He’s Number 1!

U.S. President Donald J.Trump has been implicated by Michael Cohen, his former attorney, in violating campaign finance law. In Mr. Cohen’s plea agreement, the unindicted co-conspirator in the White House is simply identified as “Individual-1.”

“Of all the things Trump has been called, ‘Individual 1’ may be the most damaging,” John Dickerson, CBS News

More:

“How Michael Cohen’s guilty plea implicates Trump,” Sam Baker, Axios

“Michael Cohen Attorney: ‘Donald Trump Directed Him To Commit A Crime,’” Matt Shuham, TPM Livewire

“With Michael Cohen’s Guilty Plea, President Trump Has Been Implicated in a Criminal Conspiracy,” Adam Davidson, The New Yorker

“‘He’s Unraveling’: Why Cohen’s Betrayal Terrifies Trump,” Michael Kruse, Politico

Related:

“Cohen Has ‘Knowledge’ of Ru,ssia Campaign Conspiracy, Lawyer Says,” Shannon Pettypiece,  Jennifer Jacobs , and Terrence Dopp, Bloomberg

“Is Donald Trump Above the Law?” James Risen, The Intercept

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Trump Throws Junior Under the Bus

Too impatient to read all the way through the story of Issac in Mike Pence’s Bible, President Donald Trump sacrificed eldest son Donald Trump Jr. to the Mueller investigation last Sunday.

Fake News reporting, a complete fabrication, that I am concerned about the meeting my wonderful son, Donald, had in Trump Tower. This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics – and it went nowhere. I did not know about it!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 5, 2018

That’s right. The president threw his firstborn under the bus, but claims he himself is innocent. Daddy Trump is implicating his own son in a conspiracy violation of federal election law, and also making false statements to Congress about Russian campaign involvement. No wonder President Trump’s allies have urged him to stop tweeting about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting.

More:

“President Admits Trump Tower Meeting Was Meant to Get Dirt on Clinton,” Michael D. Shear and Michael S. Schmidt, New York Times

“Trump acknowledges, defends 2016 meeting between son, Kremlin-aligned lawyer,” Ashley Parker and Rosalind S. Helderman, Washington Post

“Donald Trump throws his eldest son under the bus: And yes, this ‘collusion’ could be criminal,” Bob Cesca, Salon

“Thrown Under the Legal Bus’: Lawyer Says Trump May Have Just Implicated His Son in a Series of Crimes,” Cody Fenwick, AlterNet

“Why Would Trump Throw Don Jr. Under The Legal Bus?” Elie Mystal, Above The Law

“Donald Trump Jr.’s Potential Legal Troubles, Explained,” Charlie Savage, New York Times

“The Double Damage of the President’s Trump Tower Admission,” David A. Graham, The Atlantic

“The Day Trump Told Us There Was Attempted Collusion with Russia,” Adam Davidson, The New Yorker

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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Donald Trump Jr.’s Russia Meeting: 8th Man Identified

The 8th participant in Donald Trump Jr.’s 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer bearing campaign dirt on Hillary Clinton has been identified. He is Irakly “Ike” Kaveladze, a naturalized U.S. citizen and the California-based representative of Aras Agalarov, the “Russian Donald Trump.” Mr. Kavaladze is a vice president at the Agalarov family‘s Crocus Group real estate company. Earlier in his U.S. business career, Mr. Kavaladze was implicated in a $1.4 billion money-laundering operation.

According to his personal website:

“Ike Kaveladze’s responsibilities pertaining to Crocus’ international development projects include securing and structuring project investments, and negotiating with Chinese and other international contractors. One such project is the construction of the largest institution of higher education in Russia, Far Eastern Federal University in the Primorsky Krai (maritime province) capitol city of Vladivostok. Ike Kaveladze has engaged architects, engineers, designers, and decorators from the United States and elsewhere to work on the construction of the 8.4-million-square-meter campus and other Crocus endeavors across Russia.

Ike Kaveladze earned his undergraduate degree in economics and graduate degree in accounting at the Moscow Academy of Finance, prior to receiving his Master of Business Administration at the University of New Haven in Connecticut. Active with governments, businesses, and professionals on three continents, he is a member of the US-Russia Business Council and the Georgian Association in the United States of America, Inc.”

So the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting was attended by Donald Trump Jr., his brother-in-law Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort (then Trump campaign manager), Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, translator Anatoli Samochornov, Russian-American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin, music publicist Rob Goldstone, and Crocus Group representative Ike Kaveladze.

Video: Okay, Mr. Kavaladze was technically not the “8th man” at the meeting, he was the “8th person” (one attendee was a woman), but we couldn’t find any music for that.

More:

“Eighth person in Trump Tower meeting is identified,” Rosalind S. Helderman, Washington Post

“Mueller Probing Eighth Man from Trump Jr.’s Russia Meeting,” Daily Beast

Update:

“Russian man at Trump Jr meeting had partner with Soviet intelligence ties,” Jon Swaine, The Guardian 

Related:

“Was President at Trump Tower When Son Met Russian Lawyer?” John T. Bennett, Roll Call

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Chris Christie: Unindicted Co-Conspirator?

With the conviction of two former aides in the “Bridgegate” trial last week, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has been cast in an “unflattering light,” to quote the Wall Street Journal. The governor denies prior knowledge of the politically motivated plan that tied up traffic on the George Washington Bridge for four days, but the conviction of his former aides validates the existence of a conspiracy, and another aide took a plea deal. Gov. Christie cancelled weekend campaign appearances with GOP candidate Donald Trump after the verdict.

Governor Christie now heads President-elect Trump’s transition team. Maybe he’ll be named Secretary of Transportation since he knows so much about bridges, buses, highways, rail transit, and tunnels.

More:

“After the Bridgegate Verdict, Chris Christie Comes Off As the Guiltiest of All,” Andrew Rice, New York Magazine

“Reminder: Trump Believes Own Transition Chairman Was Involved in Bridgegate, Which Is Now Officially a Felony Conspiracy,” Ben Mathis-Lilley, Slate

Update:

“Pence Replaces Christie as Head of Trump Transition Team,” Jennifer Jacobs, Bloomberg Politics

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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Do Not Pass Go, Lance Armstrong. Pay $10 Million.

“Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong has been ordered to pay $10 million to a promotions company after an arbitration panel found he conducted an ‘unparalleled pageant of international perjury, fraud and conspiracy’ during his career.” —  Austin Knoblauch, Los Angeles Times

Armstrong is also being sued by his whistle-blowing teammate Floyd Landis and the U.S. Government for defrauding the cycling team’s sponsor, the U.S. Postal Service, by using performance-enhancing drugs.

Virginia is for Losers

Governors of the Commonwealth of Virginia:

1. Patrick Henry
2. Thomas Jefferson
3. James Monroe
4. Bob McDonnell

Q: Which one was convicted of felony corruption?

Robert Francis McDonnell was the first Virginia Governor with degrees from Christian Broadcasting Network University. He’s also the first one convicted of multiple felonies committed while in office. We cannot confirm if his spouse, Maureen, is the first former NFL Cheerleader to be convicted of felony corruption.

Mr. McDonnell’s misstep was thinking too small, like disgraced former Maryland governor Spiro T. Agnew, who took kickback envelopes full of cash. In America you’re got to steal much bigger stuff, enough of it so you’re Too Big to Jail.

More:

“McDonnell guilty of corruption,” Washington Post

“Former Virginia Gov. McDonnell and Wife Found Guilty,” Valerie Bauerlein and Dawn Chase, Wall Street Journal

“Former Governor in Virginia Guilty in Bribery Case,” Trip Gabriel, New York Times

KFC and the Egyptian Revolution

During the 18-day Egyptian Revolution there was talk of a foreign provocateur in Tahrir Square, an American colonel. Colonel Sanders. Rumor had it that anti-Mubarak demonstrators were being paid off in Kentucky Fried Chicken. Raja Abdulrahim of the Los Angeles Times covered the story:

Palin Pals Around With Terrorists. Oil Drillers.

Terrorists have struck at the soft underbelly of America, the US Gulf Coast. Their weapon: crude oil, source of the very gasoline coursing through the veins of our personal automobiles.

Disinformation campaigns blame North Korean torpedoes, eco-terrorists and power-mad White House insiders. Don’t be fooled. It was terrorists, alright; their battle cry is “Drill Baby, Drill!” Their leader: Sarah Palin.