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https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/russia-brags-verbal-agreements-trump-us-unsure

https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...1bf7847b375_story.html?utm_term=.255fd884ddde

Russia Brags Of ‘Verbal Agreements’ With Trump, US Unsure What They Were


Russia’s ambassador to the United States told the media in Moscow on Wednesday that Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin had reached several “verbal agreements” on weapons treaties and Syria.

But U.S. officials are scrambling to figure out what those agreements might have been, according to the Washington Post.

The Pentagon and State Department both reportedly did not have a clear idea of what Trump and Putin had agreed to, according to the Post. The State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told the Post that the Department was still “assessing … three takeaways” from the discussion.

While both White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and counselor Kellyanne Conway gave reporters on Wednesday a list of topics the two had discussed, no official has provided any specifics on what was achieved, as the Post noted.
 












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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...py-who-allegedly-offered-sex-power/799333002/

Who is Maria Butina? Accused Russian spy allegedly offered sex for power

Russian national Maria Butina, sometimes spelled Mariia, is accused of working as a spy, infiltrating American political organizations including the National Rifle Association.

On Wednesday, a federal magistrate ordered Butina, 29, be held without bondpending trial, where she will face two felony charges.

The American University graduate was known for her love of gun rights and support of President Donald Trump.

Here's what else we know about the red-headed woman accused of being Russian spy:

What is she charged with?

Prosecutors say Butina engaged in a years-long campaign as a covert agent for the Kremlin in an attempt to "advance the interests of her home country."

"The defendant's covert influence campaign involved substantial planning, international coordination and preparation," prosecutors argued. "The plan for Butina also required, and she demonstrated, a willingness to use deceit in a visa application to move to the United States and bring the plan to fruition."

Butina is pleading not guilty.

Citing FBI surveillance conducted during the past week, prosecutors said Butina had access to thousands of dollars and "an intention to move money out of the U.S."

She allegedly offered sex for influence

In a court filing Wednesday, prosecutors alleged Butina was in touch with Russian intelligence operatives and once offered sex to someone in exchange for a position with an unnamed special interest group.

'Extreme flight risk'

Magistrate Deborah Robinson sided with federal prosecutors who argued that Butina represented an “extreme” risk of flight from the country. At the time of her weekend arrest, federal agents said Butina's apartment was packed with boxes "consistent with a move." Butina's attorney indicated the packing boxes were in preparation for a move to South Dakota – not back to Russia – where Driscoll said she intended to live with her boyfriend.

She founded a gun rights group

Butina founded a gun rights group named Right to Bear Arms. She is also an activist with the NRA. She frequently posted about guns on social media and promoted the right to carry weapons in frequent interviews in excellent but heavily accented English. Saul Anuzis, a former chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, told The Washington Post she was "like a novelty" because running a gun rights group in Russia appeared radical.

She lived with an older man, a lobbyist

Butina lived with a man several years her senior, former political provocateur Paul Erickson from South Dakota. He was a business partner, and they lived in a home in Washington, D.C. Erickson virtually disappeared from the state's political scene in recent years, despite having residences in both Sioux Falls and the Washington, D.C. area and boasting ties to some of the biggest names in the conservative universe.

About that photo with the Wisconsin governor ...

A photo showing Gov. Scott Walker standing with Butina in 2015 at a National Rifle Association event was part of a brief interaction, Walker said on Wednesday. At the time of the photo, Walker was preparing to launch his presidential bid.

"As we go to events, we meet people, they introduce themselves, often they ask for a picture," Walker told reporters. He said no formal meeting ever took place between the two.

Also in the photo: Alexander Torshin, who is not named in court filings but is the "Russian official" who gave Butina orders as part of the conspiracy, according to The New York Times.

Russian election meddling?

The case is not part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into alleged Russian election meddling.
 
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/jordan-doubles-down-abuse-reports-attack-left

Jordan Doubles Down That Abuse Reports Are Attacks From Left: I Find It ‘Suspect’

Following reports that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) was recently interviewed by lawyers conducting an investigation for Ohio State University over allegations that a former doctor abused wrestlers decades ago when Jordan was a coach for the team, Jordan continued to claim he was under attack from the left.

Jordan was recently interviewed by lawyers who are looking into allegations of rampant, well-known sexual abuse by the wrestling team’s doctor. Jordan told Fox News on Thursday that he couldn’t comment on the details of the probe, but reiterated that he never knew anything, “never heard” or had it reported to him that the wrestling team doctor was sexually abusing athletes.

When asked why the reports that he knew of the abuse only just now surfaced, he called the allegations “sequenced and choreographed.”

“The left and everything they’ve done, I guess you have to look at that. I find all that suspect,” he said.

“I guess I would like to think the reason you see the left coming after me and lies being told is because we’re being effective in doing what we told the American people we’re doing and I also think it has something to do with the fact that I think President Trump is doing a great job and we’re trying to support and help him make America great again,” he continued.

At least eight former OSU wrestlers have come forward alleging that Jordan knew about the abuse when he was a coach and claimed allegations were widely discussed in the locker room. Jordan has denied knowing about any of the incidents.
 


Nielsen: ‘I Haven’t Seen Evidence’ That Russians Hacked Election To Help Trump

In a remarkable break with U.S. intelligence agencies, DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen insisted Thursday that there was no evidence that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. election with the express purpose of helping then-candidate Donald Trump win.

At first, Nielsen distinguished between efforts targeted at election infrastructure in the U.S. and other attempts to meddle.

“I haven’t seen any evidence that the attempts to interfere in our election infrastructure was to favor a particular political party,” she said at the Aspen Institute’s Security Forum in Colorado. “I think what we’ve seen on the foreign influence side is they were attempting to intervene and cause chaos on both sides.”

She also mentioned that Russia continued to sow discord after Trump’s election, citing activity related to the white nationalist rally and attack on counter-protesters in Charlottesville, after which Trump blamed “both sides.”

When pushed about intelligence agencies’ findings—in three separate assessments from the intelligence community, Special Counsel Robert Muellerand the Senate Intelligence Committee—that the Russians definitively did hack the election to help Trump win, Nielsen danced around the issue and would not name Trump himself.

“It was in an effort to attack certain political parties that we know about more than others, so we’ll continue to look and see what that means and be prepared for the next time,” she said.

This is not the first time Nielsen declined to state that Russian’s election meddling was aimed at helping Trump — she made similar comments in May.

Nielsen also refused to name Russian Vladimir Putin as part of the hacking effort, placing the blame broadly with “Russian government actors.”
 
Ok...ok...so lemme get this straight...the GOP themselves admitted Russia hacked the election. But they TURNED DOWN a bill that would secure upcoming elections?? Wow.

Is it Oochie Wally or is it One Mic? Lol
 
Ok...ok...so lemme get this straight...the GOP themselves admitted Russia hacked the election. But they TURNED DOWN a bill that would secure upcoming elections?? Wow.

Is it Oochie Wally or is it One Mic? Lol

They know Russian hacking is their only shot at winning anything in 2018 and 2020, so of course they’re leaving the back gate open
 
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