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MIB

Flashback Michael Flynn cleared by FBI in probe linking him to Russia

Joe Tacopino
New York Post
Tue, 24 Jan 2017 09:24 UTC
Michael Flynn
© Getty ImagesMichael Flynn
The FBI has reviewed intercepted phone calls between national security adviser Michael Flynn and the Russian ambassador to the US and has found no evidence of wrongdoing, it was revealed Monday.

The calls were made in late December and picked up as part of routine electronic surveillance of Russian officials. They did not reveal any illicit ties between Flynn and Russia, according to the Washington Post.

Comment: While the FBI didn't find anything illicit linking Flynn to Russia, they still went ahead and charged him with making false claims, although it is unclear as to why. It may be possible it was an internal issue where they were simply out for revenge for outing one of their own, and/or payback by the Democrats for going against Hillary. In any case, they were out to get him, and the hysteria surrounding Russia seemed like a good opportunity for them.

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USA

Senate Democrats who refused to say if Conyers or Franken should resign over sexual misconduct allegations

Matt Vespa
Townhall
Tue, 28 Nov 2017 14:35 UTC
John Conyers
Well, if you want to know who is circling the wagons for Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), here's a very preliminary list. The Dallas Morning News' Jay Caruso, formerly of RedState, made a compilation video of the various House and Senate Democratic members who refused to say whether Conyers or Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) should resign. Every single member listed below said either it was up to the people of Minnesota, or more commonly, it was up to the ethics investigation to see how this plays out. Well, as we've mentioned before, it's so nice to see Democrats embrace the concept of due process on these matters, though it's explicitly clear this is due to the political climate, not because they actually believe it.

Mr. Conyers settled a sexual harassment claim in 2015 to the tune of almost $30,000 in taxpayer money. Two women, Melanie Sloan and Deanna Maher, have come forward with their accusations. Sloan states that she was not sexually harassed by Conyers, but was often berated and abused by the congressman while on staff. In one instance, she was summoned to Conyers' office to find him in his underwear. In another incident, Conyers verbally abused her for not wearing stockings; he pulled her from a meeting with domestic abuse advocates. Maher's allegations are of a sexual nature (via Detroit Free Press):
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Bullseye

Using criminal law to settle political scores: The scalp-taking of Lt.-Gen. Flynn

Robert Parry
Consortium News
Fri, 01 Dec 2017 13:18 UTC
Michael Flynn
Russia-gate enthusiasts are thrilled over the guilty plea of President Trump's former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn for lying to the FBI about pre-inauguration conversations with the Russian ambassador, but the case should alarm true civil libertarians.

What is arguably most disturbing about this case is that then-National Security Adviser Flynn was pushed into a perjury trap by Obama administration holdovers at the Justice Department who concocted an unorthodox legal rationale for subjecting Flynn to an FBI interrogation four days after he took office, testing Flynn's recollection of the conversations while the FBI agents had transcripts of the calls intercepted by the National Security Agency.

In other words, the Justice Department wasn't seeking information about what Flynn said to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak - the intelligence agencies already had that information. Instead, Flynn was being quizzed on his precise recollection of the conversations and nailed for lying when his recollections deviated from the transcripts.
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Bullseye

Nigerian politician on spot: Murder of Gaddafi "greatest calamity to befall Africa"

Adam Garrie
The Duran
Fri, 01 Dec 2017 12:50 UTC
gaddafi
© Desconocido
Christian politician Femi Fani-Kayode has decried the enslavement of fellow Africans in the Libyan failed state.

Veteran Nigerian politician Femi Fani-Kayode has expressed his horror and disgust at the human slave trade which has sprung up in the Libyan failed state in the aftermath of NATO's destructive bombing campaign which resulted in the torture and murder of Libyan revolutionary leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Fani-Kayode has stated,
"The greatest calamity that befell Africa in the last 20 years was the murder of Muammar Ghadaffi in Libya".
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Gold Coins

America's special relationship: Why there's no 'Saudi-gate'

Branko Marcetic
Jacobin
Thu, 30 Nov 2017 12:00 UTC
Donald and Melania Trump arrive at the Murabba Palace, escorted by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, on May 20, 2017
© Shealah Craighead / White HouseDonald and Melania Trump arrive at the Murabba Palace, escorted by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, on May 20, 2017, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
For decades, the DC establishment has been on the payroll of a foreign terror state. But because it's Saudi Arabia, you won't hear a peep.

Imagine if Russia - instead of doing what it has been accused of doing last year - had funded and facilitated an attack on US soil that killed thousands of Americans. Then imagine that US policymakers, rather than punish the Kremlin by cutting diplomatic ties, imposing sanctions, seeking legal recourse, or all of the above, covered up its involvement in the attack and continued to treat it as a loyal ally.

Imagine if the president who presided over that attack had decades of intimate personal and financial ties to members of the Russian elite and subsequently spirited dozens of Russian nationals out of the country before law enforcement could interrogate them.
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TV

Oops! ABC corrects "bombshell" Trump-Flynn report


Axios
Sat, 02 Dec 2017 02:16 UTC
Brian Ross ABC
© Rainmaker Photo/MediaPunch/IPXBrian Ross, journalist and ABC News Chief Investigative Correspondent, who wrote the ABC article.
Michael Flynn is prepared to testify that Donald Trump directed him to contact the Russians as president-elect, not as a candidate, ABC News reports, correcting their earlier report.

Why it matters: ABC called it a clarification, downplaying an epic mistake that sent markets tumbling and Twitter on fire with thousands of shares. Axios and others highlighted the ABC report in stories that were viewed by millions. (We regret highlighting a story that had one source making an astonishing allegation.)

Comment: Here's the statement from ABC:


Not really a surprise, considering ABC is a shady proliferer of Fake News. See: And the damage already has been done. From ZeroHedge:
The original tweet published by ABC News containing Ross' initial report had been retweeted more than 25,000 times and embedded in various news stories online before it was deleted.

But the clarification - issued at 7:53pmET - has just 2600 RTs...

[...]

Is it any wonder trust in the mainstream media is at rock bottom?

How long before Dianne Feinstein retracts her angry statement aimed at President Trump "negotiating with Russia against US interests"?

We look forward to President Trump's tirade over this.


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Magnify

Friends in high places? Appeals court rules against releasing draft Whitewater indictments against Clinton

Lydia Wheeler
The Hill
Fri, 01 Dec 2017 00:01 UTC
Hillary Clinton
© Getty Images
The nation's second-most powerful court sided with the government Friday in its decision not to release draft indictments prepared against Hillary Clinton during the Whitewater scandal of the mid-1990s.

A unanimous three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the conservative group Judicial Watch failed to show "exception interests" that would warrant disclosure of the documents.

The watchdog group filed a Freedom of Information Act Request with the National Archives and Records Administration in 2015 for two draft indictments that reportedly arose from the Office of Independent Counsel investigation into the Clinton's real estate investments in Arkansas and contributions made to the real estate entity Whitewater Development Corporation.

Comment: So Teflon Clinton dodges another bullet. Guess it's important to avoid "having the public reminded of her... transgressions" given she finds any hint of an investigation "personally offensive". See also:

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Light Sabers

Ukraine: Russia's representative to OSCE says Kiev sabotages Minsk agreements


Donbass News Agency
Fri, 01 Dec 2017 12:30 UTC
Ukraine
© Sputnik. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service
Officials of Ukraine are increasingly talking about the inconsistency of the Minsk agreements, but Kiev's desire to violate these agreements can not be indulged, the permanent representative of Russia to the OSCE, Alexander Lukashevich, stated.
"We can not let ourselves become accustomed to the fact that Kiev is sabotaging the implementation of the Minsk Package of Measures on the ground and is trying to distort its essence. Another thing is worse. Now it is that the Ukrainian officials make more statements saying that Minsk agreements have been buried, that they do not meet the interests of the Kiev authorities," the Russian diplomat said during a regular meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council on Thursday.
He explained that, in particular, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov had made such a statement during the National Expert Forum in Kiev, and it was also duplicated in an article by the edition of the Figaro.
"This is a rather serious issue: if he, as a person involved in compliance with the agreements, has not been authorized to make such statements, we should expect disavowal by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry," Lukashevich said.

Comment: More on Kiev backing out of the Minsk Accords:

The Minsk Accord's zombie sanctions: Ukraine admits agreement is dead, but sanctions tied to them live on

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No Entry

Hungarian PM Orban vows to stop Soros from interfering with elections


RT
Sat, 02 Dec 2017 02:35 UTC
Orban Soros
© Reuters / Global Look PressHungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (L), George Soros, Chairman of Soros Fund Management LLC (R).
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has vowed to use all the means at his disposal to counter the influence of George Soros, warning that the American billionaire is planning to interfere in next year's elections in the country.

In an interview with Kossuth radio on Friday, Orban again accused Soros of attempting to undermine Hungarian institutions and society through his network of NGOs and pro-immigration stance, and revealed that the Hungarian intelligence services had compiled a report on Soros' activities.


Comment: Not just Hungarian institutions but all throughout the EU. PM Orban would be wise to keep his eye on him. See also:


"We want a different future, and... it was my duty to enlist all possible tools of the state, including intelligence, the secret services, legal and public debate," Orban told listeners. "Therefore, we ordered an intelligence report on the composition, workings and Hungarian and European influence of this Soros machinery... Hungary's very existence is at stake."

Orban and Soros have long been at odds over the issue of asylum seekers and refugees entering Europe. Orban considers mass immigration, particularly from Muslim countries, as an existential threat to Europe. Soros, meanwhile, has consistently advocated on behalf of refugees, immigrants and asylum seekers. Citing his intelligence report, Orban accused Soros of using his NGOs as a front for supporting opposition groups, which in turn criticize the government's stance on immigration.

Orban, whose ruling right-wing Fidesz party is currently leading in the polls, then went on to say that Soros is planning to use his network to interfere in parliamentary elections due to take place in April.

Comment: See also:

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Dollar Gold

Another one bites the dust: Navy censures retired admiral for taking gifts from 'Fat Leonard'

Craig Whitlock
The Washington Post
Wed, 29 Nov 2017 00:01 UTC
Capt. Kenneth Norton
© SHAWN J. STEWART/U.S. NAVYThen Capt. Kenneth Norton, left, is the fourth admiral in the "Fat Leonard" corruption case to receive a letter of censure, or a formal rebuke from the U.S. Navy. Norton retired as a rear admiral in 2014.
The Navy announced Wednesday that it has censured a retired admiral for personal misbehavior and accepting illicit gifts in the "Fat Leonard" corruption case.

Kenneth Norton, who retired in December 2014, is the fourth admiral in the case to receive a letter of censure, or a formal rebuke. In a statement, the Navy said a review determined that Norton had "demonstrated exceedingly poor judgment and leadership" and had "brought ill-repute and disgrace upon the U.S. Navy."

The Navy said Norton improperly accepted gifts from Glenn Defense Marine Asia, a Singapore-based contracting firm headed by Leonard Glenn Francis, known within maritime circles as "Fat Leonard" because of his 6-foot 3-inch, 350-pound frame. Francis has pleaded guilty in a long-running corruption investigation to bribing scores of Navy personnel and overcharging the Navy by more than $35 million to resupply U.S. vessels in Asia.

Comment: See also:

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