Exclusive: The Russia-gate prosecutors have taken the scalp of ex- National Security Adviser (and retired Lt. Gen.) Flynn for lying to the FBI. But this case shows how dangerously far afield this “scandal” has gone, reports Robert Parry.
By Robert Parry
Russia-gate enthusiasts are thrilled over the guilty plea of President Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn for lying to the FBI about pre-inauguration conversations with the Russian ambassador, but the case should alarm true civil libertarians.
Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen Michael Flynn at a campaign rally for Donald Trump at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Oct. 29, 2016. (Flickr Gage Skidmore)
What is arguably most disturbing about this case is that then-National Security Adviser Flynn was pushed into a perjury trap by Obama administration holdovers at the Justice Department who concocted an unorthodox legal rationale for subjecting Flynn to an FBI interrogation four days after he took office, testing Flynn’s recollection of the conversations while the FBI agents had transcripts of the calls intercepted by the National Security Agency.
In other words, the Justice Department wasn’t seeking information about what Flynn said to Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak – the intelligence agencies already had that information. Instead, Flynn was being quizzed on his precise recollection of the conversations and nailed for lying when his recollections deviated from the transcripts.
For Americans who worry about how the pervasive surveillance powers of the U.S. government could be put to use criminalizing otherwise constitutionally protected speech and political associations, Flynn’s prosecution represents a troubling precedent.
Though Flynn clearly can be faulted for his judgment, he was, in a sense, a marked man the moment he accepted the job of national security adviser. In summer 2016, Democrats seethed over Flynn’s participation in chants at the Republican National Convention to “lock her [Hillary Clinton] up!”
Then, just four days into the Trump presidency, an Obama holdover, then-acting Attorney General Sally Yates, primed the Flynn perjury trap by coming up with a novel legal theory that Flynn – although the national security adviser-designate at the time of his late December phone calls with Kislyak – was violating the 1799 Logan Act, which prohibits private citizens from interfering with U.S. foreign policy.
But that law – passed during President John Adams’s administration in the era of the Alien and Sedition Acts – was never intended to apply to incoming officials in the transition period between elected presidential administrations and – in the past 218 years – the law has resulted in no successful prosecution at all and thus its dubious constitutionality has never been adjudicated.
Stretching Logic
But Yates extrapolated from her unusual Logan Act theory to speculate that since Flynn’s publicly known explanation of the conversation with Kislyak deviated somewhat from the transcript of the intercepts, Flynn might be vulnerable to Russian blackmail.
Russia’s former Ambassador to the United States Sergey Kislyak. (Photo from Russian Embassy)
Yet, that bizarre speculation would require that the Russians first would have detected the discrepancies; secondly, they would have naively assumed that the U.S. intelligence agencies had not intercepted the conversations, which would have negated any blackmail potential; and thirdly, the Russians would have to do something so ridiculously heavy-handed – trying to blackmail Flynn – that it would poison relations with the new Trump administration.
Yates’s legal theorizing was so elastic and speculative that it could be used to justify subjecting almost anyone to FBI interrogation with the knowledge that their imperfect memories would guarantee the grounds for prosecution based on NSA intercepts of their communications.
Basically, the Obama holdovers concocted a preposterous legal theory to do whatever they could to sabotage the Trump administration, which they held in fulsome disdain.
At the time of Flynn’s interrogation, the Justice Department was under the control of Yates and the FBI was still under President Obama’s FBI Director James Comey, another official hostile to the Trump administration who later was fired by Trump.
The Yates-FBI perjury trap also was sprung on Flynn in the first days of the Trump presidency amid reverberations of the massive anti-Trump protests that had arisen across the country in support of demands for a “#Resistance” to Trump’s rule.
Flynn also had infuriated Democrats when he joined in chants at the Republican National Convention of “lock her up” over Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server and other alleged offenses. So, in targeting Flynn, there was a mix of personal payback and sabotage against the Trump administration.
The Legal Construct
The two-page complaint against Flynn, made public on Friday, references false statements to the FBI regarding two conversations with Kisylak, one on Dec. 22, 2016, and the other on Dec. 29, 2016.
Hillary Clinton speaking at a rally in Phoenix, Arizona, March 21, 2016. (Photo by Gage Skidmore)
The first item in the complaint alleges that Flynn did not disclose that he had asked the Russian ambassador to help delay or defeat a United Nations Security Council vote censuring Israel for building settlements on Palestinian territory.
The New York Times reported on Friday that Russia-gate investigators “learned through witnesses and documents that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the Trump transition team to lobby other countries to help Israel, according to two people briefed on the inquiry.
“Investigators have learned that Mr. Flynn and Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, took the lead in those efforts. Mr. Mueller’s team has emails that show Mr. Flynn saying he would work to kill the vote, the people briefed on the matter said,” according to the Times.
Breaking with past U.S. precedents, President Obama had decided not to veto the resolution criticizing Israel, choosing instead to abstain. However, the censure resolution carried with Russian support, meaning that whatever lobbying Flynn and Kushner undertook was unsuccessful.
But the inclusion of this Israeli element shows how far afield the criminal Russia-gate investigation, headed by former FBI Director Robert Mueller, has gone. Though the original point of the inquiry was whether the Trump team colluded with Russians to use “hacked” emails to defeat Hillary Clinton’s campaign, the criminal charge against Flynn has nothing to do with election “collusion” but rather President-elect Trump’s aides weighing in on foreign policy controversies during the transition. And, the first initiative was undertaken at the request of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, not Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The second item, cited by Mueller’s prosecutors, referenced a Dec. 29 Flynn-Kislyak conversation, which received public attention at the time of Flynn’s Feb. 13 resignation after only 24 days on the job. That phone call touched on Russia’s response to President Obama’s decision to issue new sanctions against the Kremlin for the alleged election interference.
The complaint alleges that Flynn didn’t mention to the FBI that he had urged Kislyak “to refrain from escalating the situation” and that Kislyak had subsequently told him that “Russia had chosen to moderate its response to those sanctions as a result of his request.”
The Dec. 29 phone call occurred while Flynn was vacationing in the Dominican Republic and thus he would have been without the usual support staff for memorializing or transcribing official conversations. So, the FBI agents, with the NSA’s transcripts, would have had a clearer account of what was said than Flynn likely had from memory. The content of Flynn’s request to Kislyak also appears rather uncontroversial, asking the Russians not to overreact to a punitive policy from the outgoing Obama administration.
In other words, both of the Flynn-Kislyak conversations appear rather unsurprising, if not inconsequential. One was taken at the behest of Israel (which proved ineffective) and the other urged the Kremlin to show restraint in its response to a last-minute slap from President Obama (which simply delayed Russian retaliation by several months).
Double Standards
While Flynn’s humiliation has brought some palpable joy to the anti-Trump “Resistance” – one more Trump aide being taken down amid renewed hope that this investigation will somehow lead to Trump’s resignation or impeachment – many of the same people would be howling about trampled civil liberties if a Republican bureaucracy were playing this game on a Democratic president and his staff.
Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn attending a dinner marking the RT network’s 10-year anniversary in Moscow, December 2015, sitting at the same table as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Green Party leader Jill Stein.
Indeed, in the turnabout-is-fair-play department, there is some equivalence in what is happening over Russia-gate to what the Republicans did in the 1990s exploiting their control of the special-prosecutor apparatus in the first years of Bill Clinton’s presidency when interminable investigations into such side issues as his Whitewater real-estate deal and the firing of the White House travel office staff plagued the Clinton administration.
Similarly, Republicans seized on the deaths of four U.S. diplomatic personnel on Sept. 11, 2012, in Benghazi, Libya, to conduct a series of lengthy investigations to tarnish Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s tenure and raise questions about her judgment. Democrats understandably called these attacks partisan warfare in legal or investigative garb.
What I have heard from many Hillary Clinton supporters in recent months is that they don’t care about the unfairness of the Russia-gate process or the dangerous precedents that such politicized prosecutions might set. They simply view Trump as such a danger that he must be destroyed at whatever the cost.
Yet, besides the collateral damage inflicted on mid-level government officials such as retired Lt. Gen. Flynn facing personal destruction at the hands of federal prosecutors with unlimited budgets, there is this deepening pattern of using criminal law to settle political differences, a process more common in authoritarian states.
As much as the Russia-gate enthusiasts talk about how they are upholding “the rule of law,” there is the troubling appearance that the law is simply being used to collect the scalps of political enemies.
Investigative reporter Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for The Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. You can buy his latest book, America’s Stolen Narrative, either in print here or as an e-book (from Amazon and barnesandnoble.com).
Flynn was a “marked man” because he had committed treason, not because anyone was out to get him. When your actions are traitorous, you have to face the consequences.
Key item missing here: the 29th phone call had an unsaid quid pro quo – sanctions removed, which if successful would put the interests of the lying, cheating, criminals just elected, ahead of the interests of the citizens of this country. Russia has never not retaliated, without some incentive.
Mr. Parry: Sorry––but you win no cigar on this one. Faulty recollections for Flynn, et al? Give us a break. Political enemy scalping by prior administration bad guys/girls, enabled by Mueller of all people? No willing suspension of disbelief here. Certainly prosecutors are relentless, unfair, even heartless; a tribe without empathy, their ilk engender no sympathy from me. But in this matter, the farther afield legally the better: the current White House authoritarian-in-chief must be stopped, and at present it seems only Mueller’s gang is up to the task. This self-proclaimed Super Man, who once appeared to be but a Humpty Trumpty, now threatens us all––even His supporters, if they would stop to think. If some dirty tricks are required, so be it. jwt
Yates went too far, but the Russian backed social media manipulations or the Mercer backed social media manipulations are nothing compared with the DNC’s total unconcern with local level GOP election manipulation.
Forcing cooperation by comparing contradicting testimonies and threatening perjury charges is an old law enforcement tactic, but forgetting something truthful is different than changing cover-ups.
Anyways, the “Blame Russia” mantra the DNC has adopted ignores the reality: The DNC, since Bubba Clinton, has abandoned its base while selling out to Wall Street, and we are likely to see the end of the New Deal, the New Frontier and the New Society.
If the investigators will not follow the Rule of Law, and will instead abuse their power for political ends, then citizens will eventually do likewise.
The investigators will not like the result when an angry mob targets them.
As someone who voted for Donald Trump, I have a question: Where’s the beef?
Where are the President’s CRIMES? And what happened to the customary 100 days’ honeymoon, when partisan attacks are traditionally withheld while the new President settles into the job he was elected to do?
From the moment it became clear that Donald Trump would be the nominee, he was being set up by Hillary, by the FBI, by Obama and his Big Media pets, by the DNC, by Obama holdovers, and by everyone else who ‘knows’ the voters made a big mistake. They’re all smarter than us stoopid voters, see? And they want us to understand that they’re trying to pull off this palace coup for our own good. They’re not really poor sports, see, it’s merely their altruism on display. It’s for the good of the country, dontchaknow…
Sorry folks, that’s just a load of self-serving carp. They’re attempting to convince us stooopid voters that we just didn’t know what we were doing when we defenestrated the über-corrupt Hillary Clinton. Because she was their Anointed One, and we’re just a bunch of ignorant rubes in flyover country. That’s about it, isn’t it?
But the red state hayseeds aren’t stupid at all. The country has watched this sideshow for more than a year now, and every day that passes makes it more obvious that this President has done NOTHING WRONG—but it’s equally clear that there are plenty of crooked actors in this Trumped-up attack who are guilty as hell of serious criminal activity themselves. And as usual in the DC swamp, they have their ‘Get Out Of Jail Free’ cards, so they skate. But the hayseeds and bumpkins know what’s going on…
If there was ANY solid evidence showing that Mr. Trump had broken the law, either before or after the election, it would have been front page, above-the-fold NEWS from Day One, and Mr. Trump would—at best—have been forced out long ago.
Every evidence-free day that passes now shows us that THEY’VE GOT NOTHIN’! This “collusion” carp is just one giant, long running head-fake, intended to convince a dwindling number of citizens that there might be evidence *somewhere* that supports the bogus “collusion” accusations against the President. But without any credible evidence, it’s ‘the seriousness of the charges’ they’re using to try and reverse the choice of ‘We The People’.
However, based on the same accusations there certainly are some individuals guilty of the same “collusion”. But Mr. Mueller studiously avoids casting a wider net. Mueller’s investigation should certainly include Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama, because there’s solid evidence that they’re both guilty of the “collusion” that Trump is being charged with. Mueller’s lack of interest is strong evidence that this is, in fact, nothing but a political ‘witch hunt’.
Is there really any doubt?
The National Review is a site I don’t bookmark, and therefore I wouldn’t have seen this except for the link at Naked Capitalism.
Not being a lawyer, most of it was over my head. But there was surely some interesting reading here. President Pence scares me a lot more than the admittedly awful President Trump.
h**p://www.nationalreview.com/article/454311/mueller-strategy-obstruction-justice-investigation-leading-impeachment
Jared Kushner was the keynote speaker at the Saban Forum at the Brookings Institution on 3 December 2017.
Haim Saban, a Democratic mega donor who was a key supporter of Hillary Clinton, praised Kushner for attempting to derail a vote at the United Nations Security Council about Israeli settlements during the Obama administration.
Kushner reportedly dispatched former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to make secret contact with the Russian ambassador in December 2016 in an effort to undermine or delay the resolution, which condemned Israel for settlement construction.
Saban told Kushner that “this crowd and myself want to thank you for making that effort, so thank you very much.”
Kushner and Saban framed Middle East peace as a “real estate issue”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZyGpirUMvk
Leading pro-Israel war hawks from the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution authored the June 2009 document “Which Path to Persia? Options for a New American Strategy toward Iran”
Martin Indyk, the “director” of the Saban Center, is a former AIPAC staffer. Indyk cofounded the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in 1985 with the wife of AIPAC Chairman Lawrence Weinberg and former president of the Jewish Federation, Barbi Weinberg. Despite his well known affiliation with the Israel Lobby and his Australian nationality, Bill Clinton appointed Indyk as the first foreign-born US Ambassador to Israel in 1995. The issuance of his US nationality had been expedited for his previous appointment by Clinton in 1993 as Middle East adviser on the National Security Council.
Kenneth M. Pollack, the “director of research” at the Saban Center, is a former CIA analyst and National Security Council staffer under Bill Clinton. A prominent “liberal hawk” cheerleader for the Iraq War, Pollack is credited with persuading liberals to endorse the invasion of Iraq. His 2002 book, The Threatening Storm, was influential in selling the “WMD” case. His 2005 book, The Persian Puzzle, recycled many of the same arguments, this time directed at Iran.
Michael E. O’Hanlon, the “director of foreign policy research” at Brookings, is a war hawk and frequent op-ed writer for major news outlets like the Washington Post. In recent years, O’Hanlon has pushed for U.S. intervention in Syria. In April 2007, O’Hanlon and Fred Kagan urged the United States to invade and occupy Iran.
In March 2003, shortly after the United States invaded Iraq, O’Hanlon contributed his name to an open letter published by the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), a neoconservative advocacy outfit closely associated with American Enterprise Institute that played a major role generating public support for the invasion of Iraq and pushing an expansive “war on terror.” Among those contributing their names to the document were hardline neocons like Max Boot, Eliot Cohen, Joshua Muravchik, and William Kristol, as well as liberal interventionists like O’Hanlon and Ivo Daalder, also a scholar based at Brookings.
In a March 2006 update on activities of the Israel Lobby, American political scientists John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt noted that media mogul Haim Saban is an “ardent Zionist”.
Mearsheimer and Walt observed that “Saban Center publications never question US support for Israel and rarely, if ever, offer significant criticism of key Israeli policies.”
In their landmark book, The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy (2007), Mearsheimer and note that the Saban Center at Brookings is “part of the pro-Israel chorus” (pg 156).
In 2002, Saban pledged $13 million to start a “research” organization at Brookings.
To put the Saban Center into perspective, one should note that Saban says “I’m a one-issue guy and my issue is Israel”. Saban has close ties with Bill and Hillary Clinton, and is one of their biggest campaign donors
The annual Saban Forum hosted by Brookings since 2004 includes Israeli government officials.
The Center no longer carries Saban’s name, and a note from the director explained that the partnership was “entering a new stage.” In a press release, Saban made clear he would “sustain and expand” the annual Saban Forum. “Haim is still a strong supporter for the Brookings Center, financial and otherwise, and he is still on the Brookings Board of Trustees,” the statement added.
The plan to take down Trump began Nov. 9th, 2016. By Dec. 28th, 2016, Obama had written an E.O. authorizing sanctions against Russia for meddling in our elections, authorized the F.B.I. to launch an investigation into collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians, and began illegally unmasking members of the Trump team.
And now we know it was all predicated on that fake Fusion GPS dossier commissioned, produced, paid for, and disseminated by Team Hillary and the DNC. The F.B.I. was nothing more than a disposable tool that the corrupt Obama administration and the Democratic Party used to implement their plans.
What a travesty. For the F.B.I. AND America. SOMEONE needs to start drawing up treason charges.
“They simply view Trump as such a danger that he must be destroyed at whatever the cost,” as if they are principled the rest of the time. Sheesh!
Nobody knows what Mueller and his team of prosecutors are doing. This quote from the WashPost:
“People familiar with the Mueller team said they convey a sense of calm that is unsettling. ‘These guys are confident, impressive, pretty friendly – joking a little even,’ one lawyer said. When prosecutors strike that kind of tone,… defense lawyers tend to think: ‘Uh oh, my guy is in a heap of trouble.”
(Washington Post 12-3-17)
Yeah, the dirtiest crew in history is in a heap of trouble – wait for it.
Many posting comments here in the last few that never paid attention to politics prior to President Trump’s election. They have never followed past and recent history.
I would agree that capitalism creeping into fascism is a very real problem that needs constant attention from the electorate to prevent. That said, social welfare democrats creeping toward Communism is an equally nasty problem. Everybody wanting a free lunch at the expense of someone else seems to be the default position for all humans, rich and poor.
‘Similarly, Republicans seized on the deaths of four U.S. diplomatic personnel on Sept. 11, 2012, in Benghazi, Libya, to conduct a series of lengthy investigations to tarnish Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s tenure and raise questions about her judgment. Democrats understandably called these attacks partisan warfare in legal or investigative garb.’
Huh?
Does the author not grasp that Benghazi was used to run guns to Syrian Al Qaeda, to benefit Israel… per the wikileaked HRC emails?
Good grief, Parry. Spend ten minutes researching the matter.
So as the NSA spies on all of us, even incoming administrations – are they still giving this raw data to Israel (and ONLY Israel)?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/11/nsa-americans-personal-data-israel-documents
And lest we forget:
https://www.wired.com/2012/04/shady-companies-nsa/
Kushner directed Flynn to reach out to Russia at the direction of Israel.
Amazing how that aspect is kept out of the news.
bullshit, he is traitor they all are…
A trap? Well, it might have been, but one might assume that a former JSOC and DIA chief might be hip to such things. And as you point out, he did lie. Why? If the deal with the sanctions and UN vote were so commonplace and legal, why lie about it? And what was exactly the lie Flynn told? Is Flynn, like Trump, a serial liar? Maybe. Also to pretend that the issues at hand, sanctions relief and UN vote, were somehow so trivial as to be mistaken or forgotten by Flynn, is, you must admit, given the timing of the calls, preposterous.
I have great respect for Mr. Parry’s resume. I did find, however, that this article seems an attempt to whitewash the illegalities of Flynn and his son and fails to mention the lobbying efforts they both failed to mention as they were legally required to do so.
With evidence mounting almost daily, of collusion with Russian oligarchs, ties to Russian money among Trump himself and several in his cabinet and campaign leadership, with the rantings and ravings of our “Orangeitang” in the White House showing plainly his unfitness for office and his history of lies and duplicity, one is forced to wonder at Parry’s seeming diversion into a nebulous attempt to
defend Flynn at the cost of obtaining evidence on those higher on the Trump tree.
Seems like they’ve learned from the Bill Clinton-era witchhunt when a then-twice-married Congressman who was cheating on his 2nd wife with his future 3rd wife led the charge to impeach a standing President for lying under oath about having consensual sex.
Nice try. However, we do not know what was in the plea deal. Your conspiracy theory, reads like something out of Alex Jones. There are several contextual factors at the time which innocently explain the actions of the “holdovers.”
Any general, about to take over NSA, who did not know this sort of taping was going on should never be NSA director. It strains logic to believe that Flynn was that naive. He has been way too close to the burning bush for way too long not to know.
Insinuating that Flynn got tripped up due to faulty recollect insults your readers’ intelligence.
Absolutely, US is nothing but a corporatocracy, completely corrupt for many years now. Washington DC is a cesspool, not a swamp. At least a swamp is a natural ecosystem. DC is worse than anything H.P. Lovecraft could have concocted!
I’ll go along with you enthusiastically on the need to address inequality and war, but the “capitalism” you mention has so long-since penetrated government and vice-versa that it’s really what Mussolini called “corporatism”, also known as fascism. For just one example, the current effort by the DEA to put the natural drug kratom on the Schedule One list is purely to protect Big Pharma’s profits in pain killers and antidepressants, and has nothing to do with kratom’s safety or effectiveness. That’s fascism in action, not capitalism. Our entire economy is riddled with such stories, from the attempted theft of the Bundy Ranch, to subsidies from the poor to the rich for their Tesla cars, to subsidies for the nonsensical ethanol in your gasoline.
Fascism is capitalism’s right-wing default position.
Is an intelligible version of this article available?
Your point is well taken. I just plugged the text of the essay into an online “readibility” checker and most all of the tests reported it was written at “College Level”. Changing some of the Ten Dollar words to simpler ones would have made those “readibility” scores lower ones.
h**p://www.readabilityformulas.com/free-readability-formula-tests.php
Article of interest at link below.
—————————————————————–
ROBERT BRIDGE | 22.11.2017 | OPINION
Who Is Jared Kushner: Trump Loyalist or ‘Deep State’ Kissinger Protege?
https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2017/11/22/who-jared-kushner-trump-loyalist-or-deep-state-kissinger-protege.html
Neither Parry’s investigation of Russia-gate nor the work McGovern, Binney, and VIPS have any connection to “the beautiful ideas of Lyndon LaRouche”
https://larouchepac.com/20170927/robert-mueller-amoral-legal-assassin-he-will-do-his-job-if-you-let-him
LarouchePac frequently functions as a Hasbara operation to direct attention away from Israel and toward the elaborate conspiracy theories of LaRouche.
In July, August, and September 2017, LaRouchePac did offer venues for the forensic evidence of McGovern and Binney showing that there was no hack of the DNC computers, and that Obama intelligence officials had fabricated evidence to point at Russia.
However, the latest LarouchePac report on Mueller insists that “a foreign power, the British and their allies” are the root of the problem.
No mention of Israel by the LaRouche bots.
In fact, during the lead-up to the 2016 vote on a UN Security Council Resolution condemning Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, there were speculations in the Israeli media that perhaps Russia could veto it, thus protecting Israel from the lack of a veto by the Obama administration.
Israeli officials reached out at the time to the Trump transition team, asking the president-elect to try and exert influence over different countries to block the resolution.
According to the Justice Department, Flynn contacted the Russian ambassador back in December 2016, ahead of the UN vote on the settlements, to inquire if Russia would agree to veto it. The vote took place before Trump took office, while the Obama administration was still in power.
Eventually, Russia voted in favor of the resolution, as did all the 14 other members of the UN Security Council, except the U.S., which chose to abstain.
Trump took to Twitter following the vote, writing, in reference to his slated inauguration date: “As to the UN, things will be different after Jan. 20th.”
The White House, in turn, blamed the passage of the resolution on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s settlement policies. “If we didn’t see acceleration in settlement activity and wouldn’t hear that kind of rhetoric from the Israeli government then maybe the U.S. would have taken take a different view,” then-Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said.
Netanyahu, for his part, called the resolution “crazy,” accused the Obama administration of carrying out an underhanded, anti-Israel maneuver and assured the Israeli public that the resolution would be overcome.
U.S. President Donald Trump, in his first comment on a guilty plea by his first national security adviser Michael Flynn to lying to the FBI, said on Saturday there was “absolutely no collusion” between his campaign and Russia.
However, the question of Trump campaign collusion with Israel must be addressed.
Taking to Twitter, Trump said Flynn’s actions after the 2016 election were “lawful.”
“I had to fire General Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI. He has pled guilty to those lies. It is a shame because his actions during the transition were lawful. There was nothing to hide!” Trump said in a tweet.
CNN reported that Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, and K.T. McFarland, a former adviser, were the transition officials who directed Flynn to contact Russian officials. CNN also reported McFarland met with investigators for Mueller’s Office of the Special Counsel.
According to ABC News, Flynn is prepared to testify that Trump directed him to make contact with Russians when he was a presidential candidate. The report cited a Flynn confidant.
The White House said in a statement that the guilty plea implicates Flynn alone. “Nothing about the guilty plea or the charge implicates anyone other than Mr. Flynn,” said Ty Cobb, a White House attorney.
“The false statements involved mirror the false statements to White House officials which resulted in his resignation in February of this year,” Cobb said, adding that the plea “clears the way for a prompt and reasonable conclusion” of Mueller’s probe into alleged “Russian meddling” in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and potential collusion by Trump’s campaign.
Israeli meddling and Trump campaign collusion are the real issues.
Performing its Hasbara propaganda function, LaRouchePac predictably manages to leave Israel out of the picture.
Cap Cities tv network since has suspended Ross for reporting that this happened during the campaign instead of the truth that it took place during the transition. Which, of course, is normal operating procedure for incoming Presidents. Thanks.
And still more info at link below.
——————————————————————–
Gregg Jarrett: Did Flynn or the Trump transition team violate the Logan Act? No
By Gregg Jarrett | Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/12/02/gregg-jarrett-did-flynn-or-trump-transition-team-violate-logan-act-no.html
Thank you for the link to Gregg Jarrett’s article. This part is very helpful:
Could you please quit using that ridiculous expression “Russia-gate”!
Here’s what president-elect Obama’s representatives Madeline Albright and Jim Leach said about their meeting with Russian ambassador Kislyak and representatives of other foreign goverments in their 2008 press release:
“. . . the President-elect asked us to represent him in receiving the views of these important partners. We also conveyed President-elect Obama’s determination to continuing to work together on these challenges after he takes office in January. We will brief the President-elect and Vice President-elect at the conclusion of our meetings.”
Here is the relevant part of their meeting schedule –
Thursday, November 13, 2008:
Russia: Arkady Dvorkovich, Senior Economic Advisor to the President, G8
Sherpa, and Ambassador Kislyak
India: Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Ambassador Sen (India), Ambassador
Arun K. Singh, Deputy Chief of Mission
Australia: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
Here is the official press release: http://p2008.org/chrntran08/obamag20summit.html
Presidents-elect are expected to begin discussions with foreign countries and have historically done so.
And of course Putin thought president-elect Obama was great in 2008 because Obama wanted to improve relations with Moscow and was actually telling the Russians that. Here’s what Putin said in Dec. 2008: “We very much hope that these changes will be positive. We are now seeing these positive signals. If it’s not just words, if they are transformed into practical policy, we will respond accordingly, and our American partners will immediately feel that.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/dec/04/vladimir-putin-barack-obama
I’m not a fan of Trump, but I just don’t see how he can be impeached for basically doing the same thing that Obama did in 2008.
Yes, Maresedon’ts, and remember Obama was overheard saying something like, “I’ll be able to do more — will have more flexibility — after I’m elected,” when he thought the mic was off.
Thank you, Maresedon’ts.
I guess the point is supposed to be that Gen. Flynn lied to the FBI about whether or not he had communicated whatever he communicated. But I also think that as a former DIA Director he knew his conversations were recorded, and so I’m hopefully confident that he knows what he’s doing here by letting the FBI bring him into the investigation. I think, from his history at DIA as published, that he is a whistleblower about our duplicitous foreign policy.
In the second part of the plea, Flynn was acting, probably through Kushner, on a request from the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, to ask Russia to help block Security Council Resolution #2444 on the illegality of Israeli settlements, which vote Obama had decided to abstain, rather than veto. It’s a very dumb idea, but hardly criminal to ask them. How are the Democrats (and Republicans for that matter) going to attack Flynn for carrying out the wishes of the Israeli PM … he of the many standing ovations in Congress?
Andrew Carnegie Think and Grow Rich (er) If you do not know where you stand with a man ask him for a favor. If he complies he’s more likely to do you another favor in the future. If he does not then you know where you stand with him , you benefit either way. Nobody as yet that I have read anything from has suggested that perhaps, BIbi or Kushner may have been setting Flynn up. Perhaps Kushner was naive enough to think that he and or Flynn were not being tracked and recorded but Certainly Netanyahu would have known that they were and would have at the very least warned Kushner to stay -Off the record, which is to say, maintain deniablity. Flynn had no deniability. How could a Lieutenant General be so stupid (General Petraeus notwithstanding). Maybe Flynn didn’t want the job after he saw the crew of schmucks he was going to be working with and answering too. WORD
Still more info at link below.
———————————————————–
Mike Flynn told one lie – the US government has told millions
The Flynn scandal has exposed so many bigger scandals in US politics, but unfortunately, none of them are being discussed.
by ADAM GARRIE
December 2, 2017, 11:31
http://theduran.com/mike-flynn-told-one-lie-us-government-told-millions/
The lie, and there were more than one actually , from Flynn is a criminal act, and the law does not discriminate because one lie from a criminal is less than a multitude of lies from other criminals.
With Flynn doing everything in his power to avoid jail it would seem likely that he is going to divulge a number of other lies and criminals in the Trump cabinet and among his coterie.
That’s not a ‘scalping’ ( a baaaad reference since white ‘Americans’ started scalping Indians well before they got the message), this is a tonsure or a ‘tight trim’. In our world ‘scalpings’ as done legally in Saudi Arabia and by other Islamic extremists – start just above the shoulders.
As I recall history books relay that taking of scalps became more commonplace after the French, or was it the Brits, (Or both) began paying their mercenary Indian Tribes to kill the other guys mercenary Indians by the number of scalps taken in the proxy wars that were fought in the Ohio Valley and in other watersheds all the way up into Canada long before the USA became a country. I don’t know who taught who how to do it. Murder for hire. Divide and Conquer, the game is still the same, never gets old, ask IS mercenaries in what’s left of Eastern Syria and Western Iraq. In the good old days The Celts (and I have read in Syria in Aleppo by IS) , that they used to take heads. That’s a lot of weight , too much to carry if on horseback or foot.
Parry is off the deep end again. Misrepresenting the timeline to shift the narrative away from the facts, pretending Flynn didn’t know he was under total surveillance for years. Why is Parry defending Trump? Why defend a swindler and his mic stooges?
Binky Sorry, Trump didn’t do anything wrong here except maybe appointing Flynn in the first place but didn’t Obama speak well of Flynn back when he appointed Flynn to head Military Intelligence? . Flynn was apparently acting in character. He had the reputation as a loose canon and being impetuous. Maybe he thought he had enough rope or maybe he had a couple drinks, who knows. PS Binky, and keep in mind I do not like Trump or Pense, Trump did not do anything wrong in firing the FBI Director. He should have made Flynn quit and fired the FBI Director the same day for insubordination and failure to follow established protocol in communicating with the White House in a timely manner. Trump made a mistake in dithering but he was new to the job and didn’t have much experienced advice
The referenced call to Kislyak by Flynn was for the express (and possibly sole) purpose of influencing Russia’s vote on the Israeli settlements. To suggest that it’s unfair of the FBI (or constitutes a “perjury trap”) to expect Flynn to recall that content (while they enjoy the advantage of having the recorded conversation) is beyond preposterous. As in much of his writing, Mr. Barry’s motives are open to question.
Much more so your motives, having made only the slightest criticism for such a conclusion.
When are arrests going to be made for “supporting” terrorists?
—————————————————————————
18 U.S. Code Chapter 113B – TERRORISM
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/part-I/chapter-113B
Where is the FBI when the “U.S. government” is reportedly “supporting” terrorists?
Meanwhile the real news is this: See link below.
————————————————————————-
“Under U.S. law it is illegal for any American to provide money or assistance to al-Qaeda, ISIS or other terrorist groups. If you or I gave money, weapons or support to al-Qaeda or ISIS, we would be thrown in jail. Yet the U.S. government has been violating this law for years, quietly supporting allies and partners of al-Qaeda, ISIL, Jabhat Fateh al Sham and other terrorist groups with money, weapons, and intelligence support, in their fight to overthrow the Syrian government.[i]… Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, December 8, 2016,Press Release.
https://gabbard.house.gov/news/press-releases/video-rep-tulsi-gabbard-introduces-legislation-stop-arming-terrorists
In his book, America’s Stolen Narrative, the author of the piece above describes how in 1968, the Nixon campaign convinced the South Vietnamese Government to break off peace talks with North Vietnam, promising them a better deal under the Nixon Administration. Failure of those peace talks would hurt the Johnson campaign and help the Nixon campaign. Fast forward to 2016 and imagine the Trump campaign agreeing to relief of sanctions imposed against Russia for the annexation of Crimea and military operations in Ukraine in exchange for their help with the Trump campaign.
Several crimes could have been committed: First, under 18 U. S. Code 953 “Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government, or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the Unites States, shall be fined under this title or imprisones not more than three years, our both.”
Second, the Federal Election Campaign Act prohibits “any foreign national from contributing, donating, or spending funds in connection with any federal, state, or local election in the United States, either director or indirectly. It is also unlawful to help foreign nationals violate that ban or to solicit, receive or accept contributions or donation from them.”
Third, email hacking and trafficking in stolen emails is wire fraud.
If the Trump campaign did not commit or was not involved in any of these crimes related to the 2016 election, then why have they consistently and relentlessly tried to cover up their actions and repeatedly lied about it, not just to the American public, but also lying to the FBI?
Why did the Dems subvert US democracy?
Trump et al are under attack because that’s what these parties do to each other. The sanctions against Russia were based on total BS.
“Russia for the annexation of Crimea”
You folks never give up on reciting non-facts.
Thanks for playing!
Bravo!! Your article on the “The Scalp-Taking of Gen. Flynn” is right on the mark. A 28 pagereport, which came out about three months ago, “Robert Mueller III is an Amoral Legal Assassin Who Will Do His Job if You Let Him” goes, in-depth, into the three major crimes against the American people, which he has committed since 1988. 1. The massive, and illegally orchestrated media slander campaign, and jailing of, Lyndon LaRouche, 2. The massive cover-up of who was behind the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers, 3. The attempted coup against a duly elected President of the U. S. by a foreign intelligence power; the British Empire, whose financial system is collapsing.
These monetarist golems would prefer nuclear war between Russia and the U.S. , rather than have a partnership between Russia, China and the U.S., for a policy of Peace through global development for every country, which is being realized, around the globe, through China’s Belt and Road Initiative. President Trump’s trip to China was a smashing success, and was never covered by the media, because they didn’t want Americans to be uplifted by the opportunity to put our country back to work at good, high paying jobs that would be realized here, as a result of that trip.
It’s also been proven by VIPS (Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity) that Russiagate never happened. They did their own forensic analysis of the documents from the DNC computer, which the FBI, or anyone else, has never done!
Melinda Norris
Canyon Country, Ca.
Please note: Read the September 23 report by Barbara Boyd of EIR magazine with caution.
Boyd’s articles do more than discuss “prosecutorial robot” Mueller. They frame the VIPS forensic evidence about the alleged DNC hack alongside the EIR founder’s theories about “post-War British-dictated monetarist and imperial order”.
Notably, EIR conspicuously neglects to mention Israel, which has played a key role in all the Russia-gate brouhaha and figures prominently in the Flynn case.
For more on this, see my comment below.
“former Trump national security advisor Michael Flynn plead guilty to lying to the FBI about his efforts with Jared Kushner to torpedo a United Nations Security Council resolution criticizing Israeli settlements […]
“the activity of the Trump transition team, acting before Trump assumed office, was a violation of the Logan Act. It prohibits U.S. citizens from acting in the name of the U.S., while engaging with a foreign power on behalf of the latter’s interests. In this case, we have perhaps the most explicit violation of the Act in U.S. history, which has never before seen anyone tried or convicted. In other words, the Obama administration’s official position, while not voting for the resolution, was to permit it to be approved by the Security Council. Since this was the official policy of the U.S. government, Trump’s attempt to destroy the chances for the resolution’s passage was a clear Logan violation.
“No doubt, you will hear Israel apologists argue that the Logan Act claim is specious since the resolution ended up passing anyway. They will claim that the Trump machinations were an abject failure, so its actions should be mitigated by this fact. But Logan doesn’t make allowances for whether a betrayal of U.S. interests is successful or not. The very act of sabotage is itself the offense.
“It’s clear in this case that Mueller will not use Logan as the direct charge in court to prosecute Flynn or Kushner. As I mentioned, a violation of the Act alone has never led to a conviction. But lying about one’s action pursuant to a Logan Act violation is an eminently prosecutable offense. That’s perjury and a standard federal case. This is what Flynn has confessed to […]
“what’s critical about this entire episode is that U.S. policy toward Israel is at the heart of the matter. Never in the history of the Republic has anyone been convicted for acting on behalf of Israel to sabotage U.S. policy. This is a watershed moment (even though this won’t be the specific, proximate cause of Flynn or Kushner’s ultimate downfall).
“The Israel Lobby will deny it played any role in this and claim it has nothing to do with these charges. However, it should understand (though given it’s hubris it might refuse to do so) that there are now distinct limits on its power; and that if a politician or Lobby official goes beyond those limits they put themselves into very concrete legal jeopardy.
“Critics of Israel and its far-right government are always seeking tell-tale signs of the downfall of the Lobby, hoping that this will lead to the downfall of the racist, oppressive policies Israel has pursued for the past decades. There is always a tendency to overemphasize every development and seeing what one wants to see. This is often my criticism of sites like Mondoweiss. Wish fulfillment isn’t the same as fact.
“But this case could be a bellweather. A day that marked when one era ended and another began in U.S. relations toward Israel. Whether that happens hinges on whether Mueller succeeds in his case against Kushner and ultimately Trump. History is in the making…”
Flynn Pleads Guilty to Lying About Trump Sabotage of Security Council Resolution Against Israel Settlements
By Richard Silverstein
https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/12/01/flynn-pleads-guilty-to-lying-about-trump-sabotage-of-security-council-resolution-against-israel-settlements/
“Though many US politicians have been accused of being shills for Israel and the Israel lobby holds sway over an enormous number of legislators, and though numerous Americans have been convicted of spying on Israel’s behalf, no one has ever been convicted of harming the interests of the US for Israel’s sake.
“In fact, the rallying cry of the lobby is that there is no difference between Israeli and US interests. In other words, when you work on behalf of Israel’s interests, you’re also advancing America’s. Of course, this is utter nonsense. It turns both countries into awkwardly conjoined Siamese twins.
“That’s certainly what Kushner did in this case: Netanyahu, who initiated the request for Trump’s intervention in the UN affair, wanted to fend off the resolution at all costs. It was originally put forward by Egypt.
“Because Israel has tremendous leverage over the Egyptian military-led government regarding intelligence-sharing on Sinai Islamists, and because of Israeli attacks in Sinai which have killed militants on Egypt’s behalf, the Israeli leader was able to persuade Egyptt’s president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, to back off.
“But this strategy failed because four other member states stepped forward and sponsored it. Then Netanyahu sought to lobby the Russians and Chinese, who also were unmoved. Running out of cards to play, Netanyahu turned to Trump’s right-hand man, Kushner.
“Then Trump’s camp began working the phones.
“Crossing the line
“It was clear from Netanyahu on down, and including Trump, that the goal was to destroy the resolution which had the tacit support of the Obama administration.
“Though the US in the end abstained, the Obama administration clearly did nothing to stop the resolution – meaning it tacitly supported it. In the past, it had actually vetoed virtually identitcal Security Council proposals.
“So, the abstention was quite a bold move for the US. Therefore, Kushner’s intervention to kill the resolution crossed the line from using his First Amendment right to speak freely about government policy into subverting official US foreign policy. This is legal ground which has yet to be plowed.
“Including the Logan Act in a list of charges against Kushner would not only be novel, it would put the Israel lobby on notice that it had crossed a red line. And that once you cross that line you’re actually engaging in criminal behaviour. That would be a first. A shocking shot across the bow that would set the lobby reeling. […]
“What Kushner did is to violate a cardinal rule of American life: he showed dual loyalty. This is a canard that anti-Semites used to throw around against Jews. But today, given the eagle-clawed grip the Israel lobby holds over aspects of American politics, dual loyalty is once again a claim raised (and this time validly) against American Jews like Kushner, who put the interests of Israel above those of their native country.
“As the guiding force behind the Trump Middle East peace plan, an indictment by the special counsel against Kushner would significantly damage this effort. That might mean that a plan which is already derided by the Palestinians as hopelessly biased in Israel’s favour, might die at birth.”
The curious case of Jared Kushner and the Israel lobby
By Richard Silverstein
http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/us-special-counsel-investigating-kushner-pro-israel-lobbying-1863625733
And the odds of Mueller digging this out?
Still more info at link below.
————————————————————————————–
Mueller Investigation: Politics, Not Law Enforcement or Counterintelligence
by ANDREW C. MCCARTHY December 2, 2017 4:00 AM
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/454293/robert-mueller-trump-russia-investigation-michael-flynn-obama-administration-foreign-policy-israel
More info at link below.
———————————————————————–
ABC’s fake news about Flynn & Russia causes stocks to crash
Published time: 2 Dec, 2017 10:38Edited time: 2 Dec, 2017 14:05
https://www.rt.com/usa/411719-abc-fake-news-trump-flynn/
Interesting article by Mr Parry, it’s too bad the corporate media are a sick joke.
I believe America is a captured country. Its foreign policy is dictated by outside influences, and it is NOT Russia that is the culprit. Read more at link below.
———————————————————————-
November 22, 2016
Something Is Very Evil
http://graysinfo.blogspot.ca/2016/11/something-is-very-evil.html
http://original.antiwar.com/avnery/2017/12/01/netanyahu-not-king-worlds-jews/
I sure hope you are preparing to apologize to all your readers should evidence finally be made public that shows this administration for the traitors they are.
More power to you if this really turns out to be a non-starter.
But we’ve gone from “absolutely no contact with Russians” to so many lies about this subject, you can’t count them.
Never mind all the other legitimately obscene things they have done with the EPA, FCC, etc.
You are frustrated because our surveillance state is working for the good of America, and are trying to warn us that someday it might not.
The only reason Trump hasn’t been impeached for the crimes he’s committed is because it’s in the GOP’s best interest to use him to give their donors everything they’ve ever want.
But you keep fear mongering about the NSA.
The USA is being destroyed by an incompetent baffoon and the GOP. Sometimes there are more important things than what might happen…like what is happening now.
The USA is being destroyed by its Deep State and its lackeys in the intelligence agencies that have kept us on a continuous war footing for the benefit of the MIC, and at the expense of everyone else. Trump is an incompetent buffoon, but no president has actually been in charge since JFK was assassinated. It is not fear mongering, it is fact.
Got that right, Skip!
I feel Jay’s frustrations. But, if he thinks that the FACTS will be exposed to support the REAL story, well… Read one of my posts above to find/figure out why there’s zero chance of that happening. So, each one of is left to accept whatever story we wish. To me I’d prefer to safeguard against the greater threat- nuclear annihilation. That the oligarchs have, and will continue to gut this country was never in doubt: this is the “night” to the “day” that they’d unfolded with their hyper-inflated real estate and banking game- nearly all of it was an illusion (just as the Tech bubble before it). If one doesn’t like this story then they can go find one that better soothes their mind.
“FBI Director Comey, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, and Julian Assange all colluded against me as a woman!”
– Crooked Hillary
So at the very end of this tirade, you admit that Republicans have been doing this for years.
And now we have the most disastrous tax bill in history pushed through the Senate; a giveaway to anyone who has ever donated money to the GOP, and nothing more.
You don’t report on the lies. You don’t report that for months, the entire administration has denies involvement with Russia, yet every day more details emerge.
Either they lied or they didn’t. Trump lies nearly every time he speaks to the press, but you conveniently don’t report about that.
I have been reading this website for years. Unfortunately, the founder has become the most biased of all the reporters on the list here.
I am about to stop reading your articles, simply because instead of focusing on the destruction of our country, you focus constantly on ghosts and conspiracy theories.
What about the FCC comments against net neutrality? Is this also a conspiracy theory of the left? Or do you believe the reports that a large percentage of those comments were computer generated comments sourced outside the US?
Do you not believe the Gen. Flynn has engaged in all sorts of questionable behavior? Turkey? Russia? Jesus, he is supposed to be a patriot.
And so are you.
Sincerely,
jay
“Do you not believe the Gen. Flynn has engaged in all sorts of questionable behavior? Turkey? Russia? Jesus, he is supposed to be a patriot.”
And you missed Israel?
Parry, like many other great investigative journalists, has focused on what HE believes is the most crucial story to shed light on. That there is a new push (started under the Obama administration) to demonize/chastise a nation that is only second to the US in nuclear arsenal size isn’t important? The Zionists just view the tax rape as being handy to continue their quest toward End Times. THE goal, however, is to set the stage, and Russia is screwing up those plans (though the outcome would be the same- a cataclysmic ending). The Zionists now know that Russia won’t roll over, in which case the heat on Russia HAS to be cranked up. This Russia-Gate story is the tip of the spear. If you or anyone else cannot get this point (sorry, PUN!) then by all means, I’m sure that one can find the door out of here.
“Yates’s legal theorizing was so elastic and speculative that it could be used to justify subjecting almost anyone to FBI interrogation…”
Exactly the state of affairs that any head of the FBI would wish to bring about.
How about Flynn lying about asking Russia to veto the UN Israeli settlement resolution? That should be the main news. We should be talking about the real foreign power, Israel, that is influencing our “democratic process”. And we should be applauding Russia for refusing to veto the resolution.
Rick;Did you see anything on msm?Don’t worry,they get to it after commercial break.
“Instead, Flynn was being quizzed on his precise recollection of the conversations and nailed for lying when his recollections deviated from the transcripts.”
This is a standard FBI, etc., tactic for establishing the commission of a felony. The technique has been discussed by cohosts Brian Becker and John Kiriakou (formerly imprisoned whistle blower) on various editions of Radio Sputnik’s show Loud & Clear.
https://sputniknews.com/radio_loud_and_clear/
A short time ago there was a discussion going on about net neutrality. I don’t think Tulsi Gabbard would mind my posting some of her comments on this subject from her recent newsletter (which, btw, I believe anyone can subscribe to).
She wrote, “Upholding Equal Access to the Internet: Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Ajit Pai announced a meeting scheduled for December 14 to dismantle landmark net neutrality rules that ensure the Internet remains open, fair, and equal for everyone.
Once again, Chairman Pai and the FCC are rewarding pay-to-play politics, ensuring that those with money have a seat at the table, and shutting everyone else out. By dismantling these protections, we turn our backs on the most fundamental First Amendment rights of our students, entrepreneurs, innovators, small businesses, working families, and all who rely on an open Internet to level the playing field of opportunity.
I stand with the more than 22 million people, including 61,707 from Hawai’i, that have urged the FCC to uphold net neutrality and reject this corporate attack on equality. The FCC must fulfill its responsibility to all Americans, not just big Internet Service Providers (ISPs).”
Most commentators at CN will want to contact their representatives to “…urged the FCC to uphold net neutrality and reject this corporate attack on equality.”
Sorry to butt in with another “must,” but if you haven’t seen how the New World Order has been planned and is going on before our “awake” eyes, take a look at this very clear step by step description. As they say, if the shoe fits…! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ceoI5B1mork#action=share
What – Russia Gate is still going on after a year? So easy living outside the US. No police state- no taxes – real home grown food in the marketplace – all utilities 40 to 50 bucks – Meds 40 bucks – but the bad thing about living overseas is – you’re a F.. American.
More info not seen in corporate media?
——————————————————————————
Trump aide Flynn pleads guilty to lying about effort to help Israel
1 December 2017
https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/trump-aide-flynn-pleads-guilty-lying-about-effort-help-israel
This is an excellent article on the FBI’s Flynn charges, a subject which has been wildly misrepresented and has generated the most sensational (and meaningless) headlines in the commercial press.
Sadly, this tells us how low American politics has sunk, and you sure do not have to be a Trump supporter to say that. I can’t imagine tales from the old USSR or from some third-world political hellhole that could be any more embarrassing or distasteful than what we’ve seen in America.
You have never had much of a democracy in the United States. You have money and special interests guiding affairs of a corporate/imperial state with an elaborate regular stage play of an “election.”
Now, in the past, many corrupt and anti-democratic practices have come to light, but with this election a new low standard has been set on many fronts.
Complete corruption at DNC with stealing the primaries. Just in California, a million votes trashed. Record amounts of money spent, almost beyond ordinary imagination. An embarrassingly bad set of presidential debates. A stream of lies. A serious effort to overturn an election conducted under the rules no matter how much you may disagree with the Founders’ anti-democratic provisions. Ongoing dabbling and interference by the former president. Such disgraceful stuff as Bill Clinton’s tarmac meeting with the attorney General, and no investigation or charges over abuse of office so obvious. An idealistic young man murdered on the street, undoubtedly over his role in leaking Democratic Party secrets, and no investigation worthy of the name conducted.
Perhaps it all reflects the record poverty of the American political institutions. Such a huge and powerful nation, and the best it could do was run two very unappetizing candidates. One a big-mouth, often rude buffoon, a man who has proved a coward. The other a woman with an immense record of being caught in lies and with a great deal of blood on her hands.
Trump won only because of the intense dislike of Hillary on the part of many men and women. But the Democrats had to run Hillary because the Clinton money connections were so important to them.
The election actually added strong proof to the concept of America as a plutocracy. A record well-funded candidate who spent special-interest money like a drunken sailor could only be defeated by a multi-billionaire.
Obama seems to have skated over a lot of thin ice, too, with a number of arrogant behaviors, while his actual record both in local efforts and especially in bloody foreign affairs should make him a contemptible figure. At least half a million killed under his supervision, yet many continue to think of him as kindly, perhaps a good measure of how confused and bamboozled many Americans are. His post-election secret political work is totally inappropriate, too. He has shown himself a secretive, arrogant, unprincipled, and brutal man. Yet all the while we have the big boyish (psychopathic?) smile.
I think we’ve reached the stage in American politics where we can truly say, “anything goes.”
“Perhaps it all reflects the record poverty of the American political institutions.”
I assure you, they’re NOT impoverished when it comes to their coffers. But, yes, morally they’re stone cold broke.
John Chuckman –
Well said. Excellent and a true portrait of American political scene and its institutions.
Article of interest at link below.
———————————————————
December 01, 2017
Flynn’s Devastating Confessions: Trump Colluded With Israel, Tried To Fulfill Campaign Promises
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2017/12/flynns-devastating-confessions-trump-colluded-with-israel-tried-to-fulfill-campaign-promise-.html
So, The whole thing is Obama’s fault. Got it.
There has been some discussion that the leaving out of the Turkish issue was part of the deal getting Flynn to sign on to the plea based on the flawed “Martha Stewart” law against false statements (not under oath) to federal government agents. I suspect that the real reason the Turkish issue was not pursued is fear that, if the Turks become an issue, they would finalize their plans to leave NATO and force the US out of the Incirlik base making yankee support of Saudis and jihadist mercenaries in the Middle East extremely problematical. It would also create the precedent of a major country leaving NATO. It is easy to connect the dots as to why the Turkish issue is taboo for the deep state power structure.
Mr Knight, you wrote: “impeachment of the toad that infects the White House”. That, sir, is an abject insult to toads.
Is no one going to include Israel’s involvement into the charges brought against the Trump Administration of ‘collusion’ with foreign governments? Apparently Flynn’s carrying water for Bibi isn’t even enough to get the retired Lt General off the hook, so what’s a guy like Fylnn got to do to find a friend in this city they call DC? No, Michael Flynn is paying a heavy price for his rallying the Republican Convention delegates to get on their feet, and yell ‘lock her up’. Flynn’s son is included in this witch hunt that isn’t a witch hunt all because he wanted to push the ‘Pizza-Gate’ story even though no one was buying it. Guy Fawkes hadn’t any better luck than the Flynn’s for his rebellious nature, so what chance do these Flynn guys have up against the Grand Inquisitor Robert Mueller?
In a nutshell:
“Yet, besides the collateral damage inflicted on mid-level government officials such as retired Lt. Gen. Flynn facing personal destruction at the hands of federal prosecutors with unlimited budgets, there is this deepening pattern of using criminal law to settle political differences, a process more common in authoritarian states.”
The more I read of Mr. Parry, the more impressed I am of his brilliance as an investigative reporter. Amazing stuff.
As we know from Bill Binney and Ed Snowden, the NSA collects EVERYTHING. Which is why Russiqgate is such a bogus lie; If NSA could legitimately prove “hacking” they would. The DNC info was “leaked” and probably by Seth Rich (why did wikileaks offer a reward for exposing his killers?) See Ray McGovern CIA analyst retired.
Hank, yes. BUT… one difficult part of the waters to navigate is in having to provide proof, which means disclosing HOW the information was collected. The CIA can hardly confess to sucking on all the Internet pipes. What would seem worse to the average US citizen, that Russia attempted to affect the elections (risk would be that the neo-Nazi types would go ape shit over this saying it’s all BS- their guy won fair and square, the “liberals” are making this all up) OR, that the US government not only knows everything we do (unconstitutionally) but that it didn’t do ANYTHING to thwart any alleged Russian interference (and on this side falls all the neo-liberals who would go ape shit and accuse the US government as being controlled by the “right wing.” And this makes it difficult for there to EVER be any certainty. The truth (facts) could never be handled! So…
A story that will look to sweep this chapter in the book to a close will be written. It’ll be the “official” story and that’ll be that. As Rumsfeld(?) said, while everyone is trying to figure out what the realities are they (the government) will be out making new realities which people will once again be occupied with trying to figure out.
The thing that puzzles me is how Trump go trapped regarding contacts with Russia. We are not at war with Russia so what is the crime in talking to them. Those who want to stop us talking to Russia have managed to make it appear that it is a crime and they have used the usual tactic of perjury as a backup and as a device for getting people to spill the beans on their real target. Trump knows better than I how to handle this-at least I hope so-but he really aided the enemy by firing Flynn rather than standing up to the mob and defending Flynn for talking with Russians.
Why is it OK to have contact with Israel prior to the inauguration but not Russia?
Especially since, from a cyber-warfare perspective, Israel targets the U.S. with cyber-espionage as much as or more than the Russians do.
OK, I want to back this dog and pony show all the back to when they were assembling the caravan. Here is a full transcript of Obama’s remarks about the election on Nov. 9th courtesy the Washington Post.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/09/transcript-president-obamas-remarks-on-donald-trumps-election/?utm_term=.bde4c409467b
You will not find one single word about Russia in that transcript. You will not find one single syllable questioning the legitimacy of the election. Nothing. Just a bunch of frothy words about coming together as a country and Obama helping the Trump team make a smooth transition.
Yet we know that by Dec. 28th, 2016 Obama was supposedly given such ironclad evidence that Russia had interfered in our election that he wrote an E.O. sanctioning Russia for it, authorized the F.B.I. to launch an investigation into the Trump campaign for collusion, and started illegally unmasking members of the Trump team.
So I have a very simple question. What conclusive evidence was handed to Obama between Nov. 9th and Dec. 28th, 2016 to justify those actions? Was it the Fusion GPS dossier that was commissioned, produced, paid for, and disseminated by team Hillary and the DNC? Was it the hacking of the DNC emails that the F.B.I. was FORCED to take the DNC’s word for that it was the Russians because the DNC REFUSED TO LET THE F.B.I. EXAMINE THEIR COMPUTERS??! What?? What was the evidence??
Seriously, someone needs to clarify this. Because if there was no conclusive evidence on Dec.28th, 2016 then it is clear that this was nothing but a giant set up by the Obama administration to take down a duly elected president and, that folks, is treason.
Good perspective Christene on your part for questioning Obama’s reactions to this Russian interference nonsense. What I see going on here, is Flynn is paying a heavy price for talking to the MIC’s most recent and renewed arch villain Russia, as that would never do, and Flynn is going down because he dared to prompt a rally cry of ‘lock her up’, and with that Lt General Michael Flynn was marked for his destruction. So Hillary needs an excuse for losing the election, and the MIC needs it’s bogeyman for weapons profits to survive this fragile economy. Joe
Very good post, Christine. I can’t remember the exact details but I believe Obama started shortly after Nov 9 — like the very next day — to undermine the election of Trump.
And if that is true, that is treason! Dear Lord, what does it take to get someone to demand some very basic answers to some very simple questions?? What evidence did Obama have to justify the actions that he took? I mean, that is still required in this country, right?
Christine, One thing was Obama moved NATO forces provocatively into Poland along Russia’s border, to the dismay of Poland. Of course word was (MSM), this was in response to Russia’s provokng NATO. This was against NATO’s stated purpose.
Evidence is not necessary. The CIA calls the shots. They merely need to tell Obama to go along with the plan or else they release some “photos.” Obama was heading out the door, making waves at that time would not only do nothing to overturn the outcome of the election (even IF there was something going on TPTB KNOW that THEIR elections should always be seen as legitimate0. Obama could never really know the validity of any “evidence.” If, as I suspect, it was the CIA that was responsible for helping subvert Sanders’ campaign there is ZERO chance that any linkage to the CIA would happen. Anyone who thinks that the CIA doesn’t know how that information from the DNC servers got out is naive. Sanders could not be allowed to win the primaries. It’s possible that they actually figured Clinton would win, that they completely miscalculated Trump’s campaign (keep in mind that the CIA didn’t see the collapse of the USSR coming, despite the overwhelming amount of money and energy committed to monitoring the USSR). The CIA if not very good at their initial hits, seems very good at second strikes, and at covering up its blunders.
So, whether there was evidence or not is not material in how the CIA worked all of this. They helped TPTB dodge the Sanders bullet. They accepted that they lost Clinton. They knew they could manipulate/control Trump and his people. Mission accomplished.
NOTE: I was NOT a Sanders supporter (in any way other than seeing him as a lesser evil than Clinton).
Trump should have taken the political heat and fired Mueller when it became apparent he was a corrupt out of control representative of the deep state. The “law” being used would have been held unconstitutional as violative of the fifth amendment had yankee courts not wandered off the rule of law reservation decades ago. It is obvious that a “law” punishing a statement not under oath to government agents as false based on their say-so violates fundamental rule of law due process principals even absent the existence of constitutional guarantees. Meanwhile, the tolerance of total snooping system which has developed has rendered the fourth amendment obsolete. As Parry has indicated, the Flynn precedent can be used against almost anyone the government wants to target. One could already see the outlines of the abuse when this “law” was used against Martha Stewart because they were unable to convict her of anything else. The US legal system has gone from the rule of law to a structure where everybody is a “ham sandwich” subject to conviction where anybody can potentially be guilty of something.
The CIA is standing behind Mueller. There was never an option by Trump to dismiss Mueller (unless the CIA approved, and that would only result in yet another CIA plant, so a shuffle would accomplish nothing but increase the sense that much is a setup).
I would suggest that this coming week’s testimony from the Flynn plea will correct or confirm one side of the argument, at least before the reply of the creature’s administration. Trump’s in a world of trouble, and his usual tactics may not work at all.
President Trump May pardon Gen. Flynn and level the playing field a little. I hope he does. And to the couple of commenters on here who were anti-Israel, consider this:
The Creator of the universe picked one people group to demonstrate His control in the world and be a light to the nations; gave the Jewish people a beautiful piece of real estate and an eternal, indivisible capital, Jerusalem and promised the rest of us that those who bless Israel He will bless while those who curse His chosen people He will curse so I say, God bless the Jewish State! John Hansen, Greenville, South Carolina
chum
n.
Bait usually consisting of oily fish ground up and scattered on the water.
A novel approach to trolling on display here.
It has taken me all this time to realize I missed an important feature of this post:
Greenville, South Carolina
http://driftglass.blogspot.com/2012/05/mr-george-tierney-jr-of-greenville.html
If I see this town mentioned more in the future, I’m going to suspect there is some kind of civic effort going on to gain publicity for the burg.
Absolutely ridiculous to believe any piece of ancient human scribbles, especially this one.
There is no people greater than any others.
Grow a pair and learn some deductive reasoning.
Or, Alternatively, the Annunaki used what became the Jewish people as their experiment in genetic engineering,
conveniently using the mandate of circumcision to ‘brand’ their experiment and make sure that the females only
bred with ‘branded’ males.
Read what Miko Peled has to say about Israel, and it’s American and Saudi allies.
https://ahtribune.com/politics/2033-collapse-of-israeli-saudi-american-alliance.html
I thought back when Flynn doubled down on the Obama Administrations for their not singling out ISIS over Assad was a good thing. I even was encouraged when Flynn made moves to strengthen America’s relationship with Russia, but then Flynn showed his true hand when he came out warning Iran of it’s testing ballistic missiles. All Flynn was doing by cozying up to Russia, was he was trying to drive a wedge between Russia, and it’s ally Iran. Blessed are the peacemakers for none are to be found in the capital of the world greatest hegemone the USofA. There are no good guys and gals in Washington, they are all bad.
“All Flynn was doing by cozying up to Russia, was he was trying to drive a wedge between Russia, and it’s ally Iran.”
Joe, yes, that’s it in a nutshell. Who is to say that Flynn’s departure wasn’t all planned? Happens a lot. The script is well known and it’s now just carrying forward. ALL of these “deceivers” continue their mastery of the art.
Flynn from all of what’s being reported had a target on his back. Apparently Flynn rubbed a few people wrong in Washington, and with that he now suffers at the hands of his adversaries. You may be right about a plan being put into action, since I’m sure that what we are seeing unfold on our TV sets is the Shadow Governments ‘Plan B’ being carried out big time, all because Hillary loss the presidential election. What I am disgusted with the most, is why drag Russia into this?
Not sure who you mean by “the rest of us”, John.
It’s certain there was no scripture from “centuries before” ‘splainin’ that we should “bless the Jewish state”.
http://video.genfb.com/10154312557592030 [see comments]
Zionist nationalism is a more recent and decidedly human imagining.
“Fascinating” discussions at the Council of Foreign Relations obviously spark your enthusiasm. But the claim that the the Six Day War was “another instance of divine intervention” is a particularly odoriferous piece of Hasbara chum.
As a Jew, I see no indication that the modern “Jewish state” behaves as a “light to the nations” anywhere on the “real estate” it currently occupies.
The problem with your argument, is that Mueller is a boy scout who has worked under both parties, and is directed by a fine moral compass and nonpartisan sense of duty. I’ve got friends in the FBI who are just like Mueller; driven by duty and by the book.
He isn’t on some mission from the left, supported by the cheers of feminists who hate Trump.
He’s a guy tasked with a job, and he’s doing it. He’s a lifelong Republican.
Honestly, Robert, I appreciate your experience and views, but you may be a bit off the mark here.
Of course there’s mass hysteria as the legal fire gets closer to the guy who hates anything not white or female, but that has nothing to do with the investigation or the fact that American Democracy truly was subverted by campaign members working with a hostel foreign power.
Whether or not the campaign folks were aware they were being used as assets remains for the investigators to reveal.
But most important is this: the FBI does not do the bidding of either party. They investigated Clinton, now they investigate the Trump campaign.
When Mueller started I thought he would be a careful, considerate investigator. However, when he took down Manafort (for his dealings in the Ukraine, not in Russia) for not registering as a foreign agent, the MSM noted that the Podesta group had also been involved in these same crooked dealings. Yet I’m still waiting for Podesta’s indictment. When Hillary Clinton “lost” tens of thousands of State Department emails, her staff was given blanket immunity and Hillary was “investigated”. (Maybe a naive Reality Winner could have used a similar “investigation” or tarmac meeting in Phoenix, where the FBI was much more concerned about the LEAK of the meeting between Clinton and Lynch than the substance of the meeting itself).
The bottom line: the FBI does the bidding of their masters. Mueller is a partisan hack.
Mueller is as crooked as the day is long. He took a sample of uranium to Russia to show its purity to assist Clinton with her uranium deal (our uranium). He is no truthteller.
Imaginary without citation. Jeez.
I do not have to look it up for you or anyone. Please do your own research. Links are nice if they were handy from approximately a month ago when I found out for myself. I avoid fake news sites. I will not watch any lame stream news or read fake news. Trust me if I had the link handy then I would give it out. Also, do not go with “Googling” it. Google has proven itself as skewed towards deep state “imaginary”. Not “imaginary without citation”.
Unless you cite your sources, other posters are entirely correct to dismiss your claims outright. What is claimed with out evidence may be dismissed without evidence.
By the way, I did the work for you. Here is a Snopes entry about Mueller’s delivery of uranium to Russia (NOTE: by no means is snopes.com the last word on ANY issue, but it provides a good summary of the claims and rebuttals of an issue): https://www.snopes.com/hillary-clinton-robert-mueller-uranium/
Snopes concludes that “on behalf of the U.S. government, Robert Mueller delivered a sample of highly enriched uranium confiscated from smugglers in Georgia to Russian authorities for forensic examination in 2009,” but also that “there was nothing nefarious in the transfer of the ten-gram sample, which was done at the request of Russian law enforcement and with the consent of the government of Georgia, whose agents had participated in its confiscation.”
If you want to refute that, you’ll have to cite your sources.
Maedhros, It wasn’t Snopes that I saw it on. There is nothing to refute. You just sighted another source, “cause it wasn’t Snopes that I read. I would say that Mueller doing this without the consent of the American People speaks a volume on the inner dealings of the Clinton crime family. Is that OK with you? Do you yourself like finding out after the fact this information, or don’t you think that we should have known this while it was going on? You (or Snopes, I am not sure which) say there was nothing nefarious here. Really?
Mueller is a deep state operative, PERIOD. The preference to party affiliation is no more than a stupid lapel pin meant to dazzle the stupid.
Like most of Parry’s articles, I appreciate the in depth review of the facts. But Mr Parry is omitting an important piece of information here. The fact that Obama had warned Trump not to hire Flynn during the transition meeting. This is not the act of an outgoing president to set set up an incoming POTUS for failure or retaliation, but rather seems to me to be an honest warning which was unsurprisingly ignored by Trump.
Flynn is a ‘big boy’ and what we are hearing so far is just the opening scene. At any point along the way Flynn could have been a man of high principle and just said NO! I’m certain that re Flynn and others this is only the prelude of a long are stressful bit of what is likely to be a long and informative national drama.
Wake up Mr. Parry, the ‘rule of law’ has been used for political purposes throughout our history. I suppose Mr. Flynn’s contract to kidnap a Turkish cleric living in the US is perfectly legal under US law ???
D. H. Fabian, talks about grounds for impeachment <=stem from failures to effectively false flag banker intentions as they invoke take over the ownership of all resources and control of all people in the world. Impeachment, indictment, revelations, crazy person mass murder events, important person nude selfees, bounce back fear mongering[blame Russia to bounce "Russia is a threat" fear into the vector of people stimulated by Russia is a threat fears. Anything to stimulate a target emotion is what the propaganda and surveillance is all about. ; all are tools used to incite the emotion activated network. Stimuli activate emotion. A knife threat causes a defensive posture by the person threatened. Pavlov's dog.. response to stimuli encodes into a habit (predicable or non predictable): each stimulus invokes emotion response from several million people. Stimulating people's emotions is a way of talking to people. Those who respond to a particular stimuli in the same way constitution a vector of people (communications and Internet companies collect, analyze and test the stimulate response data as the bankers use that knowledge to obtain and maintain complete control over all humanity). Focus on Flynn while https://friendsofsyria.wordpress.com/2016/10/15/chinas-military-arrive-in-syria-to-help-russia/
Tomorrow the focus will be Hillary, next day Joe, then Mack, then Queensy, and so on Each day a new stimuli to keep the Knowledge and activities of the bankers shielded from the public. By carefully classifying news as stimuliresponse stuff it might be possible to decipher the language and methods used to dumb down and control populations.
what about the claims of the benthic Roger Stone re: Gulen?
see:
http://www.france24.com/en/20171112-exclusive-us-exiled-cleric-fethullah-gulen-erdogan-flynn-meeting-bribes
Another phony bombshell to keep the plebes attention diverted from the dirty game of Empire. Funny how Russiagate has been employed by the Establishment to pressure internet tycoons into censoring the only online news sites to cover the misdeeds of Empire. And most “progressives” fall for it hook line and sinker.
Mr. Parry’s derisive tone made it a struggle for this reader. At the end, I was not sold. Perhaps I’ll try another piece of his if he can make his case with less vitriol. In the meantime, the US is swirling down a sewer funded by the moneyed class and dug by the working class.
“As much as the Russia-gate enthusiasts talk about how they are upholding “the rule of law,” there is the troubling appearance that the law is simply being used to collect the scalps of political enemies.”
Robert Perry hit the nail on the head – PRECISELY! Excellent article.
Meantime, the American Empire continues to eat its own while China/BRICS are methodically turning away from the US’s $$ currency. Read about: OneBelt/OneInitiative or The New Silk Road: Pepe Escobar.
And get ready ’cause American hegemony is dying a liittle each day.
I have never seen a period of time where it felt like so many people in this country interpreted the actual laws that have existed for years differently! ” Oh that one was writ 200 years ago so it, etc. etc”. Well, they are still laws. We need to enforce the laws we already have, not make up new ones. That means the last two Presidents and their financial friends are charged and held for the whole world to see. Mr. Perry shows what a true newspaperman does: follows the story and immediately writes it and prints it. And also I love reading and listening to Pepe. I enjoy his wordplay.
Really, if there was no other skeletons in Flynn’s closet there is ZERO chance that the FBI could make this stick in a court of law.
He is actually continuing to help the cause by cooperating with the CIA. By going through all this charade he is helping distract from CIA’s clandestine operations (which if you look under the hood Flynn is was part of/in agreement with). They’ll make it appear that the exercise is in going after the Russians, or whatever, but that’s only a distraction/misdirection; someone else will be “fingered” (some really hapless Trump stooge) and that’ll be the end of all this. The onion cannot be peeled because it would eventually peel back far enough to show that the CIA was involved in killing Sanders’ campaign.
Whatever Flynn’s role in purported Russia-gate brouhaha, an additional concern was Flynn’s plan to “defeat terrorism”.
Flynn’s book, The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies (2016) focused on the importance of identifying “radical Islam” and its role in terrorism. He defined the fight against terrorism as a “world war” and emphasized the need to begin the fight at home.
However, Flynn made no mention of key state sponsors of terrorism: Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Israel.
As noted by geopolitical analyst Ulson Gunnar in November 2016:
“Flynn was appointed in April of 2012 by US President Barack Obama as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). It was during this time the US was already deeply involved in semi-covert intervention in the Syrian conflict, after having decimated Libya in 2011 with direct US military intervention.
“It was also during Flynn’s time at the DIA, August 2012 in fact, that a now notorious memo was circulated regarding the anticipated rise of what it called a ‘Salafist principality’ in eastern Syria, and how it could be used as a strategic asset against what it called the ‘Syrian regime.’ The DIA’s anticipated ‘Salafist principality’ would later be named the ‘Islamic State’ (IS) and did indeed seize territory in eastern Syria where it remains dug-in to this day.
“Flynn’s Plan on Terror Resembles the Perpetual War Bush and Obama Fought
“It is indeed troubling that incoming President-elect Trump has chosen an Obama-era DIA director to serve in a more senior position still, and that this DIA director presided over the organization when it not only knew of IS’ impending arrival on the geopolitical stage, but sought to encourage its arrival and use it as a strategic asset with which to fight the secular government in Damascus.
“Flynn either didn’t know just how literal US policymakers were in using IS as a strategic asset, or was complicit in the US’ doing so. […]
“the United States continues to ignore Saudi Arabia and Qatar’s role in perpetuating terrorism, completely side-step the role the US plays in exploiting militant organizations as strategic assets and […] the Trump administration fully plans to continue wars designed and initiated under both Bush and Obama’s administrations.
“With Flynn’s inclusion in a suspiciously familiar-looking administration congealing around Trump, it appears that the American people didn’t truly vote for a new executive in the White House, but rather a new narrative used to sell the same old policy as before, a policy merely emanating from the White House but clearly devised and dictated from well beyond it.”
Incoming US National Security Adviser to Fuel, not Fight Terrorism
By Ulson Gunnar
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2016/11/incoming-us-national-security-adviser.html
The heavily redacted August 2012 DIA memo mentioned “the possibility of establishing a declared or undeclared Salafist principality in eastern Syria (Hasaka and Der Zor), and this is exactly what the supporting powers to the opposition want, in order to isolate the Syrian regime, which is considered the strategic depth of the Shia expansion (Iraq and Iran).”
http://www.judicialwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Pg.-291-Pgs.-287-293-JW-v-DOD-and-State-14-812-DOD-Release-2015-04-10-final-version11.pdf
To clarify just who these “supporting powers” were, mentioned in the document who sought the creation of a “Salafist principality,” the DIA memo explained:
“The West, Gulf countries, and Turkey support the opposition; while Russia, China, and Iran support the regime.”
The DIA memo clearly indicates when it was decided to transform US, Saudi, and Turkish-backed Al Qaeda affiliates into ISIS: the “Salafist” (Islamic) “principality” (State).
NATO member state Turkey has been directly supporting terrorism in Syria, and specifically, supporting ISIS.
In 2014, Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle’s reported “‘IS’ supply channels through Turkey.” DW exposed fleets of hundreds of trucks a day, passing unchallenged through Turkey’s border crossings with Syria, clearly bound for the defacto ISIS capital of Raqqa.
Starting in September 2015, Russian airpower in Syria successfully interdicted ISIS supply lines.
The usual suspects in Western media launched a relentless propaganda campaign against Russian support for Syria. The Atlantic Council’s Bellingcat disinformation operation started working overtime.
The propaganda effort culminated in the 4 April 2017 Khan Shaykhun false flag chemical incident in Idlib. Bellingcat’s Eliot Higgins and Dan Kaszeta have been paraded by “First Draft” coalition media “partners” in a vigorous effort to somehow implicate the Russians.
Al Qaeda’s Bellingcat press office keeps busy trying to convince us that the armed “Syrian opposition” consists of somebody besides Al Qaeda and ISIS.
For Bellingcat, Al Qaeda and Turkey are barely worth a mention, and ISIS was “so-called”.
All those not-Al-Qaeda-and-ISIS freedom fighters have their hands full forming “more inclusive coalitions”, adopting “more nationalist style imagery”, designing cool new flags and websites, maintaining their Twitter acounts, and inviting the U.S. “allied” coalition to invade Syria.
When they just can’t find enough information on Twitter, Bellingcat’s fake “independent researchers” are peculiarly enamored with information supplied by “Israeli Defence Forces intel officials”.
Returning to Flynn, former CIA Director James Woolsey told the Wall Street Journal in March 2017 that Flynn met with top Turkish government ministers during the campaign to discuss removing Fethullah Gulen from the U.S.
Turkey blames Gulen, a well-known CIA project, for a 15 July 2016 attempted coup.
Turkish prosecutors launched an investigation into 17 US politicians, bureaucrats and academics in connection with the failed coup. Former CIA Director John Brennan, former CIA Deputy Director David Cohen and Henri Barkey, director of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center, were among the people investigated. Former CIA analyst Graham E. Fuller was also listed among the suspects.
The Russia-gate brouhaha provides a very convenient diversion for a number of far more pressing matters that the Trump administration and its predecessor (including Frau Clinton) prefer not to have investigated.
As always, Abe, you provide us with great insight. Thanks.
Yes, I noted, quite heavily, that the angle on all of this will be shifting away from Russia and toward Turkey, at Erdogan specifically. As the US ALWAYS does, they look to clean their trails. Turkey has been sticking its neck out and with some rapprochement* with Russia it is now being more heavily targeted. Figure that there’s a LOT of squeeze of Turkey going on, from Russia and from the CIA. This is the next big tension area. Anyone that isn’t going along with the CIA is going to get tossed from the train.
* Figure Russia KNOWS a lot about all that is going on and that it wasn’t happy about the shoot-down of one of its military jets; it likely told Erdogan to start siding with Russia if he wanted to save his behind.
Abe,
I see Gen. Flynn as a whistleblower. The 2012 report he circulated saw the rise of the Salafist Islamic state with alarm.
Lt Gen Flynn, snared in an obvious & concocted perjury trap, may not have actually lied TO the FBI. Now he has been coerced to cop a plea (for which there was no underlying “crime”) going forward, he will certainly be lying FOR the FBI! The guy who should have copped a plea to stay out of the hoosegow is Obama, who set this political grotesquery rolling in the first place. As for mission creep. The malpracticer Mueller is the creep on a mission. Ya don’t need a GPS to know this country is helter-skelter on the highway to hell.
ps: The 17 intelligence (duh) agencies have hated Flynn’s guts since he was head of DIA. DNI Clapper and his deep state co-conspirators got Barry O to give Flynn the boot in 2014 because he didn’t hate Russia enough to suit them.
I agree with you on both counts. The FBI has a “cute” little system of taking testimony in the form of handwritten notes of the agents. If an agent makes an inadvertent or deliberate mistake, the person being interviewed is SCREWED. Part of the rusty shaft he gets from then on is the feeling of being bait on a hook. If he doesn’t get results, it’s time to go to the Big House where criminals are kept.
Flynn seems to be a typical modern General – an arrogant know-all who is used to making his own reality. Here is what he ought to have done:
Never Talk to the FBI
I’d amend that advice to saying the very good criminal lawyer in my employ had better be running three recording devices. One would be a highly visible mechanical recorder sitting on the table, and the other two would be in his coat pockets.
Where to find such a person who is not already on the payroll of Big Intelligence? Or one who wasn’t hired by them 3 hours ago? I don’t think I’d say much during an “interview” under any circumstances. And not a single sentence would be without “qualifiers” regarding my failing memory.
Recall again how GHWB kept out of the spotlight during the Kennedy murder inquiry. He went limp on them, and declared he couldn’t remember where in Texas he was on that day.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2004/03/31/never-talk-to-the-fbi/
Zach, what precludes the FBI from just making up stuff in their notes that were never said? How can anyone effectively challenge an agent who is lying? Yes, having an attorney there with you is absolutely necessary.
Excellent analysis, thank you very much Robert!
Robert Parry should be congratulated many times over for following this story carefully over many months and laying bare in detail all the lies of the MSM and the Elite of both Democratic and Republican Parties. Not only do us all a great favor in terms of education, but as he shows here, he has positioned himself perfectly to cover the ugly abuses of state power that are now unfolding.
In any reasonable world, a Pulitzer would go to Parry for this work. In our world a Pulitzer may well go to the dissemblers at WaPo and the NYT.
What can we do? We should circulate this and future columns as they come up as widely as possible. It is the very least we can do. This whole witch hunt is leading us right to WWIII.
If you want to show your appreciation then donate. But, yes, actual facts much be circulated in order to have any chance to combat the avalanche of propaganda.
The Pulitzer Prize people allow for a reader’s submission — recommendation — for a Pulitzer Prize. Look up their website.
There is no Russia-gate as Democrats describe, but I believe in dumb-Russia-gate as John Oliver describes: i.e., 1) Putin can easily manipulate Donald by tapping into his emotional vulnerabilities; 2) Trump’s camp reached out to Russia mostly for financial gains; and 3) they are too incompetent to cover up their behinds.
It’s all about Trump’s greed and incompetence.
Completely silly – and totally gratuitous. It does belong on a comedy show but not here.
John Oliver? Are you serious???
Sure why not Oliver. Beside, Obama warned Trump not to hire Flynn on Nov 10th. All the events Mr. Parry describes happened after the warning… so, the thesis regarding Trump’s incompetence and lack of ethics still holds.
Does that make establishments any better? No. Is our nation losing our soul? Of course! America is dying.
Thanks for getting this out so quick. I fail to see why it is a crime for the designated national security advisor to speak to a foreign diplomat, especially when he is being set up. We need more talks with Russian officials, not less. The 200-year-old Logan Act has never been used, and it is quite a stretch to use it now – especially to try to destroy political enemies.
Undoubtedly my Hillary-loving friends can’t wait to see me and tell me today’s news proves I have been wrong in criticizing Russia-gate. These otherwise rational folks just want something – even if it isn’t true – that can be used to remove Trump from office. None of them seem a bit troubled by what a horror a Pence presidency might be or by the fact that their actions are increasing the chances of nuclear war. Sorry, but my belief in truth trumps my rapidly disappearing loyalty to the Democratic Party.
They have no problem with Pence because “at least he’s sane.” That he is a fully owned employee of the Koch brothers—and pretty much has been for his entire professional career, since the only thing he’s ever done is run for office—means nothing to them. For them, the bottom line is he is NOT TRUMP. And besides, if they can prove Trump is a criminal, then they can slather Pence with the same brush and get rid of HIM, too. I don’t know as they’ve come up with a way to get rid of Paul Ryan yet. Or arrange for Hillary to be elected Speaker of the House. Give them time.
Larry G,
Correctomundo, compadre. It’s TDS on steroids.
If Mr. T had done ANYTHING criminal—or even seriously unethical—they would have nailed him a long time ago.
Which brings up the elephant in the room… the Secretary of State’s conspiring with Russian agents to:
1. Line her pockets via the ‘Clinton Foundation’ bribery machine
While…
2. Selling out our country by selling out our uranium supply to… THE RUSSIANS!
Pay no attention to The Man Behind The Curtain… instead, let’s all run around in circles, clucking about “Russians!!” who supposedly “colluded” with… um… someone. Not with Trump. But, like, someone he knew. Or whatever…
If this stuff was concocted as fiction, it wouldn’t even be a B-grade comedy. But the TDS crowd eats it up and says, “We LIKE it! Give Us MOAR o’ that RED MEAT!!”
*Sheesh!*
Question: When is the erstwhile Sec of State gonna be in the spotlight? Or better, in the dock?
Ever? Or does her ‘Get Out Of Jail FREE’ card never, ever expire?
I don’t believe for a minute that Flynn caved due to the given reasons. His
deal with Turkey was probably grounds for criminal investigations. They
may have agreed to drop those issues in return for the lie accusations.
Actually this helped both sides :Flynn gets away with it; Mueller will not
be accused of diverting the investigation to Turkey, which many people
would cite as a fishing expedition.
The timing also is perfect to detract from the outrageous tax bill and other
congressional disasters.
I’m thinking that the Genie is out of the bottle vis a vis Turkey. There’s nothing there on Flynn and Russia, and they all know it: the Democrats, no matter how hard they push the Russia Gate story are going to slam into a brick wall with it. Unless Russia stomps its foot over US’s clear meddling in Turkey the propaganda wagon will move on to roll along through Turkey. Syria was thought to be the path to Iran and now that that door is pretty much shut the Zionists have to utilize another path, and that path is Turkey (look at a map and it becomes VERY clear). There’s even the ability to retain a bit of the anti-Russia propaganda angle here with connecting Erdogan to Putin. The stories of Erdogan smuggling money out of Turkey and his plot to abduct a US citizen are things with LOTS of meat: folks will buy this. Mark my words, you’ll start hearing more “Erdogan is Putin’s puppet.”
Well, this column is one way of looking at it. Of course, the Turkish revelations of Mr. Flynn (and Flynn Jr.) are a lot more disturbing and certainly merit investigating. Trouble with dirty players like Flynn, Manafort, et al, is that they have wide-ranging deals with countries other than Russia. We’ll see what Mr. Flynn testifies to in regards to the whole mess.
Mr. Parry, what about the Turkey connection? Do you think that insufficient meat will be found on the RussiaGate bones and the shift will conveniently pick up via the Turkey connection?
Trump won’t be taken down by any Russian connection. This has been clear for quite some time. His appointments are being taken down so that he is totally impotent. Kind of depends on how the story unfolds as to how much anti-Russia propaganda can be milked out via targeting Erdogan (was was covert is now becoming overt). If there’s a sense that Russia will put up a stink then figure the propaganda to be ramped up, otherwise the RussiaGate crap is going to settle down like the fluff that it really is. Knocking out Erdogan, who wasn’t seemingly in-line with the Zionists plan, would make for a nice direct route through Turkey to get to Iran.
Yep
The problem with America is America. This country is the number one problem in the world. The disease that is America threatens to be fatal for the human race.
Hungry wolves will always act as hungry wolves. Just as one can take out one wolf another will pop up. The “disease” is that of growth; ALWAYS, growth occurs until it stops, either from defeat from other wolves of exhaustion of resources.
“Go forth and multiply” was always a bad set of instructions (on a finite planet).
See my post above. Here’s my reasoning:
http://dailycaller.com/2017/03/24/michael-flynn-discussed-covert-extradition-plan-with-turkish-government/
Assad and Putin proved to be immovable objects. So, move on to Plan “C” (or whatever it is now). Erdogan is to pay for his tilt toward Russia, so it’s a two-fer here, a double-yummy angle for propaganda, to get the wartrain back on its path toward Iran. CIA knew he wasn’t a firm puppet, which is the reason why they had Turkey marked for a “popular uprising” (Erdogan slapped it down before it really got any traction).
Mr. W. R. Knight, its the crime teams, and their rabid greedy fans, not the team players, that are the problem. Football teams do not hire everyday people to bash the heads of the opponent team members; no sir the owners of the teams hire coaches to make sure the players hired to play excel at head bashing. Flynn was true head basher, but neither the kool drink company that supported the Flynn team nor the sports shoe company that paid the bills for the other team cared about Flynn.
Flynn now has a lifetime disability. If the team owners and their teams are not disbanded, nothing but the names of the players will change. I never liked Flynn, probably because he was good at what he was hired to do, but I also do not think he deserves to be the fall guy for a war seeking peace praying Trojan POTUS..
Wow. Author! Author!
In the first count Flynn did exactly what the law was intended to prevent: Interference in foreign policy by a private citizen. I have no problem with his being charged over that, especially since he was on the wrong side of the issue. The problem is that most of the media will put this in the category of Russian skullduggery rather than blame the real culprit, Israel. It’s to the credit of Russia that they did not comply. In the second count Flynn acted responsibly, but again the underlying motive of the national security state and its media lapdogs to support demonization of Russia is at work in this, and in that sense I agree with Mr. Parry.
I think that Parry made it clear that the use of the law in this case was silly. The law was never meant in the way that it was used here. Folks were digging DEEP into the Bag Of Dirty Tricks.
Isn’t that the main issue here? Can a president elect, including his repesentatives, actively meddle in the states foreign affairs contrary to the policies of the sitting president? The artikle doesn’t touch on that. Curioser and curioser
Well, I guess it was OK for Obama to saddle Trump with some heavy baggage through Presidential Orders on his way out of office. . Like further arming Terrorists in Syria for instance which he did in his last week in office. I can’t recall off the top of my head but Obama issued an Executive Order the day before he left office. His creation of the huge National Monuments in Utah and in the Pacific were both done after Trump’s election. Why did Obama wait until Trump was elected to reverse himself on the DAPL pipeline. Obama was tying to get Trump into trouble out of the gate and his minions like the FBI Director and the CIA Director were in collusion against Trump as were members of Obama’s Department of Justice. Obama’s Foreign Policy was bad. Can you remember the “reset” with Russia or just the restart of Cold War 2.0. Remember how Obama and XI were going to have a great relationship and then Obama sitting on the tarmac with no way to get off the plane on his last trip to China?. Can you say Libya?, can you spell TOW Missile?, How about We came, we saw, he died. Let’s not give the Hillarites a flyer here. I am no fan of Trump think he’s even worse than Obama and GW Bush maybe, but I agree with those who realize that for all his bluster and ham handedness there has been no war and things actually seem to be cooling down. If Hillary and Obama had their way I do not think things would be calming down at all..I think we would be at war and not just against the Taliban and Hezbollah.
Me too.
I’m sorry, Bob. While I don’t dispute much of what you say about the “set up”, I include myself as one of those who are thrilled with the results that Flynn was trapped. Our entire criminal justice system is in such a shambles that any effort, politically motivated or not, to expose corruption in our government I highly applaud. We frequently applaud the entrapment of low level felons while the big shots get away with anything. In this instance, if the entrapment leads to convicting some big shots for malfeasance, then I’m all for it.
As far a I’m concerned, the Russiagate thing is inconsequential as the worst that could have occurred is that the Russians may have duped a gullible American public that has already been duped by our own politicians. On the other hand, anything that will lead us to toppling a corrupt administration and the impeachment of the toad that infests the White House, I will champion with all my heart.
You are an example of the terrible problem that Parry describes.
Apparently, the end justifies the means for some, especially when it is not necessary to apply the same standards to oneself as to one’s enemies.
Mr. Knight …… Robert Parry wrote the above article especially for you. As Parry says …. ” there is this deepening pattern of using criminal law to settle political differences, a process more common in authoritarian states.”
What’s new?
An adjective?
Mr Knight, you wrote: “impeachment of the toad that infects the White House”. That, sir, is an abject insult to toads.
You know, I would like to ask Amy Goodman and emptywheel.net and all the Russiagate peddlers just one question:
What difference does it make?
So Flynn implicates somebody higher – they get him *and*? then finally the get Trump (by the way, no evidence is necessary what you must have is the political juice to get the votes – nothing what-so-ever to do with guilt or not)
So what still? They get Trump – now the world has Mike Pence – wow we’re just so much better off. Praise god!!
All the while the starvation Cholera and butchery continues in Yemen 130 children die every day. Does any of this even effect that slaughter – NO it just goes on while the propaganda keeps everyone distracted. And – so depressing – it seems to be working for them. When the Empire wants to kill they just kill – and they seem to want to every day.
Yes, capitalism remains and fascism continues, Flynn or no Flynn
It is a disgrace that formerly sceptical elements drank deep state kool-aid and became propagators of the official nihilist narrative once Trump became the target. Even though he is a bozo, he is being targeted for not being fully on board with this dangerous regime narrative.
Yes, it’s called “collateral damage”
Good comment. That’s what I can’t figure out. These fools are so hell-bent on impeaching Trump–so we get Pence. Huh?
I didn’t vote for Trump, but I certainly prefer him to Pence. An unhinged Dominionist who believes any woman of child-bearing age should be barefoot and pregnant.
Dems have lost all credibility. What would be great is if they managed to impeach Trump–and he ran again. And won. I think they could piss off enough of the electorate with this nonsense that it would happen.
Predictably, the critically important points elude the general public. Flynn is NOT in trouble for communicating with with the Russian ambassador, Kislyak. Seriously, the Cold War has been over for a long time. Flynn is in trouble for failing to accurately report that communication. It was not illegal for Flynn to communicate with Kislyak, nor were any “state secrets,” etc. discussed. The communications in question concerned the economic sanctions against Russia, something that certainly wasn’t a secret.
Basically, Flynn is being convicted for doing his job, preventing WWIII, but being trapped in a perjury trap by hostile elements who were fomenting war.
So he didn’t agree to push Russia to veto the UN SC resolution against Israel’s illegal settlements?
Yep. And Russia, to their credit, ignored him / USA.
Remind me what this has to do with Russia hacking US election?
How do you drain the swamp, when the swamp is all there is? Maybe if Kim lands a nuke on DC it would be a start. But I don’t know – these DC swamp critters are awful tough and hard to eradicate…….
I’ve often had a similar thought: if WW3 ever starts up, the Russians should just nuke Washington DC. That way, they’d be doing BOTH countries a huge favor at once!
um. folks. nuking dc would destroy 99 percent innocent people hello
I hope it never comes to a nuclear exchange between major powers, because it would simply escalate until all life was wiped from the face of the earth. However, I think the maniacs who seriously entertain using these things need an effective eye-opener. Perhaps a nuclear accident, like the spontaneous detonation of one of their thermonuclear devices deep in the bowels of an aircraft carrier, would wake them up and get their minds right. You’d think that Chernobyl and Fukushima would have given us a caution, but I never noticed any effect. The soldier boys and their paymasters are still addicted to playing with matches.
Sadly, any such mishap would only be followed by an increased military budget asking for more money to “update” the arsenal: OR, blame it on sabotage, which would be “combated” in the same way- a big money grab. As soon as there’s enough thinking that a disaster would rile everyone they’d flip it all on its head.
Nope. All the people who need to be removed would already be safely stored in their bunkers. The only people who would die are the ones who aren’t important enough to get into those bunkers.
Not funny. My daughter, who doesn’t work for the critters, lives there. While I appreciate your comments I don’t appreciate this cavalier sentiment.
The names of deep state / CIA psychopaths may change over time, but their totally amoral lawless behavior does not. Washington and neoliberal capitalism have combined to form a fetid cesspool petri dish providing sustenance to the most vile members of the human family. We’ve succeeded in creating a system in which literally the most amoral reprehensible sociopaths rise to the top and rule the many through our completely corrupted institutions. The following quote from someone who knew puts it quite nicely:
“Fundamentally, the founding fathers of U.S. intelligence were liars. The better you lied and the more you betrayed, the more likely you would be promoted. These people attracted and promoted each other. Outside of their duplicity, the only thing they had in common was a desire for absolute power.”
? James Jesus Angleton (deceased director of CIA counterintelligence)
The game the spooks play is like the reality show Survivor. You only make friends to be better positioned to stab them in the back. When they (rarely) tell the truth, you can count on it being a sneaky trick to do you in.
You’d think that folks were going by some script, something like the Book of Revelation.
Actually, the founding father of the U.S. intelligence (at least the CIA) was Allen Dulles. No wonder the rest of the world sees our country as the greatest threat to world peace. Being the one indispensable nation (Obama’s words), there is no hesitancy to lie, steal, or cheat. It’s all for a good cause (American corporate profits.)
And he did it with the help and support of many of the Nazis he was friends with during the war. Including placing many of them in charge of West Berlin’s intelligence operations.
“…These people attracted and promoted each other.
Outside of their duplicity,
the only thing they had in common
was a desire for absolute power.”
Wow! James Jesus Angelton? Did he really say that?
It’s scary that these types actually do rise to the top.
[Sh*t also rises to the top! Sounds like a prophecy!]
Yep. The CIA should be disbanded. So should NATO.
If it weren’t for Russia-gate would Rachel Maddow have a show?
Is she still around? Is MSNBC still around, or did they merge with FOX?
Rachel Maddow, a fine journalist in the past (or so I thought), has turned into a wacko conspiracy theorist, connecting unrelated dots just like Glenn Beck used to do from the right. Why is she doing this? Big ratings. Big money for MSNBC. Lots of praise and pats on the back.
I once thought Democrats were the rational party, devoted to truth and scientific accuracy. Ha!
So did I. I just can’t believe that as recently as a decade ago–during those oh-so-dark days of Bush 43–I actually these people were my natural allies against war, imperialism, and trickle-down economics. Oh how wrong I was!
Yet most Democrats still defend lying Maddow to the hilt, as well as Mueller’s pure witch hunt. This total fabrication of Russiagate is simply the instrument they are using to try to effect forcible regime change in our own country (aka a coup d’etat but without the use of fire arms). Moreover, it is destroying domestic tranquility in our own homes and families, as I am sure many of your households, like mine, were embroiled in impassioned arguments over this nonsense during the Thanksgiving holiday.
Insurrectionists like the Clintons, Obama, his former administration and residual moles within the executive branch have half the people believing, mostly on pure partisan grounds, that ANY means necessary is justified to extract the elected administration from office because, after all, “we must get to the truth” and “we must remove an illegitimately-elected imposter from the presidency.” “Surely, you would be calling for Hillary’s impeachment if she had won due to fraud and Russian interference” I’ve had thrown at me… except that no one would have suspected a thing was amiss with her being projected to win at a 95% probability level, according to all the polls. So, no, there would be no symmetrical outrage by the “other” side. I have always been a liberal Democrat, and my take is that most of that species has transmogrified into fascists in the wake of an electoral trauma so great they have lost their minds. Unlike them, I remain a genuine liberal, if not a Democrat.
This abomination is worse than a hundred Watergates or Whitewaters, because there was ample hard evidence of Nixon’s involvement in that fiasco and because, whether his peccadillos were prosecutable or not, Bill Clinton’s behavior was sleazy enough to get him summarily fired from any broadcast network today. Apparently, even from Hollywood. Trump’s only act of treason was to beat Hillary Clinton at the ballot box, with far more help from Hillary’s own ineptitude and unlikeability than any input from outsiders, least of all the Russians. Even McCain finally told her to “get over it” the other day. Perhaps even he is sick of the stink and the never-ending gridlock in Washington.
But now Lord High Executioner Mueller has succeeded in bagging a totally clueless Trump general, and the partisan idiots will double down on the trash talk. Don’t expect domestic tranquility in this country for many years to come. Some other country, minding its own business, may even have to pay on the field of battle against the American military juggernaut because of the passions this sort of cheap theatrics unleashes amongst the brainwashed masses.
Excellent post, Realist. We can only hope that somehow the real progressives are finally seeing that there is no future in the DNC controlled Democratic Party, and take their game elsewhere. We need a third party that can get to 15% to make the debates for 2020. It’s a tall order going up against the MSM and Wall St, but I think our chances are better now than ever before due to the transparency of the RussiaGate machinations. We just need a standard bearer who can take the heat.
Well said Realist. Excellent points all.
Drew, as usual, great post. (one point of divergence, but a bunch more to add/support)
I’d have to state, however, that I do believe that Trump was helped, and that the help was actually in the form of the CIA. Consider how many of these folks permeate the lamestream media. And consider that if there was Russian meddling of any significance that they’d have copies of such. No, Sanders was starting to stomp Clinton and TBTB panic’d. They saw the wave coming and new that they couldn’t stop it via Clinton (their chosen candidate). I believe that they worked hard to subvert the Sanders campaign: some might have been to exclude Sanders from the lamestream media. TPTB would NOT have been able to manhandle a Sanders team and its followers. One better believe that the question of “what if this move were leaked” was asked. The risk was worth it, worth possibly losing Clinton and then having to put up with Trump. As has been seen, Trump’s immediate support has been picked off by precision sniper fire.
Russia-Gate is now pretty much just a back story to keep the Dem’s faithful distracted. TPTB have now decided they got stalemated in Syria in which case RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA is no longer seen as an effective propaganda tool. Trump did a fantastic job distracting such that the tax bill could be passed. TPTB most assuredly see his antics as being quite useful to them. With what will continue to be the modus operandi -divide and conquer- TPTB will allow the masses to eat one another as they continue to restructure for their continued rule.
The biggest conspiracy of them all that had everything to do with putting Trump in the White House, was the MSM’s giving Trump 4.9 billion dollars worth of free media exposure (JP Sottile statistics). I think Rachel on a few occasions turned the cameras on to Trump for him to receive commercial free air time…uninterrupted mind you, so who helped who?
Precisely so, Joe. In doing what you said, Maddow was a much bigger boost to Trump’s campaign than Russia ever could have been. So too Chris Hayes and the rest of the MSNBC stable of pro-Hillary talking heads trying to stack the deck as eagerly as anyone named Debbie Wassermann-Schultz. I watched that network every evening. The intent to make Trump an eminently beatable Republican nominee was as clear as the nose on your face. It takes a comedian like Jimmy Dore to point out the obvious about the deceptive and hypocritical Maddow, Trump, the campaign, and the Russian irrelevance to it all, because no other liberal Democrat ever will. Das ist verboten. I am told I am unreasonable in my assessment of Maddow whilst the Thanksgiving turkey digests in the afterglow of a lovely dinner… and then the yelling starts. Shrillary and her aparatchiks still have a lot of knee-jerk party loyalists fooled.
Maddow appeals to those who either ignore the truth in the news, or the Rachel viewer leaves themselves the most vulnerable due to their hatred of Trump. While this can be quite acceptable, and God only knows how Trump can get under a persons skin, this anti-Trump fever can allow a right thinking person to think all wrong.
My fellow Americans should all wise up. They could start by asking themselves of when was the last time the U.S. Government demonized another world leader, only to find out later how it was all a propaganda campaign to drive us into another war. Incidentally when was the last time you turned on a cable news channel, and it wasn’t all being reported with wall to wall coverage of all things Trump? This over the top coverage isn’t because Trump is that much of a news breaker, in as much it is a campaign to bring him down, and Russia with him.
I could care less about Trump, but I do find attacking Russia and Putin with this ‘Russia all bad’ theme is not only dangerous, but deceptive as it hides an agenda. Trust me this agenda isn’t an agenda driven to improve the life of all mankind, but it is a program set in place to only make the few rich get richer.
Think of what would serve a political campaign better, a few Russian doggy ads placed on Facebook, or a 4.9 billion dollar free uninterrupted media coverage to run the whole length of the insanely long presidential campaign. In other words Trump won because the MSM helped him. Sorry Rachel, but you were a big help getting the Donald into the Oval Office, as it wasn’t Boris and Natasha, because it was all you and your fellow media cohorts who put him there.
You betcha, Joe. The whole demonization of Putin and Russia is just an attempt by a few obscenely rich American oligarchs to destabilize that country and abscond with its vast resources. All they’ve accomplished is alienating a potential friend and ally and delivering those resources into the hands of their Chinese rivals in the world marketplace who must be pinching themselves over their good fortune and American stupidity. America’s tragic flaw is that it never plays the long game, all it can ever see is short term gain–the latest quarterly returns. That is why China, a nation with a history of several thousand years, will be counting its chips long after the American empire is just a vague memory. Beijing will be like classical Venice or Vienna of the 22nd century and Washington will be like Detroit on Devil’s Night.
Well said, Realist!
You can see it on many people on the left.
The Young Turks, Democracy Now, Keith Olbermann, for example. They all turned into a left version of Alex Jones. Its curious to see.
And Glenn Beck sure as hell never was THAT nutty.
It is one of the more disturbing dynamics I’ve ever witnessed in all my years of following the politico-economic scene: otherwise decent liberal commentators and activists falling for and championing all this Russophobic drivel. Truly sad, and terrifying to boot.
Voting for the lesser of two evils would ONLY end up increasing cognitive dissonance.
Larry–what galls me is that she got 2 Emmys for her twisty little “reporting.” More than the 2 major parties are headed for the dustbin of credibility before this phase of US history is told.
I remember when Beck’s chalk board connecting the dots showed all or nearly all the dots as named Jewish individuals with Zionist records, but he never made the macro connection on his show; yet that’s why his highly-rated show was dumped. Rachel Maddow NEVER ever shows those particular dots, so she may be around a lot longer on primetime TV.
As long as the current crop of corporate media shills follow their marching orders, they will continue to be employed. Because otherwise, their employers will simply go over their heads with whatever lie needs to be disseminated, make it look like their fault, and cause them to retire or be fired.
Or do people truly believe a journalist of Dan Rather’s competence would have proceed with that false report of Bush II’s military history on his own?
I don’t believe it was a false report. I read Fortunate Son. W was AWOL from his Texas Air National Guard duty, and partying in New Orleans, and even busted for coke. His daddy had the whole thing covered up. Dan Rather told the truth, but he didn’t have the power to get away with it. Whenever Bush was asked about drug use in his youth, he always side-stepped the issue, and talked in generalities. J. H. Hatfield was definitely a flawed messenger, but I believed him.
Thanks to Robert. The whole behavior of the Democrats, including the disgraceful actions of POTUS Obama after Trump’s election, has been a window into the minds and desires of the alleged representatives of the American people. No wonder so many do not vote, when we see the illegal,immoral, devious and vicious acts carried out by those we elect or by those put in place, regardless of quality or competence, to enact laws for our country.
The corporate Democrats are more insidious than the Republicans b/c they have the veneer of populist pretensions. The corporate Dems have done nothing for the struggling American people since Medicare, and that was 50 years ago. Nothing substantive has been delivered to the hard pressed masses since that wonderful program decades ago.
The corporate Dems are almost exclusively focused on careerism, non-threatening identity politics, vilifying independent foreign leaders, sucking on the Pentagon teat, and collecting Wall Street dollars and Silicon Valley bribery money (uh, I mean campaign contributions). Of the two major parties, the Dems are also the one that’s arguably more slavishly and embarrassingly pro Israel. Congressmen like Schumer (D. Jerusalem) and Schiff (D. Jerusalem) should pack up and head for Tel Aviv, b/c that’s essentially their constituencies.
The reps and dems are slavish to zionist whims.The American people are not.
Amen, Dahoit! Let’s hope the American people will have the guts in 2018 and 2020 to reject the establishment again. Though the country is suffering for the 2016 Presidential election, we needed to make that break from the sick system Washington DC has become – genuflecting to Zionism and Wall Street. Unfortunately, it didn’t bring the change people had hoped for, but let’s hope it’s a start. We need at least 4 parties to have real debates over real issues if we want decent government.
There’s plenty of mental illness on the republican side but for unalloyed mendacity and hypocracy you can’t top the Democrats.
I don’t know. If you look out in the countryside at all the poor folks waving US flags and with vehicles with Trump stickers and realize that these people are going to be royally smacked with this tax bill I’d have to say that the Dems are in no way the only abusers of populism.
I guess the “first item” indeed was an attempt to subvert the policy of then current Administration, and for the putative benefit of a foreign country. At the very least, the indictment meets the standards of poetic justice: what is most damaging to the interests of American people are the most routine activities of our elected and nominated officials. “Could the interests of United States and Israel ever be different? Do we live in some alternative universe where school buses do not bring children to school, but take the parents away from school?” (reference to “donkey video” on Hagel hearings).
Amen
A refreshingly different take. Clear insights. Thank you!
One bunch of “crooks” trying to take over from the current bunch of “crooks. Meanwhile, deregulating Wall Street, the Environment, and privatizing education. The 1% are getting EVERYTHING they want.
Yes, I have also thought that this whole RussiaGate thing is a diversionary tactic to take our eyes off the real issue of the further pandering to the 1% at the expense of the rest of us.
As they say to spectators in football, don’t keep your eye on the ball…watch the play!
So the distraction analogy is not apt for what is going on here.
In fact, its the Republican Congress that’s exploiting the Russia investigation to get their dirty work done.
They love the windfall distraction.
Once they get what they want, my guess is, they’ll throw Trump under the bus and look righteous.
That is, if they don’t lose the majority in 2018 mid-terms.
No, Trump will still be good for the MIC. Keep in mind that this is perhaps one of the only export businesses that brings in revenue. Trump is good for business (wasn’t that the sell?), and the US’s business is war. (war against Russia will have to wait- the US is not ready yet for that prime time run [and likely never will be]).
Mueller has thrown Flynn under the bus to protect Trump from being impeached for leading the rants to lock Hillary up upon his becomng POTUS.
There will be other fall guys.
Impeached on what grounds? Regarding the entire, convoluted “Russiagate” tale, there was nothing there in the first place. It has been used to successfully distract the public (especially liberals) from the build-up of US troops near the Russian border, as well as the Trump economic sanctions against Russia — seen by the normal world as potential US provocations of war against Russia — not proof of a Putin/Trump partnership!
That Hillary was a criminal, especially a pedophile, who should be imprisoned. Hard case to prove..
And your post is right on: deflection. While the reichpubs gear up for the tax giveaway to the corporate class and their surrogates, we are to focus on this
Exactly! And Trump has performed better than anyone could possibly have performed vis a vis distraction. If his underlings get “fired” then, as he has proven, he really could care less. The oligarchs will shower him with praise and protection now that the tax bill has passed. We can, once again, thank the Dems and their puppets for once again FAILING (one has to wonder that with their track record if it is really not their intent as they’ve been so consistent and successful in this one thing).
could or couldn’t care less? how can you point to dems failing when the oligarchs and republicans are the ones passing the tax bill? wtf
Bingo!
nice article, just tweeted
Trump and indeed Flynn himself did a poor job in making Public that Lieutenant General Flynn had been appointed by President OBAMA to head Military Intelligence. He didn’t suddenly become a total loser. Instead Trump and Flynn also allowed himself to be portrayed as some kind of potential traitor. Clearly Flynn knew that the Obama holdovers were out to get him so he should have been more careful. In fact, quite obviously, he should have quit as soon as these allegation arose. The problem was that Flynn had exposed Obama’s Policy in Syria as foolish and that is why he was showed the door in the first place. . Trump in his rush to repudiate all things Obama did not take into account that Flynn’s opinion might become a liability and antithetical to Trump’s own policy decisions even if those decisions were forced upon him. Basically, Flynn was a bad appointment but he definitely should not be facing jail time ,just a fine
LJ, thanks for the reminder that “…Flynn had exposed Obama’s Policy in Syria as foolish and that is why he was shown the door in the first place.”
Actually, Flynn was Public Enemy Number 1 after opposing the Iran Nuclear Deal. Supposedly, Flynn was also aware of some Secret side deals that were worked out. Regardless, he went against Ben Rhodes and Clapper, whose reutations were at stake in the iran deal.
Strangely enough, Ben Rhodes private attorney at one Time-Jennie Wree-is now on the Mueller investigation.
We’re in a real pickle here.
Yes, Trump’s an atrocity. But the real reason the establishment is going after him has nothing to do with what he should really be admonished for: taxation policies that showering rewards on the uber wealthy, his anti Iran sentiments (the mainstream rather enjoys this saber rattling towards Tehran), his attempts to deregulate industry and the workplace to benefit big corporations and shaft struggling workers. No, the establishment is attacking Trump for one of the few things he actually got right – his attempts at détente with Russia.
Folks who know the score must keep their eyes on the prize here. The mainstream outlets – the same hustlers who assured us all Saddam had WMD – are going after Trump solely because they’re part and parcel of the Military-Industrial-Complex and simply won’t accept any sort of rapprochement with Moscow because peace with Russia ultimately points out the absurdity of having a trillion dollar defense [sic] budget. The NYTimes, NPR, WaPo, PBS News Hour, CNN, and some of the late night comics are not necessarily your friend right now. Mainstream careerism and fat Pentagon contracts are on the line when demonization of the Kremlin’s involved. Anyone, including a buffoonish president, who appears to step into this money trough and upset the apple cart must himself be treated to the long knives.
Mueller’s on a witch hunt. He’s a prosecutor who’s out of control, he’s on mission creep.
Let’s go after Trump for the right reasons. Don’t fall prey to the Gish Gallop Russophobic nonsense that puts the world on the brink of nuclear war.
Well said.
Completely agree. Additional focus on the hidden hand of Israel is in
“Flynn’s indictment over Russian influence reveals… Israel’s influence!”
http://mondoweiss.net/2017/12/indictment-russian-influence/
“Let’s go after Trump for the right reasons”…yes Drew, and as the charges seem to be based on the 1799 Logan Act they are farcical. Yet, Mueller or no one in congress seems to be concerned about fixed primaries. It seems that they got Flynn to turn on the basis of his lobbying for the Turkish govt,(a real issue). This, however should have nothing to do with Trump. if Flynn could see through the motivation of his accusers and defend himself against the contorted Russia connection they might well back off, but it seems he has neither the brain or the balls to do so.
I read the Turkish charge made by an ex-CIA Director (Woolsey?…) was an outright lie meant to hurt Flynn and it worked…you might google it, it just came up I think yesterday…..
I generally agree with your sentiment, but I think Trump has engaged in business dealing that were probably illegal or create clear conflicts of interest with his role as a public official. And that would be the most realistic route to actual impeachment or forced resignation. Will Mueller do that? I doubt it.
Maresedon’ts – listen to your words: “but I THINK Trump has engaged” and “that were PROBABLY illegal”. Absolutely no proof.
Witch-hunting par excellence.
lets just see what happens with muellers investigation. if trump DID engage in ILLEGAL business dealings with ABSOLUTE PROOF. would you accept it? i would accept the alternative you present…
The real reason Trump should be impeached is for turning the institutions of government against its own people and using them for his own personal benefit.
The only problem is that no Republican will go along with that because their in it for the same purpose.
It’s called “industry capture”, and it’s part of the standard GOP playbook; and now the corporate Dems as well, as we can see by Wikileaks exposing that Obama’s cabinet was picked for him by Citigroup.
Drew, yes, it IS RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA. Interestingly, Parry didn’t mention the Turkey pieces. It appears that the warpath is now via Turkey. Erdogan will be exposed as being a Putin Puppet after what we know is his increased leanings toward Russia. I think that Erdogan was always fence sitting and that it was only a matter of time before he either committed to the Zionist plan OR be pushed off the fence. The CIA had him in their gun sights and were attempting to take him out via “popular uprising.” That didn’t happen, so here we are. Just watch as the “news” media now starts spewing in unison how horrible Erdogan is (WTF were they way back when?), that he’s offshored butt-loads of money AND he’s sucked up to Putin. So, Flynn gets whacked in order to take out Erdogan. The Zionist “highway” to Iran will be back in business. Russia has been sufficiently primed as evil in which case there will be continued anti-Russia rhetoric. I’m not certain that Russia has enough interest in/with Turkey to warrant any counter-actions, though, everyone knows that Iran, which Russia would step in to defend, is the target (so who knows).
Plan “C” ? (Syria was Plan “A,” I’m kind of thinking there was a Plan “B” somewhere.)
Wasn’t the failed July15 2106 coup against Erdogan conspicuous?
EU employees during the night or morning commented that the coup “apparently” had succeeded. Any enthusiasm in the EU and the US it seemed, that an attempted coup against a (more or less) democratic government of a candidate member of the EU and the second biggest member of NATO had failed, was hard to detect.
Martin, this Turkey story is MUCH bigger than all of the rest. The wrongdoings that took place here were huge. Flynn’s fingerprints are firmly all over it. They’re going to nail him on anything that is NOT even close to this steaming pile.
To go after Trump means to go after US imperialism and capitalism. Trump is just an Orange Caligula; it is the system we need to destroy.
The msm out get the israeli connection?hahahahahaha.Trump still can’t see the that israel stinks and the American people are wise to that.
thanks again
fs
Thank you, Danny, a breath of truth in a sea of family feuding. I call it the rot that infects the government of the US, Trump is just the newest sore or abscess to erupt from the pervasive rot of the empire. Ridding Trump won’t rid the infection and blaming Russia only lets the rot get worse. The rot from Obama’s regime spilled over when the new queen of rot lost the spectacle of the last campaign. And the sour grapes just keep getting more rotten.
Old hippy–love it. And agree. This smells so much of Hillary–the jobba the hut of politics–esp. the side line of discrediting Wikileaks while going after T-rump. I feel a great big “pox on both their houses” urge, but know that the Democratic Socialists need to be stronger and Our Revolution too before we can survive having both these corrupt corportist toady parties fall.
I think it’s worse than that, Drew. I don’t believe there’s been a sincere word said against Russia. I mean . . . to decide Russia is the source of social media anti-Hillary dreck, you have to overlook mountains of the same on social media for the past decade. Who else if not Russia. Well, let me sharpen my pencil, here.
The Dems are using a well-trodden path with total disregard for its negative effect on the country and the world for itty bitty personal reasons.
Great points Cassandra.
Trump did not attempt detente with Russia. Detente is against his belligerent nature. Otherwise, he would have attempted detente with Iran and China too, don’t you think? These countries are equally important for our foreign policy interests (and those of our allies). Instead, he’s gone out of his way to antagonize Iran, China and even our European allies. For you to believe that Trump wants detente with Russia shows utter gullibility. Notice, Putin is the ONLY foreign leader for whom he has had a nice word (sometimes nauseatingly effusive in his praise). On the other hand he has treated allies like Merkell, May and Macron with scant respect and disdain (eg: Refusing to shake hands with Merkell on international TV…disgraceful).
No. there’s a much simpler explanation. He’s up to his eyeballs in debt to Russian Oligarchs, banks and mobsters. And, the Russians have got dirt on him. Remember, there’s evidence that the Russians have been cultivating Trump for decades. That would explain (at least in part) why he stubbornly refuses to produce his tax returns for fear the records will show his indebtedness to Russia AND that he’s nowhere as rich as he claims.
And now, it all seems to be unraveling. Look for unhinged tweets, bellicose behavior and (God forbid!), a nuclear war with N. Korea.
You embarrass yourself by repeating the totally absurd canard that Russia’s been cultivating Trump for decades!
Go watch some more Rachelle Maddow to become even more delusional.
Forget watching Rachael Maddow or anyone else. Use your “little grey cells” as Hercule Poirot would say. Follow Trump’s “business” activities in the last few decades. Many New Yorkers will know what I mean. Because of his insatiable appetite for business loans and shady deals to prop up his failing businesses, he was a sitting duck for anyone looking to launder black money and do shady real estate deals. That’s how it started. And slowly it grew feet. If ever Trump produces his tax returns, all this will become abundantly clear. But I’m not holding my breath because that’s the one thing he cannot do.
seriously though, why the FUCK won’t trump release his tax returns to just put this shit to rest? jesus.
Nothing is secret from The Ruling Establishment/Deep State including Trump’s Taxes. They would have used that long ago during the election against him. Trump is the one of these developers – billionaires – who can be easily caught cheating on their Tax returns and other under the table deals. It is the Capitalist System at work. The System promotes it. This system does produce wealth at the cost of ruthless exploitation of the resources,and the people world wide. It is happening in Russia too these days with their Capitalist System which they are trying to build from scratch. Probably, they have no alternative at this time to survive but to go along with it.
The Russian Oligarchs money which is being discussed 24/7 in the media; all this loot – worth a trillion dollars in some estimates – from the 1990’s was hauled away to “the West” : to London , Zurich, New York, Tel Aviv. . . After plundering Russia, and stealing everything which can be carried away, “The West” is blaming Russia for it. Isn’t strange? The expelled Russian Oligarchs, and the ones still in charge in Russia mostly live in The West. Something to think about.
You’ve omitted the important part of that, which is the name of the man who put an end to the looting: Vladimir Putin. In case anyone wants to consider what is perhaps the real impetus behind all of the anti-Putin hysteria.
Make a note that in at least 90% of the corporate media references to this situation it’s not “Russia” that is given as the source but Putin. They are under orders to make him look like another Stalin, and it works because to most of the people embracing the narrative Stalin = murderous dictator. It’s very well done, and sadly, it’s succeeding.
Elizabeth Burton –
You are right. Putin is the villain for stopping all this looting of Russia. Looking at the moral degradation of most of the Institutions in U.S.; Political, Financial, Media, Judicial, Defense and of the members of these institutions , it feels reassuring to watch Putin, and some of the high parliamentarians and others like Lavrov in important positions in government in Russia. I watch mostly on youtube once in a while. They and the Chinese leaders like Xi are keeping the World safe.
This complete moral collapse of “The West” should worry the Whole World; it is very dangerous.
If one owes $10k to the bank then that person is in trouble. If one owes $1,000,000 to the bank then the bank is in trouble.
I doubt that Trump really cares about any money that may or may not be owed. I mean, the guy has quite a track record of bankruptcies.
There are business relationships. You get to know and understand people that you do a lot of business with. Despite Trumps willingness to “fire” everyone I really don’t think that he doesn’t hold some sense of respect for the folks he’s done extensive business with: employees one has power over; big business partners are different (because through them you expect to make money- employees are seen as an expense [by him]).
TPTB were involved in smacking down Sanders. Not sure if they saw the outcome -Trump- as being all that likely; however, to think that they did not have any contingency in place for that possibility would be quite a naive thought. As I’ve speculated, Trump was worth the risk. TPTB knew that they could manage such an outcome, they knew that they could subvert his staff (a bunch of jokers with no experience in navigating the nasty business of politics). Had Sanders gotten by Clinton, and anyone with half a brain could see that train steamrolling Clinton, TPTB had to have known that he’d smoke Trump, and that Sanders would be bringing along a staff that was far more capable and far more difficult to undermine.
No, Trump is not the target at all. Look at the passage of the tax bill. The JOB IS getting done! TPTB are adjusting to their miscalculation in Syria (they have to figure that had their person -Clinton- been POTUS that the same outcome would have occurred- Russia would still have derailed their plans); the move now, as I see it, is to run the spearhead through Turkey: expect more and more “Erdogan is evil” coming out of the lamestream media. The chess pieces move a square. Will Russia counter vis a vis Turkey?
Trump is still in the game. He has, I believe, and it’s the ONLY thing that I figure he ought to be kept out of the pit for, pushed back on any extreme confrontation with Russia. Who knows, perhaps TPTB feel that the war fervor applied in the direction of NK is sufficient to tell all that TPTB are still in control? Meanwhile, behind all the smoke and bluster, the chess game in the ME continues.
“But the real reason the establishment is going after him has nothing to do with what he should really be admonished for: taxation policies that showering rewards on the uber wealthy, his anti Iran sentiments (the mainstream rather enjoys this saber rattling towards Tehran), his attempts to deregulate industry and the workplace to benefit big corporations and shaft struggling workers.”
The reason for that is that the Democrats, like Hillary, have two positions on all of those issues, “a public one and a private one”.
Well said and so Right Russia is the whole reason.Thoseof the military leaning ,want Russia as a enemy
The phony impeachment of Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff, was similar to the criminal conspiracy to unseat Donald Trump. Those who are doing this are vicious criminals, as was the case in Brazil.
I do not think this is a good analogy at all. Rousseff was tortured at the hands of the Brazilian fascists. She was brought down by a corrupt move by Temer, who cannot legally run for office but is the president of Brazil. and Temer was supported by US imperialism.
Trump was never tortured, he tortures us. And he was never a guerilla fighter as was Rousseff. The taking down of Rousseff has the fingerprints of the US all over it. The taking down of Trump also has US fngerprints all over it. Other than that, there is no comparison.
To add to mike k comment the manner of the so-called “car wash” judicial witch hunt against Dilma Rousseff is the same MO used by the very scummy and treasonous Mueller… pick off low hanging fruit by offering plea bargains and relentlessly keep pressure working way up. Keep in mind Trump and Rousseff both present a very clear danger to the dying desperate British/US/NATO axis and their London/Wall Street derivative debt-sodden gambling casino.. Dilma head of the largest economy in southern hemisphere and part of BRICS… Trump not playing the “globalist” game and making serious initiatives to work more collaboratively with both China and Russia. All of this anethema to the dying empire hegemony.
Exactly right bill. Thanks for fleshing my comment out a bit.
Mike, have you changed your tune about Trump?
For the past 70 years America has created troubles all over the World. Her hegemonic Dreams are just a mirage which will never concreticize even with her huge military power’ help.(Something Humanity has never known). People are fed up with those yankee. Let us all who are not US Citizen embargo that fucken country; until her decent people will have put back some order in it. There is no other alternative to avoid (soon or later) the ultimate catastrophy.
Well said! I wish the Europeans (I am one of them….) would distand themselves from Washington!
My sense…..hope – is that the corrupt election process with billions of dollars spent by huuuuge corporations and by uber wealthy people, buying the Democrats and the Republicans who “serve” at all levels of government is finally showing signs of having killed the goose that laid the golden egg.
The end game has produced the ultimate toady to corrupt corporate interests, namely Donald J Trump who has abandoned any vestige of civic minded policies (domestic and foreign) to a platform that serves his own and his cronies’ financial interests – witness his tax plan; his cabinet; his intent to dismantle all regulations having to do with climate change, the environment, civil justice, you name it……on foreign policy, I haven’t seen any set of rational policies, but his trigger happy eagerness to drop bombs first is no foreign policy.
An increasing number of Americans have abandoned their political party and now view themselves as Independent.
Our endless regime change wars, wreaking havoc across the Middle East and Europe and the massive deregulation of our financial institutions to where average working Americans have been financially abandoned to the wolves, have left Americans with a great distrust of the system.
Donald Trump cagily understood that and promised to change all that. He lied.
The Democratic Party, too blinded by their own complicity in a discredited Neoliberal ideology kneecapped their best candidate, Bernie Sanders, with a set of nasty tricks. Bernie would have beaten Trump with vote from all sides of the political spectrum from people (some of whom may not have agreed with all of his policies) who trusted him to tell them the truth and to work for the best interests of working people, the environment, the climate, with respect for the justice system and with a foreign policy that respected indigenous people in their own countries.
It’s really disgusting to watch how the current witch hunt by the crumbling Democratic Neoliberal power structure to wreak revenge on Donald Trump is playing out…..
Thanks to Robert Parry for teasing out the truth from the smoke and mirrors.
Trump should not be president. He is emotionally very ill and is willing to wreak havoc to get back at those he views as enemies. He is not the only one who was too unstable to be fit to be president. We had several crazy ones.
Jimmy Carter wasn’t crazy but he could not stand up to the Cold War power structure and crumbled in favor of trying to win a second term.
Trump should not be president. But it should not be this bizarre witch hunt that deposes him.
Instead, there should be a process to examine the leadership of the executive branch to see if it is serving the best interests of the country in an orderly fashion that addresses serving the best interests of the country and whether the Commander in chief is capable of serving those goals.
He is not. But this should not be handled as an act of punishment and vengeance by an enraged Hillary Clinton machine. It should be handled by a non partisan non ideological team of experts on mental health; constitutional law; social justice; political justice; inspector generals from various agencies; and whatever other experts are needed to evaluate such a unique undertaking.
There are such people in this country.
Nothing new here as far as human exploits go. British, French, Spanish and the Germans have all created mountains of skeletons.
As I endeavor to get across to folks, it’s an issue of GROWTH. EVERYTHING is quite clear when one understands that this is all part of how growth works. Those tossing stones ought to review whether their peoples/country is also not based on the highly flawed notion of perpetual growth (on a finite planet): the aspirations are there if not the actual execution. It’s almost a certainty that given the opportunity ANY group of people/country would readily push past its boundaries if it could. Everyone is a murderer or a potential murderer, growth requires this. Study nature (don’t allow human hubris to tell you that humans are different).
Embargo?
Fill your boots, crazy.
This is a response to seer: somehow you forgot Belgium in your list. Brutally murdered 2/3 of the Congo. Black lives do matter.
Excellent post!
Yes, this is the intuition one gets about the underlying dynamics of what is happening. The US and Europe can no longer point at any moral superiority of our systems. Europe may not date to deflect, at least not yet.
It’s a better analogy than you think.
“Rousseff was tortured at the hands of the Brazilian fascists.”
True, but was decades ago, during the Brazilian dictatorship. She was never tortured during the ‘golpeachment’ brouhaha.
“The taking down of Rousseff has the fingerprints of the US all over it.”
And the taking down of Trump doesn’t? What country does Mueller work for?
You people don’t read very carefully, before you comment.
thankyou
“He tortures us” — Are you being tortured? Tell us about it…. This sounds like a CNN analysis we hear daily that is so far out that there is no credibility anymore to much of the mainstream media….You may not like Trump’s politics but he is not “torturing” anyone although his two predecessors surely did give such orders at Gitmo and elsewhere along with targeted assassination…..
Mr. Danny Weil sez:
“Trump was never tortured, he tortures us.”
No, sir. He tortures YOU. Big difference.
I like the guy myself. He is a refreshing change from the current ossified political class of self-serving seat warmers and criminals. Also, recall that this President defeated sixteen (16) other Republicans during the Primaries, one after another—culminating in the political destruction of a ‘shoo-in’, who by all accounts simply Could Not Lose.
This “Muh Russians!!” nonsense is based on the losing side’s fervent conviction that the voters who placed President Trump in office have made a half year long, 50-state ‘mistake’, and it is their duty to correct it.
But that is not for them to decide, is it? Furthermore, electorates have made mistakes in the past, without triggering mass insanity and causing the losing side to go off the rails like this.
The difference now is that the losers, led by Big Media and its butt-hurt pals (AKA: the ‘Swamp’) has unilaterally determined that they shall be the ones to fix the electorate’s ‘mistake’, by removing the winner of the election—and they simply cannot understand why the majority that voted this President into office can’t see things their way. As Mr. Weil said, it ‘tortures’ them.
This has resulted in a world class infection of TDS; Trump Derangement Syndrome (which makes the previous mild case of BDS look laughably mild by comparison). This TDS is being fed by the incessant chattering within the various bubbles of unreality made possible by the internet. Every word, every gesture, every tweet, and even pictures of this President’s wind-blown coif drives them insane! So TDS is like BDS—but doubled and squared.
Every 4 years America gets a chance for a do-over, but to the TDS-afflicted, every day is ‘torture’. So by hook or by crook this President MUST be removed from the office he was elected to, and to hell with the consequences. However, if they could think things through rationally, they might pause to consider the likely implications:
Based on the flimsy ‘evidence’ being presented, they would be very scary indeed. Future presidents would certainly follow President Lincoln’s ill-conceived precedent of imposing Martial Law and voiding habeas corpus. That would certainly be preferable to this drip-drip-drip of “Muh Russians!!” (or whatever its future equivalent might be). Why take a chance of being The Donald 2.0, when a preemptive strike is so easy?
So criticizing the President could easily result in arbitrary detention, without charge or legal representation, for an unspecified time—and the Commander-in-Chief would have a loyal military ready, willing, and able to put down any resulting riots.
I am sure some folks would still be willing to take that chance, in order to avoid their current TDS-based ‘torture’.
However, throughout all this wild-eyed TDS speculating, accusing, and ‘what-ifs’, one thing is consistently ignored: Americans elected President Trump, not because of the wonderful person he is, but because of their disgust over the smarmy, self-serving, criminal political/media/business class—which cares not a whit for the average American, or for the things that made America the exceptional country it was until just recently.
In other words, President Trump is not the cause; he is the SYMPTOM.
Without a Hillary, there would not have been a Donald.
So if they succeed in defenestrating The Donald… the disease, for which he is merely a symptom, will prevail.
Ugh! Is that what we want? Really?
are you for real?
Without a Hillary, there would not have been a Donald.
Why is the fact that she won the popular vote always overlooked? Like Donald won some mandate, NOT, he won because of 77,000 disenfranchised voters.
Seriously Dpfaef! Do you honestly think that in States that Hillary “won” to help her towards the popular vote winning fantasy she hadn’t fixed the result by some nefarious means such as tampering with election machines, recording the votes of illegals, allowing multiple votes to be registered, using the votes of deceased voters and so on. She and the entire power structure that the Clinton empire had built up, oops sorry…bribed/extorted/bought so many unfortunate people, over decades and she had everything in place to pull off the deception supported by the seemingly endless wealth of Soros.
Why has California refused to allow their voting records to be analysed?
It will eventually come to light exactly how many votes she stole, just like in the primaries, and then, FINALLY, this ridiculous argument of the left will be put to rest, presumably not to long after she is wearing the orange jump suit
Smokey, my man. Not to be combative, but let me address a few things:
1. Trump beat those republicans with lies. He lied about his agenda, riding a populist wave with great, simple messaging. “MAGA” and “Build the wall!” Hillary lost the election for a bunch of reasons, for me the decisive factors were Russia-funded micro-targeted ads for specific precincts in those key states and the fact that Hillary didn’t campaign enough in those key states she took for granted. She came across as a phony and Trump seemed legit. Personally, I have trouble seeing it that way, but people have different values and opinions.
2. “muh russia” – you really think mueller lacks integrity? do you think 9-11 was an inside job? will you respect the outcome of the investigation like I will? What about DAG Rosenstein?
3. the “majority” didn’t reeeally vote for him, if you consider the popular vote. and when considering the antiquated electoral college system was, among some other less controversial but also less believable/useful (espectially today) reasons, made for a time when slaves couldn’t vote, he really didn’t win by that much. the decisiveness of his victory ranked 46th out of 58.
4. what do you define as the swamp? what upsets you about democrats? about republicans? their agendas? who is doing what to harm you, specifically, and who is doing what to help you, specifically?
5. it’s hard to believe you’re posting in good faith when you’re literally describing what Trump is attempting to do as some hypothetical that will happen if trump is forced out of office. Trump is the one who derides the free press and sows division to maintain power. It’s Trump that adores dictators and authoritarians. not only that, but your fallacious “flimsy evidence allowing future presidents to impose martial law as a preemptive strike”
i do like your use of the word defenestrating though.
It is a good analogy. The torture mentioned by another reply occurred decades earlier, not at the time of the bogus impeachment, which was at the hands of representatives themselves guilty of fundamental corruption, as is Temer, the yankee choice to replace Rousseff.
Excellent comparison, Mike! Our last President along with Susan Rice, Samantha Powers Sunstein (wife of the evil Cass) and the media ought to hang their heads in shame. They never met a coup they didn’t get a kick out of as long as it didn’t happen to themselves.
Referring to Mike K.’s comment on Dilma Rousseff.
Honesty and truth are the first casualties of a witch hunt. Both of these valuable assets are in vanishing supply in Washington DC. Faith in our government is now damaged beyond repair. The rest of US history will now be the more open face of fascism.
“What I have heard from many Hillary Clinton supporters in recent months is that they don’t care about the unfairness of the Russia-gate process or the dangerous precedents that such politicized prosecutions might set. They simply view Trump as such a danger that he must be destroyed at whatever the cost.”
The problem the corporate democrats have is one, they have no legitimacy and two, this will all back fire. Rather than see Trump humiliated and stumbling. all of this will energize his base.
So not only is the taking down of Flynn indubitably wrong, it won’t work.
Chaos reigns now in the Empire among the ruling elites. Internecine battles should not allow us to take our eye off the real issue: failed capitalism, inequality and war.
Amen!
Mr. danny
Where exactly have you heard from many Clinton supporters for your info? Clinton is not the president, do you get that? I am an independent, and I believe, but I call you out on sources. Name them and quote them on the record. If yo are unable to do that , talk to Robert Parry about sources.
I have noticed the same in my hundreds of discussions with them. They are fanatics and dont care about other people. they just want their will, no matter the cost.
You wont find a study of this, but if you talk to a few dozens at least, you will also come to the same conclusion.
You do realize that he’s quoting Parry from the article, not saying that he himself has heard from Clinton supporters?
You need to read Danny Weil’s post again. It is not his statement. He is quoting from Robert Parry’s article. The paragraph is quotes.
What we see with Flynn is someone of status and some finances subjected to what US Attorney prosecutors do daily in crushing poor Defendants regardless of guilt or innocence, it doesn’t matter to them…the conviction regardless is what it is about and the FBI is right in there working with them (the FBI Lab was caught phonying up results i.e. lying and making things up to convict people — over decades and basically nothing happened when it came to the light of day…, this is a fact you can look it up….)–they toss on massive excess charges among other well-known tactics and the truth is to be charged in Federal Court regardless of innocence results in a guilty plea just as Flynn found he had to do — as basically no one has the finances to take on the onslaught of the Federal Prosecutor with unlimited resources (our tax money….) or the ability to withstand the decades possible under massive overcharging which is designed to force pleas of every Defendant….often a jury will just “give one” to the Prosecutor in finding all other of the great number of charges piled on garbage thinking it will be a slap on the wrist as the rest of the pile on was tossed — and then find out later after sentencing that they just caused that person to be sentenced to 10 or 20 years on the one Count of 20+ and they will immediately regret their action but have no power to undo the injustice….The system is beyond broken, it is beyond corrupt–ask ANYBODY who has been subject to it–but since it generally effects poor people and not Flynn types, nobody cares until they are targeted then they end up like Flynn or much worse…..
Danny Weil, your response was perfect, and lets compliment Mr.Parry for being so objective in his reporting, which is a welcome relief in this day and age. Unfortunately the left has lost theirs, and as they say, they can’t see the forest for the trees, and that is a big danger. Great article Mr. Parry!
Something I don’t understand about this action against Flynn indrder to sink Trump:
The FBI knew the content of both phone conversations, the first one was Netanyahu asking to act against
a UN vote against Israeli settlements, Israel being “best friend” of both Dems and Reps, they should have buried the story, and not let Flynn ‘spill the beans’ publicly. The second call doesn’t show any danger for the US, just asking for Russia not to retaliate for this evil and stupid US sanctions….. So the whole story
proves the Mueller staff are complete morons.
Ph. Girardi noted in another article that the american press didn’t mention Israel beeing the subject about the UN motion. That means that the pro-Israel newspapers understood that this was awkward move from the FBI,
Boy, a witch hunt huh? Except for the fact that laws were actually broken and like the last POTUS who claimed he was the victim of a “witch hunt” there was an ensuing cover up. I’m also astounded that the author of this Article thinks he knows what the INTENT of legislation was during our second presidents term.
Laws were broken? The point is that an arcane law was used to ensnare Flynn for what is likely a routine practice. I would wager that every incoming administration has had contacts with foreign governments. This is without a doubt a partisan witch hunt and you don’t need to be a Trump fan to see that. There’s plenty not to like about DT but using criminal law for political purposes is extremely dangerous.
if he did nothing wrong, then why did he lie. and let’s remember, he also lied to Pence on the same thing.
Prove your case. By your insinuation, BHO claimed he was a victim of in your words a “witch hunt”. When and what and where is your info from? Tell me , and everyone here, When did Obama claim he was the victim of a witch hunt? I do believe you are getting Clarence Thomas , the supreme court justice , confused with Obama. Thomas did say he was a victim of a high tech lynching.
Tina, are you intentionally missing people’s points? It’s clear that J. Butler is referring to Nixon and Watergate.
Tina is obviously not the brightest bulb in the chandelier.
So far, the only law that was broken was the one that makes it a felony to lie to any government agency. Which is worth a fine and, maybe, five years in the slammer. Just how that little bit of authoritarian legislation needs to be reviewed is a discussion for another time.
Butler,
Really? Laws were broken?
What’s your opinion of a certain self-serving U.S. Secretary of State’s personal aggrandizement, when she cashed in via her official position, to the detriment of the American citizens she was sworn to represent? Is that A-OK with you?
Or does ‘breaking the law’ only apply to someone you didn’t vote for?
The ‘cover up’ here are actually MANY.
Russia gate is a cover up for the primary righing and election fraud committed by the Clinton campaign, the DNC and with help from the Obama Administration.
Secondly, this was also meant as a cover up for Clinton’s felonies with her emials and basement server. Since Mrs. Clinton often projects her behavior onto others as well as blame everyone but herself for her personal and political failures, her basement dweller comment is in reference to herself.
There is also voluminous proof that Hillary Clinton sold uranium to Russia in lieu of 145 million donation to the Clinton Foundation as well as speech of Bill Clinton to the Kremin bank for 500,000.
There is an FBI informant ready to spill the beans however Sessions refuses to open an investigation into uraniym one, something that also involves the Obama Administration for okaying this deal. If there is a scandal to be had regarding Russia it is that one.
Thirdly, Russia gate is being used as was the WMD narrative with Iraq: to get public support for regime change in Russia. Currently the US and NATO have Russia surrounded on her borders and the effects of this witch Hunt are likely to have deadly consequences to our very humanity. There are far too many Clinton supporters so blinded by their rage at Trump they cannot see that it was Democratic party policies that brought us Trump in the first place.
Fourth, Russia gate is also being used to justify laws that will jeopardize our free speech rights through censorship and if net neutrality is gone, potentially the loss to sites like this one that help some of us retain what’s left our sanity in an extremely pathological political environment.
In my view the entire swamp is filled with sociopaths. Whether Clinton or Trump, the outcome to the people is always the same with harm…
no , mike , you can set the record right, or left , or whatever, We now have the power of the internet, that we can share what is really going on. we do not need the media , but we need net neutrality. You can record every incident of whatever, we will not let those corporations get the upper hand. Say good bye to your life.
Unfortunately the facts seem to justify this dark appraisal of reality.
I think the 2016 election showed the people who own the country that Constitutional Democracy would have to be replaced. By now both parties have given up on democracy. The Rs would not have jumped the shark on their tax bill now if they expected to face an election in 2020.