The Real Russian Scandal

patrick jane

BANNED
Banned
As opposed to ambiguous cases that can be argued in any number of directions depending on your political preferences.
Uranium deal, Dossier, Comey using the Fake Dossier to obtain a FISA warrant, Fusion GPS, Manafort democrat corruption. Podesta.
 

rexlunae

New member
Uranium deal,

Still nothing clearly showing a pay-to-play understanding on the Clinton side of that. The investigation is ongoing.


What's wrong with the dossier? Are you upset that Clinton helped pay for it?

Comey using the Fake Dossier to obtain a FISA warrant,

I haven't heard that one. But if he did, it suggests that the FBI was able to substantiate some important part of it. As far as what's been released publicly though, it wasn't the dossier that lead to the warrant, but the clandestine contacts intercepted between Trump people and the Russians.

Fusion GPS, Manafort democrat corruption. Podesta.

Could you rephrase that in the form of an actual allegation. Word association doesn't really work all by itself.
 

Jerry Shugart

Well-known member
Still nothing clearly showing a pay-to-play understanding on the Clinton side of that. The investigation is ongoing.

I guess that the 145 million dollars given by the owners of Uranium One to the Clinton Foundation had nothing to do with them gaining control of 20% of the US Uranium reserves.

I guess they were just feeling generous when they contributed that huge sum!
 

rexlunae

New member
I guess that the 145 million dollars given by the owners of Uranium One to the Clinton Foundation had nothing to do with them gaining control of 20% of the US Uranium reserves.

Well, how could it. As I've pointed out, the Clinton Foundation is not a vehicle for the enrichment of the Clintons, unless by some unknown mechanism.

I guess they were just feeling generous when they contributed that huge sum!

There are some big numbers being thrown around, but little clear indication what they mean.
 

Jerry Shugart

Well-known member
Well, how could it. As I've pointed out, the Clinton Foundation is not a vehicle for the enrichment of the Clintons, unless by some unknown mechanism.

The Clinton Foundation’s finances are so messy that the nation’s most influential charity watchdog put it on its “watch list” of problematic nonprofits last month.

The Clinton family’s mega-charity took in more than $140 million in grants and pledges in 2013 but spent just $9 million on direct aid.

The group spent the bulk of its windfall on administration, travel, and salaries and bonuses, with the fattest payouts going to family friends.

So why do you think that the owners of Uranium One contributed 145 Million Dollars to the Clinton Foundation?
 

rexlunae

New member

The Clinton Foundation’s finances are so messy that the nation’s most influential charity watchdog put it on its “watch list” of problematic nonprofits last month.

The Clinton family’s mega-charity took in more than $140 million in grants and pledges in 2013 but spent just $9 million on direct aid.

The group spent the bulk of its windfall on administration, travel, and salaries and bonuses, with the fattest payouts going to family friends.

So why do you think that the owners of Uranium One contributed 145 Million Dollars to the Clinton Foundation?

Try clicking through to the Charity Watch website. There's nothing to substantiate that on it.
 

Gary K

New member
Banned
Try clicking through to the Charity Watch website. There's nothing to substantiate that on it.

And what does that prove? Nothing. I can point you to other charity watchdog groups that say the Clinton Foundation is set up to be completely opaque so that an outsider without access to the books is unable to actually understand how the money is being used.

Read the book Clinton Cash. In it the author details unbelievable corruption on the part of the Clintons. Oh, I know the Times said there was no "proof" of misuse_of_funds/corruption, but the Times was speaking in legal terms, and the only way to get that type of proof is for someone like the FBI to go in with an army of CPA's and tear their books apart from top to bottom. No journalist has that kind of access, but a good investigative journalist can follow the money, and that is what the author did. And don't tell me he's a tool of the Republicans. The guy has written books detailing corruption on polititicians from both parties, and on Congress as a whole. He is not a political hack.

What the book details is exactly what law enforcement looks at to see if an investigation is needed.
 

kmoney

New member
Hall of Fame
Vox explains things nicely as usual....


https://www.vox.com/world/2017/10/27/16552458/trump-russia-clinton-steele-cambridge-analytica

The newest developments in the Trump-Russia scandal, explained


In the past several days, major developments on the Trump-Russia front have given Democrats new ammunition to bolster their claim that the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow, given the Trump administration new ammunition to bolster its counter-claim that the whole scandal has been ginned up by its enemies, and led a senior Republican lawmaker to question whether the White House was going soft on Moscow for nefarious reasons.

It’s a lot to unpack, and we’re here to help.

The first revelation is that Hillary Clinton’s campaign helped finance the compilation of the infamous “Steele dossier,” an ex-British spy’s investigation into Trump’s Russia ties that surfaced some of the more vivid allegations against the president. The second is that Cambridge Analytica, a shady British data firm employed by the Trump campaign, asked WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange for help in “finding” Hillary Clinton’s missing emails. The third bit of news is that Sen. Bob Corker — the anti-Trump Republican who warned that the president might start “World War III” — raised questions about an over three week delay on Trump administration implementation of congressionally mandated sanctions on Russia.

The Clinton story has gotten the most attention, but it’s not quite so telling as it seems to Trump defenders — and neither, for that matter, is the Cambridge Analytica story as devastating as Trump critics would have it. The Russia sanctions story, by contrast, is arguably being underplayed. It’s a clear indication of the stakes of the Trump-Russia scandal: the real possibility that Russia may well be exerting undue influence on the way the Trump administration makes policy.

What follows is a guide to these stories — what we really learned this week, and why it really matters.
 

rexlunae

New member
And what does that prove?

Well, for one thing, it directly refutes the charge made by the article Jerry posted. You should have a glance back.

I can point you to other charity watchdog groups that say the Clinton Foundation is set up to be completely opaque so that an outsider without access to the books is unable to actually understand how the money is being used.

So, if you don't like what a source is telling you, try another one. Yeah, great plan. Who cares what the actual truth is?

Charity Watch is the most prominent, well-respected, and credible organizations doing what it does. If someone wants to contradict their say about a charity, they would need pretty good evidence.

Read the book Clinton Cash.

Oh, gee, "Clinton Cash"...never heard that one.

In it the author details unbelievable corruption on the part of the Clintons. Oh, I know the Times said there was no "proof" of misuse_of_funds/corruption, but the Times was speaking in legal terms, and the only way to get that type of proof is for someone like the FBI to go in with an army of CPA's and tear their books apart from top to bottom.

The "Times"? Which "Times"?

The obvious question, then, is how right-wing Clinton-haters know about it.

No journalist has that kind of access, but a good investigative journalist can follow the money, and that is what the author did. And don't tell me he's a tool of the Republicans. The guy has written books detailing corruption on polititicians from both parties, and on Congress as a whole. He is not a political hack.

Dude, he works at Breitbart. If he's ever gone after the Right, I haven't seen it or heard of it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Schweizer

What the book details is exactly what law enforcement looks at to see if an investigation is needed.

The Clintons, and especially Hillary in recent years, are two of then most frequently investigate people in the world. And the worst thing that has ever turned up that could be substantiated was the email nonsense.
 

rocketman

Resident Rocket Surgeon
Hall of Fame
Name one.

Here is a short list, believe it or not but, using a public office to enrich yourself, or run a criminal enterprise is illegal but, I digress...

Federal bribery statute (18 USC 201-b)
Federal gratuity statute (18 USC 201-c)
Mail fraud statute (18 USC 1341)
Wire fraud statute (18 USC 1343)
Program bribery statute (18 USC 666)
Travel Act (18 USC 1952)

and the coup de grace “Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act” or “RICO” (18 USC 1961-1968)

Yep, she is a contender for these and more at this point, and if it is shown that this piece of fiction called the "Trump Dossier" was used to secure a wire tap in a FISA court there will be plenty of other charges levied on her & her co-conspiritors. The problem here is the sloppy arrogance of Clinton & the DNC thinking that they had this election in the bag will be their undoing, in fact you are already seeing all the players running for cover, Pedesta, Wasserman Schultz, Pinetta are already out there denying any knowledge, and Pinetta even admitting that a full investigation is in order...LOL. They are all running for cover & leaving the Clintons to hang on this one...:rotfl: Mueller & Comey may even be in hot water...this is going to be quite the show. :popcorn:
 

kmoney

New member
Hall of Fame
Tens of millions of dollars from uranium investors flowed into the Clinton Foundation, and Bill Clinton received a $500,000 speaking fee from a Russian bank tied to the Kremlin before Secretary of State Hillary Clinton helped decide whether to approve the sale to the Russian government of a company that held one-fifth of America’s uranium capacity.

That’s the “deal” that Donald Trump referenced in a tweet Tuesday morning in which he essentially said that if Congress really wants to find evidence of U.S. politicians colluding with the Russians, it should investigate the $145 million in donations the Clintons’ received from uranium investors before Russia’s energy agency Rostatom secured the purchase of Uranium One.


http://www.wnd.com/2017/03/russia-scandal-inside-the-obama-clinton-uranium-deal/

http://www.factcheck.org/2017/10/facts-uranium-one/
 

kmoney

New member
Hall of Fame
Well, how could it. As I've pointed out, the Clinton Foundation is not a vehicle for the enrichment of the Clintons, unless by some unknown mechanism.

I think you could still have shadiness without the Clintons personally benefiting. They are still invested in the foundation and donations could be seen as a favor to them.

I think the biggest point here is this, from the Fact Check link I just posted (and you previously mentioned something similar)

The Committee on Foreign Investments has nine members, including the secretaries of the treasury, state, defense, homeland security, commerce and energy; the attorney general; and representatives from two White House offices (the United States Trade Representative and the Office of Science and Technology Policy).
The committee can’t actually stop a sale from going through — it can only approve a sale. The president is the only one who can stop a sale, if the committee or any one member “recommends suspension or prohibition of the transaction,” according to guidelines issued by the Treasury Department in December 2008 after the department adopted its final rule a month earlier.
For this and other reasons, we have written that Trump is wrong to claim that Clinton “gave away 20 percent of the uranium in the United States” to Russia. Clinton could have objected — as could the eight other voting members — but that objection alone wouldn’t have stopped the sale of the stake of Uranium One to Rosatom.
“Only the President has the authority to suspend or prohibit a covered transaction,” the federal guidelines say.
We don’t know much about the committee’s deliberations because there are “strong confidentiality requirements” prohibiting disclosure of information filed with the committee, the Treasury Department says on its website. Some information would have become available if the committee or any one of its members objected to the sale. But none of the nine members objected.
“When a transaction is referred to the President, however, the decision of the President is announced publicly,” Treasury says.
We don’t even know if Clinton was involved in the committee’s review and approval of the uranium deal. Jose Fernandez, a former assistant secretary of state, told the New York Times that he represented the department on the committee. “Mrs. Clinton never intervened with me on any C.F.I.U.S. matter,” he told the Times, referring to the committee by its acronym.


The donations may have been made to sway Clinton but she was just one part of it and the fact that no one else objected either makes it harder to pin ill motives on her.
 

rexlunae

New member
Here is a short list, believe it or not but, using a public office to enrich yourself, or run a criminal enterprise is illegal but, I digress...

Federal bribery statute (18 USC 201-b)
Federal gratuity statute (18 USC 201-c)
Mail fraud statute (18 USC 1341)
Wire fraud statute (18 USC 1343)
Program bribery statute (18 USC 666)
Travel Act (18 USC 1952)

and the coup de grace “Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act” or “RICO” (18 USC 1961-1968)

What you have not shown, and what you cannot show, is any evidence that any of this applies to any of the Clintons. What we have here is another case of conservatives desperately hoping that there's something they can pin on Hillary, but there just isn't.

Yep, she is a contender for these and more at this point, and if it is shown that this piece of fiction called the "Trump Dossier" was used to secure a wire tap in a FISA court there will be plenty of other charges levied on her & her co-conspiritors.

That shows a complete misunderstanding of what the dossier is, and it ignores that fact that a lot of what is in the dossier seems to be checking out. It's perfectly legal for the Clinton campaign and the DNC to hire a former spy to compile such a thing. It's also perfectly legal to take information from it, where it has a solid basis in fact, to a court and get a warrant based on it. A judge isn't typically going to issue a warrant on a big pile of heresay.


The problem here is the sloppy arrogance of Clinton & the DNC thinking that they had this election in the bag will be their undoing, in fact you are already seeing all the players running for cover, Pedesta, Wasserman Schultz, Pinetta are already out there denying any knowledge, and Pinetta even admitting that a full investigation is in order...LOL. They are all running for cover & leaving the Clintons to hang on this one...:rotfl: Mueller & Comey may even be in hot water...this is going to be quite the show. :popcorn:

You've always been one to celebrate early when it comes to charges against the Clintons. I warned you before, but you didn't listen, and then the emailgate thing completely went *poof*. This is more of the same. You can point to a lot of things you don't like, but you haven't even pointed to any conduct on the part of the Clintons that constitutes a crime, in this case, beyond the delusionally fantastic.
 

rocketman

Resident Rocket Surgeon
Hall of Fame
What you have not shown, and what you cannot show, is any evidence that any of this applies to any of the Clintons. What we have here is another case of conservatives desperately hoping that there's something they can pin on Hillary, but there just isn't.

No, desperation at all, the woman is a NOBODY, a NOTHING, she is nothing more than the former first lady that couldn't sell a worn out message in a campaign she should have been able to win, even without having a message I might add. The woman is a petty criminal, just like her sexual predator husband was, and whether she ever sees a jail cell or not would just be a cake topper to the failure she is, America already sees her & her husband for the criminals they are without a trial.


That shows a complete misunderstanding of what the dossier is, and it ignores that fact that a lot of what is in the dossier seems to be checking out.

Which part? Really Rex, what part of this work of fiction has been substantiated? That is the entire argument thus far, none of it has been tested or proven, it is a hit piece that has no basis in fact, and that is what is at issue but, feel free to substantiate the document if you can, nobody else has to date.


It's perfectly legal for the Clinton campaign and the DNC to hire a former spy to compile such a thing. It's also perfectly legal to take information from it, where it has a solid basis in fact, to a court and get a warrant based on it. A judge isn't typically going to issue a warrant on a big pile of heresay.

There is your problem, it is not fact, nor can any of it be substantiated with facts, that is why it is illegal, and why democrats are all pointing fingers at each other distancing themselves from it. It is illegal to use non-factual information to secure FISA warrants, lie to congress, etc. It will be interesting to see how that all took place, it is going to be even more interesting to see this all unfold given Pedesta, & Wasserman Schultz have both testified to not knowing that the very DNC she was chairing, & a Campaign he was running, had spent $9 million on a dossier which neither had any idea was being compiled...Cmon man. The shoes have just begun to drop, and we can discuss it out here but, the distance that democrat heads & former Clinton allies are putting between themselves & the Clintons is telling...can't say I am not enjoying it though...I am.


You've always been one to celebrate early when it comes to charges against the Clintons. I warned you before, but you didn't listen, and then the emailgate thing completely went *poof*.

Actually it has not went *poof* yet, the woman has not been adjudicated as of yet, and that fact means she still can be adjudicated. The email case is being reopened this week on capital hill, and the Clintons have run out of friends to run interference for them. You haven't seen me celebrate yet but, trust me when there is cause for celebration you can be sure I will be leading the parade. :thumb:


This is more of the same. You can point to a lot of things you don't like, but you haven't even pointed to any conduct on the part of the Clintons that constitutes a crime, in this case, beyond the delusionally fantastic.

The only thing that is more of the same here is the apologetics that leftists (such as yourself) attempt to employ as the noose continues to tighten around the necks of the leftist unholy, not so royal family...the Clintons. They are going down, and I am going to enjoy every minute of it...C-Ya in 2020. :D
 

rexlunae

New member
No, desperation at all, the woman is a NOBODY, a NOTHING, she is nothing more than the former first lady that couldn't sell a worn out message in a campaign she should have been able to win, even without having a message I might add. The woman is a petty criminal, just like her sexual predator husband was, and whether she ever sees a jail cell or not would just be a cake topper to the failure she is, America already sees her & her husband for the criminals they are without a trial.

The desperation I'm referring to is the desperation to distract from the Russia scandal by trying to make it all about Clinton. I'm sure it's a coincidence that Jeanine Pirro is screaming again about "lock her up", the first plank of her demands the Robert Mueller be fired...just as it leaks that he's issuing his first sealed indictment.

Here's a warning for Trump. If he listens to her, if he fires Mueller and Rosenstein, it will be obstruction of justice. Maybe he knows his crimes are as serious as that already, and he's already caught, but if there is any rule of law left in the Congress, he will be immediately impeached in response to any such action. Either way, it will be a clarifying moment.

Which part? Really Rex, what part of this work of fiction has been substantiated?

Well, one part, that we know of. It's a bit old, but one thing concrete.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39435786

Mostly, the dossier is being investigate in secret, as a part of the official Russia investigation.

That is the entire argument thus far, none of it has been tested or proven, it is a hit piece that has no basis in fact, and that is what is at issue but, feel free to substantiate the document if you can, nobody else has to date.

I doubt Clinton and the DNC would have paid millions of dollars for a work of fiction, nor would the Republicans who funded it first (interesting how none on the right seem interested in bringing charges against those parties). You don't hire a spy to create a work of fiction. Not knowingly, anyway. Neither you nor I know which parts of the dossier have checked out and which haven't, but what we can be pretty certain of is that if it is being used as a part of a legitimate investigation, some parts of it must have. And it is certainly going to be necessary in any case for Mueller to find the actual evidence, even if the dossier produced leads.

And there is, simply, no reasonable argument that any of this is illegal. It's perfectly legal for the Clinton campaign to commission such a document. It's perfectly legal for Mueller to examine it as part of his investigation, and follow any leads in it wherever they lead. It's perfectly legal to use anything in it that checks out in court, because then you're relying on the evidence you've turned up instead of the dossier.

There is your problem, it is not fact, nor can any of it be substantiated with facts, that is why it is illegal,

Even if the whole dossier turned out to be wrong, it wouldn't be illegal. But there is no way you could know that it's all wrong either.

...and why democrats are all pointing fingers at each other distancing themselves from it.

Name one.

It is illegal to use non-factual information to secure FISA warrants,

Not exactly. Knowingly presenting wrong information to a court would potentially be perjury. There's no reason to believe that's happened.

lie to congress, etc.

There's no evidence that's happened either. Unless you count some members of the Trump team.

It will be interesting to see how that all took place, it is going to be even more interesting to see this all unfold given Pedesta, & Wasserman Schultz have both testified to not knowing that the very DNC she was chairing, & a Campaign he was running, had spent $9 million on a dossier which neither had any idea was being compiled...Cmon man.

It's entirely possible they didn't know about it. It was three degrees separated from either of their organizations. They didn't pay Christopher Steele themselves. He was paid by Fusion GPS. And they didn't pay Fusion GPS directly either. Fusion GPS was paid by Perkins Coie. Perkins Coie was paid by Clinton. And while a few million dollars sounds like a lot, it's a pretty small portion of the budget of either the Clinton Campaign or the DNC.

Or maybe they just perjured themselves in order to cover the perfectly legal activities of a failed presidential campaign. Can't imagine why they'd do that.

The shoes have just begun to drop, and we can discuss it out here but, the distance that democrat heads & former Clinton allies are putting between themselves & the Clintons is telling...can't say I am not enjoying it though...I am.

I'm sure it seems that way on Fox. But it really isn't that way. Check out MSNBC and see if those folks are putting any distance between themselves and Clinton. In a sense, I wish they would, not for that reason, but because they need to figure out the next election, but they still like Clinton, and still don't mind being associated with her.

Actually it has not went *poof* yet, the woman has not been adjudicated as of yet, and that fact means she still can be adjudicated. The email case is being reopened this week on capital hill, and the Clintons have run out of friends to run interference for them. You haven't seen me celebrate yet but, trust me when there is cause for celebration you can be sure I will be leading the parade. :thumb:

Capital Hill doesn't lead to an adjudication. We've seen years of the worst, most partisan investigations of the Obama administration and Clinton in particular, but I'm sure Trey Goudy would love another chance to run an endless string of investigations with no reasonable hope of a conclusion.

The only thing that is more of the same here is the apologetics that leftists (such as yourself) attempt to employ as the noose continues to tighten around the necks of the leftist unholy, not so royal family...the Clintons. They are going down, and I am going to enjoy every minute of it...C-Ya in 2020. :D

Yeah, good luck with that. And you think Democrats are hung up on 2016?
 
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