Reminder: the disgraced former Skadden lawyer, Alex van der Zwaan pleaded GUILTY to lying to the Feds (a felony) and he also DESTROYED & failed to produce requested documents.🤨
And van der Zwaan is a LAWYER, so he *knew* his actus were ILLEGAL‼️ 2/
van der Zwaan LIED & tried to cover up CRIMINAL acts by Manafort & Gates (money laundering, #FARA violations, etc) relating to their unreported work as foreign agents for Ukraine, specifically regarding Yulia Tymoshenko.🤔 3/
Yulia Tymoshenko is pro-Western & became Ukraine’s prime minister in 2007👉🏼tried to shut down #Russian🇷🇺money laundering & corruption.
Manafort/Gates lobbied US politicians in a SMEAR campaign against Tymoshenko, who was FALSELY imprisoned‼️ 4/
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(Note: my plane soon will land, so I may lose internet unexpectedly.) 5/
Back to van der Zwaan, who LIED about his communications w/Gates (who flipped) & w/a “Ukrainian business associate of Manafort & Gates = “Person A.”
v.d. Zwaan was *warned* that it’s a CRIME to LIE & he could go to JAIL. Plus he’s a LAWYER, so he has ZERO excuse‼️ 6/
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Now you get why these people are LYING and trying to COVER UP👉🏼they *know* that they were engaged in illicit & likely illegal acts with a #Russian🇷🇺intelligence officer‼️ 8/
van der Zwaan lied & denied communicating w/Kilimnik (Person A), then claimed he had no idea why he didn’t produce an email Kilimnik sent to his LAW FIRM email address to the government.🙄
Kilimnik told v.d.Zwaan to use WhatsApp or Telegram.🤨 9/
Ummm...so this is SHADY. van der Zwaan LIED & tried to COVER UP the fact that he discussed using encrypted communication apps w/the *known* #Russian🇷🇺intel officer, Kilmnik‼️ 10/
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🔥van der Zwaan had MULTIPLE calls w/Gates & Person A/Kilimnik (and the firm’s lead partner) in Sept & Oct on potential CRIMINAL charges in Ukraine for them about the Tymoshenko SMEAR report, and how the firm was paid for its work. 11/
💣 van der Zwaan RECORDED his calls w/with Gates, Kilimnik, and the senior partner who worked on the Tymoshenko report, b/c they were so “memorable.”🤨
And Mueller has ALL of these recordings‼️🤗 12/
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Sorry, friends. Need to take a break for a bit, because we just landed.
Will pick up this thread on “van der SWAMP” in a bit, after I hug the kids and puppies.🤗❤️ 12/
van der Swamp spoke #Russian🇷🇺in his RECORDED call w/Kilmnik (Person A).🙄
Kilimnik said “there were additional payments,” “[t]he official contract was only a part of the iceberg,” and the story may become a blow for “you and me personally.”🤨
YUP😎13/
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v.d.Swamp’s law firm was paid >$5 million for the Tymoshenko report via 3rd-party payments by a Ukrainian oligarch, laundered through a Manafort & Gates Cypriot account.🤨
The potential criminal case was that the then-government of Ukraine allegedly LIED about the payments.🙄14/
Of course, the media has reported on this👇🏼
v.d.Swamp *knew* that Kilmnik was a “former” GRU (#Russian🇷🇺military intel) officer.🤨
Laundered money, secret talks w/#Russian🇷🇺intelligence officer👉🏼NOT NORMAL and NOT LEGAL‼️ 15/
v.d.Swamp also was shady during his work on the Tymoshenko (Ukraine opposition leader) SMEAR report.🙄
His law firm decided NOT to hire a PR firm👉🏼they did NOT file #FARA, so they wanted to hide their association w/the report, commissioned by Ukraine‼️16/
Although his law firm CLEARLY told him NOT to share the SMEAR report w/the PR firm hired by Ukraine, one witness says v.d.Swamp had “gone native”👉🏼grown too close to Manafort, Gates & Kilimnik.🤨
Meaning: v.d.Swamp was turned into a #Russian🇷🇺agent‼️17/
This latest filing for v.d.Swamp raises some *serious* concerns on the legality (or lack thereof) of #Skadden law firm doing work for the gov’t of Ukraine w/o filing #FARA, and receiving cash LAUNDERED thru Manafort/Gates’ bank account in Cyprus‼️ 18/
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Despite CLEAR instruction NOT to share the report w/Ukraine’s PR firm, of course, v.d.Swamp *leaked* a copy to them. He also coached Gates on talking points on how to SPIN the report.🤨
Then he LIED to his firm’s senior partner about it.🙄 19/
🔥Mueller twists the knife & tells the judge that v.d.Swamp is LOADED & can “pay any fine” b/c he’s the son-in-law of German Khan, the #Russian🇷🇺oligarch co-founder of AlfaGroup (which includes AlfaBank, whose server communicated w/Trump Tower).🤨
Another “coincidence”⁉️20/
👇🏼EXACTLY👇🏼
Mueller also reminds the judge that v.d.Swamp LIED and only started telling the truth AFTER he was confronted w/the evidence against him & does “not deserve credit for adhering to the law.”🙄 21/
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Mueller continues to CRUSH v.d.Swamp, essentially saying that he DESERVED to be fired from Skadden law firm b/c he LIED & withheld/destroyed documents, which are FELONIES & faces other punishment (disbarment, etc)‼️🤗
NONE of this negates CRIMINAL punishment.😎22/
Mueller also adds that although v.d.Swamp’s wife is pregnant (I feel for her!), this should NOT impact criminal sentencing.🤨
Besides, the recommended sentence would actually allow v.d.Swamp to return to the UK for the birth of his child in Aug’18.🤔 23/
Expect more fallout for Skadden (potential #FARA violations) and Manafort (too many alleged crimes for 280 characters).😎
ANYONE involved w/this Tymoshenko smear job, or ANY other “business” w/Manafort had better call their lawyer‼️
Trump's deputy campaign chair Rick Gates solicited proposals (#felony) from Israeli firm Psy Group to create fake online personas, use social media manipulation & gather intel to help defeat @GOP primary opponents (@tedcruz) & @HillaryClinton🤨1/ nytimes.com/2018/10/08/us/…
Gates wasn't interested in Psy Group b/c other Trump aides oversaw social media. George Nader & Joel Zamel (Psy Group owner) met w/Don Jr & offered to help *THROW THE ELECTION* at an Aug'16 meeting arranged by Erik Prince‼️
George Birnbaum (Arthur Finkelstein protégé/@GOP consultant who worked for Netanyahu & other Israeli officials) initially pitched Gates on using social media influence/manipulation to sway @GOP delegates toward Trump.🤨 3/
🔥@GOP operative Peter Smith raised >$100,000 to pay #Russian🇷🇺hackers to find Clinton’s emails. 10 days after telling his story to the @WSJ, he committed suicide, yet a friend spoke w/him about a new project hours before his death & says he was “excited.” wsj.com/articles/gop-o…
Smith continued his quest for HRC’s emails *after* the US warned of #Russian🇷🇺interference & went to extraordinary lengths to ensure secrecy, communicating via saved DRAFT (unsent) emails in a shared Gmail account.🤨
🔥One sent email said the >$100k in donations were to be sent to a DC-based scholarship fund for **Russian students**👉🏼“This $100k total with the $50k received from you (Smith) will allow us to fund the Washington Scholarship Fund for the Russian students for the promised $150K.”
We Democrats realize that you are in a tough re-election battle, but backing #Kavanaugh only brings you more scorn from the @GOP and erodes your much-needed support from @TheDemocrats base.
Connie Chung to Dr. Ford: “I, too, was sexually assaulted—not 36 years ago but ~50 years ago. I kept my dirty little secret to myself. Silence for 5 decades...The exact date & year are fuzzy. But details of the event are vivid—forever seared in my memory.” washingtonpost.com/amphtml/opinio…
Connie Chung: “Christine, I, too, am terrified as I reveal this publicly. I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. Can you? If you can’t, I understand. I am frightened, I am scared, I can’t even cry.”😰
Chung: “I wish I could forget this truthful event, but I cannot because it is the truth. I am writing to you b/c I know that exact dates, exact years are insignificant. We remember exactly what happened to us & who did it to us. We remember the truth forever.”
Charles Ludington, a former varsity basketball player & friend of #Kavanaugh at @Yale plans to deliver a statement to the @FBI field office in Raleigh on Monday detailing **violent drunken behavior** by Kavanaugh in college. 1/
Ludington says #Kavanaugh initiated a fight that led to the ARREST of a friend: “When Brett got drunk, he was often belligerent & aggressive...” 2/
“On one of the last occasions I purposely socialized with Brett, I witnessed him respond to a semi-hostile remark, not by defusing the situation, but by throwing his beer in the man’s face and starting a fight that ended with one of our mutual friends in jail.”😳 3/
Rod Rosenstein suggested last year that he secretly record Trump to expose "chaos" consuming the administration & discussed recruiting cabinet members to invoke the #25thAmendment.
Will Trump use this as an excuse to fire Rosenstein⁉️
Rosenstein made his remarks about the #25thAmendment & secretly recording Trump in meetings & conversations w/other DOJ & FBI officials. Several people (briefed either on the events themselves or on memos written by FBI officials, including McCabe) described the episodes.🤨
Rosenstein reportedly told McCabe that he might be able to persuade Jeff Sessions & John Kelly to mount an effort to invoke the #25thAmendment.
All of these incidents allegedly occurred around the time that @Comey was fired. Rosenstein was very distressed & felt he was used.🤔