“Trade wars are good, and easy to win.” That’s the message President Trump tweeted on Friday, sending shockwaves across the globe and sparking fear of impending economic volatility. On Thursday, world stock markets tumbled after Trump announced he plans to impose new tariffs on imports of foreign steel and aluminum. The new tariffs—25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum—will benefit U.S. producers of the metals, while raising prices for companies that manufacture everything from cars to airplanes to high-rise apartments. Prominent Republicans and business leaders have denounced Trump’s plan, saying the tariffs will hurt the manufacturing industry and U.S. competitiveness. Trump’s announcement has also prompted concerns that other countries will impose retaliatory tariffs while challenging U.S. protectionism at the World Trade Organization. For more, we host a debate. Lori Wallach is the director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch and author of “The Rise and Fall of Fast Track Trade Authority [ https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Fall-Track-Trade-Authority-ebook/dp/B00CIGJJJ2 ].” Economist Michael Hudson is the author of “America’s Protectionist Takeoff 1815-1914 [ https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Protectionist-Takeoff-1815-1914-Michael/dp/3980846687 ].” https://www.democracynow.org/2018/3/6/lori_wallach_and_michael_hudson_debate[with embedded video, and transcript]
Sen. Chris Murphy Calls for Reinstating Assault Weapons Ban & Breaking NRA’s “Vise Grip” on GOP
Published on Mar 6, 2018 by Democracy Now!
The Florida Senate has voted to support a number of a new gun control measures following the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 people dead. Meanwhile, in Washington, Republican lawmakers said last week they’re moving on from the debate over gun control, after failing to pass a single bill on firearms in the wake of last month’s massacre in Florida. For more, we speak with one of the most vocal advocates for gun control in Washington, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. Shortly after the Florida shooting, Murphy took to the floor of the Senate to call for action. “Let me just note once again for my colleagues that this happens nowhere else other than the United States of America, this epidemic of mass slaughter, this scourge of school shooting after school shooting,” Murphy said. “It only happens here, not because of coincidence, not because of bad luck, but as a consequence of our inaction.” https://www.democracynow.org/2018/3/6/sen_chris_murphy_calls_for_reinstating[with embedded video, and transcript]
Sen. Chris Murphy: The U.S. Is Exporting Violence & Killing Civilians in Illegal War in Yemen
Published on Mar 6, 2018 by Democracy Now!
On Capitol Hill, three U.S. senators have introduced a bill that would force Congress to vote for the first time on whether to continue U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition’s war in Yemen. The measure was introduced by Republican Mike Lee, Democrat Chris Murphy and Vermont independent Bernie Sanders, who noted that the Constitution gives Congress—and not the president—the power to declare war. For more, we speak with Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. https://www.democracynow.org/2018/3/6/sen_chris_murphy_the_us_is[with embedded video, and transcript]
Sam Nunberg is being targeted by Mueller’s special persecution of Trump by trumping up charges against those surrounding the President. Monday afternoon, he went full Howard Beale and lthe networks loved it as he lost it on over a half dozen interviews in a short period of time. Roger Stone joins to discuss Nunberg’s statement that Mueller is trying to set up Roger. Then Mike Adams on his sudden, unexpected purge of his entire YouTube channel. And Silicon Valley corporations are secretly and quietly taking over “Smart Cities” and turning them into a surveillance nightmare where everything is owned by them and the controlled population are renters on an allowance.
[from Alex Jones and his merry band of batshit bullshitters]
Readout of President Donald J. Trump’s Call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada
Issued on: March 6, 2018
President Donald J. Trump spoke yesterday with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada to address trade and the ongoing NAFTA negotiations in Mexico City. President Trump emphasized his commitment to a NAFTA agreement that was fair to all three countries, noting the current agreement leaves the United States with a trade deficit.
Statement from Vice President Mike Pence on North Korea
Issued on: March 6, 2018
Whichever direction talks with North Korea go, we will be firm in our resolve. The United States and our allies remain committed to applying maximum pressure on the Kim regime to end their nuclear program. All options are on the table and our posture toward the regime will not change until we see credible, verifiable, and concrete steps toward denuclearization.
Readout of the Vice President’s Call with President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine
Issued on: March 6, 2018
In a phone call today with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Vice President Mike Pence reaffirmed the United States’ steadfast support for Ukraine’s efforts to combat Russian aggression, improve governance, and reform its economy. The leaders agreed on the importance of expanding bilateral trade and investment, and the Vice President underscored the need for continued reforms to fight corruption, increase transparency, and improve the business climate. The Vice President reiterated that the United States will continue to hold Russia accountable until it fulfills its commitments under the Minsk agreements, returns the Crimean peninsula to Ukraine, and ceases its destabilizing activities.
Top intelligence officials have confirmed Russia is trying to meddle in the 2018 midterm elections. Despite numerous warnings, including from the Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, Trump and his team are doing very little to prevent Russian inference from happening again.
Full Show - Radical Leftists Pushing To End Free Speech And Destroy Infowars - 03/06/2018
Published on Mar 6, 2018 by The Alex Jones Channel
Tuesday, March 6th 2018[, with appearances by Mike Adams, Jim Hoft and Gary Franchi, and Paul Joseph Watson hosting the fourth hour]: Why America hates mainstream media - An Ex-Trump aide created a media circus by publically denying Mueller's subpoena, adding, “It would be funny if they arrest me" - all while providing no evidence Trump did anything illegal during his campaign. Also, North Korea is considering giving up their nukes in exchange for regime security.
Breaking news drops as the War Room is live, as Gary Cohn announces his intentions to resign as President Trump's top economic advisor. We hear from Roger Stone on his experience on Meet The Press as well as his take on Cohn's resignation. Although the stories are the Democrats are winning votes, their base is protesting outside of their facilities, saying they're not allies. We also cover the latest news from the Italian elections.
[from Alex Jones and his merry band of batshit bullshitters]
Tim Foley, founder of Arizona Border Recon, claims that some humanitarians on the border are suffering from white guilt and aiding drug cartels. He also discusses what motivates him to invest time and energy in patrolling the border.
Rick Twombley and Griff King are celebrities on gay Instagram, and they’ve found a way to monetize their sexy selfies. The married couple posts workout videos, cooking demonstrations, NSFW photo galleries and relationship advice on a subscription-based site called OnlyFans. On this episode of Fameish, VICE meets up with them in their Atlanta home and finds out what it’s like to sell a gay dream.
Ari Melber explains why the unprecedented Sam Nunberg interview matters
The Beat with Ari Melber 3/6/18
Sam Nunberg’s rare inside look at the Mueller probe reveals who Mueller is eyeing, what documents he is seizing and possible clues on Mueller’s strategy. MSNBC’s chief legal correspondent, Ari Melber, explains the legal significance of Nunberg’s risky “on the record” comments in contrast to the flurry of witnesses leaking anonymously.
Inside Mueller's probe: Witness speaks out on 'The Beat'
The Beat with Ari Melber 3/6/18
The wife of guilty Trump aide George Papadopoulos, Simona Mangiante, speaks out about her grand jury subpoena from Special Counsel Mueller and reacts to Sam Nunberg’s eye-opening interview.
Why Mueller is saving Trump aide Roger Stone for last
The Beat with Ari Melber 3/6/18
New heat on Trump’s longtime ally and former campaign adviser, Roger Stone after Sam Nunberg alleges Bob Mueller is targeting his mentor. In a new interview, Stone reveals a new Russia-WikiLeaks defense and says he has not heard from Mueller.
Amid the teachers strike continuing, VICE News goes to West Virginia to talk to twin sisters who are both teachers, one who lives in the wealthier northern part of the state and one in southern coal country.
This Is What ISIS Leaves Behind: VICE on HBO, Full Segment
Published on Mar 6, 2018 by VICE News
As a major stronghold of ISIS in its brutal sweep across Iraq, the city of Mosul has been central in the war to defeat the terror group.
Iraqi forces began their campaign to crush ISIS in October 2016 just outside of Erbil, with a coalition of Kurdish peshmerga forces, and Western advisory allies. It was a long and arduous process of slowly advancing first from town to town along the Nineveh plains toward the city and then from block to block as they worked to liberate sectors of the city.
VICE’s Aris Roussinos embedded with Iraqi forces as they began the campaign to retake Mosul.
Inside Beto O'Rourke's Fight To Take Down Ted Cruz (HBO)
Published on Mar 6, 2018 by VICE News
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke is hoping to defeat Sen. Ted Cruz — and end a 30-year streak of statewide losses for his party — by taking his grassroots-driven campaign to every single one of Texas’ 254 counties, including the deep-red ones that Democrats have ignored for decades.
“I don't know if I'm going to win more votes than the last Democrat who ran in those counties, but I know that not enough Democrats have been showing up in those counties in the first place,” he told VICE News in an interview on the road in the middle of a seven-stop day on the campaign trail last month.
“And they haven't been reflecting the needs of those counties in what they say on the campaign trail.”
But for all he says he’s looking to reflect the needs of those voters, when he visits seven Republican-leaning rural counties across West Texas on a Saturday in February, he doesn’t moderate his liberal profile on a range of issues. During a stop in Brown County — which voted for Trump by 86 percent — he touts his support for an assault weapons ban. In Parker County, where Trump won 82 percent of the vote, he’s unapologetically pro-choice.
Running as a liberal is a tough task in a state Republicans have won statewide every election cycle since 1994.
But Texas’ demographic shifts — towards a younger, more diverse electorate — suggest it’s just a matter of time until Democrats take back the state. And O’Rourke believes the grassroots energy behind his campaign — which has helped him outraise Cruz over the past four months of the race — coupled with frustration among Republicans with Cruz and Trump’s performance in office could make this cycle different for Democrats.
“I think there's some energy around the things that we're concerned about — this idea that we build a wall...this incitement of fear about Muslims,” he said.
But O’Rourke added: “There's a lot more energy—I think you saw it tonight around the things that people want to do, that they're excited for,” like raising the minimum wage and passing immigration reform.
The West Virginia Teachers' Strike Is Over. The Fight Isn't. (HBO)
Published on Mar 6, 2018 by VICE News
Gov. Jim Justice, state lawmakers and teachers reached a deal today to get West Virginia teachers back into the classroom. Teachers and other state personnel, including state troopers, will receive a 5% raise each year in this deal
George Nader, a Lebanese-American who represents the Saudi Crown Prince who essentially runs the United Arab Emirates, is cooperating with Mueller, reports the New York Times, "who appears to be examining the influence of foreign money on Mr. Trump's political activities."
As West Virginia teachers' strike ends, is Oklahoma next?
All In with Chris Hayes 3/6/18
West Virginia teachers had their demands met after nine days on strike - and now a lot of Oklahoma teachers are saying they're going to follow in their footsteps.
Trump, apparently winging it on tariff policy, loses Gary Cohn
The Rachel Maddow Show 3/6/18
Rachel Maddow reports on the resignation of Gary Cohn, Donald Trump's top economic advisor, as Trump is in the midst of attempting to wing it through the implementation of complicated, consequential tariff policy.
Untethered Trump fails to process advice on tariff policy
The Rachel Maddow Show 3/6/18
MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle talks with Rachel Maddow about the dynamics within the White House that led to the departure of Donald Trump's top economic adviser Gary Cohn.
Adviser to UAE cooperating with Robert Mueller investigation: NYT
The Rachel Maddow Show 3/6/18
Rachel Maddow reports on a series of unusual meetings between the United Arab Emirates and the Trump administration and talks with Adam Goldman, national security reporter for the New York Times, about new reporting that UAE adviser George Nader is cooperating with Robert Mueller's investigation.
Mueller scrutiny of Michael Cohen opens new front on collusion
The Rachel Maddow Show 3/6/18
Rachel Maddow reviews a new report in the Washington Post about longtime Donald Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and the possibility that the Russian government tried to use him as a conduit to communicate with the Trump administration.
West Virginia teachers end strike victorious, may serve as model
The Rachel Maddow Show 3/6/18
Rachel Maddow reports on the teachers of West Virginia ending their record-setting strike after winning the raise they were demanding, and points out that West Virginia isn't the only state with teachers who are overdue raises.
Porn actress sues Trump over bungled hush money contract
The Rachel Maddow Show 3/6/18
Rachel Maddow and Lawrence O'Donnell talk about breaking news that Stephanie Clifford, an adult performer who uses the name Stormy Daniels, is suing Donald Trump to nullify their non-disclosure agreement.
Lawrence O'Donnell recaps a tumultuous day in the Trump White House, which includes Kellyanne Conway's Hatch Act violation. Reporter McKay Coppins explains why Sam Nunberg was "celebrating" his shocking media meltdown on Monday. Trump biographer Tim O'Brien joins.
Lawrence debunks Trump's claim trade wars don't hurt U.S.
The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell 3/6/18
President Donald Trump continued his riff that trade wars can be good. Lawrence O'Donnell explains why the opposite is true. He's joined by Robert Reich and Jennifer Rubin.
Jared Kusher will travel to Mexico on Wednesday to meet with President Enrique Peña Nieto. It comes amid Trump's trade controversy and as Kushner is under scrutiny for meetings with foreign governments. Neera Tanden and Jennifer Rubin join Lawrence O'Donnell.
Trump: Everybody wants to work in the White House. Cohn: I don't.
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 3/7/18
Gary Cohn, the president's chief economic adviser is leaving the White House. The news came hours after Trump told reporters, 'Everybody wants to work in the White House.' The news also comes just days after Hope Hicks announced she was leaving the Trump White House. Our panel reacts.
Porn star Stormy Daniels is suing Donald Trump Tuesday, alleging that he never signed the nondisclosure agreement that his lawyer had arranged with her. Jonathan Lemire reacts.
Trump: America is ready if Russia meddles in 2018 midterms
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 3/7/18
One day after reports that Trump's State Department has spent $0 of the $120 million allotted to fight Russian meddling in the 2018 midterms, Trump told reporters the U.S. could 'counteract very strongly' any Russian efforts.
Trump admin. reverses Obama-era ban on elephant trophy imports
The 11th Hour with Brian Williams 3/7/18
Wildlife biologist & conservationist Jeff Corwin reacts to the Trump administration's reversal of a ban on the imports of animal trophies from parts of Africa. The Obama-era ban included include elephants, lions, and more. Corwin calls the policy change 'sad, deplorable, depressing, but not surprising.'
After receiving a subpoena, Sam Nunberg takes to cable news to discredit the Mueller investigation, only to offer up his email passwords a few hours later.
Jordan honors America's brave lawmaker's for taking the necessary steps to make schools safer, including displaying holy messages as a deterrent for gun violence.
Oprah Winfrey Searched For Meaning In Trump's Latest Tweet About Her
Published on Mar 7, 2018 by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
'A Wrinkle In Time' star Oprah Winfrey took some time to reflect on Trump's criticism of her '60 Minutes' appearance. And she still couldn't figure it out.
[originally aired March 6, 2018 (U.S. central time)]
Tuesday Mar 06, 2018 News Section for Caravan to Midnight full long-form interview Episode 894 - Dr. John Huber On this episode of CTM, Dr. John Huber returns to discuss the mental state of the individual and the Country. And as always, he and John B. will range out across a wide field of topics and may even cross a frontier or two. Full interview - https://www.caravantomidnight.com/Episode/EpisodesDetails?Id=20891
Former Host of Coast To Coast AM John B Wells is now in control on Caravan To Midnight & Ark Midnight.
Letter Revealing How Gandhi Really Felt About Christianity Is Sold For $50,000 - tie https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=30820541 [Einstein letter] In the letter, the Hindu leader muses on his beliefs about Jesus. A private buyer has purchased a historical letter in which Indian independence leader Mohandas K. Gandhi muses about his personal relationship with Jesus and Christianity. The typed document, which contains Gandhi’s handwritten signature, sold to a buyer for $50,000 on Friday, according to Nathan Raab, president of the historical document dealer Raab Collection in Ardmore, Pa. The company told HuffPost it does not disclose the identity of its buyers or sellers. In 1926, an American Christian religious elder, Milton Newberry Frantz, wrote to Gandhi, inviting the Hindu leader to read an article Frantz had written about Christianity. On April 6 of that year, Gandhi wrote back to Frantz from an ashram in Gujarat. Gandhi wrote that he felt Jesus was “one of the great teachers of mankind.” However, he couldn’t subscribe to the Christian belief that Jesus was more than that. Gandhi tells Frantz: Dear Friend, I have your letter. I am afraid it is not possible for me to subscribe to the creed you have sent me. The subscriber is made to believe that the highest manifestation of the unseen reality was Jesus Christ. In spite of all my efforts, I have not been able to feel the truth of that statement. I have not been able to move beyond the belief that Jesus was one of the great teachers of mankind. Gandhi goes on to state that it’s important to respect all people’s faith traditions, since all religions are based on a “common thread of love and mutual esteem.” He writes: Do you not think that religious unity is to be had not by a mechanical subscription to a common creed but by all respecting the creed of each? In my opinion, difference in creed there must be so long as there are different brains. But who does it matter if all these are hung upon the common thread of love and mutual esteem? Gandhi grew up in a Hindu family that was primarily devoted to the worship of the god Vishnu. He was also introduced at a young age to Jainism, a religion that emphasizes nonviolence. For much of his adult life, Gandhi earnestly studied the religions of the world. He read the Quran, Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount and the writings of Leo Tolstoy on Christianity. He was deeply influenced by the Bhagavad Gita, one of the core religious texts in Hinduism, and remained a committed Hindu for the rest of his life. By the time he wrote the letter to Frantz, Gandhi had already emerged as a leading figure in India’s movement for independence from British rule. He had inspired thousands of followers to boycott British institutions and encouraged many to replace imported British goods with items produced in India. After being arrested and jailed for sedition in 1922, Gandhi retreated from political prominence for a few years. The letter to Frantz was written during this time. Gandhi reemerged as a political leader by late 1928 and in 1930 launched the Salt March, a massive nonviolent protest against the British salt tax. When India achieved independence in 1947, Gandhi strongly opposed the country’s partition into India and Pakistan, and he urged Hindus and Muslims to live together peacefully. He was killed on Jan. 30, 1948, by a Hindu fanatic who was angry about Gandhi’s efforts to negotiate with Muslims. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/letter-gandhi-christianity-sold-50000_us_5a9d64f6e4b089ec353d4e26
White House adviser Kellyanne Conway violated Hatch Act, federal investigator says Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser to President Trump, violated federal law on two occasions by making public comments supportive of one candidate and against another ahead of a special Senate election in Alabama last year, a federal investigator said Tuesday. The remarks, in a pair of televised interviews, amounted to a violation of the Hatch Act, which prohibits public employees from using their official capacity to conduct political activity, special counsel Henry J. Kerner said in a report. The White House on Tuesday rejected the findings, saying Conway was only reflecting the president’s views when she spoke against Doug Jones, the Democrat running for the Senate seat, and in favor of Roy Moore, the Republican candidate. Jones ultimately won the seat. Conway “did not advocate for or against the election of any particular candidate,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement. “She simply expressed the President’s obvious position that he have people in the House and Senate who support his agenda.” But in an 11-page report [ https://osc.gov/Resources/Conway%20HA-18-0966%20Final%20Report.pdf ], the Office of the Special Counsel concluded that Conway “impermissibly mixed official government business with political views about candidates in the Alabama special election” and advised Trump to consider disciplinary action against Conway. [...] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-adviser-kellyanne-conway-violated-hatch-act-federal-investigator-says/2018/03/06/28995c06-2162-11e8-94da-ebf9d112159c_story.html
Here's what happened in the 2018 Texas primaries As polls opened in the Texas primaries on Tuesday, The Texas Tribune laid out seven key questions for election night. Now that the smoke is clearing, here are the answers. https://www.texastribune.org/2018/03/07/texas-primary-elections-2018/
'There's something different going on there': We might be seeing the first signs of a Democratic wave in Texas For the first time in a quarter century, Democrats are running in every congressional district in Texas — a total of 36 seats. And early voter turnout in the state's primary elections indicate a surge in Democratic voter engagement. But divisions in the Democratic Party are being exposed by competitive primaries between progressive candidates looking to excite the base and centrist ones, seeking swing-voter support. http://www.businessinsider.com/signs-of-a-democratic-wave-in-texas-2018-midterm-elections-2018-3
Adviser to Emirates With Ties to Trump Aides Is Cooperating With Special Counsel WASHINGTON — An adviser to the United Arab Emirates with ties to current and former aides to President Trump is cooperating with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, and gave testimony last week to a grand jury, according to two people familiar with the matter. Mr. Mueller appears to be examining the influence of foreign money on Mr. Trump’s political activities and has asked witnesses about the possibility that the adviser, George Nader, funneled money from the Emirates to the president’s political efforts. It is illegal for foreign entities to contribute to campaigns or for Americans to knowingly accept foreign money for political races. Mr. Nader, a Lebanese-American businessman who advises Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the effective ruler of the Emirates, also attended a January 2017 meeting in the Seychelles that Mr. Mueller’s investigators have examined. The meeting, convened by the crown prince, brought together a Russian investor close to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia with Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater and an informal adviser to Mr. Trump’s team during the presidential transition, according to three people familiar with the meeting. Mr. Nader’s cooperation in the special counsel’s investigation could prompt new legal risks for the Trump administration, and Mr. Nader’s presence at the Seychelles meeting appears to connect him to the primary focus of Mr. Mueller’s investigation: examining Russian interference during the 2016 presidential campaign. Mr. Nader represented the crown prince in the three-way conversation in the Seychelles, at a hotel overlooking in the Indian Ocean, in the days before Mr. Trump took office. At the meeting, Emirati officials believed Mr. Prince was speaking for the Trump transition team, and a Russian fund manager, Kirill Dmitriev, represented Mr. Putin, according to several people familiar with the meeting. Mr. Nader, who grew close later to several advisers in the Trump White House, had once worked as a consultant to Blackwater, a private security firm now known as Academi. Mr. Nader introduced his former employer to the Russian. [...] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/06/us/politics/george-nader-special-counsel-mueller-cooperating-seychelles.html
Mueller has secured sworn testimony from a little-known but pivotal witness in the Russia investigation The special counsel Robert Mueller has secured sworn testimony from George Nader, a little-known but critical witness in the Russia investigation. Nader serves as an adviser to the United Arab Emirates' Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and attended two meetings with President Donald Trump's associates that have invited intense FBI scrutiny. In particular, investigators are focused on a January 2017 meeting in the Seychelles islands between Nader, Trump associate Erik Prince, and Kremlin ally Kirill Dmitriev, the head of a sanctioned Russian investment fund. http://www.businessinsider.com/george-nader-mueller-seychelles-erik-prince-trump-russia-2018-3
Roger Stone distances himself from Sam Nunberg after his wild media blitz Republican strategist and former Trump adviser Roger Stone said Tuesday he was not involved in former campaign aide Sam Nunberg's freewheeling media blitz before, during, or after the fact. Stone also said that he had no prior knowledge of WikiLeaks' disclosures during the 2016 presidential election. "There is one trick that's not in my bag — that's treason," Stone said. But he backtracked when he was asked whether he believed, as his statement implied, that it would be treasonous if the Trump campaign was found to have worked with Russia during the campaign. "I don't think so, because for it to be a treasonous act, Assange would have to be provably a Russian asset and WikiLeaks would have to be a Russian front, and I do not believe that is the case," Stone replied. http://www.businessinsider.com/roger-stone-distances-himself-from-sam-nunberg-after-wild-media-blitz-2018-3
A mysterious professor who told the Trump campaign about 'dirt' on Hillary Clinton has gone off the grid No one can track down Joseph Mifsud, a professor who reportedly met with George Papadopoulos, a former Trump campaign adviser, during the 2016 US presidential campaign. Mifsud allegedly told Papadopoulos that Russia had "dirt" on then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Mifsud's finacé told Buzzfeed News that he cut off communication with her when his name leaked to the press last October. Mar. 2, 2018 http://www.businessinsider.com/where-is-joseph-mifsud-professor-in-russia-probe-2018-3
Justice Department religious discrimination lawsuit alleges woman was forced to get flu shot or be fired A Justice Department lawsuit alleges religious discrimination against an employer's requirement that employees receive flu shots. The woman allegedly experienced "severe emotional distress" and suffered anxiety and "fear of 'going to Hell.'" Her request not to get a flu shot was denied because she did not provide a letter from her clergy member. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/06/federal-lawsuit-alleges-woman-forced-to-get-flu-shot-or-lose-her-job.html
Stormy Daniels sues Trump over 'hush agreement' An adult film actress embroiled in allegations of an affair with Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against him alleging that a nondisclosure contract she signed is invalid. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43312158
Google's military work reverses one of its oldest values — and it could jeopardize the company's biggest asset Google confirmed that it has a contract with the Department of Defense involving AI technology and drones, but has declined to go into detail. Google said the technology is being used for "non-offensive" uses. Google has long avoided being part of the military industrial complex, to the point where it seems to have been an unofficial company policy. The news that Google was working with the DoD reportedly upset many of the company's employees. http://www.businessinsider.com/google-working-with-united-states-department-of-defense-2018-3
FDA authorizes, with special controls, direct-to-consumer test that reports three mutations in the BRCA breast cancer genes Test only reports 3 out of more than 1,000 known BRCA mutations and negative result doesn’t rule out increased cancer risk https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm599560.htm
Missing Files Motivated the Leak of Michael Cohen’s Financial Records
"“People Have Just Had Enough”: West Virginia Teachers Continue Historic Strike into Eighth Day"
A law-enforcement official released the documents after finding that additional suspicious transactions did not appear in a government database.
By Ronan Farrow
May 16, 2018
IMAGE Transactions involving Michael Cohen, President Trump’s personal lawyer, were the subject of multiple unreleased suspicious-activity reports. Photograph by John Taggart / MediaPunch / Alamy
Last week, several news outlets obtained financial records showing that Michael Cohen .. https://www.newyorker.com/tag/michael-cohen , President Trump’s .. https://www.newyorker.com/tag/donald-trump .. personal attorney, had used a shell company .. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/us/politics/michael-cohen-shell-company-payments.html .. to receive payments .. https://www.apnews.com/193c6f3bda0b46e6b718b88c622dfc99 .. from various firms with business before the Trump Administration. In the days since, there has been much speculation about who leaked the confidential documents, and the Treasury Department’s inspector general has launched a probe to find the source. That source, a law-enforcement official, is speaking publicly for the first time, to The New Yorker, to explain the motivation: the official had grown alarmed after being unable to find two important reports on Cohen’s financial activity in a government database. The official, worried that the information was being withheld from law enforcement, released the remaining documents.
The payments to Cohen that have emerged in the past week come primarily from a single document, a “suspicious-activity report” filed by First Republic Bank, where Cohen’s shell company, Essential Consultants, L.L.C., maintained an account. The document detailed sums in the hundreds of thousands of dollars paid to Cohen by the pharmaceutical company Novartis, the telecommunications giant A.T. & T., and an investment firm with ties to the Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg.
The report also refers to two previous suspicious-activity reports, or SARs, that the bank had filed, which documented even larger flows of questionable money into Cohen’s account. Those two reports detail more than three million dollars in additional transactions—triple the amount in the report released last week. Which individuals or corporations were involved remains a mystery. But, according to the official who leaked the report, these SARs were absent from the database maintained by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN. The official, who has spent a career in law enforcement, told me, “I have never seen something pulled off the system. . . . That system is a safeguard for the bank. It’s a stockpile of information. When something’s not there that should be, I immediately became concerned.” The official added, “That’s why I came forward.”
Seven former government officials and other experts familiar with the Treasury Department’s FinCEN database expressed varying levels of concern about the missing reports. Some speculated that FinCEN may have restricted access to the reports due to the sensitivity of their content, which they said would be nearly unprecedented. One called the possibility “explosive.” A record-retention policy on FinCEN’s Web site notes that false documents or those “deemed highly sensitive” and “requiring strict limitations on access” may be transferred out of its master file. Nevertheless, a former prosecutor who spent years working with the FinCEN database said that she knew of no mechanism for restricting access to SARs. She speculated that FinCEN may have taken the extraordinary step of restricting access “because of the highly sensitive nature of a potential investigation. It may be that someone reached out to FinCEN to ask to limit disclosure of certain SARs related to an investigation, whether it was the special counsel or the Southern District of New York.” (The special counsel, Robert Mueller, is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential election. The Southern District is investigating Cohen, and the F.B.I. raided his office and hotel room last month.)
Whatever the explanation for the missing reports, the appearance that some, but not all, had been removed or restricted troubled the official who released the report last week. “Why just those two missing?” the official, who feared that the contents of those two reports might be permanently withheld, said. “That’s what alarms me the most.”
FinCEN said in a statement that it protects the confidentiality of SARs “in order to protect both filers and potentially named individuals.” The statement added, “FinCEN neither confirms nor denies the existence of purported SARs.” Spokespeople for the special counsel’s office and the Southern District of New York declined to comment. Michael Cohen and his lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.
Banks are legally mandated to file suspicious-activity reports with the government in order to call attention to activity that resembles money laundering, fraud, and other criminal conduct. These reports are routed to a permanent database maintained by FinCEN, which can be searched by tens of thousands of law-enforcement and other federal government personnel. The reports are a routine response to any financial activity that appears suspicious. They are not proof of criminal activity, and often do not result in criminal charges, though the information in them can be used in law-enforcement proceedings. “This is a permanent record. They should be there,” the official, who described an exhaustive search for the reports, said. “And there is nothing there.”
Cohen set up the First Republic account for Essential Consultants in October, 2016, shortly before the Presidential election, in order to pay the adult-film actress Stephanie Clifford, who performs under the name Stormy Daniels, a hundred and thirty thousand dollars in return for signing a nondisclosure agreement about her alleged affair with Donald Trump. First Republic’s compliance officers later began flagging Cohen’s transactions in the account as possible signs of money laundering. Among other potential violations, the documents cite “suspicion concerning the source of funds,” “suspicious EFT/ wire transfers,” “suspicious use of multiple accounts,” and “transaction with no apparent economic, business, or lawful purpose.” (A spokesperson for First Republic Bank declined to comment.)
By January of this year, First Republic had filed the three suspicious-activity reports about Cohen’s account. The most recent report—the only one made public so far—examined Cohen’s transactions from September of 2017 to January of 2018, and included activity totalling almost a million dollars. It alludes to the two previous reports that the official could not find in the FinCEN database. The first report that the official was unable to locate, which covered almost seven months, appears to have listed a little over a million dollars in activity. The second report that the official was unable to locate, which investigated a three-month period between June and September of 2017, found suspect transfers totalling more than two million dollars.
A substantial portion of this money seems to have ended up in Cohen’s personal accounts. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney filed a separate SAR showing that, during that same three-month period, Cohen set up two accounts with the firm, into which he deposited three checks from his Essential Consultants account, two in the amount of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and one in the amount of five hundred and five thousand dollars. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney marked those transactions, which added up to more than a million dollars, as possible signs of “bribery or gratuity” and “suspicious use of third-party transactors (straw-man).”
Cohen appears to have misled First Republic repeatedly regarding the purpose of the Essential Consultants account. In paperwork filed with the bank, he said that the company would be devoted to using “his experience in real estate to consult on commercial and residential” deals. Cohen told the bank that his transactions would be modest, and based within the United States. In fact, the compliance officers wrote, “a significant portion of the target account deposits continue to originate from entities that have no apparent connection to real estate or apparent need to engage Cohen as a real estate consultant.” Likewise, “a significant portion of the deposits continues to be derived from foreign entities.” David Murray, a former Treasury official focussed on illicit finance, told me, “There are a ton of red flags here. The pattern of activity has indicators that are inherently suspicious, and the volume and source of funds do not match the account profile that was built when the account was opened.”
The report released last week highlights a payment from Cohen’s account to Demeter Direct, Inc. In publicly filed paperwork, Demeter Direct represents itself as a Korean food company. However, a Web site, since taken down, suggested that it was a global consulting firm. After the press began scrutinizing Cohen’s accounts, a man listed as Demeter Direct’s C.E.O., Mark Ko, told CNN that he served as an intermediary and translator in Cohen’s dealings with an aviation firm, majority-owned by South Korea’s government, called Korea Aerospace Industries. According to the First Republic report, the aerospace company paid Cohen a hundred and fifty thousand dollars in November of 2017, the same month President Trump visited South Korea. At the time, the company was lobbying for a controversial multibillion-dollar contract with the U.S. Air Force.
The report also shows how Cohen apparently used the Essential Consultants account for personal expenses. He seems to have used it to pay his American Express, A.T. & T., and Mercedes Benz bills, marking account numbers on the memo lines of his checks. He paid initiation fees and dues to the Core Club, a social club that the Times once described as a “portal to power.” He also cut himself multiple personal checks from Essential Consultants, amounting to more than a hundred thousand dollars, on top of the million he had already deposited into his Morgan Stanley accounts.
In many cases, the suspicious-activity reports highlight activity of potential interest to ongoing investigations, including that of the special counsel, Robert Mueller. Bank compliance officers noted eight payments from a company called Columbus Nova to Cohen’s account between January and August of 2017, totalling five hundred thousand dollars. The investigators wrote that Columbus Nova’s biggest client is a company controlled by Viktor Vekselberg,[ He's one of the sanctioned Russian oligarchs .. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/06/world/europe/russian-oligarchs-sanctions.html ] whom they described as “reputed to be a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.” The report also points out that Andrew Intrater, Vekselberg’s relative and the C.E.O. of Columbus Nova, donated more than three hundred thousand dollars to Trump-related causes. The report flagged the activity as suspicious “because the CEO’s company transferred substantial funds to the personal attorney of Trump at the same time the CEO reportedly donated substantial funds to Trump’s inauguration fund and joint fundraising committee for Trump’s reelection and the Republican National Committee.”
Other banks also noticed Cohen’s suspicious transactions and filed their own SARs about his activity. Some of those show the banks piecing together the reasons for the transactions from news reports, citing articles from publications including the Wall Street Journal and Vanity Fair about Trump, Russia, and secret election-season payments, including the payment to Clifford. One, filed by City National Bank, follows money paid to Cohen by Elliott Broidy, at the time the deputy finance chairman for the Republican National Committee. The report notes, “Broidy also owns a private security company, Circinus, which provides services to the U.S. and other governments. The company has hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts with the U.A.E.” Broidy has said that Cohen and another lawyer, Keith Davidson, worked out a deal in which Broidy would pay $1.6 million to a former Playboy model he had impregnated. Broidy appears to have paid both lawyers for arranging the deal. The City National report shows that Broidy funnelled the payments through Real Estate Attorneys’ Group, a legal corporation. Broidy seems to have paid Davidson two hundred thousand dollars, and to have sent three payments, of $62,500 each, to Cohen—one to the Essential Consultants account and two to the account of Michael D. Cohen and Associates.
A representative for Broidy said that this description of the payments was “not correct,” and that “Mr. Broidy is not going to detail his payments for legal services to Mr. Cohen.” The representative added, “Mr. Broidy did not pay Mr. Davidson.” However, the City National report shows that on November 30, 2017, a wire of two hundred thousand dollars was received by the Real Estate Attorneys’ Group from Broidy. Then, on December 5, 2017, two hundred thousand dollars were transferred from Real Estate Attorneys’ Group to an account belonging to Keith M. Davidson and Associates.
Michael Avenatti, an attorney representing Clifford, who has released summaries of Cohen’s transactions on social media, said, “The Treasury Department should release all of the SARs immediately to the American public.”
Suspicious-activity reports are kept strictly confidential, as a matter of law. “SARs are secret, to protect the government and to protect financial institutions,” the former prosecutor told me. “I don’t think there’s a safe harbor for somebody who discloses it.” According to FinCEN, disclosing a SAR is a federal offense, carrying penalties including fines of up to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and imprisonment for up to five years. The official who released the suspicious-activity reports was aware of the risks, but said fears that the missing reports might be suppressed compelled the disclosure. “We’ve accepted this as normal, and this is not normal,” the official said. “Things that stand out as abnormal, like documents being removed from a system, are of grave concern to me.” Of the potential for legal consequences, the official said, “To say that I am terrified right now would be an understatement.” But, referring to the released report, as well as the potential contents of the missing reports, the official also added, “This is a terrifying time to be an American, to be in this situation, and to watch all of this unfold.”
Ronan Farrow is a contributing writer to The New Yorker and a television anchor and investigative reporter whose work also appears on HBO. He is the author of the book “War on Peace: The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence.”Read more .. https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/ronan-farrow
Trump lawyer's $130,000 payment to adult film star was reportedly flagged as suspicious and sent to Treasury Department Trump's lawyer's payment to former adult film star Stormy Daniels was reportedly flagged as suspicious and sent to the Treasury Department. Cohen complained that the money he sent out of his own pocket had not been reimbursed, the WSJ reports, citing sources. Daniels reportedly received the payment as part of a nondisclosure agreement regarding an alleged affair with Trump. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/05/trump-lawyer-payment-to-porn-star-flagged-as-suspicious-wsj.html
Trump's lawyer reportedly complained that he was not reimbursed for his hush payment to porn star Stormy Daniels President Donald Trump's personal lawyer reportedly complained to friends after the 2016 election that he had not yet been reimbursed for a payment he made to keep a porn star quiet about her alleged affair with Trump. Michael Cohen said last month that he was not reimbursed for the $130,000 payment by the Trump campaign or the Trump Organization, but has not said whether Trump ever personally paid him. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Cohen's bank marked the transaction as suspicious and reported it to the Treasury Department. http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-lawyer-not-reimbursed-for-hush-payment-to-stormy-daniels-2018-3
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