Rick Kinnaird

Day 1123 A Stunning Turn of Events (NOT)

Friday October 25, 2019

376 Days until the 2020 election and 458 days until the Inauguration

A Stunning Turn of Events (NOT)

or

Who Does Rudy Work For?

As this presidency goes from silly and stupid to gross and incompetent to mean and brutal to all of this, facts keep emerging, which in hindsight are like the bug hitting the proverbial windshield. This brings a stunning “Oh yeah, I should have seen that coming” reaction in me to a “what did you expect?” sense as well.

There is nothing that has happened with Trump that could not have been foreseen, or was. The only real surprise is how bad it is. It’s hard to comprehend if you are a person of any sort of moral character that there is a person this (fill in the blank).

Okay, back to the question raised (Who does Rudy Giuliani work for?) and what is the evidence to support what I say? 

And there is the larger picture of “What does it all mean Mr. Natural?”*

*Mr. Natural would say, “It don’t mean shit.” but I beg to differ, as you will see.

Let’s look at some things we know. These things are called facts:

– Rudy Giuliani has been photographed for years with one of the two real-life Home Alone guys. The one named Lev. Lev has a company named Fraud Guarantee. Fraud Guarantee has paid Rudy Giuliani over $500,000. Lev has little visible means of support. Lev has been linked to the Russian mob. Lev has a restraining order against him for threatening to do bodily harm to his landlord in Florida. Lev owns three handguns, one of which he put to the head of his landlord for which he received a restraining order. Lev has been photographed not only with Rudy, but with Donald, and Don Jr. Lev has been linked to Dimitri Firtash. Dimitri Firtash has been linked to a corrupt scheme to siphon millions, no billions, of dollars from the gas coming from Russia through the Ukraine. He is also linked to Putin and to the boss of bosses of the Russian mob Semion Mogilevich. Firtash readily admits to the help of Mogilevich. Mogilevich is on (or was on) the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list.

Conclusion: Rudy is being paid by Putin and the Russian mob.

Conclusion 2: There has been corruption in the Ukraine around Ukrainian gas companies. It has been the work of Putin, Firtasch, and Mogilevich.

– Rudy and Trump say Rudy is Trump’s personal lawyer.

– Rudy is not being paid by Trump.

Question: Aren’t you working for the person who pays you, not the person who isn’t?

Lev has been indicted. Lev went to court the other day. (Where did he get that blond to hang off his arm?)

He pleaded not guilty and – GET THIS – says that he is part of Trump’s legal defense team and therefore some things will be off limits due to executive privilege.

In other court action, the stuff about the accounting firm having to turn over its tax records on Trump the defense attorney asserted that a sitting president can not be arrested, investigated, or stopped from committing a crime while in office.

The Attorney General, William Barr, has been personally investigating an alleged and debunked criminal conspiracy. He has started a formal investigation. It has to do with Russian interference in the 2016 election. The allegation is that it wasn’t Russian but Ukraine that meddled. That it was Joe Biden and his son Hunter and that the Democratic party had a server in Ukraine with Hillary’s missing emails on it. Who is behind all this? Why Paul Mannafort, the Russian disinformation machine, and the far right.

Meanwhile thirty Republican politicians walked into a secure facility where the investigation by the House Intelligence Committee is being conducted. They brought their cell phones, a big no-no. I thought there was a crime committed, but maybe it’s only a violation of ethics. (But I’m sure they will argue that it is no violation of ethics if they themselves have none.)

The Trump and Republican argument is that the impeachment stuff is being held in secret and should be out in the open. Aside from contradicting fact, logic and history what can I say? Well, let’s remind those folks the reasons why this is being done behind closed doors – IT’S AN INVESTIGATION.

They like to site Nixon and Clinton. Let’s remind these folks that in both of those impeachment proceedings there was a law on the books, since repealed that called for a special prosecutor. The special prosecutor had an INVESTIGATION IN SECRET, after which public hearings were held.

In this case, THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT HAS REFUSED TO INVESTIGATE, and therefore, CONGRESS HAS BEEN FORCED TO HOLD AN INVESTIGATION.

INVESTIGATIONS ARE DONE IN SECRET.

The targets of an investigation don’t get to see the evidence while it is being collected. This is a not hard to understand. An investigator doesn’t want to reveal what they are doing for fear of tipping their hand. Besides, if any person is investigated (like say Hillary Clinton) and they are found to have done nothing wrong then you don’t want to let everyone know you are investigating them and have their reputation besmirched.

Okay so let’s review. Rudy is being paid by the Russian mob. Therefore, Rudy works for the Russian mob, not as is alleged the president. 

It has also been shown by many that Trump himself has been paid by the Russian mob, by oligarchs directly connected to Putin, and in fact as was pointed out last week by the Speaker of the House – when it comes to Trump, all roads lead to Putin.

The only question there, is, “How much more damage can this man do to our country before he is removed from office?” 

Also, there is, or was, corruption in the Ukraine around their gas companies, but that corruption is being promoted, fostered, and protected by the Russians in league with Trump and his associates.

Oh yes, and in a fascinating sidelight, some of Trump’s attorneys have said, on several occasions and unprompted, that the country can function quite well without a Vice-President.

Hum. Are they getting ready to throw Mikey under the bus? I say no. I picture two of them holding Mike by his arms and legs while standing on the front of a steam roller with Trump in a chair atop a slow moving steamroller, saying, “And a one, and a two …” (Lawrence Welk** style.)

** Look him up.

Meanwhile:

– We aren’t pulling troops out of the Middle East. Actually, we are putting more in. We just moved them out of the way so Turkey and Russia could carve up the Kurdish area and create another humanitarian crisis. Those U.S. troops that pulled back are being pelted with rocks and eggs. They have moved into Iraq. The Iraqi foreign minister says they have thirty days to get out, and we have put another 2,000 troops in the country that murdered a Washington Post journalist and regularly carries out hangings, decapitations, and crucifixions.

376 Days until the 2020 election and 458 days until the Inauguration

PS A gilded room in Amsterdam. 

Tuesday October 22, 2019 

379 Days until the 2020 election and 461 days until the Inauguration

Rachel Maddow’s Monday night show was a tour de force. I know some people don’t like her, think she’s too smug, etc. What many don’t like is that she leads with facts, draws conclusions based on the facts, and asks questions based on the facts and conclusions. 

Last night she brought up a blockbuster piece of news. The dominate news item on Hillary Clinton in the 2016 news was what? Her emails. Front page stuff, day after day, week after week, It’s all we heard about her. There’s been an inquiry by the State Department. First under Rex Tillerson, then Mike Pompeo. During the campaign the chants were “Lock Her Up.” Chris Christie stood at the podium at the Republican National Convention and said how he as a former prosecutor would do all these legal things to Hillary if it were up to him because so many crimes had been committed. Blah, blah, blah.

Well, guess what? Investigation over. Yesterday, after hundreds of interviews and witnesses and thousands and thousands of hours and millions upon millions of dollars the investigation is over.

Four and a half years of government resources and the investigation is over. Why this wasn’t front page news I don’t know, after all the screaming about her emails I would think the results would be important for people to know.

So, if you didn’t know, and if you didn’t watch Rachel last night, here’s what the four and a half years and hundreds of interviews found. Are you ready???? Wait for it….

NOTHING

Hum, kinda like the Starr commission on Bill.

BTW They trotted Ken out recently and he said he didn’t see anything impeachable with Trump, not like Bill Clinton! (Oh man, put delirious grandpa back in the home.)

There’s more. A lot more, but enough for now.

Oh, one last thought. Donald says the Kurds are happy. In fact, everyone is happy over there. Yeah! I suggest he send Ivanka over for a little victory parade and good will gesture. Maybe, she can meet those nice young men who dragged that woman from her car, raped and killed her.

I know. 

Sorry.

379 Days until the 2020 election and 461 days until the Inauguration

PS The Palace of Fine Arts, Mexico City

Day 1119 Say It Ain’t True! (But it is!)

Monday October 21, 2019 

380 Days until the 2020 election and 462 days until the Inauguration

The sh*t is coming, fast and furious, I keep thinking it’s hit the fan, but it hasn’t. So strange. 

Let’s take a look at some of the nasty campaign ads that are now running on local TV here in Richmond. They use gray screens over the people they are smearing. They yell out in yellow jagged type. They put up pictures of Warren, Sanders, and AOC with the word “Socialist” next to them. And they put up whomever they are smearing alongside. No facts, just smear. 

Most interestingly, these ads are paid for by American Progress, one of the big Trump PACs. This PAC has been linked to receiving large donations illegally from Russian sources.

Now it’s been revealed that at George Bush’s funeral on December 3, 2018 Rudy Giuliani brought one of the two guys that got arrested recently as his date. Not only that, but more pictures of these two with Trump, or Rudy, or the Trump kids have surfaced. I have to ask how do two guys with no real legal means of support manage to make huge donations to the Trump campaign and other Republicans? The guy that Rudy brought to the funeral has put a gun to the head of his landlord and threatened him. Said landlord got a restraining order. Why the gun to the head? Seems said Rudy-bud wasn’t paying his rent. Yet, he was stopped with three different types of hand guns in his possession. He owns a Porsche Carrera (starting price $113,300.)

Okay, each of these two have businesses. One has a firm called Fraud Guarantee. The other has a night club on the Black Sea called Mafia Rave. Neither business is so big that they can afford to make illegal donations to the Republicans and Trump to the tune of $325,000, but they have. What’s their deal?

They work for Dimitri Firtash who was making billions skimming money off the gas Russia piped into Ukraine. This seemed to have come to an end with the election of anti-corruption officials. Something Joe Biden supported. One of the gas companies, Burisma, hired Joe’s son, Hunter, to try and clean up their image and no doubt get in good with Joe. Did it work? There’s no evidence that it did. Nor is there any evidence that Joe knew about it. I’m sure at some point he was made aware of it. But this is nothing new in the sense that progeny and relatives of elected officials are hired, or used, to try and get close to the powerful person. Remember Billy Carter? But Trump’s kids have taken it to a whole other level. It’s reported that Jared and Ivanka made $60-80 million last year. Doing what? 

I saw a headline last night that said Don Jr. has accused the Bidens of nepotism. Man, that takes something.

Okay back to Russian money. Putin let Firtash extort billions from the Russian gas piped into Ukraine. This gave Putin a large slush fund to corrupt whomever. Biden and our Ukrainian ambassador stood by the dually elected anti-corruption officials. Rudy’s clients used money to get then Rep. Pete Sessions to write a letter to Trump asking for the ambassador to be removed. Rudy also put pressure to have her removed. Trump didn’t just remove her; he yanked her, as in “be on the next plane” yanked her. He said she was “a terrible woman.” Then he said he didn’t really know her. 

Firtash is fighting extradition to the U.S. He was arrested in Vienna and posted bail of $173,000,000.00. Yeah, 173 million. He’s hired some of the fanciest law firms in the U.S. to fight his extradition.

When Lev and Igor, “Rudy’s clients”, were stopped trying to leave the country they were going to Vienna. Rudy was too. Why Vienna? Firtash is there! That’s the only reason to go there. 

Firtash is not only linked to Putin but to the godfather of the Russian mob. Let me ask you, where do you think two guys with little means of legit money are getting barrels full to give to Rudy, Trump, and various Republican Super Pacs, including the Super Pac currently running lying smear campaigns on my local TV station? This is Russian mob money – plain and simple. 

Okay, let’s move on. Hillary made some comments that are exciting a lot of people. She said that the Russians are grooming, or have their eye on, a candidate in the current Democratic field that they hope to back as a third party candidate. 

Boy did that get swift reaction. Both Tulsi Gabbard and Jill Stein reacted. Let’s not forget that Stein was at that Russian luncheon where Flynn spoke. She publicly admitted that the Russian media was giving her more attention than the U.S. media, and the number of votes she siphoned off from Hillary were enough to let Trump squeak by with a win.

What about Gabbard? If you look at her record and statements she’s perfect for the Russians to back, She was raised by her parents in nutty religious cult that was fervently anti-gay. Although she’s distanced herself from all that, she did make anti-gay comments previously, and many far right sort of statements. She would be a perfect choice for the Russians to back.

What has Hillary’s comment done? Well, I’d say it’s really put a spike in any thought Gabbard may have had about running as a third party candidate, and it’s probably backed off Russian efforts as well.

You’re welcome America. Thank-you Hillary.

In the current crime spree by the president and his associates – oh boy:

Mic Mulvaney held a press conference where, when given a text book example of quid pro quo, said, “We do that all the time.”

Then he tried to undo it by saying he never said quid pro quo. 

This, yet another example of people being corrupted by being near Donald Trump.

Eric Trump said he was honored that the G-7 conference was going to be a Trump Doral. 

Then Trump said they weren’t going to hold the G-7 there and blamed the Dems. The real story is that too may Republicans ganged up on him about it. (Trump, “What? It’s illegal? Really, I don’t think so. It’s unconstitutional? I don’t think so. You think so? I don’t know. I’ve never read it. …”) 

It was only criminal, unconstitutional, and the place has a terrible bedbug problem – other than that.

Then there’s Syria, which Trump just gave to Russia, Assad, Iran, ISIS, and Turkey while betraying our allies in the area – the Kurds. Trump reports that everyone is happy and it’s a great situation Then why are our troops in the area getting pelleted with eggs and rocks? That doesn’t bespeak of happiness.  

Then there’s the anti-corruption investigation and the search for a Democratic server in the Ukraine being carried out by Pompeo, Barr, Mulvaney and others. Egads. 

Okay there are two parts: Ukrainian corruption and the Democratic server. First, there is no Democratic server in the Ukraine. This is some crap ginned up by the Russian dis-information apparatus and the right-wing conspiracy theorists.

As to Ukrainian corruption, there is or had been corruption. Folks closely tied to efforts to keep Ukraine corrupt are Rudy’s two clients and Rudy. If they (Barr, Pompeo, Rudy, etc.) are investigating corruption let them start with Rudy and his pals. Those two guys have apparently been under investigation for a long time. In the charging documents against them the prosecution listed fifty bank accounts. Fifty bank accounts by two guys with little visible means of support. Gee, what does that seem like? Lemme think, Money laundering? 

As I said, if William Barr and Mike Pompeo are really investigating Ukrainian corruption they can start with Rudy and his two pals. Better yet, just let Rudy’s old shop, The Southern District of New York handle it.

380 Days until the 2020 election and 462 days until the Inauguration

( I think I need a new counter – “How many days until impeachment?”

    and “How many days until removal from office?” )

PS On a lake on a river with tangerine skies … Author’s alter ego on a boat ride somewhere in Indonesia