1 - Goose
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This is Just the Beginning
Intel chiefs presented Trump with claims of Russian efforts to compromise him
(CNN)Classified documents presented last week to President Obama and President-elect Trump included allegations that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Mr. Trump, multiple US officials with direct knowledge of the briefings tell CNN.
The allegations were presented in a two-page synopsis that was appended to a report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. The allegations came, in part, from memos compiled by a former British intelligence operative, whose past work US intelligence officials consider credible. The FBI is investigating the credibility and accuracy of these allegations, which are based primarily on information from Russian sources, but has not confirmed many essential details in the memos about Mr. Trump.
The classified briefings last week were presented by four of the senior-most US intelligence chiefs -- Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, FBI Director James Comey, CIA Director John Brennan, and NSA Director
Admiral Mike Rogers.
One reason the nation's intelligence chiefs took the extraordinary step of including the synopsis in the briefing documents was to make the President-elect aware that such allegations involving him are circulating among intelligence agencies, senior members of Congress and other government officials in Washington, multiple sources tell CNN.
These senior intelligence officials also included the synopsis to demonstrate that Russia had compiled information potentially harmful to both political parties, but only released information damaging to Hillary Clinton and Democrats. This synopsis was not an official part of the report from the intelligence community case about Russian hacks, but some officials said it augmented the evidence that Moscow intended to harm Clinton's candidacy and help Trump's, several officials with knowledge of the briefings tell CNN.
Last edited by Goose (1/10/2017 6:16 pm)
We live in a time in which decent and otherwise sensible people are surrendering too easily to the hectoring of morons or extremists.
- TheLagerLad
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Re: This is Just the Beginning
Dude, this is nuts. There is some unverified but pretty damning stuff the Russians allegedly have on Trump.
Stuff that would violate our rules if I even went into it.
What a time to be an American.
I think you're going to see a lot of different United States of America over the next three, four, or eight years. - President Donald J. Trump
- tennyson
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Re: This is Just the Beginning
TheLagerLad wrote:
Dude, this is nuts. There is some unverified but pretty damning stuff the Russians allegedly have on Trump.
Stuff that would violate our rules if I even went into it.
What a time to be an American.
What a time to be an American - NOT ! 
(Whiidh I am sure is what you meant)
Last edited by tennyson (1/10/2017 7:13 pm)
"Do not confuse motion and progress, A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress"
- tennyson
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Re: This is Just the Beginning
Well, that Professor who predicted the Trump win also predicted he would be impeached.
Depending how this all turns out, he might be correct.
"Do not confuse motion and progress, A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress"
- flowergirl
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Re: This is Just the Beginning
This would mean Pence would be POTUS--and we thought Trump was horrendous?
- Goose
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Re: This is Just the Beginning
As of this hour unsubstantiated.
But I cannot believe that it will end here.
"The memos suggest that for many years, the Russian government of Mr. Putin has looked for ways to influence Mr. Trump, who has traveled repeatedly to Moscow to investigate real estate deals or to oversee the Miss Universe competition, which he owned for several years. Mr. Trump never completed any major deals in Russia, though he discussed them for years.
The former British intelligence officer who gathered the material about Mr. Trump is considered a competent and reliable operative with extensive experience in Russia, American officials said. But he passed on what he heard from Russian informants and others, and what they told him has not yet been vetted by American intelligence.
The memos describe sex videos involving prostitutes with Mr. Trump in a 2013 visit to a Moscow hotel. The videos were supposedly prepared as “kompromat,” or compromising material, with the possible goal of blackmailing Mr. Trump in the future.
The memos also suggest that Russian officials proposed various lucrative deals, essentially as disguised bribes in order to win influence over Mr. Trump.
The memos describe several purported meetings during the 2016 presidential campaign between Trump representatives and Russian officials to discuss matters of mutual interest, including the Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee and Mrs. Clinton’s campaign chairman, John D. Podesta.
If some of the unproven claims in the memos are merely titillating, others would amount to extremely serious, potentially treasonous acts.
One of the opposition research memos quotes an unidentified Russian source as claiming that the hacking and leaking of Democratic emails was carried out “with the full knowledge and support of TRUMP and senior members of his campaign team.” In return, the memo said, “the TRUMP team had agreed to sideline Russian intervention in Ukraine as a campaign issue” because Mr. Putin “needed to cauterize the subject.”
We live in a time in which decent and otherwise sensible people are surrendering too easily to the hectoring of morons or extremists.
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Thread Starter- Goose
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Re: This is Just the Beginning
Donald Trump has already taken to Twitter to condemn,,,,,,, the media.
And soon the usual suspects on the tube and here on the Internet will arrive to condemn,,,,the media.
I think that their anger, real or feigned, is off the mark. It is the job of the news media to report news. And, when the heads of our intelligence agencies report to the President and President-elect allegations of an unprecedented effort by a foreign power to compromise a head of state (OUR state), this IS news.
They have a duty to report it.
And the NYT was very responsible in their reporting. Several times in the article they remind the reader that the reports are "unsubstantiated", "unverified", and "unconfirmed". So, don't believe the report if you wish, but don't blame them for bringing it to you. That is their job.
And, after next Friday, a responsible media will be all that we have. I mean, do you imagine that a Trump administration will allow our intelligence agencies to investigate further? Not bloody likely.
Keep an eye on this. If this story gets verified,,,, well, it will make Watergate look like a fraternity prank.
Last edited by Goose (1/11/2017 5:56 am)
We live in a time in which decent and otherwise sensible people are surrendering too easily to the hectoring of morons or extremists.
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Thread Starter- TheLagerLad
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Re: This is Just the Beginning
Trump press conference at 11:00 a.m. Should be quite a show.
Last night was a lot of fun on Twitter. Perhaps some of this stuff will turn out to have a level of sourced truth, and if so, Donald Trump's presidency is going to get off to a very rough start.
But I think in fairness to all, we don't want to go down the path we had to endure in the Obama years of weird stories that were one part truth, and one-hundred parts crazy.
I think you're going to see a lot of different United States of America over the next three, four, or eight years. - President Donald J. Trump
- Goose
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Re: This is Just the Beginning
Trump press conference at 11:00 a.m. Should be quite a show.
Last night was a lot of fun on Twitter. Perhaps some of this stuff will turn out to have a level of sourced truth, and if so, Donald Trump's presidency is going to get off to a very rough start.
But I think in fairness to all, we don't want to go down the path we had to endure in the Obama years of weird stories that were one part truth, and one-hundred parts crazy.
True. And all the more reason to determine the facts.
But, I have no confidence in a Trump administration having the integrity to investigate, well, itself.
We live in a time in which decent and otherwise sensible people are surrendering too easily to the hectoring of morons or extremists.
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Thread Starter- TheLagerLad
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Re: This is Just the Beginning
NBC News is reporting that the 2 page memo that BuzzFeed and CNN reported on last night was never shown to Trump. This is according to intel sources.
They say that it was included as part of a package and was included to show Trump the difference between vetted and unvetted information.
The intelligence source also told NBC that there is no verified evidence at this point that Trump or his campaign team has had any contact with Russia prior to the election.
Just thought I'd pass it along.
I think you're going to see a lot of different United States of America over the next three, four, or eight years. - President Donald J. Trump