Putin ally said to be in touch with Kremlin, Assad before his mercenaries attacked U.S. troops
The attack in Syria is a real head-scratcher.
North Korea’s Missile Success Is Linked to Ukrainian Plant, Investigators Say
Russia!
The case of the Russian media czar who died mysteriously in D.C. isn’t so closed after all
Jeff Sessions is in deep trouble, and here’s why
He could be disbarred for being involved in the Comey firing after he refused himself.
The President Admits to Obstruction on National TV
Impeachable offence
If Trump fired Comey to impede the Russia investigation, he possibly engaged in obstruction of justice. That is a crime. That is a case for impeachment. In fact, the first of the three articles of impeachment filed by the House judiciary committee against Richard Nixon in 1974 was for obstruction of justice.
It’s Now Up to Democrats to Save American Democracy
Jeet Heer:
By firing Comey, Trump has created the biggest political crisis in American politics since Watergate. The Democrats have very few weapons to wield against Trump right now, but they can continue to poke and prod him, using the ensuing controversy to rally opposition to Trump. American democracy is in real danger, and the Democrats now have a duty—one that transcends partisan politics—to make those stakes clear to the electorate.
Days Before He Was Fired, Comey Asked for More Resources for Russia Investigation
Not suspicious at all
Senate Russia investigators ask Treasury for Trump team financial information
Missed that this also happened yesterday, before the Comey firing.
Senate Russia investigators have sent a request to the Treasury Department’s criminal investigation division for any information related to President Donald Trump, his top officials and his campaign aides, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee told CNN Tuesday.
Grand jury subpoenas issued in FBI’s Russia investigation
Oh man.
There is only one reasonable conclusion that can be drawn from the decision to fire Comey: that there is grave wrongdoing at the center of the Russia scandal and that it implicates the President. As I write this, I have a difficult time believing that last sentence myself. But sometimes you have to step back from your assumptions and simply look at what the available evidence is telling you. It’s speaking clearly: the only reasonable explanation is that the President has something immense to hide and needs someone in charge of the FBI who he believes is loyal.
How Trump Could Get Fired
Pretty good overview. My takeaway is that it’s unlikely to be anything other than impeachment, which would require Dem control of the House, and theoretically a supermajority in the Senate. This was kinda great though:
The White House maintains that it was unaware of any links to the Kremlin, and the details of the investigations are classified. But select members of Congress who oversee the intelligence agencies have access to the findings. Recently, one of them, Senator Mark Warner, of Virginia, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, privately told friends that he puts the odds at two to one against Trump completing a full term.
Sources: Russia tried to use Trump advisers to infiltrate campaign
The FBI gathered intelligence last summer that suggests Russian operatives tried to use Trump advisers, including Carter Page, to infiltrate the Trump campaign, according to US officials.
I’d say they were quite successful.
FBI obtained FISA warrant to monitor Trump adviser Carter Page
“This confirms all of my suspicions about unjustified, politically motivated government surveillance,” Page said in an interview Tuesday. “I have nothing to hide.” He compared surveillance of him to the eavesdropping that the FBI and Justice Department conducted against civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Good luck with that comparison, Carter.
Report: Chechnya Opens ‘Concentration Camp for Homosexuals’
(via y)
Why FBI Can’t Tell All on Trump, Russia
Super-deep dive on Felix Sater. Shows how far back the Trump-Russia stuff goes.
Our investigation also may explain why the FBI, which was very public about its probe of Hillary Clinton’s emails, never disclosed its investigation of the Trump campaign prior to the election, even though we now know that it commenced last July. Such publicity could have exposed a high-value, long-running FBI operation against an organized crime network headquartered in the former Soviet Union. That operation depended on a convicted criminal who for years was closely connected with Trump, working with him in Trump Tower — while constantly informing for the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ), and being legally protected by them.
Why Michael Flynn may be seeking immunity
pretty good analysis
Trump Russia dossier key claim ‘verified’
“Watergate doesn’t even come close.” There are a lot of new allegations here, including hacking of voter rolls in coordination with the Trump campaign.
The Long, Twisted, and Bizarre History of the Trump-Russia Scandal
Pretty good timeline
How the White House and Republicans Blew Up the House Russia Investigation
What a mess
Mayflower: the heart of the Trump-Russia scandal
Wow, this is juicy conspiracy stuff. Seems well-sourced though?
Devin Nunes Vanished the Night Before He Made Trump Surveillance Claims
This is out of a dimestore spy novel
Manafort had plan to benefit Putin government
Was paid $10-mil to promote Putin’s interests in the US and abroad. Wow.
US Senate calls on British spy Christopher Steele to give evidence on explosive Trump-Russia dossier
We can’t see yet what’s at the center of the Trump/Russia black hole. But we can tell a lot about its magnitude by the scope of the event horizon and the degree of its gravitational pull, which is immense.