Where Lies The Truth?

Chip Franklin thinks he knows:

Hamilton’s greatest fear was a foreign power controlling our president. A prescient warning for Trumpers; he cares not a fuck for you. pic.twitter.com/WSHakyPxkk

— Chip Franklin (@chipfranklin) November 24, 2019

Putting Things Into Perspective

You can always count on Chip Franklin to deliver:

Afghan vet Lt Col Vindman said he felt safe going up against Trump because this was America. A good day for the good guys. And for the good woman as well, who stood toe to toe with capt Wafflecock and said, “that’s all you got bitch?” pic.twitter.com/0Paqz6af1Y

— Chip Franklin (@chipfranklin) November 19, 2019

Oh, Those Republican Enablers

Given the absurdity of the world these days, my passion for writing about it has waned. Fortunately, Chip Franklin provides ample material to fill the void that my blog is becoming:

Trump has lied over 14K times, but that's not the worst of it. pic.twitter.com/5sSmjn4nmG

— Chip Franklin (@chipfranklin) November 17, 2019

Quid Pro Quo: More From Chip Franklin

There's nothing I need to write here:

Quid pro quo is “You fix my window, I fix your door.” Extortion? “You do the thing, or I throw you thru the door.” ⁦@PodSaveAmerica⁩ @Kokomothegreat
⁦⁦@TomArnold⁩
⁦@girlsreallyrule⁩@juliehdavis@shearm
⁦@McFaul⁩ @PattyArquette
⁦@shannonrwatts⁩ pic.twitter.com/b8uKx1SD7D

— Chip Franklin (@chipfranklin) November 16, 2019

Trump's Twitter Tantrum

Historian Alan Lichtman rails about the obvious corruption surrounding the entire Ukrainian extortion effort by Trump, and is stunned by his live tweeting while former Ambassador Yavanovitch was testifying at his impeachment hearing. But will Teflon Don suffer any real consequences for either his witness intimidation or his extortion?

For The Stupid, This Is Just Another Attack On Their Idol

For the rest of us, the following is not only a summation of Trump's duplicity over his efforts to extort the Ukrainians for personal political advantage, but also an indictment of his spineless defenders and the willingness of his slavish devotees to entirely suspend disbelief:

I want to take a moment to talk about logic and facts. Because the president and his defenders have tried to confuse and muddy the waters. So we’re going to help you out: pic.twitter.com/9Sda2qEb0y

— Ana Cabrera (@AnaCabrera) November 10, 2019

A Damning Documentary

Active Measures is the name of a new documentary about Donald Trump and his ties to the Russian mob. It is also a term used to describe a series of covert measures (Twitter examples of which you can find here) Russia uses to influence global policies. According to documentary-film maker Jack Bryan, Trump was the perfect vehicle for the latter.

Active Measures shows how foreign investments made by Russian oligarchs bolster the Kremlin's ambitions to exert influence in the west. The key is money laundering — the export of Russian wealth with the knowledge and approval of Putin.

In an interview with Day 6's Brent Bambury, which includes a podcast, Jack Bryan says that Russian money-laundering efforts with Trump go back to at least 1985:

"He sells three condos to a man named David Bogatin, who's a Russian mobster," Bryan says. "This is in Trump Tower. And the reason they did Trump Tower is that it was the second building in New York where a shell company could purchase a condominium. And so it makes it much more easy to launder dirty money."

When the fortunes of the self-described real-estate genius begin to falter, the Russians go for the kill:

"Once he loses out in Atlantic City, once he can't get a loan from a bank, that's when the Russian mafia says: 'We have an opportunity here,'" says Bryan.

That's when Trump becomes less of a partner for Russian mobsters and more of a mark.

Bryan's film alleges that Trump needed Russian mob money to reinvent himself after his disastrous string of bankruptcies. Without it, the film alleges, he would never have won the presidency.

"The Russians saved him. They rescued him. He would not have gotten back in business without them," journalist Craig Unger says in the film.

Essentially, as revealed in the following, the Russian mob is an arm of the Russian government:


Trump's bankruptcies multiplied; the Russians were presented with an unparalleled opportunity, and Bayrock Group moved into Trump Tower:

"Bayrock Group is a Russian real estate firm. The manager was this guy Felix Sater, and he is very connected to the Russian mafia," Bryan says.

Sater, a convicted felon, also has ties to Trump's recently fired attorney, Michael Cohen. Bryan says Cohen entered the Trump organization at the same time as Bayrock.

"Cohen is childhood friends with Felix Sater. They went on their first date together," Bryan says. "They did a lot of business together."

Bayrock operated from offices two floors below Trump's and partnered with him on a wide variety of real estate deals from 2002 to 2011. Bryan says Bayrock likely didn't see Trump as a political player or a potential president. They saw him as a shield.

"I think, at that point, they're seeing him as: he's a really famous guy and it's great cover because nobody's going to question a lot of money going into the Trump organization. And they knew that he needed the money. And also they knew he's really litigious. And so it would be really hard to go after him. And I think that he just became this sort of perfect place to stash money."

Through this period, Sater remained in contact with his old friend Michael Cohen. A series of emails between the two, written during the campaign, appeared last year in the New York Times.

The FBI raided Michael Cohen's office and home on April 9th. Bryan says it could mark turning point in the investigation of the president.

Al Capone was ultimately imprisoned due to tax evasion.The noose around Trump is tightening, and he may well go down, not for campaign collusion with the Russians, but for the more prosaic crime of money laundering.

And given what he knows, Michael Cohen should be very, very careful of what he eats and drinks well into the future.

We're In Impeachment Territory

Most right-thinking individuals (i.e., not Trump acolytes) would, I suspect, agree with David Gergen here.