Russiagate – Johnson's Russia List

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

File Photo of White House with South Lawn and Fountain

“… 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

American Solider Meets Russian Soliders 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

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

“… 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 […]

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Leave a comment Donald Trump, Internet, McFaul, Mueller, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, Social Media, Trolls, U.S.-Russian Relations

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, 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, 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

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, 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, 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

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

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

“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 […]

NEWSLINK: “Anti-Trump Frenzy Threatens to End Superpower Diplomacy; Baseless Russiagate allegations continue to risk war with Russia” – The Nation/ Stephen F. Cohen

January 18, 2019 JRL Russia List Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… This commentary is based on the most recent of [Cohen] weekly discussions of the new US-Russian Cold War with the host of the John Batchelor radio show. …”

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

NEWSLINK: “The Trump-Putin revelations tell us what we knew all along” – Washington Post/ Anne Applebaum

January 14, 2019 JRL Russia List Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… The compulsion to get beneath the surface of things lies at the heart of what makes some people scholars or scientists. It’s also at the heart of what makes some people conspiracy theorists. More to the point, it explains why so many are excited by recent ‘revelations’ about President Trump and his relationship with Vladimir Putin, even though they […]

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Leave a comment Donald Trump, Mueller, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, U.S. Elections

NEWSLINK: “Here are 18 reasons Trump could be a Russian asset” – Washington Post/ Max Boot

January 14, 2019 JRL Russia List Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“Max Boot, a Post columnist, is the Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow for national security studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and a global affairs analyst for CNN.”

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

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Strobe Talbott: It’s Already Collusion; We don’t need news reports to tell us that Trump is giving Putin what he wants. Take it from this longtime Russia hand: It’s staring us in the face” – Politico/ Strobe Talbott

January 14, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Strobe Talbott file photo, adapted from image at state.gov

“… We already know that that the Kremlin helped put Trump into the White House and played him for a sucker. Or put it this way: Trump has been colluding with a hostile Russia throughout his presidency. We’ll see if it started before that. … Strobe Talbott … distinguished fellow in the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution … […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: @Anders_Aslund tweet re: Trump and Putin

January 14, 2019 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

(Anders Aslund – Twitter @anders_aslund – January 13, 2019) [Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council] “Everything suggests that #Trump is #Putin’s agent: secret meetings, persistent public praise, undermining US foreign policy interests & alliances. The actual Kremlin payment can easily be done #offshore in anonymous companies as the #SteeleDossier suggested.” [embedded live feed of tweet should load below:] Everything suggests […]

Nick Magliato: “Re: New book Stephen F. Cohen, War With Russia? From Putin & Ukraine to Trump & Russiagate”

November 29, 2018 JRL Russia List Military, Ukraine, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

File Photo of U.S. Embassy Moscow, with Russian Foreign Ministry Building in Distance

From: Nick Magliato <nmagliato@skyhorsepublishing.com> Subject: New book Stephen F. Cohen, War With Russia? From Putin & Ukraine to Trump & Russiagate Date : November 15, 2018 War With Russia? From Putin & Ukraine to Trump & Russiagate By Stephen F. Cohen Hot Books paperback, also available as an ebook On Sale: November 27, 2018 / $18.99 ISBN: 9781510745810 Amazon: https://amzn.to/2P4KsZr […]

NEWSLINK: “Russia is trying to influence the 2018 U.S. election. But this time the U.S. is prepared” – Washington Post/ Alla Baranovsky-Dewey

September 26, 2018 JRL Russia List Newslinks, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… With the 2018 midterm elections approaching, how likely is it that Russia will do it again? Daniel Coats, the director of national intelligence, said in August that a Russia-orchestrated disinformation campaign continues on social media. Two 2018 candidates … have already reported that Russian hackers have targeted their computers. But while Russia is clearly trying to influence the 2018 […]

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Leave a comment Newslinks, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, Spies, U.S. Elections, U.S.-Russian Relations

NEWSLINK: “A GOP spin on the Russia probe reads like a noir thriller – but doesn’t add up; All of the Steele dossier can’t be discredited just because the contacts between private investigators and government officials were sometimes incestuous” – Washington Post/ David Ignatius

September 26, 2018 JRL Russia List Newslinks, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“…The GOP’s evidence does reveal some puzzling interconnections among major players in the Russia probe. The FBI and the Justice Department were sometimes conducting negotiations with the same people they were also investigating for possible wrongdoing. The contacts between private investigators and government officials were occasionally incestuous. The most intriguing example of overlapping relationships involves three key players who were […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Air Has Seeped Out of the Russia/Collusion Balloon” – Washington Examiner/Michael Barone

September 21, 2018 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“‘I did not, and of course I looked for it, looked for it hard.’ That was Bob Woodward … replying to … Hugh Hewitt’s question, ‘Did you, Bob Woodward, hear anything in your research, in your interviews, that sounded like espionage or collusion?’…. [And] none of Mueller’s indictments and guilty pleas point toward confirmation …. [I]t appears that, beyond a […]

NEWSLINK: “The Plot to Subvert an Election; Unraveling the Russia Story So Far” – New York Times/SCOTT SHANE, MARK MAZZETTI

September 20, 2018 JRL Russia List Cybersecurity, Newslinks, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“For two years, Americans have tried to absorb the details of the 2016 attack -hacked emails, social media fraud, suspected spies – and President Trump’s claims that it’s all a hoax. The Times explores what we know and what it means.”

NEWSLINK: “The Mueller Investigation Is Sending People to Jail – but Not for Collusion; The belief that George Papadopoulos, Michael Cohen, and Paul Manafort would turn over evidence of collusion with Russia got ahead of reality” – The Nation/Aaron Maté

September 14, 2018 JRL Russia List Newslinks, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Last week, Papadopoulos was sentenced to 14 days in prison for lying to the FBI about the timing of his contacts with a Maltese professor, Joseph Mifsud. According to Papadopoulos, Mifsud claimed to have connections to Russia and information that the Kremlin had obtained Hillary Clinton’s stolen e-mails. In May 2016, Papadopoulos relayed vague details about his conversation with […]

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Leave a comment Donald Trump, FBI, George Papadopoulos, Mueller, Newslinks, Russia, Russiagate, Russian News, U.S. Elections

Senate Testimony of Ambassador Michael McFaul;Outside Perspectives on Russian Sanctions: Current Effectiveness and Potential for Next Steps [Excerpt]

September 7, 2018 JRL Russia List Sanctions, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

Testimony of Ambassador Michael McFaul [Excerpt] Director, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Professor of Political Science, and Hoover Institution Senior Fellow at Stanford University U.S. Senate Committee on Banking Outside Perspectives on Russian Sanctions: Current Effectiveness and Potential for Next Steps September 6, 2018 [PDF Full text here: https://www.banking.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/McFaul%20Testimony%209-6-18.pdf] In the last several years, the Russian government has taken […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “What Bruce Ohr Told Congress; He warned the FBI that Steele had credibility problems. The bureau forged ahead anyhow.” – Wall Street Journal/Kimberley A. Strassel

August 31, 2018 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

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

“… Justice Department lawyer Bruce Ohr … [on] Tuesday confirm[ed] for Congress its worst suspicions about … [FBI] abuse of its surveillance and sourcing rules. … Over the past year, congressional investigators found out that … Ohr’s wife, Nellie, worked for Fusion GPS, the opposition-research firm that gave its infamous dossier, funded by the Hillary Clinton campaign, to the FBI. […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Misery” – Irrussianality/Paul Robinson

August 13, 2018 JRL Russia List JRL NewsBlog, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… If the only American media you consumed was the New York Times, you’d come to the inevitable conclusions that a) Americans are united in their obsessive hatred of their president, and b) it’s all the fault of those horrible Russians who colluded with Trump to get him elected. But judging by the bestseller list, it’s not the New York […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “What Are the FBI and CIA Hiding? The agency might have led the bureau down a rabbit hole in the 2016 Trump counterintelligence probe” – Wall Street Journal/Thomas J. Baker

August 1, 2018 JRL Russia List Britain, UK, United Kingdom, JRL NewsBlog, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“Although the FBI’s case officially began July 31, 2016, there had been investigative activity before that …. John Brennan’s CIA might have directed activity in Britain … [problematic considering] longstanding agreements that the U.S. will not conduct intelligence operations there. It would explain why the FBI continues to stonewall Congress … Further, what we know about the case’s origin does […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Surprise, Maryland – your election contractor has ties to Russia” – Washington Post Editorial

July 23, 2018 JRL Russia List Cybersecurity, Economy, Business, Investment, Trade

Baltimore Inner Harbor and Skline file photo, adapted from image at epa.gov by Steven C. Welsh, www.stevencwelsh.com :: www.stevencwelsh.info

“… an Internet technology company with which [Maryland] contracts to hold electronic voting information is connected to a Russian oligarch … ‘very close’ to … Putin. Maryland leaders did not know about the connection until the FBI told them. Maryland[] … chose a company to keep electronic information on voter registration, election results and other … data. … [a] company […]

NEWSLINK: “Summitgate and the Campaign vs. ‘Peace’; Not surprisingly, Trump’s meetings with NATO and Putin are being portrayed as ominous events by Russiagaters” – The Nation/Stephen F. Cohen

July 12, 2018 JRL Russia List Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

File Photo of Donald Trump Waving Before Large Crowd with Trump Signs, adapted from image at whitehouse.gov

“As Cohen pointed out in previous discussions, U.S.-Russian (Soviet and post-Soviet) summits are a long tradition going back to FDR’s wartime meeting with Stalin in Yalta in 1943. Every American president since FDR met with a Kremlin leader in a summit-style format at least once, several doing so multiple times. The purpose was always to resolve conflicts and enhance cooperation […]

Musings II … The “Intelligence Community,” “Russian Interference,” and Due Diligence; Did the U.S. “Intelligence Community” judge that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election?

July 1, 2018 JRL Russia List Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

DNI Seal and Smaller Seals of Agencies Related to DNI

(Jack Matlock – Jackmatlock.com – June 29, 2018) About: Jack Matlock is a career diplomat who served on the front lines of American diplomacy during the Cold War and was U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union when the Cold War ended. Since retiring from the Foreign Service, he has focused on understanding how the Cold War ended and how the […]

JRL NEWSWATCH: “Mueller’s Fruit of the Poisonous Tree; It makes no difference how honorable he is. His investigation is tainted by the bias that attended its origin in 2016” – Wall Street Journal/David B. Rivkin Jr., Elizabeth Price Foley

June 25, 2018 JRL Russia List Cybersecurity, JRL NewsBlog, Spy Allegations, Spies, Security Agencies, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“Special counsel … Mueller’s investigation may face a serious legal obstacle …. antecedent political bias. … the Justice Department’s inspector general[] unearthed a pattern of anti-Trump bias by high-ranking [FBI] officials …. their communications … were ‘… indicative of a biased state of mind … imply a willingness to take action to impact a presidential candidate’s electoral prospects.’ Although … […]

NEWSLINK: “Russiagate’s ‘Core Narrative’ Has Always Lacked Actual Evidence; The unprecedented allegation that the Kremlin ‘attacked America’ and ‘colluded’ with its president in order to elect him is based on two documents devoid of facts or logic” – The Nation/Stephen F. Cohen

June 21, 2018 JRL Russia List Newslinks, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations

“… Cohen reminds listeners that the Russiagate scandal, which first leaked into the media in mid-2016, has already done immense political damage during these two years. …”

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