ALTERNET: Here are some of the most significant clues about the Russia probe revealed in reporting on the Manafort raid:
The former Trump campaign chairman had been voluntarily producing documents to congressional investigators — but the search warrant indicates investigators told a federal judge they had reason to believe Manafort could not be trusted to turn over all records sought by a federal subpoena or might even destroy some of the evidence.
That suspicion alone isn’t enough to justify a search warrant. Prosecutors must persuade a judge there is probable cause to believe evidence of a crime will be found during a search. In other words, “FBI agents had to swear to their belief that fruits of a crime would be found in Manafort’s home,” former federal prosecutor Kenneth Julian told Business Insider — and the judge had to agree.
It’s not clear what crime FBI agents expected to uncover at Manafort’s home, but a New York Times report on the raid offers a clue. The search warrant seeks tax and foreign banking records — which suggests that investigators may look to charge Manafort under the federal Bank Secrecy Act requiring Americans to report their foreign bank accounts.
The wide-ranging search warrant included documents Manafort had already provided to Congress, and he also turned over 400 pages to meet an Aug. 2 deadline. But the raid prompted fears that Mueller was trying to build a case against Manafort unrelated to the campaign to pressure him into turning on other Trump associates. “(I) would add that a raid coming months into a probe when subject’s attorneys have been talking to the Department of Justice also suggests something serious,” said Matthew Miller, former communications director for the Justice Department and spokesman for former attorney general Eric Holder.
https://twitter.com/KeeganNYC/status/896167068617261056
@thewayoftheid
I’m not sure why NABJ is using tradition as a reason for inviting WH reps when this administration has treated black journos horribly
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/896175244645478400
THREAD
https://twitter.com/jonfavs/status/896070229989629952
https://twitter.com/jonfavs/status/896070229989629952
Destructive mofo
https://twitter.com/RVAwonk/status/896178734306295809
Thread
https://twitter.com/jackjonesbabe/status/896057622159269888
https://twitter.com/shadowandact/status/896116711451119616
https://twitter.com/ComplexSports/status/896105415158583300
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/896113659725795328
https://twitter.com/CREWcrew/status/896031303124099072
https://twitter.com/Blavity/status/896136889966542848
https://twitter.com/eclecticbrotha/status/895688131000770560
Mueller’s Targets Face Financial Strain
Paul Manafort owns many homes. Mike Flynn is a right wing superstar. But the Russia probe is gobbling up their cash at an alarming rate.
08.11.17 6:40 PM ET
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort parted ways with WilmerHale, the law firm defending him, earlier this week. That was largely because Bob Mueller’s 16-lawyer Russia probe—which is targeting him—has shifted its focus and is drilling down on tax issues, which aren’t WilmerHale’s specialty. But the parting of ways with WilmerHale was also in part because Manafort’s finances are increasingly strained, according to sources familiar with the situation.
“Paul Manafort’s resolve is limitless, but his resources are not,” said a person close to Manafort.
Anne Frank CenterVerified account @AnneFrankCenter
More than anything else we’ve posted, we got more hate over posting #BlackLivesMatter. Let’s say it again: BLACK LIVES MATTER. In caps.
https://twitter.com/yashar/status/895787882845274112
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/896166042338172928
https://twitter.com/jeffmason1/status/896016030383955968
Everyone need to be sued to the knees….
https://twitter.com/3ChicsPolitico/status/896162646516314114
Trump on Kim Jong Un: Let me hear him say it….
******
OMG! This sounds like something you’d say about a kid who has said a bad word. Let me hear him say that bad word and his ass gone be mine. LOL!
https://twitter.com/MarkWarner/status/896127580369108992
https://twitter.com/shomaristone/status/896127814704930816
https://twitter.com/shani_o/status/896127132329418752
Omarosa walked right into that ISH. She had no business going so let the clowning begin. That’s what she gets!
https://twitter.com/mayaaliah/status/896108334406713344
NEVER should have invited her.
Folks are tearing into Omarosa’s black ass!
https://twitter.com/Yamiche/status/896108845994434560
https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/896111307081957376
https://twitter.com/NBCBLK/status/896105432384643072
#BREAKING: An NRA Spokesman Just Called For North Korea To Attack A Major Liberal American City https://t.co/Vxmt8CbvOF
— Occupy Democrats (@OccupyDemocrats) August 11, 2017
There’ve been several controversial newspaper/magazine covers this week featuring Trump vs. Kim but this may be the most provocative yet. https://t.co/TiZUfAO0bU
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) August 11, 2017
T-R-U-T-H
If we had the courage, we’d admit that GOP foreign policy is nothing more than a manifestation of White male insecurity vs. a brown planet.
— Propane Jane™ (@docrocktex26) August 11, 2017
This is a key point. Any chance of a deal with DPRK goes out the window if Trump cancels a nuclear deal that Iran is complying with. https://t.co/vN98Ml2wPt
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) August 10, 2017
Excited to partner with @googlearts to share the stories of African American fashion designers: https://t.co/V6laWvQDrh #WeWearCulture pic.twitter.com/ue2Y2i2lwu
— Smithsonian NMAAHC (@NMAAHC) August 11, 2017
NEW: 78% of the public, including 52% of Republicans, want the Trump administration to make the #ACA work https://t.co/m0ftArq4dm pic.twitter.com/z8xaYMsaWp
— Kaiser Family Found (@KaiserFamFound) August 11, 2017
Republicans lose election to Dem: Try to recall her.
Republicans lose senator to Dem caucus: Try to recall her.
Welcome to the new world.
— Jon Ralston (@RalstonReports) August 11, 2017
Trump admin bypassing Democratic senators on judicial nominations. Hugely consequential, underreported story https://t.co/LDl78XRP04
— Ari Berman (@AriBerman) August 11, 2017
OFA targets vulnerable Republicans with a new grassroots project https://t.co/b3KyJUthvS pic.twitter.com/OuFwMuuPjO
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) August 11, 2017
Christina WilkieVerified account @ christinawilkie 24h24 hours ago
Ivanka Trump leading the US del. to Global Entrepreneurship Summit is an insult to entrepreneurs. She’s worked for her dad her whole life.
Bobby GhoshVerified account @ ghoshworld 14h14 hours ago
India diplomat tells me: “We regard @ IvankaTrump the way we do half-wit Saudi princes. It’s in our national interest to flatter them.”
The diplomat added: “Yes, it is a shame that the US should be compared to a kingdom. But that is America’s shame, not Modi’s, or India’s.”Bobby Ghosh added,
Nope.
Uh huh
No way, muthaphucka.
That vote is going to be tied around your neck like an anvil.
Dear Bob Mueller,
We know you’re thorough, meticulous, and cautious.
But if you could speed it up, we’d appreciate it.
Thanks,
-The World pic.twitter.com/YcgMjFu2qx
— Holly O’Reilly (@AynRandPaulRyan) August 11, 2017
https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/896072744810369024
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/896043439040729088
https://twitter.com/NCRMuseum/status/896076393489944576
https://twitter.com/XLNB/status/896067980995346432
#Nightmare Too sad for words
https://twitter.com/scottwongDC/status/896035253181132800
Dear God, is this really happening?
https://twitter.com/thehill/status/896062919053463552
Unstable.
https://twitter.com/Mediaite/status/895735075194654721
No it isn’t. This is not normal. It’s lunacy. And that is why this creature from hell needs to be removed from office.
https://twitter.com/CillizzaCNN/status/895979531328249857
Remember, MOFOS like Cillizza helped “W” take us to war in Iraq.
NOT NORMAL AT ALL
https://twitter.com/ABC/status/895974947075624960
From Nancy L over at Washington Monthly in her round up column:
* Over at the Weekly Standard, Michael Warren is wondering whether the president is preparing to ditch the Republican Party.
https://twitter.com/TheRoot/status/895728532583796736
From the article:
“Shelby was sworn in by the RCSO during a live press conference Thursday morning surrounded by Sheriff Scott Walton, county officials and well-wishers. The county doesn’t usually hold press conferences for swearing-in ceremonies, but because of the high profile of Shelby’s case and Walton’s vociferous support of her during her trial, Rogers County apparently thought it necessary to flaunt the fact that it was hiring a cold-blooded killer, because … fuck Terence Crutcher.”
TRUTH
https://twitter.com/Dorofcalif/status/896026122537906176
This makes me so angry.
these people are evil
I can’t recall the number of times I bought lunches for students when I was in the classroom. It wasn’t important to me who they were but that they were hungry and knew if they asked me for help, I’d buy lunches for them. In return, God has blessed me. I’m retired now and have no problems paying any of my bills. Those who would deny kids food are among the vilest persons on the planet. Kids can’t get any more than what adults give them.
Column argues Obama daughters subjected to ‘higher standard’ than Trump children
Aug 10th 2017 11:46PM
A Marie Claire opinion column argues that the public holds “Sasha and Malia Obama to a Higher Standard Than the Trump Children, and That’s Ridiculous.”
The op-ed, written by contributing editor Jessica Valenti, states that “[The girls] had to grow up watching their parents be unfairly attacked and sustained a childhood of public criticism themselves.”
For example, in December 2014, a Republican staffer reportedly stepped down from her job at a Tennessee Congressman’s office after she wrote a harsh Facebook post saying the girls should “try showing a little class,” after their attendance at the annual White House turkey pardoning ceremony.
Valenti also says the girls are “still attacked today for doing completely mundane things that are expected rites of passage.”
The piece points to a recent Daily Beast report describing the online criticisms the sisters have sustained over attending parties and festivals and taking part in other teenage activities.
Meanwhile, Valenti points to the controversies the Trump children have been linked to, including, “Don Jr. and Russia or Ivanka and her faux-feminist brand built on sketchy labor practices.”
Conservative groups have argued just the opposite. Sean Hannity stated on his radio show in January, “we conservatives left the Obama daughters alone.”
And in a column for the National Review the prior month, Christian Toto maintained, “No clear-thinking conservative attacked Barack and Michelle Obama’s children over the last eight years.”
Beautiful studio photographs from the late 1800s:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/f5/32/33/f5323326c7d94c7e5ca34ca4df4fdf0f.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/bb/e4/6c/bbe46c9ca978e2f28a71a74cd213e518–african-american-women-african-americans.jpg
https://i.pinimg.com/236x/ff/b4/02/ffb40283f0a0e2017bac02d966847948–victorian-women-famous-women.jpg
UPDATED AUG. 11, 2017 AT 10:08 AM
How popular/unpopular is Donald Trump?
An updating calculation of the president’s approval rating, accounting for each poll’s quality, recency, sample size and partisan lean. How this works »
https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/
https://twitter.com/AlArabiya_Eng/status/896018687341326337
TGIF, MY PEEPS!
UH HUH
UH HUH
Trump’s D.C. hotel turned a $2,000,000 profit in 4 months, “dramatically beating its expectations.”https://t.co/I1ULZEJ0AX
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 11, 2017
Remarkable: @trump hotel is emptier than most D.C. hotels, but still makes buckets of $ b/c it’s prices are so high. https://t.co/4upEqdDJbx
— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) August 11, 2017
So many amazing women, including a number of women of color, running for office in 2018! https://t.co/g8ZEz5I7t1
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) August 11, 2017
“I am running for governor because I am worried my daughter will not have the same opportunities my parents gave… https://t.co/2rrIdek1DC
— Citizens Rise (@Citizens_Rise) August 11, 2017
Married ex-Trump aide admits he fathered a child with staffer during campaign https://t.co/3osLJlAmFh pic.twitter.com/Ul2uo4UVvz
— The Hill (@thehill) August 10, 2017
Donald J. TrumpVerified account @realDonaldTrump 3h3 hours ago
Military solutions are now fully in place,locked and loaded,should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!
Poll: Most Say Time To End Effort To Repeal Obama Health Law https://t.co/A0vIh3GQXR
— Newsradio 1020 KDKA (@KDKARadio) August 11, 2017
Alabama’s Moore suggests US may be ‘the focus of evil’ in the world
08/11/17 10:12 AM
By Steve Benen
Republican voters in Alabama will head to the polls on Tuesday to vote in a U.S. Senate primary, and it’s proving to be a tough race to predict. Sen. Luther Strange (R) has the baggage that comes with having been appointed by a disgraced former governor who had to resign, but Strange has the benefit of support from Donald Trump, the NRA, and the Republican establishment.
Rep. Mo Brooks, meanwhile, is in contention, running on an anti-establishment, pro-border-wall platform, but recent polling suggests it’s former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, twice removed from the bench for ethics violations, who may be the candidate to watch next week.
It’s against this backdrop that Moore sat down with The Guardian, where the Alabama Republican suggested he isn’t impressed with America’s moral standing.
Trump believes his CIA director, but only to a point
08/11/17 09:20 AM—UPDATED 08/11/17 09:30 AM
By Steve Benen
Even before he became president, Donald Trump went out of his way to dismiss U.S. intelligence assessments he found politically inconvenient. That’s continued throughout 2017: the more intelligence professionals tell him Russia attacked the American election to help put him in office, the more Trump tells the public he’s more inclined to believe Vladimir Putin.
All of which led to a good question for the president yesterday: if Trump has so many doubts about the findings of the U.S. intelligence agencies, how reliable is the intelligence now as it relates to North Korea? The president responded:
If we cut through the strange nonsense, what Trump was apparently trying to say was that things are different now. He didn’t believe intelligence assessments before, but now that Mike Pompeo is the director of the CIA, Trump can finally have confidence in the information presented to him.
In other words, if Mike Pompeo gives the president information about the North Korean threat, Trump is going to believe it.
And that’s fine, although it raises a related question: if Pompeo gives the president information about Russia, Trump is going to believe that, too?
THE LAST WORD WITH LAWRENCE O’DONNELL 8/10/17
Lawrence: Trump’s ultimate act of appeasement of Putin
It took Donald Trump nearly two weeks to speak about Putin’s order to expel 755 Americans from the U.S. embassy in Moscow. Instead of condemning the act, Trump thanked Putin for helping “cut our payroll” and again criticized the special counsel’s investigation.
This is so cool. Enter your zip code to see how the eclipse will look where you are.
A solar eclipse is coming to America. Here’s what you’ll see where you live.
Updated by Casey Miller, Ryan Mark, and Brian Resnick Jul 25, 2017, 7:50am EDT
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/7/25/16019892/solar-eclipse-2017-interactive-map
https://www.buzzfeed.com/kevincollier/four-top-cybersecurity-officials-are-leaving-us-government?utm_term=.vao8Dp83O#.sfWVDdVW6
Four senior cybersecurity officials are stepping down from their US government positions, raising concerns that an exodus of top leaders may make the federal government more vulnerable to hacking.
Two of those resigning – Sean Kelley, the chief information security officer for the Environmental Protection Agency, and Richard Staropoli, the chief information officer for the Department of Homeland Security – had been in their jobs for just a few months.
The other two, Rob Foster, the Navy’s chief information officer, and Dave DeVries, the director of information security and privacy at the Office of Personnel Management, are departing agencies for which computer security is a top priority. DeVries assumed his job shortly after the OPM suffered the largest known cyberattack in federal government history, and Foster had served in similar positions at the Department of Health and Human Services and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Ann Dunkin, the CIO of the EPA under President Barack Obama who was asked to leave by Trump’s transition team and now holds the same title for Santa Clara County, California, told BuzzFeed News that four executives leaving in such a short time raised red flags.
“There appears to be a concerted effort to remove the career CIOs who were there during the Obama administration,” Dunkin said. “During the last week we’ve seen four go? That smells.”
As Leader McConnell this AM reads Trump Twitter, I wonder how he feels now about blocking action against Russian election interference?
— David Frum (@davidfrum) August 11, 2017
Let the rats feast on each other. They will anyhow.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/10/17
Manafort changes legal team as investigation intensifies
Rachel Maddow reports on former Donald Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort changing his legal team and adding a lawyer whose areas of specialty paint a stark picture of Manafort’s legal concerns.
Prosecutors taking close look at Manafort financial records
Greg Farrell, investigative reporter for Bloomberg News, talks with Rachel Maddow about Trump-Russia investigators looking into former Donald Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort’s financial records and what that might mean to the investigation broadly
Maddow makes a good point about this….how come no more corroboration on this NK story?
All this bullshyt from an agency that was dismissed just a few years ago.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/10/17
Trump North Korea frenzy curiously timed
Rachel Maddow explains why this week’s frantic bellicosity from Donald Trump toward North Korea does not seem to have had a distinct trigger.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/10/17
Trump team message on North Korea muddled, chaotic
Rachel Maddow shows the contrasting messaging from different members of the Trump team in how they’re speaking about the potential threat from North Korea.
THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW 8/10/17
Trump incoherence on N Korea risks dangerous miscommunication
Sue Mi Terry, former NSC senior analyst on North Korea, talks with Rachel Maddow about the intelligence on North Korea’s military capability and why it is dangerous that the Trump administration is not able to deliver a clear policy message on North Korea.
TREASON against this country.
TREASON!!!
,As Russia expels U.S. diplomats, Trump publicly thanks Putin
08/11/17 08:00 AM—UPDATED 08/11/17 08:06 AM
By Steve Benen
There’s an expression in Trump World that the president and his allies are fond of: if you attack Donald Trump, he will punch back 10 times harder. It’s a maxim that helps explain why the president tends to get a little hysterical in response to so many perceived slights.
But for Trump, the principal applies only to him personally: the president can’t tolerate rebukes that target him, but affronts to the United States, in Trump’s mind, are surprisingly acceptable.
Two weeks ago, in response to new economic sanctions approved by Congress, Vladimir Putin’s Russian government announced it was expelling 755 people from the American embassy and consulate staff. It was a striking diplomatic move, and an escalation of tensions between the two countries, which seemed to warrant a stern White House response.
Trump, however, remained silent – until yesterday.
………………………………………………
But that’s really not what’s important here. Rather, this is a dynamic in which the Putin government used harsh diplomatic measures to slap the United States in the face, and after two weeks of thought, the American president expressed his gratitude to the Russian government.
Even the most mindless Republican partisans should find this impossible to defend.
Nicholas Burns, the State Department’s third-ranking official in the Bush/Cheney administration, told Reuters Trump’s comments were “grotesque.” Burns, now a Harvard professor, added, “If he was joking, he should know better. If he wasn’t, it’s unprecedented. A president has never defended the expulsion of our diplomats.”
The same article quoted a veteran U.S. diplomat saying the State Department has been “horrified and rattled” by Trump’s remarks.
A Politico piece added:
West Virginia’s governor pitches Trump on a coal bailout
08/11/17 08:40 AM
By Steve Benen
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice was a Republican, then became a Democrat, only to reverse course again last week to become a Republican again – though the timing of his decision seemed odd. At face value, he didn’t appear to have a reason to switch to the GOP so soon after winning statewide office as a Dem.
This week, however, the motivation seems a little clearer. The Washington Post reported:
Message Failure From Nina Turner and Our Revolution
by Nancy LeTourneau
August 10, 2017
Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution (the advocacy group formed by Bernie Sanders), used some words to describe the Democratic National Committee, as Buzzfeed first reported: “Dictatorial.” “Arrogant.” “Pompous.” “Superficial.” “Tone-deaf.” “Tone-dead.” “Out of line.” “Insulting” — “absolutely insulting.”
What brought that on? Turner and a group of supporters went to the DNC headquarters in Washington to deliver petitions in support of the “People’s Platform” in response to the Democratic announcement of their plan for “A Better Deal.” The group was met by barricades as well as donuts and water that had been prepared for them by DNC staff as a token of goodwill. The barricades were protocol set up by the building’s security team, not party officials. Here are some of the sentences in which Turner used those words cited up above:
……………………………………………………….
In other words, it was all more of a childish temper tantrum than a thoughtful political message.
As a result of that little outburst from Turner, the media isn’t writing about what’s included in the People’s Platform as compared to the Democrat’s Better Deal. It’s all about yet another heated exchange from Sanders supporters directed at the Democratic Party.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who benefits from that: Republicans. Karl Rove noticed and is eagerly pointing out the rift.
I thought it would be helpful to do what Turner failed to do—compare and contrast the two agendas. The People’s Platform includes eight items. Here they are, with notations of similar proposals in A Better Deal:
1. Medicare for all –> Lower cost of prescription drugs
2. Free college tuition –> Lower cost of college and technical education
3. Worker’s rights ($15 minimum wage) –> Living wage minimum at $15/hr
4. Women’s rights (access to abortion) –> Not explicitly listed
5. Voting rights –> Not explicitly listed
6 Environmental justice –> Not explicitly listed
7. Criminal justice reform and immigrant rights –> Not explicitly listed
8. Taxing Wall Street –> Crack down on monopolies and end tax breaks for outsourcers
What we can see from this list is that it is actually the Democrats who haven’t included items like women’s rights, voting rights, criminal justice reform and environmental justice in their Better Deal. While the vast majority of Democrats support those issues, it is interesting to note that they were not included.
I will continue to say this..
1. Pence is up to his eyeballs in the Flynn mess
2. The thought that Dolt45 will go down WITHOUT dragging PENCE with him?
Delusional on Pence’s part. Dolt45 will NEVER take one for the team. And, if he’s going down..EVERYBODY IS.
Is Mike Pence the “Deep State” That Trump Fears?
The vice president is clearly planning for a post-Trump presidency. But is he also trying to accelerate Trump’s demise?
BY BRIAN BEUTLER
August 10, 2017
https://newrepublic.com/article/144278/mike-pence-deep-state-trump-fears
Good Morning, Everyone 😄😄😄
https://twitter.com/3ChicsPolitico/status/895903406623248385
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWT86I_h44_/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXm_0GRg1TL/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXmTfW9g5nE/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXmW7NpjDP5/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXmLkWrA04o/
Is this what they mean by WHITE collar CRIMES?