Russiagate – Johnson's Russia List

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Revelation of Steele’s primary source triggers focus on think tank tied to Clinton, Biden” – Just the News/ John Solomon

July 29, 2020 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“The Obama team’s ties to the Brookings Institution are deep, and so are those of impeachment witness Fiona Hill.” “[Igor Danchenko,]… Christopher Steele’s primary sub-source … was an American resident tied to a liberal think tank close to the Obama administration …. In … [FISA] warrant [applications] targeting Trump adviser Carter Page, the FBI referred to the primary sub-source … […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “New FBI Notes Re-Debunk Major NYT Story, Highlight Media Collusion To Produce Russia Hoax” – The Federalist/ Mollie Hemingway

July 23, 2020 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“The New York Times in 2017 falsely reported that the Trump campaign had ‘repeated’ contacts with Russian intelligence officials during the 2016 campaign, and instead of being held accountable for publishing lies, the story’s authors received Pulitzer prizes.” “The FBI official who ran the investigation into whether the … Trump campaign colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 presidential election […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Drew Holden: Remember the Steele dossier? ….” – twitter post

July 23, 2020 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Remember the Steele dossier? … Now that its been thoroughly discredited, anyone care for a trip down memory lane about how folks in the media hyped it up because it made Trump look bad? […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Unasked FBI Question: Why? G-men rightly debunked the Steele dossier. And then peddled it anyway.” – Wall Street Journal/ Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.

July 22, 2020 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“New revelations … more emphatically underline a question nobody seems willing to ask: Why did the FBI fan a Russia collusion confabulation that it knew was unfounded, false and baseless? The obvious answer is not so much rejected as turned away from: because the FBI, and specifically … Comey, had a powerful interest in changing the subject from … Comey’s […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “British court rules against Christopher Steele, orders damages paid to businessmen named in dossier” – JustTheNews/ John Solomon

July 8, 2020 JRL Russia List Britain, UK, United Kingdom, JRL NewsBlog, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

File Photos of Law Books and Gavel, adapted from image at fjc.gov

“Court rules Steele’s firm violated Britain’s data privacy law by failing to aggressively check allegations in his dossier.” “A British judge ruled … that Christopher Steele violated a data privacy law by failing to check the accuracy of information in his infamous dossier, ordering the former spy’s firm[,] … Orbis Business Intelligence, to pay … [the equivalent of] about $22,596 […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “FBI spread claim Trump worked with Russia, declassified document shows” – New York Post/ Steven Nelson

June 12, 2020 JRL Russia List Politics, Government, Protests, Elections

File Photo of White House with South Lawn and Fountain

“A newly declassified document reveals FBI officials circulated sensational claims that … Trump ‘worked with’ Russia in 2016 and that his campaign was offered ‘financial compensation’ to drop U.S. sanctions, but didn’t disclose that the claims came from an opposition researcher for the Democrats. … former British spy Christopher Steele … detailed by the FBI in a classified annex to […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Rod Rosenstein Offers Limited Defense of Russia Probe; ‘I still believe it was the right decision under the circumstances,’ former deputy attorney general says” – Wall Street Journal/ Aruna Viswanatha and Sadie Gurman

June 4, 2020 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Department of Justice Headquarters Building file photo, adapted from image at justice.gov

“Former Trump Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein … came under increasing criticism from Republicans. … [as he stood] by his decision to appoint special counsel Robert Mueller to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and any links … [with] the Trump campaign … sa[ying] he didn’t know then of … alleged [FBI] improprieties …. [A DOJ] watchdog … […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Vindication of Michael Flynn; Justice drops its prosecution with new evidence about the FBI” – Wall Street Journal Editorial

May 10, 2020 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Justice … dropped its case against Michael Flynn … ‘with prejudice[]’ …. [E]vidence … undermines the credibility of James Comey’s FBI, special counsel Robert Mueller, and the entire ‘Russia collusion’ investigation. [R]etired Army general [Flynn] … initially pleaded guilty to making false statements … when two agents interviewed him at the White House shortly after he took over as […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Senate panel backs assessment that Russia interfered in 2016” – AP/ Mary Clare Jalonick, Eric Tucker

April 22, 2020 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

American Flag and Partial View of U.S. Capitol Dome, adapted from image at aoc.gov

“A [heavily redacted] bipartisan Senate report … confirms the U.S. intelligence community’s conclusions that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election to sow chaos. Senators warned that it could happen again …. This is the fourth of five reports the Senate panel will release …. Previous reports reviewed Russian efforts to breach state election systems and manipulate social media, and […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “AG Barr just signaled that things are about to get ugly for the Russia collusion team” – The Hill/ Kevin R. Brock

April 13, 2020 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… The AG is logically being briefed on the progress and findings of U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation, which he commissioned to examine how the empty Russia collusion case got started in the first place and if it involved any wrongdoing on the part of the government. It is a safe bet that … Durham is collecting evidence beyond the […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Barr Says Russia Probe Was Started ‘Without Basis'” – AP

April 10, 2020 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“Attorney General William Barr believes the Russia investigation that shadowed President Donald Trump for the first two years of his administration was started without any basis and amounted to an effort to ‘sabotage the presidency’ …. Barr, who has appointed a U.S. Attorney to scrutinize the origins of the Russia probe, said the Justice Department has evidence there was ‘something […]

Musings II … The “Intelligence Community,” “Russian Interference,” and Due Diligence

December 3, 2019 JRL Russia List Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

DNI Seal and Smaller Seals of Agencies Related to DNI

Did the U.S. “Intelligence Community” judge that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election? (Jackmatlock.com – Jack Matlock – June 29, 2018) Most commentators seem to think so. Every news report I have read of the planned meeting of Presidents Trump and Putin in July refers to “Russian interference” as a fact and asks whether the matter will be discussed. […]

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Leave a comment Donald Trump, Intelligence, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, Slider, Spies, U.S.-Russian Relations

JRL NEWSWATCH: “All Roads Lead to Mueller; The Russia collusion morass threatens to spoil the Democrats’ impeachment drama” – Wall Street Journal/ Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.

October 4, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Numerous press accounts claimed falsely, even with the evidence in hand, that … Trump … asked for a ‘favor’ from Ukraine’s president in the form of ‘dirt’ on Joe Biden. The plain words of the available transcript show the ‘favor’ he sought was cooperation with the Justice Department’s perfectly proper investigation of the 2016 election. Now come reports … […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “What the Press Doesn’t Know About Ukraine; Reporters will have to ask a lot more questions to understand the missing context of the Trump call” – Wall Street Journal/ Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.

October 3, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Ukraine, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“We might not be here if the mainstream media, which loved the Steele Dossier when it seemed to incriminate … Trump, had later shown an equal interest in investigating its origins as a partisan fabrication. In his now-famous transcript … Trump mainly presses Ukraine’s new president for dirt not on the Bidens but on the known unknowns of 2016. ‘I […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Notable & Quotable: Did Russia Decide the Election? ‘I think that really does devalue the people in Wisconsin and Michigan and others who decided to vote for President Trump'” – Wall Street Journal/ NBC Today Show/ Condoleezza Rice

September 12, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Multilingual Polling Place Sign from U.S. Election Polling Place

“… Condoleezza Rice … asked whether Russian meddling swung the 2016 election …: ‘I don’t think there is any evidence of that. … I really don’t think that that’s a good conversation to have. … that really does devalue the people … who decided to vote for … Trump . … [L]et’s give … credit to … Americans who went […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “‘Accountability’? The Mueller Hearing Is How Trump Escapes” – The New Yorker/ Susan B. Glasser

July 25, 2019 JRL Russia List Cybersecurity, JRL NewsBlog, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“After so much waiting – a hundred and twenty-four days, to be precise, since Robert Mueller’s report was delivered – perhaps it was bound to be a disappointment. Still, three hours after the former special counsel took the witness stand on Wednesday to testify about his investigation of President Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election … MSNBC anchor […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Mueller Report and the Silence of the Experts; Those well-positioned to comment on the investigation too often ceded the debate to partisans.” – Moscow Times/ Timothy Frye

July 24, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“The Mueller reports highlights many shortcomings in American democracy, but also reveals a deeper failure that informs our broader politics: the silence of the experts. Those well-positioned to comment on the investigation – academic Russia watchers, political science experts on elections, and non-partisan national security specialists – too often ceded the debate to partisans. … [T]he expert community should have […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia, an Early Space Pioneer, Never Regained Its Lead; The U.S. leapfrogged the Soviet Union by landing a man on the moon 50 years ago this month, and kept its place ever since” – Wall Street Journal/ Ann M. Simmons

July 22, 2019 JRL Russia List Space, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“Russians still brim with pride over being the first nation to send a human into space. Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin … circling the Earth in 1961[] remains a national hero whose story is taught to Russian schoolchildren. But ever since the U.S. leapfrogged the Soviet Union by landing a man on the moon 50 years ago this month, Russia has […]

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Leave a comment JRL NewsBlog, Newswatch, Russiagate, Slider, Space, Syria, U.S.-Russian Relations, Ukraine, Yuri Gagarin

JRL NEWSWATCH: “New Report: Mueller Lacks Substantiating Evidence Of Russian Election Interference” – The Federalist/ Madeline Osburn

July 9, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“New report reveals that Mueller’s investigation missed key evidence to support its central claim that Russia was 100% responsible for election interference.” “… Mueller’s [Special Counsel] report lacks substantiating evidence supporting the central claims of Kremlin interference in the 2016 election, according to … RealClearInvestigations. … discrepancies over the timeline, details, and conflicts of interest from key players in the […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “American Hustle; What Mueller Found – and Didn’t Find – About Trump and Russia” – Foreign Affairs/ Stephen Kotkin

May 23, 2019 JRL Russia List Cybersecurity, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Russian intelligence organizations … could manage entirely on their own to hack e-mail accounts, line up cutouts such as WikiLeaks to disseminate damaging material, impersonate Americans on social media, and study elementary research available in open sources about battleground states and swing voters. * * * … The sections of the report that treat what Russia intended and achieved […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Trump, Russia seek to use end of Mueller investigation as pivot point in relationship; Putin calls Mueller investigation ‘objective'” – Washington Post/ Anne Gearan, Anton Troianovski

May 15, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… the special counsel investigation of Russian election interference now complete, the Trump administration cautiously offered a fresh start with Russia … as the two countries find their interests colliding on a range of international issues. … Trump dispatched Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to meet with … Putin, bearing a message that the United States is ready to renew […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Comey says it’s possible the Russians have something compromising on Trump” – CNN/ Kate Sullivan

May 10, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

James Comey file photo, adapted from image at fbi.gov

[first portion of CNN post:] “Former FBI Director James Comey said Thursday that it is possible the Russians have leverage over President Donald Trump. CNN’s Anderson Cooper asked Comey at a town hall in Washington, ‘Do you think the Russians have leverage over President Trump?’ ‘I don’t know the answer to that,’ Comey responded. ‘Think it’s possible?’ Cooper asked. ‘Yes,’ […]

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Leave a comment FBI, James Comey, JRL NewsBlog, Newswatch, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, U.S.-Russian Relations

JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Russia Investigation Will Continue; Counterintelligence agencies must find it hard to believe the cupboard is already bare” – The Atlantic/ John Sipher

May 6, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Mueller’s Russia probe is over, and … Trump on Friday again described the probe as a ‘Witch Hunt,’ [yet] the FBI is almost certain to continue its counterintelligence investigation into Russian espionage efforts related to the 2016 election. …”

JRL NEWSWATCH VIDEO: “The Russia story cannot die — CNN, the Democratic Party, others have too much invested in it” – Fox/ Tucker Carlson

May 3, 2019 JRL Russia List Cybersecurity, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Barr first served as Attorney General in the George H.W. Bush administration. That was 1991. … Then this February, purely by process of elimination, basically as he was the one guy could get confirmed, Barr became Attorney General of the United States once again. The Mueller investigation was nearly over when he got the job. Barr probably didn’t expect […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “How the Obama White House engaged Ukraine to give Russia collusion narrative an early boost” – The Hill/ John Solomon

April 28, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Ukraine, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

File Photo of Susan Rice and Barack Hussein Obama in St. Petersburg Russia, with Mural of St. Petersburg Scene in Background, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“As … Trump began his meteoric rise … the Obama White House summoned Ukrainian authorities to Washington …. Ukrainian participants said it didn’t take long … to realize the Americans’ objectives included two politically hot investigations: one that touched … Biden’s family and one that involved a lobbying firm linked closely to then-candidate Trump. … [O]ne of the earliest documented […]

Sarah Lindemann-Komarova: “Russiagate, There are No Winners”

April 26, 2019 JRL Russia List Belarus, History, Soviet Union, Human Rights, Military, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

File Photo of American Soldier Meeting Soviet Soldiers in Berlin in 1945, adapted from image at army.mil

Subject: Russiagate, There are No Winners Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2019 From: Sarah Lindemann-Komarova <echosiberia@gmail.com> Russiagate, There are No Winners Sarah Lindemann-Komarova [Sarah Lindemann-Komarova has been a community development activist in Siberia since 1992. Currently she is focusing on research and writing about civil society in Russia.] medium.com/@ECHOSiberia/russiagate-there-are-no-winners-4de2dd97acbc Baby boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, we are now into the […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian Memes Didn’t Steal the Election; Being influenced by foreign propaganda doesn’t cost a citizen his right to vote” – Wall Street Journal/ Crispin Sartwell

April 25, 2019 JRL Russia List Cybersecurity, JRL NewsBlog, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… It’s worth pondering what really would throw an election’s legitimacy into question. Directly compromising the vote by hacking voting machines or disposing of absentee ballots does the job – the latter triggered the invalidation of a North Carolina House race …. So does jailing opponents, banning political parties, or threatening or bribing voters. But a social-media campaign, even coordinated […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “What the Mueller Report Tells Us About How Russia Works; Please, put away those onion-dome-on-the-White-House graphics and abandon those excitable claims of Trump as a Russian agent.” – Moscow Times/ Mark Galeotti

April 19, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Putin’s Russia is … an ‘adhocracy’ … in which the true elite is defined by service to the needs of the Kremlin rather than any specific institutional or social identity. They may be spies, or diplomats, journalists, politicians, or millionaires; essentially they are all ‘political entrepreneurs’ who both seek to serve the Kremlin or are required to do so, […]

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Leave a comment Donald Trump, Government, Mueller, Politics, Putin, Russiagate, U.S. Elections, U.S.-Russian Relations

JRL NEWSWATCH AUDIO: “Former U.S. Ambassador To Russia Discusses Findings Of Mueller Report”- NPR/ Michael McFaul

April 19, 2019 JRL Russia List Audio, JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

File Photo of Michael McFaul Standing and Barack Hussein Obama Sitting at Desk, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“MCFAUL: … I’ve actually been dealing with Russian trolls and Russian real people on social media since I was ambassador in 2012, and I think it just underscores how sophisticated this operation was by Russia. I still fear that a lot of Americans have underestimated both their capacity to interfere in our elections and their will to do it. And […]

Trump and Russia: ‘Quid Pro Quo’ or Quid Pro Talk?

April 19, 2019 JRL Russia List Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Vladirmir Putin and Donald Trump Sitting in Chairs with Flags Behind, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – RM Staff – April 18, 2019 – russiamatters.org/blog/trump-and-russia-quid-pro-quo-or-quid-pro-talk) A few weeks before today’s release of the voluminous Mueller report, a former New York Times executive editor, Max Frankel, argued in an op-ed that the Trump campaign and “Vladimir Putin’s oligarchy” had reached an “obvious bargain” in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election: The “overarching […]

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Leave a comment Donald Trump, Putin, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, Sanctions, Slider, U.S.-Russian Relations

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Democrats’ Denial Over The Lack Of Russian Collusion Could Re-Elect Trump” – The Federalist/ Jonathan S. Tobin

April 11, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“Doubling down on accusations and demanding the un-redacted Mueller report is no substitute for collusion myths, but Democrats’ inability to let it go helps the president.” “… The Democratic Party absorbed a hard blow when … the Mueller investigation determin[ed] there was no collusion with Russia involving the president or his campaign. … Expecting members of Congress like … Adam […]

Kirk Bennett: “Tying Up the Loose Ends of Russiagate”

April 5, 2019 JRL Russia List Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Subject: TYING UP THE LOOSE ENDS OF RUSSIAGATE Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2019 From: Kirk Bennett <kirkbennett7@yahoo.com> TYING UP THE LOOSE ENDS OF RUSSIAGATE The unfinished business of Russiagate consists of clearing the names of innocent people; holding senior bureaucrats to account for errors of judgment and abuses of power; and restoring the tarnished image of democratic governance. By Kirk […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “What Mueller Won’t Say: Did he investigate the Steele dossier? If not, he didn’t really investigate.” – Wall Street Journal/ Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.

March 28, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Robert Mueller file photo, adapted from image at fbi.gov

“… the exact words of Attorney General William Barr: ‘The Special Counsel and his staff thoroughly investigated allegations that members of the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump … conspired with the Russian government in its efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.’ How is it possible to investigate these ‘allegations’ without holding the Steele dossier, the only […]

Steve Shabad: “Response to Matt Bivens [Re: Russiagate]”

March 28, 2019 JRL Russia List Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Subject: Response to Matt Bivens Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2019 From: Steve Shabad <steve.shabad@gmail.com> To: davidjohnson@starpower.net Response to Matt Bivens (JRL #50 “Russiagate: The Great Tragic Comedy of Modern Journalism”) From Steve Shabad [Bivens: blog.usejournal.com/russiagate-the-great-tragic-comedy-of-modern-journalism-fd2a451aaa25][russialist.org/jrl-newswatch-russiagate-the-great-tragic-comedy-of-modern-journalism-matt-bivens/] Matt Bivens’ essay on what he calls the “tragic comedy of modern journalism” made for provocative reading, and I agreed with some of his points. […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russiagate: The Great Tragic Comedy of Modern Journalism” – Matt Bivens

March 28, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

(Matt Bivens – Medium.com – March 25, 2019 – medium.com/@mattbivens_34439/russiagate-the-great-tragic-comedy-of-modern-journalism-fd2a451aaa25) “Russiagate: The Great Tragic Comedy of Modern Journalism” By Matt Bivens Former editor, Moscow Times “In its Russiagate coverage, The New York Times has repeatedly offered a graphic accusing the President’s retinue of “more than 100 contacts with Russian nationals.” This decision to question the loyalty of people who have […]

Mueller Investigation Result Opens Way for a Putin Visit to Washington This Year, Frolov Says

March 27, 2019 JRL Russia List United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

(Paul Goble – Window on Euarasia – Staunton, March 26, 2019) Many Russian commentators have suggested that the findings of the Mueller investigation may be good news for Donald Trump but will do little to affect US-Russian relations. But Vladimir Frolov, who is well-connected with the regime, says that Mueller’s findings open the way for Vladimir Putin to visit the […]

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Leave a comment Donald Trump, Mueller, Putin, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, Slider, U.S.-Russian Relations

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Deeper Down the Rabbit Hole; The Mueller Report won’t soothe a paranoid frenzy to undo the 2016 election” – City Journal (New York)/ Paul Starobin

March 27, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“The idea of irascible Donald Trump as a compliant tool of the Kremlin in Moscow – some sort of clandestine agent or asset … has always seemed off-center. Who has ever been able to control him … Does Trump seem capable of keeping secrets, following orders, or maintaining the strict discipline required of a double agent? … to sober minds, […]

AUDIO: JRL NEWSWATCH: “What does the end of the Mueller investigation mean for US-Russian relations? [interview with Michael McFaul]” – PRI/ The World staff

March 27, 2019 JRL Russia List Audio, JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Mueller found no evidence of collusion between … Trump’s campaign and Russia in the 2016 election, but left unresolved the issue of whether Trump obstructed justice by undermining the investigations …. The Kremlin said … Putin was ready to improve ties …. Peskov repeated Moscow’s denial of any interference in U.S. elections and internal affairs …. But Michael McFaul […]

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Leave a comment McFaul, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, Slider

JRL NEWSWATCH [SATIRE]: “Shocked Vladimir Putin Slowly Realizing He Didn’t Conspire With Trump Campaign; ‘Who The H[–]l Was I Working With Then?’ Asks Russian President” – The Onion

March 27, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“Saying that he had been ‘totally blindsided’ by the revelations from the recently released findings of the Mueller investigation, a shocked Vladimir Putin reportedly came to the realization Tuesday that he didn’t conspire with Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign after all. ‘What the hell? I worked so hard on this – if I wasn’t colluding with the Trump campaign, who […]

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Leave a comment Donald Trump, Hackers, JRL NewsBlog, Newswatch, Putin, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, Satire, Slider, Trolls, U.S. Elections

JRL NEWSWATCH: “With Mueller gone, can Trump pursue his dream of a Russian reset?” – Washington Post/ Paul Sonne, Anton Troianovski, John Hudson

March 26, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Nuclear, Missile Defense, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Trump came into office signaling a desire to improve relations with Moscow, pledging on the campaign trail to ‘get along great’ with … Putin and win his respect. With the conclusion of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation, the president has won more freedom to pursue that goal. But experts say the sand has shifted significantly in Washington […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “After Mueller Report, News Media Leaders Defend Their Works” – New York Times/ Amy Chozick

March 26, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“[CNN president] Jeff Zucker … said he was ‘entirely comfortable’ with the network’s coverage. ‘We are not investigators. We are journalists, and our role is to report the facts as we know them, which is exactly what we did’ … ‘A sitting president’s own Justice Department investigated his campaign for collusion with a hostile nation. That’s not enormous because the […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Myth that Won’t Die: Donald Trump as Russia’s Puppet; Trump’s actual policies toward Russia are in contrast to the notion that he is ‘doing Putin’s bidding.'” – The National Interest/ Ted Galen Carpenter

March 26, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Trump’s political adversaries, along with an assortment of Russia haters in the foreign-policy community and the news media, keep pushing the narrative that Trump is … Putin’s puppet. That allegation shows few signs of dissipating even though no credible evidence supporting it has emerged. Unfortunately, the situation is unlikely to change even though Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation concluded […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russians Hope Mueller Report Opens Door to Improved U.S. Ties” – New York Times/ Neil MacFarquhar, Ivan Nechepurenko, Andrew Kramer

March 25, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“There was crowing in Russia … that the special counsel’s investigation did not find coordination between Moscow and the Trump campaign in 2016, but optimism about improved relations was tempered by the report’s extensive focus on Russian meddling in the presidential election. Official reaction … proved decidedly muted. [Putin spokesman] Dmitri S. Peskov … [said] the only news in the […]

NEWSLINK: “Serious journalists should be proud of – not bullied over – their Russia reporting” – Washington Post/Margaret Sullivan

March 25, 2019 JRL Russia List Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Historic Washington Post Masthead, adapted from image at nlrb.gov

“… All right, then. Here goes. …”

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Leave a comment Donald Trump, Media, Newslinks, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, Slider, U.S.-Russian Relations

JRL NEWSWATCH VIDEO: “When the Mueller report shows Trump didn’t collude with Russia, will anyone be punished?” – Fox News/ Tucker Carlson 3.21.19

March 23, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Once the Mueller report appears, and it becomes incontrovertible that whatever his faults, Donald Trump did not collude with the Russians, the many people who have persistently claimed on the basis of no evidence that he did collude with the Russians, ought to be punished. …”

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Schiffting to Phase 2 of Collusion; Conspiracy theorists look for something new, anticipating a Mueller letdown” – Wall Street Journal/ Kimberley A. Strassel

February 26, 2019 JRL Russia List Politics, Government, Protests, Elections

“There’s been no more reliable regurgitator of fantastical Trump-Russia collusion theories than Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff. … The collusionists need a ‘new phase’ as signs grow that the special counsel won’t help realize their reveries of a Donald Trump takedown. … What’s mind-boggling is that reporters would continue to take … Schiff seriously, given his extraordinary record of incorrect and […]

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Leave a comment Adam Schiff, Congress, JRL NewsBlog, Newswatch, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, Slider

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Senate has uncovered no direct evidence of conspiracy between Trump campaign and Russia” – NBC News/ Ken Dilanian

February 13, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“After two years and 200 interviews, the Senate Intelligence Committee is approaching the end of its investigation into the 2016 election, having uncovered no direct evidence of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, according to both Democrats and Republicans on the committee. … investigators disagree along party lines when it comes to the implications of a pattern of […]

NEWSLINK: “Is Mueller taking orders from Russia?” – American Thinker/ Taylor Day

February 13, 2019 JRL Russia List Cybersecurity, Newslinks, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Though he was an integral part of the sketchy deal that delivered a considerable amount of uranium to Russia, and as I’m forever the silver-lining kind of girl, it would be charming if Democrats came full circle and investigated Mueller for his own involvement with Russia. …”

NEWSLINK: “The Strange Persistent Troubling Russian Hang-Up of Donald Trump; Trump’s agenda in Europe is Putin’s agenda in Europe. Is that really a coincidence?” – New York Times/ Roger Cohen

January 21, 2019 JRL Russia List Europe, EU, NATO, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

New York Times Masthead from 1913 adapted from image at loc.gov

“… The central thrust of Russian foreign policy under President Vladimir Putin is the dismantlement of NATO….”

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Leave a comment Donald Trump, NATO, New York Times, Newslinks, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, U.S.-Russian Relations

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin can’t afford to ditch the dollar” – Reuters/ Steven E. Halliwell

January 18, 2019 JRL Russia List Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, JRL NewsBlog, Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Diverse Paper Currency, Coins, Line Graph

“Paul Manafort, while managing Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign, is accused of passing private polling data to his Russia business partner, a man with alleged ties to Russian intelligence. … revealed in an unsealed court filing … likely to stoke the case in Congress for increased sanctions …. [T]he reverberations will be felt in Moscow, where anger and frustration over […]

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