Tag: Russia

How money laundering works in real estate

The following article by Philip Bump was posted on the Washington Post website January 4, 2018:

Former FBI director Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel probing Russian interference in the 2016 election, on Capitol Hill on June 21, 2017. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

If Michael Wolff’s reporting is to be believed, Stephen K. Bannon’s assessment of the most dangerous threat posed by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation is not the one you might have assumed.

“You realize where this is going,” Bannon reportedly told Wolff. “This is all about money laundering. Mueller chose Weissmann first and he is a money-laundering guy. Their path to f—ing Trump goes right through Paul Manafort, Don Jr and Jared Kushner. … It goes through Deutsche Bank and all the Kushner s—-.”

Two quick explanations. Weissmann refers to Andrew Weissmann. He was one of Mueller’s early hires, although not the first, and does have a lot of experience prosecuting financial crimes. Deutsche Bank is a German financial institution that has been an apparent focus of federal prosecutors, although not necessarily by Mueller’s team, because of a loan of more than a quarter-billion dollars issued to Kushner’s firm a month before the 2016 election. Continue reading “How money laundering works in real estate”

The Bio Of The Professor At The Center Of The Trump–Russia Probe Has Disappeared From His University’s Website

The following article by Alberto Nardelli was posted on the Buzzfeed website January 1, 2018:

A source at Link Campus in Rome told BuzzFeed News that Joseph Mifsud hasn’t been seen at the university in many weeks.

Joseph Mifsud (left) during a program at Link Campus University in Rome. Credit: Link Campus University/Facebook

References to Joseph Mifsud, the Maltese professor who court documents say told Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos that Russia had “dirt” on Hillary Clinton, have been removed from the website of the university in Italy where he’s worked for years.

When he was unmasked as the unnamed “overseas professor” cited in the documents filed in October by Trump–Russia special counsel Robert Mueller, Mifsud led a three-year degree course in political science and international relations, according to a bio then on the website of the Link Campus University in Rome. The Maltese academic was also listed as an overseas professor on the LCU’s faculty pages, archived versions of the website show. Continue reading “The Bio Of The Professor At The Center Of The Trump–Russia Probe Has Disappeared From His University’s Website”

The big problem with Trump’s strategy to attack Michael Flynn’s credibility: His own mouth

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website December 28, 2017:

President Trump has a history of defending his former national security adviser Michael Flynn. (The Washington Post)

The White House has fired a warning shot in Michael Flynn’s direction, with The Washington Post’s Carol D. Leonnig reporting that it plans to label him a liar who can’t be trusted if he makes claims against it.

The strategy isn’t that shocking — Trump seemed to preview it with that fateful tweet, and his lawyers have hinted in this direction too — though it makes it crystal-clear that Trump’s loyalty to his former national security adviser is far from absolute. Continue reading “The big problem with Trump’s strategy to attack Michael Flynn’s credibility: His own mouth”

Trump plots to undermine Flynn by employing his favorite old trick: Turning on his allies

The following article by Eric Lutz was posted on the mic.com website December 28, 2017:

So far, President Donald Trump has defended or sympathized with Michael Flynn — his short-lived national security adviser, who was brought down earlier in December by Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

But now, worried over the songs he might be singing to the special counsel, Trump and his legal team are preparing to launch an attack on Flynn’s credibility, the Washington Post reported Wednesday — a shift on one of the president’s strongest allies, who was once considered a strong contender to be his running mate. Continue reading “Trump plots to undermine Flynn by employing his favorite old trick: Turning on his allies”

Mueller probe outgrows its ‘witch hunt’ phase

The following article by Michael Isikoff was posted on the Yahoo News website December 27, 2017:

Steve Bannon’s eyes lit up. Several months before he left his job as a senior White House adviser last August, Bannon was talking to President Trump about the brewing political storm over the Justice Department investigation into his campaign’s alleged ties to the Kremlin. Suddenly, Trump had an inspiration. He looked straight at Bannon, jabbed at him with his finger and uttered the phrase that would become the slogan of the White House pushback against the Russia probe: “Witch hunt!”

Brilliant, thought Bannon, as he later related the exchange to colleagues. Continue reading “Mueller probe outgrows its ‘witch hunt’ phase”

Republican lawmakers continue attacks on FBI to delegitimize the Russia investigation

The following article by Emily C. Singer was posted on the Mic.com website December 26, 2017:

A handful of Republican lawmakers have embarked on an effort to discredit the top federal law enforcement agency, charging the FBI with bias as it investigates President Donald Trump and his campaign’s alleged ties to Russia.

On Tuesday, Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.) became the latest Republican member of Congress to attack the Department of Justice and the FBI, charging both with bias against Trump.

“I would like to see the directors of those agencies purge it and say look, we’ve got a lot of great agents, a lot of great lawyers here, those are the people that I want the American people to see and know that good work’s being done, not these people who are kind of the deep state,” Rooney said Tuesday on MSNBC. Continue reading “Republican lawmakers continue attacks on FBI to delegitimize the Russia investigation”

12 things we can definitively say the Russia investigation has uncovered so far

The following article by Amber Phillips was posted on the December 23, 2017:

Special counsel Robert Mueller, pictured in June, departs after a closed-door meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee about Russian meddling in the election and a possible connection to the Trump campaign in Washington. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

To review everything we’ve learned about Russia this year, let’s rewind to May. That was a big month President Trump, who fired his FBI director because he thought “this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.”

His own administration didn’t see it that way. A few weeks later, the No. 2 at the Justice Department, Rod J. Rosenstein, appointed a special counsel to ramp up the FBI’s existing investigation into “this Russia thing.”

Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s mission: Look into how Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election, whether it colluded with Trump’s campaign, and investigate anything else he sees fit to investigate. Continue reading “12 things we can definitively say the Russia investigation has uncovered so far”

In phone call, Trump thanks Putin for praise, looks for help on North Korea

The following article by Henry C. Jackson was posted on the Politico website December 14, 2017:

President Donald Trump talked to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone for about 10 minutes on Thursday night. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo

President Donald Trump spoke by phone with President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Thursday, talking about how they can work together to resolve the situation involving North Korea’s nuclear program, the White House said.

Trump also used the call to thank Putin for “acknowledging America’s strong economic performance in his annual press conference,” according to a White House read out of the call.

The leaders talked for about 10 minutes, and national security adviser H.R. McMaster didn’t participate in the call, a White House official said. Continue reading “In phone call, Trump thanks Putin for praise, looks for help on North Korea”

House Dem: ‘We’ve seen a lot of contact’ between Trump campaign and Russians

The following article by Mallory Shelbourne was posted on the Hill website December 10, 2017:

© Greg Nash

Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said Sunday that the House Intelligence Committee has “seen a lot of contact” between President Trump’s campaign and Russia during the course of its investigation.

“You know, we’ve seen a lot of contact. We’ve seen a desire to get dirt, a desire to work with the Russians, a desire to contact the Russians,” Himes told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“The question is — was there some form — and it is a question, I don’t want to prejudice the outcome — was there cooperation?”

Himes, who sits on the panel, said it matters if there was “follow up” between Donald Trump Jr. and the Russian lawyer who promised damaging information about Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

“So the question before us now is what happened afterward. Was there follow up?” Himes said.

Himes said Trump Jr., who met with the House Intelligence Committee last week as part of its investigation into Russia’s election meddling and any potential ties between Trump campaign staff and the Kremlin, was “forthcoming” in the meeting.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the ranking member of the committee, said Trump Jr. refused to answer questions about his conversation with the president about the meeting with the Russian lawyer. Trump Jr. invoked attorney-client privilege, claiming there was a lawyer present, Schiff said.

View the post here.

F.B.I. Warned Hope Hicks About Emails From Russian Operatives

The following article by Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo was posted on the New York Times website December 8, 2017:

WASHINGTON — F.B.I. officials warned one of President Trump’s top advisers, Hope Hicks, earlier this year about repeated attempts by Russian operatives to make contact with her during the presidential transition, according to people familiar with the events.

The Russian outreach efforts show that, even after American intelligence agencies publicly accused Moscow of trying to influence the outcome of last year’s presidential election, Russian operatives were undaunted in their efforts to establish contacts with Mr. Trump’s advisers. Continue reading “F.B.I. Warned Hope Hicks About Emails From Russian Operatives”