Trump Scandal: Russia did it!
- Get link
- Other Apps
Many people involved in the Russia scandal thought Trump might ...
Washington Post-Mar 7, 2019
Though he has used it only a few times so far, President Trump is clearly enamored of his power to pardon those who have committed federal ...
Mueller's Case for Collusion: A Preview
New York Magazine-Mar 7, 2019
The Russia scandal seems to hint at a reality of fiction or paranoia, ... While Russia was exerting itself on Trump's behalf through emails hacks ...
Wanted in Russia, he partied at Mar-a-Lago – and invested in cheap ...
Miami Herald-3 hours ago
Last year, President Donald Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club hosted a ... behind the so-called “Magnitsky affair,” a Russian corruption scandal that ... And a suspected Russian assassin was even dispatched to stake out a CIA ...
Говорит Москва: Democrats put focus on Russia, Trump
WFTV Orlando-11 hours ago
Говорит Москва: Democrats put focus on Russia, Trump .... Monica Lewinsky scandal, when independent counsel Ken Starr was able to send ...
Read the whole story
· ·
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 6
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 7
Billionaire Blackwater founder Erik Prince finally admits to a pre ...
Daily Mail-Mar 9, 2019
... a country other than Russia had been suspected of offering assistance to the Trump campaign in the months leading up to the 2016 election.
Trump's campaign agenda found in his new budget proposal
13WHAM-TV-4 hours ago
Trump's budget plan increases spending on his border wall and the military but is ... but Trump's latest also offers an early window into his upcoming campaign. ... Still, the budget can serve more than one political purpose, argued former .... program in exchange for help revitalizing his country's economy.
Security Brief: Trump's Budget Hits the Streets; Aid on Fire in Venezuela
Foreign Policy-Mar 11, 2019
Foreign Policy-Mar 11, 2019
Budget Day; Alleged madam peddled access to Trump; GLCM parts ...
International-Defense One-Mar 11, 2019
International-Defense One-Mar 11, 2019
The Daily 202: Six revealing quotes that speak volumes about the ...
Opinion-Washington Post-9 minutes ago
Opinion-Washington Post-9 minutes ago
'Dead on arrival': Democrats dismiss Trump budget plan with $8.6bn ...
In-Depth-The Guardian-20 hours ago
In-Depth-The Guardian-20 hours ago
Mueller's Case for Collusion: A Preview
New York Magazine-Mar 7, 2019
We have all the funding we need out of Russia,” Eric Trump reportedly boasted in 2014. ... but which offered a payday in the hundreds of millions of dollars, ... Another Trump campaign operative, Peter W. Smith, working under ... of getting tough with other countries and seizing more leverage, Trump instead ...
Pelosi comes out against impeaching Trump: 'He's just not worth it'
The Guardian-15 hours ago
“Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there's ... Trump's campaign and the Russiangovernment and whether Trump has ... Trump has denied wrongdoing and called the investigation a ... ad campaign from the liberal billionaire Tom Steyer to build support .... We chose a different approach.
Nancy Pelosi just botched it on impeachment. Here's how to get it right.
Opinion-Washington Post-18 minutes ago
Opinion-Washington Post-18 minutes ago
Here's what to expect from the Mueller probe this week
CNBC-21 hours ago
Another Trump campaign leader, Manafort's former longtime aide Rick Gates ... have to explain how the rerelease of his book, "The Myth of Russian Collusion ... than the judge in the Virginia case, T.S. Ellis, who had previously ... else this defendant can to do help the United States of America," Sullivan said.
President Trump stretches others' comments to claim 'no collusion'
Washington Post-Mar 11, 2019
... cooperating with another country to influence a U.S. election might be ... Russian President Vladimir Putin's goal was to help Trump win, ... “Not only did Senator Burr's Committee find No Collusion by the Trump Campaign and Russia, .... He may have more information than Congress and the public, and ...
Fears About Iran Stop Assad Taking More Prominence in Arab World
Bloomberg-1 hour ago
Russia's push to bring Bashar al-Assad back into the Arab fold and open the doors to reconstruction is facing opposition from some of Donald ...
Netanyahu-Trump Partnership Is Stronger Than Ever. Are These Its ...
New York Times-Mar 10, 2019
All of this is of great help to Mr. Netanyahu with voters in Israel, where polls show ... While otherpresidents and prime ministers have been close, the Trump-Netanyahu relationship has no precedent in their countries' history, ... Netanyahu's campaign have taken to guessing what Mr. Trump might toss his ...
You Have Questions About Robert Mueller's Investigation. Here Are ...
TIME-Mar 5, 2019
His earliest charges were against former Trump campaign advisor George ... They did all of this explicitly to support Trump's candidacy, according to the indictment. ... experts said the Russian leader may have believed Trump would be .... softened the message, saying “Russia, China and other countries” ...
Read the whole story
· · · · ·
M.N. People do not pay $2 ML for the "elaborate presentation about the significance of social media", this significance is a common knowledge. What did Zamel get paid for exactly?
"After Mr. Trump was elected, Mr. Nader paid Mr. Zamel a large sum of money, described by one associate as up to $2 million. There are conflicting accounts of the reason for the payment, but among other things, a company linked to Mr. Zamel provided Mr. Nader with an elaborate presentation about the significance of social media campaigning to Mr. Trump’s victory."
Michael Novakhov - SharedNewsLinks℠
Mike Nova's Shared NewsLinks Review In 250 Brief Posts
-
Mike Nova's Shared NewsLinks Review In 250 Brief Posts
-
» Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election - Google Search
12/03/19 09:40 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
12/03/19 09:40 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
» Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election - Google Search
12/03/19 09:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
12/03/19 09:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
» Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election - Google Search
12/03/19 09:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
12/03/19 09:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
» Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election - Google Search
12/03/19 09:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
12/03/19 09:39 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
» Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election - Google Search
12/03/19 09:38 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
12/03/19 09:38 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
» Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election
12/03/19 09:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story . WASHINGTON — Three months before the 2016 election, a small group gathered at Trump Tower to meet with Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son. One was an Israeli specialist in social...
12/03/19 09:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story . WASHINGTON — Three months before the 2016 election, a small group gathered at Trump Tower to meet with Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son. One was an Israeli specialist in social...
» Joel Zamel - Google Search
12/03/19 09:15 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from "Joel Zamel" - Google News. Erik Prince 'certainly not telling the truth': Adam Schiff <a href="http://Aljazeera.com" rel="nofollow">Aljazeera.com</a> - 21 hours ago ... to th...
12/03/19 09:15 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from "Joel Zamel" - Google News. Erik Prince 'certainly not telling the truth': Adam Schiff <a href="http://Aljazeera.com" rel="nofollow">Aljazeera.com</a> - 21 hours ago ... to th...
» “2016 Presidential Election Investigation” – Google News: The Trump Dossier and the Poisoning of Sergei Skripal – American Thinker
12/03/19 08:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from Trumpistan Today. The Trump Dossier and the Poisoning of Sergei Skripal American Thinker More than a year ago, in the small British town of Salisbury, agents of the GRU (military intelligence of R...
12/03/19 08:52 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from Trumpistan Today. The Trump Dossier and the Poisoning of Sergei Skripal American Thinker More than a year ago, in the small British town of Salisbury, agents of the GRU (military intelligence of R...
» deutsche bank - Google Search
12/03/19 08:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from "deutsche bank" - Google News. Deutsche Bank Dwarfed by Local Lenders Making Billions Bloomberg - 9 minutes ago Germany's regional lenders are eclipsing their listed rivals Deutsche Bank ...
12/03/19 08:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from "deutsche bank" - Google News. Deutsche Bank Dwarfed by Local Lenders Making Billions Bloomberg - 9 minutes ago Germany's regional lenders are eclipsing their listed rivals Deutsche Bank ...
» New York Attorney General Opens Investigation of Trump Projects - Google Search
12/03/19 08:37 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
12/03/19 08:37 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
» New York Attorney General Opens Investigation of Trump Projects
12/03/19 08:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story . [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox .] The New York attorney general’s office late on Monday issued subpoenas to Deutsche Bank and Investors Bank for record...
12/03/19 08:31 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story . [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox .] The New York attorney general’s office late on Monday issued subpoenas to Deutsche Bank and Investors Bank for record...
» Russia will meddle in European elections, keep prepping for war with NATO
12/03/19 07:37 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story . Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. By Courtney Kube WASHINGTON — In 2019 Russia will likely try to i...
12/03/19 07:37 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story . Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. By Courtney Kube WASHINGTON — In 2019 Russia will likely try to i...
» M.N.: If there are the concerted coordinated efforts (on what levels?) to drive the Jewish Immigration to Israel by staging the terrorist acts, by staging the antisemitic incidents, and by the practices of the "Cointelpro" type of behavioral targeting of
12/03/19 06:21 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from The Trump Investigations. concerted coordinated efforts (on what levels?) to drive the Jewish Immigration to Israel by staging the terrorist acts, by staging the antisemitic incidents, and by the p...
12/03/19 06:21 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from The Trump Investigations. concerted coordinated efforts (on what levels?) to drive the Jewish Immigration to Israel by staging the terrorist acts, by staging the antisemitic incidents, and by the p...
» concerted coordinated efforts (on what levels?) to drive the Jewish Immigration to Israel by staging the terrorist acts, by staging the antisemitic incidents, and by the practices of the ("Cointelpro" type of) behavioral targeting of some people - Google
12/03/19 05:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
12/03/19 05:55 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story .
» Mike Nova's Shared NewsLinks Review In 250 Brief Posts: M.N.: Вонючие, поганые, тупые, безмозглые, местечковые ЖИ-ДЕ-НЯ-ТА! - Behavioral and online targeting of political opponents by Israeli private spy firms
12/03/19 05:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from The Trump Investigations. Michael Novakhov - SharedNewsLinks℠ Mike Nova's Shared NewsLinks Review In 250 Brief Posts - » Re: Israeli private spy firms, described in the previous p...
12/03/19 05:41 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from The Trump Investigations. Michael Novakhov - SharedNewsLinks℠ Mike Nova's Shared NewsLinks Review In 250 Brief Posts - » Re: Israeli private spy firms, described in the previous p...
» Re: Israeli private spy firms, described in the previous posts: M.N.: Вонючие, поганые, тупые, безмозглые, местечковые ЖИ-ДЕ-НЯ-ТА! - Behavioral and online targeting of political opponents by Israeli private spy firms - Google Search
12/03/19 05:15 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from The Trump Investigations. Behavioral and online targeting of political opponents by Israeli private spy firms - Google Search Monday March 11 th , 2019 at 10:21 AM 1 Share Re: Is...
12/03/19 05:15 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from The Trump Investigations. Behavioral and online targeting of political opponents by Israeli private spy firms - Google Search Monday March 11 th , 2019 at 10:21 AM 1 Share Re: Is...
» All Saved Stories In Brief - 250 » CNN's YouTube Videos: 2020 candidate asked if Pence would be better than Trump - 12/03/19 03:53
12/03/19 05:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from The Trump Investigations. CNN's YouTube Videos: 2020 candidate asked if Pence would be better than Trump The New Abwehr hypothesis of Operation Trump Michael Novakhov - SharedNewsLinks℠ All S...
12/03/19 05:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from The Trump Investigations. CNN's YouTube Videos: 2020 candidate asked if Pence would be better than Trump The New Abwehr hypothesis of Operation Trump Michael Novakhov - SharedNewsLinks℠ All S...
» M.N.: Mr. Kushner is so devoted to the Middle East Peace process (absolutely "selflessly", as some people say) that he will continue his selfless efforts from his prison cell. Amen. | "A new book authored by investigative journalist Vicky Ward, titled “Ku
12/03/19 03:37 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from The Trump Investigations. - M.N.: Mr. Kushner is so devoted to the Middle East Peace process (absolutely "selflessly", as some people say) that he will continue his selfless efforts from his prison...
12/03/19 03:37 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story from The Trump Investigations. - M.N.: Mr. Kushner is so devoted to the Middle East Peace process (absolutely "selflessly", as some people say) that he will continue his selfless efforts from his prison...
» ‘My Dad’s Not a Racist’: Book Describes Ivanka Trump’s Defense After Charlottesville
12/03/19 03:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story . Ms. Trump and Mr. Kushner wanted to control who could travel on trips funded by the State Department, Ms. Ward wrote, citing a source at the department. Ms. Trump also often requested to travel on Air...
12/03/19 03:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinks
Michael_Novakhov shared this story . Ms. Trump and Mr. Kushner wanted to control who could travel on trips funded by the State Department, Ms. Ward wrote, citing a source at the department. Ms. Trump also often requested to travel on Air...
Read the whole story
· · · · · · ·
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 8
WASHINGTON — Three months before the 2016 election, a small group gathered at Trump Tower to meet with Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son. One was an Israeli specialist in social media manipulation. Another was an emissary for two wealthy Arab princes. The third was a Republican donor with a controversial past in the Middle East as a private security contractor.
The meeting was convened primarily to offer help to the Trump team, and it forged relationships between the men and Trump insiders that would develop over the coming months — past the election and well into President Trump’s first year in office, according to several people with knowledge of their encounters.
Erik Prince, the private security contractor and the former head of Blackwater, arranged the meeting, which took place on Aug. 3, 2016. The emissary, George Nader, told Donald Trump Jr. that the princes who led Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were eager to help his father win election as president. The social media specialist, Joel Zamel, extolled his company’s ability to give an edge to a political campaign; by that time, the firm had already drawn up a multimillion-dollar proposal for a social media manipulation effort to help elect Mr. Trump.
The company, which employed several Israeli former intelligence officers, specialized in collecting information and shaping opinion through social media.
It is unclear whether such a proposal was executed, and the details of who commissioned it remain in dispute. But Donald Trump Jr. responded approvingly, according to a person with knowledge of the meeting, and after those initial offers of help, Mr. Nader was quickly embraced as a close ally by Trump campaign advisers — meeting frequently with Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, and Michael T. Flynn, who became the president’s first national security adviser. At the time, Mr. Nader was also promoting a secret plan to use private contractors to destabilize Iran, the regional nemesis of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates.
After Mr. Trump was elected, Mr. Nader paid Mr. Zamel a large sum of money, described by one associate as up to $2 million. There are conflicting accounts of the reason for the payment, but among other things, a company linked to Mr. Zamel provided Mr. Nader with an elaborate presentation about the significance of social media campaigning to Mr. Trump’s victory.
The meetings, which have not been reported previously, are the first indication that countries other than Russia may have offered assistance to the Trump campaign in the months before the presidential election. The interactions are a focus of the investigation by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, who was originally tasked with examining possible Trump campaign coordination with Russia in the election.
Mr. Nader is cooperating with the inquiry, and investigators have questioned numerous witnesses in Washington, New York, Atlanta, Tel Aviv and elsewhere about what foreign help may have been pledged or accepted, and about whether any such assistance was coordinated with Russia, according to witnesses and others with knowledge of the interviews.
The interviews, some in recent weeks, are further evidence that special counsel’s investigation remains in an intense phase even as Mr. Trump’s lawyers are publicly calling for Mr. Mueller to bring it to a close.
It is illegal for foreign governments or individuals to be involved in American elections, and it is unclear what — if any — direct assistance Saudi Arabia and the Emirates may have provided. But two people familiar with the meetings said that Trump campaign officials did not appear bothered by the idea of cooperation with foreigners.
A lawyer for Donald Trump Jr., Alan Futerfas, said in a statement that “prior to the 2016 election, Donald Trump Jr. recalls a meeting with Erik Prince, George Nader and another individual who may be Joel Zamel. They pitched Mr. Trump Jr. on a social media platform or marketing strategy. He was not interested and that was the end of it.”
The August 2016 meeting has echoes of another Trump Tower meeting two months earlier, also under scrutiny by the special counsel, when Donald Trump Jr. and other top campaign aides met with a Russian lawyer after being promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton. No evidence has emerged suggesting that the August meeting was set up with a similar premise.
The revelations about the meetings come in the midst of new scrutiny about ties between Mr. Trump’s advisers and at least three wealthy Persian Gulf states. Besides his interest in Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, Mr. Mueller has also been asking witnesses about meetings between White House advisers and representatives of Qatar, Saudi Arabia’s bitter rival.
A lawyer for Mr. Zamel denied that his client had carried out any campaign on Mr. Trump’s behalf. “Neither Joel Zamel, nor any of his related entities, had any involvement whatsoever in the U.S. election campaign,” said the lawyer, Marc L. Mukasey.
“The D.O.J. clarified from Day 1 that Joel and his companies have never been a target of the investigation. My client provided full cooperation to the government to assist with their investigation,” he said.
Kathryn Ruemmler, a lawyer for Mr. Nader, said, “Mr. Nader has fully cooperated with the special counsel’s investigation and will continue to do so.” A senior official in Saudi Arabia said it had never employed Mr. Nader in any capacity or authorized him to speak for the crown prince.
Mr. Prince, through a spokesman, declined to comment. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Advisers to the Court
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, the de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, the king’s main adviser, had long opposed many of the Obama administration’s policies toward the Middle East. They resented President Barack Obama’s agreement with Iran over its nuclear program, his statements of support for the Arab Spring uprisings and his hands-off approach to the Syrian civil war.
News outlets linked to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates fiercely criticized Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Trump’s Democratic opponent, when she was secretary of state, and diplomats familiar with their thinking say both princes hoped for a president who would take a stronger hand in the region against both Iran and groups like the Muslim Brotherhood.
Mr. Nader had worked for years as a close adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed of Abu Dhabi, and Mr. Zamel had worked for the Emirati royal court as a consultant as well. When Mr. Trump locked up the Republican presidential nomination in early 2016, Mr. Nader began making inquiries on behalf of the Emirati prince about possible ways to directly support Mr. Trump, according to three people with whom Mr. Nader discussed his efforts.
Mr. Nader also visited Moscow at least twice during the presidential campaign as a confidential emissary from Crown Prince Mohammed of Abu Dhabi, according to people familiar with his travels. After the election, he worked with the crown prince to arrange a meeting in the Seychelles between Mr. Prince and a financier close to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.
Companies connected to Mr. Zamel also have ties to Russia. One of his firms had previously worked for oligarchs linked to Mr. Putin, including Oleg V. Deripaska and Dmitry Rybolovlev, who hired the firm for online campaigns against their business rivals.
Mr. Deripaska, an aluminum magnate, was once in business with the former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who has pleaded not guilty in the special counsel investigation to charges of financial crimes and failing to disclose the lobbying work he did on behalf of a former president of Ukraine, an ally of Mr. Putin. Mr. Rybolovlev once purchased a Florida mansion from Mr. Trump.
Mr. Nader’s visits to Russia and the work Mr. Zamel’s companies did for the Russians have both been a subject of interest to the special counsel’s investigators, according to people familiar with witness interviews.
A String of Meetings
Mr. Zamel and Mr. Nader were together at a Midtown Manhattan hotel at about 4 p.m. on the afternoon of Aug. 3 when Mr. Nader received a call from Mr. Prince summoning them to Trump Tower. When they arrived, Stephen Miller, a top campaign aide who is now a White House adviser, was in Donald Trump Jr.’s office as well, according to the people familiar with the meeting.
Mr. Prince is a longtime Republican donor and the brother of Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, and Mr. Prince and Mr. Nader had known each other since Mr. Nader had worked for Blackwater as a business agent in Iraq in the years after the American invasion. Mr. Prince has longstanding ties to the Emirates, and has frequently done business with Crown Prince Mohammed.
Mr. Prince opened the meeting by telling Donald Trump Jr. that “we are working hard for your father,” in reference to his family and other donors, according to a person familiar with the meeting. He then introduced Mr. Nader as an old friend with deep ties to Arab leaders.
Mr. Nader repeatedly referred to the Saudi and Emirati princes as “my friends,” according to one person with knowledge of the conversation. To underscore the point, he would open his mobile phone to show off pictures of him posing with them, some of which The New York Times obtained.
Mr. Nader explained to Donald Trump Jr. that the two princes saw the elder Mr. Trump as a strong leader who would fill the power vacuum that they believed Mr. Obama had left in the Middle East, and Mr. Nader went on to say that he and his friends would be glad to support Mr. Trump as much as they could, according to the person with knowledge of the conversation.
Mr. Zamel, for his part, laid out the capabilities of his online media company, although it is unclear whether he referred to the proposals his company had already prepared. One person familiar with the meeting said that Mr. Nader invited Donald Trump Jr. to meet with a Saudi prince — an invitation the younger Mr. Trump declined. After about half an hour, everyone exchanged business cards.
“There was a brief meeting, nothing concrete was offered or pitched to anyone and nothing came of it,” said Mr. Mukasey, the lawyer for Mr. Zamel.
By then, a company connected to Mr. Zamel had been working on a proposal for a covert multimillion-dollar online manipulation campaign to help elect Mr. Trump, according to three people involved and a fourth briefed on the effort. The plan involved using thousands of fake social media accounts to promote Mr. Trump’s candidacy on platforms like Facebook.
There were concerns inside the company, Psy-Group, about the plan’s legality, according to one person familiar with the effort. The company, whose motto is “shape reality,” consulted an American law firm, and was told that it would be illegal if any non-Americans were involved in the effort.
Mr. Zamel, the founder of Psy-Group and one of its owners, has been questioned about the August 2016 meeting by investigators for the special counsel, and at least two F.B.I. agents working on the inquiry have traveled to Israel to interview employees of the company who worked on the proposal. According to one person, the special counsel’s team has worked with the Israeli police to seize the computers of one of Mr. Zamel’s companies, which is currently in liquidation.
In the hectic final weeks of the campaign and during the presidential transition, several of Mr. Trump’s advisers drew Mr. Nader close. He met often with Mr. Kushner, Mr. Flynn and Stephen K. Bannon, who took over as campaign chairman after Mr. Manafort resigned amid revelations about his work in Ukraine.
In December 2016, Mr. Nader turned again to an internet company linked to Mr. Zamel — WhiteKnight, based in the Philippines — to purchase a presentation demonstrating the impact of social media campaigns on Mr. Trump’s electoral victory. Asked about the purchase, a representative of WhiteKnight said: “WhiteKnight delivers premium research and high-end business development services for prestigious clients around the world. WhiteKnight does not talk about any of its clients.”
After the inauguration, both Mr. Zamel and Mr. Nader visited the White House, meeting with Mr. Kushner and Mr. Bannon.
At that time, Mr. Nader was promoting a plan to use private contractors to carry out economic sabotage against Iran that, he hoped, might coerce it to permanently abandon its nuclear program. The plan included efforts to deter Western companies from investing in Iran, and operations to sow mistrust among Iranian officials. He advocated the project, which he estimated would cost about $300 million, to American, Emirati and Saudi officials.
Last spring, Mr. Nader traveled to Riyadh for meetings with senior Saudi military and intelligence officials to pitch his Iran sabotage plan. He was convinced, according to several people familiar with his plan, that economic warfare was the key to the overthrow of the government in Tehran. One person briefed on Mr. Nader’s activities said he tried to persuade Mr. Kushner to endorse the plan to Crown Prince Mohammed in person on a trip to Riyadh, although it was unclear whether the message was delivered.
Asked about Mr. Nader’s plans to attack Iran, the senior Saudi official said Mr. Nader had a habit of pitching proposals that went nowhere.
Mr. Nader was also in discussions with Mr. Prince, the former head of Blackwater, about a plan to get the Saudis to pay $2 billion to set up a private army to combat Iranian proxy forces in Yemen.
Since entering the White House, Mr. Trump has allied himself closely with Saudi Arabia and the Emirates. His first overseas trip was to Riyadh. He strongly backed Saudi and Emirati efforts to isolate their neighbor Qatar, another American ally, even over apparent disagreement from the State and Defense Departments.
This month, Mr. Trump also withdrew from an Obama administration nuclear deal with Iran that both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had campaigned against for years, delivering them their biggest victory yet from his administration.
Read the whole story
· · · · · · · · ·
Erik Prince 'certainly not telling the truth': Adam Schiff
<a href="http://Aljazeera.com" rel="nofollow">Aljazeera.com</a>-21 hours ago
... to the president and Joel Zamel, whose company Psy-Group employed former Israeli intelligence operatives and specialised in social media manipulation and ...
A Real Journalist Nailed Erik Prince For Being A LIARF*CKINGLIAR ...
Wonkette (blog)-21 hours ago
... and who has been cooperating with the Mueller investigation for a long ass time; and Joel Zamel, the Australian-Israeli guy who used to run a private intel firm ...
Erik Prince: I Attended Trump Tower Meeting
ClickLancashire-Mar 11, 2019
The meeting involved Trump campaign members Donald Trump Jr. and adviser Stephen Miller, as well as Joel Zamel, an Israeli social media expert who ...
Adam Schiff: Erik Prince did not disclose 2016 Trump Tower meeting ...
Axios-Mar 10, 2019
... UAE emissary George Nader and Israeli social media manipulation specialist Joel Zamel. When pressed by Hasan about why it did not appear in the interview ...
Read the whole story
· ·
The Trump Dossier and the Poisoning of Sergei Skripal American Thinker More than a year ago, in the small British town of Salisbury, agents of the GRU (military intelligence of Russia) poisoned a former Russian double agent and … “2016 Presidential Election Investigation” – Google News
Deutsche Bank Dwarfed by Local Lenders Making Billions
Bloomberg-9 minutes ago
Germany's regional lenders are eclipsing their listed rivals Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG with billions of euros in profits.
Regulators fear Deutsche Bank could bungle Commerzbank merger
Highly Cited-Financial Times-7 hours ago
Highly Cited-Financial Times-7 hours ago
Deutsche Bank begins talks over merger with rival Commerzbank
The Guardian-Mar 10, 2019
Deutsche Bank has begun tentative merger talks with rival Commerzbank, which would create Europe's second biggest bank behind HSBC ...
Deutsche Bank Shares Jump on Commerzbank Merger Talk
<a href="http://TheStreet.com" rel="nofollow">TheStreet.com</a>-21 hours ago
<a href="http://TheStreet.com" rel="nofollow">TheStreet.com</a>-21 hours ago
NY attorney general subpoenas Deutsche Bank, Investors Bank for ...
Washington Examiner-8 hours ago
The inquiry, which is a civil investigation, seeks records from Deutsche Bank regarding loan applications, mortgages, lines of credit, and other ...
New York Attorney General Opens Investigation of Trump Projects
Highly Cited-New York Times-10 hours ago
Highly Cited-New York Times-10 hours ago
New York Attorney General opens civil investigation into Trump ...
International-Fox News-3 hours ago
International-Fox News-3 hours ago
Deutsche Bank, Investors Bank subpoenaed for Trump Organization ...
Highly Cited-ABC News-7 hours ago
Highly Cited-ABC News-7 hours ago
Deutsche Bank: Europe is the biggest risk to the global economy right ...
Yahoo Sports-47 minutes ago
Forget the ongoing trade war and China's slowing growth — Deutsche Bank thinks “the biggest risk to the global economy comes from Europe.”.
Levi Strauss to offer 36.7 million shares in IPO; Deutsche Bank and ...
Washington Post-15 hours ago
Levi Strauss hopes to sell $587 million worth of shares in an upcoming return to the stock market after three decades, which would value the ...
Deutsche Bank: UK's voting on Withdrawal Agreement in the limelight
FXStreet-19 minutes ago
According to Deutsche Bank analysts, the main event for markets today will be the UK's vote on Withdrawal Agreement & its new accompanying ...
Deutsche Bank-Commerzbank Edge Closer to Merger of Shrinking ...
Bloomberg-Mar 11, 2019
Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG are reportedly intensifying formal talks on a potential merger as both banks struggle with turnaround ...
Deutsche Bank's endgame nears as Commerzbank talks intensify
American Banker-Mar 8, 2019
A merger of Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG is shaping up as the most likely endgame as Germany's largest listed lenders are ...
Read the whole story
· · · ·
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 9
The New York attorney general’s office late on Monday issued subpoenas to Deutsche Bank and Investors Bank for records relating to the financing of four major Trump Organization projects and a failed effort to buy the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League in 2014, according to a person briefed on the subpoenas.
The inquiry opens a new front in the scrutiny of Deutsche Bank, one of the few lenders willing to do business with Donald J. Trump in recent years. The bank is already the subject of two congressional investigations and was examined last year by New York banking regulators, who took no action.
The new inquiry, by the office of the attorney general, Letitia James, was prompted by the congressional testimony last month of Michael D. Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, the person briefed on the subpoenas said. Mr. Cohen testified under oath that Mr. Trump had inflated his assets in financial statements, and Mr. Cohen provided copies of statements he said had been submitted to Deutsche Bank.
The inquiry by Ms. James’s office is a civil investigation, not a criminal one, although its focus and scope were unclear. The attorney general has broad authority under state law to investigate fraud and can fine — or in extreme cases, go to court to try to dissolve — a business that is found to have engaged in repeated illegality.
The request to Deutsche Bank sought loan applications, mortgages, lines of credit and other financing transactions in connection with the Trump International Hotel in Washington; the Trump National Doral outside Miami; and the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago, the person said.
Investigators also requested records connected to an unsuccessful effort to buy the Bills, the person said. Mr. Trump gave Deutsche Bank bare-bones personal financial statements in 2014 when he planned to make a bid for the team, The New York Times has reported. The deal fell through when the team was sold to a rival bidder for $1.4 billion.
Mr. Trump worked with a small United States-based unit of Deutsche Bank that serves ultra-wealthy people. The unit lent Mr. Trump more than $100 million in 2012 to pay for the Doral golf resort and $170 million in 2015 to transform the Old Post Office Building in Washington into a luxury hotel.
New Jersey-based Investors Bank was subpoenaed for records relating to Trump Park Avenue, a project it had backed.
Deutsche Bank and Investors Bank declined to comment. The Trump Organization did not respond to requests for comment.
The subpoenas are a culmination of months of threats from Ms. James that she would aggressively investigate Mr. Trump. In August, referring to the investigation by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, into Russian interference in the 2016 election, she said “the president of the United States has to worry about three things: Mueller, Cohen, and Tish James.”
In her victory speech on the night she was elected in November, she said, “I will be shining a bright light into every dark corner of his real estate dealings, and every dealing, demanding truthfulness at every turn.” The next month, before taking office, she told NBC that “we will use every area of the law to investigate President Trump and his business transactions and that of his family.”
Mr. Trump has a rich recent history of grievances against the New York attorney general’s office. Before former Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman resigned amid allegations of assault and abuse against women, he pursued cases against the Trump Foundation and Trump University. Mr. Trump has referred to him as “sleazebag AG Eric Schneiderman” and “Shady Eric.” He also assailed Mr. Schneiderman’s temporary successor, Barbara D. Underwood, and has referred to Ms. James as “yet another AG” who “openly campaigned on a GET TRUMP agenda.”
“Will never be treated fairly by these people — a total double standard of ‘justice,’” he added on Twitter.
In Congress, the House Intelligence Committee has been exploring real estate transactions related to Russia and other foreign interests, including Deutsche Bank loans to the Trump Organization.
Read the whole story
· · ·
Breaking News Emails
Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
By Courtney Kube
WASHINGTON — In 2019 Russia will likely try to influence the European Parliament elections, continue intelligence and influence operations against the West, and keep preparing for armed conflict with NATO, according to the latest annual threat assessment produced by the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service.
NBC News obtained an exclusive preview of the 70-page report, which provides a window into the activity and goals of the Russian intelligence services from next door in Estonia.
Russia will target the May 2019 European Parliamentary elections, the report says, with a likely focus on the larger member states — Germany, France, and Italy — where it can hope to have the most influence on the composition of the EU Parliament, whose members are elected for five-year terms.
"Russia is very likely to try to intervene in the European Parliament elections to secure as many seats as possible for pro-Russian or eurosceptical political forces," writes the report's author Mikk Marran, director general of the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service.
The report says Russian intelligence services will continue the extensive cyber espionage campaign against the West that they have pursued for years, with the military intelligence service, called the GRU, and Russia's spy agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB) directing most operations.
Cyber espionage groups APT28 and Sandworm are the most active of the Russian-backed groups, usually exploiting simple online tools and tactics, like phishing campaigns and "most likely to blur the line between clearly state-sponsored attacks and the activities of online activists and profiteering cyber criminals," the report says.
SNAKE APT, a group tied to the FSB, operates more covertly, according to the report. "Most cyber and information operations originating from Russia are led by the special services, particularly the FSB and GRU," who often enlist cyber criminals to do the work for them.
According to the report, Russian intelligence and special services use human, cyber, and signals intelligence — electronic and radio signals — to gather information, including tapping into civilian communication services inside and outside the country.
"All Russian communications service providers are required to give the FSB access their networks and information," says the report. Russian authorities force service providers operating in Russia to disclose their decryption keys, while the FSB works to decrypt communications from foreign service providers.
The report also tracks Russia's military activities. Last year, says the report, the Russian military expanded its military build-up along the western border, placing seven new maneuver regiments less than 50 km from the border.
Most units are based near Ukraine and Belarus, but one division, the Pskov Air Assault Division, near the Estonian border "became the first division of Russian Airborne Troops to be reinforced with a third regiment."
"Russian armed forces are preparing for a possible war along a wide front," the report says.
Analyzing Russia's most recent exercises, the report finds that "Russian armed forces are consistently practicing for an extensive military conflict with NATO." Leadership in Russia fears the spread of democracy and Russian armed forces leaders believe a military conflict with NATO will be sparked by a "colored revolution" in one of Russia's neighboring countries, in other words Western intelligence services encouraging democratic uprisings.
If crisis breaks out, Russia is most likely to attack the Baltic states first, but a conflict between Russia and NATO would involve attacks on Western Europe, says the report.
Vladimir Putin continues to focus attention on Belarus and moving both the leadership and population closer to Russia and away from any western influences, according to the report. "If anything unexpected should happen to President Alyaksandr Lukashenka personally or to his regime, there will be a great risk of swift military action by Russia to prevent Belarus from becoming a pro-Western democracy," the report finds.
A new trend identified by the report is the Russian state enlisting civilian ships and vessels to carry out activities on behalf of the government. The report identities "provocative behavior" of Russian civilian ships, including entering territorial waters without permission and carrying out research on a nation's submarine communication's networks. Shipowners and crews must at all times be ready to perform national assignments, regardless of geographical location, the report warns.
"The Russian civilian fleet and its activities are a potential security threat," it says. "More attention should be paid to Russian civilian vessels sailing under the Russian flag."
Courtney Kube is a national security and military reporter for NBC News.
Read the whole story
· · ·
- Google Search
Many people involved in the Russia scandal thought Trump might ...
Washington Post-Mar 7, 2019
Though he has used it only a few times so far, President Trump is clearly enamored of his power to pardon those who have committed federal ...
Mueller's Case for Collusion: A Preview
New York Magazine-Mar 7, 2019
The Russia scandal seems to hint at a reality of fiction or paranoia, ... While Russia was exerting itself on Trump's behalf through emails hacks ...
Wanted in Russia, he partied at Mar-a-Lago – and invested in cheap ...
Miami Herald-3 hours ago
Last year, President Donald Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club hosted a ... behind the so-called “Magnitsky affair,” a Russian corruption scandal that ... And a suspected Russian assassin was even dispatched to stake out a CIA ...
Говорит Москва: Democrats put focus on Russia, Trump
WFTV Orlando-11 hours ago
Говорит Москва: Democrats put focus on Russia, Trump .... Monica Lewinsky scandal, when independent counsel Ken Starr was able to send ...
Read the whole story
· ·
Next Page of Stories
Loading...
Page 6
Read the whole story
· · · · · · ·
Comments
Post a Comment