Sunday, May 5, 2019

Rep. Doug Collins, riding shotgun for AG Barr at NPR All Things Considered (5/2/19)

The following is a closer look at GOP's Congressman Doug Collins words during his interview with NPR's Audie Cornish May 2nd.  His performance was such an example of the sort of dishonest evasion that the GOP has honed into a deadly political weapon that Democrat simply must learn to dissect along with directly, successfully confronting it's , or we're going keep losing the important battles!

GOP Rep. Doug Collins Says AG Barr Was Right Not To Attend Thursday's Hearing
Heard on All Things Considered   May 2, 2019   |   5:51 PM ET  (5:51min)
NPR's Audie Cornish talks with Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, about Attorney General William Barr not showing up for his scheduled hearing.  The transcript:

GOP’s Rep. Collins:     It's good to be here.
NPR’s Cornish:     So you support the attorney general's decision not to testify. Why?
00:45 - GOP’s Rep. Collins:      I do because I think he made it very clear; he was voluntarily willing to come. And just over the past weekend, the chairman made a decision that he wanted to have staff involved in the questioning.
NPR’s Cornish:   And not just staff - lawyers, right?
GOP’s Rep. Collins:     Oh, yeah, the staff lawyers, yes. And I think the interesting thing is, this is 206 years of breaking precedent in the House Judiciary Committee. 
The GOP’s hypocrisy is astounding, ironically there’s no holding back the GOP’s breaking precedent of decency and fair play, after precedent.  Such as having a prosecutor do the questioning during Kavanaugh’s Judiciary hearing, and McConnell’s outrageous behaviour.
Trump Gets Revenge on the ‘Most Liberal Court,’ Helped by McConnell’s Dirty Tricks
The GOP changed the rules to polarize the federal bench, but that will come back to haunt Republicans.
Jay Michaelson  |  March, 14, 2019
      
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mitch McConnell has done grave damage to all three branches of government
By Paul Begala  |  October 10, 2018

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mitch McConnell Again Proves He’ll Stop at Nothing for a Conservative Court
McConnell said the Senate will “plow right through” Christine Blasey Ford’s sexual assault accusation and confirm Brett Kavanaugh
RYAN BORT  |  SEPTEMBER 21, 2018 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mitch McConnell Assaulted the Constitution (and Got Away With It)
The senator refused to perform his duty in rejecting any consideration of Obama’s Supreme Court nominee.
By William Greider  |  December 21, 2016


We see an evasive stonewalling Attorney General who’s actions and words show every indication of extreme partisanship, to the point of putting himself under suspicion of obstruction of justice.  That is extreme.  
That is a constitutional crisis and the Democrats must exert every pressure they can to get Barr to testify “on the record”.  
Mueller Objected to Barr’s Description of Russia Investigation’s Findings on Trump

WASHINGTON — Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, wrote a letter in late March to Attorney General William P. Barr objecting to his early description of the Russia investigation’s conclusions that appeared to clear President Trump on possible obstruction of justice, …
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Cracks show in Bill Barr's legal-walrus facade: Mueller letters make for a bad day on Capitol Hill
AMANDA MARCOTTE  |  May 1, 2019


Shortly after Attorney General William Barr's shameful attempts to spin the Mueller report mere hours before its release, Donald Trump tweeted — and pinned — a seemingly fan-created meme that read "Game Over" and repeated Trump's mantra of "no obstruction" and "no collusion."
This, unsurprisingly, turned out to be a lie. The report, compiled by special counsel Robert Mueller after his two-year investigation of the Trump campaign's ties to a criminal Russian conspiracy to interfere with the 2016 election, showed significant collusion-flavored contacts with Russian agents, including seemingly failed efforts to engage in a criminal conspiracy, as well as repeated attempts by Trump to obstruct Mueller's investigation. …

GOP’s Rep. Collins:   And the reason they want to do it is because they want it to appear to look like an impeachment hearing. The Democrats can't bring themselves to bring an impeachment hearing right now, so they're trying to feed, I think, and mollify their base by saying, look - we'll make it look like an impeachment here. 
Typical Straw-man gambit.
NO Congressman Collins, this has everything to do with getting Barr to testify in an accountable honest manner!  
This is in pursuit of Americans understanding exactly how much our President is indentured to Putin and Russian money. 
I appreciate this was a radio interview by the neutered NPR All Things Considered, still, it’s worth mentioning: these are the teaching moments that Democrats need to capitalize on.  
Rep. Collins we expect the facts!  
We recognize and reject your devious diversions.  
We can do it easy, or we can do it the hard way, but We The People will get at the facts in order to find out what the “There” is.
Why not expose the roots of Rep. Collins inability to objectively assess the evidence - namely, his self-certain Faith Blindedness.  
On the Hill: Rep. Doug Collins Favors Religious Constituents over Nontheistic Ones
BY Matthew Bulger• |  25 AUGUST 2014


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rep. Doug Collins Scores 100 Percent on FRC Action's New Scorecard

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Doug Collins gets help from anti-abortion group after criticism of recent vote
By Tamar Hallerman, Political Insider blog, May 17, 2016


Listen as Collins’ spends the next minutes avoiding and ignoring the rationale behind the legitimate concerns being raised by Democrats.  
Instead always pasting this own fanciful ‘self-created-demon’ portrait onto us - his reviled opponent’s, actual motivations and humanity.
'HE JUST STONEWALLED US': DEMOCRATS FUME OVER WILLIAM BARR'S ANSWERS ON MUELLER REPORT
BY Ramsey Touchberry ON 4/9/19

Following an hours-long testimony before a House panel on Tuesday, Democrats were frustrated with Attorney General William Barr over his refusal to answer questions and his lack of information surrounding his handling of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report and how it will be released to Congress and the public. …
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Intellectually Confronting Faith-Based thinking and Dogma Driven Deceptions

Congressman Collins, why are Republicans doing all they can to stonewall and hide critically important facts from the public?  
The more Republicans stonewall, the more Democrats must force their hand by any legislative oversight tactic they can.
Republicans are too used to getting their way by increasingly ruthless temper tantrums - as the ever more fascist looking Senator Lindsay Graham shows us.  
Lindsey Graham Just Yelled Out the New Republican Strategy on Brett Kavanaugh
BY JACK HOLMES     SEP 27, 2018


Why Is Rep. Collins dismissive of all the Russian Interference evidence?  
What about the normalization of Trump serial lying?
What about our country having a President who’s constantly siding with Putin’s interests rather than USA’s National Security apparatus?  
GOP’s Rep. Collins:   Because the only times that that has ever happened is during an impeachment hearing. So really, there's only one person - yeah.
One person to blame?  How about Attorney General Barr!  We have a constitutional crisis that calls for extraordinary measures.
NPR’s Cornish:   So I see. What you're saying is, they're making the argument that look - we're going to have these people who really know this issue inside and out; they're going to do the questioning. And you're saying that just even the appearance of attorneys there turns it into a trial.
GOP’s Rep. Collins:     Yes and no. I think it's - frankly, that goes back to the appearance. And also, the fact that maybe they're scared of what Bill Barr is going to say 

Whistling in the graveyard are we?  

Trump would have been charged with obstruction were he not president, hundreds of former federal prosecutors assert
By Matt Zapotosky – May 6 at 2:00 PM


More than 370 former federal prosecutors who worked in Republican and Democratic administrations have signed on to a statement asserting special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s findings would have produced obstruction charges against President Trump — if not for the office he held.

“Each of us believes that the conduct of President Trump described in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report would, in the case of any other person not covered by the Office of Legal Counsel policy against indicting a sitting President, result in multiple felony charges for obstruction of justice,” the former federal prosecutors wrote. …

In a serious discussion, people discuss the matter at hand.  RThis sort of projection and rhetorical gamesmanship is dedicated to diverting attention, nothing else.
Democrats call the GOP’s bluff, lets see what’s behind the redactions and stonewalling.  At least I hope they do.
GOP’s Rep. Collins:     because yesterday he did a - you know, a good job. Whether you agreed with him or disagreed with him, he sat there, and he answered questions in the Senate. 
True Barr’s testimony was a good job, a masterful job of obfuscation, stonewalling, running the clock.  Skilled and well executed. 
However, beyond the Faithful, the rest of Americans were left feeling cheated.  We certainly do not agree with the GOP’s glib dismissal.  
Barr lost what was left of his credibility, his allegiances have clearly blinkering his judgement.  He has made himself suspect!  
James Comey: How Trump Co-opts Leaders Like Bill Barr

Our US Attorney General has earned the right to be treated as a hostile witness.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

6 takeaways from William Barr’s tense hearing
Aaron Blake | May 1, 2019


Attorney General William P. Barr ventured to Capitol Hill on Wednesday an embattled man. About 15 hours before his testimony, The Washington Post reported that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III had sent Barr a letter saying Barr’s summary of his report on the Russia investigation “did not fully capture the context, nature, and substance of this office’s work and conclusion.” 
Mueller asked Barr to release a fuller summary he provided; Barr did not do so.
It’s hardly the first time that Barr has run into trouble in recent weeks. And that made his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday a tense affair. …

6. Barr is better at this than Senate Democrats
1. Barr is unrepentant — and still presenting things favorable to Trump
2. ’I didn’t exonerate’ Trump
3. His allegedly misleading previous testimony
4. A rift with Mueller?
5. Graham’s misleading preamble
Graham has turned into one of Trump’s most loyal allies on Capitol Hill. And true to form, he started the hearing on a very pro-Trump foot.
Except that many of his claims were misleading.
Graham said the Mueller report had stated there was “no collusion.” In fact, the report ruled more narrowly that there was no “conspiracy” and explicitly said it wasn’t evaluating the broader concept of collusion because it isn’t a legal term.
Graham said, “As to obstruction of justice, Mr. Mueller left it to Mr. Barr to decide.” In fact, Mueller didn’t ask Barr to make a decision on obstruction (as Barr himself has said), nor did Barr need to make the call. Mueller made clear in his report that he didn’t think it was the Justice Department’s job to accuse a sitting president of crimes, since a sitting president can’t be indicted.
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9 key takeaways from William Barr's testimony on the Mueller report
Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large  |  May 1, 2019
1. Lindsey Graham shows his pro-Trump colors
2. Barr tries to (re)explain what he was doing with four-page letter
3. Barr blames the media for Mueller's reaction to his letter
4. The difference between "firing" and "removal for conflict”
5. Barr has "questions" about the origins of the FBI counterintelligence probe
6. Barr won't be apologizing for saying “spying"
7. Try to follow Barr's logic on the Mueller letter
8. Barr made clear he did not "exonerate" Trump on obstruction
9. Barr equivocates on White House influence
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Key takeaways from Barr’s testimony and Mueller’s letter
By Chad Day 
May 2, 2019
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

8 Key Takeaways From William Barr’s Senate Hearing On The Mueller Report
By Sanjana Karanth | 05/01/2019
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
WATCH: Attorney General William Barr's full testimony on Mueller report before Senate committee  
PBS NewsHour  |  Streamed live on May 1, 2019
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
7 key takeaways from AG Barr’s testimony on the Mueller report
Lucien Bruggeman
  |   May 2, 2019
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
GOP’s Rep. Collins:     "I don't think Bob Mueller was suggesting the next step was for him to turn this stuff over to Congress to act upon," Barr insisted. "That's not why we conduct grand jury investigations.”
Why does what Collins’ think matter?  He’s simply peddling spin here.
The Democrats have very objective reason to be concerned.  
Unfortunately we have a President surround by Faith-Blinded people, such as Congressman Massie, who for their own motivations have suspended objectivity and who treat all others as enemies to be treated with maximum hostility and resistance. 
NPR’s Cornish:   Leahy cited a passage in Mueller's report in which he suggested that Congress, as an equal branch of government, has the authority to take the information uprooted by Mueller and either craft laws to prevent future presidents from conducting behavior described in the report, or, as "a drastic and rarely invoked remedy," pursue impeachment.

GOP’s Rep. Collins:     And my chairman chose today to not allow me to have the chance to actually ask the attorney general questions, as well as everyone else.
Besides the dramatics, Collins misrepresents the truth and sends that untruth to his constituents, feeding Trump’s propaganda machine.
Basically GOP evasion in action.  
Seems to me considering Attorney General Barr’s testimony at the Senate Hearing, Congressional Democrats have every rational oversight, pragmatic, and ethical reason to enlist the help of attorneys who are better versed at countering the superior rhetorical stonewalling and evasion skills that Barr demonstrated in the Senate. 
NPR’s Cornish:   This is a conversation about the rules, right? 
And I think, for the average voter, they hear lawmakers bickering about the rules of the committee. But there is a fundamental disagreement over the findings in the Mueller Report - right? - and the way that the attorney general portrayed those findings in his four-page summary and press conference, a difference that Robert Mueller himself pointed out. Doesn't Congress have an oversight responsibility to reconcile those two interpretations of the findings?
GOP’s Rep. Collins:     I would not disagree with you. In fact, why wouldn't the chairman let me do that today? Why couldn't he have asked the question of the attorney general, instead of wanting to go to a sideshow political circus, as what he turned it into today? 
Stop lying.  It is Barr who refuses to submit himself to reasonable, on the record, questioning.  Barr wants to give his talking points, sans serious examination.
That’s a propagandist rather than an investigator in a serious effort to learn all the facts of a matter.
WILLIAM BARR SENDS TROUBLING SIGNALS AHEAD OF MUELLER REPORT RELEASE
https://www.wired.com/story/william-barr-mueller-report-congress-testimony/
GOP’s Rep. Collins:   I would have loved to have talked to him about that because I think the interesting part is, even the letter that was spoke of by Mueller, that he sent to Bill Barr, was talking about form and context; he was saying, how much can we get out now? Robert Mueller, even in that letter and never since then has never said that he disagreed with the findings; he never disagreed with that.
Of course.  Congressman Collins has shown his colors - he’s amongst the faith-blinded evangelicals who in their self-certain absolutism and zeal, happily turn a blind eye to every sin and crime of their savior Trump.
I know it sounds wild, but just listen to Christian radio sometime, lordie, lordie, the monsters these people transform us into in their heads.  Truly terrifying.  

I think this extremism needs to be rationally confronted.
NPR’s Cornish:   But he did indicate that he thought that it had undermined public confidence in the report itself, and that's pretty serious, given how people look at it, right?
GOP’s Rep. Collins:     Only because - and what he said was - and what he - and if you look at the letter and read the letter, it basically said, I would have - he would - was thinking that they would be able to get it out sooner. We're making more of this than it is because we want something to be there because the Democrats believed that the Mueller report was going to be their saving grace; it was going to be the one thing that would get Donald Trump out of the White House, and in 2020, they could either impeach him or, in 2020, beat him, and that didn't happen.
NO Congressman Collins, this is about now - and about a President who shows every indication of being a Russian Obligate!  (check out the reading material at the bottom of this)
We The People want to get to the bottom of what is going on.
NPR’s Cornish:   I want to come back to your interpretation of Mueller's letter. I mean, if he's talking about a discrepancy where he sees Bill Barr mischaracterizing the nature of the investigation, the context, these are pretty big questions.
GOP’s Rep. Collins:     Again, I mean - again, this is why - why would my chairman not let the attorney general come in today? Again, I…
Because Barr is too skilled at evasion and stonewalling.  
That’s why Democrats are very right to want attorney’s doing final summary questioning.  Barr must be persuaded to and answer questions, On The Record!  Simple.  Like they say in the movies, we can do this easy or we can do it hard.
NPR’s Cornish:   He did (laughter) The attorney general refused to come in - right? - because he didn't like who might be questioning him.
GOP’s Rep. Collins:     No, he…
What do you mean no, no?  Of course that’s it.  Barr wants to recite his propaganda and leave.  America want’s questions answered! 
NPR’s Cornish:   That's different from saying somebody wasn't allowed to come.
GOP’s Rep. Collins:     No, the chairman didn't even try. And if you want to, from your perspective, blame the attorney general for not coming. But the attorney general made it very clear…
Collins is doing his best to normalize Barr’s evasion and stone-walling.  Worst Collins is pretending there is much much evidence that speaks against his President.
NPR’s Cornish:   No, no, no, this isn't me blaming anyone. I want to jump in here.
GOP’s Rep. Collins:     Yeah, yeah.
NPR’s Cornish:   Because right now, the committee chairman, Jerrold Nadler, says he is continuing to negotiate. He says he's trying to make one more good-faith attempt to negotiate to have the attorney general to come. So this isn't me, the reporter, jumping in with an opinion.
GOP’s Rep. Collins:   Yeah.
NPR’s Cornish:   This is an ongoing back-and-forth between the executive and the legislative branch of government.
GOP’s Rep. Collins:   Well, at this point in time...
NPR’s Cornish:   And you're at an impasse.
GOP’s Rep. Collins:   Well, and we're not at an impasse on this issue because, basically, I know what is being discussed with the chairman and with the Department of Justice because we've all had that sort of, you know, inquiry. But when he jumped straight to a contempt charge today on issues, I mean - again…
That is the Chairman’s prerogative!  
And to imagine all the ruthlessly underhanded and undemocratic political maneuvers Senate’s Speaker McConnell is guilty of.  GOP’s hypocrisy is superseded only by their self-certainty and contempt for others. 
Barr’s evasion and stonewalling have qualify him as a hostile witness!  This is too important to minimize and kick down the road.
NPR’s Cornish:   Well, he said he's going to negotiate before he moves to hold him in contempt. He says negotiations are continuing.
GOP’s Rep. Collins:   Right, and then he also said after that, when we - and somebody asked, I believe, when are you going to start this; he said in a couple of days. OK, that's not a lot of negotiation. I don't care who you are.
NPR’s Cornish:   So you think that given more time, the attorney general's office and your committee could come to some sort of agreement?
GOP’s Rep. Collins:   Well, why don't we try? 
Because we are out of time.  This need to get this sorted out, Barr’s been running the clock and America’s patience is over.  
GOP’s Rep. Collins:   That's what we did when we - when the Republican Congress held Eric Holder in contempt and others in contempt. This was a - and this was not a week process; this was a six-month process, a much longer process. And really, again 
Well, this one isn’t a political football you can keep in play for years, we need resolution sooner than later!
Holder held in contempt
By John Bresnahan  and Seung Min Kim | 06/28/12

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Judge declines to hold Holder in contempt

By JOSH GERSTEIN 10/06/2014


A federal judge has declined a House committee's bid to have Attorney General Eric Holder held in contempt of court — and perhaps even jailed — for failing to turn over documents related to the Justice Department' s response to Operation Fast and Furious. …
Jackson called the House contempt motion "entirely unnecessary" and said it was evident that she was considering the government's motion to lift her prior order. "Under those circumstances, the Court finds no basis to hold defendant in contempt," she wrote.
GOP’s Rep. Collins:   - I'm going to go back to something else - is they're running out of time for impeachment. They've got to at least make the appearance that they're doing something because their base is wanting it so much. I mean, from November 2016, the base of the Democratic Party has only said one thing - impeach this president, get rid of this president, we don't like this president, it should've been Hillary, it shouldn't have been him. And that's all we're seeing.
Here’s another example of how Republicans have learned to “create the script.”  Notice how Collins’ sets the stage, he tell his audience what we are thinking.  Too often we allow them to paint in our motives and emotions, all to suit their own agenda.  
Even worse than we react to their cartoon, thus closing their loop.  
The GOP has become ever more emboldened and ruthless while also increasingly disconnected from physical reality.  
They have only one side their own extremism and they’ve learned to jam anything into their perspective.  Always painting us the bad folks, never any willingness to admit mistakes or learn.
How to counter it?  That is the question?
NPR’s Cornish:   But key leaders in this process, like the House speaker, has not been in a rush to do that.
GOP’s Rep. Collins:   And - because she knows she can't.
NPR’s Cornish:   Right.
GOP’s Rep. Collins:   That's the problem.
NPR’s Cornish:   Right.
GOP’s Rep. Collins:   So here's the problem - so here's the question - great question. I appreciate you bringing it back. Because she knows she can't, so what's the next best thing? Let's make it appear like it's an impeachment hearing.
Again, creating the GOP’s own “script,” setting the stage, telling his audience what our motives and goals are, always painting it sinister and acting dismissive.
A profound disregard for our very legitimate concerns, when not dehumanizing them and us altogether.
NPR’s Cornish:   What should people be listening for next over the next few days?
GOP’s Rep. Collins:   My hope is that the chairman will come back to, frankly, a reality and say, let's see how we can work together. We need to have these hearings - let everybody have that - but we don't need to put artificial and phony restrictions upon that.
Deep disregard for our very legitimate concerns.  Always with that tone of dehumanizing our concerns.
NPR’s Cornish:   Georgia Congressman Doug Collins. He's the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. Thank you for speaking with us.
GOP’s Rep. Collins:   Thanks so much. Take care.
Copyright © 2019 NPR


What is contempt of Congress, and where do we go from here?
By SARAH D. WIRE  |  MAY 02, 2019


What is contempt of Congress?
A contempt finding is how Congress may respond when someone refuses to testify or provide information as part of a House or Senate investigation. The Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld that Congress has a right to compel people to comply with its oversight efforts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How to Get Trump’s Tax Returns—Without a Subpoena
By George K. Yin   |   May 04, 2019


A 1924 law suggests Democrats can sue the Treasury Department if it doesn’t turn over the president’s taxes.

George K. Yin is the Edwin S. Cohen Distinguished Professor of Law and Taxation at the University of Virginia School of Law and a former chief of staff of the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation.

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With every new revelation it has been increasingly obvious: We’ve handed our government over to a Russian Obligate President.  
That’s worth getting to the bottom of.
And yes, it is also worth prosecuting and punishing 

President Trump and his team are directly and indirectly tied to Russia.


Despite Russia’s harmful national interests against the U.S., and its human rights violations around the world, President Trump and his team are directly and indirectly tied to Russia.
Throughout the 2016 presidential election, President Trump not only refused to criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin, but was even friendly and accommodating in his remarks. In his own words, President Trump called President Putin “highly respected." More recently, President Trump put the U.S. on equal moral footing with Russia when responding to Bill O’Reilly’s question about Putin being a "killer," saying "We've got a lot of killers... you think our country's so innocent?" This is absolutely false moral equivalence, and unheard of for the President of the United States to insult and demean the country he leads.
President Trump has harshly criticized NATO, and exclaimed that only the NATO allies that paid equally to the alliance deserved protection from the United States. Though these remarks were softened by British Prime Minister Theresa May, who claims that President Trump fully supports the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), it's still unclear how supportive he will be of NATO allies like the Baltic states in light of his relationship with Russia.
President Trump has also surrounded himself with people who do business with and are sympathetic to Russia. The New York Times reported that members of Trump’s 2016 campaign and other Trump associates had frequent contact with senior Russian intelligence officials throughout the campaign. In addition to these questionable communications, here are a few other associates with ties to Moscow: …
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Here’s the Real Trump-Russia Hoax
It’s Trump defenders and lefty Russiagate skeptics claiming there is no scandal.
David Corn  |  Washington, DC, Bureau Chief - March 29, 2019

… And these contacts happened as Trump and his campaign—most notably, Trump Jr. and Manafort—were also publicly denying that any such attack was underway. 
These denials had no basis in fact and ran counter to what cybersecurity experts were saying—but they precisely echoed what the Russians were saying: It ain’t us! The combination of public denials and private contacts could only have been read as encouragement by Moscow. Trump at one point even called on Russia to hack Clinton’s emails, and, according to a Mueller indictment, Russian government hackers attempted to do so that very evening.
This is the original sin of the Trump presidency: he and his crew aided and abetted the Russian attack by lying about it and running interference for the Russians. And contrary to what Conway asserted, …
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All of Trump’s Russia Ties, in 7 Charts



What is the real story of Donald Trump and Russia? The answer is still unclear, and Democrats in Congress want to get to the bottom of it with an investigation. But there’s no doubt that a spider web of connections—some public, some private, some clear, some murky—exists between Trump, his associates and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
These charts illustrate dozens of those links, including meetings between Russian officials and members of Trump’s campaign and administration …
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TRUMP’S RUSSIA COVER-UP BY THE NUMBERS – 251 CONTACTS WITH RUSSIA-LINKED OPERATIVES
By TheMoscowProject.org  April 30, 2019  

… The Mueller report clearly identified collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, despite repeated denials from Trump and many of his senior advisers and close associates that there were any connections between the two campaigns.
A total of 251 contacts between Trump’s team and Russia-linked operatives have been identified, including at least 37 meetings. And we know that at least 33 high-ranking campaign officials and Trump advisers were aware of contacts with Russia-linked operatives during the campaign and transition, including Trump himself. None of these contacts were ever reported to the proper authorities. Instead, the Trump team tried to cover up every single one of them.
Beyond the many lies the Trump team told to the American people, Mueller himself repeatedly remarked on how far the Trump team was willing to go to hide their Russian contacts, stating, “the investigation established that several individuals affiliated with the Trump Campaign lied to the Office, and to Congress, about their interactions with Russian-affiliated individuals and related matters. …

Below is a comprehensive chronological list of the contacts that have been discovered to date and some of the many lies Trump’s campaign, transition team, and White House told to hide them. …

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Trump Russia affair: Key questions answered
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I Wrote an Article Suggesting Trump Was Compromised by Russia. I Was Right.
By Jonathan Chait  |  THE NATIONAL INTEREST  |  April. 2, 2019


But just as Trump’s defenders barely managed to discredit any of the reporting on the Russia scandal, neither have they debunked the major conclusions in that piece. Having reread it in light of the ten months’ worth of revelations that have followed, I believe the story holds up extremely well. Indeed, subsequent events have vindicated its most important predictions and claims. …

… The media was giving too much weight to the unlikely outcomes on one side of the distribution — that Trump’s relationship with Russia was completely innocent — and discounting unlikely outcomes on the other side — that Trump was very deeply compromised. “The media has treated the notion that Russia has personally compromised the president of the United States as something close to a kook theory,” I wrote. The most likely possibility, I proposed, was that Russia was exerting some kind of hidden leverage over Trump.
The conclusion has proven completely correct. We now know that …
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mueller’s Case for Collusion: A Preview
Jonathan Chait  |  MUELLER TIME March. 7, 2019

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TRUMP'S RUSSIA INTEREST SPARKED IN THE SOVIET YEARS
 Michael Stott and Catherine Belton  |  DECEMBER 13, 2016


The Republican candidate’s links to Russia are a mix of bling, business and bluster spanning 30 years. This account in five sections traces Trump's fascination for Russia from its beginnings in Soviet times through deals done in the Putin era to Trump's appointment of a slew of Russia-connected advisers during the US presidential campaign. It concludes with outside views on Trump's long-standing Russia ties and the president-elect's own explanations. …
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's a glimpse at Trump's decades-long history of business ties to Russia
John Haltiwanger and Sonam Sheth Mar. 22, 2019



President Donald Trump is adamant that he has no financial interests in Russia.
"Russia has never tried to use leverage over me," he tweeted in January 2017. "I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH RUSSIA - NO DEALS, NO LOANS, NO NOTHING!"
But a glimpse at his actions over the last few decades paints a quite different picture, one that shows a concerted effort by the real-estate mogul to lay a foundation for the Trump name in the heart of Moscow. …

Here's a rundown of Trump's attempted business dealings in Russia:   15 darkly interesting points, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1996, 1997, 2000s, 2005, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2016
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A little treasure trove of assorted information and facts.

Everything We Know About Russia and President Trump
Donald Trump’s connection to Russia and Russian interests dates back more than 35 years. His family and associates also have well-documented ties.

Since it can be challenging to keep track of all the players and moving parts in the ever-growing Russia investigations, lawyer Steven Harper and the producers at BillMoyers.com created an interactive Trump-Russia Timeline, now hosted on Dan Rather’s News & Guts website.
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