This is not just a collusion thread. This is also a corruption thread.

by **Turtleneck** 2017-08-27, 23:39

I have mentioned before that I am not sold on the idea there was coordinated collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. Some meetings and some discussions? Some actions taken by Flynn and Manafort on behalf of the Trump campaign? Probably. However, I have yet to see any information revealed to the public that tells me there was coordinated collusion running from Russia to the top of the Trump campaign. Right now any collusion seems more haphazard than coordinated.

So why has Trump, at almost every turn, taken actions that keep the narrative of collusion alive? Why did his son lie and mislead? Why does Trump seem so anxious about the Russia issue? What I do believe is that Trump does not have a clean financial record. I believe he has lied and mislead the public about his financial relationship with Russia, and it is possible those financial ties do actually connect to some kind of collusion.

Last week the New Yorker published a big story last week that got the ball rolling.

Several news accounts have confirmed that Mueller has indeed begun to examine Trump’s real-estate deals and other business dealings, including some that have no obvious link to Russia. But this is hardly wayward. It would be impossible to gain a full understanding of the various points of contact between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign without scrutinizing many of the deals that Trump has made in the past decade. Trump-branded buildings in Toronto and the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan were developed in association with people who have connections to the Kremlin. Other real-estate partners of the Trump Organization—in Brazil, India, Indonesia, and elsewhere—are now caught up in corruption probes, and, collectively, they suggest that the company had a pattern of working with partners who exploited their proximity to political power.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/08/21/trumps-business-of-corruption

Then this evening, while we were all being captivated by strategy, deception, and dragons in Westeros, the Amazon Washington Post, a well known #fakenews publication, posted a big story. Actually it was before GoT aired, but whatever.

While Donald Trump was running for president in late 2015 and early 2016, his company was pursuing a plan to develop a massive Trump Tower in Moscow, according to several people familiar with the proposal and new records reviewed by Trump Organization lawyers.

As part of the discussions, a Russian-born real estate developer urged Trump to come to Moscow to tout the proposal and suggested that he could get President Vladimir Putin to say “great things” about Trump, according to several people who have been briefed on his correspondence.

The developer, Felix Sater, predicted in a November 2015 email that he and Trump Organization leaders would soon be celebrating — both one of the biggest residential projects in real estate history and Donald Trump’s election as president, according to two of the people with knowledge of the exchange.

Sater wrote to Trump Organization Executive Vice President Michael Cohen “something to the effect of, ‘Can you believe two guys from Brooklyn are going to elect a president?’ ” said one person briefed on the email exchange. Sater emigrated from what was then the Soviet Union when he was 6 and grew up in Brooklyn.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-business-sought-deal-on-a-trump-tower-in-moscow-while-he-ran-for-president/2017/08/27/d6e95114-8b65-11e7-91d5-ab4e4bb76a3a_story.html?utm_term=.117cc3f0db26

by **Turtleneck** 2017-08-27, 23:49

Andrew S. Weiss‏ @andrewsweiss 2h2 hours ago
1/ Stunning: Trump failed to disclose a large pending deal in Moscow while he ran for White House via @CarolLeonnig

Andrew S. Weiss‏ @andrewsweiss 2h2 hours ago
2/ Remember: giant 2013 Sberbank loan to Agalarov megaproject also included planned Trump deal https://nyti.ms/2vrUBpI via @NeilMacFarquhar

Andrew S. Weiss‏ @andrewsweiss 2h2 hours ago
3/ Agalarov, lest we forget, is same developer who set up fateful @DonaldJTrumpJr/Kushner/Manafort meeting w Veselnitskaya #coincidence

Andrew S. Weiss‏ @andrewsweiss 1h1 hour ago
4/ If you want to understand how Trump/Russia connection worked pay very close attention to Felix Sater who's at the center of new WP story

Andrew S. Weiss‏ @andrewsweiss
5/ Here's a good place to start: a disturbing tale of Trump, Felix Sater & Russian mob connections
https://www.bloomberg.com/amp/view/articles/2017-06-21/trump-russia-and-those-shadowy-sater-deals-at-bayrock … via @TimOBrien

Andrew S. Weiss‏ @andrewsweiss 1h1 hour ago
6/ Then there's the intersection of Trump, Sater & potential criminal ties to the ill-fated Trump SoHo project

Here is the NYT article referrened in the tweet: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/06/us/politics/donald-trump-soho-settlement.html

Andrew S. Weiss‏ @andrewsweiss 1h1 hour ago
7/ The funny thing abt Sater is how talkative he is about Trump's Kremlin ties. This quote is a case in point
This is not just a collusion thread. This is also a corruption thread. DISJAUIWAAEP-Gs

This is not just a collusion thread. This is also a corruption thread. DISJAUIWAAEP-Gs

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/08/felix-sater-donald-trump-russia-investigation.html

Andrew S. Weiss‏ @andrewsweiss 1h1 hour ago
8/ Fun fact: Sater has known Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen since high school

Here is the NY Magazine article that is referenced in the tweet: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/08/felix-sater-donald-trump-russia-investigation.html

Andrew S. Weiss‏ @andrewsweiss 1h1 hour ago
9/ They even worked together to put a cockamamie "peace plan" for #Ukraine on Mike Flynn's desk earlier this year

Here is the NTY article referenced in the tweet: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/19/us/politics/donald-trump-ukraine-russia.html

10/ Sater said recently: “In about the next 30-35 days, I will be the most colorful character you have ever talked about." I can't wait. END

by **tGreenWay** 2017-08-28, 00:20

At a minimum, I believe Trump and/or his campaign people knew Putin was fucking around with the election, including the DNC hack/email dump to Wikileaks, and the enormous staff Putin arranged to place fake news on social media. Whether the campaign was hands-on in the effort--I don't know. As for Putin's hacking into 21 state election sites, I doubt that was anyone but Putin, but if Trump and/or his people were a part of that, they should be lined up and shot for treason.

by **tGreenWay** 2017-08-28, 00:31

The thing that just keeps bothering me is Trump's insistence that, if he lost, the fix was in. He was certain he was going to win and HRC had no chance. I mean, I know Trump's confidence in himself and his ability to sell himself go beyond anything we've seen in a candidate before, but this matter-of-fact "I know I'm going to win and if I don't then somebody cheated" just goes beyond explanation. I know it sounds crazy but it just felt like he knew the fix was already in--for him, so if he didn't win, then HRC's people would have had to out-cheat Trump's.
I know I've ventured into tinfoil hat territory, but it's just a gut feeling I haven't been able to shake since 11/9. Trump is POTUS, but I don't think I'll ever feel like he won it fair and square.

by **Turtleneck** 2017-08-28, 00:32

I think financial corruption might become a real problem for Trump down the road. Yes, the Trump campaign likely knew Russia was interfering to the extent they were, but that does not establish collusion.

There have been reports lingering for quite some time that Manafort became aware of Russia's activities during his stint with the campaign, but made no attempt to stop it because it benefited Trump. One report claimed Manafort actually reached out to Russia after he became aware, and asked them to step up their efforts in exchange for a soft tone on the Ukraine issue. If that is actually true, that Manafort arranged some deal, that it is a big story. However, since that is all speculation for now, what seems more concrete is financial corruption.

by **Turtleneck** 2017-08-28, 00:38

tGreenWay wrote:The thing that just keeps bothering me is Trump's insistence that, if he lost, the fix was in. He was certain he was going to win and HRC had no chance. I mean, I know Trump's confidence in himself and his ability to sell himself go beyond anything we've seen in a candidate before, but this matter-of-fact "I know I'm going to win and if I don't then somebody cheated" just goes beyond explanation. I know it sounds crazy but it just felt like he knew the fix was already in--for him, so if he didn't win, then HRC's people would have had to out-cheat Trump's.
I know I've ventured into tinfoil hat territory, but it's just a gut feeling I haven't been able to shake since 11/9. Trump is POTUS, but I don't think I'll ever feel like he won it fair and square.

He was hedging with the "rigged election" talk. He exhibited typical Trump confidence, but was definitely laying the groundwork for a grand excuse.

by **tGreenWay** 2017-08-28, 00:47

Turtleneck wrote:I think financial corruption might become a real problem for Trump down the road. Yes, the Trump campaign likely knew Russia was interfering to the extent they were, but that does not establish collusion.

There have been reports lingering for quite some time that Manafort became aware of Russia's activities during his stint with the campaign, but made no attempt to stop it because it benefited Trump. One report claimed Manafort actually reached out to Russia after he became aware, and asked them to step up their efforts in exchange for a soft tone on the Ukraine issue. If that is actually true, that Manafort arranged some deal, that it is a big story. However, since that is all speculation for now, what seems more concrete is financial corruption.

I agree knowing about Putin's funny stuff is different from participating in it, at least legally. It won't sit well with a lot of voters, though, beyond his morally-challenged base, that is.

As for funding, let's not forget Eric Trump's bragging about having access to $100M through Russian banks, a quote he now disputes.

http://www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2017/05/05/james-dodson-donald-trump-golf

by **tGreenWay** 2017-08-28, 00:50

Turtleneck wrote:
tGreenWay wrote:The thing that just keeps bothering me is Trump's insistence that, if he lost, the fix was in. He was certain he was going to win and HRC had no chance. I mean, I know Trump's confidence in himself and his ability to sell himself go beyond anything we've seen in a candidate before, but this matter-of-fact "I know I'm going to win and if I don't then somebody cheated" just goes beyond explanation. I know it sounds crazy but it just felt like he knew the fix was already in--for him, so if he didn't win, then HRC's people would have had to out-cheat Trump's.
I know I've ventured into tinfoil hat territory, but it's just a gut feeling I haven't been able to shake since 11/9. Trump is POTUS, but I don't think I'll ever feel like he won it fair and square.

He was hedging with the "rigged election" talk. He exhibited typical Trump confidence, but was definitely laying the groundwork for a grand excuse.

Please stop being rational. I accept the Trump presidency, but I'd prefer to hang onto this gut feeling that it was not an entirely legitimate ascension.

by **GRR Spartan** 2017-08-28, 01:12

Eric Trump denies what on video

by **Turtleneck** 2017-08-28, 13:38

Trump Associate Boasted That Moscow Business Deal ‘Will Get Donald Elected’

WASHINGTON — A business associate of President Trump promised in 2015 to engineer a real estate deal with the aid of the president of Russia, Vladimir V. Putin, that he said would help Mr. Trump win the presidency.

The business associate, Felix Sater, wrote a series of emails to Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, in which he boasted about his ties to Mr. Putin and predicted that building a Trump Tower in Moscow would be a political boon to Mr. Trump’s candidacy.

“Our boy can become president of the USA and we can engineer it,” Mr. Sater wrote in an email. “I will get all of Putins team to buy in on this, I will manage this process.”

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/08/28/us/politics/trump-tower-putin-felix-sater.html?referer=https://t.co/J7aDvTFP2h?amp=1

by **Turtleneck** 2017-08-28, 14:43

Top Trump Organization official asked the Putin admin for help with a business deal during the campaign.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/top-trump-organization-executive-reached-out-to-putin-aide-for-help-on-business-deal/2017/08/28/095aebac-8c16-11e7-84c0-02cc069f2c37_story.html?tid=sm_tw&tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.2e32b1a84ba2

by **Turtleneck** 2017-08-28, 14:45

by **Turtleneck** 2017-08-28, 20:11

Mueller Team Asking If Trump Tried to Hide Purpose of Trump Tower Meeting

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/amp/mueller-team-asking-if-trump-tried-hide-purpose-trump-tower-n796746

by **GRR Spartan** 2017-08-28, 21:50

I think Trump is going to be changing things up.
He might let Mr. Loose Lips hang in the wind and sit back as his personal lawyer will claim attorney/Client privledge for Trump.

However Pence is looking more Presidential and the pardon deal may already be in the works.

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