http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/as-the-special-counsel-investigation-proceeds-...

As the special counsel investigation proceeds, what did the Podesta Group know about the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine?

by Emily Jashinsky | Oct 25, 2017, 5:29 PM


A host of sources speaking to media have offered accounts that suggest the Podesta Group should have known to file a FARA registration at the time of its work for the ECMU. (Wikipedia Commons)

Now that special counsel Robert Mueller has opened a federal investigation into Tony Podesta and his Washington lobbying firm, a probe that reportedly grew out of his investigation of ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's finances, both Podesta and the firm could face consequences for work they completed on behalf of a pro-Russia Ukrainian think tank from 2012 to 2014.

The Podesta Group filed a retroactive Foreign Agents Registration Act disclosure in April acknowledging that its lobbying efforts on behalf of the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine could be interpreted as having principally benefitted that country's government. The firm has maintained it had no reason to believe its work justified FARA disclosure at the time, but Mueller will likely be probing whether that was indeed the case or whether they avoided filing with FARA to keep details of the ECMU away from scrutiny.

"Podesta Group CEO Kimberly Fritts said in a statement that the firm relied on assurances from the think tank, the European Centre for Modern Ukraine, that it was not controlled or financed by a foreign government or political party," Politico reported in April. "Based on that information, the firm disclosed its work to Congress rather than to the Justice Department."

"We believe the LDA registration was appropriate for our particular work on the Centre's behalf," Fritts said in her April statement. "However, we also understand after constructive consultation with FARA Unit staff that their position, which is based on all the information available to them, is that the overall representation is better classified as a FARA registration. Therefore, today the Podesta Group has reclassified its previous LDA registration for the Centre to a FARA registration."

That's fair enough.

But in the 14 months since the AP broke its initial story, a host of sources speaking to media have offered accounts that suggest the firm should have known to file a FARA registration at the time of its work for the ECMU.

In the AP's initial report, a former Podesta employee said that Rick Gates, who claims to have introduced the ECMU to the Podesta Group and Mercury, "described the nonprofit's role in an April 2012 meeting as supplying a source of money that could not be traced to the Ukrainian politicians who were paying him and Manafort." As I noted on Monday, three other current and former Podesta employees told the AP disagreements broke out between staff over its decision to take on the work, which one of those sources considered to be "obviously illegal."

Following the Podesta Group's retroactive filing in April, CNN spoke to several people who had been lobbied by the firm over the course of its work for the ECMU. Dan Harsha, who was lobbied in 2013 while serving as communications director for Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told CNN, "It seemed pretty clear [the center] was just a front" for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

"They were pretty open about their purpose being to give a positive perspective on the upcoming election," said a former State Department employee who met with the Podesta Group around the time of Ukraine's parliamentary elections in 2012.

CNN reported that seven sources agreed the Podesta Group "left a clear impression that they were representing Ukraine's government" as its lobbyists held meetings around Washington.

Seven sources is not insignificant. Combined with the AP's current and former Podesta sources -- one of whom said Gates described the ECMU in 2012 as a source of money that could not be traced back to his benefactors in the Ukrainian government, and another of whom said they personally considered the work "obviously illegal" -- there's a possibility the firm deliberately filed a less-detailed LDA disclosure knowing a FARA registration would have been more appropriate.

Though it was years late and came only after media exposure, since the Podesta Group itself has retroactively filed the appropriate paperwork with FARA -- an admission its work for the ECMU met those standards -- it stands to reason Mueller is interested in finding out whether the firm knowingly skirted that requirement at the time of its initial filings.

http://dailycaller.com/2017/11/01/hillary-could-be-indicted-over-campaign-financ...

Hillary Clinton Should Be Indicted For Breaking Campaign Finance Laws

H. A. Goodman
Freelance Writer

Long before revelations of Hillary Clinton and the DNC paying millions to Fusion GPS for the infamous and almost entirely fabricated Trump dossier, Clinton’s ties to Correct the Record broke campaign finance laws. On October 6, 2016 the non-partisan Campaign Legal Center demanded the Federal Election Commission investigate Clinton’s ties to David Brock’s Correct the Record. The watchdog filed a complaint to the FEC since “Correct the Record is effectively an arm of the Clinton campaign” and “million-dollar-plus contributions to the super PAC are indistinguishable from contributions directly to Clinton – and pose the same risk of corruption.” In addition to being viewed as an “arm of the Clinton campaign,” Correct the Record was described as a “$6 million professional opposition research” operation.

In addition to Correct the Record, Clinton broke campaign finance laws by pocketing millions allotted for other Democratic candidates. Bernie Sanders and his campaign complained of the overt collusion between the DNC and Clinton regarding fundraising. POLITICO reported “state parties kept less than one half of one percent of the $82 million raised through the arrangement,” with almost all the money going to Clinton. In fact, the Hillary Victory Fund is actually a “joint account” between the DNC and Clinton, with donations reaching $350,000 per donor in many instances.

The Intercept reported close coordination between Clinton’s campaign and Super PACs in addition to Correct the Record, and this coordination is documented in WikiLeaks emails. According to Lee Fang and Andrew Perez, “While Correct the Record has argued it is exempt from FEC rules, Clinton herself has said she does not work with Priorities USA Action.” However, emails show Clinton and her campaign did work closely with one of her largest Super PACs. In addition, The Hill’s Harper Neidig and Johnathan Swan reported that Priorities USA accepted $200,000 in banned donations:

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Unfortunately for Clinton, she can’t distance herself from Priorities USA. John Podesta is being paid by a major donor to the Super PAC and Clinton was aware of the arrangement. John Podesta signed a $7,000 per month contract with the foundation of a Democratic donor who donated millions to Priorities USA. Podesta wrote in a WikiLeaks email that the donor was “ready to do the 2016 max early in the new year” and that he “is also prepared to double down on his Priorities support as well.”

Even before Fusion GPS, Correct the Record and Priorities USA served as arms of the Clinton campaign, which is an overt violation of campaign finance laws. Clinton’s campaign chairman was being paid by a major Democratic donor linked to Priorities USA. As for the DNC, it had a joint account with the Clinton campaign and allowed Clinton to pocket almost all the money (around $82 million at one point) raised for down-ticket Democrats.

Then add Fusion GPS to Correct the Record and Priorities USA, as well as the DNC in terms of overt collusion between organizations meant to be separated by a wall of campaign finance laws. In this case, the National Reviews’ Andrew McCarthy explains how Clinton’s preferred law firm funded both Fusion GPS and CrowdStrike, merging multiple scandals into one:

Quote:


Perkins Coie not only retained Fusion GPS, but also CrowdStrike, after the FBI was denied access to DNC servers. Now, the Campaign Legal Center filed yet another FEC complaint regarding Hillary for America failing to disclose millions in funding for opposition research. The complaint states Clinton “failed to accurately disclose the purpose and recipient of payments for the dossier of research alleging connections between then-candidate Donald Trump and Russia.”

Since FEC filings simply show $12 million to Perkins Coie, without mentioning funding of the Trump dossier or Fusion GPS, House Republicans and Congressman Trey Gowdy have another Clinton scandal; this time without Comey protecting President Obama’s Secretary of State. While James Comey claimed Clinton didn’t intentionally transfer Top Secret intelligence onto a once unencrypted private server...

CLINTON GAINED CONTROL OF DNC BEFORE ELECTION

BREAKING: DONNA BRAZILE TURNS ON THE CLINTON’S, REVEALS PROOF OF HILLARY’S MANY CRIMES

https://libertywriters.com/2017/11/donna-brazile-turns-clintons-reveals-proof-hi...

Donna Brazile Turns On The Clinton’s, Reveals Proof Of Hillary’s Many Crimes

By Taylor Gibson - November 2, 2017



Donna Brazile first came to fame working for Bill Clinton. She was a high level member of his administration and parlayed that, as many did, into a lucrative career as a political pundit on CNN.

We all remember when she slipped the debate questions to Hillary. It was a national disgrace.

And she has stayed ever so close to the Democratic power structure, after Debbie Schultz was exposed as the worst kind of fraud and let go, they turned to Donna to save their butts.

It was in the middle of the campaign and what Donna found when she took over was so horrifying, Donna is finally turning on the Clinton’s and revealing all.

And it is shocking.

According to The Hill, Donna Brazile said it “broke my heart” when she discovered proof of Hillary’s crimes.

Brazile’s proof confirmed the liberal’s worst nightmare that Hillary did indeed fix the race against Bernie and the shady way she did it.

Think of that…proof Hillary is crooked. Just as Trump said.

Donna is spilling the beans in her new book: “Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns that Put Donald Trump in the White House” that Politico got an exclusive first look at.

“By September 7, the day I called Bernie, I had found my proof and it broke my heart,” Brazile wrote.

Now fixing a primary should be a crime. After all they are trying to save Trump fixed the election by working with Russia, right?

Regardless if this is not a crime technically, fixing the outcome sure is in sports or business or school so why is not in politics?

Maybe we need a law?

But Donna was not done.

She went on to explain how Hillary blackmailed the DNC, which sure seems like a crime to me.

According to Hillary and Donna, the DNC was flat broke. Hillary admitted this too so it sounds like Donna is telling the truth.

And the DNC was dependent on Hillary’s campaign for funds to keep the doors open.

Hillary dribbled out the money and boy did she get her pound of flesh in return. Textbook definition of blackmail.

She fixed the primary against Bernie but worse, because of arcane campaign finance laws, she was able to raise more money by saying it was going to the DNC rather than to her election fund.

Again is this illegal?

The blackmail certainly should be, the fixing as well and the skirting of campaign finance laws is unethical and should be illegal. But who knows in the swamp.

“The campaign had the DNC on life support, giving it money every month to meet its basic expenses, while the campaign was using the party as a fund-raising clearing house,” Brazile wrote. “The funding arrangement … was not illegal, but it sure looked unethical.”

This is a question for the lawyers and prosecutors not for Brazile and one thing we do know is if this unethical behavior was not a crime it should be and we need new laws to prevent the scourge that was the Clinton’s from plaguing this land again.

Bush Runs Scared From 9/11 Truth: Caught On Tape

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41850798

Elizabeth Warren agrees Democratic race 'rigged' for Clinton

US President Donald Trump has called for an investigation after a Hillary Clinton supporter said the Democratic party "rigged" its primary for her.

CNN asked Senator Elizabeth Warren if Mrs Clinton's contest against Democratic rival Bernie Sanders was rigged, and she said: "Yes."
Another Democratic official writes in a new book about the party's "unethical" agreement with the Clinton campaign.
President Trump said the American public "deserves" an inquiry.
Ms Warren, a progressive senator from Massachusetts who campaigned for Mrs Clinton, was reacting to allegations by former Democratic National Committee (DNC) chairwoman Donna Brazile.
Ms Brazile writes in a new book that the cash-starved DNC signed a joint fundraising agreement with the Clinton campaign in August 2015, four months after the former secretary of state launched her candidacy.
Ms Brazile writes that Mrs Clinton's "campaign had the DNC on life support, giving it money every month to meet its basic expenses".

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Quote:

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/874276197357596672/kUuht00m_normal.jpg

Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrump
Pocahontas just stated that the Democrats, lead by the legendary Crooked Hillary Clinton, rigged the Primaries! Lets go FBI & Justice Dept.
9:55 PM - Nov 3, 2017

Excerpts from her book - Hacks: The Inside Story of the Break-ins and Breakdowns that Put Donald Trump in the White House - were released by Politico magazine.
The DNC was meant to be neutral in the contest between Mrs Clinton and her Democratic challenger Bernie Sanders, a Vermont senator.
But supporters of Mr Sanders have long claimed the party showed preference to Mrs Clinton.
Ms Brazile says the deal was "not a criminal act", but "compromised the party's integrity".

However, Mrs Clinton's defenders have pointed out the Sanders campaign signed its own joint fundraising agreement with the DNC.
Ms Warren, who has been touted as a possible 2020 presidential contender, nevertheless called the Clinton revelations "a real problem" for the party.
"But what we've got to do as Democrats now, is we've got to hold this party accountable," she said.
Congressman Keith Ellison - who backed Mr Sanders and is now the deputy chairman of the DNC - said in a statement "it is our responsibility to acknowledge that millions of Americans still feel hurt and betrayed by the events of the 2016 presidential primary".
"We can't allow this idea to persist that any candidate has an inside track."
President Trump seized on the controversy late on Thursday, and again on Friday morning, after his Twitter account was briefly taken offline.

"She basically bought the DNC and stole the election from Bernie,"

Mr Trump told reporters before departing on a trip to several Asian countries.
He tweeted: "Pocahontas just stated that the Democrats, lead [sic] by the legendary Crooked Hillary Clinton, rigged the Primaries! Lets go FBI & Justice Dept."
Mr Trump calls Ms Warren "Pocahontas" because political rivals accused her in 2012 of claiming Native American ancestry to gain an unfair advantage when applying for jobs at Harvard Law School, without proof of such lineage.
Mr Sanders fired back at Mr Trump on Twitter on Friday, saying: "We won't be distracted from your efforts to give billionaires tax cuts, take health care from millions and deny climate change.
"Do your job," he added.
Ms Brazile herself came under fire last year after the anti-secrecy website Wikileaks released hacked DNC emails that revealed she had notified the Clinton campaign in advance of a question the candidate would be asked by CNN.
Her predecessor at the DNC, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, resigned during the election after her leaked emails appeared to show a co-ordinated effort to aid Mrs Clinton's campaign.
Mr Trump is himself under scrutiny in a Justice Department investigation into whether his campaign aides colluded with Russians in an effort to sway last year's election.

Day 15 Warmup 2 - No Sneak Attacks Here - Lots of Notice For Requests For Admission

Richdude wrote on Nov 5^th, 2017 at 1:15am:



Why did you break Lights 21 post monologue ?

Richdude wrote on Nov 5^th, 2017 at 8:49am:


Can't be about the swamp - Trump is draining that but nothing has happened to any of these except from getting Trumps full support.

If this is part of the swamp then Trump is part of the swamp.

Besides you could post this anywhere without disturbing Lights discussion with himself.