A pro-Putin California congressman has been accused of violating US sanctions on Russia

Source: Business Insider

A new complaint filed with the Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control alleges that California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and his staff director, Paul Behrends, violated the Magnitsky Act when they tried to get Russia's deputy general prosecutor, Victor Grin, removed from the US sanctions list last year.

The complaint was filed by US financier Bill Browder, the founder of Hermitage Capital Management, who spearheaded the Magnitsky Act in 2012 to punish Russian officials suspected of being involved in the death of his account, Sergey Magnitsky.

Magnitsky uncovered a $230 million tax fraud scheme in 2008 when he was working for Hermitage that implicated high-level Kremlin officials and allies of President Vladimir Putin. He was later thrown in jail by the same Interior Ministry officers he testified against during criminal proceedings to punish those involved in the tax scheme, Browder said in 2015, and died in custody after being held for 358 days.

Browder's complaint rests largely on a Daily Beast report published last week alleging that Rohrabacher, a staunch defender of Russia and Putin, met with officials from the prosecutor general’s office in Moscow in April 2016. The report said he accepted a "confidential" document that Rohrabacher then used to try to undermine the Magnitsky Act on Capitol Hill.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/dana-rohrabacher-russia-sanctions-magnitsky-2017-7

U.S. investigators seek to turn Manafort in Russia probe

Rick Wilson: This whole thing will burn to the ground before the leadership (Repubs) will man up

When asked: So when is your party going to stand up and do something???

RW: Don't you get it? They're not. This whole thing will burn to the ground before the leadership will man up
https://twitter.com/TheRickWilson/status/888448457790369793

Crazy article, but something to watch

because of who commented on it and the people involved and what Trump has been accused of.


A fmr Trump co-investor under Mueller scrutiny tries to purge the web of stories on his underage prostitution arrest
https://twitter.com/lachlan/status/888367509950406656

https://twitter.com/20committee/status/888377205562253313

Trump and Putin May Have Met More Times Says Russias Sergei Lavro

Source: NBC News


MOSCOW — President Donald Trump may have held more meetings with Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit earlier this month, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday — but he shrugged off the importance of the encounters.

“They might have met even much more than just three times,” he told NBC News’ Keir Simmons in an exclusive interview, dismissing speculation about the leaders' meetings.

... snip

“After the dinner was over…I was not there…President Trump apparently went to pick up his wife and spent some minutes with President Putin…so what?” he said.



Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/trump-putin-may-have-met-more-times-says-russia-s-n785146?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma

Longer Bloomberg report says Mueller has issued subpoenas to banks, filed requests for records to

Longer Bloomberg report says Mueller has issued subpoenas to banks, filed requests for records to foreign lenders.
https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/888179758156177408

Special Counsel Investigating Possible Money Laundering by Paul Manafort

Source: Wall Street Journal

Special Counsel Investigating Possible Money Laundering by Paul Manafort
Probe by Mueller into former Trump campaign manager is part of examination of Russian meddling in election
By Erica Orden
July 20, 2017 5:52 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON—Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating possible money laundering by Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, as part of his criminal investigation into what U.S. intelligence agencies say was a Kremlin-backed campaign to meddle in the 2016 presidential election, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The inquiry into the issue by Mr. Mueller, a former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and his team began several weeks ago, this person said. A spokesman for Mr. Manafort, Jason Maloni, declined to comment, as did a spokesman for Mr. Mueller.

... snip

The Senate and House intelligence committees also are probing possible money laundering by Mr. Manafort, according to people with knowledge of those investigations.

The Senate committee also has received reports from the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which tracks illicit money flows, to learn if any of Mr. Trump’s businesses may have financial ties to Russian interests, these people said. Mr. Trump has said he has no such ties.

Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/special-counsel-investigating-possible-money-laundering-by-paul-manafort-1500587532

May, 2016. "From Trump Tower." ***3 weeks before Don Jr Meeting***

Trump comm director Scavino was tweeting from Trump Tower about Kremlin having HRC emails three weeks before Don Jr meeting

https://twitter.com/pdacosta/status/888117166788059141
https://twitter.com/DanScavino/status/730559333105319936

"The senator from Kentucky (Rand Paul) is now working for Vladimir Putin." - Senator John McCain

Great reminder from Eric Garland

Only three senators voted against the Russia sanctions in both versions. Only one voted no twice: Rand Paul. I wonder why that is.
https://twitter.com/ericgarland/status/888030354472407040

McCain: Rand Paul 'working for Vladimir Putin'

By Jordain Carney - 03/15/17 05:17 PM EDT

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Wednesday accused Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) of working for Russian President Vladimir Putin after he objected to a treaty related to Montenegro.

"He has no justification for his objection to having a small nation be part of NATO that is under assault from the Russians," McCain said from the Senate floor.

"The senator from Kentucky is now working for Vladimir Putin."

More: http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/324182-mccain-rand-paul-working-for-vladimir-putin

Pro-Trump TV pundits firm took undisclosed payments from Trump campaign

Pro-Trump TV pundit’s firm took undisclosed payments from Trump campaign

For months, Mark Serrano has been one of President Trump’s fiercest defenders and most enthusiastic supporters on TV. In semiregular appearances on the Fox Business Network, the veteran Republican operative has praised Trump’s leadership and bashed news media coverage of him. He’s called Ivanka Trump the most “powerful or influential advocate for women’s empowerment ever in our history.”

Fox News and Fox Business have described Serrano variously as a Republican strategist, a crisis-management expert and a former adviser to President George H.W. Bush since he began appearing on the networks in 2014.

But Serrano has had another role this spring, one that wasn’t disclosed to viewers as he was touting Trump: His firm was a paid consultant to the president’s 2020 reelection campaign.

Federal disclosure forms filed by the Trump committee Saturday show that it paid Serrano’s firm, ProActive Communications, a total of $30,000 for “communications consulting.” The records indicate that it paid $20,000 on April 17 to the company, based in Leesburg, Va., and another $10,000 on May 30.

TV news organizations, including Fox, typically screen would-be pundits and panelists for any financial connection to campaigns, issues or companies they might be asked to comment about on the air. Insiders, such as a campaign official or party strategist, are often welcomed, but only if their professional role is disclosed to viewers upfront.

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/pro-trump-tv-pundits-firm-took-undisclosed-payments-from-trump-campaign/2017/07/19/a7ae21f8-6bef-11e7-b9e2-2056e768a7e5_story.html?utm_term=.3497b6d203ca