January 16, 2019

Jailed model who claimed she has dirt on Russian oligarch speaks out

An imprisoned model from Belarus who claimed last year she had evidence of Russian involvement in helping elect Donald Trump president has told Russian media she can't wait to be released. Anastasia Vashukevich, who has been in a Thai prison since February last year, was given a suspended sentenced Tuesday and ordered to be deported after she pleaded guilty to soliciting and conspiracy.

Vashukevich, also known as Nastya Rybka, earlier claimed to have recordings of Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska talking about interference in the 2016 U.S. election, but never released them. She has said she provided "escort" services to Deripaska, who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

State-owned news agency RIA Novosti, in Vashukevich's first interview since her arrest, quoted her as saying that she is looking forward to a free life. She made no comment about her allegations about Deripaska.

Deripaska, who also had a working relationship with Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump's former campaign manager who was investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller and convicted last year of tax and bank fraud.

CBS News

January 16, 2019

How the White House is prepping for Democrats' onslaught

Despite President Trump's lack of personal interest in the planning, the White House Counsel’s Office is now moving fast to prepare for the twin threats of Robert Mueller and the new Democratic House majority.

The big picture: These threats dwarf anything that any president has faced since Bill Clinton. There's a surge of internal action after a slow start: Planning for Democratic oversight only began in earnest at the senior level in November.

Much of the mid-level White House staff remains oblivious to what’s going on behind the scenes. But the new White House Counsel, Pat Cipollone, has impressed the officials he's dealt with and Republican legal eminences I have spoken to.

Axios

Democratic hit list: At least 85 Trump investigation targets November 12, 2018

Now that they're set to assume control of the House, there are at least 85 topics that Democrats have said they'd target — or are expected to target — in the forthcoming torrent of investigations and subpoenas to be directed at the Trump White House, according to Axios' reporting and analysis of members' public comments.

Between the lines: Don‘t expect everything all at once. Incoming House Intel Committee Chair Adam Schiff told "Axios on HBO" that each committee plans to prioritize what they view as the most pressing topics, which he says range from Trump's potential business dealings with Russia to where things currently stand with North Korea.

Axios

Scoop: Republicans secretly study their coming hell August 26, 2018

Congressional Republicans are getting ready for hell. Axios has obtained a spreadsheet that's circulated through Republican circles on and off Capitol Hill — including at least one leadership office — that meticulously previews the investigations Democrats will likely launch if they flip the House.

Why this matters: Publicly, House Republicans are putting on a brave face about the midterms. But privately, they are scrambling to prepare for the worst. This document, which catalogs requests Democrats have already made, is part of that effort.

Axios

January 16, 2019

Senator Says Congress Almost Ready for Trump Indictment

A senior Democratic senator has suggested Congress is almost ready to indict President Donald Trump, and is hopeful he may face criminal charges.

Sheldon Whitehouse, the Democratic senator from Rhode Island, spoke to CNN anchor Chris Cuomo on Tuesday and stressed that while Congress is closing in on Trump, more evidence is required for an air-tight case.

“I do not at all subscribe to the [Office of Legal Counsel] theory that a president can’t be indicted,” Whitehouse told Cuomo. “I think that if there are crimes that he has committed he should be indicted.”

“I think that the Office of Legal Counsel [OLC] and the Department of Justice bends over backward to take the most executive branch-friendly position that it possibly can,” he continued, “but I think a court taking a look at this would say, ‘No, no no, no, no.’”

Newsweek by way of MSN

January 16, 2019

Abrams and Gillum target Trump in 2020

The progressive African-American pols have emerged as early kingmakers for Democratic presidential hopefuls.

Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum — two of the Democratic Party’s breakout candidates of 2018, despite losing their elections for governor of Georgia and Florida — are looking to parlay their near-success into the defeat of Donald Trump in 2020.

The pair of young, progressive African-American pols amassed so much political fame that they’re a must-call for the growing roster of likely Democratic presidential contenders. They’re also on some early and unofficial lists as possible vice-presidential running mates.

The White House hopefuls don’t just crave an endorsement from Abrams or Gillum. Each boasts valuable donor and volunteer lists, in the Southeast’s two biggest states that, if won next year, would almost guarantee a Democratic White House.

The attention Abrams and Gillum are receiving from presidential hopefuls is an indication of the growing pull of the party's progressive base and highlights the role each could play as gatekeepers for African-American and liberal voters. In a crowded Democratic primary, that could make them kingmakers for a candidate lucky enough to score an endorsement or, at least, anchors who keep the candidates moored to a liberal agenda.

Politico

Link to Abrams Fair Fight Georgia

Fair Fight Georgia

January 16, 2019

Donald Trump's Pattern of Deference to the Kremlin Is Clear

When Donald Trump gives interviews, it’s usually to Fox News. When he gives interviews to Fox, it’s usually to the channel’s opinion side, not to tougher questioners such as Chris Wallace or Bret Baier. But there he was Saturday night, talking to the normally friendly Jeanine Pirro and receiving what he called the most insulting question in his life.

“Are you now or have you ever worked for Russia, Mr. President?” Pirro asked, citing a New York Times article from over the weekend disclosing that the FBI in May 2017 had opened a counterintelligence inquiry into whether Trump was secretly working for Russia. She delivered the question dismissively, with a chuckle, but she asked it—and received a remarkable answer.

“I think it’s the most insulting thing I’ve ever been asked,” Trump groused. “I think it’s the most insulting article I’ve ever had written. And if you read the article, you’d see that they found absolutely nothing.”

The president then talked for some time, but he never actually denied working for the Russians, and “They found absolutely nothing” doesn’t sound like what you say when there’s nothing to find. On Monday, Trump was asked the question again during a press gaggle, and this time he denied it, while again protesting the question.

The Atlantic

January 15, 2019

Freshman House Member Rep. Ilhan Omar (DFL-MN) Jumps All In On Legislation

WASHINGTON– Rep. Ilhan Omar (DFL-MN) along with more than two dozen of her colleagues in the House and Senate, introduced sweeping reforms Thursday that would reform the U.S. healthcare system and dramatically reduce prescription drug prices in the country.

The plan to reduce the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs includes three bills:

1. The Prescription Drug Price Relief Act, which would stop drug companies from using their monopoly power to prevent more affordable, generic alternatives from coming to the market.

2. The Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act, which would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs under Medicare Part D;

3. The Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act, which would allow patients, pharmacists and wholesalers to import safe, affordable medicine from Canada and other major countries.

House.gov

January 15, 2019

Police: 51-year-old man assaulted child at Asheville Mall

ASHEVILLE — A Black Mountain man was arrested Saturday after police say he pushed and assaulted a child during a fight at the Asheville Mall.

David Steven Bell, 51, was arrested at about 7 p.m. Saturday by an off-duty officer following the incident at 3 S. Tunnel Road. He is charged with assault on a female under the age of 12 and two counts of assault on a female.

The incident is under further investigation, police spokeswoman Christina Hallingse said Sunday.

https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2019/01/13/police-51-year-old-man-assaulted-child-asheville-mall/2563987002/

Bell can be seen in the video, initially posted to Instagram by an unidentified person, in an argument with a group of young girls outside of the Asheville Mall. You can watch the video above. The incident occurred on Saturday, January 12. Bell is white and most of the girls in the video are black. It is not clear what occurred before the video started.

Video of the incident can be found at this link. This link also describes her as being 11 years old.

https://heavy.com/news/2019/01/david-steven-bell-asheville-mall-full-video/

January 15, 2019

In 2011 Maria Butina formed the group Right to Bear Arms in Russia.

In November of 2013 John Bolton records a video promoting the expansion of gun rights in Russia. That video was used by the Right to Bear Arms for promotion.

Video:

In the initial complaint against Butina, she "allegedly makes contact with an American political operative (“U.S. Person 1” in the complaint), who agrees to introduce her to influential figures in American politics. That includes a “gun rights organization,” identified contextually within the complaint as the NRA."

Washington Post

This seems to be a pretty good timeline. Butina had direct contact and influence with people in and out of Washington. That seems clear.

Is our current National Security Adviser, John Bolton, Person Number 1 or 2? Do we know? How much direct contact was there with the Trump campaign or people on it. It's pretty big no matter what. It is even bigger if our current National Security Adviser was working with a Russian spy for the clear benefit of Russia.

The Butina timeline at the link above is from July of 2018. I'm sharing it because this seems to be deeper than I had originally thought. There is just so much going on and so much to read that sometimes people like myself don't get to see a lot of it. Others might have missed how deep her cover went as well. I know many of you on this board are really on top of this stuff.

This seems huge and I imagine she had a lot to say behind the scene.

January 14, 2019

It's nice to have the Committee's back.

https://budget.house.gov/

https://edlabor.house.gov/

https://homeland.house.gov/

https://judiciary.house.gov/

https://oversight.house.gov/

It's nice to have the control over content back.

January 14, 2019

Putin is fluent in English.

According to reports, he is pretty darn good at it. I know in the video below he has assistance but it's still pretty good. The guy gives me the creeps. There is no way Trump does well one on one with this guy. Trump is outmatched in every single way. In the video below he is lobbying for the World Expo 2020. It makes me feel as if he is saying.... You give it to us or else. The guy just has a cold look.

Articles I have read state that he often speaks English off to the side when circumstances call for it. Some articles say he is fluent to the point he has corrected his translators. He is also fluent in German. That I was aware of.