Oh shit: "APNewsBreak: Flynn details tie to data firm, transition pay"

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, is revealing a brief advisory role with a firm related to a controversial data analysis company that aided the Trump campaign, The Associated Press has learned.

The disclosure of Flynn’s link to Cambridge Analytica will come in an amended public financial filing in which the retired U.S. Army lieutenant general also discloses income that includes payments from the Trump transition team, according to a person close to Flynn who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity Thursday to describe details of the filing made to the White House.

The amended disclosure shows that just before the end of the campaign, Flynn entered into a consulting agreement with SCL Group, a Virginia-based company related to Cambridge Analytica, the data mining and analysis firm that worked with Trump’s campaign.

https://www.apnews.com/a250d1088af44a3b8b55275dc97de608

[BigmanPigman]

1. Does that imply actual computer hacking?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

2. No. nt

[Eyeball_Kid]

3. Am I missing something? This looks like a routine financial disclosure. Perhaps late in coming,

but nonetheless...

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

4. With this bunch it's either total incompetence, best case scenario. Or

they're hiding something.

[tparrett62]

5. It allows Mueller to investigate Cambridge Analytica

If he's investigating Flynn, which he is, and Flynn had dealings with CA, which he now acknowledged, it frees up Mueller to see what Cambridge may have been involved in, which many suspect is substantial. From what I understand, Cambridge Analytica was doing a lot of data mining on Facebook, using that info to channel the actual "fake news" to voters who could be swayed. I think this is a big deal, and it adds two more folks who aren't used to having to answer to anyone into the mix. This is good news for the good guys, IMO.

[SHRED]

6. CA could very well be a motherlode of intel

I hope Mueller is on them in a big way.

[SergeStorms]

8. Maybe Russia......

or one of their shell companies bought date from CA as well. This is what bugs me about Trump's requests for voter information from each state. Having all of that information in one data packet, and the Trump administration's propensity for playing fast and loose with rules and laws, opens up a possibility of them providing this to "unfriendly" groups who might want to specifically target certain voters.
I'm suspect of EVERYTHING this mal-administration does.

[Wellstone ruled]

9. Was not this Company merged or sold to a Russian Tech Company?

[orleans]

10. from may

"A spokesperson for Cambridge Analytica says the company has no ties to Russia or individuals acting as fronts for Moscow and that it is unaware of the probe."

http://time.com/4783932/inside-russia-social-media-war-america/

who knows if that is actually true

[Gabi Hayes]

18. So, in other words, mr Mueller, dig away!

🔬⛏🔍🔐🇷🇺

[Duppers]

12. Wikipedia page on this company....

Their activities

"After an initial commercial success, SCL expanded into military and political arenas. It became known for alleged involvement "in military disinformation campaigns to social media branding and voter targeting".[5] According to its website, SCL has participated in over 25 international political and electoral campaigns since 1994.

SCL’s involvement in the political world has been primarily in the developing world where it has been used by the military and politicians to study and manipulate public opinion and political will. It uses what have been called “psy ops” to provide insight into the thinking of the target audience.[4] SCL claims to have been successful to help foment coups.[5] According to its website, SCL has influenced elections in Italy, Latvia, Ukraine, Albania, Romania, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Mauritius, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Colombia, Antigua, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, St. Kitts & Nevis, Trinidad & Tobago.[2] While the company initially got involved in elections in the United Kingdom, it ceased to do so after 1997 because staff members did not exhibit the same "aloof sensibility" as with projects abroad.

SCL formed Cambridge Analytica to participate in the election process in the United States.[7] It entered the U.S. market in 2012, and was involved in 44 U.S. congressional, US Senate and state-level elections in the 2014 midterm elections.[1] In 2015 it was disclosed that the company had entered the Republican Party presidential primaries, 2016, primarily in support of Ted Cruz. CA is heavily funded by hedge-fund billionaire Robert Mercer, a major supporter of Cruz and then Donald Trump.

To borrow a phrase from a 2005 Slate article, this is Psy-ops propaganda gone mainstream. I feel like a shower after reading this:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/dispatches/2005/09/you_cant_handle_the_truth.html

This is legal and being paid with our tax dollars. Making Henry Kissinger proud.

[VermontKevin]

15. CA is the fucking motherlode.

[Volaris]

17. Yep. And it's why Bannon has a job in the WH,

Because he owned?/was a managing partner in CA.

[Lucinda]

7. KNR Thank you!

[deminks]

11. See additional story here

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029411052

[Duppers]

14. Thanks. Definitely worth the read. 👍

[mr_lebowski]

13. I have a pet theory ... Cambridge identified the social media feeds of 'vulnerable' voters ...

The Trump Tower server ... connected Cambridge's data collection efforts with Alfa Bank ... told Alfa Bank which ads to pay for ... then Alfa (Russian Bank) told the Russians ... we paid for the ad's, now place them!

Trump campaign idiots thought they'd established enough abstraction layers that they could claim to know NOTHING about the fake news feeds ... even though the server providing the data link was in fucking Trump Tower ...

That server is going to be their ultimate downfall. Unless the Repukes in Congress refuse to be patriotic Americans, and prefer to sidle up to Mother Russia instead.

The fact that Flynn took paid work from Cambridge? Just icing on the cake. If you think for one second that a BIG REASON they cut Flynn loose wasn't the Cambridge tie ... I got a bridge to sell ya. Manafort was fired as campaign chair for basically the same damn reason ... Trump wants to make it look like all collusion was happening w/o his knowing ANYTHING about it, just a buncha loose cannons he 'shouldn't have trusted' ... when the real shit comes down.

Furthermore ... BANNON just took down Scaramucci, I promise you that. Bannon, with his CA ties ... HAS THE GOODS on Trump, big time. Mooch just fumbled into a snake pit w/o knowing shit about what's what. His comment about Bannon is what got him fired, and that's because Bannon owns Trump just as much as Pootie-Poot does. He PUT HIM THERE, and Trump knows it.

[Duppers]

16. Your "pet theory" is on the money.

Imho.

Background reading helps, doesn't it. We know TRump is not smart enough to figure this all out, that he is but a pawn in this game.

And you pose THE big question: "Will Repukes in Congress refuse to be patriotic Americans...?" Or be soulless sellouts per usual? May depend on TRump's numbers; after all, their goal is staying in business.


I need a drink to get back to sleep.

[lindysalsagal]

19. Isn't the association just another example of GOP grift? Flynn was bought and paid for

through this "data analysis" crap? As a white house official, Flynn should not have gotten financial kickbacks, period.

[WhiteTara]

20. Oh Goody! They just linked the Mercers into

the whole sordid affair! Yeah!