Tornado Alley (PROG)

[fuagf]

Part 152, some of Russian meddling, and related, material from F6 big ones. These from Friday, 02/23/18, headed,
Vice President Pence Delivers Remarks at the National Museum of African American History and Culture
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=138775039

Into the second third, this pair

Trump Intel leaders reveal he’s done nothing to prevent Russian meddling
The Beat with Ari Melber
2/13/18
U.S. Intelligence leaders are sounding the alarm that Russia is planning “bolder” cyber attacks on the U.S. in 2018, beyond midterm
elections – including targeting U.S. Nuclear systems and electrical grid, as F.B.I Director Christopher Wray reveals Trump has not
given any specific directives to prevent further meddling. New reports also reveal the CIA paid a Russian $100,000 for stolen material.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari-melber/watch/trump-intel-leaders-reveal-he-s-done-nothing-to-prevent-russian-meddling-1161001539859

*

Dem Rep: Nunes helped Trump obstruct Mueller probe

The Beat with Ari Melber
2/13/18
Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley tells Ari Melber he believes the House Intel Chair
has helped the Trump administration obstruct Mueller’s Russia investigation.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-beat-with-ari-melber/watch/dem-rep-nunes-helped-trump-obstruct-mueller-probe-1161002051711 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvnDtau2qRQ [with comments]

Into the second half, this triple

Trump administration giving Russia what it wants on sanctions

The Rachel Maddow Show
2/13/18
Rachel Maddow shows how Russia's chief goal seen throughout the Trump Russia scandal is to roll back
Obama era sanctions and prevent any new sanctions, and the Trump administration has so far been obliging.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-administration-giving-russia-what-it-wants-on-sanctions-1161140291610 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koScrHCjgdQ [with comments]

*

Justice Department pressures helped push Rachel Brand out
The Rachel Maddow Show
2/13/18
Julia Ainsley, NBC News national security and justice reporter, talks with Rachel Maddow about discouraging circumstances
within the Department of Justice were as responsible for the departure of Rachel Brand as the offer from Walmart.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/justice-department-pressures-helped-push-rachel-brand-out-1161177155793

*

Trump lawyer says he paid Stormy Daniels from own money: NYT

The Rachel Maddow Show
2/13/18
Rachel Maddow reports breaking news that Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen, responding to an FEC complaint,
insists he paid $130,000 to adult performer Stormy Daniels from his own money, not Trump Org or Trump campaign money.
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-lawyer-says-he-paid-stormy-daniels-from-own-money-nyt-1161153603701 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMKJ0a2vhlM [with comments]

Skip one to

Lawrence on FBI Director Wray v. Trump World

The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell
2/13/18
It appears Trump staffers are turning on each after FBI Director Christopher Wray contradicted the White House's story on Rob
Porter. One staffer, who spoke on the condition anonymity to the Washington Post, described John Kelly as "a big fat liar."
©2018 NBCNews.com
http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/watch/lawrence-on-fbi-director-christopher-wray-v-trump-world-1161142339713 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOZlEMgdOFM [with comments]

About spot on (lol) two thirds down

How White House officials could be susceptible to blackmail
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams
2/14/18
How could working in the Trump White House or any other administration make a government
official susceptible to blackmail? Former Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks explains.
©2018 NBCNews.com
[originally aired February 13, 2018]
http://www.msnbc.com/brian-williams/watch/how-officials-could-be-susceptible-to-blackmail-1161196099915

To "stashed February 13, 2018:"

Trump's Biggest Potential Conflict Of Interest Is Hiding In Plain Sight
The largest American office of China's largest bank sits on the 20th floor of Trump Tower, six levels below the desk where Donald Trump built an empire and wrested a presidency. It's hard to get a glimpse inside. There do not appear to be any public photos of the office, the bank doesn't welcome visitors, and a man guards the elevators downstairs--one of the perks of forking over an estimated $2 million a year for the space.
Trump Tower officially lists the tenant as the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, but make no mistake who's paying the rent: the Chinese government, which owns a majority of the company. And while the landlord is technically the Trump Organization, make no mistake who's cashing those millions: the president of the United States, who has placed day-to-day management with his sons but retains 100% ownership. This lease expires in October 2019, according to a debt prospectus obtained by Forbes. So if you assume that the Trumps want to keep this lucrative tenant, then Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. could well be negotiating right now over how many millions the Chinese government will pay the sitting president. Unless he has already taken care of it: In September 2015 then-candidate Trump boasted to Forbes that he had "just renewed" the lease, around the time he was gearing up his campaign.
But that's all small potatoes. The real money in the Trump empire comes from commercial tenants like the Chinese bank. Forbes estimates these tenants pay a collective $175 million a year or so to the president. And they do so anonymously. Federal laws, drafted without envisioning a real estate billionaire as president, require Trump to publicly disclose the shell companies he owns--but not the hundreds of businesses pouring money into them or even the extent of the money involved.
"The public reading the [disclosure] form doesn't know who is paying the president," says Walter Shaub, who resigned as the federal government's top ethics official in July. The president likes it that way. Neither the White House nor the Trump Organization would provide a list of the president's tenants, much less reveal what they pay. Instead, Trump Organization lawyer Alan Garten provided a statement: "Following the election, the Trump Organization implemented a rigorous vetting process for all transactions, including leases, which includes a detailed review and approval by our chief compliance officer and outside ethics advisor." In other words, government ethics officials, charged with detecting conflicts of interest, have never seen the president's rent roll.
So we created one on our own, identifying 164 tenants, in virtually every industry, from all around the world, and then estimated payments, wherever possible, based on property records, debt prospectuses and conversations with real estate experts. (See chart, p. 91.) When tenants refused to say how much space they rented, we made in-person visits and took rough measurements. (There were obstacles: The day after we sent questions to the Trump Organization , two security guards kicked a Forbes reporter out of a shopping area of one Trump property.) When we could not get more detailed information, we assumed tenants paid rates comparable to those for similar properties in their respective markets. We believe we've tracked the sources for 75% of the rent flowing into the president's coffers.
The numbers are significant: $21 million here, $12 million there. The names even more so: At least 36 of Trump's tenants have meaningful relationships with the federal government, from contractors to lobbying firms to regulatory targets.
How tangled is it all? Forbes discovered one deal, previously unreported, in which Trump partially serves as his own landlord: The U.S. government is paying some rent to the person who runs it.
[...]
https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2018/02/13/trump-conflicts-of-interest-tenants-donald-business-organization-real-estate-assets-pay/

Russia Sees Midterm Elections as Chance to Sow Fresh Discord, Intelligence Chiefs Warn - Senate Intel hearing 2-13-18
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/13/us/politics/russia-sees-midterm-elections-as-chance-to-sow-fresh-discord-intelligence-chiefs-warn.html

U.S. intel agencies expect Russia to escalate election meddling efforts
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/u-s-intel-agencies-expect-russia-escalate-election-meddling-efforts-n847551

Russia Sees U.S. Midterms as ‘Potential Target,’ Spy Chief Says
Coats says this year’s U.S. elections are ‘potential target’
North Korea doesn’t intend to ‘negotiate away’ weapons: report
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-13/russia-sees-u-s-midterms-as-potential-target-spy-chief-says-jdlqv62n

State Department's answer to Russian meddling is about to be funded
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/02/13/state-department-answer-russian-meddling-funded/322992002/

more: https://news.google.com/news/story/dEFO1Qaw1KHkhXMP2Z73e9vAgqp3M?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en

Netanyahu corruption probes: What you need to know
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/13/middleeast/netanyahu-corruption-probes-israel-intl/index.html

Russian Threat To Elections To Persist Through 2018, Spy Bosses Warn Congress
https://www.npr.org/2018/02/13/584672450/intelligence-leaders-testify-about-global-threats-in-senate-hearing

Top intelligence chiefs issue a dire warning about the Kremlin's ongoing efforts to influence the US, defend against Trump's attacks on the FBI, and explain what happened with a shady Russian offering dirt on Trump
The leaders of six top US intelligence agencies testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday for its annual "Worldwide Threats" hearing.
China and North Korea were big topics of discussion, but lawmakers and officials focused most on Russia's election interference and ongoing influence operations.
http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence-chiefs-testify-russia-north-korea-china-senate-intel-committee-2018-2

U.S. intel agencies predict Russia to escalate election meddling efforts
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/u-s-intel-agencies-expect-russia-escalate-election-meddling-efforts-n847551

'Frankly, the United States Is Under Attack'
U.S. intelligence chiefs warn of Russian 2018 election interference about which Trump remains unmoved.
https://www.usnews.com/opinion/thomas-jefferson-street/articles/2018-02-13/intelligence-chiefs-warn-of-russian-2018-attack-which-trump-still-denies

more: https://news.google.com/news/story/d59ZuKsypu_T-oME8Vffie9MqRZoM?ned=us&gl=US&hl=en