1. You read that correctly. Kushner was warned that Wendi Deng Murdoch (yes, as in Rupert Murdoch's ex wife) was, in fact, using him to push Chinese agenda.
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2. The warning happened in "early 2017" according to WSJ. U.S. officials have also had "concerns" about a counterintelligence assessment on Deng-Murdoch's lobbying for a high-profile construction project funded by the Chinese govt in D.C.
3. In detail, the project is a $100 mln Chinese garden at National Arboretum. Guess what? It was deemed a national-security risk bc it included a 70-foot-tall white tower that "could potentially be used for surveillance. NOO, you don't say?
4. Best part: The garden was "planned on one of the higher patches of land near downtown Washington, less than FIVE miles from both the Capitol and the White House". I mean really? You think that is concerning? I think that's putting it mildly.
5. Counterintelligence officials were all "well you're new to govt, you need to be careful in your dealings with people whose interests may not align with those of the US". Of course, Kushner's OWN interests align with CHINA, so we have a WITTLE problem here.
6. Now for the comic relief. Ms. Murdoch's spox "she has no knowledge of any FBI concerns or other intelligence agency concerns relating to her/her associations". LIKE THEY ARE GOING TO TELL YOU before they have nailed you, genius. 😂
7. Ms. Murdoch's spox added "she has absolutely no knowledge of any garden projects funded by the Chinese government". Just LOL.
8. Now onto the JARED AND IVANKA rep talking, and describing the warning about Murdoch as a "routine senior staff security briefing". I can't even comment, seriously.
9. But wait it gets better. Rep. says Kushner "Has complied with all ethics and disclosure recommendations and has played a helpful role in strengthening the US-China relationship, so as to help bring about a better resolution tot he many issues the countries have."
10. The NERVE it takes to talk about "complying with ethics and disclosure" re: Kushner, who's had to amend his forms a thousand times, I won't even get into.
11. But the best part is the strengthening of US-China relationships". NO FREAKING KIDDING! He is under investigation for selling the Chinese VISAS in exchange for $500k investments! HOW so helpful.
12. US Officials "have been concerned about Chinese govt efforts to use people with close ties to the administration and with interests or family in China to try to influence policy." Shocking. NOT.
13. An example. RNC finance chairman Steve Wynn whose Macau casinos can't operate without a license from the Chinese territory, last year delivered a letter to Trump from Chinese govt about an alleged fugitive that Beijing wants the US to return." Oh. OH.
14. Wait, you mean to tell me that even the RNC is involved in this Chinese do ut des entangled web? Noo, I would NEVER have guessed. Naturally, a rep for the RNC finance chairman denies the episode. Sure, one just makes up such a specific thing. 🙄
15. Now, to have a clear idea of just how close Ms.Murdoch is to #JAVANKA, Ivanka served as a trustee for funds set aside for the children of Rupert and Wendi Murdoch, and she only stepped down in Dec. 2016.
16. Seriously, if I put this stuff about their "friendship" in a screenplay as a plot point, I'd be told it's either far too obvious or preposterous.
17. Now considering Ivanka's TRUSTEE role, hear what the Javanka rep said "they've been friends with Rupert & Wendi Murdoch for a decade before coming to DC & their relationship is neither political nor about China. " Dude, WHO do you think you're fooling??
18. So this Chinese garden project in DC had been planned for more than a decade as a symbol of "goodwill between the two countries" :O YEAH, let's give them a tower to spy on us, THAT is real goodwill!
19. Counterintelligence concerns caused the project to be shelved, say two people familiar with matter. Reps for USDA and Chinese Embassy say they continued to work on the project. But no work can be detected at the supposed site.
20. Ms. Murdoch "has previously surfaced on the radar of counterintelligence professionals, according to person familiar with issue". No, really? Think being Murdoch's ex wife and PUTIN'S rumored girlfriend is enough to grant monitoring?
21. Wendi Deng-Murdoch introduced Jared and Ivanka, it is said. She's Murdoch's ex wife and Putin's "girlfriend". They are SUPER close with her. Think that raises a red flag or ten?
22. Naturally, instead of bringing up her apparent relationship with Putin, the WSJ brings up a supposed relationship with Tony Blair, that no one cares about as it provides ZERO current problem and it's come and gone.
23. To sum it up: Ms. Deng-Murdoch has her paws everywhere politically and financially, counterintelligence believes she is a potential agent of Chinese influence, but hey IT IS ALL GOOD, bc the Kushners and her are DEAR FRIENDS, nothing to do with the rest! Sure, Jan.
24. What's interesting here though is that this introduces a new VERY big player officially (WE HAVE talked about her before, but MSM hasn't, not in these terms anyway) in "counterintelligence" topics. Meaning Mueller has been all over this.
25. Considering the investigation for Kushner's "investment-for-visas" program, his MANY secret meetings with Russians, his idea to create a BACK CHANNEL w/Russia using Russian facilities, his multiple failures do disclose things in official forms? His goose is cooked.
26. This new counterintelligence concern story re: Kushner just introduces the China topic in a big way AND ties in Ivanka as well. It's all about understanding how far their crimes go and how much Mueller is looking at.
27. All in all, an excellent way to start the week for us, and a very bad way to do so for Jared & Ivanka AND Dondon... whose Chinese affairs are FAR from foreign to the mess. Keep watching this, bc #MuellerIsComing /END.
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1. Simon Kukes, a Houston-based oil executive, sent an email to a Russian official in Moscow in July 2016, boasting of his connections to Trump campaign and requesting a face-to-face meeting. The official is Vyacheslav Pavlovsky, a former Russian ambassador to Norway.
2. NBC HAS THE EMAILS. Kukes wrote to Pavlovsky" I have been actively involved in Trump's election campagn, and am part of the group on strategy deveopment. I will be in Switzerland July 20 to Aug. 2. Let me know how you are doing and whether you want to meet." Oh. OH.
3. NBC obtained emails through a London-based investigative project funded by MIkhail Khodorkovsky, a Russian opposition figure. The Dossier Center gathers information to try to expose high-level corruption in Moscow. NBC reviewed the emails in conjunction with The Guardian.
1. MANAFORT AGREED TO PLEA DEAL WITH MUELLER. Politely bear in mind, no matter what we actually SEE of this, given the evidence Mueller has, there's NO WAY Mueller entered a plea deal without meaningful cooperation. The cooperation part? Can easily be sealed.
2. This means Manafort could easily do the same as Cohen. Just plead guilty to n. counts, and we don't see any "cooperation" agreement. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist. The two can easily be separated, with the cooperation agreement sealed for obvious reasons here.
3. I absolutely don't think the news about the "joint defense agreement" is current and I also think it is being put out for a specific reason. It's clear that there's been coordinated effort to make everyone think Manafort won't "flip" . That's the easiest way to protect him.
1. Manafort is INDEED in talks with prosecutors (MEANING MUELLER bc HE is the prosecutor in this case) about a possible plea deal. BLOOP, people. BLOOP!
2. Two people familiar with the matter "cautioned that the negotiations may not result in a deal with special counsel Robert Mueller". Naturally, bc there won't be a deal unless Manafort sings like the birdiest birdie that has ever sung.
3. "But the discussions indicate a possible shift in strategy for Manafort" No kidding. When the prospect of the rest of his life in prison materialized, Manafort finally saw that oopsie, he was cornered and if he ever wanted to enjoy life again? Best to talk to Mueller, stat.
2. The details of the story are BEYOND disgusting but pay attention to this detail that former Playmate Shera Bechard cites in her LAWSUIT against Broidy: "Bechard recalled Broidy telling her that he admired Trump’s "uncanny ability to sexually abuse women and get away with it.""
3. "Among Bechard’s allegations are that Broidy refused to wear condoms and didn’t disclose to her that he had genital herpes until years after their sexual relationship, according to a court filing. "
Not even going to comment.
1. Bruce Ohr is the Justice Department lawyer who was told by Christopher Steele that Russian intelligence believed it had Trump "over a barrel". Start seeing why Trump is going after him?
2. These details pertain to a breakfast that happened on July 30, 2016. Ohr described the breakfast to CONGRESS this week in a private interview. And that's how the GOP Trump lackeys went to tell Trump, he found out and decided he can't have a witness at DoJ.
3. So if Trump so much as THINKS of touching Bruce Ohr, that is direct obstruction of justice, and his tweets already constitute witness tampering. AND everyone in Congress who was present at the interview KNOWS that. Just so you know who to hold accountable.
1. What Cohen's actually explosive knowledge of facts covers, that can make the entire house of cards crash: the hacking and the Trump Tower meeting, both of which TRUMP KNEW about and in the hacking case, an event Trump even encouraged.
2. In the case of the hacking, there's a $50,000 mysterious payment Cohen made to an undisclosed tech company to help the Trump campaign, that awfully sounds like the arrangements the Steele dossier says Cohen made to pay off Russian hackers "without it being traced".
3. Cohen's lawyer Lanny Davis specifically said on @maddow that Cohen has knowledge about the hacking that is of interest for Mueller. And the detail of the tech company payment emerged from the indictment. If the connection is accurate (and it seems like it is), this is huge.