Last edited:
RUSSIA/РОССИЯ THREAD—ASSANGE CHRGD W/ SPYING—DJT IMPEACHED TWICE-US TREASURY SANCTS KILIMNIK AS RUSSIAN AGNT
- Thread starter ☑︎#VoteDemocrat
- Start date
Wargames
One Of The Last Real Ones To Do It
Trump is a 71 year old child with no self awareness whats so ever.
GnauzBookOfRhymes
Superstar
Sure, but he takes it to a level that even previous white presidents didn't. Even Clinton and Bush wouldn't have gotten away with half the shyt Trump has.
it's stronger with trump because he very explicitly made his presidency about "taking back" power that in the minds of his supporters belongs only to white people. the only reason they would never have gotten away with it is bc they were seen moreso as traitors to their race.
Dameon Farrow
Superstar
This administration is so desperate. And to help some of you out, he isn't getting away with shyt. It's all adding up. It's a process. Gotta learn how to relax a bit.
Dorian Breh
Veteran
U.S. Constitution - Article 2 Section 4
Article 2 - The Executive Branch
Section 4 - Disqualification
<<Back | Table of Contents | Next>>
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachmentfor, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Article 2 - The Executive Branch
Section 4 - Disqualification
<<Back | Table of Contents | Next>>
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachmentfor, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Hood Critic
The Power Circle
I wonder about stories like this, anyone who still trying to decide on whether to stick with this administration or jump ship at this point is all but too late. Your political career is forever tainted.
THE FBI WAS TRACKING HIGH PROFILE RUSSIANS WHO WENT TO THE INAUGURATION!
PAY ATTENTION TO MADDOW'S RECENT STORIES ON INAUGURATION DONATIONS THAT CANT BE ACCOUNTED FOR!
In the crowd at Trump’s inauguration, members of Russia’s elite anticipated a thaw between Moscow and Washington
In the crowd at Trump’s inauguration, members of Russia’s elite anticipated a thaw between Moscow and Washington
Some prominent Russians came to Washington to witness Donald Trump’s inauguration last year. Above is a section where some had ticketed seats in front of the U.S. Capitol. (CNN/Photo illustration by The Washington Post)
In the days before Donald Trump’s inauguration, a wealthy Russian pharmaceutical executive named Alexey Repik arrived in Washington, expressing excitement about the new administration.
He posted a photo on Facebook of a clutch of inauguration credentials arranged next to a white “Make America Great Again” hat, writing in Russian: “I believe that President Donald Trump will open a new page in American history.”
Throughout his trip, Repik had prime access. He wrote on Facebook that he got close enough to the president-elect at a pre-inaugural event to “check the handshake strength of Donald Trump.” He and his wife, Polina Repik, witnessed Trump’s swearing-in from ticketed seats in front of the U.S. Capitol. And he posed for a photo shoulder-to-shoulder with Mike Pompeo, the president’s nominee to head the CIA, although Repik later said he was not aware of Pompeo’s intended role at the time.
The attendance of members of Russia’s elite at Trump’s inauguration was evidence of the high anticipation in Moscow for a thaw in U.S.-Russia relations following a campaign in which Trump stunned U.S. foreign-policy experts by repeatedly praising Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As questions about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election were beginning to percolate publicly, prominent business leaders and activists from the country attended inaugural festivities, mingling at balls and receptions — at times in proximity to key U.S. political officials.
Their presence caught the attention of counterintelligence officials at the FBI, according to former U.S. officials, although it is not clear which attendees drew U.S. government interest. FBI officials were concerned at the time because some of the figures had surfaced in the agency’s investigation of the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, the officials said.
An FBI spokesman declined to comment on security concerns related to the inauguration. White House officials did not respond to requests for comment.
The Washington Post identified at least half a dozen politically connected Russians who were in Washington on Inauguration Day — including some whose presence has not been previously reported. Among them was Viktor Vekselberg, a tyc00n who is closely aligned with Putin’s government.
Another was Natalia Veselnitskaya , the Russian lawyer whose June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with Donald Trump Jr. has become a focus of the Russia investigation. She attended a black-tie inaugural party hosted by the campaign committee of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), according to an associate who accompanied her.
Other Russian inaugural guests included Boris Titov, a politician and business advocate who is running for president of Russia with the Kremlin’s blessing.
Like other VIPs in town that weekend, many flocked to the lobby of the Trump International Hotel, where some encountered fellow Russian associates with surprise.
“It was a great, amazing experience,” Alexey Repik recalled in one of several interviews with The Post. Repik said he also was in Washington for President Barack Obama’s 2013 inauguration but did not attend any events that year.
Michael McFaul, who served as ambassador to Russia under Obama, said he did not recall prominent Russian visitors at Obama’s 2009 events. “It’s strange,” McFaul, the director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford, said of the number of influential Russians in attendance last year.
Some Russian guests at Trump’s inauguration said they got tickets through U.S. political contacts.
One venue for credentials was the Presidential Inaugural Committee, which provided a slew of perks — such as tickets to events with Cabinet appointees, congressional leaders, the vice president-elect and Trump — to donors who gave at least $25,000.
Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents are legally permitted to contribute to an inaugural committee. Several U.S. business executives with ties to Russia together donated $2.4 million to the inaugural committee, campaign finance records show.
:FuturamaFry:
Russian pharmaceutical executive Alexey Repik and his wife, Polina Repik, enjoyed high-level access during Trump’s inauguration, including ticketed seats for his swearing-in. (CNN/Photo illustration by The Washington Post)
Inaugural organizers said that the committee kept proper records of contributors but that it was impossible to track who ultimately used all of the tens of thousands of tickets that went to donors. In a statement, the committee said that it followed Secret Service protocol and that all attendees received required physical screening at checkpoints when they arrived at events.
“The Presidential Inaugural Committee for President Trump, administratively speaking, was conducted in similar, if not identical fashion to previous inaugurations,” the committee said.
However, Steve Kerrigan, who served as chief of staff to Obama’s 2009 inaugural committee and as president of the committee in 2013, saiddonors then were required to submit lists of their guests for any gathering the president or vice president or their families were scheduled to attend, with the exception of large outdoor events.
Secret Service spokeswoman Catherine Milhoan said the agency followed all of its normal security procedures at the 2017 inauguration. She declined to elaborate.
The service often requires that the names of guests be submitted ahead of time for events at which attendees will have close access to the president.
On other occasions, when the president or president-elect makes a brief stop at an event and stays largely behind a rope line — as Trump did at a pre-inaugural Library of Congress reception Repik attended — the agency instead relies on physically screening most guests, according to people familiar with the security procedures.
Awaiting a ‘new stage’ in U.S.-Russia relations
Trump’s inauguration was celebrated jubilantly in Moscow, where Putin supporter Konstantin Rykov hosted an all-night party. Champagne flowed as an interpreter narrated the new U.S. president’s speech.
In Washington, the Russian Embassy tweeted, “Happy #InaugurationDay2017!” with a photo of people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
The optimism was part of a larger embrace by Russia of Trump’s “America First” outlook, which emphasizes U.S. business interests and national security over promoting freedom and democracy abroad, said Ilya Zaslavskiy, a researcher who has worked with the Hudson Institute’s Kleptocracy Initiative.
Amid a busy schedule in Washington, Titov — who was appointed by Putin to serve as a business ombudsman — told a Russian television station that new investment was likely to flow to Russia once U.S. sanctions were lifted.
Businesses “are waiting for this signal, and they believe it will soon come,” he said.
A year later, the sanctions are still in place, and the thrill of Trump’s election has faded amid an intensifying federal investigation of possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.
“We hoped that a lot of things would change, that the relations would be built on equal terms, that we would be able to start a new stage in the relations between countries,” Titov said in an interview. “But unfortunately, this is not happening.”
Titov, like several of the Russian elites who attended Trump’s inauguration, declined to say how he obtained his tickets, only that they came “via our friends — entrepreneurs in the Republican Party.”:Muellerlmao:
While in Washington, he attended several receptions and met with U.S. lawmakers and business leaders, including a staff member at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Titov said. A Chamber spokeswoman said the organization “routinely meets with individuals representing the business community from countries around the world.”
Titov said he also went to a ball, adding: “I don’t remember what it was called. People danced. Trump danced.”
Vekselberg heads of one of Russia’s most powerful conglomerates, the Renova Group, which has investments in energy, telecom and mining. He attended Trump’s inauguration as a guest of “one of his closest American business partners,” said spokesman Andrey Shtorkh, who declined to name Vekselberg’s host.
@DonKnock @SJUGrad13 @88m3 @wire28 @smitty22 @fact @Hood Critic @ExodusNirvana @Blessed Is the Man @dtownreppin214 @JKFrazier @tmonster @BigMoneyGrip @Soymuscle Mike @.r. @GnauzBookOfRhymes @Dorian Breh @Dameon Farrow @TheNig @VR Tripper @re'up @Blackfyre_Berserker