January 10, 2017Gronda Morin

aside Breaking News: Russians May Have Compromised The Republican President-Elect

celebration-in-russiablog_zuma_russia_fireworksWhat you are about to read is almost unbelievable except if you have been following blogs like mine which have been heavily focused on the connections between the President-Elect Donald Trump and Russia. He and his fellow republicans are about to figure out that the Russian hacking, spying and surveillance of U.S. public officials is a non partisan issue. Wait until you read about what today’s (1/10/17) BuzzFeed reporters have been  writing about, on information collected by Russian agents regarding our president-elect. Mr. Trump is tweeting that this tale is an example of “fake news.” On 1/11/17, it was reported by all major news outlets that the intelligence community marked this material as “Disinformation.”

I suspect that this news, fake or otherwise, is a wake-up notice to our president-elect by the intelligence community that he needs to take their garnered material seriously.

Dear President-elect, It does not pay to antagonize the CIA.

RECODE BLOG by Peter Kafka: Buzz Feed report, “BuzzFeed just published ‘explosive’ documents alleging Trump’s ties to Russia:”

“CNN reported that both Trump and President Barack Obama received a summary of the reports last week, but that other government officials, including Sen. John McCain and FBI Director James Comey, had seen all of the memos.”

 “CNN said it wouldn’t report on the details of the documents “at this point … as it has not independently corroborated the specific allegations.”donald-trump-and-putin36991488_303

“That didn’t stop BuzzFeed.”

“Now BuzzFeed News is publishing the full document so that Americans can make up their own minds about allegations about the president-elect that have circulated at the highest levels of the U.S. government,” the publisher said in the short story accompanying the memos.” (On 1/11/17 , it was found out that this document had been marked as “Disinformation” by the intelligence community.)

“I asked BuzzFeed Editor in Chief Ben Smith whether he had discussed publishing the memos with BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti or anyone else at the company, but he wouldn’t respond to that line of questioning. “I’m not going to talk to you about newsroom conversations,” he said.”

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Rex Tillerson– President Putin

“But (Chief Ben) Smith did offer another an extended rationale for publishing the documents: “The elected representatives of the American people are making discussions or public allegations based on [the memos], and we didn’t see any reason why the American people shouldn’t see it themselves.”

“BuzzFeed’s decision to publish the memos puts it outside, at least for now, of norms observed by more traditional news outlets.”elections-cartoon-issue-over-hacking-182641_600-1

“The New York Times, in a brief story published this evening, suggested that it had also heard of the reports, which “began circulating in the fall and were widely known among journalists and politicians in Washington.” But the NY Times didn’t discuss the content of the reports and said “it has not been able to confirm the claims.”

“Unlike the Times, CNN and many other big journalism organizations, BuzzFeed isn’t part of a larger media company and isn’t publicly traded. But Comcast’s NBC Universal* has invested $400 million into the publisher, which has begun floating the idea of going public.”donald-trump-time-cover-as-president-elect-final-election-cover

As per 1/10/17 BuzzFeed write up by Miriam Elder, Ken Bensinger and Mark Schoofs :

“The dossier, which is a collection of memos written over a period of months, includes specific, unverified, and potentially unverifiable allegations of contact between Trump aides and Russian operatives, and graphic claims of sexual acts documented by the Russians. CNN reported Tuesday that a two-page synopsis of the report was given to President Obama and Trump.”

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“The document was prepared for political opponents of Trump by a person who is understood to be a former British intelligence agent. It is not just unconfirmed: It includes some clear errors. The report misspells the name of one company, “Alpha Group,” throughout. It is Alfa Group. The report says the settlement of Barvikha, outside Moscow, is “reserved for the residences of the top leadership and their close associates.” It is not reserved for anyone, and it is also populated by the very wealthy.”

“The Trump administration’s transition team did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed News’ request for comment. However, the president-elect’s attorney, Michael Cohen, told Mic that the allegations were absolutely false.”

““It’s so ridiculous on so many levels,” he said. “Clearly, the person who created this did so from their imagination or did so hoping that the liberal media would run with this fake story for whatever rationale they might have.”

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Daily News on 1/10/17 published the following, “U.S. intelligence warned Trump about Russian ‘perverted sexual acts’ blackmail, report says,” by Christopher Brennan:

“U.S. intelligence agencies warned Donald Trump about claims Russian operatives were holding blackmail information against him involving alleged “perverted sexual acts” during stays in Moscow and St. Petersburg, according to reports.”

“A longer document that the summary was allegedly based on published in full by BuzzFeed News  on Tuesday said that during a 2013 trip to the Russian capital, Trump made Russian prostitutes defile a Ritz Carlton bed where President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama had stayed on a previous occasion.”Editorial cartoon on Donald Trump and Russian hacking

“It said the incident was captured on surveillance cameras.”

“The accusations in the Buzzfeed documents are unconfirmed, though Trump did travel to Russia in 2013 when he hosted the Miss Universe pageant there. The Obamas traveled to Moscow in July 2009.”

“The Daily News cannot verify the information, allegedly provided by Russian sources.”

“FAKE NEWS – A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!” Trump posted on Twitter Tuesday evening.”

“CNN reported that the memos were compiled by a former British spy trusted by American intelligence who was stationed in Russia in the 1990s but now runs a private intelligence company that does opposition research.”Editorial cartoon on Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump

“The former MI6 agent’s write-up of the alleged info on Trump was reportedly paid for by those supporting other Republicans, and then by those supporting Hillary Clinton.”

“He told Mother Jones in late October that his work “started off as a fairly general inquiry” but that he began sending information to a contact at the FBI in July after he realized it was “sufficiently serious.”

 UPDATE 1/11/17: The intelligence community has marked the 1/10/17 BuzzFeed published document as “Disinformation.”

19 comments

  2. There are many allegations in this report, but no definitive proof. Could be CIA disinfo or counterintelligence, can’t know for sure… at this point it’s all speculation… just like Hillary’s 33K emails.
    Buzzfeed: an American internet media company based in New York City. The firm describes itself as a “social news and entertainment company”
    Not sure if i would put too much weight about a Buzzfeed news release.

    Like

    • Dear IEarthUnited,

      NBC has confirmed that this material has been shared with President Obama, the president-elect and about 8 members of the U.S. congress. A report is not shared at that high a level without there having been some vetting of the material. CNN has confirmed this also. Here is their statement:

      “America’s top intelligence officials have briefed President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump on allegations that Russian operatives “claim to have compromising personal and financial information” about Trump.”

      We will learn more in the next few days. In late October 2016, David Corn of Mother Jones started the ball rolling on the connection between DT and Russia::

      ” It started off as a fairly general inquiry,” says the former spook, who asks not to be identified. But when he dug into Trump, he notes, he came across troubling information indicating connections between Trump and the Russian government. According to his sources, he says, “there was an established exchange of information between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin of mutual benefit.”

      “This was, the former spy remarks, “an extraordinary situation.” He regularly consults with US government agencies on Russian matters, and near the start of July on his own initiative—without the permission of the US company that hired him—he sent a report he had written for that firm to a contact at the FBI, according to the former intelligence officer and his American associates, who asked not to be identified. (He declines to identify the FBI contact.) The former spy says he concluded that the information he had collected on Trump was “sufficiently serious” to share with the FBI.”

      I did include this data in a 11.2/16 blog, “My Thoughts On The FBI Director Comey’s 2016 October Surprise, Part III.”

      Ciao, Gronda.

      Like

      • Thanks for taking the time to explain your position. It’s still to early to tell for sure, and just alot of innuendo and hearsay floating about. Just because CNN “confirmed” this report doesn’t mean they have hard proof. If anybody in the Gov’t or press has actual verifiable proof, why not just release it? What are they trying to hide I wonder.
        I believe that’s why Trump supporters can denounce all press as “fake news” if it doesn’t suit their agenda, both sides have a vested interested in telling THEIR side of the story… the truth is somewhere in the middle, but unless a Deep Throat informant comes out and expose the whole thing, then it’s just conjecture and wishful thinking on either side!
        Any news publication can have an opinion or do an op-ed piece, which may not be based on facts at all.
        For example, the political right can run this piece:

        http://www.lifezette.com/polizette/buzzfeed-runs-error-laden-unverifiable-trump-russia-claim/

        But it doesn’t mean they are correct! I want to see hard facts, photos, recordings, email, testimony… otherwise it’s just someone’s opinion. Look, if a leak came out about Trump being a “pussy-grabber”, then why can’t the FBI or CIA come up with definitive proof incriminating him with espionage, and election rigging? Just because the intelligence agency feels or has a hunch that Trump is working with the Russians — that’s just not good enough to convict in a court of law… one must need evidence and proof beyond doubt.

        I for one am withholding judgement until further notice. Cheers!

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        • Dear 1EarthUnited,

          You were right in taking the high road. It turns out that the document delivered to President Obama etc. was marked as :”DISINFORMATION.”

          Note added on 1/14/17: But this is confusing. It is a MI6 former agent with a decent reputation who has worked in Russia who compiled this data by contact with various sources. This means the info has to be vetted. Some of his sources may have provided bogus info but some leads may amount to something. This is why the spy chief, Jim Clapper was careful with his words, by saying he is not passing judgment on the material.

          The compilation that was turned over to the FBI was 35 pages which was condensed down to 2 pages. Why add this to the presidential daily briefing material unless there was some vetting. There is more to this story than meets the eye.

          Mea Culpa, Gronda

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  4. It seems as though Mother Jones was the only publication that wrote anything about this. I find it ironic that FBI Director Comey, who was testifying before a congressional committee today refused to answer when asked if the agency was actively investigating this. Okay, so what’s going to be worse? Four years of Trump doing God knows what, or him facing impeachment or even charges of treason if the allegations that he and his aides actively participated with Russia to discredit Clinton? Then we have President Pence. God! What an absolute nightmare!😕

    Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Kim, FBI Director Comey is who I really blame for HRC’s loss. I truly believe that he is anti- Clinton. Frankly, he placed his own personal needs before his duty to the people he is supposed to be serving. He ended up harming the reputation of the FBI. I just hope that he is taking his job seriously in investigating this case of the Russian hacking.

      Hugs, Gronda

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Gronda, as I mentioned to Jill, Russia has a dossier on every major leader in the world. Not having one on Trump would be a total surprise. Not having a thick dossier on Trump would also be a surprise given his long history of exploiting people through bullying, lawsuits, threatened lawsuits, counter lawsuits, stiffing contractors, misrepresentation, and yes, sexual harassment and maybe assault. Senator Marco Rubio said it best back in October. It is not right to read the emails of the DNC and Clinton’s key staffer, as the next time it could be us. The next time could be anytime Trump does something against Russian interests.

    A final thought on this. We have speculated why Trump has been so adamant against the Russians being behind the hacking questioning and denigrating the intelligence community. One reason is his ego. The other reason is something more concerning. We should remember that Russia is not even in the top ten economies in the world and China is number 2. Why is Trump ticking off the Chinese, but kowtowing to Russia. The Chinese have a greater impact on our economy than Russia does. Of course we want good relationships with countries, but as Reagan said “trust but verify.”

    Thanks, Keith

    Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Keith,

      Your analysis is right. For me, the election is over and DT won. My concern over Russia’s meddling in U.S. elections is non partisan. It is so crucial that aggressive investigations occur regarding Russian shenanigans and that this issue is taken seriously.

      In 2013, if DT did not behave himself in Russia, there is no doubt that they have proof of everything. He is compromised.

      What is sad, I have no doubt that when HRC visited Russia that they have nada on her. But I do not have this reassurance with DT. In fact, I suspect just the opposite.

      Ciao, Gronda

      Like

      • Gronda, thanks. He did win and he is our President. I heard only pieces of his press conference. Everything is a disaster and he is our savior summed up the parts I heard. Yet, the ACA is not a disaster and is working pretty well, but needs improvements. Our trade deals are not disasters, but need improvements. He uses too much hyperbole, which means he is overselling.

        It will be an interesting roller coaster ride. I just hope it does not dip too low. Keith

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Such scum has never before resided in the White House. And the lemmings, living in their bubble in this post-truth world, will follow his cries of “Fake News!” and resume getting their news from stupid Facebook memes. Perhaps, though, if it is verified in the near future, this will be the catalyst that rips the blinders off of some people, hopefully some in Congress.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Jill,

      Time will tell .I had to fix the log I was working on but I’ll publish it soon. The MI6 ex agent is a credible source and he is the one who made sure to deliver it to the FBI. Because he used multiple sources, some of the info will be false but some allegation may prove to be true.

      Hugs, Gronda

      Liked by 1 person

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