FROM RUSSIA WITH... SANCTIONS RELIEF

Rand Paul Wants to Scrap Some U.S. Sanctions on Russia

The senator will introduce a bill to lift U.S. sanctions on Russian lawmakers if the Kremlin does the same for U.S. lawmakers, The Daily Beast has learned.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is introducing an amendment that would lift U.S. sanctions on Russian lawmakers, The Daily Beast has learned.

The amendment, which will be introduced at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting on Wednesday, stipulates that existing U.S. sanctions on members of the Russian Federal Assembly will be lifted if Moscow agrees to lift its own sanctions on certain American members of Congress.

... snip

Paul has made sanctions relief a cause of his since returning from Moscow last month. During that trip, which he took without any of his colleagues, Paul met with Russian officials and delivered a letter from President Donald Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which the White House later said was written at Paul’s request. In addition to meeting with former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, Paul had an hour-long sit-down with Konstantin Kosachev, the chairman of the foreign affairs committee in Russia’s legislature. During that meeting, according to Paul’s office, the senator invited Kosachev, who himself is banned from entering the U.S., to send Russian lawmakers to the U.S. Capitol to meet with their American counterparts. Paul’s amendment would be the first step toward allowing those Russians to travel to the U.S.

The Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, paid for Paul’s trip.

More: https://www.thedailybeast.com/rand-paul-wants-to-scrap-some-us-sanctions-on-russia

Source says Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is currently on his way to the White House, expecting to be fired once he gets there.

https://twitter.com/MLevineReports/status/1044236086636146688

BREAKING: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has verbally resigned to Chief of Staff John Kelly in anticipation of being fired by President Trump, according to a source with direct knowledge.

https://twitter.com/axios/status/1044234364979216386

Scoop: Rod Rosenstein is resigning

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has verbally resigned to Chief of Staff John Kelly in anticipation of being fired by President Trump, according to a source with direct knowledge.

Per a second source with direct knowledge: “He’s expecting to be fired,” so plans to step down.

Background: Rosenstein talked last year invoking the 25th Amendment and wearing a wire during Trump meetings, the N.Y. Times' Adam Goldman and Michael S. Schmidt reported last week. He denied both allegations.

https://www.axios.com/rod-rosenstein-resign-justice-department-trump-cf761f4c-fca3-4794-92d4-a56c9e32ff43.html

"It is unclear to what extent [Ed] Whelan was coordinating with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee & other Republicans on Capitol Hill. He was in communication with at least one Republican member of the committee this week.." ... yea so this is a pretty BFD.
https://twitter.com/RVAwonk/status/1043261637363425280

Best known for its work with the Swift Boat Veterans in 2004, CRC bills itself as a full-service communications firm “specializing in media relations, social media and issues management,” according to its website. It has long been the go-to communications firm for conservative organizations in Washington and across the country. Its current clients include the Federalist Society and the Judicial Crisis Network, the chief outside groups working to help confirm Kavanaugh.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/21/ed-whelan-kavanaugh-tweets-pr-firm-836405

https://twitter.com/SpicyFiles/status/1042981959985594368
So @mattdizwhitlock knew about @EdWhelanEPPC about 41 ours ago. Alexa what is get me the Schedule A, B, O of EPPC’x IRS990.

Here's an archived copy of the google cache for his twitter, which still has the tweet on it (the tweet itself:

Wow, via @ScottCLandis, here’s a now-deleted tweet from @OrrinHatch’s deputy CoS @mattdizwhitlock previewing the Whelan hit job. Hatch has been in close contact with Kavanaugh, already floated odd “Kavanaugh says he wasn’t even there” defense. (Also fiercely defended Rob Porter.)

https://twitter.com/wideofthepost/status/1042974673863094273

Post doesn’t come out and say it but seems overwhelmingly likely Kavanaugh knew about Whelan’s nutbar theory, possibly played some role in concocting it.
https://twitter.com/joshtpm/status/1042958108883083271

Trump Should Be More Worried About the Brennan Dossier

... snip

Brennan had just spent two days sequestered in his office reviewing a small mountain of material on Russia…There were piles of finished assessments, but Brennan had also ordered up what agency veterans call the “raw stuff” — unprocessed material from informants, listening devices, computer implants and other sources. Clearing his schedule, Brennan pored over all of it, his door closed, staying so late that the glow through his office windows remained visible deep into the night from the darkened driveway that winds past the headquarters building’s main entrance…

Brennan’s review session occurred against the backdrop of these unsettling developments. But his call to the White House was driven by something else — extraordinary intelligence that had surfaced in late July and reached deep inside the Kremlin, showing that Putin was himself directing an “active measures” operation aimed not only at disrupting the U.S. presidential race but electing Trump.

What we know based on previous reporting from the Washington Post is that not only did Brennan request a meeting with Obama, at about the same time he sent the president a dossier that he had compiled.

... snip

Brennan convened a secret task force at CIA headquarters composed of several dozen analysts and officers from the CIA, the NSA and the FBI.

The unit functioned as a sealed compartment, its work hidden from the rest of the intelligence community. Those brought in signed new non-disclosure agreements to be granted access to intelligence from all three participating agencies.

More: https://washingtonmonthly.com/2018/09/19/trump-should-be-more-worried-about-the-brennan-dossier/

‘First it was his vision, then his speech, and then his legs’ Pussy Riot member Pyotr Verzilov is hospitalized in critical condition and friends fear he was poisoned

Pyotr Verzilov, a member of Pussy Riot and one of the publishers of the independent news website Mediazona, was hospitalized in critical condition late on September 11. His partner, Veronika Nikulshina, told Meduza that he’s started losing his sight, speech, and mobility.

Pyotr Verzilov is currently receiving treatment at the toxicology wing of Moscow’s Bakhrushin City Clinical Hospital. Verzilov’s friends told Meduza that his mother came to the hospital on the evening of September 12, but staff wouldn’t let her see her son, and even refused to describe his condition or inform her about his preliminary diagnosis. “[At the hospital] they said they don’t have the right to disclose any information… They sent her away and were rude. They said they can’t admit her. They kept pointing at this sheet of paper, saying that they can’t disclose [any information] until the patient signs a release himself, but he’s unconscious,” Verzilov’s friend told Meduza.

According to Nikulshina, Verzilov started feeling unwell shortly after a court hearing on Tuesday. At six in the evening, he laid down to rest. Two hours later, when Nikulshina got home, Verzilov “woke up and said he was starting to lose his sight.” “Between eight and ten, his condition got exponentially worse. First it was his vision, then his ability to speak, and then his ability to walk,” she told Meduza.

“When the paramedics arrived, he answered all their questions, saying, ‘No, I didn’t eat anything. No, I didn’t take anything.’ He was getting worse even faster, and then he started convulsing. On the way [to the hospital], in the ambulance, he was already babbling. [...] He fell into such a half-asleep, half-unconscious state that he stopped responding to me and didn’t even recognize me anymore,” Veronika Nikulshina told Meduza.

More: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2018/09/12/first-it-was-his-vision-then-his-speech-and-then-his-legs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Russian National Who Operated Kelihos Botnet Pleads Guilty to Fraud, Conspiracy, Computer Crime and Identity Theft Offenses

Peter Yuryevich Levashov, aka “Petr Levashov,” “Peter Severa,” “Petr Severa” and “Sergey Astakhov,” 38, of St. Petersburg, Russia, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Hartford, Connecticut, to offenses stemming from his operation of the Kelihos botnet, which he used to facilitate malicious activities including harvesting login credentials, distributing bulk spam e-mails, and installing ransomware and other malicious software.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney John H. Durham of the District of Connecticut and Special Agent in Charge Brain C. Turner of the FBI’s New Haven Division made the announcement.

“For over two decades, Peter Levashov operated botnets which enabled him to harvest personal information from infected computers, disseminate spam, and distribute malware used to facilitate multiple scams,” said Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski. “We are grateful to Spanish authorities for his previous arrest and extradition. Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that the Department will collaborate with our international law enforcement partners to bring cybercriminals to justice, wherever they may be.”

“Mr. Levashov used the Kelihos botnet to distribute thousands of spam e-mails, harvest login credentials, and install malicious software on computers around the world,” said U.S. Attorney Durham. “He also participated in online forums on which stolen identities, credit card information and cybercrime tools were traded and sold. For years, Mr. Levashov lived quite comfortably while his criminal behavior disrupted the lives of thousands of computer users. Thanks to the collaborative work of the FBI and our partners in law enforcement, private industry and academia, a prolific cybercriminal has been neutralized, and has now admitted his guilt in a U.S. courtroom.”

“Today justice has finally arrived for Peter Levashov, who is perhaps better known in the cyber community by his online identity, Peter Severa,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Turner. “The FBI’s New Haven Division has been engaged in a multiyear investigation of Levashov, with evidence gathered from a number of countries around the world. Today’s guilty plea should serve as an unequivocal reminder to all those who use the internet for illicit purposes: The FBI will pursue you regardless of what country you live in and the length of time it might take to secure your eventual arrest. As we move forward, no cyber criminal should rest easy. The men and women of the FBI’s New Haven Division, along with the members of our Cyber Task Force and our many other federal, state, local, and tribal partners across the state, will continue to employ the same dedication and hard work, which made this effort such a success, to the continued protection of the citizens of Connecticut and the nation as a whole.”

According to court documents and statements made in court, a botnet is a network of computers infected with malicious software that allows a third party to control the entire computer network without the knowledge or consent of the computer owners. Since the late 1990s until his arrest in April 2017, Levashov controlled and operated multiple botnets, including the Storm, Waledac and Kelihos botnets, to harvest personal information and means of identification (including email addresses, usernames and logins, and passwords) from infected computers. To further the scheme, Levashov disseminated spam and distributed other malware, such as banking Trojans and ransomware, and advertised the Kelihos botnet spam and malware services to others for purchase in order to enrich himself. Over the course of his criminal career, Levashov participated in and moderated various online criminal forums on which stolen identities and credit cards, malware and other criminal tools of cybercrime were traded and sold.

Spanish authorities arrested Levashov in Barcelona on April 7, 2017, based upon a criminal complaint and arrest warrant issued in the District of Connecticut. At the time of Levashov’s arrest, Kelihos infected at least 50,000 computers.

On April 10, 2017, the Justice Department announced that it had taken action to dismantle the Kelihos botnet.

On April 20, 2017, a grand jury in the District of Connecticut returned an indictment charging Levashov with multiple offenses related to this scheme. Levashov was extradited to the United States in February.

Levashov pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny to one count of causing intentional damage to a protected computer, one count of conspiracy, one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Judge Chatigny scheduled sentencing for Sept. 6, 2019. Levashov is detained pending sentencing.

The FBI’s New Haven Division and Anchorage Division are investigating the case, with the assistance from the Spanish National Police. Senior Trial Attorney Anthony Teelucksingh of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vanessa Richards and David Huang of the District of Connecticut are prosecuting the case. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs handled the extradition in this matter, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. The University of Alabama at Birmingham, ThreatStop, SpamHaus, Cisco, Cambridge University, and Cloudmark also provided invaluable assistance in the investigation and prosecution of Mr. Levashov.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/russian-national-who-operated-kelihos-botnet-pleads-guilty-fraud-conspiracy-computer-crime

You mean Barbara Ledeen was bragging about spying on Democrats across the aisle using a "mole," an espionage term of art? With Kavanaugh?
https://twitter.com/ericgarland/status/1038136277768577024
https://twitter.com/SenatorLeahy/status/1037753427340795906

You mean co-conspirator with Russian agent Mike Flynn Barbara Ledeen has been tied to Kavanaugh for decades? Oh! Well, tell us more!
https://twitter.com/ericgarland/status/1038136885246341123
You mean Kavanagh is spying on Democrats with the woman whose husband co/ghostwrote Mike Flynn's book of pure Russian propaganda? Have I got that right?
https://twitter.com/ericgarland/status/1038137501184081921
Wait - and Alberto Gonzalez - a conspirator in trying to make America appear to be the nation of torturers that Russia actually *is* - he's on the email chain?
https://twitter.com/ericgarland/status/1038138102500536320
I think we're about to:
1.Find a whole *lot* of traitors and
2. Rewrite many years of history, distorted by a media that has done far worse than just fail. </>