1. Today's big story is the US Intelligence report on Russian interference in the 2020 election. I broke down the report and connected these influence campaigns to a dozen U.S. public figures and organizations.
2. Updated: In Dec. 2016, Carter Page met with Russian officials in Moscow, including leaders of the state oil company Rosneft. It may be unrelated, but the meeting came one day after Kushner's friends in Qatar purchased 20% of the company.
3. A month after the first case of COVID-19 in the United States, Kayleigh McEnany told Fox News that the virus wouldn't come here. Just one more example of the Trump administration's lies and disinformation. trumpfile.org/kayleigh-mcena…
That's all I'm adding to the site today because I spent most of the day on the Russia report.
However, it's Tuesday so I'll be live-tweeting @GaslitNation when it drops on Patreon! I also want to write a thread about the report if there's time between dinner and the podcast. 😉
It's been a long one, folks! Here's my thread on the Russia Report ⬇️
Ruth is a professor at New York University and the author of Strongmen: From Mussolini to the Present, a study of the dictator's playbook--including the propaganda, corruption, and nepotism employed by Donald Trump. Give her a follow! @ruthbenghiat
If you're new here, we do this every Tuesday night! @GaslitNation is a podcast covering corruption in the United States and rising autocracy around the world. Fun, right?!
In reviewing today's #RussianReport, I pinpointed ties between Russia's 2020 interference and U.S. figures & organizations. Some of these people appear to have been directly involved in Russia’s efforts. Others are connected indirectly. In some cases, that line is blurred.
Direct Ties: Rudy Giuliani, Roger Stone, Michael Caputo, Kash Patel, Sen. Ron Johnson, Sen. Chuck Grassley, Rep. Devin Nunes, Ali Alexander, Jack Posobiec, Stop The Steal, and One America News Network.
Indirect: Paul Manafort, Tucker Carlson, Tulsi Gabbard, and Jill Stein.
1. In 2016, DHS offered to test election equipment that connects to the internet. The next day, James Comey lied to Congress and said that voting machines don't do that.
@jennycohn1's thread brought this to my attention.
2. In April 2020, Donald Trump removed the Pentagon's watchdog, stopping him from overseeing how the DoD spends coronavirus aid. Days later, the man Trump replaced him with let the agency use COVID aid for military equipment.
2. In January 2000, Trump released a new book. He wrote none of it, but that's not the point.
In the book, "Trump" warned that Osama Bin Laden is dangerous and that a terrorist attack is coming to U.S. soil. (However, he did not connect the two.) trumpfile.org/donald-trump-r…
3. In June 2001, Donald Trump sold the entire 45th floor of Trump Tower to the government of Saudi Arabia.... Three months before 9/11. trumpfile.org/donald-trump-s…
Mother Jones: The gun group’s advertising blitzes on behalf of GOP candidates Josh Hawley, Matt Rosendale, and Richard Burr were authorized by the very same media consultant that the candidates themselves used. motherjones.com/politics/2019/…
St. Louis Public Radio: "Dark Money from anonymous sources—on both sides of the political spectrum—is corrupting our elections and replacing substantive policy debates with gutter politics... Candidates can’t control it, but we can speak out against it."
2. Last month, a handful of Trump loyalists launched a new non-profit and super PAC called Defending The Republic. It's a convenient tool for dark money donors.
3. Today in 1986, a mob member was arrested at Trump Tower for ordering an assassination. The story unfolds with ties to Fred Trump, Roy Cohn, and Rudy Giuliani. Earlier thread below. ⬇️