RandySF
RandySF's JournalFBI Obtained Wiretaps of Russian Who Met with Trump Jr.
“The FBI has obtained secret wiretaps collected by Spanish police of conversations involving Alexander Torshin, a deputy governor of Russia’s Central Bank who has forged close ties with U.S. lawmakers and the National Rifle Association, that led to a meeting with Donald Trump Jr. during the gun lobby’s annual convention in Louisville, Ky., in May 2016,” Yahoo News reports.
“José Grinda, who has spearheaded investigations into Spanish organized crime, said that bureau officials in recent months requested and were provided transcripts of wiretapped conversations between Torshin and Alexander Romanov, a convicted Russian money launderer.”
Said Grinda: “Just a few months ago, the wiretaps of these telephone conversations were given to the FBI. Mr. Trump’s son should be concerned.”
https://politicalwire.com/2018/05/25/fbi-obtained-wiretaps-of-putin-ally-who-met-with-trump-jr/
What Went Down In Tuesday's Southern Primaries
McGrath still faces an uphill climb against incumbent Republican Rep. Andy Barr. According to FiveThirtyEight’s partisan lean metric,2 the 6th District is 17 percentage points more Republican-leaning than the nation as a whole. Yet immediately after McGrath was declared the winner, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released an internal poll showing her defeating Barr by 15 points. We’ve warned you about the inaccuracy of internal polls before, and this one seems way too good to be true for Democrats. But it’s still notable that the party is acting so confident in such a red district.
Finally, deep in the heart of Texas, perhaps Tuesday’s most anticipated race ended up fizzling out: Establishment pick Lizzie Pannill Fletcher trounced #Resistance activist Laura Moser 67 percent to 33 percent for the Democratic nomination in the 7th Congressional District. Although everyone in the other 49 states saw this race as a referendum on the DCCC after it released an opposition-research dump on Moser in February, both campaigns had seemed to put the kerfuffle behind them. (The runoff was even described as “boring,” and a debate moderator expressed annoyance at the lack of differences between the two.) That may have allowed anger over the DCCC’s attack to subside — or maybe, despite conventional wisdom that the attack backfired and propelled Moser into the runoff, it never actually mattered to voters in the first place. Local Texas reporters suggested that most of the outrage over the incident came from outside the district.
Regardless of how it happened, Democrats got the stronger candidate they needed to maximize their general-election chances in this R+7 district, and the local party, at least, appears unified and unaggrieved; Moser endorsed Fletcher almost immediately after conceding.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/georgia-texas-kentucky-southern-primaries/
The Drive to Elect Women Is Defining 2018's Democratic Primaries
Most analysis has framed this year's multitude of Democratic primaries as struggles for the soul of the party between moderate, "handpicked DC" candidates and left-wing "insurgents" in the Bernie Sanders mold. On May 15, former Democratic Rep. Brad Ashford (NE-02) was upset by pro-single-payer non-profit executive Kara Eastman. This week, DCCC-hyped Lexington Mayor Jim Gray lost the KY-06 primary to former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath.
But there may be something much simpler and more powerful than ideology at work here: Democratic primary voters' intense desire to nominate women in 2018.
If House Democrats are ultimately successful in November, 2018 might be remembered as the "Year of the Angry College-Educated Female" — a reversal of the 1994 GOP revolution's "Year of the Angry White Male." The April NBC/WSJ poll found that just 27 percent of college-educated women approved of President Trump, while a massive 72 percent disapproved (compared to 48 approval/47 disapproval among non-college men).
http://cookpolitical.com/analysis/house/house-overview/drive-elect-women-defining-2018s-democratic-primaries
At Trump Tower, Michael Cohen and Oligarch Discussed Russian Relations
Eleven days before the presidential inauguration last year, a billionaire Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin visited Trump Tower in Manhattan to meet with Donald J. Trump’s personal lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen, according to video footage and another person who attended the meeting.
In Mr. Cohen’s office on the 26th floor, he and the oligarch, Viktor Vekselberg, discussed a mutual desire to strengthen Russia’s relations with the United States under President Trump, according to Andrew Intrater, an American businessman who attended the meeting and invests money for Mr. Vekselberg. The men also arranged to see one another at the inauguration, the second of their three meetings, Mr. Intrater said.
Days after the inauguration, Mr. Intrater’s private equity firm, Columbus Nova, awarded Mr. Cohen a $1 million consulting contract, a deal that has drawn the attention of federal authorities investigating Mr. Cohen, according to people briefed on the inquiry.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/mobile.nytimes.com/2018/05/25/us/politics/michael-cohen-viktor-vekselberg-trump-tower.amp.html
CALIFORNIA PRIMARY: "Unlikely" that Dems will be shut out of congressional races
Mitchell is a Democrat but his clients include both the California Democratic and Republican parties. He thinks the likelihood of Democrats getting locked out in any particular district remains low — but says there’s a good chance they’ll blow one race, a costly mistake in a year where every seat counts as Democrats try to win back the House majority.
“I believe it’s an unlikely event for this to happen in any one district but if you take five unlikely events you end up with one fairly likely event,” he told TPM.
Democrats are doing everything they can to avoid that situation, pouring millions of dollars into a number of districts to tear down some Republicans and boost some Democrats. Republicans have been surprisingly quiet in those races, considering how with some effort now they could guarantee victory in a few key House battles — as well as save themselves a lot of money down the line (though there have been some last-minute efforts by GOP outside groups).
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/want-to-know-if-dems-will-get-skunked-in-california-watch-the-early-vote
Tucson newspaper confirms claims of yellow insignias for migrants.
An article in Tuscon backs it up.
Alma Jacinto covered her eyes with her hands as tears streamed down her cheeks.
The 36-year-old from Guatemala was led out of the federal courtroom without an answer to the question that brought her to tears: When would she see her boys again?
Jacinto wore a yellow bracelet on her left wrist, which defense lawyers said identifies parents who are arrested with their children and prosecuted in Operation Streamline, a fast-track program for illegal border crossers.
Moments earlier, her public defender asked the magistrate judge when Jacinto would be reunited with her sons, ages 8 and 11. There was no clear answer for Jacinto, who was sentenced to time served on an illegal-entry charge after crossing the border with her sons near Lukeville on May 14.
Parents who cross the border illegally with their children may face criminal charges as federal prosecutors in Tucson follow through on a recent directive from Attorney General Jeff Sessions to prosecute all valid cases, said U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Cosme Lopez.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection started referring families caught crossing illegally for prosecution several weeks ago, Lopez said. Those prosecutions unfold both in Streamline cases and through individual prosecutions.
http://tucson.com/news/local/parents-children-ensnared-in-zero-tolerance-border-prosecutions/article_e6b83d53-f4bd-566d-8487-9e9b67ef2bd8.html
The feds lost - yes, lost - 1,475 migrant children
The Trump administration recently announced a new, get-tough policy that will separate parents from their children if the family is caught crossing the border illegally.
It was a big news story. So big it overshadowed the fact that the federal government has lost – yes, lost – 1,475 migrant children in its custody.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told Congress that within 48 hours of being taken into custody the children are transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services, which finds places for them to stay.
“They will be separated from their parent,” said Democratic Sen Kamala Harris.
“Just like we do in the United States every day,” Nielsen replied.
Except that the states, unlike the federal government, have systems in place to better screen the people who become guardians of the children and much better ways to keep track of those children.
And not lose them.
That is what happened to 1,475 minors swept up at the border and taken into custody by the federal government.
Gone.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/ej-montini/2018/05/22/immigration-children-separate-families-lost-kirstjen-nielson/631627002/
'Star Wars': Boba Fett Movie in the Works With James Mangold
James Mangold is writing and will direct a Star Wars stand-alone movie centered on Boba Fett, the feared bounty hunter and fan-favorite character, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively learned.
The reveal comes as Disney and Disney-owned Lucasfilm prepare for the release of the latest Star Wars stand-alone film, Solo: A Star Wars Story. Solo, which opens Friday, is the second movie to be spun from the main Star Wars line — Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was the first — but it is the first to focus on a particular character.
Lucasfilm is developing movies on a slew of characters including Obi-Wan Kenobi, which has Stephen Daldry in negotiations to direct, although no writers are working on a script.
It was rumored that Simon Kinberg, the writer-producer behind the X-Men franchise and films such as The Martian, was working on a Boba Fett movie. It is unclear if the two projects are the same. Kinberg and Mangold are close, however, and the two worked on Logan, the X-Men spinoff that earned high praise last year.
Boba Fett was introduced in 1980’s Empire Strikes Back and then appeared in 1983’s Return of the Jedi as the mercenary who brings Han Solo to the slug-like crime lord Jabba the Hutt. Despite having a helmet over his face and very limited time onscreen (not to mention a slapstick death), the character, with his jet pack and battle-scarred armor, grew to cult status.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/star-wars-boba-fett-movie-is-happening-james-mangold-direct-1113273?utm_source=twitter
Multiple victims reported in shooting near Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City
OKLAHOMA CITY — Police are investigating a shooting that left multiple victims at Louie's Grill and Bar at Lake Hefner, said police Lt. Jeff Flaggert.
The shooting was reported about 7 p.m. Police could not immediately confirm whether there were any fatalities.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/state/multiple-victims-reported-in-lake-hefner-shooting-in-okc/article_064c8622-a12e-5b8a-a17c-8763499bbef1.html
Roger Stone's finances examined by special counsel
(CNN) Special counsel Robert Mueller's team has been probing Roger Stone's finances as it summons a series of witnesses to gather more information about one of President Donald Trump's longtime advisers, according to people familiar with the situation.
Mueller's team has questioned associates about Stone's finances, including his tax returns.
The special counsel recently subpoenaed John P. Kakanis, who has worked as Stone's assistant and has insight into some of Stone's business deals, according to a person familiar with the situation. Reuters first reported on the subpoena.
Stone has insisted he played no role in colluding with Russians. Stone also said he has not been contacted by the special counsel's office.
The interest in Stone's finances could be tied to Mueller's charge of investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election and potential collusion, though another possibility is Mueller is pursuing something unrelated that turned up in the course of the investigation.
"The normal thing for a prosecutor in the course of your investigation is if you come across something that is itself worthy of criminal investigation, you don't turn a blind eye to it. You investigate," said CNN legal analyst Michael Zeldin, a former assistant to Mueller.
Whatever the reasoning, the probe into Stone's finances should give him cause for concern, Zeldin said.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/24/politics/roger-stone-finances-special-counsel-mueller-russia-investigation/index.html
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