Author Topic: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory (aka The Big Lie)  (Read 220118 times)

Las Vegas

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #175 on: August 03, 2017, 03:47:21 PM »
Why do you guys suppose that someone who'd "hack" our election wouldn't go right for the vote-tallying system?  In the main report itself it says that it wasn't touched.

Why's that?

Primemuscle

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #176 on: August 03, 2017, 04:04:57 PM »
Using the definition of "hacking" that you posted, it's clear someone hacked John Podesta's email.  But using "hacking" in the context of this entire stupid conspiracy theory is incomprehensible.  Saying Russia "hacked" our election implies they got into voting machines, changed vote tallies, etc., and that Trump was somehow involved in this effort.  That's the point you appear to understand.  It's the dumbest conspiracy theory since 9/11 Troofers arrived on the scene. 

The power of implication and perception is enormous. Wise people assume a "wait and see" position. Unfortunately not everything that happens can be proved. Theories should not be used to condemn or prosecute a person. It is unfortunate that sometimes they are.

One of the times I served on jury duty, the defendant was charged with a DUII. It was not her first. Everyone on the jury was convinced that there was a strong likelihood she'd been drinking when she was arrested. Unfortunately, the prosecution provided no proof, just theories and assumptions. We jurors found her innocent.

Las Vegas

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #177 on: August 03, 2017, 04:20:05 PM »
That sounds interesting, Prime.

And yes I think certain individuals would be thrilled if they could keep a cloud of negativity over Trump's entire time in office as we "wait and see" what happens with the "election hacking" story.

Dos Equis

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #178 on: August 03, 2017, 04:22:21 PM »
I apologize if my sincere open gesture to speak by phone was considered inappropriate ( creepy) by you.
I suspect I'm older then you, and talking by phone is what I prefer.
Of course, you never know who's out there , so ,I understand the concern for personal safety.

You don't need to agree with me and many here don't.
A good natured  jab is fine but the lack of civility on this forum is pretty bad.
I know , I've posted plenty of goofy, pointless crap in search of a laugh.
But, I was never cruel and avoid harsh, endless insults of other members.

You seem like an intelligent man and enjoy debating various issues.
 I took our recent exchange a bit too personal . That was wrong on my part.
With all due respect, I urge you as mod to promote a more civil, positive tone on this forum.

Thanks.

Howard



Well I agree you post tons of pointless crap. 

Your apology is accepted.  Thank you.

I don't need to do anything differently regarding moderating this board.  I just banned a kid (again) for 30 days for not knowing how to tone down the attacks on you and Prime. 

Primemuscle

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #179 on: August 03, 2017, 04:22:56 PM »
Why do you guys suppose that someone who'd "hack" our election wouldn't go right for the vote-tallying system?  In the main report itself it says that it wasn't touched.

Why's that?

I believe the report said that there was no evidence of this. No evidence doesn't mean it didn't happen.

There are any number of reasons for the inconclusiveness. Perhaps hacking the vote-tallying system is too obvious. Maybe the hackers didn't have the expertise to do it.

Didn't Trump say that there was widespread voter fraud that favored Clinton? Neither this accusation nor the claim that the Russians hacked the vote-tallying system have been proved.

Dos Equis

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #180 on: August 03, 2017, 04:23:12 PM »
The power of implication and perception is enormous. Wise people assume a "wait and see" position. Unfortunately not everything that happens can be proved. Theories should not be used to condemn or prosecute a person. It is unfortunate that sometimes they are.

One of the times I served on jury duty, the defendant was charged with a DUII. It was not her first. Everyone on the jury was convinced that there was a strong likelihood she'd been drinking when she was arrested. Unfortunately, the prosecution provided no proof, just theories and assumptions. We jurors found her innocent.

I agree with all of this.

Primemuscle

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #181 on: August 03, 2017, 04:27:51 PM »
I don't need to do anything differently regarding moderating this board.  I just banned a kid (again) for 30 days for not knowing how to tone down the attacks on you and Prime. 

Thank you. The type of posts you are referring to do get old, not only for me but I suspect for the rest of the board too. 

Las Vegas

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #182 on: August 03, 2017, 04:29:05 PM »
I believe the report said that there was no evidence of this. No evidence doesn't mean it didn't happen.

There are any number of reasons for the inconclusiveness. Perhaps hacking the vote-tallying system is too obvious. Maybe the hackers didn't have the expertise to do it.

Didn't Trump say that there was widespread voter fraud that favored Clinton? Neither this accusation nor the claim that the Russians hacked the vote-tallying system have been proved.

That covers just about everything under the sun, though, doesn't it?

Primemuscle

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #183 on: August 03, 2017, 04:35:54 PM »
That covers just about everything under the sun, though, doesn't it?

Yep.

Howard

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #184 on: August 03, 2017, 04:38:23 PM »
Well I agree you post tons of pointless crap. 

Your apology is accepted.  Thank you.

I don't need to do anything differently regarding moderating this board.  I just banned a kid (again) for 30 days for not knowing how to tone down the attacks on you and Prime. 

Thanks you for accepting my apology.
I was unaware anyone ever got a "time out" for chronic abuse.
Thanks for informing me and doing your job.

Las Vegas

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #185 on: August 03, 2017, 04:51:20 PM »
Yeah, I happened to have read that report and the main thrust of it involves complaints against Russian Media.  Not only was there no real substance to it, but I'd bet big money that the activity noted has occurred in the past, in a direct upswing right along with the development of technology.  It simply doesn't make sense to believe anything else.  It really doesn't.

Dos Equis

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #186 on: August 11, 2017, 08:39:40 PM »
Mueller’s Targets Face Financial Strain
Paul Manafort owns many homes. Mike Flynn is a right wing superstar. But the Russia probe is gobbling up their cash at an alarming rate.
BETSY WOODRUFF
08.11.17

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort parted ways with WilmerHale, the law firm defending him, earlier this week. That was largely because Bob Mueller’s 16-lawyer Russia probe—which is targeting him—has shifted its focus and is drilling down on tax issues, which aren’t WilmerHale’s specialty. But the parting of ways with WilmerHale was also in part because Manafort’s finances are increasingly strained, according to sources familiar with the situation.

“Paul Manafort’s resolve is limitless, but his resources are not,” said a person close to Manafort.

Manafort isn’t the only person facing financial challenges because of the legal costs of responding to Mueller’s probe. Michael Flynn, the retired general and deposed National Security Adviser, is struggling mightily with his mounting legal bills, according to a source familiar with his situation. The expenses has put his family’s finances under significant duress, the source said, and it’s expected he will soon create a legal defense fund to keep from going bankrupt.

Hiring the high-powered Washington lawyers necessary to respond to a deep-dive Justice Department investigation can be extraordinarily costly. And Manafort—despite his past lucrative contracts with foreign governments, and despite the fact that he owns numerous properties around the country—is feeling the pinch. Sources say that’s part of the reason he is no longer retaining WilmerHale; the firm is known for handling Congressional investigations, but Mueller’s probe has now shifted its focus to international tax issues—which meant Manafort needed lawyers with that expertise. So he has brought in Miller Chevalier, a boutique Washington law firm full of international law experts, and has parted with WilmerHale.

David Rivkin, a longtime conservative Washington attorney who worked in the Justice Department under Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, said Mueller’s probe is undoubtedly straining the finances of all its targets.

“It’s obvious that it has morphed into an open-ended investigation that is way beyond the Russian collusion, and the only unifying principle seems to be that it covers people who are close to Trump or worked with Trump,” he said. “And that is a classical definition of a fishing expedition.”

Mueller’s legal team has 16 attorneys, as well as other support staff, and it’s funded by the Justice Department. Mueller’s team includes former federal prosecutors with broad-ranging areas of expertise who are highly motivated and aggressive.

“It obviously has a deleterious effect on both people’s professional lives—in terms of their ability to carry out their jobs—but also on a personal level,” Rivkin continued. “People who are being severely financially stressed by this investigation.”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/muellers-targets-face-financial-strain

jude2

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #187 on: August 11, 2017, 08:50:34 PM »
I wonder how much this is costing us the tax payers.

TuHolmes

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #188 on: August 11, 2017, 10:13:35 PM »
I wonder how much this is costing us the tax payers.

Too much. Just like Benghazi and Clinton's blowjob.

Yamcha

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #189 on: August 12, 2017, 06:34:36 AM »
Thanks you for accepting my apology.
I was unaware anyone ever got a "time out" for chronic abuse.
Thanks for informing me and doing your job.

Howard, what do you think about this collusion hacking?
a

Dos Equis

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #190 on: August 18, 2017, 02:07:40 PM »
White House Lawyer Cobb Predicts Quick End to Mueller Probe
Friday, 18 Aug 2017

The White House lawyer brought in to deal with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election said he believed the focus of the probe was "narrow" and the aspects related to President Donald Trump should be completed before the end of the year.

The lawyer, Ty Cobb, who joined the White House staff on July 31, made the comments in interviews with Reuters on Tuesday and Wednesday. He declined to provide specifics backing his outlook, which contradicts media reports that the scope of Mueller’s probe is expanding and the views of several outside experts that the investigation is likely to continue well into 2018.

"I'd like to see the president out from under this by Thanksgiving, but certainly by year end," Cobb said, adding that he would be "embarrassed" otherwise. "I think the relevant areas of inquiry by the special counsel are narrow."

Mueller is investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, among other matters. Moscow has denied interfering in the election and the president has denied collusion took place.

Cobb, who resigned from law firm Hogan Lovells to take the White House job, said he meets with or talks to Trump almost daily and interacts with Mueller's team. Cobb said he could not discuss those communications.

As a White House lawyer, Cobb is in a different position than the president's outside counsel John Dowd and Jay Sekulow. Cobb would not be able to assert attorney-client privilege to protect his conversations with Trump from a grand jury subpoena.

Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, declined to comment on any timeline for the probe or which matters would fall under the special counsel's aegis.

Trump has said he believes investigations of his and his family's finances would be beyond the scope of Mueller's probe. Mueller is reportedly already looking at Trump's business dealings going back a decade.

Cobb said he believed Mueller's 16-lawyer team was "appropriately focused" and understood "the urgency to the country and to the presidency" of finishing the probe as quickly as possible.

Several legal experts said Cobb's timeline was unrealistic, noting similar probes have dragged on for years.

"I cannot imagine a universe in which the prosecutor's office is giving the president a clean bill of health before Thanksgiving of this year," said Andrew Wright, an associate White House counsel under President Barack Obama. "It's a very complicated investigation."

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/cobb-predicts-end-to-mueller/2017/08/18/id/808472/

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #191 on: August 19, 2017, 10:15:31 PM »
British spy behind Trump-Russia dossier could be forced to talk after US court ruling

A U.S. District court judge has put a former British spy one step closer to facing questions under oath about the controversial dossier he authored alleging President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign team plotted with Russian agents.

A ruling by Judge Ursula Ungaro allows lawyers for a Russian technology executive named in the dossier to seek British approval to question onetime MI6 agent Christopher Steele about the funding and sourcing of the dossier under oath. The request was made as part of a libel suit brought by Webzilla CEO Aleksej Gubarev against the website Buzzfeed, which was first to publish the dossier Steele prepared.

[...]

Interest in the funding and sourcing for the dossier led the Senate Judiciary Committee to summon Glenn Simpson, the head of the Washington, D.C.-based research firm Fusion GPS that commissioned Steele’s work, to a closed session meeting scheduled for Tuesday. In a letter to Simpson, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, indicated he wants Simpson to reveal who first hired him to investigate Trump’s Russia ties and which government agencies received copies when it was completed.

[...]

If he has the opportunity to take Steele’s sworn testimony, Gurvits said, “my number-one question is, ‘Why was this allegation about my clients included [in the dossier]?” he said. “Where did you get it? What did you do to verify it? And who did you communicate it to?"

In June court filings in the United Kingdom, Steele’s attorneys answered the last question, telling the court he shared his findings with a representative of Sen. John McCain. Arrangements were then made through an intermediary to get the document to McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, “so that it was known to … the United States governments at a high level by persons with responsibility for national security,” Steele’s filing in British court says.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/british-spy-trump-russia-dossier-forced-talk-us/story?id=49271590

Dos Equis

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #192 on: August 31, 2017, 09:55:54 AM »
All part of the plan.  Putin has Trump right where he wants him now. 

Trump administration retaliates against Russia, forces closure of US posts

Published August 31, 2017
Fox News
 
The Trump administration on Thursday retaliated against Russia for expelling hundreds of U.S. diplomats, announcing it is requiring Russia to close several posts in major American cities.

The State Department, in a statement that warned of a “downward spiral” in relations, announced the U.S. is requiring Russia close its consulate general in San Francisco as well as its chancery annex in Washington, D.C., and consular annex in New York City.

“These closures will need to be accomplished by September 2,” spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in the statement.

The decision was in retaliation for Russian President Vladimir Putin kicking out more than 700 U.S. diplomats – after Trump, reluctantly, signed a sanctions law passed by Congress.

While calling the Russian order “unwarranted,” Nauert said Thursday that the U.S. has “fully implemented” the reduction of the U.S. mission in Russia. She described the new demand on Moscow to reduce its presence in the United States as being “in the spirit of parity invoked by the Russians.”

“With this action both countries will remain with three consulates each,” she said. “While there will continue to be a disparity in the number of diplomatic and consular annexes, we have chosen to allow the Russian Government to maintain some of its annexes in an effort to arrest the downward spiral in our relationship.”

She said the U.S. hopes “we can avoid further retaliatory actions by both sides and move forward to achieve the stated goal of both of our presidents: improved relations between our two countries and increased cooperation on areas of mutual concern.”

She added, “The United States is prepared to take further action as necessary and as warranted.”

Earlier this month, Trump signed a bill imposing sanctions on Russia after the legislation overwhelmingly passed the House and Senate. The sanctions stemmed from Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014 and its attempted interference in the United States’ presidential election in 2016.

After Congress passed the sanctions in July, Putin said 755 U.S. diplomats would be expelled from Russia by Sept. 1.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/08/31/trump-administration-retaliates-against-russia-forces-closure-us-posts.html

Dos Equis

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #193 on: September 07, 2017, 01:07:08 PM »
Breaking news for the tin foil hat dummies pushing this loony conspiracy theory. 

Putin jokes that Tillerson 'fell in with the wrong crowd'
By Miranda Green, CNN
Thu September 7, 2017

Washington (CNN)Russian President Vladimir Putin teased US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Thursday, saying that since the former ExxonMobil executive was given a Russian state honor in 2013 he "fell in with the wrong crowd."

"We also awarded the Order of Friendship to Mr. Tillerson, your fellow countryman, but fell in with the wrong crowd. He is moving to a slightly different direction but I hope the wind of friendship and cooperation will take him to the right path eventually," Putin, who was addressing an American moderator, said during a plenary session at the Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok.

In 2013, Putin awarded Tillerson, then CEO of ExxonMobil, the Order of Friendship, one of the highest honors Russia gives to foreign citizens. The silver badge underscored the close ties that existed for many years between the two individuals.

At the forum, however, Putin indicated that relationships between himself, the US and Tillerson were rocky, noting that in light of tensions between the two countries, his government still has connections with American companies, including energy giant Exxon.

"Despite all of our complications today on the diplomatic level, we still have contacts with American companies, including such energy giants as Exxon, and Mr. Tillerson was the head of this company in the past," Putin said. "Despite that he is organizing searches in our diplomatic institutions, we still work on resolving (problems) with his ex-company."

Putin said Russia is currently working with Exxon to resolve questions on its "biggest project," the Sakhalin 1 oil and gas fields in the Far East.
Relationships between the US and Russia have deteriorated significantly in recent months. Following a Russian order that the US cut its diplomatic staff in Russia, Tillerson announced last week that Russia must close its consulate in San Francisco and two diplomatic annexes in New York and Washington. On Tuesday, Russia threatened to sue over the closures.

At the forum, Putin also emphasized finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis on the Korean Peninsula, telling attendees that the United States could be playing into North Korea's hands by trying to ramp up the pressure on Pyongyang.

The Russian leader has been unusually outspoken about North Korea and how the global community should respond in the wake of the country's North Korea's sixth nuclear test Sunday.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/07/politics/vladimir-putin-rex-tillerson/index.html

Dos Equis

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #194 on: September 12, 2017, 05:20:30 PM »
Bannon was dead on when he said Hillary Clinton is not very bright.

Hillary Clinton accuses Trump associates of helping Russia influence the 2016 election
Bryan Logan
   
Hillary Clinton has made crystal clear whom she blames for Russia's interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

In an interview with USA Today published Monday night, Clinton said she thought associates of Donald Trump had an "understanding" that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted her to lose and Trump to win.

"There certainly was communication, and there certainly was an understanding of some sort," Clinton said.

"And there's no doubt in my mind that there are a tangle of financial relationships between Trump and his operation with Russian money," Clinton said, adding that she was confident the Trump campaign "worked really hard to hide their connections with Russians."

Clinton's remarks echo those of congressional investigators who have pointed to some top-level officials within Trump's inner circle accused of misrepresenting their contacts with Russian diplomats and insiders tied to the Kremlin during and after the 2016 campaign.

Members of that inner circle include, among others:

Trump's campaign chairman, Paul Manafort.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
And Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.

Robert Mueller, the FBI's special counsel, is deep into a multipronged investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin during the US election. His investigation, along with those of several congressional committees, includes explosive public and private testimony from James Comey, the FBI director Trump fired in May, and from some of Trump's top aides.

The investigation has also put many White House staffers in the crosshairs and prompted some to retain private counsel. Kushner, Trump Jr., Manafort, and Sessions have denied any wrongdoing. Trump has repeatedly sought to discredit the Russia investigation by calling it "an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should have won."

Clinton, who is now promoting her new book, "What Happened," which documents the turbulent 2016 election, acknowledged that she deserved some of the blame for her failed 2016 presidential bid and specifically criticized her campaign's failures.

She also said that using a private email server while she was secretary of state — the move that would prompt an FBI investigation and disintegrate her campaign — was a "boneheaded mistake."

http://www.businessinsider.com/hillary-clinton-accuses-trump-campaign-of-helping-russia-2016-election-2017-9

Dos Equis

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #195 on: September 18, 2017, 07:00:56 PM »
Exclusive: US government wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman
By Evan Perez, Shimon Prokupecz and Pamela Brown, CNN
Mon September 18, 2017

Washington (CNN)US investigators wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort under secret court orders before and after the election, sources tell CNN, an extraordinary step involving a high-ranking campaign official now at the center of the Russia meddling probe.

The government snooping continued into early this year, including a period when Manafort was known to talk to President Donald Trump.
Some of the intelligence collected includes communications that sparked concerns among investigators that Manafort had encouraged the Russians to help with the campaign, according to three sources familiar with the investigation. Two of these sources, however, cautioned that the evidence is not conclusive.

Special counsel Robert Mueller's team, which is leading the investigation into Russia's involvement in the election, has been provided details of these communications.

A secret order authorized by the court that handles the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) began after Manafort became the subject of an FBI investigation that began in 2014. It centered on work done by a group of Washington consulting firms for Ukraine's former ruling party, the sources told CNN.

The surveillance was discontinued at some point last year for lack of evidence, according to one of the sources.

The FBI then restarted the surveillance after obtaining a new FISA warrant that extended at least into early this year.

Sources say the second warrant was part of the FBI's efforts to investigate ties between Trump campaign associates and suspected Russian operatives. Such warrants require the approval of top Justice Department and FBI officials, and the FBI must provide the court with information showing suspicion that the subject of the warrant may be acting as an agent of a foreign power.

It is unclear when the new warrant started. The FBI interest deepened last fall because of intercepted communications between Manafort and suspected Russian operatives, and among the Russians themselves, that reignited their interest in Manafort, the sources told CNN. As part of the FISA warrant, CNN has learned that earlier this year, the FBI conducted a search of a storage facility belonging to Manafort. It's not known what they found.

The conversations between Manafort and Trump continued after the President took office, long after the FBI investigation into Manafort was publicly known, the sources told CNN. They went on until lawyers for the President and Manafort insisted that they stop, according to the sources.

It's unclear whether Trump himself was picked up on the surveillance.

The White House declined to comment for this story. A spokesperson for Manafort didn't comment for this story.

Manafort previously has denied that he ever "knowingly" communicated with Russian intelligence operatives during the election and also has denied participating in any Russian efforts to "undermine the interests of the United States."

The FBI wasn't listening in June 2016, the sources said, when Donald Trump Jr. led a meeting that included Manafort, then campaign chairman, and Jared Kushner, the President's son-in-law, with a Russian lawyer who had promised negative information on Hillary Clinton
 
That gap could prove crucial as prosecutors and investigators under Mueller work to determine whether there's evidence of a crime in myriad connections that have come to light between suspected Russian government operatives and associates of Trump.

Origins of the FBI's interest in Manafort
The FBI interest in Manafort dates back at least to 2014, partly as an outgrowth of a US investigation of Viktor Yanukovych, the former Ukrainian president whose pro-Russian regime was ousted amid street protests. Yanukovych's Party of Regions was accused of corruption, and Ukrainian authorities claimed he squirreled millions of dollars out of the country.

Investigators have spent years probing any possible role played by Manafort's firm and other US consultants, including the Podesta Group and Mercury LLC, that worked with the former Ukraine regime. The basis for the case hinged on the failure by the US firms to register under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act, a law that the Justice Department only rarely uses to bring charges.
All three firms earlier this year filed retroactive registrations with the Justice Department.

It hasn't proved easy to make a case.

Last year, Justice Department prosecutors concluded that there wasn't enough evidence to bring charges against Manafort or anyone of the other US subjects in the probe, according to sources briefed on the investigation. 

The FBI and Justice Department have to periodically seek renewed FISA authorization to continue their surveillance.

As Manafort took the reins as Trump campaign chairman in May, the FBI surveillance technicians were no longer listening. The fact he was part of the campaign didn't play a role in the discontinued monitoring, sources told CNN. It was the lack of evidence relating to the Ukraine investigation that prompted the FBI to pull back.

Renewed surveillance
Manafort was ousted from the campaign in August. By then the FBI had noticed what counterintelligence agents thought was a series of odd connections between Trump associates and Russia. The CIA also had developed information, including from human intelligence sources, that they believed showed Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered his intelligence services to conduct a broad operation to meddle with the US election, according to current and former US officials.

The FBI surveillance teams, under a new FISA warrant, began monitoring Manafort again, sources tell CNN.

The court that oversees government snooping under FISA operates in secret, the surveillance so intrusive that the existence of the warrants only rarely become public.

For that reason, speculation has run rampant about whether Manafort or others associated with Trump were under surveillance. The President himself fueled the speculation when in March he used his Twitter account to accuse former President Barack Obama of having his "wires tapped" in Trump Tower.

The Justice Department and the FBI have denied that Trump's own "wires" were tapped.

While Manafort has a residence in Trump Tower, it's unclear whether FBI surveillance of him took place there.

Manafort has a home as well in Alexandria, Virginia. FBI agents raided the Alexandria residence in July.

The FBI also eavesdropped on Carter Page, a campaign associate that then candidate Trump once identified as a national security adviser. Page's ties to Russia, including an attempt by Russian spies to cultivate him, prompted the FBI to obtain a FISA court warrant in 2014.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/18/politics/paul-manafort-government-wiretapped-fisa-russians/index.html

Soul Crusher

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #196 on: September 19, 2017, 05:57:31 AM »
Trump was right. 

TuHolmes

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #197 on: September 19, 2017, 08:52:05 AM »
Trump was right. 

Actually. Not really. Trump said they tapped Trump. Which they didn't.


Soul Crusher

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #198 on: September 19, 2017, 10:56:30 AM »
Actually. Not really. Trump said they tapped Trump. Which they didn't.



 ::) 

Please.  They tapped manafort knowing he was talking to trump all the time and hoped to catch trump on tape saying something. 


TuHolmes

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Re: The Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory
« Reply #199 on: September 19, 2017, 12:51:30 PM »
::) 

Please.  They tapped manafort knowing he was talking to trump all the time and hoped to catch trump on tape saying something. 



Words matter. They tapped Manafort because they had a warrant to do so. You're a lawyer, you know that they tap people because of A. If B happens to show up, that's not because they are trying to catch B, but sometimes they do anyway.

This is not some smoking gun that they are "tapping Trump". That's not how it works.