That was certainly the case yesterday so I thought I would try to put it altogether in this one post, even already knowing that I will undoubtedly be leaving something out.
First off it appears that there is yet more ties to Russia that Michael Flynn failed to report.
Courtesy of ABC News:
Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn made an unreported trip to the Middle East in 2015 to work on a U.S.-Russian venture in Saudi Arabia before he joined the Trump campaign, possibly having multiple contacts with Saudi officials that he failed to disclose when seeking renewal of his security clearances, according to Democrats who are seeking detailed records of Flynn’s travels.
“Most troubling of all, we have no record of Gen. Flynn identifying on his security clearance renewal application – or during his interview with security clearance investigators – even a single foreign government he had contact with,” wrote Reps. Elijah Cummings and Eliot Engel, the ranking members of the House Oversight and Foreign Affairs committees, in a letter published on Monday.
I have already lost track of how many unreported contacts this makes between Flynn and the Russians, though I will add that there are now unconfirmed reports that Flynn is already working with the FBI, which if not true yet, will surely be true in the near future.
I mean what other choice does he have at this point?
But wait, there's more.
Courtesy of WaPo:
In August, as tension mounted over Russia’s role in the U.S. presidential race, Donald Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, sat down to dinner with a business associate from Ukraine who once served in the Russian army.
Konstantin Kilimnik, who learned English at a military school that some experts consider a training ground for Russian spies, had helped run the Ukraine office for Manafort’s international political consulting practice for 10 years.
At the Grand Havana Room, one of New York City’s most exclusive cigar bars, the longtime acquaintances “talked about bills unpaid by our clients, about [the] overall situation in Ukraine . . . and about the current news,” including the presidential campaign, according to a statement provided by Kilimnik, offering his most detailed account of his interactions with the former Trump adviser.
Kilimnik, who provided a written statement to The Washington Post through Manafort’s attorney, said the previously unreported dinner was one of two meetings he had with Manafort on visits to the United States during Manafort’s five months working for Trump. The first encounter was in early May 2016, about two weeks before the Trump adviser was elevated to campaign chairman.
Apparently Kilimnik's name appeared on a subpoena sought by federal prosecutors looking into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, and there are accusations that he is also a Russian spy though apparently those have not yet been made by US intelligence.
Yeah, but probably just a coincidence, right?
As for the investigations themselves, well Robert Mueller appears to be taking it very seriously indeed.
Courtesy of Reuters:
A veteran federal prosecutor recruited onto special counsel Robert Mueller's team is known for a skill that may come in handy in the investigation of potential ties between Russia and U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign team: persuading witnesses to turn on friends, colleagues and superiors.
Andrew Weissmann, who headed the U.S. Justice Department's criminal fraud section before joining Mueller's team last month, is best known for two assignments - the investigation of now-defunct energy company Enron and organized crime cases in Brooklyn, New York - that depended heavily on gaining witness cooperation.
"Flipping" witnesses is a common, although not always successful, tactic in criminal prosecutions.
Like I said, if Flynn is not singing like a canary yet, he soon will be.
And possibly Manafort as well.
Source http://ift.tt/2rzmaM5
