DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus 'Trump's son should be concerned': Wiretaps show Trump Jr. met with Putin ally

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trumps-son-concerned-wiretaps-show-trump-jr-met-putin-ally-231215529.html

The FBI has obtained secret wiretaps collected by Spanish police of conversations involving Alexander Torshin, a deputy governor of Russia’s Central Bank who has forged close ties with U.S. lawmakers and the National Rifle Association, that led to a meeting with Donald Trump Jr. during the gun lobby’s annual convention in Louisville, Ky., in May 2016, a top Spanish prosecutor said Friday.

Jose Grinda, who has spearheaded investigations into Spanish organized crime, said that bureau officials in recent months requested and were provided transcripts of wiretapped conversations between Torshin and Alexander Romanov, a convicted Russian money launderer. On the wiretaps, Romanov refers to Torshin as “El Padrino,” the godfather.

“Just a few months ago, the wiretaps of these telephone conversations were given to the FBI,” Grinda said in response to a question from Yahoo News during a talk he gave at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington. Asked if he was concerned about Torshin’s meetings with Donald Trump Jr. and other American political figures, Grinda replied: “Mr. Trump’s son should be concerned.”

The comments by Grinda were the first clear sign that the FBI may be investigating Torshin, possibly as a part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Torshin — a close political ally of Vladimir Putin — had multiple contacts with conservative activists in the United States during the election, seeking to set up a summit between the Russian president and then candidate Trump. Although the summit never transpired, Torshin did meet briefly with the president’s son at a private dinner in Louisville during the May 2016 annual convention of the NRA. A member of the NRA since 2012, Torshin has been a regular attendee of the group’s conventions in recent years and hosted senior members of the group in Moscow.

Grinda said that the FBI, in its request for the evidence to the Guardia Civil, the Spanish National Police, provided no explanation as to why it was interested in the material and he didn’t ask for one. “I don’t have to ask them why they want this information,” he said. But Grinda added that if Mueller or any other U.S. prosecutor seeks to use the material as part of a court case, they would have to make a second, more formal request to do so to the Spanish government.

Spokesmen for the FBI and Mueller’s office did not respond to requests for comment. Alan Futerfas, a lawyer for Trump Jr., said he was in a meeting and was unable to comment when contacted by Yahoo News.


A Mosso D’Esquadra (Catalan regional police officer) salutes Spanish anti-corruption prosecutor Jose Grinda Gonzalez (2R) as he leaves the Generalitat (Catalan Government) in Barcelona on July 20, 2017. (PAU BARRENA/AFP/Getty Images)
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Torshin has been the subject of intensifying U.S. government and congressional scrutiny over the past year and was recently among a lengthy list of oligarchs and Russian political figures sanctioned by the Treasury Department. As reported by Yahoo News and the Spanish newspaper El Pais last year, the Spanish National Police were preparing to arrest Torshin in August 2013 when he was expected to fly to the Spanish island of Mallorca in August for the birthday party of Romanov. The arrest plan, which involved the deployment of more than a dozen police officers at the airport and at the hotel where the party was supposed to take place, grew out of a lengthy investigation headed by Grinda into Russian organized crime and money laundering. As part of the probe, the Guardia Civil wiretapped Romanov’s phone and picked up 33 conversations with Torshin.

But Torshin never showed up for the party and he was never arrested. Grinda confirmed in an interview after his talk that some in the Guardia Civil suspected that Torshin had been tipped off to the arrest plan by Russian officials who had been asked to cooperate in the Spanish probe. But Grinda added that he was unable to prove that was why Torshin nevrer showed up for the party.

Despite the suspicions about his ties to Russian money laundering, Torshin continued to travel frequently to the United States and even showed up as part of a Russian delegation to the National Prayer Breakfast in Feb. 2017 where he was at one point scheduled to meet with President Trump. (The meeting was cancelled the night before after National Security Council officials raised concerns about it.) More recently, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden sent multiple letters to the NRA asking about its ties to Torshin and other Russian figures, questioning whether Russian money was funneled to the NRA to help pay for the more than $30 million the group spent on political ads and get out the vote efforts during the 2016 election.

An NRA lawyer, in responses back to Wyden, said that Torshin has only paid his membership dues to the group and that, based on an internal review, the NRA received a total of only $2,500 from about 23 Russia-linked contributors since 2015. However, the NRA is now reviewing its relationship with Torshin in light of the Treasury Department blacklisting of him last month. “Based on Mr. Torshin’s listing as a specially designated national as of April 6, we are currently reviewing our responsibilities with respect to him,” NRA general counsel Jon Frazer wrote to Wyden.

An NRA spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

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to be fair, Trump barely knows Trump Jr. he was just a low level covfefe boy.

The Trump collusion with Russia was losing steam so we are now being fed a new boogie man of the day....the trump collusion with Russia which was all sponsored by the the Evil NRA....which is is a tax shelter front for Satan and her minions.....be scared and afraid....safe place protocols have been initiated.

So far, 19 people, including Trump's former campaign chairman and former national security adviser, have been charged in Mueller's investigation. Three former Trump aides have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with the investigation.

You're certainly well informed...

By losing steam, do you mean Trump's steaming pile of crap 'spy' distraction lost its steam?

For something purportedly "losing steam" in his words, the Trump Swampies seem awfully busy. Legal proceedings, more folks agreeing to cooperate, more resignations and firings, seems quite the opposite to me. Pretty sure it isn't a focus on the bait you want to switch to.

II want a stronger America. That's a period.

Grinda replied: “Mr. Trump’s son should be concerned.”

You know, when a foreign intelligence agent says something so black and white, I think you can safely say there is something damning on these tapes.

The idea that Mueller is losing steam is just wrong. Only this week Nunes who has been acting to undermine the investigation in any way possible - who has been an absolute disgrace and who has been acting as the the WH's lil btch - finally was granted special access to the investigation and promptly stfu and said not a peep.... Mitch finally came out and backed the investigation .... and there are still Trump cronies parroting his lies and misdirection? Wow. I've been away ... did anyone buy into the "spygate" B.S? That would be funny.

The next thing will be that Trump Jr was a lone wolf acting without the knowledge of his father. I called that about 6-7 months ago.... I asked the Trump supporters if the Mueller investigation finds proof of collaboration with the Russians, and it's Trump Jr or one of the Campaign chiefs - but not provable that it was Donald .... will any of them claim that Trump wasn't lord and master of everything that transpired? Would they then claim that the strong leader who they love for being a tough guy with Da Hamma - will they then say ... Yeah but Trump didn't know. No-one answered when I asked that question - we might be approaching the point where that situation/question is unavoidable.

Spain must be part of the deep state too, lol.

It’s no coincidence that Europe has investigations going with regards to Russian meddling and mob ties.

Teedub said all that....yet think about it. He didn’t really comment on the satiation at hand.

With is don jr talking to Russians with putin/mob ties?

Because Benghazi emails Clinton Foundation Kenyan born Obama birth certificate.
Duh.

...and we know this- how?

Mueller's team is as talkative as the Sphinx, so the whole 'losing steam' thing certainly didn't come from them.

So who/where is this assertion coming from?
Ghouliani?
FOXy Friends?
P(os)TUS?
Derpshowitz?

Losing steam: with 19 indictments, 4 guilty pleas, more flipping going on than a Cirque Du Soleil show, and no end in sight to the Mueller probe. Losing steam?
Really?

Sorry, but the only boogeymen being trotted out on The Daily are products of that fat orange dullard with the platinum cotton candy on his head. "Spygate?" Really? The only folks lapping up that bowl of liquid crap are the pinheads who still cheer at his ever-shrinking rallies.

Fox News is now trying to bring back the uranium one nonsense.

Just like the changing of the seasons:

There are only 4 different ones, and they continually cycle through, year after year.

Next season: Benghazi.
After that: bugs in Trump Tower.

I don't think you give them enough credit. I think they can make up another lie.

Birther movement
Jade helm
Benghazi
Emails
Pizzagate
Uranium one
Obama wiretaps
Spygate

All tried and failed conspiracy theories coming from the right, specifically the trump supporters. Meanwhile, we got how many indictments and guilty pleas from the Russia investigation?

By the way, the republicans, including Nunes, got a classified intel briefing on mueller’s probe of the investigation.

Notice the lack of comments coming from them after the meeting, especially about some spy?

Yea...

Well every time Trump blathers some stupid BS they think it means something.

Remember the Committee to investigate voter fraud after he falsely claimed that millions voted illegally? Yeah, well so much for that one.

Every time he angry tweets the minions believe his BS. How many lies will he have to tell them before they wake the hell up?

Man I forgot all about the 3 million illegal voting crap.

He actually wasted tax payer money on something he knew damn well he lied about.

It’s just so crazy bro. They said they hate politicians who lie.

Ok, I get it. Even though politicians tell lies all the time, including the ones they always vote for, I get it.

But the appropriate solution is to vote for the guy who has hands down lied the most out of anybody...like, ever? But then somehow, his lies are “telling it like it is”.

Uhh...

There’s a reason why his lawyers don’t want him talking to mueller, and it ain’t cause they are worried mueller will trap him. It’s because they know trump will trap himself without any assistance from anybody.

BUT Hilary?

Crazy right? I guess these are the same kind of people that were chanting to burn the witch back in the day.

It's unbelievable that folks haven't seen this bs pattern for what it is. About every other weekend, he fires up his Twitterganda account and tweets out more outlandish foolishness that distracts only the most feeble-brained of consumers. Crazy conspiracies, unsubstantiated accusations- all designed to dominate the next news cycle, whether worthy of attention or not.

And the news carriers follow along like steers with nose rings, lowing about whatever he trots out.

Here's an op-ed upshot from his latest attempt at misdirection:

________________________


Week 53: Trump Goes Spy Hunting and Gets Skunked By JACK SHAFER May 26, 2018

Master table-turner Donald Trump is at it again, spinning the latest damning news from the Russia investigation and flinging it back at his critics to make him look like a victim, not a perp.

This week’s twirl of the table had Trump spinning his interpretive energies into “SPYGATE,” his racy label for the alleged “Criminal Deep State” conspiracy against him. Why call it Spygate? Trump, who lives for catchy buzz-phrases and slogans, told an ally he wanted “to brand” the informant as a spy, and that such language would leave a more lasting impression on the media and public.

On Sunday, the president issued his pompous “I hereby demand” decree on Twitter that the Department of Justice investigate his suspicions that the Obama administration had “infiltrated or surveilled” his campaign. According to Trump’s theory, the FBI wasn’t investigating the possible penetration of his 2016 presidential campaign by Russian intelligence when it assigned an informant to speak to three members of his campaign staff. It was embedding a spy in his campaign for political purposes, resulting in a scandalous affair that could be “bigger than Watergate!“ “Illegal!” he tweeted, all designed to “frame“ him for crimes he didn’t commit. The president raised such a fuss that he instigated two mini-briefings on Capitol Hill about the FBI’s tactics so that select members of Congress could judge for themselves.

The “spy” in question turns out to be Stefan A. Halper, Republican stalwart and University of Cambridge professor emeritus who worked for the Nixon, Ford and Reagan administrations and George H.W. Bush’s campaign. (If this be the Deep State, maybe it’s not as dark and mysterious as we thought.) He allegedly spied on President Jimmy Carter’s 1980 campaign for Reagan, and some say he used former CIA agents to gather his information.

As much as Trump would like you to believe that Halper was a spy and not a legitimate informant working on an investigation, he can’t get independent voices with clout (outside of Kimberley A. Strassel of the Wall Street Journal editorial page) to echo his opinions. This week, a leading member of the president’s party, Sen. Lindsey O. Graham of South Carolina (who didn’t attend the briefings), declined an invitation to endorse the Trump view. “A confidential informant is not a spy,” Graham said succinctly. Republicans who attended the briefing were mum, ducking out without speaking to reporters. Democrats who attended—Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and Sen. Mark Warner—were adamant in insisting that no “spying” had occurred. Even Rudy Giuliani, who had asserted his boss’ right to know if Halper had gathered exculpatory evidence in his conversations with George Papadopoulos and Carter Page, didn’t suggest afterward that anything like that had emerged.

One of the many problems with Trump’s SPYGATE theory is the idea that the nefarious FBI and the “Criminal Deep State” would go to all that trouble penetrating his campaign with a “spy” and then not use what they had gleaned to destroy his chances of winning the election? It’s a strange bit of sabotage when the saboteur sets the charges under the bridge and then doesn’t strike the fuse. Like the similar table-turning by Trump’s supporters who advocated for the release of the Nunes memo, or Trump’s insistence that the real Russia scandal was the Uranium One deal, or his claim that the Obama administration had “tapped“ his phones, or the business about “unmasking,” his new harping about a government spy infiltrating his campaign is just another obfuscating slow-simmer idea to leap out of his mental Crock-Pot. Trump barks, Mueller’s caravan moves on.

This week we learned of yet another previously undisclosed contact between a powerful Russian and a member of the Trump court. On Friday, the New York Times reported that oligarch Viktor Vekselberg met with Trump attorney and fixer Michael Cohen in his Trump Tower office just 11 days before the inauguration.

A few days after Trump took the oath of office, Cohen won a $1 million consulting contract from Columbus Nova, which is an affiliate of Vekselberg’s Renova Group—both of which landed on the Treasury Department sanctions list last month. (Cohen ended up only collecting $580,000 of the contract.) Also attending the meeting was Columbus Nova head Andrew Intrater, Vekselberg’s cousin, who later donated $250,000 to the Trump inaugural committee. Both Intrater and Vekselberg have been interviewed by Mueller’s team. The Intrater and Vekselberg arrival was captured by the C-SPAN camera positioned in the Trump Tower lobby. Isn’t it lovely that C-SPAN has ended up being the operator of the national security security-cam?

“Mr. Trump was in the building that day, and his office was just doors down from Mr. Cohen’s, though Mr. Intrater said they did not see the president-elect,” the Times reports.

So many meetings between foreigners and Trumpies in the Trump Tower! Let’s count!

Long before Vekselberg and Intrater came calling on Cohen, the president’s gilded edifice on 5th Avenue had hosted several interesting meetings. In January 2015, Trump met with Emin Agalarov, son of Russian oligarch Aras Agalarov, and his publicist, Rob Goldstone in his office. More famously, the top brass of the Trump campaign—Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort—met with a bevy of Russians promising “dirt” on Hillary Clinton in a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting. In August 2016, as the New York Times has just reported, emissaries for two Arab princes met with Donald Trump Jr. and informed him that the wealthy princes wanted to help Trump win the November election. (“The interactions are a focus of the investigation by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel,” the Times reports.) The two emissaries, Blackwater founder Erik Prince and international fixer George Nader, later met with Putin-linked financier Kirill Dmitriev in Seychelles in January 2017. A third attendee at the meeting, Joel Zamel, a “specialist in social media manipulation,” had previously worked for Putin-allied oligarchs Oleg Deripaska and Dmitry Rybolovlev. Deripaska, as is well known, was once a business partner of Manafort’s.

Roger Stone, longtime Trump supporter, self-proclaimed dirty-tricks artist, and author of the famous tweet that promised John Podesta that he would soon be enjoying his "time in the barrel," may soon have a ticket to the big wooden tub. This week, the Wall Street Journal published Stone emails that indicate that he might not have been on the complete level in his interview with the House Intelligence Committee in September about his solicitation of materials from Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks. It now appears that despite earlier denials, he was actively seeking additional emails by Hillary Clinton.

“Please ask Assange for any State or HRC e-mail from August 10 to August 30—particularly on August 20, 2011,” Stone wrote to his go-between. Stone tells the Journal that his testimony was truthful, but it’s hard to square with this email.

Appearing on Meet the Press last Sunday, Stone said he was “prepared” to be indicted in Mueller’s investigation for some “extraneous crime pertaining to my business.” Evidence that the awfulness of prison life is weighing on him came two days later in an interview with Breitbart News Daily on Sirius XM. Stone said former CIA Director John Brennan would end up going to jail for his deep state crimes against Trump, so he “should pop the glass capsule and take the cyanide now.”

Will Stone take cyanide if he’s sent up the river? My guess is he’d find a way to wash it down with some contraband Champagne.

Ya ... nice article ...

One thing ...

James Clapper ADMITTED they spied on his campaign ...

And how many times are u guys going to be WRONG about him before u start giving him credit for not being a complete bafoon ....

Your HATRED has completely blinded u ...

And guys ... BOUNCING BALL ...

- yesterday the 17th hostage/prisoner was released under the Trump admin ...

Thank You Mr. President some of us have a clue as to where the bouncing ball is ...

Please keep up the good work ...

Bro.. pls don't be so gullible...

There are some behind the scenes deals currently being negotiated with Argentina on oil... the release was just a by-product of this..

Don't you think that trump would have been trying to get political mileage of out this before it happened...

Let me ask you a question... what actually has to happen before you at least objectively take a step back and see what this deranged lunatic is doing to the country... when its too late?

He has admitted to using language to discredit the media because he knows that his base will swallow it without question...

Whatever you do... pls don't drink the coolaid if he passes you a cup...

No no no. Sorry man. Clapper did not admit they spied on Trump. That's what Trump twisted what Clapper said into.

https://www.vox.com/2018/5/25/17380212/spygate-trump-russia-spy-stefan-halper-fbi-explained

Read it if you want a little truth and counter balance. Trump is lying and twisting the truth and you are drinking the koolaid. There isn't a different way to frame the situation.

Go ahead and love Trump for what he's doing to unwind the Obama legacy. What he's done with tariffs or ICE .... that's all fine and subject to opinion and debate. . . . What Clapper said, and what Trump claimed afterwards isn't.

Riddle me this TDS’ers ...

Who were the counter intelligence personal assigned to the Clinton campaign to Make sure the Russians weren’t targeting her campaign .... i mean that only males sense .. NO? ... actually ... can’t wait to see how u TDSer’s spin that one ... ...

Did they think the Ruskies would only try and infiltrate one campaign ... let me guess ... they pulled names out of a hat and Mr. President and Gary Johnson’s were the two randomly picked campaigns ...

That’d put an end to this fire pretty darn quick .. YET ... FOR SOME REASON were still waiting for the names of those spies to come out while u ya’all PLAY WORD GAMES ... Clapper actually said that Mr. President should be happy they spied on his campaign .... hmmm ... that sounds about right ...

WHY COULD THAT BE ,,,

And were the gullible ones .... not seeing this goes beyond gullible and right to either LACK OF INTELLIGENT THINKING or TDS ...

...

Youre bitching about Trumos camaign being investigsted, but conveniently dont talk about the fact that 17 people from that camoaign have been indicted.

Ultimatelty I dont think they will pin down Trump himself for collusion , but there is no doubt that there was Russian contact and involvement from Trumps campaign

Damn - you got me with the "WHAT ABOUT HILARY" argument. That was smart and agile of you. Adding the .... well, what can I say. Inspirational and well researched of you.

Out of curiosity, even though you believe you've crushed my argument with the What About ....

If the intelligence community had substantiated reason to believe foreign agents were targeting and trying to work with/influence Trump .... but from the same sources there was no suggestion they were not doing the same things with Clinton - what would you do?

1. Nothing.
2. Investigate Trump based on the intel.
3. Be an equal opportunity employer and investigate both just in case?
4. If you answer yes to either 2 or 3 .... is that spying on Trump / Clinton?

And .... just out of curiosity, do you know for fact that something similar wasn't initiated with Clinton?

Truth is - Trump is lying and you're drinking the koolaid. Regardless of what happened to Clinton, to the best of my knowledge you believe that FBI spied on Trump with the objective of undermining his campaign.... Deep State stuff.

What's funny to me, and I haven't given thought to this before because it's so ridiculous, the argument seems to be there is a Deep State initiative to keep the country tied to the Democratic teet - keep giving the stooges free stuff and voting to socialize the nation...... the FBI the CIA and the DOJ were all on board with this ...... that's the narrative. And yet, the FBI the CIA and the DOJ were all so inept and incompetent that they couldn't eliminate Trump - with either the dirt that is true about him OR (despite being totally corrupt and willing to do anything) they couldn't create lies or fake news to bring him down. Sounds totally plausible.

Hey - I know. Instead of answering any single point I made.... why not answer with a What About comment and a .... that'd be hard to counter.

I know bro ... these things are never one offs ... they are always done for something in return ... people are now “bargaining” chips in this SICK ASS GAME govt’s play .... its either for sumptin now like tHE DEAL over there with the other or there done as a good will gesture in the hopes of sumptin being done in the future like with NK ...

It seems like your writing these 17 pieces of GREAT NEWS as just “coincidence” or being in the right place at the right time ... well bro .. your in sales ... u ever got something SIGNIFICANT in a deal u didnt ask for ... Trump ASKS and or DEMANDS they be released ....

Most recent example ... he either asked for or made releasing the hostages in NK a pre-requisite to the meeting ... O in Iran handled it a wee bit different ... why ... TRUMP ASKED/DEMANDED UP FRONT ...

This isn’t just a coincidence or being in the right place at the right time ...



100% bro ... his ego is one of his warts ... calling him an egotistical blowhard is an insult to egotistical blowhards .. *L* ...

not sure what that has to do with this ... are u saying he didnt know about the oil deals ... ... STRINGS my friend ... Mr. President is a master with them dere STRINGS ...



Dude ... i do that EVERY SINGLE DAY ... ISSUE BY ISSUE ... u think i agree with Mr. President on everything ... u dont think i know he lies through his teeth .... I’VE NEVER DENIED either one of them ...

.

I agree ... he can go overboard and be a azzhat when it comes to this stuff ...

That doesn’t absolve the press from what they’ve done and attempted to to do to him ... it don’t justify him being an azzhat in this case ...

But PLEAZE ...



NEVER BRO ... you’ve known me a long time ... have i ever been one to just go along with the company line ...

Nothing to do with RUSSIAN COLLUSION ...

Do u guys even know theres a bouncing ball ...

How far down in the sand is your head actually buried? ...

0 + 0 = 0 ...

This isn’t a what about Hillary ... its about why they decided to infiltrate one campaign and not another ..... nice try though ...

PS. Bouncing ball dude ... i’d find it before u respond ... FACTS and TIMELINES are IMPORTANT to this particualr issue ...

And all the questions U asked FLY IN THE FACE OF ALL THE FACTS AND TIMELINES .. other than that ... good job ...

Now go make fun of my cause its about all u got ..

Trump Mourns 'Young And Beautiful' Lives 'Destroyed' By Russia Probe

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-mourns-apos-young-beautiful-143632710.html

Trump has been on a non stop tweetstorm lately about the Russia investigation.

Feeling that heat.

Ya ... he must be ... he hardly got anything accomplished last week ... ...

I must have missed all his accomplishments... was it sending his attorney to the DOJ sharing of investigation material? Was it wavering on NK like a preteen break up? Or was it when his "Spygate" allegations were proven baseless propaganda smear campaigns?

Stated as fact .... based on what? A Trump Tweet storm? State run / sponsored Fox?

This is exactly like Mueller .... a well respected Republican, trusted by all sides .... until he's digging into Trump and suddenly there is a campaign to make Mueller an agent for the Deep State.

I’m not sure what your question is ... if u clarify i can answer .... after u answer mine ...

Unequivocally, yes. 100%.

Your opinions are clearly spoonfed and regurgitated.

Giuliani got booed at yankees stadium

Guess he's not a star in NYC anymore... wonder what happened? lol

what were they charged with again? colluding? election interference? or something else. . . . .

So you say you don't believe a word trump says cause he lies when on tv, cool ok. But you believe a word clapper said who has lied under oath to congress...........makes a lot of sense