1. The Trump/Alfa Bank server connection during the campaign wasn't random.
2. Trump and the GOP just appointed Brian Benczkowski, a lawyer who worked for Alfa Bank, to lead the DOJ's criminal division, and he refuses to recuse himself.
What the hell is going on here?
2. Trump and the GOP just appointed Brian Benczkowski, a lawyer who worked for Alfa Bank, to lead the DOJ's criminal division, and he refuses to recuse himself.
What the hell is going on here?
3. Must-read Filkins's New Yorker piece linked above. The Trump/Russia link is striking, and DeVos and Erik Prince are also implicated.
“And we thought, Why the hell is a Russian bank communicating with a server that belongs to the Trump Organization, and at such a rate?”...
“And we thought, Why the hell is a Russian bank communicating with a server that belongs to the Trump Organization, and at such a rate?”...
4. Also a damning indictment of the @nytimes for running the headline "Investigating Donald Trump, FBI Sees No Clear Link to Russia” on eve of election, downplaying Alfa Bank links.
Lichtblau: “We were saying that the investigation was basically over—and it was just beginning,”
Lichtblau: “We were saying that the investigation was basically over—and it was just beginning,”
5. Here is @FranklinFoer's piece from a week before the election, the first piece to lay out the links between one of Russia's largest, shadiest banks, Alfa, and the Trump Org.
It was enormous breaking news, and mainstream media ignored or dismissed it. slate.com/articles/news_…
It was enormous breaking news, and mainstream media ignored or dismissed it. slate.com/articles/news_…
6. OK, after you read these pieces, ask yourself:
Of all the top lawyers in America, why did Trump nominate a lawyer with NO prosecution experience to run the Crim division of DOJ - and coincidentally had worked for Alfa Bank? And won't recuse himself? npr.org/2018/07/11/628…
Of all the top lawyers in America, why did Trump nominate a lawyer with NO prosecution experience to run the Crim division of DOJ - and coincidentally had worked for Alfa Bank? And won't recuse himself? npr.org/2018/07/11/628…
7. Trump campaign’s law firm Jones Day, also Don McGahn’s firm, represents Alfa and Russian oligarchs:
“Trump’s victory appeared to elevate Alfa Bank’s connections. McGahn... came from Jones Day, one of the law firms that represent Alfa Bank in the United States...”
“Trump’s victory appeared to elevate Alfa Bank’s connections. McGahn... came from Jones Day, one of the law firms that represent Alfa Bank in the United States...”
8/ Jones Day/Russia: “McGahn brought 5 Jones Day lawyers with him to White House; 6 more were appointed to senior posts. Jones Day has done work for businesses belonging to a long list of Russian oligarchs, including Oleg Deripaska, Viktor Vekselberg, and Alexander Mashkevich.”
9/ Trump nominated Benczkowski, who had overseen the report for Alfa Bank about its Trump ties, to lead the criminal division of DOJ. At his confirmation, he said his investigation found “there was no communications link between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank."
Outrageous.
Outrageous.
10/ Guess who else is from Jones Day?
Solicitor General Noel Francisco, next in line to supervise Mueller:
shugerblog.com/2018/02/09/ass…
Solicitor General Noel Francisco, next in line to supervise Mueller:
shugerblog.com/2018/02/09/ass…
