Russia Monitor

  “If Sessions won’t unrecuse and Mueller won’t clear the president, we’re the only ones. Which is the real danger … we have to keep all these seats. We have to keep the majority. If we do not keep the majority, all of this goes away.” Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) speaking at a GOP fundraiser for Rep. Cathy McMorris (R-WA ) (8/18). By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (8/30/18) Dear Fellow Readers, Head of the House Intelligence Committee Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) is this edition’s poster-child for Russpublican party over country. The above quote was reported here at the time,…

  “I looked in Mr. Putin’s eyes and I saw three letters—a K, a G, and B.” — Max Boot, John McCain Leaves The Stage When We Need Him Most (8/25/18)   By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (8/27/18) Dear Fellow Readers, The above quote is from Max Boot, a conservative never-Trumper, writing for the Washington Post. Thanks to a reader, an abridged version is here: Conservative Columnist Calls On GOP To Step Up And Fill McCain’s Shoes By Opposing ‘amoral demagogue’ Trump. Boot offered his eulogy for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who died Saturday. Boot highlighted a major difference between McCain,…

  COHEN PLEADS GUILTY, IMPLICATING PRESIDENT The New York Times headline (8/21/18) Current TIME magazine cover. “I think impeachment is now squarely going to define the midterms,” said Rob Stutzman, a Republican strategist who has been critical of Mr. Trump. “It’s inescapable now that Democrats can legitimately raise that issue.” The New York Times (8/21/18) By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (8/22/18) Dear Fellow Readers, It is a gross understatement to say a lot happened in the news on Tuesday; it is not an understatement to say it was a bad day for Trump. So what did happen? Well, for…

“President Trump promised he’d only hire ‘the best people’. Did he?” — MSNBC news headline (8/15/18) By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (8/16/18) Dear Fellow Readers, Trump’s former campaign chair Paul Manafort has been in court facing 18 charges of bank fraud and lying to the IRS. We await the verdict: Paul Manafort’s Tax- And Bank-Fraud Case Is Heading To The Jury. If convicted, Manafort could go to prison for life. Not only did Manafort not testify, his defense team did not call a single witness. ***** There is much made of Manafort’s trial having no bearing on Trump or the Trump White House,…

  “Malcolm Nance argues Trump became a ‘witting asset’ to Russia.” — Malcolm Nance, NBC Morning Joe (6/26/18): ‘The Plot to Destroy Democracy’ book release. Dear Fellow Readers, Three former intelligence officers came forward in the last few days to explain that Trump is a ‘witting asset’ of Russia. Russia has “successfully penetrated some of Florida’s election systems ahead of the 2018 midterm elections” according to both Florida Senators, one Democrat and one Republican: “An 11 Year-old Girl Hacked A Replica Of The Florida Secretary Of State’s Website Within 10 Minutes – And Changed The (Election) Result”.  Meanwhile, House Intelligence Chair, the…

 “My client didn’t do it, and even if he did it, it’s not a crime.” — Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, FOX News (7/30/18″ By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (8/2/18) Dear Fellow Readers, Let’s put Giuliani’s comment in context. We’ll make use of a tweet by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA; minority leader House Intelligence Committee) from this week: The evolution of Trump on Russia: No meetings with any Russians. Ok, lots of low level meetings. Ok, high level meetings too, but about adoptions. Ok, not about adoptions, but Trump didn’t know. Ok, maybe he did, but no crime. Next? Ok,…

  By Jamil Smith Rolling Stone (7/20/18) It typically takes a mass shooting to keep the National Rifle Association this quiet. As of this writing, the NRA has issued no public comment about this week’s arrest and indictment of Maria Butina, a 29-year-old Russian gun rights activist who had spent years ingratiating herself with the NRA, as well as Republican politicians and conservative notables. Butina is suspected of conspiracy to act as an unauthorized agent of the Russian Federation within the United States without the authorization of the Attorney General. And yet all we hear from the notoriously outspoken group is crickets. The…

  “Kompromat: He’s never said a bad word about Putin. He’s exercised a degree of self-control with respect to Russia that he doesn’t with anything else.” — Keith Darden, kompromat expert and professor at American University. By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (7/26/18) Dear Fellow Readers, Or as a reader suggested, ‘Dear Comrades’… While highlighting this opening article from The New Yorker.: A Theory of Trump Kompromat. Is there anyone feeling good about knowing that Donald Trump — the kinda’, sorta’ president of the United States — is compromised by former KGB colonel — now Russian president — Vladimir Putin? Or watching Putin…

  “Listening to Trump, it was as if Franklin Roosevelt had announced after Pearl Harbor: “Hey, both sides are to blame. Our battleships in Hawaii were a little provocative to Japan — and, by the way, I had nothing to do with the causes for their attack. So cool it.” — Thomas Friedman, The New York Times (7/16/18) By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (7/19/18) Dear Fellow Readers, It is with a degree of sadness that we report: We Just Watched A U.S. President Acting On Behalf Of A Hostile Power. Watching a shockingly docile and subservient Donald Trump embarrass his country…

  By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (7/16/18) Dear Fellow Readers, The case for Trump-Putin collusion has been made. How? Thank Roger Stone for one; we’ll come back to that. What happens now, is this a legal challenge, a political challenge, a public opinion challenge, a voter challenge? Yes. Thursday and Friday were remarkable days. On Thursday, FBI agent Peter Strzok testified for hours at a congressional hearing. For almost 24 hours this was a big news story as Russpublicans tried in vain to make Strzok a poster-boy for the Deep State, and we’ll better explain why. Keep in mind,…

By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (7/12/18) Dear Fellow Readers, “…is captive to Russia!” Trump now openly revels in insulting trusted U.S. allies while touting his desire for a close relationship with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. There is no more subtlety, no more debate about alternative meaning to the exact words he just used – it’s all about his Putin desire. If you missed a few days in the news cycle you might read the quote and think, ho-hum, or even womp, womp, some liberal is mouthing off again about Trump-Russia. If you were a guest on ‘Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell…

  By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (7/5/18) Dear Fellow Readers, The Senate Intelligence Committee had this to say: Senate Intelligence Committee Backs Assessment Of Russia Election Meddling. Not only did the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee conclude that Russia indeed meddled in the 2016 election, there was a strong conclusion that the Russians sought to benefit Trump, the meddling continues and this: “The finding that reveals Russia meddled in far more extensive ways than previously known is yet another strong rebuke to Trump and many of his allies who continue to cast doubt on the finding from the intelligence community that…

  By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (7/2/18) Dear Fellow Readers, Russian TV continues to lay claim to Trump. We reported this a few weeks ago, the new refrain is “Trump is not a hero, he’s just OURS”. Who amongst us would argue with this claim?   Julia Davis‏ @JuliaDavisNews FollowFollow @JuliaDavisNews More Should I even bother to keep mentioning it every time they say “Trump is ours” on #Russia‘s state TV? Ah, heck…. Ukrainian panelist: “Stop calling people like Trump “our heroes,” then tearing them down when they don’t come through.” Host: “Trump is not a hero, he’s just OURS.” 11:05…

  By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (6/28/18) Dear Fellow Readers, We’re feeling challenged to write anything that isn’t about Justice Kennedy’s announcement that he will retire from the Supreme Court. Even though this has been anticipated for many months, it is still a shock given the timing. With nary a blink a hypocritical eye, Senate Majority Leader McConnell offered his assurance that the Senate would promptly vote on a Trump nominee this fall. And the response from Democrats? Do you find this tweet from Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) reassuring? Richard Blumenthal‏Verified account @SenBlumenthal FollowFollow @SenBlumenthal More Earth-shaking&gut-wrenching. Departure of Justice Kennedy…

  By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (6/25/18) Dear Fellow Readers, In spite of all Trump’s distractions, Trump-Russia and the risk to Trump has not gone away, in fact it’s the opposite. One byproduct or his Trump-Russia exposure is the frequency of times he tweets “witch hunt”; like the number of lies he tells, both are on the increase. Though not without impact as public opinion of special counsel Robert Mueller continues to erode. Trump-Russia and the corruption of the 2016 election has not gone away, in fact it’s clear it wasn’t even the first use of the Russian game…

“What’s most significant is this: The Trump administration immigration officials have become exactly the kind of monsters that conservatism has always warned against. This illustrates something crucial about this administration. It is not populated by conservatives. It is populated by anti-liberal trolls. There’s a difference.” — David Brooks writing for New York Times (6/19/18)   By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (6/21/18) Dear Fellow Readers, The party of Trump – ‘Ready, Fire, Aim’. What single word would you choose – cruelty? As we are pulling this together the breaking news is about Trump’s willingness to sign an executive order ending family…

“I call this a concentration camp for kids because that’s exactly what it’s turning out to.” — Former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele, 6/15/18 MSNBC Live with Stephanie Rule   By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (6/18/18) Dear Fellow Readers, There is an evil man who presumes to have powers above the law, he believes he can do whatever he wants without consequence, he believes he can punish as he sees fit. Yet somehow, be it DACA or anything related to his Wall – he presents himself as weak and incapable to change the ugly, punitive policies he enacts. ‘Your…

  By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (6/14/18) Dear Fellow Readers, Good news – Caleb Frostman won the Wisconsin 1st state Senate district special election, winning a seat that had previously voted for Trump by a wide margin. Meanwhile it is clear the GOP is the party of Trump. Before we dive into the specifics, let’s consider why this is important. Trump believes he can get away with it — that Trump-Russia will not stick. He will achieve greatness and rake in the cash along the way – the greatest con in the history of American politics. Trump doesn’t have…

“Today crystallizes precisely why Putin was so eager to see Trump elected. For Putin, this is return on his investment, and it’s safe to say that his investment has paid off beyond even his wildest dreams.” — Ned Price, a former CIA analyst and the National Security Council spokesman under then-President Barack Obama ***** “With his “no collusion” chant, Trump is like an embezzler who yells, “There was no murder”—and asserts that is the only relevant benchmark.” — Author David Corn writing for Mother Jones, June 2018     By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (6/11/18) Dear Fellow Readers, In…

  “In Jan 2017, I gave a Putin’s Wish List” to explain what he most wanted from Trump. Lifting sanctions was #1, but Flynn got caught & blew it up. A trade war with NATO allies was #2.” — Russian dissident Garry Kasparov tweet (6/1/18).   By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (6/4/18) Dear Fellow Readers, Trump and his lawyer, Giuliani, set out each day to convince us of two things: Trump has now advanced beyond no collusion with Russia, to; Clinton and Democrats colluding with Russia. In complete absence of evidence, Trump tweets: “There was No Collusion with Russia…

“Trump is like a magician pulling one gaudy illusion after another out of his hat, pockets and possibly bodily orifices.” By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (5/31/18) Dear Fellow Readers, “Lordy, I hope there are tapes.” — Former FBI Director James Comey, June 2017 Senate Intelligence hearing.  And so there may be. We’ll take a look at: Trump lawyer Michael Cohen’s status. Trump’s ever-evolving Trump-Russia corruption self defense. What works for Trump… Let’s start with Cohen: Michael Avenatti Says Trump’s Voice Is On Cohen Tapes That Are Unprivileged: ‘This whole thing appears to stink’ Yes, there are tapes – apparently. Early headlines,…

  “Democracy Dies in Broad Daylight.” — Bill Kristol tweet 5/27/18 By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (5/28/18) Dear Fellow Readers, What each of us believes about Trump-Russia corruption is likely set in stone. Maybe there a few of us that are yet to be convinced in spite of a steady daily downpour. Sometimes the noise is new information; sometimes the noise is hard to sort out – what actually happened, does it matter? Here’s an example where the FBI received requested wiretap transcripts from the Spanish police of Russian oligarch, NRA and Donnie Jr. friend Alexander Torshin. Torshin’s conversations…

  “… they swung the election to a Trump win.” — Former DNI James Clapper from “Facts and Fears” By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (5/24/8) Dear Fellow Readers, Rachel Maddow interviewed former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper in two segments. Clapper has a new book out, “Facts and Fears”. Clapper explains that he wrote the book: “…after experiencing the election, the unprecedented Russian interference in our political process, and the behavior by and impact of the Trump administration.” Maddow doesn’t sugar coat the history of James Clapper up to and including Clapper leaving the DNI position the day of…

    By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (5/21/18) Dear Fellow Readers, Today we’ll use a few voices to summarize the guilt and corruption of Trump, his campaign and his sycophant administration. The left counts trees while Russpublicans torch the forest. It’s time to switch gears. Trump TV lawyer Rudy Giuliani has gone on the offensive by offering the case that the Trump-Russia debate is now about whether Trump can be indicted. That is a LONG way from “no Russia”. Could it be Giuliani is burning a new fire break in anticipation of even worse news? From a conservative voice we have…

  By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (5/17/18) Dear Fellow Readers, It turns out there are consequences. On good days, when you make decisions based on questionable ethics, someone will be held accountable: Novartis Lawyer To Retire Over $1.2 Million Contract With Trump Attorney Michael Cohen. “The Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis announced Wednesday that a top lawyer who co-signed a $1.2 million contract to hire President Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen will step down in June. “Felix R. Ehrat, group general counsel of Novartis, is retiring “in the context of discussions surrounding Novartis’ former agreement with Essential Consultants, owned by Michael…

  By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (5/14/18) Dear Fellow Readers, At the core of Trump’s self measure, manipulations, taint and many of the angles of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation is – money. The same can’t be said of his 3,000+ documented lies since landing in the White House; his lies are about everything. Money is what will bring Trump to ground. Sadly for Trump, his ego may have led him to overreach, he and his cronies likely could have laid low and led a very nice lifestyle based on what they already had. Trump’s lawyer and long time…

  By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (5/10/18) Dear Fellow Readers, On Tuesday, after Trump had what Rudy Giuliani described as his greatest day in office cancelling the U.S. nuclear deal with Iran, Trump readies for an early bedtime of cheeseburger and cable news, anxious to watch the accolades and consider whether he might be awarded two Nobel Peace Prizes. He props his pillows, settles in, balances his plate on his belly and turns on the television. And who appears but Stormy Daniels’ lawyer Michael Avenatti. He changes to another news provider, Michael Avenatti – again and Michael Avenatti. He…

(Editor’s Note: This article came out over a year ago but presents the clearest explanation for the non-stop, escalating chaos of the Trump shitstorm. As the headline above notes, ‘ its too chaotic to simply be chaos’. — Mark L. Taylor) By Mikie Mariana Vanity Fair (3/28/17) On March 12, 2014, the Russian author Natan Dubovitsky published a short story titled “Without Sky” in the literary journal Russian Pioneer. In the story, which takes place in a dystopian future, a man recalls the events of the fifth World War, decades earlier. He describes these events as the first “non-linear war.” Instead…

  “What we have is the president inarguably demanding of both the institutions and their leadership that their first priority is personal loyalty to him rather than to the norms that have governed their behavior for a couple of centuries.” — Ret. General Michael Hayden (5/4/18)   By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (5/7/18) Dear Fellow Readers, Country over party. Didn’t all of us grow up saying the pledge of allegiance? Even if we didn’t contemplate the meaning, isn’t it self-evident? How can anyone misconstrue, “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one…

  “As far as the presidential race in 2020, the Democrats seem to be repeating the mistake that Hillary Clinton made: counting on the awfulness of Trump to do their work for them.” — New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd (4/29/18). By Dan Peak The Connoner Call (4/30/18) Dear Fellow Readers, Let’s give the answer to a question as a way to start. The answer is: Vladmir Putin just broke form and has openly demonstrated he influenced the U.S. election in favor of Trump. There is much competition for the most important news of the latest cycle for Trump-Russia corruption. Maybe your…

  “We are experiencing a dangerous time in our country, with a political environment where basic facts are disputed, fundamental truth is questioned, lying is normalized, and unethical behavior is ignored, excused or rewarded.” — James Comey, “A Higher Loyalty” By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (4/26/ Dear Fellow Readers, Some days politics seems like something worse than just a dirty word. Certainly, as the Washington Post documents,  Trump and his cronies contribute to such a feeling: The Daily 202: Mick Mulvaney’s Confession Highlights The Corrosive Influence Of Money In Politics. As Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve write about the head of…

“‘Winter is coming’ is a warning, not an inevitable conclusion. The good thing about the seasons of political and social change is that we can affect them if we try hard enough. If we rouse ourselves fro complacency and relearn how to stand up to the dictators and terrorists who threaten the modern world we have built, we can alter the course. Anti-modernity is a dangerous virus, and to remove a virus a reboot or re-set is not enough. We have to build a values based system that is robust enough to resist the virus at home, smart enough to…

  “The Comey Memo is a distraction from the Michael Cohen scandal which is a distraction from the love child payoff scandal which is a distraction from the Stormy Daniels scandal which is distraction from the Trump U fraud scandal which is a distraction from the election.” — Mikel Jollett tweet from 4/20/18   By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (4/23/18) Dear Fellow Readers, We hope for government and leaders with integrity. We imagine leaders that put the interests of all ahead of their own cramped personal interests. We want our leaders to address real problems – make our world safer,…

“And people wonder why Putin is “popular” with total control of Russian politics, civil society, and the media? One year of Trump & one cable channel and half the GOP happily attacks the FBI!” — Garry Kasparov, April 18 tweet By Dan Peak The Commoner Call (4/19/18) Dear Fellow Readers, Before we jump into the most important Trump-Russia news of the cycle, we’ll lead with a conclusion. It has long been clear that the simplest case to be made against Trump is criminality of his business dealings over decades. So what is the biggest Trump-Russia topic over the last few…