Tuesday Open Thread | DOJ charges Russian national with espionage

Posted on July 17, 2018 by SouthernGirl2

Washington (CNN) The Justice Department charged a Russian national who, along with her mentor, aimed to set up backchannel communications during the presidential campaign between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with conspiring against the US as a foreign agent.

Mariia Butina, also known as Maria, was arrested on Sunday and appeared in court in Washington, DC, on Monday, according to the Justice Department. She’ll be detained for three days until her next court appearance.

She and her mentor, Kremlin-linked banker Alexander Torshin, spent three years trying to make inroads with US political organizations and operatives to develop a more conciliatory approach to Russia among American politicians, according to court filings and CNN reporting. Torshin and Butina feared the end of the Obama administration in 2016, and targeted Republicans, according to court filings.

Their primary avenue of influence appeared to be the National Rifle Association, according to CNN reporting and court filings, though the organization is not explicitly referred to by name in the legal documents.

Torshin bragged both publicly and privately that he and Butina were the only Russians who were also lifetime members of the NRA, and they leveraged their relationship with the NRA’s leadership to foster relationships with Republican Party leaders, American politicians and business leaders. They even used their connection to try to establish a covert communications channel between then-candidate Trump and Putin.

The NRA did not respond to a request for comment.

About SouthernGirl2

A Native Texan who adores baby kittens, loves horses, rodeos, pomegranates, & collect Eagles. Enjoys politics, games shows, & dancing to all types of music. Loves discussing and learning about different cultures. A Phi Theta Kappa lifetime member with a passion for Social & Civil Justice.
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148 Responses to Tuesday Open Thread | DOJ charges Russian national with espionage

  4. Liza says:
    July 17, 2018 at 7:12 pm

    Dismantling democracy brick by brick…
    https://twitter.com/splcenter/status/1019371234419728384

    Reply
  5. Liza says:
    July 17, 2018 at 7:04 pm

    Arizona’s next DEMOCRATIC senator right here…
    https://twitter.com/kyrstensinema/status/1019365136086155264

    Reply
  6. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 6:11 pm

    Markos Moulitsas (@markos) Tweeted:
    Holy shit it’s a real race! Ted Cruz leads Beto O’Rourke by only 48-46 https://t.co/2d0AN4urYP https://twitter.com/markos/status/1019304926529417218?s=17

    Reply
  7. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 5:59 pm

    😄😄😄😄

    Atlanta Black Star (@ATLBlackStar) Tweeted:
    @a_glimpseofparadise shared video of a woman reportedly harassing a black couple for blocks as they walked down the street in Berkeley, CA. She was yelling “get out of Berkeley” but tried to play the victim when police arrived. To her utter shock, she was arrested instead. https://t.co/IOKziPcNYp https://twitter.com/ATLBlackStar/status/1019319414632665090?s=17

    Reply
  22. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 17, 2018 at 2:10 pm

    THIS DANGEROUS LIAR HERE! Get him OUT of our Oval Office.

    https://twitter.com/AlBoeNEWS/status/1019297491764695040

    Reply
  25. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 17, 2018 at 1:57 pm

    #TreasonSummit GTFOH! Do he REALLY think the American people are THAT stupid? @GOP @SenateMajLdr @SpeakerRyan get this treasonous traitor OUT of our sacred Oval Office. IMPEACH TRUMP NOW!

    https://twitter.com/PeterAlexander/status/1019292471132639233

    Reply
  26. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 12:51 pm

    Crazy day today as Putin wants to swap 12 Russian GRU agents who hacked the US election for me in his meeting with Trump in Helsinki. Here’s my take for @TIME on why I’ve gotten Putin so rattled and what he’s really afraid of https://t.co/FoJkJKtLhl

    — Bill Browder (@Billbrowder) July 17, 2018

    Reply
  33. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 12:12 pm

    lips pursed

    Rep. Pete King told me he “absolutely” stands by House Intelligence Committee’s report that disputed IC findings that Putin wanted Trump to win. Putin yesterday confirmed he wanted Trump to win.

    King told me he has seen the intelligence and doesn’t believe Putin.

    — Manu Raju (@mkraju) July 17, 2018

    Reply
    • rikyrah says:
      July 17, 2018 at 12:15 pm

      I REFUSE to accept ANY responsibility for this mess.

      Naw, Son, I’m part of the group that told you he was no damn good.

      Outside of the coons, nobody Non-White has ANY responsibility for this.

      Reply
  36. Ametia says:
    July 17, 2018 at 11:46 am

    45 can try to SPIN that shit storm in Helsinki all he wants.

    HE IS A TRAITOR, COMMITTED TREASON BEFORE THE WHOLE WORLD, AND NEEDS TO GO!

    Reply
  37. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 11:44 am

    New: a top voting machine vendor admits it installed remote-access software on systems sold to states. Senator Wyden said this “is the worst decision for security short of leaving ballot boxes on a Moscow street corner.”https://t.co/V692ouXMlY— Joseph Cox (@josephfcox) July 17, 2018

    Reply
  39. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 17, 2018 at 11:42 am

    He need to RESIGN! You cannot undo treason. #TreasonSummit

    https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1019258745447120896

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      July 17, 2018 at 11:43 am

      45 is only carrying out the orders from his boss Putin=Time to get rid of Rosenstein & Muleller.

      TRY IT, BITCH, and watch Americans EXPLODE.

      Reply
  41. Ametia says:
    July 17, 2018 at 11:36 am

    White House summons Rod Rosenstein days after he dropped bombshell Russia indictments: report

    he Trump administration on Tuesday summoned Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to the White House just days after he announced bombshell indictments against 12 Russians for their alleged role in hacking the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

    According to NBC News Pentagon correspondent Hans Nichols, Rosenstein was “was seen leaving the White House at 11:28 a.m.” on Tuesday. He adds that it was “unclear if he met with President Trump, who is still in the residence and hasn’t shown up in the West Wing this morning.”

    https://www.rawstory.com/2018/07/white-house-mysteriously-summons-rod-rosenstein-days-dropped-bombshell-russia-indictments-report/

    Reply
  42. Ametia says:
    July 17, 2018 at 11:29 am

    Wondering why Paul Ryan is the front man for 45’s DEBACLE? He’s leaving office soon.

    Keep your eyes and ears out for Micth McTurtle. He’s the one behind the scenes, helping to get those judges in place, to further set us America back 100 years.

    Reply
  43. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 17, 2018 at 11:20 am

    #TreasonSummit May? Not acceptable. We need sanctions. We need Trump impeached. He committed treason on live tv while the country watched. Our jaws dropped to the floor to hear him side w/ Russia over our own intelligence agencies. He is beholden to Russia & MUST be IMPEACHED!

    https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1019235743003234305

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      July 17, 2018 at 11:24 am

      Fuck you,ZEGK, this is a smoke screen to quell the ATOMIC FALLOUT from 45’s disastrous ass-kissing Putin debacle.

      IMPEACH that orange MOFO!

      Reply
  45. Ametia says:
    July 17, 2018 at 11:14 am

    New post up with full PBO speech South Africa, commemorating Madiba’s 100th anniversary.

    Reply
  48. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 10:39 am

    NYT: Donald Trump Jr. DID meet Maria Butina, along with Alexander Torshin, at the 2016 NRA convention, and “congressional investigators have obtained a photograph of the three at the event”. https://t.co/AHO1tUaGOK— Jon Swaine (@jonswaine) July 17, 2018

    Reply
  49. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 10:36 am

    GET HIM!!!

    NEW: I can confirm that the US Congressman who allegedly met with Butina and Torshin in August 2015 in Moscow was Dana Rohrabacher. pic.twitter.com/0Kw0xgDpym

    — Scott Stedman (@ScottMStedman) July 16, 2018

    Reply
  50. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 10:35 am

    This shouldn’t get lost: The FBI has obtained the emails of a U.S. person, claiming to have participated in a “VERY private line of communication between the Kremlin and key [Republican] leaders” a month before the 2016 election. pic.twitter.com/Gox5fwjpky

    — Brad Heath (@bradheath) July 16, 2018

    Reply
  51. Ametia says:
    July 17, 2018 at 10:35 am
    Reply
  52. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 10:32 am

    This is really big news. Here’s the Post’s story on how this Russian — known for her good looks and love of guns — got Russian interests and Russian $ entwined with the NRA. https://t.co/KY1wcmz3Fn https://t.co/pDXFE1GFW2

    — David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) July 16, 2018

    Reply
  54. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 10:24 am

    The silver lining

    There’s really not much left to be said about Donald Trump’s supine surrender to Vladimir Putin at Helsinki. It was an act that even the worst of our previous presidents wouldn’t have committed. The kompromat which Putin has on Trump must be of a nature even we can’t imagine.

    But there is a silver lining to this.

    The treason is now out in the open. There’s no longer room for doubt or equivocation. We now know Trump to be a traitor to his office and his country. And this is something being realized across the entire political spectrum, from us liberals to the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal.

    What the non-rabid Trump supporters now have to ask themselves is this: Is this what you signed up for? You voted out of habit, or aggrievement, You voted to “own the libs”, or to revenge yourself on Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. But did you vote for treason? Did you vote for our country to be handed over to the Kremlin? And if you didn’t, if this isn’t what you expected, then what are you going to do about it?

    The eruption of resistance yesterday to Trump’s cowardly surrender is heartening. Media which tries to couch every topic into false equivalence suddenly saw that there was no “both sides” to this. Citizens gathered outside the White House to make it clear to Trump that they would not bow the neck to Putin. And, by all accounts, Trump is apoplectic that no one recognizes the awesome deal he made with Putin. Talk about living in a bubble.

    Reply
  55. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 10:20 am

    Shut your trap….you’re MAGA, Bytches.
    Do your patriotic duty

    ………………………………………………

    Texas shrimp industry to lose $1M per day due to immigrant visa cap

    http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/397391-texas-shrimp-industry-to-lose-1m-per-day-due-to-immigrant-visa

    Reply
  56. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 10:12 am

    THREAD

    Tell me how you REALLY FEEL 😄😄😄

    Mitch Benn (@MitchBenn) Tweeted:
    HEY ASSHOLES.
    He’s a fucking Russian spy. You put a RUSSIAN SPY in the White House. Because he said he’d shit on the Mexicans.
    Go fuck yourselves and KEEP fucking yourselves with increasingly large objects, you fucking MORONS. https://twitter.com/MitchBenn/status/1018924225334214656?s=17

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      July 17, 2018 at 10:27 am

      TELL.THAT.TRUTH.

      America, WHITES, who support & voted for 45 to get back at the BLACK PRESIDENT, wanted that bitch in our WHITE HOUSE.

      NOW WHAT?

      Reply
  58. Ametia says:
    July 17, 2018 at 9:51 am

    Rashida Tlaib Might Become the First Muslim-American Woman in Congress

    She served six years in the state legislature and has outraised her establishment-backed opponents.

    Can she overcome them and bigotry at the same time?

    https://www.thedailybeast.com/rashida-tlaib-might-become-the-first-muslim-american-woman-in-congress?via=newsletter&source=DDMorning

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      July 17, 2018 at 9:56 am

      Putin’s bringing down the hammer on 45, now that the clown has taken a KNEE for him.

      when a leader of a foreign country has taken over another country’s NEWS, GOVERNMENT, It’s very way of life, HE HAS BECOME the LEADER OF THAT COUNTRY

      AMERICAN HAS BECOME RUSSIAN-OWNED.

      Reply
  61. Ametia says:
    July 17, 2018 at 9:33 am

    Notice most of the word of the day fit 45 perfectly.

    Word of the Day : July 17, 2018

    Vouchsafeplay
    verb vowch-SAYF

    Definition
    1 a : to grant or furnish often in a gracious or condescending manner

    b : to give by way of reply

    2 : to grant as a privilege or special favor

    https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/vouchsafe-2018-07-17?pronunciation&lang=en_us&dir=v&file=vouchs02&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=wotd&utm_content=pron

    Reply
  62. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 9:17 am

    McFaul: Trump with Putin shows U.S. ‘national security crisis’

    Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, talks with Rachel Maddow about the public reaction to Donald Trump’s deference to Vladimir Putin at their Helsinki press conference, and what the appropriate public response is to the realization that Donald Trump is beholden to another country.

    Reply
  63. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 9:13 am

    Russian theft of DNC data paralleled Trump camp strategy changes

    Glen Caplin, former senior national spokesman for the Clinton campaign, talks with Rachel Maddow about the theft of DNC analytics by Russian hackers, and how actions by the Trump campaign suggest they were using insights gained from the attack.

    Reply
  64. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 9:11 am

    Maddow: Time for Americans to face ‘worst case scenario’ on Trump

    Rachel Maddow notes that what ultimately explains a host of inexplicable developments in the story of the Donald Trump campaign is the worst case scenario that Trump is compromised by Russia, and points to the unfolding legal case as a guide for how to understand what has happened and what to do about it.

    Reply
  66. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 9:10 am

    Tacky azz muthaphucka

    Trump: Redesigned Air Force One will have red, white and blue paint scheme
    BY BRETT SAMUELS – 07/17/18 10:04 AM EDT

    http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/397390-trump-redesigned-air-force-one-will-have-red-white-and-blue-paint

    Reply
  68. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 9:07 am

    Migrant women describe sexual assault in ICE detention facilities: report
    BY ARIS FOLLEY – 07/17/18 09:37 AM EDT

    Migrant women described being sexually abused by guards while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a new report.

    In a report published by The New York Times on Tuesday, two migrant women tell their stories of being allegedly sexually assaulted while detained in ICE facilities.

    A woman identified as “Maria” described being sexually assaulted by a male guard in May shortly after she was released from the T. Don Hutto Residential Detention Center in Texas.

    While her asylum case was pending, Maria said she had been permitted to stay in Washington, D.C., with her brother. She then described being escorted into a cage inside a van after gathering her belongings, where she claims she was groped by the guard.

    “He grabbed my breasts … He put his hands in my pants and he touched my private parts,” Maria told the publication. “He touched me again inside the van, and my hands were tied. And he started masturbating.”

    Another woman seeking asylum, identified as “E.D.,” claimed she was sexually assaulted by a male guard while she and her 3-year-old son were being held in a family detention center in Pennsylvania.
    “I didn’t know how to refuse because he told me that I was going to be deported,” the 19-year-old woman said to the publication. “I was at a jail and he was a migration officer. It’s like they order you to do something and you have to do it.”

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      July 17, 2018 at 10:33 am

      Lord, didn’t we say that these evil predators, dressed up as authority figures would commit these heinous acts of sexual assault.

      The Devils are working overtime, and must be STOPPED.

      Reply
  69. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 9:05 am

    Brooklyn school told 13-year-old to ‘move on’ after she reported rape: report
    BY JACQUELINE THOMSEN – 07/17/18 09:42 AM EDT

    A new lawsuit alleges that a Brooklyn school counselor told an eighth grade student in 2013 to “move on with your life” after she reported being raped by a classmate.

    The New York Daily News reports that the girl, 13 at the time of the alleged assault, told a counselor at Spring Creek Community School that she had been raped in an alley near the school by a classmate, and that the assault was filmed, according to the complaint filed last week in Brooklyn Supreme Court.

    The counselor reportedly told the girl that “if it happened, it happened — move on with your life.”

    Video of the alleged assault later spread around the school, prompting school officials to contact the police. However, the student was too confused and intimidated to file charges, the lawsuit states.

    A spokesman for New York City’s Law Department told the Daily News that the city agency will review the lawsuit.

    The court filing also alleges that Principal Christina Koza urged the student to stay home from school while officials got the video “under control,” adding that her presence would “make things worse.”

    The principal later told the student that the incident “looked consensual” when viewed by video, the Daily News reported.

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      July 17, 2018 at 10:13 am

      Video posted above. The sheer ignorance and gull to stand before cameras, the whole world and take a foreign president and adversary’s WORD, over actual EVIDENCE from AMERICAN INTEL…..

      IT’S FUCKING MADDENING!

      Reply
  77. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 17, 2018 at 8:56 am

    Clean up as in REMOVE him from office? You don’t get to clean up treason. We all heard him side with a hostile foreign power over our own intelligence agencies. IMPEACH HIM! #TreasonSummit

    https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1019208931355299840

    Reply
  83. yahtzeebutterfly says:
    July 17, 2018 at 8:34 am

    Watch live South Africa where the annual Nelson Mandela lecture will be given by Former President Barack Obama:

    https://abcnews.go.com/Live/video/special-live-1-14476486

    Reply
  85. SouthernGirl2 says:
    July 17, 2018 at 8:31 am

    Protests outside the White House as Trump arrived from Finland. It went on late into the night………..

    https://twitter.com/krassenstein/status/1019209765421973504

    Reply
  86. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 8:30 am

    This breaks my heart.
    RIP, poor baby.
    ………………………………….

    A valiant 7-year-old survived her father’s car crash. She died searching for help.
    Meagan Flynn

    A 7-year-old girl was looking for help in the dark when she died trying to save her dad.

    It was about 3:30 a.m. Sunday. DeSandra Thomas was riding in her father’s car when he crashed into an abandoned vehicle along I-94 in Romulus, Mich., lost control and flew off the highway and through a fence, according to Michigan State Police.

    The child feared her father was seriously hurt and so she fled on foot looking for someone, anyone, to help him, Lt. Michael Shaw told WDIV in Detroit.

    “She didn’t care about herself,” Anthony Burts, a family member, wrote on a GoFundMe page intended to support the family. “She was racing against time to save her father as anyone with a heart of gold would have.”

    Shaw said the child appeared to have climbed over the fence and started walking along the freeway. At some point she sent a text message to 911 to tell dispatchers her dad was in trouble, possibly even dead — but authorities struggled to pinpoint her location, Shaw said.

    “We are just taken aback that we couldn’t find her before something happened,” Shaw told Fox 2.

    A second 911 call came in just as police were trying to find her. This one was from a woman. She feared she hit a pedestrian crossing I-94. But it was dark. She couldn’t see anyone on the road. Nor could state troopers when they showed up with flashlights, searching throughout the area, Shaw told WDIV.

    It wouldn’t take long for Romulus police and the Michigan State Police to connect the two 911 calls.

    Reply
  94. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 8:19 am

    Home care workers the latest group in Trump team’s crosshairs
    BY CAITLIN CONNOLLY, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 07/17/18 08:30 AM EDT

    The Trump administration continues its attack on workers and unions: Its latest volley is a Department of Health and Human Services proposal, announced on Thursday, that would impose a difficult and time-consuming burden on these workers’ exercise of their bargaining rights.

    The administration proposes to forbid certain home care workers whose services are funded by Medicaid from choosing to pay their union dues directly from their paychecks, as hundreds of thousands are doing now.

    Like the recent Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME, this latest assault on unionized public-sector workers has a single goal: to silence workers’ voices.

    Like the Janus case, this attack bears the fingerprints of several highly partisan, union-busting think tanks that are cited in the rule, including the State Policy Network (SPN) and the so-called Fairness Center, a right-wing litigation center associated with SPN.

    Make no mistake, this Trump administration proposal will have distinctly racial and gendered impacts. Home care workers are disproportionately people of color, and 90 percent are women. They provide hands-on care to people in their homes, allowing them to remain a part of their families and communities.

    Reply
  95. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 8:16 am

    These muthaphuckas here!!!

    ……………………..

    Mandalay Bay owners sue victims of Las Vegas mass shooting

    The corporate owners of the Mandalay Bay casino filed suit against the victims of last year’s Las Vegas concert mass shooting, claiming it has no liability for the massacre, according to a published report on Monday.

    MGM Resorts International went to federal courts in Nevada and California and took on more than 1,000 shooting victims, saying claims against the hotel giant “must be dismissed.”

    “Plaintiffs have no liability of any kind to defendants,” the complaints argue, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

    Las Vegas lawyer Robert Eglet, who is representing several victims, told the paper that the hotel’s unusual action is a pre-emptive strike to get the cases heard in federal court instead of state court. Englet said MGM must believe it has better chances of victory in a federal case.

    The MGM lawsuits are a “blatant display of judge shopping” that “quite frankly verges on unethical,” according to Eglet.

    “I’ve never seen a more outrageous thing, where they sue the victims in an effort to find a judge they like,” the lawyer continued. “It’s just really sad that they would stoop to this level.”

    Reply
  96. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 7:50 am

    PragmaticObotsUnite (@PragObots) Tweeted:
    RT @DanRather: To GOP officials who are speaking out about today’s “Farce in Finland” – unless you start putting your votes and subpoena po… https://twitter.com/DanRather/status/1018939989088858112?s=17

    Reply
  98. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 7:20 am

    PragmaticObotsUnite (@PragObots) Tweeted:
    RT @Ithen_thought: @JakeSherman It is beyond my comprehension that @SenateGOP @HouseGOP can’t figure out what to do. 1) refuse to confirm a… https://twitter.com/Ithen_thought/status/1019181108393664513?s=17

    Reply
  113. rikyrah says:
    July 17, 2018 at 2:55 am

    Good Morning Everyone 😄 😄😄

    Reply
    • Ametia says:
      July 17, 2018 at 9:45 am

      Good Morning, Rikyrah & Everyone.

      Faux Noise is not a legitimate news source.

      IMO, Any & all garbage they spew in NOT TO BE TRUSTED. This includes Chris Wallace. They should all be considered MOUTHPIECES for 45, and therefore MOUTHPIECES for PUTIN.

      Reply

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