@dragonfly9
Has any other news outlet confirmed this MSNBC story?
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I’ve been keeping an eye on this and thus far it seems to be a single source yet; it may not get verified for some time, so I’ve been careful about my “ifs” and “could means”.
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Cross-posting
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Trump is threatening to sue. which could be a very dumb move, especially since O’Donnell was VERY careful with his wording, noting he only had a single source and IF true. The discovery process would be… fascinating.
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Sorry to not respond sooner…no @anon95374541 not of last night. It was Lawrence O’Donnell probably speaking to one of the lawyers? or someone associated with the judge possibly
I did hear some potential ‘what if’s’ from former Senator Claire McCaskill (on Morning Joe) who also a Former Proscecutor - if these were allegations were true, it is possible for the Judge to look them over “in camera” she described (in court’s chambers?) and he would verify that indeed they were signed by foreign subjects, and deem them very much in the public’s/Committee’s purview to review.
This is all conjecture…but if all the things we had heard re: Deutsche (corrupt bank/funding/launderer for Russians) and for T - he used the Russians to help finance his Golf courses, and Eric T did say it was the Russians…it could well be true.
Again…a conjecture and potential game-changer.
In camera - in private
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Doesn’t mean it won’t turn out to be true, but I can see why he’d back down on something that uncertain. Shows the danger of jumping the gun.
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Congressional Democrats plan to launch inquiry into Trump’s alleged role in scheme to silence affair accusations
The House Judiciary Committee is preparing to hold hearings and call witnesses involved in hush-money payments to ex-
Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult-film star Stormy Daniels as soon as October, according to people familiar with the plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.Democrats say they believe there is already enough evidence to name Trump as a co-conspirator in the episode that resulted in his former attorney, Michael Cohen, pleading guilty to two campaign finance charges.
Cohen, who is serving a three-year prison sentence for those counts and other crimes, testified under oath that Trump directed the payments that helped land him behind bars. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan also described Trump’s alleged role in the scheme, referring to him in court papers as “Individual-1.” But they concluded their investigation this summer without bringing any additional charges.
The hush-money inquiry will open a new chapter in the House’s months-long consideration of whether to draft articles of impeachment against the president.
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Pentagon tells Congress which projects it will defund to pay for Trump’s wall
The Pentagon on Wednesday began notifying lawmakers that certain military construction projects in their districts will be defunded to free up $3.6 billion from the Defense Department budget for President Trump’s border wall project.
[…]
Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) hit out at the more than $72 million worth of projects the Pentagon was planning to defund in Virginia, including a cyber operations facility at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, a Navy ship maintenance facility in Portsmouth and projects to replace hazardous-materials warehouses in Norfolk and Portsmouth.
“I’m deeply concerned about President Trump’s plan to pull funding from critical national security projects — including millions of dollars from important projects in Virginia — so he can build his border wall,” Kaine said in a statement. “The well-being of American troops is the core responsibility of every commander in the military, yet the Commander-in-Chief is shirking that duty so he can advance his own political agenda.”
Officially, the Pentagon is saying that the 127 affected projects are “deferred,” but in order for them to go ahead in the future, Congress must again fund them. The Republican-led Senate has agreed to do so in its annual defense policy bill, but the Democratic-led House refused in its version of the bill. The two sides will negotiate a possible compromise in conference, the period when the Senate and House make trades to meld two bills into one before seeking the president’s signature.
If Congress declines to fund the construction projects — or “backfill” them, in the Trump administration’s parlance — they will remain in limbo and effectively be defunded. If they are backfilled in the coming year’s budget, some could proceed without delay, because the Pentagon deliberately chose projects with contract award dates scheduled for future years. The department also chose projects that were already facing delays.
A partial list of projects reviewed by The Washington Post demonstrated how the affected projects range the gamut, from a space control facility at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado to weapons training ranges in Mississippi, Oregon, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Alaska to central heat and power plant boilers that need repairs at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska.
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The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the Department of Homeland Security for documents connected to President Donald Trump’s alleged offer to pardon officials who break the law while carrying out his wishes on immigration policy.
Trump has denied making the offer and his allies have reportedly claimed his closed-door comments — revealed in media reports — were jokes. But Democrats say they want to see the records from inside the department, particularly as the Judiciary Committee considers whether to recommend articles of impeachment to the full House.
"The Framers did not envision the use of the presidential pardon power to encourage criminal acts at the President’s direction," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said in a statement. "As the Committee continues its investigation into whether to recommend articles of impeachment, it is imperative that we are able to obtain information about ongoing presidential misconduct and abuses of power."
The subpoena, issued to acting DHS secretary Kevin McAleenan, requires a response by Sept. 17 at 10 a.m.
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Well Andrew Miller will be testifying. What kinds of obfuscation and non-answers that he’ll be hurling when he testifies Nov 5th? Wait, he is a government witness…so he may rat out Stone. 
Roger Stone’s “wingman,” who spent a year fighting a subpoena from special counsel Robert Mueller, has now been subpoenaed to testify at his former boss’ trial.
Andrew Miller, a longtime aide to Stone, received a subpoena in early August to appear as a government witness, said Miller’s lawyer, Paul Kamenar. Kamenar said he was “puzzled” as to why prosecutors wanted Miller as a government witness — he said earlier this year that he did not think Miller would be called — but confirmed that Miller plans to comply.
…
The subpoena offers further evidence that the government considers Miller a key part of its prosecution strategy and marks just the latest legal setback for Stone. U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson in July banned the one-time Trump political adviser from social media after ruling that he ran afoul of a court-imposed gag order.
Prosecutors have long had Miller on their radar and subpoenaed him in 2018 to testify before Mueller’s grand jury. Miller vigorously fought the move, arguing that Mueller’s appointment was invalid because his level of authority should have required Senate confirmation. He also contended that the deputy attorney general did not have the power to appoint Mueller, even though then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions had recused himself from the matter.
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The founder of the fringe internet message board 8chan has a message for lawmakers and their staff before the website’s current owner, Jim Watkins, is deposed Thursday on Capitol Hill: “He’ll lie through his teeth.”
Watkins is scheduled to answer questions Thursday morning as part of a closed-door session with the House Homeland Security Committee. Lawmakers subpoenaed Watkins last month, seeking answers for how 8chan became a dumping ground for white nationalist manifestos shortly before raced-based terror attacks.
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The Office of the Speaker of the House released a press report today accusing the President of corruption. (Nancy comes back swinging!)
Trump Violates the Constitution, Lavish Properties are a Cesspool of Corruption
SEPTEMBER 4, 2019
BLOG
President Trump is violating the Constitution by making money off of his lavish, ritzy resort properties, ultimately prioritizing his profits over the interests of the American people.
First, Trump suggested holding the G7 Summit at his Doral golf resort in Florida.
Now, the White House is walking back their previous statements that Trump personally suggested Pence stay at his Doonbeg hotel in Ireland, which would be yet another example of the President’s self-dealing.
Vice President Pence promised that their Administration would defend the Constitution and stand by a “strict constructionist”interpretation of the Constitution. Instead the Trump-Pence Administration is ignoring the text itself and selling out the Constitution to line Trump’s pockets.
Trump properties are a cesspool of corruption, a black hole for taxpayers’ money, an exploiter of immigrant labor and a national security threat with a suspected foreign spy walking the halls. Here is just some of what we know about the extent of the corruption at Trump’s properties:
- Violating the Constitution, Emoluments Clause: President Trump is violating the domestic and foreign emoluments clause of the Constitution by accepting and encouraging foreign governments to pay to stay at Trump resort properties without Congressional approval. More than 200 Members of Congress are fighting in the courts to defend our Constitution and put an end Trump’s abuse of power.
- Influence Peddling: Three members of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago inner circle of billionaire donors have undue influence over policy, projects and decision making by VA leadership, including impacting a $10 billion dollar contract.
- American Taxpayers Footing Bill for Trump’s Extravagance: According to the GAO, Trump’s trips to Mar-a-Lago cost, on average costs $3.4 million per visit and his golf outings have cost taxpayers at least $105 million as of July 2019 due to security expenses, travel on Air Force and Marine One and the frequency of his games.
- Trump Exploits Undocumented Workers: For decades, the Trump organization exploited undocumented immigrants to pad its bottom line. It did so in possible violation of civil and criminal law. And yet, the Trump Administration hypocritically attacks immigrants to score political points and refuses to work constructively with Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform that would help bring undocumented workers out of the shadows.
- Suspected Chinese Spy Causes National Security Threat at Mar-a-Lago: Trump’s properties are a national security risk, between a “credible threat”of espionage when a suspected Chinese spy gained access to Mar-a-Lago and Trump’s reckless handling of sensitive information during publicly-attended events at his properties.
Pence is just the latest Republican elected official to enable President Trump’s violations of the Constitution – and his corruption, self-dealing and lack of regard for the rule of law to threaten our national security, cost American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and diminish the stature of the United States.
The American people deserve a government that serves their interests, not one that’s being exploited to line the President’s pockets.
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U.S. congressional investigators have identified possible failures in Deutsche Bank AG’s (DBKGn.D) money laundering controls in its dealings with Russian oligarchs, after the lender handed over a trove of transaction records, emails and other documents, three people familiar with the matter said.
The congressional inquiry found instances where Deutsche Bank staff in the United States and elsewhere flagged concerns about new Russian clients and transactions involving existing ones, but were ignored by managers, two of the people said.
Lawmakers are also examining whether Deutsche Bank facilitated the funneling of illegal funds into the United States as a correspondent bank, where it processes transactions for others, one of the sources said.
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House Democrats are investigating Vice President Mike Pence’s stay at President Donald Trump’s golf resort in Ireland, as well as Trump’s recent promotion of another property he owns as a possible venue for the next G-7 summit.
In letters made public Friday, leaders of two Democrat-led House committees requested documents and other information from the White House, the Secret Service and the Trump Organization about the two matters. Both committees raised concerns about possible violations of the Constitution’s so-called emoluments clauses, which bar federal officials from accepting payments from foreign governments or profiting beyond their salaries.
The new lines of inquiry are the just the latest in a growing list of investigations into the Trump administration, his current and former associates, his businesses, his 2016 presidential campaign and his inaugural committee that have been launched by state and federal prosecutors and Democrat-led House committees.
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Wait there’s more…why is the military stopping to refuel in Glascow to re-fuel at a very small airport and have all on board stay at T’s property?
Why? Because it is a grifting WH…
Thankfully it is being investigated by the House Oversight Committee.
On Maddow’s show tonight (msnbc)
Since April, the House Oversight Committee has been investigating why the crew on the C-17 military transport plane made the unusual stay — both en route to the Middle East and on the way back — at the luxury waterside resort, according to several people familiar with the incident. But they have yet to receive any answers from the Pentagon.
The inquiry is part of a broader, previously unreported probe into U.S. military expenditures at and around the Trump property in Scotland. According to a letter the panel sent to the Pentagon in June, the military has spent $11 million on fuel at the Prestwick Airport — the closest airport to Trump Turnberry — since October 2017, fuel that would be cheaper if purchased at a U.S. military base. The letter also cites a Guardian report that the airport provided cut-rate rooms and free rounds of golf at Turnberry for U.S. military members.
Taken together, the incidents raise the possibility that the military has helped keep Trump’s Turnberry resort afloat — the property lost $4.5 million in 2017, but revenue went up $3 million in 2018.
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Ok…bring it on…
The House Judiciary Committee is preparing to take its first formal vote to define what Chairman Jerry Nadler calls an ongoing “impeachment investigation” of President Donald Trump, according to multiple sources briefed on the discussions.
The panel could vote as early as Wednesday on a resolution to spell out the parameters of its investigation. The precise language is still being hammered out inside the committee and with House leaders. A draft of the resolution is expected to be release Monday morning.
Thx @rusticgorilla
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And more on this…Dems mean business re: impeachment, following the same rules as were utilized during Nixon’s and Clinton’s impeachment.
Ok guys…bring it on…shake it up…DO SOMETHING!
WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee plans to vote this week to formalize procedures for a growing impeachment inquiry, clarifying its investigative authorities and granting President Trump new due process, a draft resolution shows.
The Judiciary Committee took similar steps in the 1970s and 1990s when it conducted impeachment inquiries into Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Bill Clinton. Now, as then, Democrats believe the resolution, a copy of which was reviewed by The New York Times, will allow the panel to speed up its work and potentially elicit more information than it otherwise could about instances of possible obstruction of justice and abuses of power by Mr. Trump.
The development carries significant symbolic weight, as well.
Though the committee has already informed federal courts and the public that it is in the midst of a full-scale impeachment inquiry, the three-page resolution will be the first time lawmakers have recorded a vote to that effect. Committee leaders hope the move will send a signal to Congress and the White House that their investigation is not only proceeding but intensifying, even as the broader Democratic Party caucus remains divided over the merits of ultimately voting to impeach Mr. Trump.
Based on the committee’s investigative plans, the new procedures could be put to the test quickly in the coming weeks.
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And Congress is back. Well almost, we’re still a few hours away but who will notice? Amirite?
The vote, expected Thursday and confirmed to NBC News by a source familiar with the committee’s plans, will include language that is expected to follow the procedures the Judiciary Committee used in 1974 during the Nixon impeachment proceedings.
The resolution, should it pass, would make the following four changes to the committee rules governing hearings:
- It would allow the chairman to designate full committee or subcommittee hearings as part of the impeachment probe.
- It would allow staff to question witnesses for an additional hour, equally divided between the majority and minority.
- It would allow for secret grand jury material to be reviewed in closed executive session.
- It would allow for the president’s counsel to respond to information and testimony presented in committee in writing and give the chairman authority to invite the president’s counsel to review and respond in writing to executive session materials.
These procedures are expected to follow those the Judiciary Committee used in 1974 during the Nixon impeachment proceedings.
“President Trump went to great lengths to obstruct Special Counsel [Robert] Mueller’s investigation, including the President’s attempts to remove the Special Counsel and encourage witnesses to lie and to destroy or conceal evidence,” Nadler said in a statement accompanying the release. “Anyone else who did this would face federal criminal prosecution.”
“No one is above the law,” Nadler added. “The unprecedented corruption, coverup, and crimes by the President are under investigation by the Committee as we determine whether to recommend articles of impeachment or other Article 1 remedies. The adoption of these additional procedures is the next step in that process and will help ensure our impeachment hearings are informative to Congress and the public, while providing the President with the ability to respond to evidence presented against him.”
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