Gutted by the death of Eddie Van Halen. I idolized the band /EVH when I was in high school (ask @vladduthiersCBS).

In 1991 (or 92? Early 90s), I was working for a record label in NYC and Van Halen was performing a surprise lunchtime concert at the Hard Rock Cafe

1/
I took the subway uptown and made it in. Van Halen performed for nearly an hour with Sammy Hagar. I remember being so amazed seeing Eddie Van Halen up close soloing on his guitar. When the show ended I elbowed my way up to the stage.

2/
I still vividly recall how much of a fanboy I was at that moment. I wanted to say something to Eddie and what came out was, "I've loved you guys since I was in high school." I then turned around and started to walk away.

Then I felt a tug on my hair (I had very long hair)

3/
It was Eddie. He waved me back. He gave me a me a guitar pic and a hug (lol). The guitar pic had VH on one side and "FUCK PIG" on the other. It was one of those rare moments when meeting someone you idolized was exactly how you hoped it would be.

4/
My older brother was also a huge Van Halen fan. He was very envious of my brief encounter with Eddie and that I got to see him perform for such a small crowd (which was free btw).

When my brother died in 2016, I put the guitar pic Eddie gave me in his coffin.

5/
I was so bummed I never got to see Van Halen with David Lee Roth in their heyday but thrilled I caught their reunion tour in 2007 and again in 2015.

Rest in Power, Eddie Van Halen you legend, and Fuck 2020 and Fuck Cancer

6/6

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More from @JasonLeopold

7 Oct
@BuzzFeedNews & I have filed #FOIA lawsuits for nearly EVERY doc from the Mueller probe, including a suit to unredact the Mueller report, Crossfire Hurricane, DOJ IG FISA probe, AG Barr's intervention in Flynn & Stone cases

DOJ said there may be as many as 18 BILLION docs

1/
We will immediately explore how we can get these "Russia hoax" docs released in light of the claim by the President of the United States that he has ordered the declassification of all of these records.

2/
But, if DOJ advises the court, as it has previously, not to take Trump's tweets literally as it relates to the declassification and the release of "Russia hoax" documents I'll be sure to note quite loudly how the government overruled Trump

3/3
Read 4 tweets
28 Sep
In 2018, @a_cormier_ & I wrote about a series of suspicious financial transactions that was reported to FinCEN involving Emin and Aras Agalarov that immediately preceded & followed the Trump Tower meeting in June 2016 #FinCENfiles

buzzfeednews.com/article/anthon…

buzzfeednews.com/article/anthon…
We followed that up with this story this week

A Russian Billionaire With Close Ties To Putin Made Suspicious Payments To Nobu

The high-end sushi empire received $600,000 as part of a deal with Aras Agalarov, a friend of Donald Trump's

buzzfeednews.com/article/johnte… #FinCENFiles
We now know that Mueller didn't really follow through on the revelations we disclosed in 2018
Read 4 tweets
24 Sep
NEW from our ##FinCENFiles cache of records. This story is amazing.

A Russian Billionaire With Close Ties To Putin And the White House Made $600K in Suspicious Payments To Nobu

🍣🍣🍣 buzzfeednews.com/article/johnte…
Here is the 15-page suspicious activity report a bank sent to Treasury's Financial crimes Enforcement Network regarding these suspicious payments, revealed here for the first time #FinCENFiles

documentcloud.org/documents/7216… ImageImageImageImage
🚨Confidential government documents reveal that for a time, Crocus International, headed by billionaire Russian real estate developer Aras Agalarov, paid Nobu’s hefty licensing fees through untraceable offshore companies, which are a red flag for possible money laundering
Read 4 tweets
23 Sep
NEW from our #FinCENFiles investigation:

The Mirage That Moved Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars Through Major Banks

A $27.1 million shipment of fluorescent lamps. A bogus website. Elusive owners. A FinCEN Files detective story.
buzzfeednews.com/article/johnte…
With a website claiming more than 200 employees and an office in a business complex in the middle of Singapore, Ask Trading — “a trading and investment company focusing on the Russia/CIS market” — might appear to be a thriving midsize business.

But actually it’s a mirage.
Between 2001 and 2016, Ask Trading managed to move at least $671 million in transactions through Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of New York Mellon, from sources no one at those banks ascertained, for purposes it never revealed.
Read 7 tweets
22 Sep
🚨NEW investigation from the #FinCENFiles

VEB Russian Bank Linked To Spy Ring

The Russian bank VEB has long operated in the United States — despite dozens of suspicious activity reports outlining concerns that it was a threat to national security.
buzzfeednews.com/article/scottp…
Here's a suspicious activity report that has never been revealed nor released that JP Morgan Chase filed with #FinCEN on VEB

documentcloud.org/documents/7215…
Read 5 tweets
22 Sep
THREAD

@BuzzFeedNews has obtained emails by the whistleblower to HSBC’s human resources and legal departments that paint a vivid picture inside 8 Canada Square, a skyscraper across from the bank’s London headquarters. #FinCENFiles

buzzfeednews.com/article/anthon…

1/
The HSBC partying schedule was so crowded, the emails indicate, that people came up with clever names to keep it straight. There were “Mad Mondays” and “Whacky Wednesdays” throughout 2014 and 2015.

2/
Some members of the HSBC Financial Crimes Compliance Team became popular fixtures at the strip club Majingos, where they spent “1000s of pounds a night on a regular basis,” according to the whistleblower’s emails, which also described a describing a culture of cocaine & booze

3/
Read 5 tweets

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