimating just how dumb many of our congressional representatives are.

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2 minutes ago, Chuckie Finster said:

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/418411-gop-senator-shutdown-would-be-stupid-grave-mistake-for-dems-to-add-mueller

Legitimate question here: what is the explanation for this, other than "they are all in on it?"

 

No, there is no other explanation.  The GOP chose to go all-in as "the Party of Trump."  Once you do that, his survival is your survival.  The reason that this investigation has been attacked so relentlessly by the GOP as a whole is because it is an existential threat to the GOP as a whole.  Shaking the whole "party of treason" label is gonna be tough.

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1 minute ago, hayden_horn said:

i cannot help but put on my tin foil and think this as well.

how many took nra money? that nra money is dirty.

i think we will never understand the depth of the problem, but i simply cannot understand why republican reps and senators are still lining up to tongue this president's asshole.

And, if true, then there is no hope for regaining a functional govt in DC short of a massive investigation that ends in every corrupt pol being perp walked to prison.

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2 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

No, there is no other explanation.  The GOP chose to go all-in as "the Party of Trump."  Once you do that, his survival is your survival.  The reason that this investigation has been attacked so relentlessly by the GOP as a whole is because it is an existential threat to the GOP as a whole.  Shaking the whole "party of treason" label is gonna be tough.

I mean, I get the whole "now, now.. let's wait and see" approach on Mueller from the GOP.  I don't agree with it, but I can see the logic behind not wanting to potentially poke the fat, orange bear.

But to actively suggest that they would shut down the government to prevent Mueller from being protected?  That's some wild, eyebrow-raising shit.

Edited by Chuckie Finster
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5 minutes ago, retread said:

Many, many Rs in Congress are compromised imo. It's the only explanation for kissing the ring to this extent.

 

2 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

i cannot help but put on my tin foil and think this as well.

how many took nra money? that nra money is dirty.

i think we will never understand the depth of the problem, but i simply cannot understand why republican reps and senators are still lining up to tongue this president's asshole.

The Rs are more likely compromised by Trump’s base, not Russia.

They know they’re involved in covering something up but they don’t know exactly what they’re covering up.

They’ve worked their asses off looking the other way for political reasons and kicked the can to the Mueller investigation.

Taking this approach gives them political maneuverability if the shit really hits the fan with Mueller.

”I had no idea it was THIS bad, it’s time to fix this and move America forward.”

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5 minutes ago, hayden_horn said:

i cannot help but put on my tin foil and think this as well.

how many took nra money? that nra money is dirty.

i think we will never understand the depth of the problem, but i simply cannot understand why republican reps and senators are still lining up to tongue this president's asshole.

We WILL understand the depth of the money laundering.  Mueller’s got all the receipts.

However, the depth of the problem is simply the human condition.  Hence the unending necessity for intact checks and balances.

Also, there is a reason a massive number of GOP in Congress chose to avoid re-election this cycle and resigned.  By voluntarily getting out of Dodge, it may very well have helped some if not many of the edge pieces avoid prosecution.

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2 minutes ago, Hugo Stiglitz said:

The Rs are more likely compromised by Trump’s base, not Russia.

They know they’re involved in covering something up but they don’t know exactly what they’re covering up.

They’ve worked their asses off looking the other way for political reasons and kicked the can to the Mueller investigation.

Taking this approach gives them political maneuverability if the shit really hits the fan with Mueller.

”I had no idea it was THIS bad, it’s time to fix this and move America forward.”

This is also more what I'm thinking than everyone is in on it. Hanlon's Razer and all

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1 hour ago, Kringelbert Fishtybuns said:

I get it.  I have been keeping up with things to some extent.  But sometimes when you slow down and think about it again, the weight of the asininity sink in.  I was just trying to say that if the dude while on the staff of a presidential candidate strolled into a foreign embassy in a foriegn country to meet an enemy of the state in broad daylight through the front door wearing chinos.....well that is a bit much - right?

Manafort wouldn’t be caught dead in chinos.

Secret meeting in a foreign embassy in London is HARD.

university-of-houston-head-coach-tom-her

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3 minutes ago, immamac said:

flagged as spammer is gone. Did some IP research, definitely shared IP with "Gay" so I'm assuming he's also created many other usernames - he was using AWS as a VPN he set up himself it seems.

Your antics are noted and I won't wait for crowdsource on your shit anymore so it's gonna get a lot less fun for you to troll here. Please take this new found free time to do something productive in society.

goddamn, you beat me to it. i was going to eliminate him over lunch.

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flagged as spammer is gone. Did some IP research, definitely shared IP with "Gay" so I'm assuming he's also created many other usernames - he was using AWS as a VPN he set up himself it seems.
Your antics are noted and I won't wait for crowdsource on your shit anymore so it's gonna get a lot less fun for you to troll here. Please take this new found free time to do something productive in society.

Man he really let you have it Brisket.
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18 hours ago, Ghost of LL said:

Manafort is useless as a witness.  His value is in disclosing facts that can then go and be verified.  But he--like Gates--can't be put on the stand to testify to otherwise-unverified facts.

And the fact that he is now lying about those facts means he needs to go away forever.

His value is in him blowing up his plea deal and getting a much longer sentence as a warning to other under investigation that the investigators already know the truth and if you lie your jail times is going up.

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15 minutes ago, The People’s Elbow said:

Just finished reading Fear and, if it’s true, appreciate Dowd was prescient vis a vis Trump testifying. It was always going to end in a lie of some kind. Dude seemed to get out at the right time. 

Read it a few month's ago.  Not as scandalous as I was led to believe, but for sure some major dysfunction.

Funny how many times times it was remarked in the book "this would normally work"  but,  "he's a fucking liar"

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2 hours ago, hayden_horn said:

i cannot help but put on my tin foil and think this as well.

how many took nra money? that nra money is dirty.

i think we will never understand the depth of the problem, but i simply cannot understand why republican reps and senators are still lining up to tongue this president's asshole.

I've been thinking this for some time too.  They either took the NRA money, trusting the NRA it was clean, OR they took it figuring the NRA would never be suspected of being in bed with the Russians. 

For instance Graham's about face.  His team didn't do the due diligence on the NRA (and possibly other?) funds.  Trump told him playing golf about it and basically blackmailed him into getting full on the dotard train, it being the only way to save himself.  Maybe they also used some hooks besides the money, who knows?  Cruz and Cambridge Analytic come to mind.

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18 minutes ago, pyrohornIII said:

I've been thinking this for some time too.  They either took the NRA money, trusting the NRA it was clean, OR they took it figuring the NRA would never be suspected of being in bed with the Russians. 

 

A few potential illicit cash flows for starters :

1) RU -> NRA -> GOP

2) Putin's oligarchs funneled millions into GOP campaigns

3) Trump's inauguration fund raked over $100M (dwarfed Obama's previous record smashing haul of $50+M).  Special counsel eyeing Russians granted unusual access to Trump inauguration parties

4) "Two in the bush" Rosneft stock sale cash windfall.  Principals in deal were present at Mayflower Hotel VIP party in April '16 a couple weeks after Manafort met with Assange at Equador's London embassy and formally joined Trump campaign.  Sale went through later in Dec. '17 as described in Steele dossier months before it occurred.

5) Cash donations to Trump Foundation used to fund campaign related actions.

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2 hours ago, hayden_horn said:

i cannot help but put on my tin foil and think this as well.

how many took nra money? that nra money is dirty.

i think we will never understand the depth of the problem, but i simply cannot understand why republican reps and senators are still lining up to tongue this president's asshole.

Did that NRA money dry up after the election? 

 

Quote

NRA reports $55M decline in 2017 funding

BY JOHN BOWDEN - 11/27/18 01:09 PM EST

The National Rifle Association (NRA) reportedly saw a significant $55 million drop in annual revenue last year, according to tax records.

The Daily Beast reports that NRA donations dropped from nearly $125 million in 2016 to $98 million in 2017, a decline of about $27 million following the organization's record-breaking haul in 2016.

What's more, nearly one-fifth of the remaining contributions were made up by one single anonymous donor, who gave nearly $19 million to the NRA last year, according to the tax forms.

The organization also saw a significant drop in annual dues contributions from members, which dropped from $163 million in 2016 to just over $128 million last year, according to The Daily Beast.

In total, the NRA reported $312 million in 2017 income, down from $367 million the year before.

According to the figures, the NRA spent about $27 million in lobbying funds last year, down from the $76 million spent in 2016 during the group's support for President Trump's campaign.   

The group operated with a lower budget in 2017, at nearly $330 million compared to $412 million just a year before, and ended the year just under $18 million in the hole after previously over-spending by $46 million the year before.

Representatives for the NRA declined to comment when contacted by The Hill. The gun rights lobby argued in a lawsuit earlier this year that it faced financial troubles after New York state urged financial institutions to end business with the group.

"If the NRA is unable to collect donations from its members, safeguard the assets endowed to it, apply its funds to cover media buys and other expenses integral to its political speech, and obtain basic corporate insurance coverage, it will be unable to exist as a not-for-profit or pursue its advocacy mission," the group said at the time.


 

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/418465-nra-reports-55m-loss-in-2017-donations

Edited by ShaggyBevo RIP
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