WTF Community

Day 511

Updated 6/14/2018 10:28 AM PDT

1/ New York State attorney general sued Trump and his three eldest children for "persistent illegal conduct" at the Donald J. Trump Foundation. The lawsuit alleges that Trump repeatedly misused the nonprofit, violating campaign finance laws, engaging in self-dealing to decorate one of his golf clubs, and illegal coordination with his presidential campaign to stage a multimillion dollar giveaway during a 2016 campaign event. The state asked to dissolve the foundation and distribute its remaining $1 million in assets to other charities, and force Trump to pay at least $2.8 million in restitution and penalties. Trump attacked the lawsuit on Twitter, calling it an attempt by the "sleazy New York Democrats" to damage him. He vowed not to settle the case. (New York Times / Washington Post)


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2018/06/14/day-511/
2 Likes

NY AG is going after the DJT Foundation with a lawsuit…coming at Trump now at all directions.

The New York State attorney general’s office filed a scathingly worded lawsuit on Thursday taking aim at the Donald J. Trump Foundation, accusing the charity and the Trump family of sweeping violations of campaign finance laws, self-dealing and illegal coordination with the presidential campaign.

The lawsuit, which seeks to dissolve the foundation and bar President Trump and three of his children from serving on the boards of nonprofits, was an extraordinary rebuke of a sitting president. The attorney general also sent referral letters to the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Election Commission for possible further action, adding to Mr. Trump’s extensive legal problems.

3 Likes

Politico reporter, Kyle Cheney is reporting on Twitter that the IG report reveals that James Comey sent some official FBI emails from his personal gmail account while investigating Clinton’s use of a private email sever to conduct official State business. I’m sure more from this story is on the way. :astonished:

4 Likes

CNBC has it.

The report lists five instances where that happened.
They include his forwarding, on Nov. 8, 2016, to his personal Gmail account from his unclassified FBI account a proposed post-election message for all bureau employees.
The next month Comey forwarded to his Gmail account multiple drafts “multiple drafts of a proposed year-end message to FBI employees,” according to the IG.
And “on December 30, 2016, Comey forwarded to his personal email account from his unclassified FBI account proposed responses to two requests for information from the Office of Special Counsel,” the report noted.
“The forwarded email included two attachments: (1) a certification for Comey to sign; and (2) a list of FBI employees with information responsive to this request, including their titles, office, appointment status, contact information, and duty hours.”
In January 2017, the report said, Comey forwarded to his personal email account an email that highlighted language that needed to be corrected in a Wall Street Journal article. And in March, he sent from that email account multiple drafts of his proposed opening statement to the House Intelligence Committee, according to the IG.

1 Like

I didn’t know how to approach this story yesterday, so I’m going to try and outline it here…

  • The Justice Department seized New York Times reporter Ali Watkins’ phone and email records as part of an investigation into former Senate Intelligence Committee aide, James Wolfe, for lying to the FBI about his contacts with reporters and leaking information to the the press.
  • Watkins and Wolfe had been in a three-year relationship, which ended last year.
  • A Customs and Border Protection agent confronted Watkins regarding her confidential sources. Jeffrey Rambo questioned Watkins about her reporting and how she developed information. It’s considered unusual for government investigators to question reporters about their sources.
  • The New York Times is reviewing Ali Watkins’ work history, including the nature of her relationship with Wolfe. She has said that Wolfe did not provide her with information during their relationship.
  • The Justice Department indicted Wolfe on three counts of lying to FBI agents last week.
3 Likes

Remember the collective monacle popping on the Right when Obama supposedly bowed to a foreign leader?

3 Likes

And here’s the full IG report.

https://www.justice.gov/file/1071991/download

2 Likes

Hillary claps back on Twitter
:joy::joy::joy::joy::joy::joy:

3 Likes

This OIG report review is much more detailed…The Committee to Investigate Russia also tracks ALL this information

The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General issued a report Thursday after reviewing the FBI and DOJ’s handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server and possible mishandling of classified information.

The report does not assess federal law enforcement’s handling of the Russia investigation.

However, because this will not stop President Trump and his allies, determined to undermine the special counsel’s investigation, from attempting to conflate the two, we believe it is important to offer the report on our site and emphasize the OIG concluded FBI Director James Comey’s actions, as they pertain to the Clinton investigation, were insubordinate but not motivated by political bias.

New York Times:

“We found no evidence that the conclusions by department prosecutors were affected by bias or other improper considerations,” the report said. “Rather, we concluded that they were based on the prosecutor’s assessment of facts, the law, and past department practice.”

The report also highlights text message exchanges between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page who worked on both the Clinton and Russia investigations, albeit the latter for only a short period of time. The two shared disparaging opinions of Donald Trump, as well as other political figures.

One exchange in particular has garnered extensive media attention. It can be found on page 404 of the OIG report.

strzok and page (follow link)

Strzok and Page were federal law enforcement agents with knowledge of an investigation into potential Russian influence on a U.S. presidential candidate and campaign. Their concern over a possible grave national security breach and a desire to stop it is to be expected.

New York Times:

The inspector general said that, because of his views, Mr. Strzok may have improperly prioritized the Russia investigation over the Clinton investigation during the final weeks of the campaign. The F.B.I. officials “brought discredit” to themselves and sowed public doubt about the investigation. But the report did not cite evidence that Mr. Strzok had acted improperly or influenced the outcome of the investigation, the officials said.

“Our review did not find documentary or testimonial evidence directly connecting the political views these employees expressed in their text messages and instant messages to the specific investigative decisions we reviewed,” the report said.

In a statement, Strzok’s attorney explained why his client likely prioritized the Russia investigation.

strzok atty statement (follow link below)
2 Likes

Big day on Friday, when Manafort goes into court to have Judge Kimba Wood decide whether he needs to have his bail revoked and sent to jail. I listed both sources for these excerpts.

Manafort’s friend Michael Caputo believes "he does not think the former Trump campaign chief will cut a deal. “Not a chance,” he said. (quote below)

[Longtime Manafort friend Michael] Caputo said in an interview that, no matter where Manafort is headed after Friday’s hearing, he does not think the former Trump campaign chief will cut a deal. "Not a chance," he said.
1 Like

When I looked at the video my reaction was he was returning a salute from the NK officer.

Questions for me are:

What’s the protocol for the CIC when greeting officers from other countries?

What briefing has he had on protocol?

What sensitivities was he briefed on by NK experts?

Swamp dwellers all…

Vice President Pence has transformed his office into a new entry point for lobbyists seeking to influence the Trump administration across federal agencies, according to federal records and interviews.

About twice as many companies and other interests hired lobbyists to contact the vice president’s office in Pence’s first year than in any single year during the tenures of Vice Presidents Joe Biden and Richard B. Cheney, filings show.

Among those lobbying Pence and his staff were representatives of major drug companies and energy firms, as well as businesses seeking favorable tax treatment. Many others have contacted his office on more obscure regulatory matters such as a Medicare billing dispute, technology regulations at the Department of Education and regulations at the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the records show.

The approach has allowed Pence, a former congressman and Indiana governor, to emerge as a key ally for corporations inside the Trump White House even as the president vows to “drain the swamp.”

2 Likes

2 posts were merged into an existing topic: Day 512

First thing I thought of.

This topic was automatically closed 15 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.

WOW…thanks for posting. They do NOT fool around describing ALL details, in 568 pages.

Upshot (briefly reviewed)
-Comey was out-of-bounds to release any questionable re-review of Clinton emails, but bowed to GOP pressures to do so. Bullying tactics in this arena worked.

  • IG feels that this re-review of Hillary’s emails did NOT sway the election (???)
    -Clinton’s emails (use of a private server) were still “extremely careless” but did not warrant further legal action.
  • Clinton’s emails re-review due to finding Clinton emails on Anthony Weiner’s laptop, and McCabe didn’t like this either - felt they needed to get a search warrant.
  • Did not like the Atty Gen - Loretta Lynch’s tarmac talk w/ Bill Clinton - it was recognized for not looking right. “Ms Lynch failure to recognize the appearance problem.”
  • Did not like the internal FBI emails between Strzok and Page. Some actions will be needed.
  • FBI were ok with McCabe’s wife’s previous donations in her campaign, as McCabe recused himself.
    -Downplayed the Russian investigation links w/ Trump
3 Likes