New York Times: FBI probing Russian intel contacts with several Trump campaign officials

Hotair ^ | 02/15/2017 | Ed Morrissey

[SeekAndFind]

Win by the leak … live with the leak? Democrats still blame the FBI for its very public investigation of Hillary Clinton’s e-mail system for her loss to Donald Trump in the presidential campaign, claiming that the constant leaks damaged her standing while leading to no prosecutable charges. The shoe may well and truly be on the other foot now, according to the New York Times report from last night about an FBI investigation into alleged contacts between Russian intelligence and Trump’s campaign:

Phone records and intercepted calls show that members of Donald J. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and other Trump associates had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the election, according to four current and former American officials.

That sounds pretty bad — but so far, at least, the investigation hasn’t found much other than the contacts:

The intelligence agencies then sought to learn whether the Trump campaign was colluding with the Russians on the hacking or other efforts to influence the election.

The officials interviewed in recent weeks said that, so far, they had seen no evidence of such cooperation.

The probe started with the FBI concern over Russian hacking of the DNC and John Podesta as an attempt to sway the election. So far, though, the investigation can’t even determine if the contacts were about the election at all:

The officials would not disclose many details, including what was discussed on the calls, the identity of the Russian intelligence officials who participated, and how many of Mr. Trump’s advisers were talking to the Russians. It is also unclear whether the conversations had anything to do with Mr. Trump himself.

The problem for the FBI in this case is that at least one of their investigative targets, Paul Manafort, has done business in Russia and Ukraine for some time — a point that did arise during the campaign, too. That undoubtedly put Manafort in contact with Russian intelligence operatives, and even Manafort concedes that probability, because Russian intelligence embeds itself much more broadly in private-sector commerce. That’s why Manafort quipped to the NYT that “It’s not like these people wear badges that say, ‘I’m a Russian intelligence officer,’” likely out of frustration over the continuing questions.

If Trump campaign officials cooperated with Russian intelligence contacts, that’s obviously a very big deal. However, as the Times points out fairly close to the top of the story, the FBI hasn’t found any evidence to suggest it, or that the contacts related to the election at all as opposed to other intelligence gathering or potential grooming. If these officials simply had unknowing contact with Russian intelligence agents, that’s amateurish and careless, but not actionable. Having this probe’s details leak out like this looks at least as careless, and potentially the start of a whispering campaign against the Trump administration from the FBI. Given the leaks that went in the other direction in 2015-16, though, it’s going to be difficult for the Trump White House and Republicans to gripe about it.

That won’t stop them from trying, though:

Information is being illegally given to the failing @nytimes & @washingtonpost by the intelligence community (NSA and FBI?).Just like Russia

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 15, 2017

Trump’s not entirely wrong to complain about this (although it’s not “just like Russia”), but neither were Clinton or her supporters when leaks were spilling out of the FBI during the active phase of its probe into her e-mail system and handling of classified materials. Consider it political karma, but at some point, the FBI needs to get a leash on its agents and restore the confidential nature of its investigations.

Update: As Zaggs reminds us on Twitter, we’ve seen this story before. The New York Times reported on it just before the election in late October:

For much of the summer, the F.B.I. pursued a widening investigation into a Russian role in the American presidential campaign. Agents scrutinized advisers close to Donald J. Trump, looked for financial connections with Russian financial figures, searched for those involved in hacking the computers of Democrats, and even chased a lead — which they ultimately came to doubt — about a possible secret channel of email communication from the Trump Organization to a Russian bank.

Law enforcement officials say that none of the investigations so far have found any conclusive or direct link between Mr. Trump and the Russian government. And even the hacking into Democratic emails, F.B.I. and intelligence officials now believe, was aimed at disrupting the presidential election rather than electing Mr. Trump. …

F.B.I. officials declined to comment on Monday. Intelligence officials have said in interviews over the last six weeks that apparent connections between some of Mr. Trump’s aides and Moscow originally compelled them to open a broad investigation into possible links between the Russian government and the Republican presidential candidate. Still, they have said that Mr. Trump himself has not become a target. And no evidence has emerged that would link him or anyone else in his business or political circle directly to Russia’s election operations.

At least one part of the investigation has involved Paul Manafort, Mr. Trump’s campaign chairman for much of the year. Mr. Manafort, a veteran Republican political strategist, has had extensive business ties in Russia and other former Soviet states, especially Ukraine, where he served as an adviser to that country’s ousted president, Viktor F. Yanukovych.

But the focus in that case was on Mr. Manafort’s ties with a kleptocratic government in Ukraine — and whether he had declared the income in the United States — and not necessarily on any Russian influence over Mr. Trump’s campaign, one official said.

Comparing the two stories, it would appear that the FBI has substantiated some of the contacts, but still has found no cooperation with Russian intelligence. Otherwise, it doesn’t look like the story has advanced much in any direction, except toward the media.

[HarleyLady27]

...and who gave them the authority to do anything except print ‘fake news’???...

[ichabod1]

THey have to keep investigating until Maxine Waters and Nancy Pelosi can lead President Bush into impeachment.

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

LOL! Have you heard Waters getting trolled by Russian comedians? It’s epic.

[shelterguy]

And then send him to that island that will tip over if too many people are on it.

[PMAS]

*

[RideForever]

Fake news about fake news. Doesn’t belong on FR.

[Liz]

Forget Trump. The Clintons ties to Russia have been ignored far too long. The infamous Russian uranium deal occurred during President Obama’s administration....but, of course, Obama knows nothing about it (/sarc).

The New York Times reported the Clintons' connections thusly: "Cash Flowed to Clinton Foundation Amid Russian Uranium Deal." Plus Bill Clinton pocketed $500,000 from a Moscow investment bank for a brief speech.

The NYT and Washington Post never reported about Pravda's headline: “Russian Nuclear Energy Conquers the World.” Imagine if a Republican State Department approved such a deal?

In addition, Hillary's campaign chairman, acting as "The Podesta Group" lobbied on behalf of Uranium one, after most of it was owned by Russia.

=========================================

Obama knew nothing about this, either: January 2013 Pravda trumpeted Putin’s coup: “Russian Nuclear Energy Conquers the World.” Details how the Russian atomic energy agency, Rosatom, had taken over a Canadian company with uranium-mining stakes stretching from Central Asia to the American West.

Beyond mines in Kazakhstan that are among the most lucrative in the world, the sale gave the Russians control of one-fifth of all uranium production capacity in the United States. Since uranium is considered a strategic asset, with implications for national security, the deal had to be approved by a committee composed of representatives from a number of United States government agencies. Among the agencies that eventually signed off was the State Department, then headed by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

As the Russians gradually assumed control of Uranium One in three separate transactions from 2009 to 2013, Canadian records show, a flow of cash made its way to the Clinton Foundation.

==================================================

The Clintons have to explain these reports: “As the Russians gradually assumed control of Uranium One in three separate transactions from 2009 to 2013, Canadian records show, a flow of cash made its way to the Clinton Foundation.”

Ian Telfer, Uranium One’s chairman, used his family foundation to make four donations to the Clinton Foundation totaling $2.35 million. Those contributions were not publicly disclosed by the Clintons, despite an agreement Mrs. Clinton had struck with the Obama White House to publicly identify all donors. Other people with ties to the company made donations as well.

(NOTE: The IRS asserts the biggest money laundering, IRS evasion occurs when one foundation writes a check to another foundation---the MO "charities" use to siphon off tax-free money for themselves.)

=====================================================

And shortly after the Russians announced their intention to acquire a majority stake in Uranium One, Bill Clinton received $500,000 for a Moscow speech from a Russian investment bank with links to the Kremlin that was promoting Uranium One stock.

Obama knew nothing about this (snix).

PIC Circa 2010--Ex-Pres Clinton in Moscow having a laugh w/ Putin
as strategic US uranium deposits were sold off to Russia for Big Bucks
facilitated by Secy Clinton, as Bill globe-trotted to set up the deal.

"Hahahaha. US ntl security? Hahahaha. You gotta be kidding, Vlad."

[Liz]

This gambit by Bill Clinton (meddling in a foreign election) got the uranium scheme going. Bill's calculated handshake was a bonanza for the Kazahk president's re-election. Nazarbayev responded in kind and signed-off on the initial phase of the US uranium assets takeover.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev greets former
president Clinton (L) in Almaty on September 6, 2005.

CIRCA 2015 A Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter claims that former President Bill Clinton falsely denied hosting a meeting with Kazakh officials when she tried to write a story that involved his foundation several years ago.

Jo Becker, who works on the newspaper's investigative desk, said Clinton only confirmed the meeting took place after she informed him there were photographs.

Clinton's role in a deal that involved Kazakhstan, the Russian government, and a man who donated millions to the president's charitable foundation were detailed in a story Becker published on Thursday.

That article revisited some of her earlier reporting and included information from the upcoming book "Clinton Cash," which is generating widespread headlines amid a flurry of reports suggesting it will raise serious questions about Clinton's family foundation.

The donor in question is Canadian mining executive Frank Giustra, a longtime friend of the former president who has given tens of millions to the Clinton Foundation in the past few years. (A couple of hours after the NYT story was published, Giustra issued a defiant statement. We've included that below.)

Becker initially wrote about the February 2007 meeting between Clinton, Giustra, and executives from the state-owned nuclear company Kazatomprom in 2008. The gathering took place at Clinton's home in Chappaqua, New York.

"When I first contacted both the Clinton foundation — Mr. Clinton's spokesman — and Mr. Giustra, they denied any such meeting ever took place," Becker recalled in footage aired by Fox News on Thursday.

However, Becker said Clinton and Giustra both changed their stories after she confronted them with evidence to the contrary.

"And then when we told them, 'Well we already talked to the head of Kazatomprom, who not only told us all about the meeting, but actually has a picture of him and Bill at the home in Chappaqua, and that he proudly displayed on his office wall.' They then acknowledged that yes, the meeting had taken place," Becker continued in the television interview.

The purpose of the meeting, then Kazatomprom President Moukhtar Dzhakishev told The Times, was to discuss Kazakhstan potentially buying a 10% stake in Westinghouse, a US nuclear company. Becker's 2008 story also noted one of Giustra's companies secured a deal to buy uranium deposits from Kazatomprom in 2005.

That agreement was made after Clinton accompanied Giustra on a trip to Kazakhstan. During the trip, Giustra and Clinton met with Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Clinton issued a public statement praising the Kazakh leader despite his questionable, antidemocratic record. The Times called the praise a "propaganda coup" for Nazarbayev. (he later "won relection" w/ an unbelievable 90% of the vote)

"Just months after the Kazakh pact was finalized, Mr. Clinton's charitable foundation received its own windfall: a $31.3 million donation from Mr. Giustra that had remained a secret until he acknowledged it last month. The gift, combined with Mr. Giustra’s more recent and public pledge to give the William J. Clinton Foundation an additional $100 million, secured Mr. Giustra a place in Mr. Clinton’s inner circle," wrote Becker and another reporter, Don Van Natta.

A spokesperson for the Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership told Business Insider they are "working on a formal statement" in response to a request for comment on Thursday. Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership is an initiative of the Clinton Foundation that was cofounded by Clinton and Giustra in 2007. A Clinton Foundation spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

http://www.businessinsider.com/nyt-reporter-clinton-lied-about-meeting-2015-48/25

[mac_truck]

Pelosi was quoting a fake General Flynn twitter account at a “news” conference the other day.

These people are beyond stupid.

[Liz]

The Podesta angle in this must be investigated. Hillary's campaign chairman, acting as "The Podesta Group," lobbied on behalf of Uranium one, after most of it was owned by Russia to facilitate Russia's takeover of US uranium deposits.

BACKSTORY--After she lost, power-crazed Hillary horse-whipped her campaign chair, John Podesta, into action. Podesta came charging out of the gate like Greased Lightning, galloping at breakneck speed, sweating it out, desperate to make Hillary look like a "victim."

=================================================

John Podesta Op-Ed: Washington Post post-election op-ed / FR POSTED by by ColdOne

PODESTA: The more we learn about the Russian plot to sabotage Hillary Clinton’s campaign and elect Donald Trump, and the failure of the FBI to adequately respond, the more shocking it gets. The former acting director of the CIA has called the Russian cyberattack “the political equivalent of 9/11.” Just as after the real 9/11, we need a robust, independent investigation into what went wrong inside the government and how to better protect our country in the future.

As the former chair of the Clinton campaign and a direct target of Russian hacking, I understand just how serious this is. So I was surprised to read in the New York Times that when the FBI discovered the Russian attack in September 2015, it failed to (Excerpt) Read more of Podesta at washingtonpost.com ...

======================================

WikiLeaks: Tax Form Reveals Hillary's campaign chair, John Podesta,
Continued Ties to Russian Energy Company After Claiming He Divested

LINK http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/10/31/wikileaks-tax- form-reveals-john-podesta- continued-ties-to-russian-energy-company-after- claiming-he-divested/

PODESTA'S LUCRATIVE RUSSIAN CONNECTIONS--- A leaked Jan. 3, 2014 document shows that Podesta transferred more than 25,000 of 75,000 shares of Joule Technologies---a Russian-connected firm---to Leonidio Holdings LLC.

Leonidio Holdings, LLC, is listed w/ an address at his daughter's Megan Rouse’s Shannon Court home in Dublin, California. Rouse operates Megan Rouse Financial Planning from that same address.

The inference is to money laundering, perhaps tax evasion. Suggests that Megan Rouse's father, John Podesta, hid stocks connected to Russia. Documents show that Podesta received 75,000 shares of Joule Unlimited Technologies......an outfit which was linked to alleged money laundering by the Russian government, according to media reports.

The Center for American Progress (CAP) was started in 2003 by John Podesta, Bill Clinton's onetime Chief of Staff; Podesta led Obama’s presidential transition team after 2008 and was Hillary’s 2016 campaign chair.

[midnightcat]

All I am seeing on the news (we are stuck with CNN at work) and even Daily Mail online is total hysteria and non-stop coverage on all this Russian stuff. They are making it sound like the government is going to fall. Is it really that bad?

[shanover]

The left thinks the Russian angle is their ticket. They are going all out Alinsky on anything they can attach to it.

[The Toll]

It’s going to get REALLY crazy when they find out Trump’s team talked to Luxembourg!

[Bigg Red]

Rescue the Limpolians!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEEwIUMedzs

[RushIsMyTeddyBear]

LOL!

[Vendome]

Pathetic joke.

I quit water hinges the news two weeks ago, as well as no longer giving clicks to these hack news organizations, who are desperately trying to stay afloat by whoring themselves out.

What’s particularly disturbing is they have become two bit whore’s.

Judah took 30 pieces of silver but, he had a conscience...

[txhurl]

It’s really that bad for THE LEFT: their deep state shadow government is about to be vaporized by multiple asteroids coming out of Sessions’ dept. of justice.

They’re using their playbook against Reagan, which only resulted in his landslide re-election - 49 states -, but by all means, FakeMedia, keep it up! Listen to those millennials in your ranks! Hillary did all last year!

[ichabod1]

No. It is not that bad. There’s talk that this is a political coup attempt but it’s hard to see it going anywhere. Hopefully he will be able to get control of most of this shite in time.

[midnightcat]

Thanks for the replies. I haven’t been able to focus on the stories much but the hysteria in the headlines is so over the top (to me anyway) that it’s bewildering. I know they hate him but wow.... I guess I wasn’t anticipating this.