Russia

Republicans Who Like Putin (3/1/2024))

Russia’s 2024 election interference has already begun (2/28/2024)

Trump says he would encourage Russia to attack Nato allies who pay too little (2/11/2024)

Alexander Smirnov: FBI source accused of Biden lies 'linked to Russian intelligence' (2/20/2024)

The Republican Party has grown much more supportive of Russia in recent years (2/13/2024)

Why Are Republicans Siding With Russia? (12/16/2023) The Atlantic

Binder of classified material on Russia reportedly went missing in final Trump days (12/15/2023)

Russia disinformation looks to US far right to weaken Ukraine support (3/16/2023)

Senate Intel report confirms Russia aimed to help Trump in 2016 (4/21/2020)

The KGB began cultivating him in the early 1980s. He was an easy mark: vain, stupid, amoral, sex-crazed, and desperate for cash. By the middle of that decade he was using condos in the tower that bore his family’s name to launder money for Russian organized crime figures. He liked doing business with crooks. They paid in cash, and if things went sideways, they would never sue. Portrait of an American Strongman (2/1/2022) Greg Olear

"Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing." ....Trump doubled down, repeating the request.

“The thing that keeps me up most at night is the president of the United States is an asset to a foreign power. We have no idea the level of damage it’s done until he’s out of office. And what we’re going to find out is all of his sycophants were all out to enrich themselves and probably did decades of damage to the country. Especially to the State Department, it’s non-existent. It can barely issue visas.” Malcolm Nance

…The New Yorker quotes Tamir Pardo, the director of Israel’s chief spy agency Mossad from 2011 to 2016, as saying of the Russian election-interference operation in 2016—which appears to have received significant assists from Israeli, Saudi, and Emirati entities—“It was the biggest Russian win ever. Without shooting one bullet, American society was torn apart.” Yet U.S. media still spends more time dissecting Trump’s tweets than seeking to curate the hundreds of major-media investigative reports from around the world that confirm that it is Trump who is, piece by piece, dissecting our nation’s foreign policy and domestic institutions. Seth Abramson: Proof of Conspiracy

...of course the Russian effort affected the outcome. Surprising even themselves, they swung the election to a Trump win. James R. Clapper, Facts and Fears.

The NRA's role in the Trump-Russia scandal was substantial. Maria Butina, eventually convicted as a Russian spy, used "relationships within the NRA to build an informal channel of diplomatic relations with Russia”. Her efforts included a famous public exchange with Donald Trump during his first campaign, in which he expressed his affection for Vladimir Putin and promised to improve relations as president. Review of Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the NRA by Tim Mak (Guardian)

The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion...
Mueller Report

Mr. Trump would repeatedly portray the Mueller report as having found “no collusion with Russia.” The reality was more complex. In fact, the report detailed “numerous links between the Russian government and the Trump campaign,” and it established both how Moscow had worked to help Mr. Trump win and how his campaign had expected to benefit from the foreign interference. How Barr’s Quest to Find Flaws in the Russia Inquiry Unraveled (1/26/2023) NYT

We assess that Russian President Putin authorized, and a range of Russian government organizations conducted, influence operations aimed at denigrating President Biden's candidacy and the Democratic Party, supporting former President Trump, undermining public confidence in the electoral process, and exacerbating sociopolitical divisions in the US. Foreign Threats to the 2020 US Federal Elections (3/10/2021) pdf

'Well, we don’t rely on American banks. We have all the funding we need out of Russia.'
Eric Trump in 2014: 'We have all the funding we need out of Russia'

Russian trolls had created social-media posts clearly aimed at winning support for Trump from churchgoers and military families—key Republican voters who seemed likely to lack enthusiasm for a thrice-married nominee who had boasted of groping women, obtained multiple military deferments, mocked Gold Star parents and a former prisoner of war, and described the threat of venereal disease as his personal equivalent of the Vietcong. Russian trolls pretended to have the same religious convictions as targeted users, and often promoted Biblical memes, including one that showed Clinton as Satan, with budding horns, arm-wrestling with Jesus, alongside the message “ ‘Like’ if you want Jesus to win!” One Instagram post, portraying Clinton as uncaring about the 2012 tragedy in Benghazi, depicted a young American widow resting her head on a flag-draped coffin. Another post displayed contrasting images of a thin homeless veteran and a heavyset, swarthy man wearing an “UNDOCUMENTED UNAFRAID UNAPOLOGETIC” T-shirt, and asked why “this veteran gets nothing” and “this illegal gets everything.” It concluded, “Like and share if you think this is a disgrace.” Jane Mayer in the New Yorker

...one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory", Senator John McCain after the Helsinki meeting between Trump and Putin.

Perhaps Trump's most egregious vulnerabilities stemmed from his lies about his Russian dealings. Putin knew that he had lied. And Trump knew that Putin knew - a shared understanding that provided the framework for a potentially coercive relationship between the president of the United States and the leader of one of our greatest adversaries. This simple fact could explain something that made no sense otherwise: why Trump repeatedly did what he had just done at the press conference, choosing th course of action that made little sense in the context of U.S. security but that clearly benefited Russia. Peter Strzok from his book Compromised. pg 261

Andrew Weissman is reporting on MSNBC that Trump 2016 campaign manager and convicted felon Paul Manafort made a deal with Putin to help Trump get elected. In return Trump would not oppose his invasion of Ukraine, nor would Trump allow weapons to be sent to Ukraine. Sounds right.

— Marty Taylor (@MartyTa94849826) December 26, 2022

Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the thirty thousand emails that are missing. I think you will be rewarded mightily by our press" July 2016 press conference.

Putin’s People ends with a chapter on Donald Trump, and what Belton calls the “network of Russian intelligence operatives, tycoons and organized-crime associates” that has encircled him since the early ’90s. The fact that Trump was frequently overwhelmed by debt provided an opportunity to those who had the cash he desperately needed. Belton documents how the network used high-end real estate deals to launder money while evading stricter banking regulations after 9/11. She’s agnostic on whether Trump was a witting accomplice who was aware of how he was being used. As one former executive from the Trump Organization put it, “Donald doesn’t do due diligence.”

An alarming document that may prove Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election was leaked by a 25-year-old woman who grew up in a small town in Texas, the Department of Justice alleged this week. Reality Winner Was Arrested For Leaking An NSA Memo. Here's What We Know About Her.

As it becomes clear Russia trained and equipped Hamas to foment instability in the ME and distract attention from Ukraine, Media Attention Deficit Disorder(MADD) is helping Putin to fulfil his aims. Our press needs to refocus on this other war which is entering a critical phase.

— Christopher Steele (@Chris_D_Steele) November 6, 2023

“Hillary Clinton would almost certainly have won” the presidency in 2016 if not for Russian subversion, which sowed confusion and hardened negative opinions about her. He astutely tallies the degradation that Trump’s lawless, norm-busting presidency has already inflicted: stuffing the courts, assaulting the Justice Department, demonizing the free press and mainstreaming extremist ideas like mass deportations and the Muslim travel ban — now shamefully validated by a Supreme Court majority.
From a review of Larry Diamond's book ILL WINDS

Former Rand Paul And Mitch McConnell Staffer Charged With Funneling Russian Money To Trump https://t.co/Pt0oPiBvUl

— @Conga1_PalmerReportReader (@Conga1) September 22, 2021

The NRA’s role in the Trump-Russia scandal was substantial. Maria Butina, eventually convicted as a Russian spy, used “relationships within the NRA to build an informal channel of diplomatic relations with Russia”. Her efforts included a famous public exchange with Donald Trump during his first campaign, in which he expressed his affection for Vladimir Putin and promised to improve relations as president. Review of Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the NRA by Tim Mak (Guardian)

"Evgeny Popov, the host of 60 Minutes, the most popular state TV program in Russia as of 2018, is defiant about the findings in the Mueller report. Popov tells me: 'Soon, we will help you elect Trump once again. Just like the last time. Get ready!'” Julia Davis

"There is, indeed, almost a “law of irony of revolutions” – they nearly always tend to produce what they were intended to oppose. Certainly the Russian Revolution produced a nonhereditary czar with far greater powers than the unfortunate Nicholas II, in the shape of Lenin, Stalin and their successors." Kenneth E. Boulding, The World as a Total System pg 122.

More Russian election interference. Not a hoax I guess...https://t.co/wAYdN5BT7X

— Patriot's_Truth 🇺🇸 🌊🌈🌎👣 (@rr_resists) November 7, 2022

Two weeks before meeting with the head of a sanctioned Russian bank, Jared Kushner & Mike Flynn had a secret Trump Tower meeting with the Russian ambassador, where Jared proposed a "backchannel" through the Russian embassy, so Trump & Putin could communicate privately. https://t.co/zJXcdlaBb2

— Greg Olear 🇺🇦 (@gregolear) August 23, 2022

Russian society has always been anti-Semite and chauvinist and has had resistance and prejudice against all different and alien ethnicities and nations. The unity was always held with force and terror was always imposed by the government. All territories that now comprise Russian Federation were acquired by force, bribery, or both. Imperial Russia added more territories, Soviet Russia added more territories, and today’s Russia is adding territories. A letter from a Russian friend

Most watched Russian TV show discussing which American politicians are most loyal to Putin.
They call them "elite 8" pic.twitter.com/vvchtDO1s0

— Humberto (@Humbert76773864) March 31, 2022

Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections

Putin's rule is weakening, So what comes next? Timothy Snyder (7/30/2022)

Trump praises ‘genius’ Putin for moving troops to eastern Ukraine (2/23/2022)

How Trump became Russian Mafia’s Bitch (2/7/2022)

Putin Says He Deserves Ukraine as Consolation for Losing White House (2/2/2022)

Kremlin papers appear to show Putin’s plot to put Trump in White House (7/15/2021)

Indictment, Lawsuits Revive Trump-Alfa Bank Story (9/23/2021) Brian Krebs

An Ex-KGB Agent Says Trump Was a Russian Asset Since 1987. Does it Matter? (2/21/2021)

Russia is demonstrating in Ukraine how bad a right wing country can be.

Powerful leader surrounded by oligarchs, with no free press, suppressed [assassinated] political opponents, mounts an unprovoked invasion on neighboring Ukraine resulting in millions of refugees, unnecessary deaths, threatens nuclear disaster, demonstrates bad right wing government.

Russians have made effort to undermine 25 democracies since 2004: Baltic States, EU countries, Georgia, Ukraine, Brexit, and of course the US.

They supported Syrian President Assad who made war on his own people resulting in masses of refugees to the EU. The surge of migrants from both war and climate deterioration caused a right-wing backlash in the EU. The masses of immigrants wore out their welcome in the EU and far right parties strengthened. Democracy is visibly in decline.

Russians supported far-right parties in the EU, including Brexit, and in the U.S. That and massive migration from both wars and climate change had the potential to break up the EU and also weaken NATO.

"If the only way Trump's business could survive was with borrowed money and they could only do it if they had co-signers and the only people who would co-sign were Russian oligarchs...you get the drift? He was dependent on them. They, very nearly literally, own him." David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) August 28, 2019

Trump’s son said “We don’t rely on American banks. We have all the funding we need out of Russia.” Putin knew that Trump could cause chaos in the US and it appears he groomed Trump for a long time. Russian oligarchs, some with mob connections, owned and sometimes lived in Trump Tower, also lavishly bought Trump properties in Florida. (Google it.)

BREAKING: Russia funneled over $300 million into political parties and candidates around the world — including the US — since 2014, according to a new US intelligence review.

Brexit, Trump, Bolsonaro, Orban, Le Pen — there’s a reason for the rising tide of fascism: the Kremlin.

— Tristan Snell (@TristanSnell) September 13, 2022

Russians groomed and favored Trump and cultivated a number of his campaign managers, paid for propaganda on social media, hacked elections to cause chaos and fracture the US. That paid off magnificently. The Republican Party platform weakened the position on Ukraine. Even as the Presidential campaign proceeded, Trump was negotiating with a sanctioned bank to do business in Russia. The NRA was used by Russians to recruit Republicans.

Was Russia helpful in electing Trump ? In January 2017 James Clapper announced the consensus of the CIA, FBI, and the National Security Agency – that Putin personally ordered an “influence Campaign” to damage Clinton’s Campaign, help elect Trump and “undermine public faith in the US democratic process.

Even before the 2016 election, Trump benefited the Russians altering the Republican platform to stop the armament of Ukraine. An investigation of Biden's son may have been an excuse to stop vitally needed arms to stop the Russian invasion.

Trump actively wanted to pull the United States our of NATO, He actively attacked the alliance. He advocated for a plan to pull US troops out of Europe. He advanced plans to pull US troops out of Asia, the Pacific, and the Middle East. He effectively sought to hand Syria to the control of Russia and Russia's allies. He pulled out of arms deals that constrained the Rusians. He pulled out of a deal that contained Iran, a key ally of Russia. American Resistance, The Inside Story of How the Deep State Saved the Nation
by David Rothkopf (pg 134)

US right-wingers, the Mercers, Bannon, and other notables worked with Cambridge Analytica to drive social networks to the right. Russian bots used Facebook to inflame US voters. Reality Winner is in jail for making public Russian interference in our election.

After election, Trump didn’t bother to impose sanctions on Russia. The State Department budget was substantially cut, experienced civil servants left and hollowed the department out, the military took charge of foreign policy. (Ronan Farrows book: The War on Peace is excellent on this.) Removing cold warriors from the State Department is a huge benefit for Russians. Rex Tillerson was said to be the Russians choice for Secretary of State. Diplomacy languished as the military were pumped up.

Trump demanded more money from allies as a condition of supporting NATO, which looked like a protection racket, and of course he supported the alt-right not only here in the US, but in the EU as well. Trump relates well to authoritarians, not so much with democratic former allies.

Although intelligence agencies agreed that Russians meddled in US elections, Republicans killed efforts to stop them, so there could well be interference in the next ones as well.

Chaos in the US has certainly weakened standing in the world, undermined democracy, and moved world leadership elsewhere. Trump has caused the loss of US moral leadership, which formerly and arguably was its best asset. Republicans have reversed democratic values and have us on a path to Fascism.

It appears that traditional war is obsolete when, faster and cheaper, with little destruction, and far less expense, cyber warfare is much more effective. Traditional armaments look to be a huge waste. Nuclear armaments as so destructive that no one should use them, however Trump has pushed to expand the nuclear arsenal and spurned the UN ban on nuclear weapons. The US continues to inflate a huge economic bubble, the worlds largest military.

Senior Trump advisers seem to have a lot of other connections with Russians as well, not limited to access to HRC and the DNC’s emails, and they lied about it. The Republican convention was pressured to remove sanctions. The NRA seemed also to be a channel for Russian influence and money. Delay in arms assistance to Ukraine directly assisted Russia’s war effort there. While campaigning Trump was revealed to be negotiating for a major construction project in Moscow.

Justice Kennedy is said to have resigned to protect his son, employed by Deutsche Bank, from prosecution for laundering Russian money to Trump.

Of course we can’t know a lot because Trump’s tax returns, which by law should be accessible to the Congress, is now up to the Supreme Court. Investigations have been squelched by a decapitated DOJ, which by the way dropped charges against Flynn.

Trump no longer has checks, unless the Supreme Court rules against him, or if he actually loses the next election. If he is unchecked, he is a dictator and that will confirm that the US has become a fascist state.

Russian ambassador told Moscow that Kushner wanted secret communications channel with Kremlin - The Washington Post# https://t.co/SZVnlO0PxQ

— Janzee (@janicecarlson77) April 25, 2022

A Timeline: Russia and President Trump

Was Trump a Russian Asset? (2/19/2021)

How the KGB Hooked Trump (1/26/2021)

How Paul Manafort promoted Russian disinformation that has been embraced by Trump (8/19/2020)
Washington Post By Rosalind S. Helderman and Tom Hamburger

Russia Secretly Offered Afghan Militants Bounties to Kill U.S. Troops, Intelligence Says (7/29/2020)

This is strong but warranted. We are unilaterally disarming in the face of cyber attacks from Russia and others. There is a fundamental inconsistency between Republican support for a large defense budget and their refusal to back needed cyber defenses. https://t.co/7vksPn77Lv

— Richard N. Haass (@RichardHaass) July 27, 2019

Tell Us, Mr. Sater, About Donald Trump and Vladimir Putinhttps://t.co/2vZmii489l pic.twitter.com/mg7g1ZJfIv

— S-bart (@SalzenBart) July 20, 2020

Trump Pushed CIA to Give Intelligence to Kremlin, While Taking No Action Against Russia Arming Taliban (7/8/2020)

A reminder: Vladimir Putin is a highly trained KGB IO. Putin does not golf. He does not tweet. He does watch RT (Russia's FoxNews). What Putin & his intel services do every waking hour EVERY DAY, is develop & implement clandestine operations targeting the U.S. That's all they do.

— Todd Rowley🇺🇸🌎 (@ToddRowleyPA13) June 29, 2020

Kevin McCarthy, House Majority Leader, "There’s …there’s two people, I think, Putin pays: [California Representative Dana] Rohrabacher and Trump … [laughter] … swear to God. Top Republican was recorded suggesting that Putin pays Trump

I donated to Kim Mangone CA-23. I know @GOPLeader We spoke last fall. I tried to talk sense into him. Asked when he was going to stand up for America. He laughed. Asked why I hated Donald Trump so much. Said it wasn't personal. I just hated lying racist incompetents. @KimMangone https://t.co/rBJJ8gUhH1

— Tom Arnold (@TomArnold) June 13, 2020

Laundering money for Mogilevich (and others) led to donald being owned property of a hostile foreign power(s). There is no realm where the NSA and CIA don’t know this. And since the FBI is in the intelligence game too (a post-9/11 shift), and donald was their guy to begin with, there is no realm where donald doesn’t have a counter-intelligence file a mile long. ... donald is owned. Give Me Secrecy & Give Me Death: An Interview with Lincoln's Bible

Trump met Putin 5x as POTUS, & each time he kept what was said a secret. During his campaign in '16 he sought & received Russia's help, his son in law set-up backchannels w/Kremlin. When he left office he stole top secret docs & Putin invaded Ukraine. Probably all a coincidence.

— NoelCaslerComedy (@caslernoel) September 23, 2022

For the first time EVER, the US government said Russian agent Konstantin Kilimnik provided Russian intelligence agencies with the internal Trump campaign polling/strategy data he received from Manafort and Gates in 2016. Even Mueller didn't go that far. https://t.co/wGNnHdFxRU pic.twitter.com/O9GEjpJ0CG

— Marshall Cohen (@MarshallCohen) April 15, 2021

US Republicans: Putin’s Party? (12/15/2020)

Whistleblower: Told to halt Russia-threat reports (9/9/2020)

Senate report finds Manafort passed campaign data to Russian intelligence officer (8/18/2020)

Download the RUSSIAN ACTIVE MEASURES CAMPAIGNS AND INTERFERENCE IN THE 2016 U.S. ELECTION (966 page pdf) 8/18/2020

A gentle reminder that provoking racial conflict between Americans to weaken the US is a tactical goal the Russian military assault on our 2016 elections sought to achieve. And did. They’re doing the same right now. Trump is their surrogate, don’t forget.

— Xeni Jardin 😷🏠 (@xeni) May 29, 2020

What does Putin have on Trump? (5/2/2020)

18 reasons Trump could be a Russian asset (01/13/2019)

QAnon and the Rise of Crazy Conspiracy Theories https://t.co/da1IBNXKTg

— #TuckFrump (@realTuckFrumper) June 21, 2021

How Russian Money Helped Save Trump’s Business (12/21/2018)

How Russia Helped Swing the Election for Trump (10/1/2018)

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin Releases Report Detailing Two Decades of Putin's Attacks on Democracy, Calling for Policy Changes Ahead of 2018, 2020 Elections (1/10/2018)

The only one who has notes of this meet is Putin with possibly Finland's intelligence. Trump on the other hand operates like Russian mafia who try to leave no evidence of their involvement behind https://t.co/YcqZNewXHX

— Olga Lautman (@olgaNYC1211) June 21, 2020

Timothy Snyder's paraphrased comments to Amanpour

Russians are winning. They want chaos, they want a weak Department of State, they don’t want Americans to investigate Dark Money which allows foreign intervention into elections, they don’t want us to change our basic reliance on fossil fuels which is the basis of the Russian power elite, they don’t want investigation of cyber war which allows foreign intervention in elections. They got it. Timothy Snyder is author of the Road to Unfreedom.

Putin leverages coronavirus chaos to make a direct play to Trump (4/18/2020)

Tinker, Tailor, Mobster, Trump (3/31/2020)

Russian Government Bank Deposited $500 Million into Deutsche Bank Subsidiary as it Lent to Trump (2/4/2020)

Trump Deutsche Bank Loans Underwritten By Russian State-Owned Bank, Whistleblower Told FBI (1/3/2020)

A Russian government-controlled bank deposited at least half a billion dollars into the American subsidiary of Deutsche Bank around the time that the bank lent Trump his most scrutinized loans, according to exclusively obtained confidential bank records.https://t.co/mMCs8tPUim

— LiA (@LibsInAmerica) January 21, 2020

Putin is "attacking the USA" only AS MUCH as the GOP & AMERICAN oligarchs are.

The far-right & oligarchs in Russia, in the USA, & in countries ALL OVER the WORLD united against democracy DECADES ago.

They're consolidating power.

Ruling class & corporate media is misleading us.

— WideMindFierceHeart 🦓 🆘🗽🆘 (@wydmindfeersart) December 10, 2019

“The Russians were the beneficiaries of any withholding of assistance or encouragement to the Ukraine. Again, Putin benefits. The Russians benefited, Putin did, when the president placed some doubt about our commitment to NATO, right from the start of his administration. All roads lead to Putin. Then, the president said, ‘Well, the reason I’m taking the troops out of Syria is because I promised in the campaign to bring the troops home.’ My question to him is, is Saudi Arabia home? Is Saudi Arabia home? […] He said ‘Well, the Saudi Arabians are paying for it.’ Really, we’re putting our troops in harm’s way for Saudi Arabia because they’re paying for it? […] What it did do was cause a meltdown on the part of the president because he was unhappy with those questions.” Nancy Pelosi: All Roads Lead to Putin

Trump Is Blocking New Bipartisan Bill That Punishes Russia For Election Interference.https://t.co/MqJqjBizvD

— Bill Maxwell 🌊 #CountryOverParty (@Bill_Maxwell_) December 20, 2019

Putin’s ‘long game’ is to ‘destroy western democracies’ — and the GOP is helping him: Former CIA officer (12/10/2019)

(Thread) Russia + GOP =💕

Me: “Portions of the GOP are partnering with Russia to achieve their domestic political agenda.”

A person I respect: “I need evidence before I’ll believe that.”

So I put together a sampling of the evidence.

Buckle up. Here we go.

— Teri Kanefield (@Teri_Kanefield) December 14, 2019

“The thing that keeps me up most at night is the president of the United States is an asset to a foreign power. We have no idea the level of damage it’s done until he’s out of office. And what we’re going to find out is all of his sycophants were all out to enrich themselves and probably did decades of damage to the country. Especially to the State Department, it’s non-existent. It can barely issue visas.” Malcolm Nance

A Russian flag flying over a U.S. airbase. @realDonaldTrump is responsible for this. Any questions? https://t.co/glDnEtl29L

— Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) November 18, 2019

the Steele Dossier alleged that the 2016 election operation designed to help Trump win the U.S. presidency was approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin himself. Smolenkov also reported to the CIA that Putin personally gave the green light to Russia’s election attack. Author Of Donald Trump Russia Dossier Speaks Out, Rips Republicans Who ‘Don’t Know What They’re Talking About’ (12/1/2019))

Thank you @SenAngusKing !! https://t.co/zEA5Fqqedc

— LisaB (@6bottoms) December 3, 2019

With Trump, All Roads Lead to Moscow (12/9/2019)

I'm starting to think I was wrong. How can he not be an agent? https://t.co/GqsRJExm5W

— John Sipher (@john_sipher) October 6, 2019

If the only way Trump's business could survive was with borrowed money and they could only do it if they had co-signers and the only people who would co-sign were Russian oligarchs...you get the drift? He was dependent on them. They, very nearly literally, own him.

— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) August 28, 2019

😱😱😱 WWWWWHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!https://t.co/h9a3xmowgg

— Ali Adair #DoTheRightThing 🇺🇸🌎🔥💦🌪️ (@AliAdair22) October 31, 2019

Mitch McConnell Gets His Russia Payoff As Oligarch Invests $200 Million In Kentucky (4/15/2019)

'Information warfare': How Russians interfered in 2016 election (2/16/2018)

McMaster: Evidence is ‘incontrovertible’ that Russia interfered in 2016 election (2/17/2018)

All the known times the Trump campaign met with Russians (11/13/2017)

GOP campaigns took $7.35 million from oligarch linked to Russia (8/2017)

Sometimes the only way to explain / predict Trump's foreign policy is to think "what would Putin want the US to do?" https://t.co/bc67R2TNMy

— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) October 7, 2019

"I had nothing to do with Russia helping me get elected." -Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States

Evgeny Popov, the host of 60 Minutes, the most popular state TV program in Russia as of 2018, is defiant about the findings in the Mueller report. Popov tells me: “Soon, we will help you elect Trump once again. Just like the last time. Get ready!” Julia Davis

#MoscowMitch ?? https://t.co/Y4dZMwDsH5

— Frank Figliuzzi (@FrankFigliuzzi1) August 14, 2019

Trump is a posturing performer, full of idiotic narcissism. He appears to be a disorganized fool, to be honest. Putin, on the other hand, is calculating, organized, and he plans everything. He also hides much of his personal life in a way that Trump does not. Then there's also the fact that Putin is so much more experienced than Trump. He has more than 15 years of global political experience. He knows how to do things, how to work the system. He makes plenty of mistakes, but he knows how to think and act. Trump is a total neophyte. He has no experience and doesn't understand how global politics operates. He displays his ignorance every single day. Mikhail Fishman is the editor-in-chief of the Moscow Times, an English-language weekly newspaper published in Moscow.

As Dr. Hill explained yesterday, when we hear the conspiracy theories coming from the President himself, and echoed by his accomplices, all of this benefits Vladimir Putin. Most of these Republicans must know that. They just don’t seem to care.

— Dan Rather (@DanRather) November 22, 2019

Robert Mueller is a man of few spoken words and chose his words carefully. The ones he left us with are the most important: Russia systematically interfered in our elections. Twitter post by Rep. Ed Markey

[Russian] campaigns have proved that outside meddling by authoritarian powers in deeply divided democracies is relatively easy and strikingly effective, making it very tempting for Russiaś authoritarian peers to follow suit. The End of the Democratic Century, Yasha Mounk and Roberto Stefan Foa

"In his report, special counsel Mueller warned us in the starkest terms that there was an attack on our election and an attack on our democracy," Pelosi said. "Why won't the president defend us from this attack?" Pelosi promises 'ironclad case' against Trump (6/1/2019)

Reminder that the president who seems so quick to attack members of Congress as un-patriotic was elected after soliciting the aid of an enemy,embracing them,defending them & rewarding them-as part of one of the most treacherous acts of betrayal ever by a senior US gov't official.

— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) July 21, 2019

Report: Trump’s Ukraine Extortion Scheme Was Financed by Russians (12/12/2019)

GOP: an entire party of cheap dates for Russian money #MoscowMarsha (11/23/2019)

Counterterrorism expert worries that ‘Putin leads Donald Trump around on a leash’ (11/12/2019)

Open Skies Treaty Allowed Eyes Over Russia; Trump Wants to Give Them Up (10/10/2019)

Donald Trump says Vladimir Putin SHOULD be invited to rejoin G7 (8/20/2019)

Russia Targeted Elections Systems in All 50 States, Report Finds (7/25/2019)

Trump’s Russia Cover-Up By the Numbers – 272 contacts with Russia-linked operatives (4/30/2019)

The Trump Campaign Conspired With the Russians. Mueller Proved It. (4/25/2019)

Russia’s Mueller Report: If Putin Did It, He Did It for You (4/19/2019)

House Democrats probing ‘complex’ links between NRA, Russia (2/18/2019)

Putin must be smiling as he watches Trump carry out his agenda (1/17/2019)

This is strong but warranted. We are unilaterally disarming in the face of cyber attacks from Russia and others. There is a fundamental inconsistency between Republican support for a large defense budget and their refusal to back needed cyber defenses. https://t.co/7vksPn77Lv

— Richard N. Haass (@RichardHaass) July 27, 2019

How Russia Helped Swing the Election for Trump (10/1/2018)

Tomgram: Michael Klare, Trump's Grand Strategy (7/24/2018)

Putin, Trump, and the New Cold War Between Liberalism and White Supremacy (7/21/2018)

A Russian newspaper editor explains how Putin made Trump his puppet (7/16/2018)

Trump Moscow: The Definitive Story Of How Trump’s Team Worked The Russian Deal During The Campaign (5/17/2018)

Putin Hails Sunset of U.S. Global Domination Due To Mounting ‘Mistakes’

Trump and 'collusion': what we know so far about Mueller's Russia investigation (9/18/2018)

The Urgent Question of Trump and Money Laundering (9/9/2018)

America needs to face ongoing Russian assault on democracy

Agents Tried to Flip Russian Oligarchs. The Fallout Spread to Trump. (9/1/2018)

Bruce Ohr Fought Russian Organized Crime. Now He’s a Target of Trump. (8/27/2018)

This image serves as a preposterous piece of disinformation.

Russia hasn't been communist for almost 30yrs! It's evolved into a soft fascist state out of a rapid transition to capitalism.

United States Didn’t Lose the Cold War. Racist Plutocrats Won It. https://t.co/iEb3TSPIay https://t.co/e8ZrE67SoZ

— Antifa(scists) are Human Rights Activists (@wydmindfeersart) July 1, 2020

Putin’s Payout: 10 Ways Trump has Supported Putin’s Foreign Policy Agenda (7/10/2018)

Why Are Republicans Trying to Look Like They Are Conspiring with Russia to Rig the 2018 Election? (7/4/2018)

Senate panel upholds finding that Russia backed Trump, contradicting House (7/3/2018)

Russians and the American right started plotting in 1995. We have the notes from the first meeting. (6/19/2018)

Russia’s Campaign to Help Trump Win Was Just the Start (5/22/2018)

These Countries Have Been the Target of Russian Election Interference (4/25/2018)

Gorbachev Tells US, Russia to 'Return to Sanity' (4/11/2018)

Gangster’s paradise: how organized crime took over Russia (3/23/2018)

The Fake Americans Russia Created to Influence the Election (9/7/2017)

A Second Look at the Steele Dossier (9/6/2017)

Top-Secret NSA Report Details Russian Hacking Effort Days Before 2016 Election (6/5/2017)

Vladimir Putin has a plan for destroying the West—and that plan looks a lot like Donald Trump. (7/4/2016)

Russian strategy has worked well.

I've been struggling with how to tweet about this. If Flynn is referring to a full meeting, it's an earth-shattering revelation: Trump's top NatSec adviser had a full 2015 face-to-face with Putin. If Flynn is just fluffing up sitting next to Putin at dinner, we already knew that. https://t.co/fc3j5zrfvA

— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) July 31, 2019

Rep. Hurd, the TX Republican now retiring, not only accepts Mueller's finding that Russia did interfere in 2016 to help elect Trump, he asked Mueller last week if the Russians have plans for 2020. "It wasn't a single attempt, they're doing it as we sit here," Mueller replied. https://t.co/lWqNvuL1lB

— Robert Mackey (@RobertMackey) August 2, 2019

(Letter to the New York Times 7/4/2018)

This July 4, I wonder if we remain a truly independent country. We are governed by a president who may owe his election to Russian interference and who seems to welcome future efforts by Russia to rig our elections.

That president generally serves Russian interests, not ours. He has fomented division among us; weakened the Western alliance; undermined the democracies’ economic strength through a trade war; ruined our country’s reputation as a haven for the oppressed and the downtrodden; stained America’s honor by lying and breaking agreements; paid homage to President Vladimir V. Putin and other dictators; and attacked the rule of law and freedom of the press.

Many congressional Republicans have acted like blackmailed Russian apparatchiks, not the lawmakers of an independent Republic. I hope that this Fourth of July prompts reflection on the value of our independence and freedom and a determination to fight to preserve it.

DAVID M. DRIESEN FAYETTEVILLE, N.Y.

The writer is a university professor of constitutional law and environmental law at Syracuse University.

Treasonous behavior!!! GOP are Putin stooges and puppets!!!! https://t.co/yd3wz6kQQz

— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) August 17, 2019

Formerly, a perception of a hostile Russia was justification for the US immense military budget, but Russia no longer seems a prime US enemy since Trump has been unwilling to criticize them. To sustain the economic bubble of militarization, the US needed to create a hostile enemy.

It is important to have a credible enemy to sustain the world’s largest military. But it is no longer the Soviet Union, so hostility has shifted to ISIS, North Korea or Iran. Hawks have been appointed to senior positions. The US prepares for war expanding weaponry as its diplomatic corps is hollowed out, and infrastructure decays.

Democracy is in retreat world-wide, not only in the US. Fascism has come home. Seems we lost WWII.

We should insist that the UN Charter, which we ratified, be observed. No war unless we are attacked. Preemptive war is a crime. So are human rights abuses, like torture. Congress needs to reclaim war power and revoke the AUMF that allows endless war.

Trump literally shared classified secrets with Lavrov and Kislyak while in the Oval Office. Imagine what is going on now! pic.twitter.com/j9TRoMHYo5

— Amy Siskind 🏳️‍🌈 (@Amy_Siskind) September 7, 2022

Gorbachev's Greatest Hits (3/2/2021)

Russia interfered in the 2016 election. The NRA was inadvisably close to two Russian figures leading up to the 2016 election.
But the FEC’s Republicans voted to close an investigation into whether Russians helped direct the NRA’s 2016 political donations. https://t.co/o0VLgyDIPS

— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) August 24, 2019

From Russia with love: why the Kremlin backs Trump

Accused NSA leaker wants to subpoena states, cybersecurity firms and federal agencies (4/1/2018)

From Thai Jail, Sex Coaches Say They Want to Trade U.S.-Russia Secrets for Safety (4/2/2018)

Russia Wanted Trump to Win. And It Wanted to Get Caught. (2/17/2018)

Trump, Putin, and the New Cold War: What lay behind Russia’s interference in the 2016 election—and what lies ahead? (3/6/2017)

Christopher Steele, the Man Behind the Trump Dossier (Jane Mayer: New Yorker )

These Reports Allege Trump Has Deep Ties To Russia (1/10/2017)

Answers like this present the possibility that our president is either a stooge or an idiot. But I think at this point, we should not rule out the possibility that he is both. https://t.co/FDjPNP6v1x

— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) August 26, 2019

Video

The Worldwide War On The Truth

Love Hillary, hate Hillary, whatever. But that moment in the debate where she called Donald Trump Putin’s puppet is going to go down in history. She wasn’t afraid to speak the damn truth, in public, to his orange face. #Whistleblower

— Andrea Junker (@Strandjunker) September 19, 2019

Bibliography

Infektion’s Evolution: Digital Technologies and Narrative Laundering (12/15/2023)

Review of “American Kompromat: How the KGB Cultivated Donald Trump, and Related Tales of Sex, Greed, Power, and Treachery” by Craig Unger

Compromised, Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump: Peter Strzok

Cyberwar: How Russian Hackers and Trolls Helped Elect a President by Kathleen Hall Jamieson

American Kompromat: How the KGB Cultivated Donald Trump, and Related Tales of Sex, Greed, Power, and Treachery, by Craig Unger.

‘PUTIN’S PEOPLE: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West’ By Catherine Belton

House of Trump, house of Putin: the untold story of Donald Trump and the Russian mafia by Craig Unger

DARK TOWERS, Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump, and an Epic Trail of Destruction By David Enrich

Collusion: Secret Meetings, Dirty Money, and how Russia Helped Donald Trump Win by Luke Harding

Hiding in plain sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America, Sarah Kendzior

There is Nothing For You Here by Fiona Hill

Putin’s People. How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West By Catherine Belton

Proof of Collusion, How Trump Betrayed America: by Seth Abramson

Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on America and the Election of Donald Trump: David Corn and Michael Isikoff

RUSSIAN ACTIVE MEASURES CAMPAIGNS AND INTERFERENCE IN THE 2016 U.S. ELECTION (11/10/2020) Senate Report

The Plot to Hack America: Malcolm Nance

RIGGED, America, Russia, and One Hundred Years of Covert Electoral Interference By David Shimer

The Plot to Destroy Democracy: How Putin and His Spies Are Undermining America and Dismantling the West: Malcolm Nance.

Facts and Fears, Hard Truths from a Life in Intelligence by James R. Clapper

Collusion: How Russia Helped Trump Win the White House: Luke Harding

Russian Roulette, Michael Isikoff and David Corn ...review: as Joe Biden said, 'If this is true, it's treason'

The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia: Masha Gessen

Kremlin Rising: Vladimir Putin’s Russia and the End of Revolution: Peter Baker and Susan Glasser

Putin's Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia? Karen Dawisha Sep 22, 2015

Russia's Crony Capitalism: The Path from Market Economy to Kleptocracy: Anders Åslund" (Yale UP, May 2019)

The Vory: Russia’s Super Mafia: Mark Galeotti,

Cyberwar, How Russian Hackers and Trolls Helped Elect a President - What We Don't, Can't, and Do Know: Kathleen Hall Jamieson

Trump/Russia : a definitive history, Seth Hettena

Proof of Conspiracy: how Trump's international collusion is threatening American democracy: Seth Abramson

From Soviets to Oligarchs: Inequality and Property in Russia, 1905-2016 by Filip Novokmet, Thomas Piketty & Gabriel Zucman

BREAKING- Huge tell from Putin's spokesman showing fear of more Trump conversations being exposed. Putin & Trump plotting over Russia retaking Ukraine will come out. Expect multiple news bombs to drop while a focused impeachment investigation is happening https://t.co/QjRGkZT1Ap

— Tom Joseph (@TomJChicago) September 27, 2019