Tag: collusion

The Gripping Story Behind the Case for Trump-Putin Collusion

The following article by Jefferson Morley was posted on the AlterNet website August 1, 2017:

Bill Browder’s explosive testimony provides compelling insight for the corrupt bargain at the heart of the Russia investigation.

The most important witness so far in the investigation of President Trump’s ties to Russia didn’t even qualify for CNN.

While the Washington press corps and the rest of the world was distracted last week by the antics of the Mooch, Spicey, and the Donald, Bill Browder, an American-born British banker, was relegated to the side stage of C-SPAN3. For the Senate Judiciary Committee and the hard-core cable audience, Browder laid out what NPR called “a terrifying and complex picture of Putin’s Russia.”

A week later, Browder’s testimony remains the #1 article on TheAtlantic.com website, and for good reason. It is a gripping story that makes sense of the motive forces behind the collaboration of Trump and Putin in the 2016 election.

While Browder was only summoned to Capitol Hill to talk about the Foreign Agent Registration Act, his testimony about Putin’s government provided something that Washington and the public at large sorely need. Amid a welter of revelations and allegations, Browder provided a coherent narrative of how and why Putin sought Trump’s help. Continue reading “The Gripping Story Behind the Case for Trump-Putin Collusion”

Russiagate: The Depth of Collusion

The following article by Max Bergmann was posted on the Center for American Progress website August 2, 2017:

Introduction and summary

President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 Summit, Friday, July 7, 2017.  Credit: AP/Evan Vucci

According to the U.S. intelligence community report released on January 6, 2017, Russia mounted an “unprecedented” intervention into our 2016 presidential election with the expressed intent “to undermine public faith in the U.S. democratic process” and to elect Donald Trump. Therefore, there were effectively two campaigns to elect Donald Trump in the 2016 cycle: the Trump campaign and the Russian campaign. At question is whether these campaigns acted entirely independently of each other or whether there was collusion—which, in this context, entails secretly working with the Russians to advance their campaign in a U.S. election. It is now clear there was collusion.

Continue reading “Russiagate: The Depth of Collusion”

White House Acknowledges Trump Helped Craft Son’s Statement

The following article by J

Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

ohn T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website August 1, 2017:

In a reversal, the White House acknowledged Tuesday that President Donald Trump offered what it said was fatherly advice to his eldest son about a statement explaining a June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer believed to be bringing Kremlin-supplied dirt on Hillary Clinton. However, the president’s top spokeswoman said the elder Trump did nothing wrong.

Trump’s team initially denied the president was personally involved in drafting the statement, but a Washington Post article published Mondayevening — citing multiple sources — painted him as its primary author. Trump dictated the statement to Hope Hicks, one of his closest advisers, on Air Force One last month as he returned from a G-20 summit in Europe, according to the Post report. Continue reading “White House Acknowledges Trump Helped Craft Son’s Statement”

At height of Russia tensions, Trump campaign chairman Manafort met with business associate from Ukraine

The following article by Rosalind S. Helderman, Tom Hamburger and Rachel Weiner was posted on the Washington Post website June 19, 2017:

Donald Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort, walks the floor at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland on July 21, 2016. (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post)

In August, as tension mounted over Russia’s role in the U.S. presidential race, Donald Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, sat down to dinner with a business associate from Ukraine who once served in the Russian army.

Konstantin Kilimnik, who learned English at a military school that some experts consider a training ground for Russian spies, had helped run the Ukraine office for Manafort’s international political consulting practice for 10 years.

At the Grand Havana Room, one of New York City’s most exclusive cigar bars, the longtime acquaintances “talked about bills unpaid by our clients, about [the] overall situation in Ukraine . . . and about the current news,” including the presidential campaign, according to a statement provided by Kilimnik, offering his most detailed account of his interactions with the former Trump adviser. Continue reading “At height of Russia tensions, Trump campaign chairman Manafort met with business associate from Ukraine”

British spies were first to spot Trump team’s links with Russia

The following article by Luke Harding, Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Nick Hopkins was posted on the Guaradian website April 13, 2017:

Britain’s spy agencies played a crucial role in alerting their counterparts in Washington to contacts between members of Donald Trump’s campaign team and Russian intelligence operatives, the Guardian has been told.

GCHQ first became aware in late 2015 of suspicious “interactions” between figures connected to Trump and known or suspected Russian agents, a source close to UK intelligence said. This intelligence was passed to the US as part of a routine exchange of information, they added. Continue reading “British spies were first to spot Trump team’s links with Russia”

Eric and Ivanka Trump deliver spirited defense of nepotism

The following article by Aaron Rupar was posted on the ThinkProgress website April 5, 2017:

“Nepotism is kind of a factor of life.”

From left, Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump attend the ground-breaking of the Trump International Hotel at the Old Post Office Building in Washington July 23, 2014. Photo By Gary Cameron/Reuters

In an interview with Forbes published Tuesday, Eric Trump characterizes his father’s proclivity to put his family members in positions of power as a phenomenon similar to the sun setting each evening.

“Nepotism is kind of a factor of life,” Eric said. “We might be here because of nepotism, but we’re not still here because of nepotism. You know, if we didn’t do a good job, if we weren’t competent, believe me, we wouldn’t be in this spot.”

Eric seems to think he and his brother find themselves running the Trump Organization because of their competence, but there might be another reason. By putting his kids in charge of a business he still owns, receives quarterly briefings about, and can still even draws profits from, President Trump has ensured that the Trump Organization still operates for his benefit. Continue reading “Eric and Ivanka Trump deliver spirited defense of nepotism”