Natasha Bertrand Twitter thread on some details from the intelligence report

[octoberlib]

Last edited Tue Aug 18, 2020, 02:04 PM - Edit history (1)

Link to tweet

JUST OUT: Volume 5 of the Senate Intelligence Committee's Russia report, focused on counterintelligence threats and vulnerabilities. It's 966 pages long. https://intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/report_volume5.pdf

Here's a summary of a document that Michael Flynn sent to KT McFarland in January 2017 that "originated with a close associate of a Kremlin insider," per the committee, and that the WH counsel's office wanted to withhold, citing executive privilege.

"As this experience illustrated, White House intervention significantly hampered and prolonged the Committee's investigative effort," report says. "Most importantly, some witnesses were directed by the White House not to tum over potentially privileged information..."

Wow--SSCI goes further than Mueller did in describing Konstantin Kilimnik's relationship with Russian intelligence. "Kilimnik is a Russian intelligence officer," the report says. kilimnik was Manafort's longtime business associate. (pg 28)

Police cars revolving light "Some evidence suggests Kilimnik may be connected to the GRU hack-and-leak operation related to the 2016 U.S. election. This assessment is based on a body of fragmentary information." (pg. 85)

...“Two pieces of information, however, raise the possibility of Manafort’s potential connection to the hack-and-leak operations." Rest is redacted. (Pg 89)

The report says Kilimnik, who SSCI identified as a Russian intelligence officer, "almost certainly helped arrange some of the first public messaging that Ukraine had interfered in the U.S. election." (pg. 108)

The report confirms my reporting from December that the panel found scant if any evidence of Ukrainian interference. "The Committee identified no reliable evidence that the Ukrainian government interfered in the 2016 election," it says (pg 108)

"In August 2016, following the Campaign's tasking, Stone obtained information indicating that John Podesta would be a target of an upcoming release, prior to WikiLeaks
releasing Podesta's emails on October 7. Stone then communicated this information to Trump..." (173)

WikiLeaks/Assange has long maintained Russia was not the source of the hacked Democratic materials. But the committee says it "found significant evidence to suggest that, in the summer of 2016, WikiLeaks
was knowingly collaborating with Russian government officials.” (208)

Umm...why was Roger Stone drafting pro-Russia tweets for Trump in July 2016, as he was teasing more WikiLeaks dumps?
"Many of the draft tweets ... mentioned a new
peace deal with Putin, such as "I want a new detente with Russia under Putin."

Some details about the day of the Access Hollywood tape/Podesta emails release: Trump campaign team heard about the tape an hour before its release. Stone told Corsi to get Assange to "drop the Podesta emails immediately." WikiLeaks did so 30 min after tape published. (249)

Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, of Trump Tower meeting fame, "has significant and concerning connections to Russian government and·intel officials, and has not been forthcoming about those relationships," the report alleges. Next 4 pages are redacted. (337)

Michael Cohen
said that after he was indicted in SDNY, "he discussed a potential pardon for himself with Jay Sekulow ‘more than half a dozen times.’ Cohen further stated that he understood the pardon discussions had come from Trump through Sekulow.” (463)

A memo written to Steve Bannon in December 2016 by Bob Foresman, a banker w/deep ties to Russia who is discussed in the Mueller report, "offered advice for structuring the National Security Council so that Russia was a main focus of the council." (741)


Per the report, after submitting that memo, Foresman met with Flynn. Foresman then met w/Russian banker Sergey Gorkov, who relayed Trump team's message to Putin about a desire for better relations. Recall Gorkov held a secret meeting w/Kushner in Dec 2016.

[SWBTATTReg]

1. Is the republican controlled senate subcommittee anti trump? Seems like they are dropping these

'bombs' right and left on trump and his campaign, perhaps I'm reading things wrong?

[brush]

3. Rats are leaving that sinking ship to save their own hides.

[SWBTATTReg]

4. Sure seems that way. Perhaps they see the 'light' and the upcoming changing of the 'guard'

coming in Nov. 2020, and thus, in order to protect their own a&&es, they are letting go of all prior unreleased (and harmful information on trump) to the public.

Ironic, especially when this should have been in the public's hands way before now.

[Lonestarblue]

9. Two of the Republicans on the Committee are up for reelection.

Susan Collins and John Cornyn. Perhaps releasing this report now gives them some cover from being too aligned with Trump, although Trump voters don’t care about Russia. Some of them might care about health insurance, and Collins and Cornyn both voted to get rid of the ACA.

I truly hope that a Biden DOJ completes the investigation of what Russia and the Trump campaign did during 2016. Mueller did not go far enough. Such an investigation might not result in indictments because Pence will move into the presidency for a few day just to pardon Trump if he loses, but we need to know what happened to prevent it from happening again. I can see a scenario of Trump Jr. running for president in 2024, and since Putin is now essentially president for life, if nothing is done we will have a repeat of a stolen election in 2024. Trump himself could possibly run again in 2024, but I think his slide into dementia will be noticeable by then. And who knows what New York State has in store for him.

[malaise]

2. Get thee to the greatest page

RFN!

[Botany]

5. Funny on how Trump has been talking about pardoning Assange of late.

"WikiLeaks/Assange has long maintained Russia was not the source of the hacked Democratic materials. But the committee says it "found significant evidence to suggest that, in the summer of 2016, WikiLeaks
was knowingly collaborating with Russian government officials.”"

[Buckeyeblue]

6. It seems obvious that the have concerns about the Trump/Russia relationship

No one with any sense trusts Putin. He has a long game that weakens the west to strengthen Russia. It's interesting how once upon a time Putin was a communist. And now he is a fascist. But an extremist either way. He either has something on Trump or somehow Trump is enamored with him. I think he must have something on him. Or maybe he made Trump a deal he could not refuse. In any case Trump is willing to put America on the line to advance his Putin goals.

But these same Republicans had a chance to end Trump's presidency. Surely some--if not all of this--was known during the impeachment trial. But they choose to do nothing.

[Wellstone ruled]

7. Sure appears to be a

attempt to garner a Get out of Jail Free Card by these Rethug Senators. Cohen will blow the lid off their Hiddy Hole attempts.

All about protecting the Party from the Justice that is to come.

[LittleGirl]

8. Surely this is continuing

Now that Manafort is out of prison, right? I mean, he has internet at home so he can FaceTime with Russia/Putin goons all day.

[Grins]

10. And on that Senate Intelligence Committee...

Were 14 Senators.
The majority - EIGHT of them - were REPUBLICANS.

And EVERYONE of those Republican Senators
Burr
Rubio
Collins
Cotton
Risch
Cornyn
Sasse
Blunt

- who HAD this information - voted “No!” on Trump’s impeachment. Proudly!

[Botany]

11. And the Moscow 8 who went to Russia for July 4, 2018

So, what do we call these Red Square Republicans? My interlocutors on Twitter suggest “Moscow Mules.” Or, given the position they put themselves in before our masters in Moscow, perhaps they should be called the Prostrate Eight: Sens. Richard C. Shelby (Ala.), Steve Daines (Mont.), John Hoeven (N.D.), John Neely Kennedy (La.), Jerry Moran (Kan.), John Thune (S.D.) and Johnson, Ron Johnson (WI) plus Rep. Kay Granger (Tex.).

You can also add in Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Tim McCarthy, Jeff Sessions, and Mike Pence who had knowledge of
Russian interference in the 2016 election and all those Republican Senators who got Russian/NRA money in 2016 too.

[sarcasmo]

12. Traitors passing intelligence.