Tag: Trump Ukraine scandal

Treasury Sanctions ‘Active Russian Agent’ Behind Giuliani Smears Of Biden

The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions Thursday on a pro-Russian Ukrainian lawmaker the agency said had been serving as “an active Russian agent for over a decade.”

The lawmaker, Andrii Derkach, is the son of a former KGB officer and also happens to be a key source of disinformation for top allies of Donald Trump who have been actively working to smear Joe Biden with baseless claims of corruption. Chief among those allies are Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. 

In sanctioning Derkach, the Treasury Department did not name Biden but accused Derkach of releasing “edited audiotapes” and “unsubstantiated allegations against U.S. and international political figures,” according to The New York Times. The Times writes that the sanctions announcement “appears to describe recordings Mr. Derkach released of Mr. Biden talking to Petro O. Poroshenko, the former president of Ukraine, that Mr. Derkach claimed revealed corruption.” Continue reading.

Ripping Down Trump’s Phony ’Treason’ Conspiracy

History matters, especially when an unscrupulous president constantly seeks to revise and distort fundamental facts as events unfold. This week, a courageous law enforcement official stepped forward to correct the record at last, and under oath.

Over the past two years, as the Russia and Ukraine investigations unfolded, President Donald Trump has tried repeatedly to turn the expanding indictment of his own criminal misconduct into a case against his political adversaries. “Treason!” he tweets every few days, punctuating his outlandish claim that the investigations of sleazy and potentially unlawful behavior by him, members of his family, his campaign aides and his appointees represented a nefarious “deep state” conspiracy.

Although Trump himself lacks any capacity to articulate these absurdities — let alone prove them — the usual suspects at Fox News Channel and on Capitol Hill have spent many hours fabricating a narrative (while occasionally fabricating “proof,” too). They claim that the original investigation of the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia was illegitimate, as was the stunning indictment of national security adviser Michael Flynn during the new administration’s early days. Continue reading.

Inspector general who handled Ukraine whistleblower complaint says ‘it is hard not to think’ Trump fired him for doing his job

Washington Post logoMichael Atkinson, the inspector general removed by President Trump late Friday, said he believes he was fired for having properly handled a whistleblower complaint that became a centerpiece of the case for the president’s impeachment.

“I am disappointed and saddened that President Trump has decided to remove me as the inspector general of the intelligence community because I did not have his ‘fullest confidence,’ ” Atkinson said in a seven-paragraph statement issued Sunday. “It is hard not to think that the president’s loss of confidence in me derives from my having faithfully discharged my legal obligations as an independent and impartial inspector general.”

That Atkinson issued a statement at all is unusual — inspectors general usually stay silent when removed, but the circumstances leading to his firing are also highly unusual. Continue reading.

Trump Proceeds With Post-Impeachment Purge Amid Pandemic

New York Times logoThe president’s decision to fire the intelligence community’s inspector general under cover of darkness indicated that his hunt for those he considers disloyal continues.

WASHINGTON — Remember the impeachment? President Trump does. Even in the middle of a deadly pandemic, he made clear on Saturday that he remained fixated on purging the government of those he believes betrayed him during the inquiry that led to his Senate trial.

The president’s under-cover-of-darkness decision late the night before to fire Michael K. Atkinson, the intelligence community’s inspector general who insisted last year on forwarding a whistle-blower complaint to Congress, swept away one more official deemed insufficiently loyal as part of a larger purge that has already rid the administration of many key figures in the impeachment drama.

Mr. Trump made no effort at a news briefing on Saturday to pretend that the dismissal was anything other than retribution for Mr. Atkinson’s action under a law requiring such complaints be disclosed to lawmakers. “I thought he did a terrible job, absolutely terrible,” Mr. Trump said. “He took a fake report and he brought it to Congress.” Capping a long, angry denunciation of the impeachment, he added, “The man is a disgrace to I.G.s. He’s a total disgrace.” Continue reading.

Trump defends firing of intel watchdog, calling him a ‘disgrace’

The Hill logoPresident Trump on Saturday defended his decision to fire Intelligence Community Inspector General (ICIG) Michael Atkinson and called him a “disgrace” to inspectors general.

Trump, responding to a reporter’s question about the late Friday decision, tore into Atkinson for what he described as his unfair handling of a whistleblower complaint that eventually triggered the president’s impeachment last fall.

Trump complained that the ICIG didn’t call him before alerting Congress to the complaint about his dealings with Ukraine. Continue reading.

Trump to Fire Intelligence Watchdog Who Had Key Role in Ukraine Complaint

New York Times logoThe president notified lawmakers late on Friday, saying he had lost confidence in the inspector general for the intelligence community.

President Trump is firing the intelligence community inspector general whose insistence on telling lawmakers about a whistle-blower complaint about his dealings with Ukraine triggered impeachment proceedings last fall, the president told lawmakers in a letter late Friday.

The move came as Mr. Trump announced his intent to name a White House aide as the independent watchdog for $500 billion in corporate pandemic aid and notified Congress of other nominees to inspector general positions, including one that would effectively oust the newly named chairman of a panel to oversee how the government spends $2 trillion in coronavirus relief.

The slew of late-night announcements, coming as the world’s attention is gripped by the coronavirus pandemic, raised the specter of a White House power play over the community of inspectors general, independent officials whose mission is to root out waste, fraud and abuse within the government. Continue reading.

Federal judge critical of Trump and AG Barr has obtained an un-redacted copy of the Mueller report

AlterNet logoJudge Reggie Walton issued two court orders asking the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for an unredacted copy of the Mueller Report, and on Monday, March 30, DOJ attorneys with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia notified Walton that a copy had finally been delivered.

However, reporter Colin Kalmbacher notes in Law & Crime that “the long sought-after report won’t be looked over any time soon” because of “the general and specific federal caseload slowdowns enacted in response to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing response regime.”

Walton explained the delay, noting that the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia’s “review of the unredacted version of the Mueller report is unable to occur until the Court resumes its normal operations on April 20, 2020, unless the Court’s normal operations are further suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.” Continue reading.

Former NSA lawyer debunks Laura Ingraham’s bogus claim that Adam Schiff used the agency to obtain Devin Nunes’ phone records: ‘Not how the law works’

AlterNet logoThroughout the Ukraine scandal and the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, Fox News’ Laura Ingraham hasn’t been shy about jumping through hoops to defend the president — and she recently claimed that House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, during the inquiry, abused his power by working with the National Security Agenda (NSA) to obtain Rep. Devin Nunes’ phone records. But according to former NSA attorney Susan Hennessey, Ingraham’s comments have zero basis in reality.

Ingraham made her claims about Schiff when far-right podcast host Sara Carter was a guest on her show on December 6. Ingraham asserted, “A knowledgeable source tells ‘The Ingraham Angle’ tonight that not only did Schiff get dirt from the secret subpoenas that he sent to phone companies, he also got help from the NSA. All Americans should be shocked by this and more — and demand a full and immediate investigation.”

Hennessey, on Twitter, responded that Ingraham doesn’t even understand how the NSA works. Now a legal analyst for CNN, Hennessey tweeted, “Hi, former NSA lawyer here. This is not how it works. At all. It’s not how the law works. It’s not how NSA works. It’s not how phone records work.”

Continue reading

The scandal with no name continues to vex Washington

Ukraziness? Snakes on Ukraine? Badfellas? What should we call it?

Two years ago, official Washington failed to come up with a name for … the thing that happened two years ago. Most everyone settled on Trump-Russia or the Russia investigation or the Mueller probe or any number of unimaginative appellations.

Well, here we are again, nearly two months into yet another Donald Trump scandal with no name. “Why is there not a catchy, gate-like name for this Ukraine scandal yet?” asked one Twitter user in October. “It’s like the writers aren’t even trying anymore.” Indeed, John Oliver, the host of “Last Week Tonight” on HBO, could only come up with “Stupid Watergate 2.” Jimmy Kimmel recently coined “Ukraziness.” Other attempts have been made online, some better than others: Snakes on Ukraine. Zelenscheme. Crackpot Dome. Red Hat. Continue reading “The scandal with no name continues to vex Washington”

‘We’re done with this conversation’: CNN host cuts off interview with Trump defender spewing conspiracy theories

AlterNet logoOn CNN Saturday, former Lt. Gov. André Bauer (R-SC) tried to deflect from President Donald Trump’s Ukraine scandal by changing the subject to Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton — only for host Victor Blackwell to shut him down.

“Let’s start here with what we’re getting from the Washington Post. Senators now willing to acknowledge, yeah, it was a quid pro quo,” said Blackwell. “You think that’s — one, are you willing to acknowledge what acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney acknowledged, and do you think it’s right for Republicans to do so too?”

“I don’t think it’s a quid pro quo … Trump to me said it in a jovial manner, look, you all ought to investigate this guy, his son’s making $50,000 a month,” said Bauer.

View the complete November 2 article by Matthew Chapman from Raw Story on the AlterNet website here.