RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE IN 2016 US ELECTION & SPIN-OFF INVESTIGATIONS

[Blindgreed1]

Should have got house arrest.

He committed felonies at the direction of the President of the United States of America.

It's not mine... I'm just holding it for a friend 

[Duchess]

Bullshit

Many people are totally ignorant about what he is going to jail for. The TDS people don't care at any rate and will perpetuate anything to make Trump look bad. The entire TDS fan base is dedicating their entire life to making him look bad. It's amusingly pathetic. My advise would be to look and treat  them as if you would treat a child, maybe a 9 yr old. it makes them more palatable.

*sings* GlugGlugGlug goes the kool-aid.

[HairOfTheDog]

It's weird to see Mags and some other Trump loyalists minimizing Cohen's crimes and claiming he's the victim of some vendetta by a judge.

Cohen was busted for tax evasion, bank fraud, a form of election fraud, and lying to the Congress and FBI. Those are serious crimes, not petty misdemeanors. There is evidence of the crimes and Cohen pleaded guilty to committing them.

Cohen claims Trump instructed him to commit the campaign finance violation and released a taped conversation with Trump supporting his claim. The claim also appears to be supported by David Pecker.

Cohen cooperated substantially with Mueller's team in regards to the Trump campaign's interactions with Russia during the 2016 election cycle. He says he did so because he realizes he was wrong and had been led into the darkness by Donald Trump. He says he was blinded by loyalty to Trump and regrets what he did to the American people.

However, Cohen would not cooperate fully when it came to New York state crimes that he committed on his own and/or that may implicate people other than Trump.

The judge listened to the guilty plea, Cohen's statement of remorse, and the recommendations of the NY State Prosecutors and Mueller's team. Thankfully, he didn't hand Cohen a get-out-of-jail-free card just for flipping on the President. But, he did consider the partial cooperation provided by Cohen and gave him less than the max.

Cohen was not jailed when charged or when sentenced because he's not a danger or flight risk. He will start his three year sentence in March.

I don't see any evidence that Cohen was treated anything but fairly and think the sentence is appropriate under the circumstances of this case.

[HairOfTheDog]

Lanny Davis, Cohen's former attorney and now his advisor/spokesman, has been doing the cable news circuit since yesterday's sentencing hearing.

He is presenting Cohen as today's John Dean -- a lawyer who did bad things out of loyalty to the President (in Dean's case it was Nixon), felt strong remorse and a desire to redeem himself by exposing the President's misdeeds for the good of the country, served some time for his crimes, and went on to be viewed favorably by a good portion of the population for bringing the truth to light.

Davis says as soon as Mueller wraps up his investigation, Cohen is anxious to tell the country everything about Donald Trump.

[Duchess]

Cohen cooperated substantially with Mueller's team

...aaaaand, trump's long time accountant has been given immunity.

No one, and I mean no one, is taking a bullet for trump.

[BigMark]

Launch sequence activated!

[HairOfTheDog]

Maria Butina Pleads Guilty to Conspiring against the U.S. on Behalf of Kremlin

Russian agent Maria Butina pleaded guilty today to conspiring with a senior Russian official to infiltrate the U.S. conservative movement for the Kremlin from 2015 until her arrest in July 2017.

Butina became the first Russian national convicted of seeking to influence U.S. policy in the run-up and through the 2016 election as a foreign agent, agreeing to cooperate in a plea deal with U.S. investigators in exchange for less prison time.

As part of her plea, Butina admitted seeking to establish and use “unofficial lines of communication with Americans having influence over U.S. politics” for the benefit of the Russian government, through a person fitting the description of sanctioned Russian central banker Alexander Torshin, prosecutor Erik Kenerson said.

In plea documents read by prosecutors in court Thursday, Butina admittedto undertaking a multiyear influence campaign coordinated through Torshin, a top Russian official, that she proposed in March 2015 as multiyear “Diplomacy Project.”

The Project included hosting “friendship dinners” with wealthy Americans, bonding with NRA leaders and organizing a Russian delegation to the influential National Prayer Breakfast in Washington.

Butina’s efforts, which continued after she moved to Washington as a graduate student at American University in 2016, included asking whether the Russian government was ready to meet her contacts.

(continued)

[HairOfTheDog]

Butina’s initiative came during what the U.S. intelligence community has said was a concerted Russian government effort to help elect Trump, including by hacking and distributing emails stolen from Democrats.

Although special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is investigating links between that effort and individuals in Trump’s campaign, Butina was prosecuted by the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington. She is represented by Robert Driscoll.

Driscoll is a regular FOX contributor and a prominent member of the conservative Federalist Society (same religious/conservative group that supplied Trump with the list of Supreme Court Justice candidates).

Butina crossed paths with Trump in July 2015, when she asked the newly declared Republican candidate about Russia and sanctions at a public event in Las Vegas. “We get along with Putin,” Trump told Butina, referring to the Russian president. “I don’t think you’d need the sanctions.” Whether that interaction was set-up in advance is a subject of speculation.

Butina is expected to provide evidence against a Republican Party consultant with whom she had a romantic relationship and worked closely with after they met while he visited Moscow in 2013. The operative, previously named as Paul Erickson, is a longtime GOP political advisor from South Dakota who managed the 1992 presidential campaign of Pat Buchanan.

In plea papers, prosecutors agreed to drop a second count against Butina of violating a law that requires foreigners working for their government to register with the U.S. Justice Department.

The court did not set a sentencing date pending Butina’s ongoing cooperation with prosecutors but set another hearing for Feb. 12 on the status of her case.

Ref: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/leg...ea2d253d5f

[HairOfTheDog]

Not surprisingly, Russian officials and media have already begun a propaganda and spin campaign in regards to Maria Butina's guilty plea and cooperation agreement.




According to Moscow, the poor woman was tortured in the U.S. and underwent a 'medieval inquisition'.  

Putin this week denied his spies knew her but on Wednesday Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova spoke about her, suggesting the Kremlin is quietly admitting she was one of their assets.  Zakharova claimed Butina has been subjected to a 'medieval inquisition'. She told CNN: 'It's not about justice, it's not justice. It's just inquisition. It's medieval inquisition. Because she is intimidated, she was tortured and was not treated like a human being, not like a woman.  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...uilty.html

I won't be surprised if FOX News picks up the Russian spin and runs with it as truth, but hope they don't.  

Putin is committed to causing division and chaos among western democracies, according to intelligence agencies from around the world, along with those who've worked with him.  And, he's had some recent successes in the U.S. and Europe. 

I'm very relieved that Mueller's team and other U.S. prosecutors are investigating Russia's destabilization efforts/actions and holding those involved in related criminal activity legally responsible.   Russia needs to get that message loud and clear, as do Americans who would be lured into helping Russia's efforts due to gullibility, greed, or lack of patriotism.

[Fry Guy]

Why is it that so many anti-Trump zealots are STILL misinterpreting the way people feel about Trump associates being targeted and charges made to and against them?

"But it is a fair process because Mannafort and Cohen were guilty and because they are guilty Trump is too and they are incriminating Trump and the whole process is fair and just".

This statement is bullshit. The is the Anti-Trump talking point and has NOTHING to do with Trump. It is unfair and in just because the inception of the Special Counsel was bullshit. It was a witch hunt. There were no underlying crimes to be investigated. They got Mueller and pointed him at a handful of people and said, "Find crimes on those people and charge them. If there are no crimes, charge them for lying and squeeze them financially."

Mannafort and Cohen's tax fraud and bank loan fraud and taxi medallion fraud and whatever else were real crimes. Crimes have consequences BUT (here in the disconnect) the anti-Trump and Democrats associates have equal amount of skeletons in their closets. Crimes could just as easily be found on that side of the ledger.

They are not being investigated. This IS biased, always was a witch hunt and no evidence of Trump conspiring with Putin to rob the election from Hillary. She was just awful. Not a victim, just awful.

I hope that the same level of smear, investigation and convictions are taken from Trump and his Republicans against those on the other side.

[Maggot]

Well I believe now that the media coverage of Trump is the same as the media coverage of Obama........they're both fake. Cohen is a lawyer, nothing else needs to be said. The left may have forgotten that it works both ways. Let the special prosecutors look into all elections and candidates with the same zealousness. And the upcoming one. Everyone has a skeleton.

[Duchess]

The is the Anti-Trump talking point and has NOTHING to do with Trump. It is unfair and in just because the inception of the Special Counsel was bullshit. It was a witch hunt. There were no underlying crimes to be investigated. They got Mueller and pointed him at a handful of people and said, "Find crimes on those people and charge them. If there are no crimes, charge them for lying and squeeze them financially."

This IS biased, always was a witch hunt and no evidence of Trump conspiring with Putin to rob the election from Hillary. She was just awful. Not a victim, just awful.

Let the special prosecutors look into all elections and candidates with the same zealousness. And the upcoming one. Everyone has a skeleton.

GlugGlugGlug. MAGA!

[Rootilda]

I wish you all would stop quoting fry guy so I don't have to see him constantly popping a woody for Trump. It's grotesque.

[Duchess]

I wish you all would stop quoting fry guy so I don't have to see him constantly popping a woody for Trump.  It's grotesque.

I have to ensure he knows I'm talking to him, boss.  

[Fry Guy]

I wish you all would stop quoting fry guy so I don't have to see him constantly popping a woody for Trump. It's grotesque.

Stop fantisizing about my woody Rootilda. It's gross

[BigMark]

Tmi

[Fisherman]

It has been a bad week for Trump, well, really a bad year. Here is hoping Mueller keeps it coming.

[Rootilda]

I like being called boss.

[Fry Guy]

I like being called boss.

Your self-esteem needs it that badly

[HairOfTheDog]

Should have got house arrest.

He committed felonies at the direction of the President of the United States of America.

Cohen reiterated that point in his post-sentencing interview with George Stephanopolous of ABC News.



President Trump told FOX News yesterday that he doesn't think they ever even made a payment to AMI/National Enquirer for buying and burying the McDougal story (which he originally denied knowing anything about, over and over and over). 

Yeah, we already know Pecker got nervous after-the-fact and didn't want a trail; it's in the court docs.  

However, it's corroborated by Cohen and Pecker that buying and burying the story was done for the purpose of protecting Trump's election chances.

So, even without Trump reimbursing AMI the $170,000 they paid to silence Karen McDougal, the payoff was an illegal undeclared contribution to the Trump campaign which was authorized by Trump. 

That's a felony campaign finance violation. But, convicting on that charge would require proving intent to break the law. Trump's claiming ignorance that he broke any laws.