Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The revolution will be supervised.

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

Imperialist aggressors must be defeated, or the whole world loses.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

“I was told there would be no fact checking.”

White supremacy is terrorism.

But frankly mr. cole, I’ll be happier when you get back to telling us to go fuck ourselves.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

How stupid are these people?

Their shamelessness is their super power.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

Sitting here in limbo waiting for the dice to roll

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

With all due respect and assumptions of good faith, please fuck off into the sun.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

“In the future, this lab will be a museum. do not touch it.”

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

Disagreements are healthy; personal attacks are not.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Russiagate Open Thread: Oh, No, Not the Accountants!!!

Russiagate Open Thread: Oh, No, Not the Accountants!!!

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… According to sources familiar with his investigation into alleged Russian election interference, his probe has enlisted the help of agents from the IRS’ Criminal Investigations unit.

This unit—known as CI—is one of the federal government’s most tight-knit, specialized, and secretive investigative entities. Its 2,500 agents focus exclusively on financial crime, including tax evasion and money laundering. A former colleague of Mueller’s said he always liked working with IRS’ special agents, especially when he was a U.S. Attorney.

And it goes without saying that the IRS has access to Trump’s tax returns—documents that the president has long resisted releasing to the public.

Potential financial crimes are a central part of Mueller’s probe. One of his top deputies, Andy Weissmann, formerly helmed the Justice Department’s Enron probe and has extensive experience working with investigative agents from the IRS…

It’s been widely reported that the special counsel’s team is trying to “flip” Paul Manafort, the president’s former campaign CEO, in hopes he will provide evidence against his former colleagues. Former federal prosecutors tell The Daily Beast one of Manafort’s biggest legal liabilities could be to what’s called a “check the box” prosecution. Federal law requires that people who have money in foreign bank accounts check a box on their tax returns disclosing that. And there’s speculation that Manafort may have neglected to check that box, which would be a felony. This is exactly the kind of allegation the IRS would look into…

Speaking of overbearing accountants and their prying habits, Bloomberg has its own exclusive:

Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and top adviser, wakes up each morning to a growing problem that will not go away. His family’s real estate business, Kushner Cos., owes hundreds of millions of dollars on a 41-story office building on Fifth Avenue. It has failed to secure foreign investors, despite an extensive search, and its resources are more limited than generally understood. As a result, the company faces significant challenges.

Over the past two years, executives and family members have sought substantial overseas investment from previously undisclosed places: South Korea’s sovereign-wealth fund, France’s richest man, Israeli banks and insurance companies, and exploratory talks with a Saudi developer, according to former and current executives. These were in addition to previously reported attempts to raise money in China and Qatar…

Kushner Cos. says it will prevail. Laurent Morali, the president, said the company has a variety of contingency plans for the building and its broader portfolio will allow it to sustain any setback. He said he is encouraged by the interest of several potential investors, but declined to name them.

“Reports that portray it as a distressed situation are just not accurate for the building or for the company,” Morali said in an interview on the 15th floor of the building, 666 Fifth Avenue.

But there are challenges all around. The mortgage on their tower is due in 18 months. This has led to concerns that Kushner could use—or has perhaps already used—his official position to prop up the family business despite having divested to close relatives his ownership in many projects to conform with government ethics requirements. Federal investigators are examining Kushner’s finances and business dealings, along with those of other Trump associates, as they probe possible collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign. Kushner has already testified twice before closed congressional committees and denies mixing family business with his official role.…

It was 2006—the height of the real-estate market boom—when Kushner Cos. agreed to buy 666 Fifth Avenue for $1.8 billion, then a record for a Manhattan building. All of it was borrowed except for $50 million. The company still holds half of a $1.2 billion mortgage, on which it hasn’t paid a cent. The full amount is due in February 2019.

The strain has become increasingly evident across their holdings. One person familiar with the company’s finances describes the tower, with its low ceilings and outdated floor plan, as the Jenga puzzle piece that could set the empire teetering…

The Kushners have reason to look far afield. Even after selling big sections of 666 Fifth in 2011, they have increased their own vulnerability by borrowing more money for other deals, people close to the company say. After a refinancing, the deed to 666 Fifth sits in an escrow account, ready to be seized by lenders in a default, an action indicating their trust has grown thin. The mortgage will become even more of a burden after a scheduled jump in interest rates in December. Under some dire circumstances, guarantees in the refinancing agreement could even give lenders the ability to go after the family’s other assets—many of which are also underpinned by debt…

Federal investigators know that Kushner met with then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in Trump Tower last December and later met with Sergey Gorkov, head of the Kremlin-controlled VEB bank in two meetings that he didn’t, at first, disclose publicly or on his application for his national-security clearance. After those meetings became public, Kushner and the White House said the contacts were made in his role as a Trump adviser and didn’t involve discussion of his family business. But VEB and a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin described the meetings quite differently, noted Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee. They said that Kushner was there in his capacity as head of his family’s real estate business. Investigators say they are studying those accounts with keen interest.

“I think it is part of a pattern of outreach to Russian financial interests, which are essentially Vladimir Putin and his oligarch circle, by Trump family members,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, a Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. “The financial dealings are important because we know that the Russian playbook is to engage and compromise foreign leaders.” He added, “Whether this meeting and contact are significant remains to be understood.”

Reader Interactions

103Comments

  4. 4.

    japa21

    I am beginning to see a pattern developing and provides a little more insight into Putin being behind Trump’s election win. Many people, our esteemed Adam included, have pointed out that Trump’s win was actually frosting on the cake, so to speak. The original intent was to sow confusion and raise questions about the legitimacy of our electoral process. This would have happened whether or not Trump had won.

    But they have no real need for Trump to remain in the WH. In fact, they would probably love to see Trump forced out of the WH, as they know his base will go berserk. This will create even more chaos. And chaos here is music to their ears.

    That is why we keep hearing things from Russians contradicting things Trump and his people have been saying. Kushner did meet to discuss personal finances. There were documents handed over in the meeting with Trump, Jr. There have been several others. Ultimately, having chaos here is good for them, but they really don’t want an absolute nutcake sitting in the oval office, which is what we have now.

  5. 5.

    Jeffro

    That sound, off in the distance? The one that sounds like thunder rumbling? That’s going to be full-on, ass-kicking storm front within the next 30 days. Mueller’s going to start with obstruction and then move to show what Trumpov has been trying to obstruct at every turn.

    Nickel bet.

  6. 6.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    also via Cole twitter feed

    RebeccaBuckwalterPoz‏Verified account @ rpbp
    Rules that could have prevented the TX chemical explosion would have taken effect on March 14 if Trump’s EPA hadn’t blocked them.

  7. 7.

    Omnes Omnibus

    This is going to be huge. (Sorry to interrupt the game with an on-topic comment). These details are the bits that a good prosecution is built upon.

  8. 8.

    Mnemosyne

    I finally bit the bullet and turned the oven on even though it’s still in the mid-90s outside. The chicken legs needed to be cooked no matter what — sitting in the fridge in the marinade for another day was not going to do them any good.

    But I’m going to prep some beef stew tonight to put in the crockpot tomorrow morning so I don’t have to deal with this again. It’s supposed to be 108 again tomorrow. Ugh.

  11. 11.

    efgoldman

    … According to sources familiar with his investigation into alleged Russian election interference, his probe has enlisted the help of agents from the IRS’ Criminal Investigations unit.
    This unit—known as CI—is one of the federal government’s most tight-knit, specialized, and secretive investigative entities. Its 2,500 agents focus exclusively on financial crime

    Slowly I turn…
    Step by step…
    Inch by inch….

    Every body with any sense of self preservation (meaning Kushkie, Manafort, Stone, the Trumplings, but probably not Henna Hairball, who “thinks”, if he thinks at all, that he’s invulnerable) can feel an icy hand around their necks.

  15. 15.

    Mnemosyne

    @rikyrah:

    Luckily, I have A/C both at home and at work, but I’m trying not to use more than my fair share of power. Tomorrow we have a Flex Alert, which is when they ask people to try and reduce their electricity use as much as possible to reduce the strain on the system, so the crockpot is feeling like a good option.

  16. 16.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @efgoldman: (meaning Kushkie, Manafort, Stone, the Trumplings, but probably not Henna Hairball, who “thinks”, if he thinks at all, that he’s invulnerable)

    I think the Fredos are too dumb to know what’s coming. Wouldn’t surprise me a bit if Ivanka has gone all Goneril/Daughter MacBeth and is whispering in Jared’s ear that they must, sadly, tragically, they simply must think of their children.

  17. 17.

    encephalopath

    The Magnitsky Act is in the way of Kushner family solvency. No wonder they’re all so desperate to get rid of it.

  19. 19.

    Another Scott

    Reposting this from downstairs – Reveal has a project to crowd-investigate Financial Disclosure forms from Trump and other appointees. A link to a database has an entry for Trump’s June 2017 form. It lists hundreds of Donnie’s companies with a little bit of financial information about each one, so he did kinda-sorta give up control of them when he was sworn in (if you believe that).

    But lots and lots of the companies entries say things like:

    “Value reported reflects bank account holding only. Additional Underling Asset value not readily ascertainable.”

    That, and the zillions of companies, seems to invite abuse. Like, money-laundering and tax evasion. Or claiming his name is worth Billions and Billions with nothing to back up that claim.

    It’ll be interesting to see what, if anything, Mueller’s team finds in digging through stuff like that.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  20. 20.

    Jeffro

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I won’t bet on the timeline. Mueller will move when he is ready.

    I agree on the latter, and I’m betting that it’ll be within the next six weeks tops. Almost has to be.

  22. 22.

    Wapiti

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Wouldn’t surprise me a bit if Ivanka has gone all Goneril/Daughter MacBeth and is whispering in Jared’s ear that they must, sadly, tragically, they simply must think of their children.

    And based on the post, Jared’s whispering back that they’re fucked, fucked, fucked if they leave, because they need Daddy’s pardon for Jared. And without the ability to influence foreigners to buy his real estate, the Kushner family is going to be living off the sale of her shoe line.

  24. 24.

    Another Scott

    @Jeffro: Why does it have to be so soon? I don’t see it.

    I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t hear anything public from Muller before the fall of 2018, myself. I’m sure he wants an iron-clad, air-tight case (or as close to one as he can get). We know that the Intelligence Community is going to guard sources-and-methods as if they’re the secret to eternal life, so anything from secret sources will have to be recreated via non-secret routes and that will take time.

    I would be happy if Mueller could wrap things up by next Tuesday and Trump would resign by Friday, but it’s not going to happen…

    Why do you think it has to be so soon?

    Thanks.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  26. 26.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Fredo II posted this several hours after CNN and MSNBC et al reported on the one. million. dollars! trump is donating to Harvey relief funds

    Eric Trump‏Verified account @ EricTrump
    Eric Trump Retweeted Fox News
    So proud!!! Let’s see if @ CNN or the #MSM acknowledges this incredible generosity. My guess: they won’t…

    I’d like to point out that this “incredible generosity” is (if you’ll pardon my attempts at math) .01% of trump’s claimed net worth. Less than 1% of the $150 million he took in in ’05 according to the tax return he leaked to Rachel Maddow

  29. 29.

    cmorenc

    @Jeffro:

    I’m betting that it’ll be within the next six weeks tops. Almost has to be.

    I’m not getting why it “almost has to be” that Mueller makes his public move within 6 weeks. In more normal times, the info that’s been publicly available would sink most politicians nine times over, and the Congressional top leadership would have already informed Trump that impeachment and conviction in the Senate is a certainty if he doesn’t resign forthwith. Instead, Mueller probably recognizes he needs the kind of overwhelmingly crushing case that even an intensely partisan, resistant GOP majority in both houses cannot sidetrack or avoid ratifying.

    Note that if Trump is forced to resign as a result of Mueller’s work, it’s still greedy lying sociopaths all the way down in the line of succession. Pence is a theocratic zealot, Ryan is an Ayn Rand zealot….

  32. 32.

    tomtofa

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Wouldn’t surprise me a bit if Ivanka has gone all Goneril/Daughter MacBeth and is whispering in Jared’s ear that they must, sadly, tragically, they simply must think of their children.

    Don’t know – the Bloomberg article talked about how J. visited his dad every week for the year+ he was in the slammer, and for years carried carried the wallet dad made for him in the prison shop. J may be looking forward to carrying on the tradition. J. and I. have multiple kids, but J. could get more than a year, plenty of time to make wallets for all.

  33. 33.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Let’s see if Farenthold can actually ever confirm money was received by an actual charity. Or if this is the usual announcement about making a donation with no actual donation.

  34. 34.

    efgoldman

    @Jeffro:

    I’m betting that it’ll be within the next six weeks tops.

    You’ve been saying that right along. I think indictments and plea deals from some of the non-family campaign people might come before fall, but remember how long Watergate took, and that was a much simpler set of transactions to trace.
    Certainly if he finds anything on congresscritter leadership, those will take longer. Also remember, at every level, for every defendant, the prosecutions will no doubt be challenged in court.

  35. 35.

    sdhays

    @Another Scott: I’m not betting on anything, but it’s very possible that the investigations are going much more smoothly than one would think because it’s all really not very well hidden once you start actually looking. After all, the subjects of these investigations all greatly suffer from being completely convinced that they are all infinitely more brilliant than they actually are…

    ETA: It’s still hard to fathom how we’re still talking about “whether” Trump will be charged with obstruction of justice when the piece of shit admitted it to Lester Holt on national television.

  36. 36.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @cmorenc: OTOH, if Trump is forced to resign, it’s still greedy lying sociopaths all the way down in the line of succession. Pence is a theocratic zealot, Ryan is an Ayn Rand zealot….

    I’m speculating about the after-effects of the thing we’re speculating might happen, but such is the blogosphere. I Pence picks Haley as his Veep, unless she’s smart enough to turn him down, which I think she might well be, and Pence and Ryan would be hated by their own political base. And even if it meant we got Pence till ’24, trump needs to go stop the bleeding of the Constitution.

  38. 38.

    Steeplejack

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Someone on MSNBC pointed out that Trump’s pledge of $1 million is the equivalent of a family with a house, a retirement plan and other assets all totaling $1 million pledging $100.

    (If you accept his stated worth of $10 billion. Big if.)

  40. 40.

    Another Scott

    TheHill:

    President Trump plans to call for an initial $5.95 billion in emergency relief funding in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, according to multiple reports Thursday.

    Trump is considering attaching the disaster aid funding request to a measure increasing the U.S. debt limit, Bloomberg reported, citing two administration officials.

    The request, which could reportedly come as early as Friday, would allocate $5.5 billion to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the rest to the Small Business Administration.

    White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney is calling lawmakers on Capitol Hill to support the funding, Axios reported.

    The administration believes the funding would cover the hurricane recovery demands through the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30, Bloomberg reported.

    Eh?

    In January FEMA borrowed $1.6B for 2016 flood losses. The National Flood Insurance Program has a $25B deficit.

    All of this stuff is vastly under-funded.

    $5B to FEMA over the next 30 days is nothing in the scale of the disaster. And the money likely wouldn’t even get to FEMA before September 30.

    FEMA has approved all of $31M in Individuals and Household Assistance thus far in Texas.

    There’s a story on Heavy claiming the damages from Harvey will reach $160B.

    It’s ridiculous how little Trump’s people are requesting, and how slowly they are getting the money out.

    Grr…

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  41. 41.

    efgoldman

    @Steeplejack:

    Trump’s pledge of $1 million is the equivalent of a family with a house, a retirement plan and other assets all totaling $1 million pledging $100

    If he really sends the money, which he won’t.

  44. 44.

    efgoldman

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    You are right; we never accomplish anything.

    One does what one can. You’re an attorney – maybe Mueller can use more help. All I can do is vote and work for Dem candidates, and cheer people on with the resources I have.

  45. 45.

    Another Scott

    Dean Baker at CEPR:

    Donald Trump Pledges to GIve 0.8 Percent of the Excess Cost of His Secret Service Protection to Harvey Victims

    As a result of the fact that he vacations at Mar-a-Lago and his New Jersey golf club, demands protection for his adult children, and had his wife and youngest son stay in New York for the first five months of his presidency, Donald Trump has added $120 million to the annual cost of providing protection for the president compared with what a normal president would require. The New York Times reported that he pledged to contribute 0.8 percent of this amount ($1 million) to help the victims of Hurricane Harvey. If he follows through on this pledge, it means the public will only be down $119.0 million ($119.6 million, after taking account of the tax deduction).

    Donnie is so generous, just like Eric says!!11

    :-/

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  50. 50.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Another Scott: or the equivalent of five annual membership fees at Mar-A-Lago, which annual fees he doubled after being elected president, which somehow wasn’t profiteering off the office to Paul Ryan.

  51. 51.

    efgoldman

    @lollipopguild:

    I would rather have Abbott and Costello in the White House than the current group.

    Actually it was the Stooges, unless I posted the wrong link. Always possible.
    Still, your point holds.

  59. 59.

    danielx

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Trust me, as one of Pence’s former constituents, there’s no way he would make it past 2020. In this uncertain world, one thing of which you may be tolerably certain is that if Pence became president tomorrow he would find a way to disastrously step on his dick before November 2020.

  61. 61.

    Feebog

    One more time; we are months away from the first indictments. Not weeks, many many more months. There are many threads to untangle here, and multiple investigative avenues. I know it is hard to exercise patience, but Mueller needs to get it right, not fast.

  62. 62.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    good god, I guess they’ve got money to burn

    Allison‏ @ rooflizard
    What the fuck, UNT
    North Texas Daily @ ntdaily
    BREAKING: Donald Trump Jr. to be paid $100,000 to speak at UNT’s Kuehne Speaker Series, according to documents obtained by the Daily.

    Reminds me that Molly Ivins once said about the University of North Texas, during I forget what previous controversy, “Well, what can you expect from a school that would hire Dick Armey to teach economics?”

  65. 65.

    efgoldman

    @Feebog:

    we are months away from the first indictments. Not weeks, many many more months.

    Depends on how deeply he wants to dig in individual cases. Flynn, for instance, has already publicly admitted to multiple reporting felonies. But Mueller may be going after deeper, more serious crimes.

  68. 68.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    I thought Mike Coffman was pretty far right, representing the fundie hotbed Colorado Springs and the Air Force Academy

    Rep. Mike Coffman‏Verified account @ RepMikeCoffman 8h8 hours ago
    (1/3): I have introduced the #BRIDGEAct in Congress to protect #DACA recipients
    (2/3): When I return to D.C., I will file a discharge petition to force a floor vote on the #BRIDGEAct.
    (3/3): #DACA participants grew up here, went to school here, and should be allowed to stay here. The time has come to take action.

  71. 71.

    efgoldman

    @Steeplejack (phone):

    Is it ethical for a sitting president to accept speaking fees?!

    Probably not, but I’m guessing, as with so much in this maladministration, there’s no actual law or statute that forbids it for the “president”

  78. 78.

    Wapiti

    @Mnemosyne: Since he’s part of The Gang That Couldn’t Keep Their Story Straight, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him boasting about talking to the President, his father, weekly, to update him on the management of the Trump Organization.

  79. 79.

    Amir Khalid

    @Feebog:
    To add to your point:
    It seems that something comes out almost every day that makes Trump and the Republican party (or its leaders, at least) look guilty of something, so I can understand the impatience to see indictments. But precisely because so much hinky stuff is coming out, the case is going to be big and complicated. There’s going to be a shit ton and a half of evidence for Mueller’s staff to work through, a bazillion or so t’s to dot and i’s to cross, or something. All of this work is a prerequisite for the (no doubt many) arrests and indictments to come.

  81. 81.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    ABC News PoliticsVerified account @ ABCPolitics
    VP Mike Pence says Pres. Trump will be returning to Texas Saturday to “reinforce our administration’s commitment.”

    Gavin Newsom‏Verified account @ GavinNewsom 7h7 hours ago
    You stood on the House Floor and urged Congress to NOT fund Hurricane Katrina relief. Your words are meaningless here.

    I did not know that. It’s remarkable someone so bland can be so awful. Like tapioca laced with arsenic.

  82. 82.

    Yutsano

    Waitaminute…

    CI.

    He’s pulling in CI?

    Oh shit.

    He’s gonna boost something they’ve already got wind of, I NEED MORE POPCORN PLEASE!!!

  83. 83.

    Mnemosyne

    @SWMBO:
    @Wapiti:

    I don’t know why, but I am weirdly, out of proportion enraged about this. I just had a minor spat with G about something else because I was already pissed off about this.

    Fuck these fuckers and all the fuckers who enable their fucking moronity.

  84. 84.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:
    Pence is so evil and so stupid that INDIANA threw him out. Indiana is where Kentuckians move when they’re sick of putting up with big-city multiculturalism. When people here say they think Pence would be worse than Trump, they’re not underestimating Trump. They see Pence as a nightmare out of dystopian novels.

  87. 87.

    tamiasmin

    A Farewell to Alms
    Grime and Punishment
    War and Pence
    The Canterbury Tapes
    Batch-22
    The Catcher in the Lye
    A Midsummer Night’s Cream
    Aesop’s Cables
    The Prance
    King Leer
    Muddlemarch
    Jurassic Pork

    This is fin!

  88. 88.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Mnemosyne: I’m jealous. I’ve got A/C at work, but not at home, so it’s going to be a toaster oven for the next couple days. Plus the Peninsula is hotter then SF itself.

    At least I’m not performing. I had show during one the past heatwaves — and with stage lights, it was over 120 on stage. I was sweating so much I think my make-up had slid down to my chest by the time I finished my number.

  93. 93.

    Amir Khalid

    @tamiasmin:
    It made me raise an eyebrow, à la Sir Roger Moore, when I saw “Jurassic Pork”. That’s the handle of a blogger who used to show up in random Balloon Juice threads (as well as in a few other blogs) and beg for money. I think it got him banned here.

  99. 99.

    workworkwork

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Mike Coffman is my representative. Not only did he barely win election last time, but he took a hit for his pro-Trumpcare stance. I think he’s trying to keep his job.

    Unlike Cory Gardner, who is still openly a RWNJ.

  103. 103.

    Cermet

    @cmorenc: First off, congress – short of a convection – will not ever move against the orange fart cloud; further, if this was a dem, after the first hint they’d have had half a dozen congressional investigations going on. Finally, the fart cloud – while little different than the VP or speaker, is still someone too concerned about his own ego/power to fully execute the thug agenda – so, those two piles of Shit are potentially worse

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