monitoring Trump and relevant contemporary events

Quote:

What's so obvious?

He is Jewish, elites do not like Jews.

Justice Dept. charges Russian woman with interference in midterm elections

The Justice Department on Friday charged a Russian woman for her role in a conspiracy to interfere with the 2018 U.S. election, marking the first criminal case prosecutors have brought against a foreign national for interfering in the upcoming midterms.

Elena Khusyaynova, 44, was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States. Prosecutors said she managed the finances of “Project Lakhta,” a foreign influence operation they said was designed “to sow discord in the U.S. political system” by pushing arguments and misinformation online about a whole host of divisive political issues, including immigration, the Confederate flag, gun control, and the NFL national anthem protests.

The charges against Khusyaynova came just as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence warned that it was concerned about “ongoing campaigns” by Russia, China and Iran to interfere with the upcoming Midterm elections and even the 2020 race — an ominous warning that comes just weeks before voters head to the polls.

In a statement, the Director of National Intelligence said officials “do not have any evidence of a compromise or disruption of infrastructure that would enable adversaries to prevent voting, change vote counts or disrupt our ability to tally votes in the midterm elections.” But the statement noted, “We are concerned about ongoing campaigns by Russia, China and other foreign actors, including Iran, to undermine confidence in democratic institutions and influence public sentiment and government policies. These activities also may seek to influence voter perceptions and decision making in the 2018 and 2020 U.S. elections.”

The announcement, which was joined by the Justice Department, FBI and Department of Homeland Security, comes on the eve of a trip national security adviser John Bolton is making to Moscow, where he is expected to raise the issue with his counterparts.

Court papers said Khusyaynova’s operation was funded by Russian oligarch Yevgeniy Prigozhin and two companies he controls, Concord Management and Consulting LLC and Concord Catering. A criminal complaint filed against the woman charges that she managed the finances of Project Lakhta, including detailed expenses for activities in the U.S. such as paying for activists, advertisements on social media, registering domain names, the purchase of proxy servers, and promoting news postings on social media.

So you were one of the small number of liberals who didn't think W and Reagan were morons?

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I can’t imagine how craven or soulless you would have to be to craft such a message.

Don't be so modest, the crap you peddle shows quite an imagination.

Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in a fight in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the country's state TV reported quoting an initial probe.

It said deputy intelligence chief Ahmad al-Assiri and Saud al-Qahtani, senior aide to Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, were dismissed over the affair.

US President Donald Trump said what had happened was "unacceptable" but that Saudi Arabia was a "great ally".

This is the first time the kingdom has admitted Mr Khashoggi has died.

The acknowledgement follows two weeks of denials that Saudi Arabia had any involvement in the disappearance of the prominent Saudi critic when he entered the consulate in Istanbul on 2 October to seek paperwork for his upcoming marriage.

The Saudi kingdom had come under increased pressure to explain Mr Khashoggi's disappearance after Turkish officials said he was deliberately killed inside the consulate, and his body dismembered.

On Friday, Turkish police widened their search from the consulate grounds to a nearby forest where unnamed officials believe his body may have been disposed of.

Observers are questioning whether Riyadh's Western allies will find the Saudis' account of a "botched rendition" convincing - and whether it will persuade them not to take punitive action against Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi leadership will now be hoping that its belated admission that Khashoggi did die after all inside its consulate - coupled with a handful of sackings and arrests - will be enough to draw a line under this affair. It won't.

This is only a first step towards publicising the truth of what really happened. Given the days of indignant denials by the Saudi leadership it's doubtful we would have even got this far without sustained international pressure.

There can only be one of two possible alternatives here. Either - as many suspect - the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman was to blame, or he had lost control of his inner circle, something most observers find hard to believe.

MBS, as he's known, has a huge following amongst young patriotic Saudis who see him as a visionary reformer. If that support were now to ebb away then the crown prince could find himself dangerously isolated at court.

A statement from Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor said a fight broke out between Mr Khashoggi, who had fallen out of favour with the Saudi government, and people who met him in the consulate - ending with his death.

The investigations are still under way, it said, and 18 Saudi nationals have been arrested. The Saudi authorities have yet to give evidence to support this version of events.

State media said Saudi King Salman had ordered the sacking of two senior officials.

President Trump said the arrests were an important "first step". He praised the kingdom for acting quickly, and while he said sanctions were an option against the country, he spoke of the possible effect such moves would have on the US economy.

Asked if he found Saudi Arabia's version of events credible, he replied, "I do."

He stressed the importance of Saudi Arabia as a counterbalance to Iran in the Middle East, and pushed back against the need for sanctions against the country in light of the new information, talking about the effect of such a move on the US economy.

He spoke of his visit to Saudi Arabia - his first trip abroad as president - and the $110bn (£84bn) arms deal he signed with the kingdom.

"I'd rather keep the million jobs [in the US] and find another solution," he said.

Earlier this week Mr Trump said there would be "very severe" consequences if Saudi Arabia was proved to have killed the journalist.

What is your problem with Kushner, besides the obvious?