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AZProgressive

AZProgressive's Journal
AZProgressive's Journal
October 27, 2017

Conservative Website First Funded Anti-Trump Research by Firm That Later Produced Dossier

WASHINGTON — The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative website funded by a major Republican donor, was the first to hire the firm that conducted opposition research on Donald J. Trump — including a salacious dossier describing ties between Mr. Trump and the Russian government — website representatives told the House Intelligence Committee on Friday.

According to people briefed on the conversation, the website hired the firm, Fusion GPS, in October 2015 to unearth damaging information about several Republican presidential candidates, including Mr. Trump. But The Free Beacon told the firm to stop doing research on Mr. Trump in May 2016, as Mr. Trump was clinching the Republican nomination.

In April 2016, Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee also retained Fusion GPS to research any possible connections between Mr. Trump, his businesses, his campaign team and Russia. Working for them, Fusion GPS retained a respected former British spy named Christopher Steele.


He went on to produce a series of memos that alleged a broad conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russian government to influence the 2016 election on behalf of Mr. Trump. The memos, which became known as the “Steele dossier,” also contained unsubstantiated accounts of encounters between Mr. Trump and Russian prostitutes, as well as real estate deals that were intended as bribes.
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/10/27/us/politics/trump-dossier-paul-singer.html?referer=https://t.co/YvXYoad5v0?amp=1

Wasn't sure what forum to post this in as it involes Russia, Trump, and a UK firm. (I have GD trashed so have to be creative in posting)

October 17, 2017

Sorry no video but Vice News Tonight from Thursday

(i have GD trashed lol so I can't post there)

What I learned Trump can actually end Iran deal anytime he wants by executive order but is choosing to punt it to Congress to have it both ways so he can tell his base he is fighting for this but is passing the buck to Congress to avoid blame if nothing is done.

I always try to think of what the world thinks of us but it has to be very strange to see big policies that affect the world are reduced to a political sideshow for our domestic audience. Unbelievable.

Edit

September 13, 2017

ESPN issues apology after host Jemele Hill calls Trump a white supremacist

In a series of tweets, ESPN personality Jemele Hill said Donald Trump's statements, actions and hires reveal him to be a white supremacist. After backlash from Trump supporters, ESPN apologized and distanced themselves from Hill.

https://twitter.com/i/moments/907729440523743232

They're apologizing because one of their hosts said the right thing for once?

September 6, 2017

This was on Rachel Maddow related to the dossier

House committee subpoenas FBI, Justice over Trump dossier

In the most significant escalation yet in the wrangling between Congress and the FBI over the Trump dossier, the House Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed the bureau and the Justice Department for documents relating to the dossier, the FBI's relationship with dossier author Christopher Steele, and the bureau's possible role in supporting what began as an opposition research project against candidate Donald Trump in the final months of last year's presidential campaign.

The subpoenas are an indication of growing frustration inside the committee over the FBI and Justice Department's lack of cooperation in the Trump-Russia investigation.

The committee issued the subpoenas -- one to the FBI, an identical one to the Justice Department -- on August 24, giving both until last Friday, September 1, to turn over the information.

Neither FBI nor Justice turned over the documents, and now the committee has given them an extension until September 14 to comply.

Illustrating the seriousness with which investigators view the situation, late Tuesday the committee issued two more subpoenas, specifically to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, directing them to appear before the committee to explain why they have not provided the subpoenaed information.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/house-committee-subpoenas-fbi-justice-over-trump-dossier/article/2633466

Hunt for Trump dossier author inflames Russia probe


An overseas trip to contact a former British spy exposes friction among House, Senate investigators and special counsel Robert Mueller.

By ALI WATKINS

08/04/2017 05:07 AM EDT

Two Republican House Intelligence Committee staffers traveled to London earlier this summer to track down the former British intelligence operative who compiled a controversial dossier on President Donald Trump and Russia, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The previously unreported trip underscores the importance of the 35-page dossier Christopher Steele wrote last year to congressional probes into possible collusion between Moscow and the 2016 Trump campaign.

It also has inflamed simmering tensions between House and Senate investigators as they pursue simultaneous probes into the Trump-Russia connection. House Intelligence Committee Republicans did not tell Democrats on the panel, the Senate Intelligence Committee nor special counsel Robert Mueller’s office that the investigators were pursuing Steele.

The House staffers left their contact information at two addresses associated with Steele, a former agent for Britain’s MI6 foreign intelligence service. One of those locations was Steele’s lawyer’s office, where the former spy was meeting with his counsel when the House investigators showed up.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/08/04/trump-steele-dossier-russia-241299

August 27, 2017

Baltimore man among 3 more charged in Charlottesville, Va., white supremacist rally

Source: Baltimore Sun

A 52-year-old Baltimore man, one of three more people charged in the Aug. 12 white nationalist rally in Virginia, was arrested Saturday and is being held in the Baltimore County Detention Center.

The man, identified as Richard Wilson Preston, was charged by Charlottesville, Va., police with discharging a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school. Charlottesville Police said in a news release that Preston fired a gun in the 100 block of West Market Street.

Court records list his address in the 5800 block of Cedonia Ave. in the Northeast Baltimore neighborhood of Cedmont. Numerous news reports refer to Preston as imperial wizard of Marylands Ku Klux Klan chapter.

He was apparently picked up Saturday on a fugitive warrant issued in Virginia.

Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-charlottesville-arrest-0827-story.html

August 24, 2017

Trump Pee Tape Dossier Researcher Tells Investigators He Stands By Explosive Allegations About Russi

Glenn Simpson, whose firm compiled an infamous and salacious dossier about President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia, told Senate investigators Tuesday that he “stands by” its findings. The private investigator and former reporter spent more than 10 hours being questioned by the Senate Judiciary Committee after Chairman Chuck Grassley withdrew a subpoena when Simpson agreed to testify behind closed doors.

Related: Where Is the ‘Golden Shower’ Dossier Author? House and Senate Fighting As Search Grows

"Mr. Simpson told Congress the truth and cleared the record on many matters of interest to congressional investigators,” Simpson’s attorney Josh Levy told reporters following the session, according to ABC News.

Simpson co-founded the private research firm Fusion GPS, which was hired to produce a report on Trump. The dossier, largely prepared by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele, alleges collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia. Among other explosive claims about the president’s links to the country are that the Kremlin has a compromising video of Trump getting prostitutes to urinate on a bed in a Moscow hotel in which Barack and Michelle Obama once stayed.

The claims remain unverified and have been vehemently denied by Trump.

“Now that was totally made-up stuff.... I know a lot about those guys, they’re phony guys,” Trump told The New York Times last month. “They make up whatever they want. Just not my thing. Plus, I have witnesses, because I went there with a group of people.”

http://www.newsweek.com/trump-pee-tape-dossier-russia-654066

August 17, 2017

Never mind

Fred C. Trump FOIA Request Records

8/08/2017

https://vault.fbi.gov/fred-c.-trump-foia-request-records (466 pages)

if that doesn't work go here scroll to the bottom -- https://vault.fbi.gov/recently-added

I think these are just requests with FBI responses. Too many pages to sort through but I doubt there is much in here. Sorry for posting, I'd self-delete but I wanted to explain.

I made a mistake posting this. It is basically people over and over filing a FOIA request on Trump with the FBI responding over and over "we don't make files on citizens" and a "rap sheet" is something that is generally not included in FBI files. If there is something good in there it is a needle in a haystack.

August 17, 2017

Recently declassified FBI FOIA documents concerning Smedley Butler & the Fascist Plot

https://vault.fbi.gov/smedley-butler/Smedley%20Butler%20Part%2001%20of%2001/view

https://vault.fbi.gov/smedley-butler/Smedley%20Butler%20Part%2001%20of%2001/at_download/file (pdf -- about 40 pages)

This was released 8/10/2017

On edit -- other parts address other things outside of the fascist plot but all related to Smedley Butler. Nothing really earth shattering though some parts are still redacted.
February 19, 2017

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