Tag: Russiagate

Dutch Documentary Part II: Blood On Trump And Kushner’s Hands From Deals With Africa War Zone Diamond Mines

The following article by Steven Rosenfeld was posted on the AlterNet website May 15, 2017:

Lev Leviev’s diamond empire stretches from Angola to Moscow, London and Amsterdam.

The Trump family’s business partners have blood on their hands owing to deals with notorious diamond brokers who operate mines in wartorn Africa and own jewelry stores in London, Moscow and Amsterdam.

That’s the premise in Part Two of a documentary series by the Dutch TV network Zembla, The Dubious Friends of Donald Trump: King of Diamonds. It shows how the U.S. president and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, have apparent partnerships with an Israeli billionaire who is tied to “trading in blood diamonds,” as the film’s description notes, and how this relationship overlaps with power circles in Russia reaching President Vladimir Putin and Russian oligarchs. Continue reading “Dutch Documentary Part II: Blood On Trump And Kushner’s Hands From Deals With Africa War Zone Diamond Mines”

Notes made by former FBI director Comey say Trump pressured him to end Flynn probe

The following article by Devlin Barrett, Ellen Nakashima and Matt Zapotosky was posted on the Washington Post website May 16, 2017:

President Trump asked the FBI to drop its probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn and urged former FBI director James B. Comey instead to pursue reporters in leak cases, according to associates of Comey who have seen private notes he wrote recounting the conversation. Continue reading “Notes made by former FBI director Comey say Trump pressured him to end Flynn probe”

Trump’s chaotic White House once again makes a bad story worse

The following article by James Hohmann and Breanne Deppisch was posted on the Washington Post website May 16, 2017:

Donald Trump huddles with Sergey Lavrov, Vladimir Putin’s top diplomat, at the White House last Wednesday. Fourth from the right is Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. (Handout from the Russian Foreign Ministry Photo/Via AP)

THE BIG IDEA: This time it did not even take 24 hours for Donald Trump to throw his staffers under the bus and contradict their denials.

The president revealed highly classified (code word) information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador during an Oval Office meeting last week, potentially endangering a coveted intelligence asset, compromising a crucial alliance and undermining the war effort against ISIS.

After The Post broke the story, senior White House aides quickly denied it. “I was in the room. It didn’t happen,” said National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster. “This story is false,” added Dina Powell, his deputy. Continue reading “Trump’s chaotic White House once again makes a bad story worse”

On the campaign trail, Trump was very worried about revealing America’s secrets

The following article by Philip Bump was posted on the Washington Post website May 15, 2017:

Donald Trump is president today in large part because of voters’ concerns about protecting classified material. There are several layers of nuance to that point, of course, including that those concerns were generally a subset of critiques of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server as secretary of state. But the sticking point for conservative critics of Clinton’s behavior was that her use of a private server included the transmission of classified information, per the FBI — thereby putting that information at risk of being intercepted by foreign agents, should her server have been compromised. (Clinton’s team repeatedly insisted that the server hadn’t been breached; the FBI said there was no evidence that it was.) Continue reading “On the campaign trail, Trump was very worried about revealing America’s secrets”

Donald Trump’s Financial Ties To Russian Oligarchs And Mobsters Detailed In Explosive New Documentary From The Netherlands

The following article by Steven Rosenfeld was posted on the AlterNet website May 12, 2017:

Dutch TV did what no American TV network dares, suggesting Trump’s past includes illegal racketeering.

Donald Trump’s business partners have included Russian oligarchs and convicted mobsters, which could make the president guilty of criminal racketeering charges.

That’s one of the eyebrow-raising takeaways from a 45-minute Dutch documentary that aired last week, titled The Dubious Friends of Donald Trump, Part 1: The Russians. The first installment of the investigative reporting series, produced by Zembla, does what no American TV network has yet dared to do—take a deep look at the organized crime links and corrupt international business strategies used by Trump and his partners in his properties. Continue reading “Donald Trump’s Financial Ties To Russian Oligarchs And Mobsters Detailed In Explosive New Documentary From The Netherlands”

How Russian Media Photographed a Closed Meeting With Trump

The following article by Mark Landler was posted on the New York Times website May 11, 2017:

Russia’s official news agency photographed President Trump’s meeting with Sergey V. Lavrov in the Oval Office on Wednesday. The American press was denied access. Credit Alexander Shcherbak/TASS, via Getty Images

WASHINGTON — What is it about Sergey V. Lavrov that always makes high-ranking American officials look hapless?

In 2006, Mr. Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, put Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in an awkward position when technicians did not turn off the microphones at a lunch in Moscow. Reporters overheard the two of them bickering over American policy in Iraq. “What does that mean?” she said at one point. “I think you understand,” he replied.

Three years later, Hillary Clinton commemorated her first meeting with Mr. Lavrov after she became secretary of state by presenting him with a gag gift, a bright red button, stamped with what she said was the Russian word for “reset.” “You got it wrong,” he scolded, pointing to the faulty translation as cameras flashed. “It means overcharged.” Continue reading “How Russian Media Photographed a Closed Meeting With Trump”

In a Private Dinner, Trump Demanded Loyalty. Comey Demurred.

The following article by Michael S. Schmidt was posted on the New York Times website May 11, 2017:

James Comey boards a private jet at Los Angeles International Airport last night after Donald Trump fired him as FBI director. He learned the news on television. (KABC-TV via AP)

WASHINGTON — Only seven days after Donald J. Trump was sworn in as president, James B. Comey has told associates, the F.B.I. director was summoned to the White House for a one-on-one dinner with the new commander in chief.

The conversation that night in January, Mr. Comey now believes, was a harbinger of his downfall this week as head of the F.B.I., according to two people who have heard his account of the dinner.

As they ate, the president and Mr. Comey made small talk about the election and the crowd sizes at Mr. Trump’s rallies. The president then turned the conversation to whether Mr. Comey would pledge his loyalty to him. Continue reading “In a Private Dinner, Trump Demanded Loyalty. Comey Demurred.”

Acting FBI director contradicts Trump White House on Comey, Russia probe

The following article by Matt Zapotosky and Karoun Demirjian was posted on the Washington Post website May 11, 2017:

Acting FBI director Andrew McCabe on Thursday rejected the Trump White House’s characterization of the Russian meddling probe as a low priority and delivered a passionate defense of former director James B. Comey — putting himself squarely at odds with the president while the bureau’s future hangs in the balance.

McCabe, who had been the No. 2 official in the FBI until President Trump fired Comey this week, said that the bureau considered the probe of possible coordination between the Kremlin and the Trump team during the 2016 election campaign a “highly significant investigation” and that it would not be derailed because of a change in leadership. Continue reading “Acting FBI director contradicts Trump White House on Comey, Russia probe”

Why is Paul Ryan really defending Trump firing Comey?

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch was posted on the Washington Post website May 11, 2017:

THE BIG IDEA:

Paul Ryan tours a packaging factory yesterday in New Albany, Ohio. He came to talk about tax reform, but Donald Trump and the firing of James Comey sucked up all the oxygen and made it difficult for him to drive his message. (Ty Wright/Getty Images)

NEW ALBANY, Ohio—Paul Ryan desperately does not want the dark cloud hanging over the White House to distract congressional Republicans from advancing their ambitious policy agenda. Yesterday showed that he may no longer have a choice.

Donald Trump called the Speaker of the House to give him a heads up that he was going to fire FBI director James Comey, yet Ryan still waited more than 24 hours after the news broke to make any public statement.

Repeating the pattern of last year’s campaign, the president sucked up all the oxygen and put Ryan on the defensive. The 2012 GOP nominee for vice president rolled up in a long motorcade to a plant here in Central Ohio as part of an effort to jumpstart his push for comprehensive tax reform. Continue reading “Why is Paul Ryan really defending Trump firing Comey?”