https://wolfstreet.com/2018/07/17/russia-dumped-most-all-its-us-treasury-holdings-disappeared-from-list/

The “grand total” of US Treasury bonds, notes, and bills held by official foreign investors (central banks, governments, etc.) and non-official foreign investors rose by $44.6 billion to $6.17 trillion at the end of May, according to the Treasury Department’s TIC data released Tuesday afternoon. This is in the middle of the range of the past 12 months.

But Russia stands out by its sudden absence.

Russia was never a large holder of US Treasuries, compared to China and Japan. In March it was in 16th place with $96.1 billion in Treasury holdings. In April, it liquidated $47.4 billion of its holdings, and ended the month with $48.7 billion. That was down 69% from May 2013 ($153 billion). It knocked Russia into 22nd place behind the UAE and Thailand.

And in May, Russia liquidated more of its holdings and disappeared entirely from the TIC’s list of the 33 largest foreign holders of Treasuries. The smallest one on the list was Chile, with $30.2 billion. Russia’s holdings fell below that amount.

So we go to the TIC list of all countries that hold US Treasuries, and find that Russia’s holdings have plunged to $14.9 billion:

Russia’s holdings have plunged to $14.9 billion:

(graph available at link above)

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/07/donald-trump-illegitimate-president/


Clearly, the indictment issued by Special Counsel Robert Mueller yesterday is saying that right after Trump called on “Russia” to “find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” the Russians did just that. They went looking for those emails by going after Clinton’s personal email server.

If that’s not collusion with the Russians to hack Hillary Clinton’s emails, I don’t know what is.

If that’s not two acts in a conspiracy — Trump calling out to “Russia” for help and actual Russian intelligence agents spearphishing emails from Hillary Clinton to provide that help — I don’t know what is.

If the indictment handed down yesterday by the grand jury being run by Special Counsel Mueller doesn’t allege, albeit in a roundabout way, that Russia conspired with Trump to steal the election of 2016, I don’t know what it does.

Anybody who gets elected to office in this country with the help of the intelligence agents of a foreign power has been elected illegitimately. It’s not a tough call. Donald Trump is president because Vladimir Putin wanted him to be. He acts like he owes Putin every single day. Twelve agents of the Russian intelligence service the GRU didn’t do all that spearphishing and email disseminating all by themselves. They did it on orders from Putin. That’s why Trump owes Putin. Read it for yourself. It’s right there in the indictment.

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/07/ex-obama-official-sketches-terrifyingly-plausible-scenario-trump-destroying-nato-next-week/

“If he sabotages the NATO summit the way he did the G-7, don’t be surprised if he actually makes a move toward exiting NATO,” Shapiro tweeted. “Think he won’t? On what basis? Because his staff restrains him? Because of his strategic understanding? Please.”

After that, he said, the world order could quickly fall apart.

“If we get there, the implications are innumerable & terrifying: Russia pawing at Baltics & other (Eastern and Central) European states; breakdown of joint defense structures; withdrawal of US troops from Euro bases; less restrained German foreign policy; weaker US power projection to Eurasia,” Shapiro tweeted.

“That just scratches the surface,” he continued. “We honestly cannot begin to imagine living in a new era without these international organizing structures. Because for all of NATO’s challenges, no sane person or American political leader has or would contemplate such a reckless move.”

David Cay Johnston wrote a piece for the NY Times, and Rawstory picked up the details of Johnston's analysis.

https://www.rawstory.com/2018/07/trump-biographer-explains-ny-state-investigators-can-get-presidents-federal-tax-returns-make-public/