10:06 AM 1/30/2019 - Lawmakers press for a full Russia probe report from Mueller - The Register Citizen | The U.S. has slipped out of the top 20 countries thought to have the lowest levels of corruption, according to an annual report released yesterday by corruption watchdog Transparency International. Daniella Cheslow reports at NPR - Just Security - The Early Edition: January 30, 2019 | Chris Christie rips Kushner’s dad: ‘One of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted’ - The Washington Post

Attorney General nominee Bill Barr, right, meets with Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Miss., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in Hawley's office, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2019, in Washington. Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP / Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Lawmakers press for a full Russia probe report from Mueller - The Register Citizen

All Saved Stories - 25
-
Saved Stories - None 
Just Security: The Early Edition: January 30, 2019 | 
Chris Christie rips Kushner’s dad: ‘One of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted’ - The Washington Post
Palmer Report: Here’s the thing about Donald Trump’s latest secret meeting with Putin
Donald Trump: Stephen Colbert Exposes Trump's Latest News 'Source' That's Even Worse Than Fox
"Trump and the Mob" - Google News: Anti-Trump social media mobs worth 'rapidity and extremism': Victor Davis Hanson - Infosurhoy
Roger Stone pleads not guilty to 7 criminal charges - YouTube
Roger Stone's long history of 'dirty' politics - YouTube
"Facebook users data stored in Russia" - Google News: Facebook to set up regional centres in Dublin, Singapore to monitor election-related content - The Independent
"Trumpism" - Google News: Demonizing White Men - Townhall
Lawmakers press for a full Russia probe report from Mueller - The Register Citizen
Where the investigations related to President Trump stand - ABC News
Trump Investigations: Lawmakers press for a full Russia probe report fro... trumpinvestigations.blogspot.com/2019/01/lawmak…
"Donald Trump" - Google News: US intelligence chiefs reveal gulf with Trump on North Korea, Iran and ISIS - CNN
House Democrats demand Treasury records that led to lifting sanctions on Russian firms
Democrats to Investigate Treasury’s Decision to Lift Sanctions on Oleg Deripaska’s Companies – Mother Jones
Kamala Harris Sure Sounds A Lot Like An Authoritarian
FBI finds no motive for Las Vegas mass shooter Stephen Paddock
"Russian Intelligence services and international organized crime" - Google News: U.S. intelligence officials disagree with Trump on many threats to the U.S. - Japan Today
Donald Trump: Ex-Trump Aide Says He Helped Create White House Enemies List ‘To Get Ahead’
"Russian propaganda on social media" - Google News: Is Facebook prepared for Asia's elections? - Nikkei Asian Review
Chris Christie Unloads On Jared Kushner's Dad For 'Loathsome, Disgusting' Crimes - HuffPost
Donald Trump: Chris Christie Unloads On Jared Kushner's Dad For 'Loathsome, Disgusting' Crimes
Can Cerberus Break Out of Germany's Bank Graveyard? - Bloomberg
"trump as putin's puppet" - Google News: PATRICK BUCHANAN: If the Army stands with Maduro, what is plan B? - Sioux City Journal
Roger Stone saga reveals flaws in Trump's 'no collusion' defense - CNN
Saved Stories - None 
Just Security: The Early Edition: January 30, 2019

Signup to receive the Early Edition in your inbox here.
Before the start of business, Just Security provides a curated summary of up-to-the-minute developments at home and abroad. Here’s today’s news.
SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE
U.S. spy chiefs yesterday broke with President Trump in their assessments of the threats posed by foreign powers including North Korea, Iran and Syria. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats told the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing that China and Russia pose the most significant risks to the U.S., and are more aligned than they have been in decades as they target the 2020 presidential election and U.S. institutions to expand their global influence, David E. Sanger and Julian E. Barnes report at the New York Times.
“China … Russia … Iran … and North Korea increasingly use cyber operations to threaten both minds and machines in an expanding number of ways,” Coats said, adding that the various powers use these methods “to steal information, to influence our citizens, or to disrupt critical infrastructure.” Flanked by the directors of the C.I.A., F.B.I and National Security Agency, Coats warned the panel that “Moscow’s relationship with Beijing is closer than it’s been in many decades,” Reuters reports.
“We currently assess that North Korea will seek to retain its [weapons of mass destruction] capabilities,” Coats told the Committee, adding that Pyongyang “is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capabilities because its leaders ultimately view nuclear weapons as critical to regime survival.” Trump is due to hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un late next month and as recently as last week maintained that the two sides are making progress in efforts to fully denuclearize the Korean peninsula, Rebecca Morin and Nahal Toosi report at POLITICO.
The officials offered “stark” warnings regarding the threats posed by Islamic State group (I.S.I.S.,) in contrast with Trump’s former declarations that the militant group has ben defeated. The report overseen by Coats and C.I.A. Director Gina Haspel argues that any lifting of pressure on the movement in Iraq and Syria could allow it to regroup; “the group will exploit any reduction in [counterterrorism] pressure to strengthen its clandestine presence and accelerate rebuilding key capabilities, such as media production and external operations,” the report states, adding that I.S.I.S. is still likely to try to attack the U.S., Jacqueline Thomsen reports at the Hill.
“Point by point … the country’s top intelligence leaders demolished some of the key national security claims Trump has made since he took office,” Ken Dilanian writes in an analysis of the developments at NBC.
We should be concerned about the proximity between Russia and China, Graham T. Allison and Dimitri K. Simes caution at the Wall Street Journal, writing that “a sound U.S. global strategy would combine greater realism in recognizing the threat of a Beijing-Moscow alliance … and greater imagination in creating a coalition of nations to meet it.
Change in leadership of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence offers opportunities for great reform.Daniel Schuman explains at Just Security.
HUAWEI
Two units of Chinese tech giant Huawei will be arraigned on Feb. 28 in Seattle on a 10-count indictment on charges they conspired to steal T-Mobile trade secrets, according to court filings yesterday. The Department of Justice (D.O.J.) alleges Device Co Ltd and Huawei Device U.S.A. Inc committed wire fraud and obstructed justice by stealing robotic technology from T-Mobile in order to test smartphones’ durability, Reuters reports.
A second indictment obtained by prosecutors in Brooklyn, N.Y. reveals excerpts from a file obtained from Huawei C.F.O Meng Wanzhou’s electronic device at J.F.K. airport. The file includes “suggested talking points” about Huawei’s relationship with Skycom Tech Co.; prosecutors allege that Skycom was a Huawei subsidiary operating in Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions, Dan Strumpf reports at the Wall Street Journal.
The U.S. has formally requested Meng’s extradition, officials in Canada announced yesterday. She appeared briefly in court yesterday and is set to return for another court date next week, Michael Burke reports at the Hill.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said yesterday he expects to see significant progress in trade talks with Beijing, adding that charges against Huawei are separate issues, and that’s a separate dialogue.” Mnuchin commented that “forced technology issues are part of trade discussions, but any issues as it relates to violations of U.S. law or U.S. sanctions are going through a separate track,” Reuters reports.
The outcome of the U.S.-Huawei fallout and the Meng extradition case will have huge implications for the world’s two largest economies, Jethro Mullen and Ben Westcott comment at CNN, in an analysis of why “the dispute will shape ties between Beijing and Washington for years to come and could make or break China’s aim to become a global technology power.”
TRUMP-RUSSIA
Longtime Trump associate Roger Stone yesterday pleaded not guilty to charges brought by special counsel Robert Mueller as part of his investigation into Russian election interference and alleged collusion with the Trump campaign. Stone was arrested Friday morning having been indicted on one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of making false statements and one count of witness tampering, later released on a $250,000 signature bond, Aruna Viswanatha and Sadie Gurman report at the Wall Street Journal.
Stone said little during the 13-minute hearing, with his attorney entering Stone’s “not guilty” plea. Stone only addressed the court to say he understood the conditions of his release, which remain unchanged: he will not be allowed to contact potential witnesses in the case, his passport remains seized and his travel is restricted to his home in Florida, the D.C., Delaware, Maryland and Virginia area, and New York, Elisha Fieldstadt and Charlie Gile report at NBC.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said yesterday that he wants Mueller’s report to be as “open” as possible, telling reporters: “obviously I would like for as much as possible of the Mueller report to be open. I don’t know enough about Justice Department regulations to know what part of that, you know, might make sense not to be disclose … I think it ought to be as fully open and transparent, whatever the recommendation is, as possible,” Jordain Carney reports at the Hill.
An account of Stone’s hearing yesterday, picking up on many of the behavioral similarities between Stone and president, is provided by Dana Milbank at the Washington Post.
Stone claims his right to free speech has been compromised, but he would do well to remember that “threats to a witness with intent to influence or prevent testimony is not protected speech,” and “lying in testimony to and concealing documentary evidence from congressional committees is not protected speech,” Jennifer Daskal comments us at Just Security.
VENEZUELA
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government yesterday fought to keep its grip on power, opening an investigation into what it called the “violent acts” of opposition leader Juan Guaidó, freezing his assets and banning him from leaving the country. The announcement came just hours after the Trump administration announced that it had handed control of Venezuela’s bank accounts and property in the U.S. to Guaidó, hoping to give him the necessary tools to start governing, Ana Vanessa Herrero and Clifford Krauss report at the New York Times.
Maduro reiterated today that he is ready to hold talks with the opposition to resolve the escalating political crisis, making comments in an interview with Russian media broadcast today. Guaidó has rejected previous calls from Maduro for talks, labeling them invitations to a fake dialogue, and has demanded that the opposition receive guarantees that Maduro would implement any promises he made in talks, Thomas Grove reports at the Wall Street Journal.
Maduro told reporters he was grateful for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s economic and military help over the years,and asked for the Kremlin’s support to defend the Venezuelan leadership diplomatically. “Putin is giving us support on all levels and we have received it with much pleasure and gratitude,” Maduro commented, Reuters reports.
Maduro also accused President Trump of ordering neighboring Colombia’s government to kill him, but claimed he remains open to the possibility of talks with the U.S. leader as well as his domestic opposition, Reuters reports.
Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan yesterday would not say whether the Pentagon is considering sending 5,000 U.S. troops to Colombia. Shanahan told reporters at the Pentagon that he had not discussed such a plan with national security adviser John Bolton, spotted Monday holding a yellow notepad in the White House briefing room that appeared to include the phrase “5,000 troops to Colombia,” Ellen Mitchell reports at the Hill.
The State Department yesterday warned Americans to travel to Venezuela, citing crime, civil unrest and the arbitrary detention of U.S. citizens. “Security forces have arbitrarily detained U.S. citizens for long periods,” the travel advisory stated, adding “Venezuelan authorities may not notify the U.S. Embassy of the detention of a U.S. citizen, and consular access to detainees may be denied or severely delayed,” Sasha Ingber reports at NPR.
Trump’s Venezuela sanctions could serve to undercut his Iran policy. Keith Johnson explains at Foreign Policy.
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is slated to use a foreign policy bill to break with President Trump over U.S. policy in Syria and Afghanistan, stating yesterday that he will offer an amendment that would warn against a “precipitous withdrawal” of troops from either country. Speaking from the Senate floor, McConnell claimed that his proposal would “acknowledge the plain fact” that al Qaeda, Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria and their affiliates “pose a serious threat to us here in home,” Jordain Carney reports at the Hill.
The Pentagon’s internal watchdog is set to investigate military refueling missions in the Middle East and Africa after the U.S. undercharged allies by $331 million for its support in the Yemeni conflict. The Department of Defense Inspector General announced yesterday that it will audit the energy reimbursement process for the Defense Logistics Agency – the body that purchases, stores and ships much of the U.S. military’s supplies, Joe Gould reports at DefenseNews.
The government of the Palestinian Authority tendered its resignation yesterday, in a move that reflected “rising public discontent” and the failure of efforts to reunite the West Bank and the Gaza Strip – currently controlled by the militant Palestinian Hamas group. Isabel Kershner reports at the New York Times.
The Pentagon suddenly adjourned a 9/11 pretrial hearing yesterday because the judge in the case had an undisclosed health emergency, defense lawyers announced yesterday. Court personnel declined to describe Marine Col. Keith Parrella health emergency, citing privacy; the abrupt recess has presented another stumbling block in the effort to try the five men accused of plotting al-Qaida’s Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Rosenberg reports at the Miami Herald.
The U.S. has slipped out of the top 20 countries thought to have the lowest levels of corruption, according to an annual report released yesterday by corruption watchdog Transparency International. Daniella Cheslow reports at NPR.


 Just Security
Chris Christie rips Kushner’s dad: ‘One of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted’ - The Washington Post

  1. Chris Christie rips Kushner’s dad: ‘One of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted’  The Washington Post
  2. Chris Christie Unloads On Jared Kushner's Dad For 'Loathsome, Disgusting' Crimes  HuffPost
  3. Chris Christie Says Jared Kushner’s Father Committed a ‘Loathsome’ Crime  The New York Times
  4. Chris Christie Shreds Jared Kushner's Father: 'One Of the Most Loathsome, Disgusting Crimes That I Prosecuted'  Newsweek
  5. Chris Christie Tears Into Jared Kushner’s Father: ‘One of the Most Loathsome, Disgusting Crimes That I Prosecuted…’  Mediaite
  6. View full coverage on Google News
Palmer Report: Here’s the thing about Donald Trump’s latest secret meeting with Putin

“President” Donald Trump repeatedly has cast doubt on Russian interference in the 2016 election and raised doubts about Russia attempting to interfere in the 2020 elections. At one point, just after meeting Vladimir Putin one-on-one in Helsinki, Trump said this about Director of U.S. National Intelligence Dan Coats’ statements vs Russia’s statements:


“All I can do is ask the question. My people came to me, Dan Coats came to me and some others, they said they think it’s Russia. I have President Putin; he just said it’s not Russia. I will say this: I don’t see any reason why it would be. But I really do want to see the server.”

Coats testified today in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee on “worldwide threats,” including Russia. With respect to Russia, Coats testified differently than his boss might characterize the matter, informing the Committee: “We assess that foreign actors will view the 2020 U.S. elections as an opportunity to advance their interests. We expect them to refine their capabilities and add new tactics as they learn from each other’s experiences and efforts in previous elections.”


Coats included Russia and China among the “foreign actors” and his language would appear to contradict what Trump has stated. Reports today are emerging that Trump met one-on-one with Putin in Buenos Aires, despite Trump saying it was cancelled. Only a Russian interpreter was there and Melania Trump, who might speak Russian, but does speak French and Slovenian. We have no idea what the meetings entail, this not being the first.

We also have the situation in which the Treasury Department lifted sanctions on three organizations that have ties to Oleg Deripaska. We now have word that Congresswoman Jackie Speier has asked questions about Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin’s business ties with Leonid Blavatnik, a Ukrainian-born billionaire with whom he co-owned a Hollywood film company up until 2017. Blavatnik and Deripaska are partners in RuSal. Blavatnik’s name also arose today in connection with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The Senate Leadership Fund, run by the Con’s former Chief of Staff, collected $3.5 million in 2016 and 2017 combined from Access Industries and an affiliate, and Access is owned by Blavatnik.
Click here to help fund Palmer Report's editorial takedown of Donald Trump!



The post Here’s the thing about Donald Trump’s latest secret meeting with Putin appeared first on Palmer Report.


 Palmer Report
Donald Trump: Stephen Colbert Exposes Trump's Latest News 'Source' That's Even Worse Than Fox

The "Late Show" host says he's figured out the source of the president's latest wild claims about migrants.



 Donald Trump
"Trump and the Mob" - Google News: Anti-Trump social media mobs worth 'rapidity and extremism': Victor Davis Hanson - Infosurhoy

Anti-Trump social media mobs worth 'rapidity and extremism': Victor Davis Hanson  InfosurhoyHoover Institute senior fellow Victor Davis Hanson weighed in on the “electronic lynch mob” that took place targeting the students of Kentucky's Covington ...


 "Trump and the Mob" - Google News
Roger Stone pleads not guilty to 7 criminal charges - YouTube

Michael_Novakhov shared this story .

Roger Stone pleads not guilty to 7 criminal charges
Roger Stone's long history of 'dirty' politics - YouTube

Michael_Novakhov shared this story .

Roger Stone's long history of 'dirty' politics
"Facebook users data stored in Russia" - Google News: Facebook to set up regional centres in Dublin, Singapore to monitor election-related content - The Independent

Facebook to set up regional centres in Dublin, Singapore to monitor election-related content  The IndependentSocial media giant Facebook will set up two new regional operations centres focused on monitoring election-related *content* in its Dublin and Singapore offices.




 "Facebook users data stored in Russia" - Google News
"Trumpism" - Google News: Demonizing White Men - Townhall

Demonizing White Men  TownhallRush Limbaugh's December 2018 Limbaugh Letter has an article titled "Demonizing White Men." It highlights -- with actual quotations from people in the media, ...


 "Trumpism" - Google News
Lawmakers press for a full Russia probe report from Mueller - The Register Citizen

Michael_Novakhov shared this story .

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers appear increasingly nervous that Congress and the public won't see a full report when special counsel Robert Mueller is finished with his Russia probe, including what the investigation finds about President Donald Trump.
Republicans and Democrats say they support public disclosure of Mueller's findings. But it's unclear exactly what documentation will be produced at the end of the probe into possible coordination between Trump associates and Russia, and how much of that the Justice Department will allow people to see. Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said Monday that the probe is "close to being completed," the first official sign that Mueller's investigation may be wrapping up.

Recommended Video

Where the investigations related to President Trump stand - ABC News

Where the investigations related to President Trump stand  ABC NewsGet breaking national and world news, broadcast video coverage, and exclusive interviews. Find the top news online at ABC news.
Trump Investigations: Lawmakers press for a full Russia probe report fro... trumpinvestigations.blogspot.com/2019/01/lawmak…

Trump Investigations: Lawmakers press for a full Russia probe report fro... trumpinvestigations.blogspot.com/2019/01/lawmak…

Posted by mikenov on Wednesday, January 30th, 2019 5:16am
"Donald Trump" - Google News: US intelligence chiefs reveal gulf with Trump on North Korea, Iran and ISIS - CNN

US intelligence chiefs reveal gulf with Trump on North Korea, Iran and ISIS  CNNWashington (CNN) President Donald Trump has previously declared that North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat, touted the defeat of ISIS, doubted the effects ...


 "Donald Trump" - Google News
House Democrats demand Treasury records that led to lifting sanctions on Russian firms

Michael_Novakhov shared this story .

WASHINGTON — Three senior House Democrats have demanded Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin turn over documents that would show how his department decided to lift financial sanctions on three companies connected to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
Reps. Adam Schiff, Maxine Waters and Eliot Engel told Mnuchin in a letter Tuesday they want a broad array of material that may range from secret intelligence reporting to other records such as meeting minutes and agendas, emails and texts, and calendar invitations.
The letter comes two days after Treasury announced the sanctions were being lifted on the grounds that Derapaska’s direct and indirect shareholding stake in the three companies had been reduced to the point that he no longer has control over them. The lifting of the sanctions was opposed by members of both parties on Capitol Hill over concerns that the Trump administration was not being tough enough on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies, including Deripaska.
Schiff chairs the Intelligence Committee, Waters leads the Financial Services Committee and Engel runs the Foreign Affairs Committee.
They wrote that under the terms of Deripaska’s removal, his “ownership stake, as well as benefits afforded to his associates, family members, and related entities, appears designed to allow him to retain significant influence, if not de facto control,” over the companies.
The three Democrats noted Deripaska’s ties to Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, who was convicted of eight financial crimes as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
“At one point, Mr. Manafort owed Mr. Deripaska close to $20 million and may have leveraged his position as campaign chairman to attempt to negotiate that debt in exchange for providing briefings to Deripaska related to the campaign,” according to the lawmakers.
The companies released from the financial sanctions were the Russian aluminum manufacturing giant Rusal, EN+ Group and the Russian power company JSC EuroSibEnergo. EN+ Group is a holding company that owns nearly 50% of Rusal. Deripaska will remain blacklisted as part of sanctions announced last April that targeted tycoons with close ties to the Kremlin.
Treasury’s announcement followed a failed attempt by Congress earlier this month to block the sanctions removal. Despite coming up short, the votes demonstrated the breadth of concern on Capitol Hill over Treasury’s decision, with many Republicans joining Democrats to oppose the sanctions deal.
The votes in the House and Senate represented a crack in the solid GOP backing Trump has enjoyed in his first two years as president, signaling that congressional Republicans are willing to split with the White House on national security matters.
Democrats to Investigate Treasury’s Decision to Lift Sanctions on Oleg Deripaska’s Companies – Mother Jones

Michael_Novakhov shared this story from Mother Jones.

Evan Vucci/AP
Looking for news you can trust?
Subscribe to our free newsletters.
Congressional Democrats want to know if there’s more to the story on why the Trump administration removed sanctions on three companies owned by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
The energy and aluminum magnate and his companies were sanctioned last April as part of an effort to target oligarchs known to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. But in December, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said he planned to remove the firms from the sanctions list because Deripaska had agreed to divest himself of a controlling interest in the firms. Democrats mounted an effort to reverse the delisting decision, but failed to get enough Republican support in the Senate to pass a resolution blocking the move. The sanctions on the firm were lifted on Sunday, although Deripaska personally remains on a list of sanctioned individuals.
Now, Democrats are taking Mnuchin to task over how much control Deripaska really agreed to give up and whether Mnuchin may have had a conflict of interest in the decision resulting from his business relationship with another Russian businessman who stood to benefit from Treasury’s agreement with Deripaska. On Tuesday, the chairmen of the House intelligence, financial services, and foreign affairs committees sent Mnuchin a letter notifying him that they are launching an investigation into the decision-making process behind the delisting. The letter requested Treasury turn over all documents relating to the delisting and ordered the agency to explain who will benefit from the transactions Deripaska agreed to make in connection with his agreement to relinquish control of the companies.
Deripaska is one of Russia’s wealthiest men. He has in the past been banned from entering the United States over alleged ties to Russian organized crime (which Deripaska denies). He has also come under scrutiny in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The oligarch is a former lobbying client and business associate of President Donald Trump’s imprisoned ex-campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, who allegedly owes Deripaska millions and tried to repay this debt by offering the oligarch insider briefings on the 2016 presidential election.
From the start, the sanctions against Deripaska’s companies—En+ Group LLC, a large mining and energy conglomerate; UC Rusal PLC, one of the world’s largest aluminum mining companies; and JSC EuroSibEnergo, Russia’s largest private power company—were controversial and rattled the global aluminum market. Although sanctions against Deripaska went into effect immediately—preventing Americans from doing business of any kind with him—Treasury granted a series of waivers to allow his companies to continue to do business as normal. In December, before the sanctions were officially applied, Mnuchin announced that Treasury had brokered an agreement with Deripaska.
According to the public documents released by Treasury, Deripaska would reduce his ownership in the companies to less than 50 percent, transferring his shares to other companies. The documents did not fully disclose the identities of the outfits poised to take control of Deripaska’s shares.
House Democrats summoned Mnuchin to Capitol Hill in early January to explain his delisting decision, and following the briefing they accused the treasury secretary of obfuscating. “With stiff competition, mind you, this is one of the worst classified briefings we’ve received from the Trump administration,” House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters. Mnuchin insisted that he had been forthright and said he was “surprised” that House Democrats felt they didn’t have enough information.
“These entities are undergoing significant restructuring and governance changes that sever Deripaska’s control and significantly diminish his ownership,” Mnuchin said at the time. “They have committed to provide Treasury with an unprecedented level of transparency into their dealings to ensure that Deripaska does not reassert control. As a result, these entities will no longer be designated for sanctions.”
However, according to confidential Treasury documents obtained by the New York Times last week, the details of Deripaska’s agreement to limit his involvement with the sanctioned companies varied drastically from what was presented publicly. For instance, Treasury said that Deripaska would reduce his ownership of En+ from 70 to 44.95 percent. But the confidential documents show that Deripaska will transfer shares to a foundation that he founded and funds, as well as to his ex-wife, her father, and a related company. All told, the shares owned by Deripaska, his foundation, and his close family will total about 57 percent, suggesting he will in fact retain control of En+. Also, despite public claims by the Treasury Department that he would not be allowed to profit from the transactions, the confidential documents suggest that by turning over shares to a Russian state-owned bank, he would benefit by retiring some of his debts to the institution.
In their letter to Mnuchin, which cites the Times‘ reporting, the House committee chairmen note that Treasury’s agreement with Deripaska “appears designed to allow him to retain significant influence, if not de facto control, over En+, Rusal, and ESE.” And the letter notes that “many questions remain unanswered.”
On Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), the ranking member of the Senate intelligence committee, sent a similar letter, asking for more details on Treasury’s decision to delist Deripaska’s companies.
Earlier this week, Rep. Jackie Speier (Calif.) sent a separate letter probing whether Mnuchin has a personal conflict of interest in the delisting deal. In her letter, first reported by Buzzfeed, Speier noted that prior to taking office Mnuchin owned a movie production company that he sold, in part, to Access Industries, a company owned by Len Blavatnik, a Russian-born billionaire who has ties to Deripaska. Blavatnik sits on the board of a company called SUAL, a major shareholder in Rusal. According to the New York Times, SUAL’s stake in Rusal will increase as part of Deripaska’s deal with the Treasury Department. In short, a man who is believed to have paid Mnuchin as much as $25 million for his movie company may well benefit from the deal to remove Rusal from the sanctions list.
Blavatnik is a US citizen who lives primarily in Britain, where he is sometimes described as the wealthiest man in the United Kingdom. He has donated to American political candidates and PACs for years, but in 2016 tilted his giving heavily to the right; Access Industries donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, and Blavatnik attended the inauguration.
Neither a representative for Access Industries nor the Treasury Department responded to a request for comment on whether Mnuchin has any ongoing relationship with Blavatnik.
Kamala Harris Sure Sounds A Lot Like An Authoritarian

Michael_Novakhov shared this story from The Federalist.

Some Democrats are trying to recast their soft authoritarianism as a patriotic endeavor. Don't let them get away with it.
Listen, it wouldn’t be fair to accuse presidential hopeful Kamala Harris of supporting state control over the means of all production. To this point she’s only focused on the energy, health care, auto-manufacturing and education sectors. Good candidates prioritize.
In this age of hyperbole, I sometimes worry about overusing words like “socialist” or “authoritarian.” Yet, if we accept that an “authoritarian” is a person “who favors or enforces strict obedience to authority, especially that of the government, at the expense of personal freedom,” I’m not sure how anyone watching Harris’ campaign kick-off (sponsored by CNN!) could argue that her policy positions do not fit that description.
For starters, here are some of the things that Harris believes the state can ban at expense of your personal freedom: private health insurance, your car, affordable energy, political speech, your guns, for-profit colleges, and government office holding for practicing Catholics. Of course, the media, complicit in normalizing these hard-left positions over the past decade, treat her agenda as the centrist option for voters. Who knows? Maybe in the contemporary Democratic Party it is.
In addition to pushing Medicare for All policy—now widely supported by presidential hopefuls—Harris says that private insurance (already governed by a massive regulatory regime and used as a Trojan horse for progressive social policy) should be banned outright in favor of state control. “Let’s eliminate all of that. Let’s move on,” she told Jake Tapper.
If you can imagine such a thing, this sounds even more authoritarian to me than Donald Trump’s tax cuts or deregulation efforts.
Once upon a time, voters were worried that they might lose their insurance plans. Now candidates openly campaign on the promise of cancelling every American’s insurance plan, and handing the entire project over to a centralized government bureaucracy that will govern the choices of around 350 million people. Forcing people to participate in this system (and it should be noted that a number of nations that have adopted socialized medicine allow citizens to get private insurance) is a pretty good example of demanding obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom.
(Update: Harris’ communications director later walked back her position, saying that while Senator still prefers the plan that would kick off over 160 million Americans off the insurance plans, but that she was willing to consider something more “moderate.”)
It is one thing that Harris supports the Green New Deal, which will artificially make our cheapest and most ubiquitous energy sources prohibitively expensive. The Green New Deal’s requirement that the US eliminate nearly 90 percent of our energy sources is an absolutely bonkers suicidal policy initiative. But the plan’s insistence that some Americans must replace “non-essential individual means of transport with high-quality and modern mass transit” sounds pretty authoritarian. Not “Literally Hitler!” level of authoritarian, no. But still, having some technocrat decide which American has to give up their non-essential individual means of transport so they can use a (oxymoronic) “high-quality and modern mass transit” system feels like unreasonable attack on personal freedom.
Harris also wants to outright ban for-profit colleges (something the Obama administration tried to do through regulation) even if there are Americans who believe it is in their best interest to attend them. Harris may might want to ban all semi-automatic weapons, as well, though the made-up phrase “assault weapon” can refer to any class of firearm, I guess. What we do know is that the Heller decision found Americans had a right constitutional right to own weapons that are “in common use by law-abiding citizen.”
It is unsurprising that Harris openly bragged about having “a huge stick” as a prosecutor in San Francisco who threatened poor parents with jail time in an effort to craft social policy that was not within her bailiwick. You can imagine what kind of things she has in store for personal freedom when she can brandish the huge stick of executive branch. Her despicable actions during the Brett Kavanaugh trial offers us a taste of how effortlessly she embraces abusing the process and her power to get her way.
She’s not alone. There seems quite a bit some confusion among liberals, who view anything that undermines their policy goals as an attack on “democracy.” Your good intentions do not make state coercion any less authoritarian. Your ability to find electoral support for your state coercion does not make that policy any less authoritarian. Even if you’re right about the outcomes of those policies, and state control greatly improves the lives of Americans, it can still be authoritarian.
Harris claims that these intrusions mean rediscovering American values. The foundational ideals of American governance are limited government and individual freedom—two notions that conflict with Harris’ worldview. Genuine liberalism within the Democratic Party died during the Obama administration. Since then, a number of Democrats have tried to recast their soft authoritarianism as a patriotic endeavor. I apologize sincerely for the cliché, but it’s quite Orwellian.
FBI finds no motive for Las Vegas mass shooter Stephen Paddock

Michael_Novakhov shared this story .


People attend a candlelight vigil on the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Sahara Avenue on October 8, 2017, in Las Vegas. File Photo by Ronda Churchill/UPI | License Photo
Jan. 29 (UPI) -- The FBI announced Tuesday it could find no motive for the October 2017 shooting in Las Vegas that left 58 people dead and hundreds injured.
The bureau's Las Vegas Review Panel released a three-page report, saying Stephen Paddock, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, exhibited "no single or clear motivating factor" for the mass shooting. The conclusion comes 15 months after the shooting at a country music festival outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

"The LVRP concludes that Paddock's attack was neither directed, inspired nor enabled by ideologically motivated persons or groups," the report said. "Paddock was not seeking to further any religious, social or political agenda through his actions."
The FBI said Paddock acted alone when he opened fire from the 32nd floor hotel room at Mandalay Bay. The report said it's rare for a shooter such as Paddock to have a singular motive for such an attack.
RELATED Suspect arrested in Georgia shooting that killed 4

"Throughout his life, Paddock went to great lengths to keep his thoughts private, and that extended to his final thinking about this mass murder," the report said.
"More often their motives are a complex merging of developmental issues, interpersonal relationships, clinical issues and contextual stressors."
One day after the shooting, Paddock's brother, Eric Paddock, said he was "completely dumbfounded" his brother would engage in such an act of violence.
RELATED Study: Children gun deaths spike as family handgun ownership rises

"There is no reason we can imagine why Stephen would do something like this," he said.
Paddock lived in a retirement community in Mesquite, Nev., with his girlfriend Marylou Danley. Although he was known to local police, he had no conflicts with law enforcement.
An autopsy revealed no further insights into Paddock's motivation, though the presence of certain chemicals in his urine indicated he may have taken the anti-anxiety medication Valium, the coroner's office said in February..
RELATED Suspect in killing of five in Louisiana arrested in Virginia

The FBI said that in the years before the attack, Paddock had complained about his declining physical and mental health, leading him to plan the attack with suicide in mind.
"His inability or unwillingness to perceive any alternatives to this ending influenced his decision to attack," the report said. "The planning and preparation -- in and of itself -- was likely satisfying to Paddock as it provided a sense of direction and control despite his mental and physical decline."
He desired to achieve a degree of "infamy" through a mass casualty attack, the bureau concluded.
RELATED Data confirms school shootings have become more deadly in recent years

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, meanwhile, said the shooter purchased 33 of the 50 firearms he owned in the year prior to the shooting, most of them rifles.
Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo described the shooting as "obviously premeditated." Police recovered 23 guns and an assortment of cameras from his hotel room. At least one camera was trained on the hotel hallway, presumably to observe police approaching his door.
"Russian Intelligence services and international organized crime" - Google News: U.S. intelligence officials disagree with Trump on many threats to the U.S. - Japan Today

U.S. intelligence officials disagree with Trump on many threats to the U.S.  Japan TodayChina and Russia pose the biggest risks to the United States, and are more aligned than they have been in decades as they target the 2020 presidential election ...




 "Russian Intelligence services and international organized crime" - Google News
Donald Trump: Ex-Trump Aide Says He Helped Create White House Enemies List ‘To Get Ahead’

“I suddenly found myself a participant in this ‘Game of Thrones,’" Cliff Sims said on CNN.



 Donald Trump
"Russian propaganda on social media" - Google News: Is Facebook prepared for Asia's elections? - Nikkei Asian Review

Is Facebook prepared for Asia's elections?  Nikkei Asian ReviewBANGKOK/MANILA -- In 2015, Twinmark Media Enterprises launched a business that would become one of the most prolific sources of spam and fake news in.




 "Russian propaganda on social media" - Google News
Chris Christie Unloads On Jared Kushner's Dad For 'Loathsome, Disgusting' Crimes - HuffPost

  1. Chris Christie Unloads On Jared Kushner's Dad For 'Loathsome, Disgusting' Crimes  HuffPost
  2. Chris Christie Says Jared Kushner’s Father Committed a ‘Loathsome’ Crime  The New York Times
  3. Chris Christie rips Kushner’s dad: ‘One of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes that I prosecuted’  The Washington Post
  4. Fox News Hosts Slam Jared Kushner for Blocking Chris Christie: ‘He Hurt the President's First Two Years’  Newsweek
  5. Chris Christie Tears Into Jared Kushner’s Father: ‘One of the Most Loathsome, Disgusting Crimes That I Prosecuted…’  Mediaite
  6. View full coverage on Google News
Donald Trump: Chris Christie Unloads On Jared Kushner's Dad For 'Loathsome, Disgusting' Crimes

The former New Jersey governor isn't holding back when it comes to the Kushners.



 Donald Trump
Can Cerberus Break Out of Germany's Bank Graveyard? - Bloomberg

Can Cerberus Break Out of Germany's Bank Graveyard?BloombergThe private equity firm's bet on Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank now depends on a merger of the two.
"trump as putin's puppet" - Google News: PATRICK BUCHANAN: If the Army stands with Maduro, what is plan B? - Sioux City Journal

PATRICK BUCHANAN: If the Army stands with Maduro, what is plan B?  Sioux City Journal"Pay the soldiers. The rest do not matter." This was the deathbed counsel given to his sons by Roman Emperor Septimius Severus in A.D. 211. Nicolas Maduro ...


 "trump as putin's puppet" - Google News
Roger Stone saga reveals flaws in Trump's 'no collusion' defense - CNN

Roger Stone saga reveals flaws in Trump's 'no collusion' defense  CNNRoger Stone is known for hyperbole, but his latest graphic warning should worry Donald Trump.
-
__________________________________________

The Operation Trump and The New Abwehr: A Study In Psychohistory by Michael Novakhov – Google Search


German Intelligence Chief Wilhelm Franz Canaris – The Operation Trump and The New Abwehr: A Study In Psychohistory by Michael Novakhov – Google Search

Michael_Novakhov shared this story from Trump Investigations.

Image result for Canaris - Heydrich Gay Love Affair

Image result for The Operation Trump and The New Abwehr: A Study In Psychohistory by Michael Novakhov

The Operation Trump and The New Abwehr: A Study In Psychohistory by Michael Novakhov – Google Search

Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
>> Mike Nova’s Shared NewsLinks Review In Brief 
» German Intelligence Chief Wilhelm Franz Canaris
24/01/19 06:17 from Mike Nova’s Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from Warfare History Network. Adolf Hitler’s spymaster, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, was actually a dedicated anti-Nazi who did everything he could to frustrate the Führer’s plans. by David…
» Canaris and Heydrich – Axis History Forum
24/01/19 06:16 from Mike Nova’s Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story . Canaris and Heydrich #1 Post by Ezboard » 29 Sep 2002, 21:37 GFM2001 Member Posts: 55 (8/20/01 12:32:55 pm) Reply Canaris and Heydrich ————————————————————…
» Canaris – Heydrich Gay Love Affair – Google Search
24/01/19 05:53 from Mike Nova’s Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
» Canaris – Heydrich Gay Love Affair – Google Search
24/01/19 05:52 from Mike Nova’s Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
» Canaris – Heydrich Gay Love Affair – Google Search
24/01/19 05:50 from Mike Nova’s Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
» Canaris – Heydrich Gay Love Affair – Google Search
24/01/19 05:48 from Mike Nova’s Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
» Canaris – Heydrich Gay Love Affair – Google Search
24/01/19 05:47 from Mike Nova’s Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
» Canaris – Heydrich Gay Love Affair – Google Search
24/01/19 05:46 from Mike Nova’s Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
» Canaris – Heydrich Gay Love Affair – Google Search
24/01/19 05:45 from Mike Nova’s Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
» Canaris – Heydrich Gay Love Affair – Google Search
24/01/19 05:45 from Mike Nova’s Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
» Service record of Reinhard Heydrich
24/01/19 05:43 from Mike Nova’s Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story . SS- service record cover of Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei Reinhard Heydrich The service record of Reinhard Heydrich was a collection of official SS documents maintained at the SS Pers…
» RUSSIA and THE WEST – РОССИЯ и ЗАПАД: – Командир, ручка от жопы отваливается! | – Ништяк, а мы её стразами укрепим! – 6:10 AM 1/7/2019
24/01/19 05:26 from Mike Nova’s Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from RUSSIA and THE WEST – РОССИЯ и ЗАПАД. Monday, January 7, 2019 – Командир, ручка от жоп…
» 1:55 PM 9/5/2018 – Canaris’ love affair with Reinhard Heydrich, both of whom were at least in part Jewish and Gay… | The Global Security News
24/01/19 05:12 from Mike Nova’s Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from The Global Security News. Upon the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany, gay men and, to a lesser extent, lesbians, were two of the numerous groups targeted by the Nazis and were ulti…
» Heydrich’s homosexuality? – Axis History Forum
24/01/19 04:52 from Mike Nova’s Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story . Heydrich’s homosexuality? #1 Post by Ezboard » 29 Sep 2002, 19:03 HannahR New Member Posts: 1 (5/26/01 5:43:01 pm) Reply Heydrich’s homosexuality? ————————————————…
» Canaris – Heydrich Gay Love Affair as the source and the engine of German Fascism of 1930-1940-s – Psychohistorical Hypothesis by Michael Novakhov
24/01/19 04:15 from Mike Nova’s Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from Trump Investigations. Canaris – Heydrich Gay Love Affair as the source and the engine of the German Fascism of 1930-1940-s  Psychohistorical Hypothesis by Michael Novakhov 9:19 AM 9/21/20…
» 9:19 AM 9/21/2018 – (Abwehr? Drag?) Queens (Are?) Flushing (With Rage? Shame? Anger? Angst? All of the above? None of the above?) | The Global Security News
24/01/19 03:56 from Mike Nova’s Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from The Global Security News. Mike Nova’s Shared NewsLinks Drag Bang Drag, Gala de Eleccion Drag Queen 2015 LPGC – YouTube   mikenova  shared this story  . Drag Bang Drag, Ga…

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

01/04/19 10:50 from Trump Investigations from Michael_Novakhov (32 sites) U.S. Manufacturing Activity Rebounds From Lowest in Two Years TheStreet.com U.S. retail sales unexpectedly slipped by 0.2% in February on a seasonally adjusted basis, in a sign that consumers might be cutting back... | CNN's YouTube Videos: Democrats to take action to obtain full Mueller report | Democrats to prepare subpoenas for full Mueller report - KATU 01/04/19 10:37 from Trump Investigations

“A Lot of Funny Business” - Lawyers: Teen girl Weiner sexted wanted to affect election | How did these 650,000 emails get into the Abedin -Weiner laptop? This question remains open for almost three years now, and no answer in sight. - 6:35 AM 2/17/2019

7:54 AM 4/1/2019 - Trump Investigations News In 250 Brief Posts

The Latest Posts - The Trump Investigations - Review Of News | Pages

10:51 AM 1/26/2019 - "Nice job, Vlad! | Happy to please you, Boss!" - Putin "looks" like an agent of Germany or the New Abwehr - Michael Novakhov (Mike Nova) on New Abwehr Hypothesis of the Operation Trump

The Trump Investigations [Inoreader digest]

9:37 AM 7/19/2019 - Melania Knauss Trump is a lesbian

American Nazi and Abwehr | German Espionage and Sabotage | Nazi Espionage: The Abwehr and SD - U.S. Intelligence and the Nazis | U.S. indicts 54 in Aryan group

The Trump Investigations [Inoreader digest]