Mueller Draining the Swamp to Fill the Jails: Trump Empire Inc. in Deep Trouble

These link categories are [click here] 

Washington (CNN) – At least 16 associates of Trump had contacts with Russians during the 2016 campaign or transition, according to public statements, court filings, CNN reporting, and reporting from other news outlets. Those communications came in the form of face-to-face meetings, phone calls, text messages, emails, and video chats.

In the months after the election, Trump and his senior officials repeatedly denied that there had been any contact whatsoever with Russians (see video below) during the campaign or that there were any ties between the campaign and Russians.

Note that people in the video use the word “collusion” and freely and often – a word which we all know a word used to describe a legal crime – but notice how they duck words like “contact, coordination, cooperation, deals, or synergy (which means cooperation and coordination – and the word one Russian contact used).”

Also this related short video of Trump Russian ties from the Washington Post  >>>

Russian contact denials by the Trump circle:

   Liar-in-Chief

Note in the CNN article how everyone denies participating in any “collusion with the Russians.”

The full list of deniers and details for each at the link here:

1. Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort 

2. Senior Trump campaign official Rick Gates 

3. Former national security adviser Michael Flynn

4. Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. 

5. White House senior adviser Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner 

6. Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos 

7. Former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page 

8. Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions 

9. Trump campaign official J.D. Gordon 

10. Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone

11. Former Trump campaign aide Michael Caputo 

12. Trump associate Erik Prince 

13. White House official Avi Berkowitz

14. Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen 

15. White House senior adviser Trump daughter Ivanka Trump 

16. Trump business associate Felix Sater

My 2 cents: Add this to the Mueller nearly 3 dozen indictments and guilty pleas plus an unknown number of “sealed indictments” and it all adds up to a very compelling scandal – see a great rundown on the three categories from the chart above here (CNN).

It all shows the depth the Trump family and their cohorts went to win the election anyway possible. 

In short: The never thought they would ever be caught. Now they have been caught and the die has been cast and they are going down and yes, Trump will follow and be removed from office or he will resign in disgrace.

Thanks for stopping by.

How Long Will Trump Loyalists Stick by Him: The End and Chaos Both Nearby

Trump die-hard loyalists cite the top and ignore the bottom

Absolutely excellent article – hard to dispute Charles Blow’s assumptions all built on facts to date – whole article here (NY TIMES via MSN).

Introduction:

“I no longer think that anyone in America, including Donald Trump’s most loyal supporters, can afford to put off the consideration of the central question of this administration: What if Donald Trump or those closest to him were compromised by the Russians or colluded with them?

“There have always been those of us on the left who viewed his presidency as compromised, asterisk-worthy if not wholly illegitimate, because of the Russian interference.

“A crime had been committed by Russia and Trump cheered the crime and used the loot thereof to advance his candidacy. That is clear.

“The Russians made repeated attempts to contact people in Trump’s orbit and in some cases were able to meet with members of the team, as evidenced by the Trump Tower meeting. That is clear.

“Members of Trump’s team were extremely interested in and eager to accept any assistance that the Russians could provide. That is clear.

“And since assuming office, Trump has openly attempted to obstruct justice and damage or impede the investigation into what the Russians did and whether anyone in his orbit was part of the crime. That too is clear.”

Continue the NY TIMES article here and my related blog.

Noteworthy and I add this story from the Washington Post via MSN  – with this headlines:

“Trump says Michael Cohen deserves a ‘full and 

complete’ sentence”

The “Fixer” just got the “Shaft”

Noteworthy is the Trump early morning tweet regarding Cohen and possible jail time:

“You mean he can do all of the TERRIBLE, unrelated to Trump, things having to do with fraud, big loans, Taxis, etc., and not serve a long prison term? He makes up stories to get a GREAT & ALREADY reduced deal for himself. ... He lied for this outcome and should, in my opinion, serve a full and complete sentence.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

George Conway@gtconway3d

File under “18 U.S.C. §§ 1503, 1512”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

That tweet rebuttal is very noteworthy since it was made by George Conway, Kellyanne Conway’s husband – and she is Trump's senior advisor.

Her hubby is in essence telling the world that Trump is violating the law cited here from Cornell Law: “18 U.S. Code § 1503: Influencing or injuring officer or juror generally” and this cited from the DOJ here the same 18 U.S. Code § 1512 “Tampering with victims, witnesses, or informants.”

My bottom line today: Trump has to be removed from office – ASAP would be just fine.

Thanks for stopping by.

Trump Troubles Growing: Based on More Michael Cohen Lies and Guilty Plea Deals

Man in the middle and two who could bring him down

(Manafort: “Pardon me — I did my part”)

This post has two updates included below - ref: Another Federal raid on Trump allies.

Original post from here:

Reminder for anyone who still believes and trusts Trump this #1 reason to prove he is a skilled, savvy serial liar two examples: His own words in the Lester Holt MSNBC interview on why he fired James Comey from the FBI (May 11, 2017) and then his tweet (May 31, 2018) denying that very same reason for firing Comey as the once again blames the media and “Fake News.” 

The man either has no memory or he lives in constant world of lying – maybe both, but I choose “world of lying.”

Trump’s live TV interview with Lester Holt:

==============================================

THE NEW POST FOR TODAY FOLLOWS:

COHEN, TRUMP AND BUILDING DEAL IN MOSCOW (November 29, 2018 from Reuters) – Cohen pleads guilty to more lies:

WASHINGTON — Trump has denied working on a Trump Organization real estate project in Moscow, which his former lawyer Michael Cohen says they had pursued until June 2016 during the presidential campaign.

NOTE: Cohen pleaded guilty today to making false statements to Congress regarding that project, putting fresh pressure on Trump. 

Cohen told the judge he lied about the timing of the negotiations and other details “to be consistent with Trump's political message.

Cohen and prosecutors referred to Trump as “individual one” throughout the proceedings and Cohen said “he lied to be loyal to Individual One.”

Among other lies, Cohen said he told Congress that all discussions about building a Trump Tower in Moscow had ended by January 2016, when they had actually continued until June 2016. He said he also lied about his contacts with Russian officials and lied when he said he never agreed to travel to Russia in connection with the project and never considered asking Trump to travel to support the project.

Prosecutors said in a court complaint that Cohen had misled Congress to give a false impression that the Moscow project had ended before the Iowa caucus and first Republican presidential primary in 2016.  Cohen told the judge he lied about the timing of the negotiations and other details to be consistent with Trump's political message. Cohen and prosecutors referred to Trump as “individual one throughout the proceedings and said he lied to be loyal to Individual One.”

Trump reacted by attacking his former lawyer, calling him a weak person and accusing him of lying about the real estate project to try to obtain a reduced sentence from prosecutors.

Trump told reporters outside the White House he had decided not to build the building in Moscow, although he did not specify when he decided against pursuing the project as Trump continued to try and distance himself from Cohen despite their long relationship.

Cohen testified in August that Trump had directed him to commit a crime by arranging payments to silence two women before the 2016 election who said they had affairs with Trump. The president has denied having affairs with the women.

Related to the above is this part of Cohen's guilty plea:

Cohen said he had tied Trump family members into the Trump Moscow Tower deal, which is all over the news today. This probably expands on who that may have been:

Mueller Eyes Ivanka & Don Jr. on Trump Tower Moscow Deal

Don Jr and Ivanka: Duck!!!

(What duck???)

Critical Points: Who is Michael Cohen? He is an attorney who worked as a lawyer for Trump for 12 years (from 2006 until his termination in May 2018 soon after a federal investigation of him began).

That investigation led Cohen to pleading guilty on August 21, 2018, to eight counts of campaign finance violations, tax fraud, and bank fraud. 

In his statement before the court, Cohen said he violated campaign finance laws “in coordination with and at the direction of a candidate for federal office” (meaning Trump), “for the principal purpose of influencing the election for president in 2016 – paying $130,000 hush money to Stormy Daniels about Trump affair).

Cohen also served as a vice-president of the Trump Organization and special counsel to Trump, and he previously served as co-president of Trump Entertainment, and was a board member of the Eric Trump Foundation, a children's health charity (2017 to 2018),

He also was the Deputy Finance Chairman of the RNC. On October 11, 2018, he re-registered as a DEM to “distance myself from the values of the current administration.”

1st Update related to new breaking story from RawStory.com here.

Highlights and headlines: “Federal agents raided the office of an attorney who in the past has handled the Trump Organization’s taxes.”

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that “federal agents showed up unannounced at the City Hall office of Finance Committee Chairman Ed Burke, kicked everyone out, and papered over the windows in the early morning raid.”

Burke runs a law firm, Klafter & Burke, which specializes in property tax appeals. Burke did tax-related work for the Trump Organization for the past twelve years before the two parties severed their business relationship earlier this year.

This past June, Burke announced his breakup with Trump in letters filed last month with the Cook County courts and the Illinois State Property Tax Appeal Board in which he wrote that “[…] irreconcilable differences have led his firm to stop representing Trump’s company and step aside in five current cases that seek refunds of millions of dollars in property taxes the president’s company has paid.”

Law enforcement officials have so far declined to comment on the nature and purpose of the raid on Burke’s office.

2nd Update on the Burke story above. This part from Vox.com. The pressure is mounting on Trump Empire, Inc. the endgame is closer than Trump thinks:

My 2 cents: Trump’s circle is closing in on him – the control he is used to having is slowly crumbling around him. Time is not on Trump's side.

Thanks for stopping by.

Manafort Met With Assange: In London at Ecuadorian Embassy for Several Years

Paul Manafort & Julian Assange: Secret London meetings 

over 3-year period

Report from the Guardian:

Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort held secret talks with Julian Assange inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2013, 2015, and in spring 2016 — during the period when he was made a key figure in Trump’s push for the White House.

It is unclear why Manafort wanted to see Assange and what was discussed. 

But, the last meeting in March 2016 is likely to come under scrutiny and could interest Robert Mueller still investigating alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

It was later after that when WikiLeaks released a stash of Democratic emails stolen by Russian intelligence officers and later showed up in WikiLeaks.

Significant notes:

1.  A separate internal document written by Ecuador’s Senain intelligence agency and seen by the Guardian lists “Paul Manaford (sic)” as one of several well-known guests. It also mentions “Russians.”

2.  According to two sources, Manafort returned to the embassy in 2015. He paid another visit in spring 2016, turning up alone, around the time Trump named him as his convention manager. The visit is tentatively dated to March.

3.  Manafort’s 2016 visit to Assange lasted about 40 minutes. Noteworthy is that visitors register with embassy security guards and show their passports. Sources in Ecuador, however, say Manafort was not logged.

Related from CBS News (April 20, 2018): “DNC sues Russia, WikiLeaks, and Trump campaign associates alleging conspiracy”

One link clearly established. Who is next?

(Roger Stone and pal Jerome Corsi likely)

My 2 cents: Mueller keeps getting good info on Manafort – I suspect he will go away for years before all is said and done maybe along with Don Jr., Kushner, Stone, and a few others – no, wait: Pardons pending signature – bet on that Trump angle.

So, would the public stomach mass pardons from Trump to a bunch of obvious criminals to get them off the hook so easily?

If their cases go outside the Federal circle, then it’s bye, bye “lock ‘em up” time. That seems reasonable for justice to prevail, don’t cha’ think?

I sure do. Stay tuned.

Thanks for stopping by.

Trump Up-to-Date Analysis: Nearly Two Full Years — Gets Worse Each Passing Day

Who's driving this train? Engineer D. J. Trump — oops

Original article here from Slate.com with my minor formatting to fit the blog readers – the article is excellent – check it out.

Background: Now after nearly two deeply destabilizing and in fact traumatic years of soaking in Trump’s ugliness and invectiveness and absorbing the sound and sight of his sneering and scowling and fury, there is much to be thankful for this year. Because now Trump is being reduced to his actual size: small and near nothingness. He isn’t everything anymore. He is barely anything at all. He becomes smaller every single day. For that with positive results, we have most Americans to thank.

Highlights:

·       Trump is sliding further and further off the rails.

·       His tweets are cruder and materially less coherent.

·       His public performances are more frightening and more self-bragging (e.g., he actually gave thanks to himself for “saving the country” on Thanksgiving Day).

·       His White House staff is in turmoil.

·       He seems to have aligned himself with the Saudis and the murder of Washington Post reporter and legal U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi.

·       He “lost the GOP-run House to the DEMS and blames them for winning.”

·       His support is peeling off from the military, conservative lawyers, and women, and he finds himself ever more shrilly attacking them all.

·       He finds himself shunned and largely ignored internationally all while constantly insulting allies (e.g., recently France) while still praises strongmen, tyrants, dictators, and iron-fisted rulers around the globe.

Trump lies daily and they pile up not only daily, but hourly in some cases – now documented to be well over 4,400 – as seen in the short video below:

Now it seems: Trump is left more and more alone to watch television (FOX and Hannity mostly), to tweet hectically, and attempting to rewrite his own story to his own satisfaction.

Original article continues here – enjoy.

My 2 cents: Just a simple question – when will this national nightmare and insulting disgraceful presidency end, but more importantly how will it end? Be assured, Trump will not got peacefully, even like Richard Nixon did by resigning.

In short, Trump cannot accept any kind of loss or second place achievement, or even the slightest rebuttal or shunning by anyone – even though that is precisely what he deserves and has earned.

Simply stay tuned and thanks for stopping by.

Trump Con is Working as Planned: Many Around Him Are Gone But Know Him 100%

Aptly named and recognized by millions of Americans

(And by allies and partners around the globe)

2020 Campaign Bumper Sticker

(Could be a huge money maker)

This article from The American Prospect lays out what this post intends – only they do it better I am able to do.

My input: The one single talent Trump has beyond being a slick TV showman & con-artist is his unique ability-skill to bring out the angry, nasty, ugly, and raw bigoted GOP-Conservatives – they are the ones who always come across and claim to be the only “true patriots/real Americans” but in reality that claim is as false as they are – their actions speak volumes.

As it turns out they are against everything good that most Americans stand for. Their hatred is real and raw and very dangerous – it is something we haven't seen or faces in decades at the level they generate,

Now a reminder of those around Trump who have been either fired, resigned, or otherwise forced – many for various ethical problems (e.g., ripping off the public for their own greed).

The total list is at (NY TIMES here). Partial below – may not be complete (there are 35 high-level names and positions here):

FIRED NOV. 7, 2018

Jeff Sessions

Attorney general

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED OCT. 9, 2018

Nikki Haley

U.N. Ambassador

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED AUG. 29, 2018

Donald F. McGahn II

White House counsel

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED JULY 5, 2018

Scott Pruitt

E.P.A. administrator

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED JUNE 19, 2018

Joseph W. Hagin

Deputy chief of staff

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED APRIL 12, 2018

Maj. Gen. Ricky Waddell

Deputy national security adviser

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED APRIL 11, 2018

Nadia Schadlow

Deputy national security adviser for strategy

FORCED OUT APRIL 10, 2018

Thomas P. Bossert

Homeland security adviser

FIRING ANNOUNCED MARCH 13, 2018

Rex W. Tillerson

Secretary of State

RESIGNED MARCH 29, 2018

Hope Hicks

White House communications director

FIRED MARCH 28, 2018

David J. Shulkin

Secretary of Veterans Affairs

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED MARCH 22, 2018

Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster

National security adviser

FIRED MARCH 16, 2018

Andrew McCabe

F.B.I. deputy director

RESIGNED MARCH 16, 2018

Rick Dearborn

White House deputy chief of staff

FORCED OUT MARCH 12, 2018

John McEntee

President Trump’s personal aide

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED MARCH 6, 2018

Gary D. Cohn

Director of White House National Economic Council

RESIGNED FEB. 9, 2018

Rachel L. Brand

Associate attorney general

FORCED OUT FEB. 9, 2018

David Sorensen

White House speechwriter

FORCED OUT FEB. 7, 2018

Rob Porter

White House staff secretary

FORCED OUT JAN. 31, 2018

Brenda Fitzgerald

Director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

FORCED OUT JAN. 18, 2018

Carl Higbie

Chief of external affairs for Corporation for National and Community Service

FIRED DEC. 13, 2017

Omarosa Manigault Newman

Director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED DEC. 8, 2017

Dina H. Powell

Deputy national security adviser for strategy

FORCED OUT SEPT. 29, 2017

Tom Price

Secretary of Health and Human Services

FORCED OUT AUG. 25, 2017

Sebastian Gorka

RESIGNATION ANNOUNCED AUG. 18, 2017

George Sifakis

Director of White House Office of Public Liaison

FORCED OUT AUG. 18, 2017

Stephen K. Bannon

Chief strategist

FIRED JULY 31, 2017

Anthony Scaramucci

White House communications director

FORCED OUT JULY 28, 2017

Reince Priebus

White House chief of staff

RESIGNED JULY 21, 2017

Sean Spicer

White House press secretary

RESIGNED JUNE 2, 2017

Mike Dubke

White House communications director

FORCED OUT MAY 19, 2017

K. T. McFarland

Deputy national security adviser

FIRED MAY 9, 2017

James B. Comey

F.B.I. director 

FORCED OUT MARCH 30, 2017

Katie Walsh

White House deputy chief of staff

FORCED OUT FEB. 13, 2017

Michael T. Flynn

National security adviser 

My 2 cents: It will get far worse before it gets any better and the country and our very foundation may be cracked forever.

Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by.