Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Maybe, “Trump & Putin” is a real thing – AS IN -- It’s as real as this kind of stuff gets -- AND -- Don’t say it like it’s a bad thing


The first in a series of GM Fountainhead posts from Trump’s “Russian Front”

 

Trump is signaling that he is ready to change over seventy years of   >>>  a U.S. policy of hostility to Russia <<<

 

Hillary played her gender card and played her race card  ---  Now, it looks like Trump might have played his Russia card, like Nixon played his China card  ---  except Trump played it a while ago & it's already paying-off

 

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin look like they might be having some kind “THING” going on.  Some say it like it’s a bad thing, others not so much.

TRUMP SUGGESTS HE’S OPEN TO A  U.S.-RUSSIA  ALLIANCE, BUT POOH-POOHS ANY CONSPIRACY THEORY LINKING HIM WITH PUTIN

Here’s the latest from Donald Trump's Russian Front, according to Newsweek,  “Republican nominee Donald Trump said on Monday that if elected U.S. president he would weigh an alliance with Russia against Islamic State militants but rejected any suggestion Russian President Vladimir Putin might be trying to help him win….   Speaking at a rally in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Trump dismissed any suggestion that Putin's intelligence services might have had a hand in hacking the Democratic National Committee's email system….”  (See “Donald Trump Would Consider Alliance With Russia's Vladimir Putin Against ISIS"  [from Reuters feed],  7/25/16,  Newsweek/ Reuters [http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-isis-syria-iraq-moscow-islamic-state-democratic-483826]).

That article went on to say,  “….  Trump dismissed a charge from Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook that Russian hackers might have stolen the emails and leaked them to embarrass Democrats and help Trump defeat Clinton in the Nov. 8 election….   ‘I don't think it's coincidental that these emails were released on the eve of our convention here, and I think that's disturbing,’ Mook told CNN's ‘State of the Union’….   Trump dismissed what he called ‘one of the weirdest conspiracy theories’ he said he had heard….  He said he had never met Putin. But over the course of his year-long campaign, Trump has praised the Russian leader and one of his top foreign policy advisers, retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, had dinner with Putin last December….  ‘When you think about it, wouldn't it be nice if we got along with Russia?’ Trump said. ‘Wouldn't it be nice if we got together with Russia and knocked the hell out of ISIS?’ he added, using another name for Islamic State….” 

BUT  >>>  JOSH MARSHALL AT “TPM”  SEES IT THIS WAY

Here’s another take from the blog “TPM”  ---  “Over the last year there has been a recurrent refrain about the seeming bromance between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. More seriously, but relatedly, many believe Trump is an admirer and would-be emulator of Putin's increasingly autocratic and illiberal rule. But there's quite a bit more to the story. At a minimum, Trump appears to have a deep financial dependence on Russian money from persons close to Putin. And this is matched to a conspicuous solicitousness to Russian foreign policy interests where they come into conflict with US policies which go back decades through administrations of both parties. There is also something between a non-trivial and a substantial amount of evidence suggesting Putin-backed financial support for Trump or a non-tacit alliance between the two men….” (See “Trump & Putin. Yes, It's Really a Thing” Josh Marshall,  7/23/16, TPM/ Editor’s Blog  [http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/trump-putin-yes-it-s-really-a-thing]).  

Marshall’s article certainly rates a look by all real Republicans, and more important by all real patriotic Americans---   especially those people who are very critical  and/or very wary  of things like the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global initiative.

Josh Marshall’s insightful and in-depth article concludes with this:  “….   To put this all into perspective, if Vladimir Putin were simply the CEO of a major American corporation and there was this much money [w/o emphasis] flowing in Trump's direction, combined with this much solicitousness [w/o emphasis] of Putin's policy agenda, it would set off alarm bells galore. That is not hyperbole or exaggeration. And yet Putin is not the CEO of an American corporation. He's the autocrat who rules a foreign state, with an increasingly hostile posture towards the United States and a substantial stockpile of nuclear weapons. The stakes involved in finding out 'what's going on' as Trump might put it are quite a bit higher….   There is something between a non-trivial and a substantial amount of circumstantial evidence for a financial relationship between Trump and Putin or a non-tacit alliance between the two men. Even if you draw no adverse conclusions, Trump's financial empire is heavily leveraged and has a deep reliance on capital infusions from oligarchs and other sources of wealth aligned with Putin. That's simply not something that can be waved off or ignored.”   That certainly sounds ominous, if not downright bad….. 

FOR QUITE SOME TIME, OTHERS HAVE HAD A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW


Back in December, the International Business Times had an article that looked at the openly expressed Trump-Putin bromance  from the point of view of many in the Russian monied class ---  Russian President Vladimir Putin may be publicly praising Republican front-runner Donald Trump — and, therefore, implicitly criticizing the current administration — but investors from his country are quietly singing a different tune about the U.S. While sanctions and tumult in the Middle East have led to an icy relationship between the Obama administration and the Kremlin, Russians with money to spare have been looking to invest in American holdings….   ‘We just position quite well for those of high net worth to continue putting money into the United States,” Ed Mermelstein, a real estate attorney, consultant and developer in New York, said. “Russian nationals are just one of the [many] international communities that continue to put money into the U.S.’…   Mermelstein said that, especially with the economic unrest that has resulted from international sanctions placed on Russia recently, investors in the oligarchy see the relatively stable economic and political outlook in the U.S. as a safe place to put their money. Putin’s overtures to Trump, and Trump’s acceptance of those compliments, Mermelstein said, aren’t likely to change that calculus dramatically….”  (SeeWhat Does A Friendly Relationship Between Trump And Putin Mean For Rich Russians?”  by Clark Mindock, 12/20/15,  IBT/  [http://www.ibtimes.com/what-does-friendly-relationship-between-trump-putin-mean-rich-russians-2233860]).


The Mindock-IBT article continued with this:  ”….   Still, the notion of thawed relations between the two superpowers is interesting to investors and would bode well for Putin’s regime. A more amicable relationship would mean that investment in Russia would become more attractive, which would bring revenue into the country….   Economic uncertainty has shifted the way big money players in Russia are storing their wealth. Hoping to at least maintain their money, they are turning to investments in things like luxury real estate in the U.S., which aren’t likely to lose considerable value….” Needless to say the luxury real estate thing is something that long has been something that is completely in Donald Trump’s wheelhouse.

A more circumspect article recently appeared in the IBT (See “Why Does Putin Like Trump? Russia's Connections To The American Presidential Election Explained” by Lydia Tomkiw,  7/25/16, IBT [http://www.ibtimes.com/why-does-putin-trump-russias-connections-american-presidential-election-explained-2394700]).  It discusses the possible pro-Russian influences that Trump advisors Paul Manafort and Carter Page might be exercising on the GOP presidential candidate.

THE GENERAL MICHAEL FLYNN CONNECTION & HOW HE MIGHT FIT INTO THE EQUATION

There are also many articles that talk about what Trump might be hearing on the military-geo-political side of the equation.

One of them is this February article from the Reuters News Service.  According to Reuters,  “Donald Trump is receiving foreign policy advice from a former U.S. military intelligence chief who wants the United States to work more closely with Russia to resolve global security issues, according to three sources….  The sources, former foreign policy officials in past administrations, said retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, who was chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency under President Barack Obama from 2012-2014, has been informally advising Trump….   Flynn resigned from his position as the head of the Pentagon's main intelligence agency a year before his term was officially due to end….  Flynn raised eyebrows among some U.S. foreign policy veterans when he was pictured sitting at the head table with Putin at a banquet in Moscow late last year celebrating Russia Today, an international broadcasting network funded by the Russian government….   Flynn told Russia Today in an interview published on Dec. 10 that the United States and Russia should work together to resolve the Syrian civil war and defeat Islamic State….  The Obama administration has protested Russia's military intervention on behalf of Syrian President Bashir al-Assad, accusing Moscow of hitting opposition forces rather than ISIS….  ‘Right now we have essentially the U.S. strategy and we have a Russian strategy in the region that does not appear to be in line with each other. And I think we have to step back and try to figure out how do we align those,” Flynn told Russia Today….”  (See “Trump being advised by ex-U.S. Lieutenant General who favors closer Russia ties” by   Mark Hosenball & Steve Holland,  2/26/16,  RNS [http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-trump-advisor-idUSMTZSAPEC2Q6G3JRH]; see also “Trump's favorite general” by Brian Bender & Shane Goldmacher, 7/8/16, Politico [http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/donald-trump-general-michael-flynn-vp-225253]). 


There are many more articles about the Trump-Flynn relationship  ---   suffice it to say that Flynn was on Trump’s short list for VP; he was also prominent at the GOP Convention.  But that still doesn’t fully explain what Trump might be up to or where he’s getting is all his ideas about Russia and a new pivot on Russian issues.

Coming soon on the GM Fountainhead coverage of Trump’s Russian Front ---  a look at Trump advisor, Carter Page and Trump’s campaign manager Paul Manafort.

11 comments:

  1. Nobody knows a Red better than a Red Head

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  2. Nobody, including you Mr Man of the World opiner, has identified who the "Syrian opposition" forces are. If the Coup in Turkey was launched in the Poconos than the Syrian opposition would be on 5th avenue between 73rd & 66th streets.

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  3. After, saying he had no political or business connections to Putin or Russia, Trump gave a clear signal to the Russians that if they have any of Hillary's deleted emails and made them public, the people of the U.S. press would be very grateful. That was his transparent code for saying a Trump Administration and the American people would be very grateful to Russia for taking down a "Crooked" and "Rotten" Hillary Clinton.

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  4. Whoever leaked the Hillary emails only did what the FBI wouldn't.

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  5. UPDATE: THE “HILLARY CLINTON CROWD IS THROWING GASOLINE ON TRUMP’S FIRE ABOUT RUSSIA RELEASING HILLARY’S E-MAILS” EDITION

    HILLARY’S CAMPAIGN MANAGER ACKNOWLEGES THAT TRUMP’S CALL FOR RUSSIA TO RELEASE ANY OF HRC’S MISSING E-MAILS “… IS A NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUE NOW…” & “… IS IN NATIONAL SECURITY SPACE…” --- ALSO THAT SUCH A RELEASE WOULD BE “… FOR THE PURPOSE OF SOMEHOW CHANGING [THE] ELECTION

    BOY, WHAT DOES ALL OF THAT SAY ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE MISSING 33,000 CLINTON E-MAILS ?????

    The overreaction by high representatives of the Clinton Campaign to this morning’s remarks by Donald Trump apparently goading Russia or those parts of Russia’s intelligence apparatus to seek out and release the 33,000 missing and presumed-deleted "private" Clinton E-mails is astounding.

    According to the Washington Post, “… Democrats prepared to use their convention Wednesday night to raise fresh doubts about Donald Trump’s fitness to serve as commander in chief, as the Republican presidential candidate called on Russia to hack into Hillary Clinton’s email server to find “missing” messages and release them to the public…. ‘Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press,’ Trump said during a news conference at his South Florida resort on Wednesday…. ‘They probably have them. I’d like to have them released. . . . It gives me no pause. If they have them, they have them,” Trump added later when asked if his comments were inappropriate. “If Russia or China or any other country has those emails, I mean, to be honest with you, I’d love to see them.’…” (See “Trump urges Russia to hack Clinton’s emails” by Ed O'Keefe, Jose A. DelReal & John Wagner, 7/27/16, Washington Post [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/democratic-national-convention-obama-biden-kaine-set-to-tout-clinton-as-commander-in-chief/2016/07/27/afc57884-53e8-11e6-bbf5-957ad17b4385_story.html]).

    WHAT HILLARY- DEMOCRATS LIKE JAKE SULIVAN AND ROBBY MOOK SEEM READY TO ACKNOWLEDE ABOUT HILLARY’S MISSING E-MAILS

    The Wa-Po article cited above went on to say this: “… The Clinton campaign quickly expressed alarm at Trump’s remarks…. ‘This has to be the first time that a major presidential candidate has actively encouraged a foreign power to conduct espionage against his political opponent,’ Clinton’s senior policy adviser, Jake Sullivan, said in a statement. He added later: ‘This has gone from being a matter of curiosity, and a matter of politics, to being a national security issue.’…” What Jake Sullivan didn’t explain was why revealing Hillary Clinton’s supposedly deleted personal & private E-mails might involve “ESPIONAGE” in any way.

    Robby Mook, HRC’s Campaign Manager, also seemed to acknowledge that Hillary Clinton’s E-mails were hacked by the Russians, the publication of Hillary Clinton’s E-mails would have national security implications and that their publication might somehow change the outcome of the upcoming election.

    Here’s how Reuters reported on the response of the Clinton Campaign Manager: “…. The Clinton campaign was not amused…. ‘This is a national security issue now,’ Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook told reporters in Philadelphia…. ‘The idea that you would have any American calling for a foreign power to commit espionage in the United States for the purposes of somehow changing an election, we're now in national security space….” (See “Trump urges Russia to find Clinton's 'missing' emails, drawing ire” by Steve Holland & EmilyStephenson, 7/27/16, Reuters/ Washington/Miami [http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-election-trump-cyber-idUKKCN1072FK]).

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  6. Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard resigned as vice chair of DNC to endorse Bernie.

    Gabbard spent years in the military Navy intelligence.

    I think Gabbard is a more likely suspect.

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  7. The only person who said Trump & Russians hacked DNC was Clinton campaign manager.
    Guccifer, the hacker, has hacked into the Bushes & Colin Powell email accounts.
    Guccifer is a lone Romanian, or, maybe an ex nun

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  8. i heard tulsi speak last night and she sounded like a flowerchild from the 70's
    real space cadet

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  9. Gail, I think you missed the ball again. Julian Assange of WikiLeaks has told the world why he leaked the DNC emails the way that he did. He hates Hillary and he wants to screw her over bad.

    More important than that, Assange says that he has plenty of Hillary's missing emails. He has told the world that they will embarrass Hillary even more than the prior email disclosures; and that they will definitely contain references to the Clinton Foundation and what she was doing as Secretary of State.

    If what Assange says is true, there will be proof that Hillary committed crimes in connection with her "deleted" emails.

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  10. UPDATE: THE “FACTCHECK: DONALD TRUMP ASKED RUSSIA TO RELEASE HACKERS’ CACHE OF HILLARY CLNTON’S ‘DELETED’ E-MAILS -- NOT TO HACK HER AGAIN” EDITION

    CONTEXT OF REPEATED QUESTIONS & ANSWERS AT TRUMP’S WEDNESDAY PRESS CONFERENCE IS CLEAR – TRUMP BELIEVES THAT RUSSIA ALREADY HACKED HRC’S E-MAILS – AND TRUMP IS CALLING ON ANY HACKERS, RUSSIAN OR OTHERWISE, TO RELEASE THEM

    MSM IS FOLLOWING A NARRATIVE PUT OUT BY HILLARY’S CAMPAIGN TALKING ABOUT NEW HACKING --- NOT WHAT TRUMP ACTUALLY SAID ABOUT ANYBODY RETRIEVING HER "DELETED" E-MAILS

    According to a post from Breitbart News, “The establishment media is insisting today that Donald Trump asked dictator Vladimir Putin’s Russian hackers to break into Americans’ computers…. But the plain text of Trump’s lengthy 10,000-word press conference today shows him repeatedly saying that the hackers — likely Russians — should release the emails they have already hacked from Hillary Clinton’s email server at the Department of State… So Trump’s media-magnified sentence — 'Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 e-mails that are missing' — refers to emails that he thinks have already been hacked and stored away in some Russian server farm....” (See “Donald Trump Asks Hackers To Release Emails, Not to Hack Again” by Neil Munro, 7/27/16, Breitbart News [http://www.breitbart.com/2016-presidential-race/2016/07/27/emails-trump-putin-hackers/]).

    The Munro-Breitbart piece goes on to go through every Q&A at Trump’s Wednesday press conference related to Russian hacking and Hillary Clinton’s and the DNC’s E-mails. The article specifically concluded that, at Trump’s press conference, “… Trump repeatedly says and suggests that the emails may already have been hacked. He repeatedly urges anyone with copies of the Clinton’s 33,000 taxpayer-owned mails to release them — and he does not urge the Russians to break into Americans’ computers….”

    Another article in Breitbart News by Joel Pollack exposes how the mainstream media followed the narrative put out by the Hillary Clinton Campaign misrepresenting what Trump said about Russia and hacked E-mails at his Wednesday presser (See “Media Follow Clinton Script on Trump, Russian Hackers, Hillary Emails” by Joel Pollack, 7/27/16, Breitbart News [http://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2016/07/27/trump-russia-hillary-emails-brian-fallon-democratic-national-convention/]).

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  11. UPDATE & BACKFILL: THE “MEDIA SILENT ON BILL CLINTON DOUBLE RAPE BOMBSHELL” EDITION

    ANOTHER SORDID CHAPTER THAT BILL CLINTON LEFT OUT OF HIS BILL & HILLARY “LOVE STORY” --- WHICH HE DELIVERED TUESDAY NIGHT AT THE DNC

    According to a report in the Breitbart News by Aaron Klein, “The U.S. news media has entirely ignored the newsworthy confirmation from Juanita Broaddrick that she was allegedly raped not once but twice by Bill Clinton during the same infamous encounter in 1978…. The story was splashed as the main banner of the Drudge Report for much of the day on Wednesday, after Bill Clinton brandished Hillary’s purported credentials as a champion of women on Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention here…. In addition to its massive general readership, the Drudge Report is read widely throughout the day as a tip sheet of sorts by many in the news industry….” (See “Media Silent On Bill Clinton Double Rape Bombshell” by Aaron Klein, 7/28/16, Breitbart News [http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/07/28/media-ignores-bill-clinton-double-rape-bombshell/]).

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