Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

Come on, man.

GOP baffled that ‘we don’t care if you die’ is not a winning slogan.

There is no compromise when it comes to body autonomy. You either have it or you do not.

Since we are repeating ourselves, let me just say fuck that.

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

Seems like a complicated subject, have you tried yelling at it?

They don’t have outfits that big. nor codpieces that small.

No one could have predicted…

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

The party of Reagan has become the party of Putin.

Consistently wrong since 2002

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

Is trump is trying to break black America over his knee? signs point to ‘yes’.

At some point, the ability to learn is a factor of character, not IQ.

The willow is too close to the house.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

In my day, never was longer.

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Dolt 45 / Well Now That Is Interesting Isn’t It?

Well Now That Is Interesting Isn’t It?

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This post is in: ,

Hrmm:

On Aug. 3 of last year, just as the US presidential election was entering its final, heated phase, the Russian foreign ministry sent nearly $30,000 to its embassy in Washington. The wire transfer, which came from a Kremlin-backed Russian bank, landed in one of the embassy’s Citibank accounts and contained a remarkable memo line: “to finance election campaign of 2016.”

That wire transfer is one of more than 60 now being scrutinized by the FBI and other federal agencies investigating Russian involvement in the US election. The transactions, which moved through Citibank accounts and totaled more than $380,000, each came from the Russian foreign ministry and most contained a memo line referencing the financing of the 2016 election.

The money wound up at Russian embassies in almost 60 countries from Afghanistan to Nigeria between Aug. 3 and Sept. 20, 2016. It is not clear how the funds were used. At least one transaction that came into the US originated with VTB Bank, a financial institution that is majority-owned by the Kremlin.

I’ll let the smarts figure this all out but if any of that money got into the hands of people associated with the Trump campaign we get real close to the dreaded “c” word, and I don’t mean cuck.

Reader Interactions

145Comments

  1. 1.

    Baud

    Someone in an earlier thread suggested that this might be for the Russian elections in 2016, to help with expat voting. But I think that was based on the notion that Putin wouldn’t be stupid enough to write that memo line on his wire transfers.

    ETA: Don, Jr., on the other hand….

  3. 3.

    different-church-lady

    The FYNYT asks a stupid question:

    Why Don’t Sanders Supporters Care About the Russia Investigation?

    Because it fucks up their narrative that HILLARY WAS THE WORST CANDIDATE THAT EVER CANDIDATED!!1! SATSQ.

  4. 4.

    TenguPhule

    I’ll let the smarts figure this all out but if any of that money got into the hands of people associated with the Trump campaign we get real close to the dreaded “c” word

    If conspiracy against the United States is a crime, who among the Republicans is not guilty of it?

  5. 5.

    Corner Stone

    but if any of that money got into the hands of people associated with the Trump campaign we get real close to the dreaded “c” word, and I don’t mean cuck

    “Cocteau” ?

  9. 9.

    Corner Stone

    I am not sure what to make of this as it is so widespread. The total amount of money is relatively small, but with these cheap, garbage-ass bumblefucks there’s just no telling.

  10. 10.

    different-church-lady

    @Baud: I didn’t want to give them the click. It’s on the front page now if you’ve got the stomach — I don’t.

  13. 13.

    Roger Moore

    @different-church-lady:

    Because it fucks up their narrative that HILLARY WAS THE WORST CANDIDATE THAT EVER CANDIDATED!!1! SATSQ.

    Also, too, they don’t want to see the connection between Russia and Tad Devine, because that might spoil their belief that Saint Bernie is the cleanest guy in the history of politics.

  19. 19.

    Yarrow

    @different-church-lady: @Roger Moore: Speaking of the Senator from VT, this tweet from Evan McMullin caught my eye:

    Wikileaks urged Trump to declare our election “rigged,” which he and Bernie, both supported by the Kremlin, did. Now some well-meaning Americans use the same word. We shouldn’t. Despite our real challenges, our democracy is still among the strongest in the world.— Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) November 14, 2017

    That’s a pretty definitive statement about St. Bernard.

  21. 21.

    Mnemosyne

    @different-church-lady:

    Don’t forget, the Russians have been feeding them propaganda for almost two years now. They actually think that a channel called “Russia Today” is giving them an unbiased look at American politics.

  27. 27.

    Jeffro

    @Yarrow: again, I’m still shocked that eighty different versions of Trumpov’s taxes haven’t dropped…then again, just like the release of Hillz’ emails when the Access Hollywood tape dropped, maybe they’re just waiting for when his tax returns really do come out…

  29. 29.

    Yarrow

    @geg6: It sure is. That’s why it caught my eye. First really definitive statement like that about him from someone who is in a position to know that I’ve seen.

    @different-church-lady: No. But he doesn’t want to insult people and have them end up not hearing what he’s saying.

  30. 30.

    Corner Stone

    @Jeffro: I have long wanted to see Trump’s taxes. But not like that anymore. Now there is only one person I want to produce them as evidence. Our good friend Herr Mueller.
    [horse blows in the background]

  35. 35.

    Yarrow

    @Baud: You may whisper in quiet rooms. I’ve been saying out loud for months. There’s far too much smoke there for there not to be some kind of fire. I was a bit shocked to see McMullin say it so definitively, though. I don’t know if that comment has really gone viral yet.

  37. 37.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Baud: It wasn’t me, but this is the most plausible explanation. Elections for the Duma were held in 2016 and these distributions, provided they occurred before or just after that election, would make sense as providing necessary funding to allow the various Russian embassies and consulates to undertake facilitating voting for Russian nationals living abroad.

  41. 41.

    NotMax

    “to finance election campaign of 2016.”

    Typo. Funds disbursed as morale builder to supply Russian nationals assigned overseas with the blue pill, “erection campaign.”

    /RWNJ-Dolt 45-FOX bubble

  48. 48.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Baud: Who did he used to work for? And just so we’re clear: I have no issues or problems with who he used to work for.

  58. 58.

    chris

    “

    But as the investigation led by Robert Mueller closes in on more Trump associates like Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn, it seems clear that the Russia story is only going to get bigger. Rather than downplay or deny it, the left should embrace it. Mr. Trump’s Russia ties illustrate the dangers of inequality and elite corruption — and point to the need for radical solutions.

    From the NYT so no link.

  61. 61.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Baud: I don’t know. I’ve known for months that the Sanders campaign itself and Sanders voters were targeted by the Russian active measures campaign. I don’t think that’s a novel conclusion to draw or a particularly hard one to draw either from the open source reporting. It is also important to understand that McMullin was ops, not analytic service. He went out and recruited and managed other assets and/or did clandestine paramilitary operations for a decade. And while there is far more fusion at his former employer since 9-11 of analytics and operations, they are two very different tracks. And I can say as someone who has done both ops and analytic work for the Army and DOD they usually draw from two very different groups of people with very different skillsets. There are very few of us that do both, prefer to do both usually as a hybrid type of work, and to be honest everyone else is never sure what to make of those of us that do.

  62. 62.

    Baud

    @chris:

    Rather than downplay or deny it, the left should embrace it.

    Unless they, you know, participated in it, in which case… awkward.

  66. 66.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jeffro: The US doesn’t actually have one of those. No matter how loudly Bannon and Breitbart and Sean Hannity and Dim Jim and the other usual suspects scream and yell about it.

  69. 69.

    Adam L Silverman

    This is going to get very, very ugly:

  71. 71.

    chris

    @Baud: Agreed. But for the rank and file hard-ass leftists the guy makes some good points. Too bad it’s in the FTNYT Opinion section where they won’t read it.

  72. 72.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Yarrow: I think his funding most likely comes from wealthy members of the Church of Latter Day Saints. I think he’s a catspaw for the IC.

  73. 73.

    Another Scott

    @Adam L Silverman: GovExec – Ryan has a plan…:

    Congress is likely to pass another stopgap spending bill to keep agencies open through the remainder of 2017, according to House Republican leadership.

    Lawmakers are considering extending the continuing resolution past its current expiration date of Dec. 8, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said on Tuesday. The move will likely prove necessary to give congressional appropriators more time to finish drafting their bills and conducting bicameral negotiations.

    “That’s basically what we’re considering,” Ryan said when asked if Congress planned to pass a CR through 2017. “We’re not talking about going into next year.”

    […]

    Lawmakers still face major hurdles in negotiating a full-year spending measure. President Trump recently repeated his demand for Congress to fund initial payments for his proposed wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, which Democrats have vowed to vote against. Republicans have pushed for increased defense spending while cutting appropriations for non-defense agencies, which would require a vote to change the current 2011 Budget Control Act caps. Democrats have said any budget deal to bump spending levels must affect defense and non-defense agencies equally. Other policy matters, such as the status of some undocumented immigrants and cost-sharing reduction payments to health insurance providers, could also complicate efforts to pass spending bills.

    Should lawmakers decide to extend the stopgap spending measure into 2018 despite Ryan’s comments to the contrary, this could lead to complications. A September Congressional Budget Office report found that continuing the same spending levels for the full fiscal year would likely force the Office of Management and Budget to revoke some of the funds that Congress had appropriated. About $2.4 billion would be sequestered from defense accounts, while about $2.3 billion would be sequestered from non-defense accounts, CBO estimated. OMB would make the final determination on the amounts of any sequestration.

    An OMB official said there is no risk of the administration revoking any funds in 2017. The office typically assesses whether a sequestration is necessary in January. If a CR is still in place at that point, the official said, the administration would work with Congress to ensure that “no unintended sequestration occurs.”

    OMB and the White House did not immediately respond to inquiries into whether Trump would sign such a measure.

    tl;dr – The present CR expires December 8. Ryan can’t pass a budget with GOP votes and doesn’t want to compromise with the Democrats. But if a CR extends into 2018 then OMB will have to sequester money from the DoD and everything else.

    Genius!

    :-/

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  74. 74.

    brucefromohio

    @chris: Found this to be more compelling, even if it is a bit of a rehash.

    As a rising generation of leftists increasingly asserts itself within the Democratic Party — and may, eventually, have the opportunity to shape foreign policy — it must articulate a new approach to Russia consistent with its core values. This approach should be driven neither by the interests of the national security state nor by the energy sector. Instead, it should aim to block Russia’s kleptocratic elite from safeguarding its assets in the United States, to clean up the influence of foreign lobbying on Washington and to shut down tax havens for billionaires everywhere. The investigation into the Trump campaign’s Russia ties provides an opportunity to focus on these issues.

  76. 76.

    eemom

    @different-church-lady:

    Why Don’t Sanders Supporters Care About the Russia Investigation?

    A high school classmate of my former acquaintance (yes dearie, on FB) is one of the worst Bernie dead enders you could ever have the misfortune of encountering. A woman, mind you, and an M.D., her 24/7 Hillary-hate-spew in 2016 was unrivaled by the most misogynistic of Bros.

    Naturally she also adored Assange, and was not only an unabashed apologist for the rape allegations in Sweden, she actually e-mail me to gloat when the charges were dropped.

    She also professes to be TOTALLY against Dump.

    So you can imagine how sweet it was yesterday when the report of Assange sucking up to and aggressively seeking favors from Little Dump came out. Nor was I above returning the gloat-mail. ?

  78. 78.

    Corner Stone

    @Jeffro:

    I have a feeling Rachel Maddow is about to drop the hammer on some major disinformation

    Did she ever actually go anywhere with that opening block? Fascinating details on the IBM Selectric.

  81. 81.

    D58826

    @Jeffro: yep she is.

    U.S. Hires Company With K.G.B. Link to Guard Moscow Embassy
    By ANDREW HIGGINSNOV. 14, 2017
    MOSCOW — When President Vladimir V. Putin in July ordered American diplomatic missions in Russia to slash their staff by 755 employees, the State Department said it would need time to assess the “impact of such a limitation and how we will respond to it.”

    Part of that response has now become clear: To make up for the loss of security guards axed in the Russian-mandated staff cuts, Washington has hired a private Russian company that grew out of a security business co-founded by Mr. Putin’s former K.G.B. boss, an 82-year-old veteran spy who spent 25 years planting agents in Western security services and hunting down their operatives.

    Under a $2.8 million no-bid contract awarded by the Office of Acquisitions in Washington, security guards at the American Embassy in Moscow and at consulates in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok will be provided by Elite Security Holdings, a company closely linked to the former top K.G.B. figure, Viktor G. Budanov, a retired general who rose through the ranks to become head of Soviet counterintelligence.

    A State Department official in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with the department’s rules, said that Elite Security and individuals associated with it had been “vetted” with “relevant national and local agencies” and would not increase the threat risk.

    “U.S. missions around the world work constantly under intelligence and physical security threats,” the official said. “This contract does not change that fact.”

    I really feel sorry for the folks at the Onion or SNL. There is no way they can make any of this stuff up.

    nytimes.com/2017/11/14/world/europe/embassy-moscow-kgb.html?&hp&action=click&pgtype=H…

  88. 88.

    mike in dc

    As far as I can tell, “evidence” in the mind of Republican/righties = Trump on tape or someone flipping on him and fingering him for involvement. In the latter case there will be holdouts who think the informants only flipped to stay out of jail, and are just making it up. There will be another faction who accept the evidence and respond with “yeah, so what? We got rid of Hillary so it’s all good.” The quid pro quo will be glossed over in their minds.

  90. 90.

    Jeffro

    @D58826: Oh ok…can’t wait to see what my RWNJ friends and relatives think about KGB associates guarding the US Embassy…

    …or Tillerson not staffing/actively gutting the State Department (closing down the department in charge of sanctions, I hear)…

    …or Trumpov’s latest, that it’s time to move on to a “time of healing” between us and Russia…

    …and on…

    …and on…

    On the one hand, I’m glad we can see HYDRA trying to take over S.H.I.E.L.D. in real time. On the other hand, it’s depressing to see HYDRA trying to take over S.H.I.E.L.D. in real time, mostly with the assistance of a significant portion of S.H.I.E.L.D.

  92. 92.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Another Scott: I’ve written about all these possibilities how many times here?

    More seriously, they could pass a waiver of the Budget Control Act dba The Sequester. They’ve done it in the past, but it doesn’t actually matter if they do. Every agency and department for hiring purposes acts like the sequester is in place, even when its been waived. And they especially do for contract positions. This has forced incredible compression and made it difficult for more senior folks like me to get positions. For instance, I came across an expert level position advertised that I was a great fit for about two months ago. It required a high school diploma. For an expert level position. Five years ago this would have required a masters degree with a preference for a PhD and paid between GS 13 and GS 15 wages. Now it pays GS 9 wages. I didn’t even bother.

    I’ve had at least four job opportunities disappear because of the sequester since 2014.

  96. 96.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Schlemazel: I’m not sure how it will play out. I expect there will also be a generational break on the Democratic side. As in the older, longest serving Democrats will be more likely to have done this. While the younger make Democratic members of both chambers, as in 40s and younger, are less likely to have done this. On the GOP side there will still be a split, but it won’t be as pronounced. I also expect that there will be outings on the GOP side as a result of this.

  100. 100.

    Schlemazel

    @Adam L Silverman:
    I had not thought of gays being outed. I am against that with one glaring exception, if the official is on record with anti-gay comments or support of bullshit like ‘traditional marriage’ bills then I think they really have it coming. Its hypocritical of me I know but we can’t all be pure saints all the time.

  101. 101.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Adam L Silverman: The interesting thing about the “deep state” meme is that those who scream about it the most are the ones who are the most obviously manipulated by the Russian deep state.

  105. 105.

    jl

    @Jeffro:
    ” Trumpov’s latest, that it’s time to move on to a “time of healing” between us and Russia…”

    One would think that a great mind, a world historical genius and super genius negotiator like Trump would figure out a way to conduct necessary business with Putin, and also let him know that the US investigation into 2016 election meddling had to continue and go where it would go. Maybe I just don’t understand Trump’s devious maneuvers. They look like clueless bumbling and ass kissing. And obstruction of justice and failing to protect and preserve the Constitution. But maybe that is just me.

  106. 106.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Schlemazel: I don’t disagree with you. But there is no way that this is going to be limited to male members of the House and Senate and male members of their staff sexually harassing and/or assaulting only female members of the House and Senate and female members of their staffs. And the odds of male GOP representatives and senators and members of their staffs being closeted is much more likely than on the Democratic side these days. And that’s not even counting unacceptable behavior, either heterosexual or homosexual, in regard to the Congressional pages a la Mark Foley.

  109. 109.

    jl

    @Adam L Silverman: Too bad it will get ugly. But Congress asked for it. There is also the little known and disgraceful Congressional protocol for handling complaints, which is about as friendly to those who come forward as the AL GOP.

    And I think part of the Congressional harassment training is BS on how interns and staff can avoid being provocative. Which is total BS, unless the young boys and girls are allowed to come to work wearing wet T-shirts and nothing else. But I think they have a stricter dress code than that. No open-toed shoes for the ladies. Not dignified.

  111. 111.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @jl: It’s clueless bumbling, and Donald loves some authoritarian strong men very much. He’s a very weak person, actually, and Vlad, Xi, and even Duerte have his number.

  119. 119.

    Jeffro

    @Adam L Silverman: Oh, absolutely not!

    In the meantime, good on him for speaking out and representing a…ahem…certain point of view. Hopefully that ‘point of view’ is doing everything it can on the CI angle and/or supplying Bobby Three Sticks with more info than he knows what to do with.

  120. 120.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @Adam L Silverman:
    I think there will be lots of inappropriate messing about on both sides. People with wealth and power use that to get sex. They always have. I expect the varieties that involve forcing clearly unwanted attention will be weighted heavily on the Republican side. Heaven knows we aren’t all angels, but there is a huge philosophical gap on the issue of consent, and that will be reflected in behavior.

  127. 127.

    sukabi

    @Mnemosyne: pretty sure that’s the same face I’ve been making since my thyroid surgery…I honestly don’t know how anyone could become addicted to oxy or hydro condone… The phrase “shitting a brick” ain’t wrong.

  132. 132.

    Miss Bianca

    @Adam L Silverman: I wonder how that line item gets labelled. And how the funds are appropriated. I mean, what committee gets to be in charge of fucking sexual harrassment lawsuits??

    Aw, Jaysus. I can’t even.

  133. 133.

    Adam L Silverman

    @manyakitty: He did 10 years then left the agency. He then went to work as the director of policy for the GOP caucus in the House of Representatives. He isn’t retired because he didn’t work at the agency long enough to retire from it. Even an early retirement. He no longer works for them and he no longer works for the GOP House caucus. And he isn’t doing volunteer work for the intel community.

  140. 140.

    Jeffro

    @Adam L Silverman: …that last line is key there…

    Just glad to have him out there saying things, although it’s just comments, just sort of general disapproval. Nothing that will actually do much. Other than making it look like that’s all the IC is doing, just tut-tutting and tsk-tsking

  141. 141.

    Adam L Silverman

    @eemom: I’m really flattered, but I seriously doubt I’m your type. In fact I’m pretty sure I’m no one’s type.

  143. 143.

    Another Scott

    @Miss Bianca: It’s the Office of Compliance according to TheHill:

    “We do know that there’s about $15 million that has been paid out by the House on behalf of harassers in the last 10 to 15 years,” she added.

    Speier’s comments come amid increased reports of sexual harassment in the workplace, including on Capitol Hill. Multiple female members of Congress have come forward saying they have been victims of sexual harassment, prompting lawmakers to call for reform.

    The Office of Compliance (OOC) is responsible for handling sexual harassment complaints and settlements. Once a settlement is reached, the money does not come from individual members’ offices but is instead paid out of a special fund operated by the Treasury Department.

    Sources in the office told CNN that while the OOC does compile a report on the number of awards and settlements paid out of the fund each year, it is not broken down by settlement type – meaning sexual harassment settlements are lumped in with other workplace cases like back pay and compensatory damages for monetary reporting.

    A congressional aide told CNN that the Treasury has paid out $15 million in total settlements since 1997, but it was unclear how much of that money had been paid in sexual harassment cases.

    Speier’s office didn’t immediately return a request to clarify whether the $15 million figure she cited for sexual harassment cases included money spent regarding general workplace violations.

    compliance.gov/

    FWIW.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  144. 144.

    J R in WV

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Dude, we all know that all of you work for peanuts and kibble – aka for free. For the entertainment of the Jackal Pack!! And we are grateful for your educational posting!

    Thanks!

    me

  145. 145.

    Adam L Silverman

    @J R in WV: You’re welcome. I print out comments like these and mail them every month to the company that services my student loans. In lieu of actual payment.//

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