DDySiegs
DDySiegs's JournalRNC Used Security Firm During Campaign That Had Russia Connections
Politico and Politicususa have stories about dealings during the election campaign between the RNC and a security firm named Hamilton Trading Group that had connections with former Russian Spy:
From Politico --
[blockquote "As the general election was taking shape last summer, the Republican National Committee initiated a series of payments to a low-profile firm started by retired Central Intelligence Agency officers that worked closely with an ex-Russian spy.
The payments attracted attention in political and intelligence circles, largely because the Virginia-based firm, Hamilton Trading Group, had particular expertise in Russia, which was emerging as a major campaign issue at the time.
RNC officials and the president and co-founder of Hamilton Trading Group, an ex-CIA officer named Ben Wickham, insisted the payments, which eventually totaled $41,500, had nothing to do with Russia.
Instead, they initially claimed the payments were entirely for an assessment by Hamilton Trading Group of building security concerns at the RNC’s Capitol Hill headquarters.
But RNC officials now acknowledge that most of the cash — $34,100 — went towards intelligence-style reports that sought to prove conflicts of interest between Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State and her family’s foundation."
For more see:
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/rnc-hillary-clinton-intelligence-firm-payments-236436
http://www.politicususa.com/2017/03/24/rnc-implicated-paying-firm-intelligence-connections-russia.html
FDR's Let Me Warn You Speech of 1936 - Apropos Today re Obama Care
The Youtube link below is to FDR's famous "Let Me Warn You" speech of 1936 regarding the deceitful attacks on Social Security of the Republicans of the day, which involved their argument that they could do soooo much better than the Democrats had done a few years before when they enacted the Social Security law. It's kind of Roosevelt's answer to the repeal and replace BS of his day. Lets hope that 81 years from now, future DUers can smile at a similar failure by today's Republicans to destroy Obama care. Today's debacle may be a slight step in that direction.
[link:
Question: Would Trump Have Been Rejected for a Security Clearance?
I propose that we look at Trump's situation from another angle.
If Trump were not president, would he survive the FBI (or other agency) security clearance process. After the report in the AP this morning re Manafort's activities for the Russian government/oligarchs (leave aside everything else that's previously come out), I'd say that there is no chance of that. I am convinced Trump would be found to be a national security risk by such a process and would not be allowed to take up any position of trust in the United States government. Bizarre -- he wouldn't be approved for a job in the government, but he sits in the oval office!
A number of DUers have posted the URL for the AP story this morning (thank you all!), but I consider this report so important for everyone to review that I am including the URL here again.
http://bigstory.ap.org/122ae0b5848345faa88108a03de40c5a
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