Tag: Roger Stone

“Mr. Trump is a racist, a con-man and a cheat”

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MICHAEL COHEN:

“Mr. Trump is a racist, a con-man and a cheat”

By D. S. Mitchell

It Was Jaw Dropping

Michael Cohen had his time in front of the American people today and it was jaw dropping. He came to Capital Hill to testify before the House Oversight Committee chaired by the Honorable Elijah Cummings. Cohen started his testimony with the provocative statement, “Mr. Trump is a racist, a con-man, and a cheat”. He went on to implicate President Donald Trump in bank fraud, election fraud, insurance fraud, tax evasion, lying, suborning perjury and more. I could hardly tear myself away from the testimony to grab a fresh cup of coffee. Cohen was captivating. For close to seven hours Mr. Cohen gave testimony that lit the hair of viewers on fire. At the end of his testimony I finally closed my mouth and uttered a hushed, “Wow”.

A Web of Lies

There were moments when I truly empathized with Mr. Cohen. He said, he like most of us, is complex. Cohen admitted he was mesmerized by the heady world of Donald Trump. He was quickly swept into the Trump web of lies and misdeeds. A world where lies are twisted and manipulated for Trump’s advantage. A world where Trump uses code to give instructions. I could see it happening. The normalizing of criminal activity, they were all wearing suits and ties. Right? Nothing they were doing was that bad, was it? Now everything looks different. Now he realizes he was under the spell of Mr. Trump and he did a variety of illegal things that benefited only Mr. Trump. In the end the normalizing of those white-collar crimes and blind loyalty to a criminal kingpin have taken Michael Cohen to a guilty plea and a three-year sentence in federal prison.

Racketeering and Corruption

I have watched the GOP sink into a swamp of corruption over the last several years. Michael Cohen accused the Republican members of the committee of having fallen into the Trump quagmire. And it does seem as if at least two of Trump’s attack dogs in Congress, Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan seem to have become entangled in the Trump web of racketeering and corruption.

White Knuckled Attacks

Otherwise, why all the red-faced screaming and white knuckled paper waving attacks against Mr. Cohen personally? It looked bad. The Republicans on the Oversight Committee did themselves no favors by their ugly display today. Despite the outrage and the effort to stop the hearing with objection after objection, Chairman Cummings steered the hearing to a mind-blowing conclusion.  At least two news commentators took noted that no congressman defended Trump, or spoke to his sterling character.

On Speaker Phone

Do I think Cohen would have had his conversion if the FBI had not raided his offices and home and seized incriminating evidence?  It wasn’t until Jesus was passed in front of his face that Cohen had his Damascus moment. My ears perked up as Michael Cohen described a call that Trump received from Roger Stone. Cohen’s disclosure described Roger Stone, on speaker phone with Trump. During the conversation Stone allegedly told Donald Trump that Wikileaks was about to release an email dump. Cohen’s testimony brings us closer to evidence that Donald Trump was aware of the upcoming email release of stolen DNC emails. Is it proof that Donald Trump was in co-ordination with their release. No, but it smells really bad for Stone and Trump.

Back In Time

After hearing the Michael Cohen testimony tying Trump and Stone to Wikileaks prior to the email release I thought www.calamitypolitics.com should dig around the YouTube treasure chest and find some of those old Roger Stone tapes from InfoWars say, and show them again. The following is actually from a CNN segment related to Stone bragging about his insider information and his “dinner with Assange”. I’m sure it will bring back memories.  Please note that Wikileaks, Julian Assange and Roger Stone have issued precisely worded denials of Mr. Cohen’s depiction of events.

 

COMMENT and OPINION: It Was NOT A Crosshairs

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Not A Crosshairs

By Trevor K. McNeil

Roger Gets Slammed

I saw Roger Stone was slammed by federal judge Amy Jackson today. Stone now is under a very restrictive gag order in regards to his criminal case. I saw, like the rest of the world the text and the photo Stone posted. Totally inappropriate and as usual, pushing the envelope. His post referred to the Mueller probe as a “deep state” war against president Donald J. Trump. Roger Stone obviously relishes the razor’s edge. However with that said, I am getting really f-ing sick of people in the media referring to the images behind and beside judge Amy Berman Jackson’s head in the Instagram image sent by Roger Stone as a “crosshairs”.

Wiccan Symbol

For starters the positioning of the “crosshairs” would mean the shooter would miss; but mostly because it is a Wiccan symbol [see graph: top right]. I am not speaking to the Stone case or to Stone himself or his motives, he probably thought it was a cross-hairs and was too ignorant to know the difference but the fact is that it is not. Context matters and while cross-hairs could be construed as a threat a symbol that are not cross-hairs, even if they look like them, set well aside from a potential target is not threatening in any way. CNN wants it to be a threat so they are acting like it is. Just had to say it. Trevor K. McNeil 2/21/19

 

 

“ROGER STONE DID NOTHING WRONG”

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“ROGER STONE DID NOTHING WRONG”

By Ross Turner

Roger Stone Did Nothing Wrong

January 25th, 2019.  Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  Pre-dawn.  Heavily armed men file out of a caravan of black SUVs.  Swarming the Mediterranean-style home, a bearded man pounds on the door: “FBI.  Open the door.”  Within moments, a grey-haired, shoeless figure emerges.  He appears briefly confused, but, given the circumstances, unfazed.  He puts his hands in the air as he turns around, submitting to his arrest with perfunctory calm.  Twenty minutes later, being led back into his home by federal agents, security footage captures the text of the suspect’s t-shirt, one that perfectly encapsulates the man in question.  It reads: “Roger Stone Did Nothing Wrong.”

What’s In A Shirt?

We may never know whether Stone put on that shirt deliberately for the occasion, but anybody familiar with him knows he probably would have.  It’s very existence speaks volumes of his sordid career, a winking reference to his infamous reputation.  It is, let’s say, not the fashion statement typical of an innocent man.  Robert Mueller, Special Counsel to the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, would tend to agree.  Stone has been indicted on seven criminal charges, including one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, one count of witness tampering, and five counts of false statements.  Stone himself is probably disappointed to be arraigned on such lame charges, given how many juicier bits of wrongdoing there are to choose from.

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The Long, Hard Fall Of Julian Assange

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The Long, Hard Fall of Julian Assange

by T.K. McNeil

 

Julian Assange Has Been Living At The Ecuadorian Embassy In London

Rogue Hacker Julian Assange Has Been Living At The Ecuadorian Embassy in London

It Is All In The Perspective

The difference between a “terrorist” and a “freedom-fighter” is essentially one of goals. One area where terms make a difference is the world of hacking. Used freely, and inclusively by the mainstream news media, “hacker” is little more than a general descriptor. All it really means, is someone who uses non-standard means to enhance their experience with technology.

They Wear Hats

If you have ever used a video-game cheat code or made non-factory improvements to your computer, congratulations, you are a hacker. The hacker world is diverse. The simplest distinction is between so-called “Black Hat” and “White Hat” hackers. Also known as “the criminal minority and the rest of us.” Though just as very few in the hacker community are nefarious, shadowy criminal types, equally few are virtuous, “White Hat” “Hacktivists.”

I Said It Was All Relative

Julian Assange Computer Programmer, Hacker, Activist and Wikileaks Founder

Computer Programmer, Hacker, & Founder of Wikileaks

As with the rest of humanity most are somewhere in-between. For most, hacking is surfing. Experimenting and testing to see what can be done with no particular goal in mind. Julian Assange is a “White Hat”. At least until recently. “Recently” being 2016 but like I said, everything is relative. Rather than being “done” as many have suggested Julian Assange and his notorious info-dumps are back in the news and not in a way many could have imagined.

Gray Hat

Assange is a lightning rod for controversy. Can you truly be controversial and popular?  Assange has never achieved popularity, but he has reached world-wide fame. I’d wager that even the most news ignorant of the populace have at least heard his name. His closest associates have said he is barely tolerable, and they continue to engage with him only because they believe in the importance of the work. Bringing truth to the world and bringing light to the dark places. Apparently forgetting that Lucifer was the bearer of light before the Fall.

Before The Fall

Julian Assange Was Accused Of Espionage And Theft In His Native Australia

Personal failings aside, Julian Assange was, and likely still is, a brilliant hacker. One of the best. This is after-all, the guy who figured out how to use and decode government data wires while still in his teens. He was however, “ratted out” and was charged with espionage (originally treason) and was tried in 1996 in a Melbourne, Australia.

Intellectual Inquisitiveness

He was convicted of 24 counts of “hacking” for crimes dating back nearly a decade. He received  leniency. The judge speaking to the matter said Assange’s “intellectual inquisitiveness” was extremely dangerous, however he “did not seek personal gain” and that was given weight. Assange was unique. He was a kid who had attended 37 different schools, lived in a cult with his restless mother and faced daily unpredictable circumstances growing up. But by the age of 15 he was sophisticated and expert enough to attack military computers, at a time before most Americans didn’t even have a personal computer.

Dr. Alina Polyakova Believes The Russian Government Is In Fact Using Wikileaks

Dr. Alina Polyakova

Motive

Another thing that was never at question was Julian Assange’s motives. The biography website Biography.com lists him as a “Computer Programmer, Hacker and Activist”. This was not to last long however, his uncompromising drive and near-pathological hatred of government (nearly being charged with treason will do that), shaded that white hat a distinctive shade of gray. Alina Polyakova, Director of the Eurasia Center volunteered this, “In his attempt to bring ‘transparency’, he ends up siding with the very regimes that deny transparency and human rights. That’s the irony of my enemy’s enemy is my friend.”

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Part VI: Behind The Curtain

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Part VI: Behind The Curtain

D. S. Mitchell

In part V we saw how Donald Trump’s poor judgment and lack of “give a shit” attitude, his branding and monetization of everything he touches is a direct cause of most problems besetting his administration. Scandal, ethics reviews, Senate inquiry and counter-intelligence investigations have plagued this recently installed White House.  Most of the problems are Trump’s  fault. Donald cares little about who he associates with, as long as they kiss the ring, rub his ego and equate everything to money.

Roger Stone, a disgusting creep, who is a self-described lobbyist, political consultant and “Republican operative” got together with Trump and they decided that Paul Manafort would make a great campaign chairman.  OMG. This is the same guy who was making millions of dollars working against American interests in Crimea and the Ukraine. And between these two guys the only name they could come up with was Paul Manafort to chair the Trump campaign?  That limiting of potential candidates for the job is mind bending, unless that already known relationship between Manafort and the Kremlin was considered a positive and defining qualification.

Once installed at Trump’s right arm, Manafort just two weeks before Trump was nominated as the Republican nominee for the president of the United States, he offered to “provide briefings” on the presidential race, through a European intermediary, to Russian oligarch and billionaire Oleg Deripaska.  Deripaska is a known confidant of Vladimir Putin and because of his connections to organized crime has not been allowed to travel in the United States.

On July 7, 2016 Manafort wrote to his intermediary, “If he (Deripaska) needs private briefings we can accommodate.”

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WEST WING WARFARE

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West Wing Warfare

D. S. Mitchell

Staff Shuffling

The Daily Beast reports this week that political warfare has indeed broken out at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. Reports from the White House indicate they are undertaking a major reshuffling of staff. Steve Bannon seems to be the center of most conversation. Over the weekend Steve Bannon was fired from the National Security Council. To date, Bannon continues as Chief Strategist to the President.

McMaster Rejects politicization

There are signs that there are deep divisions in the West Wing. General H.R. McMaster seems to be asserting control over the NSC and solidifying his relationship with President Trump. McMaster is adamant that there is not going to be a politicization of NSC as long as he is at its head. The appointment of Bannon to the NSC had drawn criticism as inappropriate.

Nunes At The Center

The firestorm began when it was learned that 3 NSC officials have been linked to the distribution of classified documents to Devin Nunes. Nunes, a Republican is the Chairman of the House committee investigating Russia and the Trump 2016 campaign. The Chairman is now under ethics investigation for his conduct in the Russia probe. The discovery of the leaks to Nunes has created an earthquake within the administration. There has been fiery accusations against Bannon. Steve Bannon is suspected of releasing documents to Devin Nunes.  The intent attributed to Bannon was to deflect attention away from the Russian “collusion” investigation.

Reliable Sources

Furthermore, reliable sources indicate that Bannon and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, are at each other’s throats. Kushner apparently drew Bannon’s wrath when he spoke against separating children from their parents at immigrant internment camps. Kushner’s sentiments caused Bannon to label him a “left-wing radical.” Not terms that this Republican administration wants thrown around.  Bannon and other right-wing idealogues are signaling open fear that Trump may be leaning toward what they consider the more liberal influence of his son-in-law.

Talk Radio

Mark Levin, is a right-wing radio host. On his Wednesday night show he said the liberals in the administration are trying to increase their influence over Trump.  He was pointing to Jared Kushner, Gary Cohn, and Dina Powell.  Roger Stone, a long time gadfly and right-wing operative stoked the political warfare. He told “InfoWars” firebrand Alex Jones, that the leaks from the White House were coming directly from Kushner. In fact, Stone accused Kushner of feeding morning TV host Joe Scarborough insider information.

Name Calling

Bannon has called Kushner a “cuck” (cuckservative) “globalist” and “worse than a Democrat”. Reports suggest that Bannon worries that he is slipping in favor and that Jared Kushner is increasingly more important as an advisor to the president. Bannon has a vision to de-construct the government and he see’s Kushner as an impediment to the realization of that dream.

McMaster Tightens Control

As McMaster tightens his control at the NSC, Deputy NSC advisor K.T. McFarland was asked to step down. K.T. was at NSC for only 3 months. McFarland had been appointed to the NSC by Mike Flynn. K.T. is a political commentator and author. McFarland will be assigned as the Singapore Ambassador if she is able to clear Senate confirmation.

Waiting For The Crash

As fast as things happen in this White House we will probably watch it all play out on the political talk shows, next week. As such, I’m here in the CNP office waiting for the sound of crashing metal and glass. My hope is that, after the crash, the American people still have a political system they can count on. I guess, we will just have to wait, and see.

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Russian Scandals Dog Trump

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Russian Scandals Dog Trump

By D. S. Mitchell

Swamp Life

It’s Saturday afternoon, and I look out to wind and rain. I’ve had all morning and most of the afternoon to think about the current administration. There are multiple simmering scandals bubbling up. Just about everywhere you look there is a swamp creature bobbing its head through dark sludge. It has become impossible to avoid them, they are everywhere you look.

An Inside Joke

Donald Trump ran for office proclaiming he would “drain the swamp”. It was an inside joke to all who knew the man. Trump has been a swamp creature his entire life, conning and grifting at every turn. However, I doubt that even the most skeptic of his critics, ever imagined the morass he would  surround himself with if elected president. Putrid and corrupt, the rot that is consuming the Trump presidency began before the election.

Follow The Money

I’m trying to bring sense to all the emerging scandals.  Once we find the decaying corpse of corruption that links Trump to Putin we may discover the truth about the Russian involvement in the 2016 election. And what I expect is a continuing effect on Trump’s daily decisions.

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