Yes, Muellerâs team has shown it can present evidence on a granular level, and one cyber expert leaving does not mean that they havenât already discovered what they need. I agree.
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Very topical tonight on MSNBC @Pet_Proletariat
Chris Hayes spoke with Franklin Foer
Maddow spoke w/ Filkins about his New Yorker writing on the Alfa Bank/T Tower communications via servers. Suggesting it may have been a âfolderâ type of communication - ie, what Manafort used - keep messaging within a draft folder that others can open and communicate without sending.
Links might be available later I would imagine
May be tomorrow hereâŠ
Not sure where to find Chris HayesâŠexcept that they both REPEAT tonight. Maddow at 9p and Chris at 12Mid
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CuriousâŠ
The office of Russiaâs infamous troll factory believed to be at the vanguard of Russiaâs information war has been set on fire in St. Petersburg overnight.
https://themoscowtimes.com/news/infamous-st-petersburg-troll-farm-set-on-fire-63130
At 3am Tuesday morning, someone set fire to the offices of the restructured Kremlin-linked troll factory, the Internet Research Agency, that was responsible for much of Russiaâs 2016 U.S. election interference.
Moscow Times:
An investigation revealed last year that the secretive troll factory had rebranded itself as a media conglomerate with 16 news websites generating more than 30 million pageviews every month. Its operational hub, a website called FAN (Federal News Agency), is based a stoneâs throw from the troll farmâs original location in northern St. Petersburg.
The Fontanka.ru news website cited police as saying that an unknown suspect broke the agencyâs ground-floor window and threw a Molotov cocktail inside at around 3 a.m. on Tuesday.
Surveillance footage published by FAN showed flames erupting at one of the empty workstations and a female staffer stationed on the opposite end quickly exiting the office.
âI believe this is tied to FANâs activities,â its chief editor Yevgeny Zubarev said. âWeâre most often attacked online, but these types of attacks have already taken place offline.â
FAN said its office came under another arson attack on the eve of the 2018 presidential elections in March.
(...)St. Petersburg police told the RBC news website that they were looking for the culprit and planned to launch criminal proceedings.
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Oh Dear! There goes a couple of my regular monthly BOT visits⊠
I manage a small website for my local church here, and we have a couple of visits every month from St Petersburg.
I think the name âThamesâ may confuse them thinking it is somewhere in the UK. The name actually was given by James Cook on his first visit to NZ in 1769. The Firth, over which I currently look, reminded him of the Firth of Thames in England - except it was Christmas time and the coast was covered in pohutakawa.
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Perhaps Putinâs style of dealing with those who cross him is why Trump kisses his arse at every opportunity.
Falling from balconies, defenestration, poisonings, involuntary suicides, helicopter crashes, and now death by dog leash.
LONDONâNikolai Glushkov, a Russian Ă©migrĂ©, lived alone in a weather-beaten row house in South London with an aging dog and a cat named Braveheart. It was the waning days of March, and he was readying himself for something big.The onetime finance director of Russiaâs flagship airline, he was preparing for a trial in a London court. He told friends it would prove his innocence of longstanding financial charges by Russian authorities and expose Aeroflot Russian Airlines as a front for Russian security services. The case could also prove embarrassing for President Vladimir Putin, by illuminating a piece of post-Soviet history the Russian government has tried to erase.
After running out of funds to pay his own lawyers, Mr. Glushkov, 68 years old, planned to represent himself, and had amassed tomes on British law and forensic accounting. âThis case was his purpose in life,â said Georgy Shuppe, a friend and former business partner. âHe was not going to give up.â
On the eve of a preliminary court hearing, Mr. Glushkov stopped answering his phone. When his daughter drove to his house to investigate, she found him inside, strangled to death with a dog leash. Later that night, dozens of anti-terror police cordoned off the house and began digging holes in his yard.
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Thanks for the WSJ article â itâs timely for me because I was just doing some research on the scores of suspicious deaths that are linked to possible GRU reprisals and cover ups. I havenât found a list that exhaustively compiles them all â they seem to fall into categories: Russian diplomats whoâve died mysteriously, ex-spies assassinated in the UK, journalists and political opponents bumped off in Russia, etc. If anyone comes across a comprehensive list, please post here. In the meantime, here is a list of lists.
Putin has delivered a chilling message: âCross me and youâre dead. Even if you donât cross me, but you know too much about me, your untimely death could simply be a part of damage control.â And this is the world leader Trump admires most.
BTW, there is a little overlap between these lists, but not much, and they donât even include the latest (itâs hard to keep up!):
If youâre ready for a deep dive into Putinâs assassination factory, hereâs a remarkable seven-part series from BuzzFeed â it requires a significant time commitment, but is enthralling â like reading a spy novel. This is Part 1 which includes links to the other installments:
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Some words from Putin, strongman talkâŠMaybe he acts like that with someone else, but in that case they are to blame. I have a completely normal and professional dialogue with him and of course he listens
Article in Moscow Times
Putin Says Trump Listens to Him and Wants to Repair U.S.-Russia Ties
Russiaâs Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump listened to him and was keen to improve battered U.S.-Russia ties despite the complicated domestic political situation in the United States.
Putin, who was speaking at a discussion forum in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, made the comments when asked if he agreed that Trump only listened to himself.
Putin said he thought the U.S. president wanted to stabilize the troubled relationship between Moscow and Washington and said it was not true that Trump only listened to himself.
âMaybe he acts like that with someone else, but in that case they are to blame. I have a completely normal and professional dialogue with him and of course he listens. I see that he reacts to his interlocutorâs arguments,â said Putin.
The Russian leader said it was normal they disagreed about many things, something he said was normal in discussions with foreign leaders.
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Russian National charged with interfering in the 2018 midterms. Gutsy move by our Intelligence groups.
Russian National Charged with Interfering in U.S. Political System
A criminal complaint was unsealed in Alexandria, Virginia, today charging a Russian national for her alleged role in a Russian conspiracy to interfere in the U.S. political system, including the 2018 midterm election. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia, and FBI Director Christopher Wray made the announcement after the charges were unsealed.
âTodayâs charges allege that Russian national Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova conspired with others who were part of a Russian influence campaign to interfere with U.S. democracy,â said Assistant Attorney General Demers. âOur nation is built upon a hard-fought and unwavering commitment to democracy. Americans disagree in good faith on all manner of issues, and we will protect their right to do so. Unlawful foreign interference with these debates debases their democratic integrity, and we will make every effort to disrupt it and hold those involved accountable.â
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An independent Russian newspaper reports Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, the man nicknamed âPutinâs chefâ whom Special Counsel Robert Mueller has indicted for 2016 U.S. election interference, allegedly has been involved in brutal attacks and at least one killing. (from Committee to Investigate Russia)
Missing Journalist/ex con - Alemchenko more than likely killed off by Putinâs Chef Yevgeny Prigozhin
AP excerpt
MOSCOW (AP) â A security aide to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian businessman who has been indicted by American investigators for allegedly trying to interfere with the 2016 U.S. election, says the mogul has been involved in attacks on several people and at least one killing, an independent Russian newspaper reported Monday.
Prigozhin has been dubbed âPutinâs chefâ for organizing catering events for Russian President Vladimir Putin and even personally serving him and his guests on some occasions.
The Novaya Gazeta article Monday by reporter Denis Korotkov came out several days after unknown people sent a funeral wreath to the journalistâs home and left a basket with a severed goatâs head at the newspaperâs office.
Korotkovâs article relies on several interviews with Valery Alemchenko, a former convict who worked for Prigozhin. Alemchenko said he orchestrated attacks on Prigozhinâs opponents as well as the killing of an opposition blogger in northwest Russia, all at the mogulâs behalf.
Amelchenko also said several people working for Prigozhin had traveled to Syria last year to test an unknown poison on Syrians who refused to fight for Syrian President Bashar Assadâs government. Novaya Gazeta corroborated the account with two other sources.
Amelchenko disappeared early this month shortly after meeting the reporter and telling him that he was being followed. Korotkov said he received a call from Amelchenkoâs phone later that day and when he went to the manâs house, he found two cellphones and what looked like his shoe lying on the ground.
Amelchenko is now on a Russian police list of missing persons.
U.S. authorities on Friday also brought charges against another Prigozhin employee, bookkeeper Elena Khusyaynova, for helping oversee the finances of a so-called troll farm in the Russian city of St. Petersburg that aimed to influence U.S. politics through social media postings. When reached by phone on Monday, the womanâs ex-husband, Ravil Khusyaynova, told The Associated that he had spoken to her and she refuses to speak to the media.
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That and taking Russian PAC $$âŠreference earlierâŠmakes wonder how much money has really been paid⊠The gift that keeps on giving - Citizens United!
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We are never that far away from the Russian hackers.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hackers linked to the Russian government are impersonating U.S. State Department employees in an operation aimed at infecting computers of U.S. government agencies, think tanks and businesses, two cybersecurity firms told Reuters.
The operation, which began on Wednesday, suggests Russia is keen to resume an aggressive campaign of attacks on U.S. targets after a lull going into the Nov. 6 U.S. midterm election, in which Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives, according to CrowdStrike and FireEye Inc (FEYE.O).
U.S. intelligence agencies have charged that Russia was behind a string of hacks in the 2016 presidential campaign in a bid to boost support for Donald Trump. The U.S. government and private cyber security firms have said Russia was not behind hacking campaigns in this yearâs congressional elections.
In the newly discovered operation, hackers linked to the Russian government sent emails purporting to come from State Department public affairs specialist Susan Stevenson, according to a sample phishing email reviewed by Reuters.
It encouraged recipients to download malicious documents that claimed to be from Heather Nauert, a State Department official who Trump has said he is considering naming ambassador to the United Nations.
That file would install malicious software that would grant hackers wide access to their systems, according to FireEye.
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Scary! I hope a change in Congress will help fight this in 2019.
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All things being litigated on Trump, Manafort, Flynn, Gates etc. Resource available here via Lawfare blog, new RESOURCE ongoing litigation!
Last entry is the Sealed Document/DocketâŠpundits on Maddowâs show are saying it is more than likely a Grand Jury hearing, and possibly reflects a subpoena for T to talk to the Grand Jury. Just speculation of courseâŠbut this is being tracked very carefully.
We will not know until a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) might be submitted about it, to find out specifically what it is. And this could take years.
Sealed v. Sealed
What do we know about this case? Almost nothing. The entire district court docket is sealed, and although the circuit court dockets are publically available, all individual filings are sealed.
Why do some believe this case is related to the special counsel investigation? Writing in Politico, Josh Gerstein and Darren Samuelsohn lay out two reasons to believe this case is related to the special counsel investigation. First, a sealed response was filed in the case just three hours after Samuelsohn overheard a man request the special counselâs latest sealed filing from the clerkâs office for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit clerk. Second, the only judge to recuse himself from the en banc panel hearing the appeal was Trump-appointed Judge Greg Katsas, who promised during his confirmation hearings to recuse himself from any cases related to the special counsel investigation due to his previous work in the White House Counselâs Office.
Where does the case stand? The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Aug. 16, 2018, where Chief Judge Beryl Howell ruled on Sept. 19. After the case was appealed up to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the appeals court quickly sent it back to the district court to resolve a procedural issue. The appeals court will hear oral arguments on Dec. 14, 2018.
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (1:18-gj-00041-BAH)
Sealed docket.U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (18-3068)
Am going to post this as well in Who The Fuck has Sued the AdministrationâŠbecause it is legal.
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A most excellent resource! Thank you! I really like that this includes a âlay personâsâ summary of each case plus links to all the filings. Wow. 
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Hereâs the STATUS REPORT from Muellerâs TeamâŠsubmitted today. I listed only a small portion of it. Looks like Mueller is done with Manafort, and wants the judge to sentence Manafort immediately.
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5280674/D-D-C-1-17-Cr-00201-ABJ-455-0.pdf>
3.After signing the plea agreement, Manafort committed federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Counselâs Office on a variety of subject matters, which constitute breaches of the agreement. The government will file a detailed sentencing submission to the Probation Department and the Court in advance of sentencing that sets forth the nature of the defendantâs crimes and lies, including those after signing the plea agreement herein.
4.As the defendant has breached the plea agreement, there is no reason to delay his sentencing herein.
The defendant reports that:
- After signing the plea agreement, Manafort met with the government on numerous occasions and answered the government âs questions. Manafort has provided information to the government in an effort to live up to his cooperation obligations. He believes he has provided truthful information and does not agree with the governmentâs characterization or that he has breached the agreement. Given the conflict in the partiesâ positions, there is no reason to delay the sentencing herein, and he asks the Court to set a sentencing date in this matter.
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New Head of the British Army, Gen Mark Carleton-Smith, is stating that he feels Russia is much larger threat than any otherâŠ(From the Telegraph UK - paywall)
Russia is now âindisputablyâ a greater threat to the security of Britain and her allies than Islamist extremist groups such as al-Qaeda and Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil), the new Army chief has warned.
Apart from posing a conventional military threat, the Russians are constantly seeking to undermine the West by developing new war-fighting capabilities in non-conventional areas such as cyber and space.
Speaking in his first interview since his appointment as the Chief of the General Staff, Gen Mark Carleton-Smith, 54, said it was vital that Britain and its allies were not complacent about the threat Russia posed.
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Putting this Opinion piece from NYT on what is going on with Manafort here, since he is one of the key players in this Mueller investigation. WHy was Manafort double-dealing with Mueller, going back and forth with Tâs shared lawyers.
Some possible hypotheses
Now we learn that his cooperation was squirrelly and incomplete, a series of prevarications that obviously infuriated the prosecutors, who gave him one final 10-day chance to play it straight. But he did not heed the warning and now is unlikely to ever leave prison absent a pardon from President Trump. Which leads us to:
Hypothesis No. 1: The Pardon Promise
Did the president secretly promise to rescue Mr. Manafort, so long as he resisted Mr. Mueller? That would make sense of his otherwise confounding conduct. But the chain of implausibilities is long.
The prospect of a pardon was always in the mix, including when Mr. Manafort made his initial decision to cooperate. For it to suffice to change his mind now, it would have to have become all the more certain. But that would entail some communication, from the president, through two intermediaries (one in the Trump camp and one in the Manafort camp) and on to Mr. Manafort in prison, where all his conversations are monitored.
The perils for all those participants in such a crass scheme would be enormous. If discovered, it would mean assured conviction for witness tampering and, if any of the intermediaries was a lawyer, disbarment. For the president, it most likely would trigger impeachment, and even conviction in the Senate could not be counted out. Finally, for Mr. Manafort, it would require a measure of Mr. Trumpâs good faith that nobody acquainted with the presidentâs track record could comfortably have. And it would still not shield him from near-certain prosecution for related state crimes.
Hypothesis No. 2: The Assassination Fixation
Some commentators have suggested that Mr. Manafortâs lifetime of shady dealings with the Russian government have left him more afraid of life on the outside, where he could be vulnerable to a poison needle anytime, than of the safe confines of a federal prison.
This scenario was always out of the most imaginative Le CarrĂ© novel, and it is the sheer unlikelihood of the other alternatives, combined with Mr. Manafortâs intransigence, that makes it a contender at all. The problem with it at this point is that thereâs no reason to think that any of the cloak-and-dagger circumstances would have changed. If Mr. Manafort most feared the spyâs comeuppance, he wouldnât have agreed to cooperate, and earn a much reduced sentence, in the first place. So that hypothesis doesnât help explain Mr. Manafortâs decision to double-cross Mr. Mueller.
Hypothesis No. 3: The Bad Gambler
Perhaps Mr. Manafort, who has enjoyed a lifelong reputation as a swashbuckling big-time gambler, is simply a lousy poker player. He blinked when the pot got too big and opted to fold, forfeiting what heâd already spent. But then some combination of unsettled resolve and a lifetime of lying as an M.O. made him hope that he could eat his cake and have it too â that he could lie his way out of the situation. This is not exactly irrational, but it is colossally stupid, particularly when playing across the table from Mr. Mueller and not knowing the cards the special counsel was holding.
Those cards will now be revealed as a consequence of Mr. Manafortâs dithering. He will proceed directly to sentencing, in connection with which Mr. Mueller will provide the court with detailed proof of Mr. Manafortâs lies during the aborted cooperation period.
That means evidence of the truthful answers to the questions lied about. Considering that Mr. Manafortâs cooperation almost certainly had to involve the highest targets and most important evidence, that memorandum will be a treasure trove of as-yet-unknown fruits of Mr. Muellerâs investigation, particularly into the possible connection of the campaign with Russian meddling in the election. It could conceivably contain Mr. Muellerâs understanding of Tuesdayâs report, in The Guardian, that Mr. Manafort met with Julian Assange multiple times, including in March 2016, just before he took the helm of the Trump campaign, a job he was so desperate to have that he agreed to work free.
For that reason, the memorandum may be filed under seal, but even so, it operates as a hedge against the possibility that Mr. Muellerâs report might eventually be bottled up at the Department of Justice, for example under the order of Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker. It will ultimately be for the court, not Mr. Whitaker, to unseal the document.
As for the formerly high-flying Mr. Manafort, he has nothing left to wager with. He is, permanently, a luckless wretch, out of options and tapped out. He has become a gamblerâs worst nightmare.
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Itâs very telling to scroll through this info-graphic. Trump just canât get his lies straight. 
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Here is another excellent compilation of the lies Trump told about his relationship with Russia. Fact check reporter for the NYT, Linda Qiu, neatly summarizes the dozens of times Trump flat out lied about his Russian connections. Each occurrence is backed up by solid documentation.
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Analysis of where we are vis-a-vis The Steele DossierâŠdone by the folks at Lawfareblog. Thorough analysisâŠand nuanced detail from what we know publicly and what has happened.
âŠthere is also a good deal in the dossier that has not been corroborated in the official record and perhaps never will beâwhether because itâs untrue, unimportant or too sensitive. As a raw intelligence document, the Steele dossier, we believe, holds up well so far. But surely there is more to come from Muellerâs team. We will return to it as the public record develops.
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