Tag: Russia

Fresh evidence Trump’s Russia headaches are not going away

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch was posted on the Washington Post website March 24, 2017:

THE BIG IDEA: The drip, drip, drip of damaging Russia revelations continues, as White House efforts to change the narrative backfire.

— CNN reported late last night that the FBI has information that indicates associates of Donald Trump communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the release of information damaging to Clinton’s campaign: “This is partly what FBI Director James Comey was referring to when he made a bombshell announcement Monday before Congress that the FBI is investigating the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia. … The FBI is now reviewing that information, which includes human intelligence, travel, business and phone records and accounts of in-person meetings.” Three nuggets from the CNN report: Continue reading “Fresh evidence Trump’s Russia headaches are not going away”

Trump adviser Flynn paid by multiple Russia-related entities, new records show

The following article by Rosalind S. Helderman and Tom Hamburger was posted on the Washington Post website March 16, 2017:

Michael Flynn, who was forced to resign as national security adviser amid controversy over his contacts with Russia’s ambassador, collected nearly $68,000 in fees and expenses from Russia-related entities in 2015, a higher amount than was previously known, according to newly released documents.

The records show that the bulk of the money, more than $45,000, came from the Russian government-backed television network RT, in connection to a December 2015 trip Flynn took to Moscow. Flynn has acknowledged that RT sponsored his trip, during which he attended a gala celebrating the network’s 10th anniversary and was seated near Russian President Vladi­mir Putin. His speakers bureau took a cut of the fee. Continue reading “Trump adviser Flynn paid by multiple Russia-related entities, new records show”

Under fire over Russia investigation, White House officials choose to change the subject

The following article by Brian Bennett was posted on the L.A. Times website March 21, 2017:

President Trump walks to a meeting with House Republicans to encourage a deal on the American Health Care Act. (Shawn Thew / European Pressphoto Agency)

After the heads of the FBI and the National Security Agency denied President Trump’s claim that then-President Obama had wiretapped him, Trump’s Twitter account provided the best clue to how the White House would respond: Tuesday morning, it was silent on the subject.

Trump had started the day Monday with a tweet storm defending himself against allegations that his campaign had cooperated with Russian efforts to affect the 2016 election. He’s spent days quadrupling down on his unsubstantiated insistence that Obama had surveilled Trump Tower in New York. Continue reading “Under fire over Russia investigation, White House officials choose to change the subject”

New documents show Trump aide laundered payments from party with Moscow ties, lawmaker alleges

The following article by Andrew Roth was posted on the Washington Post website March 21, 2017:

KIEV, Ukraine — A Ukrainian lawmaker released new financial documents Tuesday allegedly showing that a former campaign chairman for President Trump laundered payments from the party of a disgraced ex-leader of Ukraine using offshore accounts in Belize and Kyrgyzstan.

The new documents, if legitimate, stem from business ties between the Trump aide, Paul Manafort, and the party of former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, who enjoyed Moscow’s backing while he was in power. He has been in hiding in Russia since being overthrown by pro-Western protesters in 2014, and is wanted in Ukraine on corruption charges. Continue reading “New documents show Trump aide laundered payments from party with Moscow ties, lawmaker alleges”

Russian interventions in other people’s elections: A brief history

The following article by Prof. Eric Lohr was posted on the Conversation website March 14, 2017:

Demonstrators against Russian military actions in Ukraine rally in New York, March 2, 2014. AP Photo/John Minchillo

In the last nine years, Russia has invaded its neighbor Georgia, annexed the Ukrainian province of Crimea, supported rebels in Eastern Ukraine and interfered in the U.S. presidential election. The U.S. and the European Union have imposed biting sanctions on Russia for its actions in Ukraine.

As a historian of Russian history, I find the most interesting question to be this: Are these actions a sign that Russia is returning to aggressive foreign policies or are they part of an entirely new direction in Russian foreign policy? Continue reading “Russian interventions in other people’s elections: A brief history”

It’s Still About Russia

Why is Russia becoming so important since the inauguration? Is it a witch hunt as many in the Republican party maintain? Is it a smoking gun leading to revelations about money-laundering and illicit business interests in Russia as many Democrats suggest?

The answer simply is that no one really knows for sure – and that’s reason enough for a robust investigation at a minimum or, even better, a special prosecutor. There are some encouraging signs that, despite public rhetoric to the contrary, the House Intelligence Committee is forging the foundation for a strong investigation A Politico piece published this morning indicates that the outside rhetoric may be creating cover for Republicans who will ultimately need to convince the Democratic leadership that they are playing fair when it comes to witness lists, subpoenas, and procedures. If Republicans fail to deal fairly with the Democrats and address their concerns then the likelihood of a special prosecutor or joint commission increases. Continue reading “It’s Still About Russia”

It’s Time For a Special Prosecutor

The following article was posted on the TrumpAccountable.org website March 6, 2017:

Rather than diverting attention away from his connections with Russia, Donald Trump’s unfounded Twitter assertions on Saturday are bringing attention back around to persistent questions about both his taxes and his campaign staff’s connections with Russian intelligence agents during and after the campaign.

The Trump administration on Sunday and Monday doubled down (mostly) on the assertions. Here are the latest developments: Continue reading “It’s Time For a Special Prosecutor”

What to Make of Donald Trump’s Early-Morning WIretap Tweets

President Trump’s tweets exemplify a fairly basic but often highly effective rhetorical maneuver—the diversionary reverse accusation.
PHOTOGRAPH BY JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS

The following article by David Remnick and Evan Osnos was psoted on thewebsite March 4, 2017:

Between six and six-thirty this morning, the President of the United States, who had returned to his Mar-a-Lago estate, in Florida, unleashed a series of tweets accusing his predecessor of tapping his phones just before Election Day: “a new low!” “This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!” Two hours later, he tweeted again, this time about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision to leave “The New Celebrity Apprentice”: “Sad end to great show.” Continue reading “What to Make of Donald Trump’s Early-Morning WIretap Tweets”

FBI once planned to pay former British spy who authored controversial Trump dossier

The following article by Tom Hamburger and Rosalind S. Helderman was posted on the Washington Post website February 28, 2017:

Reuters / BI

The former British spy who authored a controversial dossier on behalf of Donald Trump’s political opponents alleging ties between Trump and Russia reached an agreement with the FBI a few weeks before the election for the bureau to pay him to continue his work, according to several people familiar with the arrangement.

The agreement to compensate former MI6 agent Christopher Steele came as U.S. intelligence agencies reached a consensus that the Russians had interfered in the presidential election by orchestrating hacks of Democratic Party email accounts. Continue reading “FBI once planned to pay former British spy who authored controversial Trump dossier”

Why The Flynn-Russia Affair Is So Troubling For Trump

The following article by Kurt Eichenwald was posted on the Newsweek website February 21, 2017:

Call it what you will: Flynnghazi. Russiagate. The Crackpot Dome scandal. No matter the sobriquet attached to the inappropriate discussions between the Russian ambassador and Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security advisor, the growing cancer from this case is not going away.

Perhaps the Russia scandal seemed like it had disappeared amid the antics of the past week, from Trump’s rambling, 77-minute press conference, his Saturday rally—where he surprised Sweden with news of some imaginary immigrant disaster the previous night—or his declaration that the news media was the enemy of the American people.  Continue reading “Why The Flynn-Russia Affair Is So Troubling For Trump”