tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40263036324736588452024-03-13T10:08:44.117-04:00-gate newsNon-partisan investigative reporting on political scandals, propaganda, security firms and hackers; media criticism. In 2015, Judicial Watch, Huffington Post, MSNBC, WSJ, DC Examiner, Breitbart News and other media outlets ran stories based on my coverage of Hillary Clinton. 2016 articles published by Daily Caller <a href="http://dailycaller.com/author/ron-brynaert">at this link</a>.Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.comBlogger162125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-69935607187277995172021-10-04T19:36:00.004-04:002021-10-04T19:51:12.271-04:00Roger Stone asked for donations to the Stop the Steal Security ProjectDays after his pardon, conservative operative Roger Stone began pleading for donations for the Stop the Steal Security Project at his Parler account. It's unknown how much he might have collected or how it may have been dispersed. While Stone called for a peaceful protest, many Parler members talked about bringing weapons and committing violence.<p>
Stone claimed that security was necessary, because four "Trump supporters" were stabbed at an earlier DC event, but doesn't mention that they were affiliated with the Proud Boys.<p>
On December 30, 2020, Stone posted a video (that can still be viewed at this <a href=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230235700/https://video.parler.com/hf/BZ/hfBZBQ8BUwHG.mp4>cache link</a>) asking for help to pay professional security.<p>
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"This is Roger Stone," he said on the video. "On January 6th, I'll be speaking to the Stop the Steal peaceful protest in Washington, DC. We're going to be protesting the heist of the 2020 election. I look forward to seeing you there."<p>
Stone continued, "But if you can't attend, we still need your help. You see, I'm concerned about the safety and the security of our supporters, of those who will be marching with us. After the last Washington DC event, four Trump supporters were stabbed by leftists. That's because we cannot afford all the professional accoutrements of an event. This is a pop-up grassroots event for which we need professional security."<p>
"We don't have a wealthy donor like George Soros waiting in the wings to write a check to subsidize our political activism," Stone said. "We can only count on people like you. So to help us have a peaceful event, to help us have the impact we want to change history and to stand up for the greatest president since Abraham Lincoln, please go to stopthesteal.org. That's stopthesteal.org and help us pay for the staging, the transportation - and most importantly - the security of our peaceful protesters. Thank you, and God bless you, I'll see you in Washington, January 6th."<p>
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While Stone had previously used the stopthesteal.org domain to redirect to his Stone Cold Truth website, he redirected it to his DonorBox pledge page (<a href=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102021414/https://donorbox.org/stop-the-steal-3>cache link</a>).<p>
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Stone wrote, "On January 5th and 6th, one of the largest peaceful protests in American history will take place in Washington D.C. when as many as one million Americans will descend on our Nation’s capital to protest the theft of the 2020 Presidential election through systematic voter fraud and cyber manipulation of the vote."<p>
Stone continued, "Because the corporately owned mainstream media pushes the false narrative that the President’s support in the country for an honest selection result is dwindling, it has been vitally important to mobilize thousands of Americans across the country at events organized to demonstrate that not only are we still the majority but that President Trump won a majority of the legal votes cast. It is vitally important that those who refuse to accept the theft of this election promote and participate in peaceful protests across the country every Saturday to refute the media myth that the President’s support is dwindling - particularly the massive peaceful protests planned for Washington DC on January 5th and 6th."<p>
"The unprecedented media blockade, which includes every major social media platform, is being used to make Biden’s “victory” look legitimate and legal," Stone wrote. "That’s why we need you to come to Washington DC if you are able to, or support our effort to have a large, effective, safe, and record-breaking peaceful protests on January 5th and 6th."<p>
Stone continued, "Because ours is a grassroots pop-up movement, we are underfunded. I am deeply concerned about the safety and the security of the Americans who will be joining us for the historic events of January 5th and 6th. In numbers, there is strength. While we are very proud of our first protests across the country on November 14, many of our peaceful protesters in Washington D.C. were victims of violent attacks perpetrated by thugs from ANTIFA and BLM."<p>
"We now recognize our immediate need for a reasonable level of private security at every one of our events, as well as funds for permits, staging, transportation, and legal fees," Stone added."George Soros provides the funding for the attacks on our peaceful patriots. We must defend them. Please send your contribution to the Stop The Steal Security Project at StopTheSteal.org today. Time is short and arrangements for private security for this historic event must be made in the next two days. We will not be silenced. We will not quit. With your help, we will mount a peaceful, safe public protest in our Nation’s capital which has the potential to change the direction of history. Please support the #StopTheSteal movement today by going to StopTheSteal.org and sending your maximum possible contribution. God bless you and God bless President Donald J. Trump."<p>
Stone asked for contributions from $25 to $2500 or a custom amount.<p>
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At Parler, Sacandagajan responded to Stone, "We'll be packing." Then Puckett_D said, "Yes, we will. We've had enough if Antifa and BLM."<p>
"Take a cheap one you don’t mind being without," bluestraveler56 warned. "Might have to throw it a long ways. DC police arrest patriots and not antifa or blm. Just saying!"<p>
Referring to the DC police, Sacandagajan replied, "Then they are at risk! They stand with us or ......"<p>
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When another Parler commenter recommended carying cans of hornet spray that can shoot thirty feet, two others talked about how they could be used as flammable weapons.<p>
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In that same thread, someone suggested that someone should assassinate Governor Cuomo.<p>
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In response to another Stone post on Parler, Playerunknown2U replied, "Patriots from across the country are coming armed to the teeth think security probably not an issue this time antifa be warned."<p>
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On January 2nd, Stone wrote on Parler (<a href=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102180950/https://parler.com/profile/rogerstone>archive link</a>), "I have owned the domain StopTheSteal.org since 2016
After 4 Trump supporters were stabbed and 86 other Trump supporters were badly injured in violent attacks by leftists we became reactivated to work specifically to maintain the safety and Security of the millions of Americans coming to our nations capital January 5 and 6. Ours is a pop-up minimalist peaceful protest. We use an aluminum ladder for a podium and carry a portable public address system. We have no funding for any kind of security for the event or the security and transportation of our speakers our organizers. We work in total coordination with StopTheSteal US as well as a coalition of others. Help if u can."<p>
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Someone named Artcenterofcrisfield responded in that thread, "And be prepared to storm the barricades."<p>
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"If you see crooked oathbreaker cops breaking the law it’s up to us to stop them at that point," PoliticallyIncorrectUSA wrote.<p>
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On January 2nd, in another Parler post, he made another plea for donations: "Roger Stone is headed to Washington for the historic January 5th & 6th peaceful protests against the heist of the 2020 election but he says he is deeply concerned about the safety & security of the many Americans who are coming to our nation's capital for these vital events. After the last record-breaking DC #StopTheSteal peaceful protest, four Trump supporters were stabbed by leftists & 82 others were badly injured. If you cannot go to Washington but want to help this vital mission, please help us pay for the professional security for our minimalist pop-up event to support the greatest president since Abraham Lincoln & to demand an honest, fair & transparent count of the 2020 election. GO TO StopTheSteal dot org NOW."<p>
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QanonPizzagatewski replied, "Well don't worry Roger most of us will be fully armed."<p>
"I'm in Washington state I wish I could find a ride to Washington DC!" Johnpirate5 wrote. "Oh would I love to be there! with a baseball bat duct tape to each hand! Get me a little bit of antifa and BLM."<p>
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SandraAnnPatriot wrote, "Patriots need to arm up!" Jspeedy agreed, adding, "It's that time. Semper fi."<p>
Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-22915690078533794782021-02-18T11:07:00.006-05:002021-02-18T17:42:24.105-05:00Former Proud Boys lawyer calls NAACP lawsuit a 'publicity stunt'<p>Even though Jason Lee Van Dyke reportedly cut off ties with the Proud Boys in 2018 he still keeps getting linked to them in lawsuits and the media. However, lawyers and journalists don't seem to know or care that Proud Boys International LLC doesn't even exist anymore.</p>
<p>"The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday filed a <a href=https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.227536/gov.uscourts.dcd.227536.1.0_1.pdf>federal lawsuit</a> accusing former president Donald Trump, lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani and two extremist groups whose members have been charged in the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol of illegally conspiring to intimidate and block Congress’s certification of the 2020 election," Spencer S. Hsu <a href=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/lawsuit-trump-capitol-riot/2021/02/16/1695b6b0-6fd6-11eb-b8a9-b9467510f0fe_story.html>reported for the Washington Post on Tuesday</a>. "Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) alleged in federal court in Washington that Trump’s and Giuliani’s false claims that the election was stolen fomented a raid that violated the Ku Klux Klan Act, an 1871 law enacted after the Civil War to bar violent interference in Congress’s constitutional duties."</p>
<p>On January 4th, Rachel Sander <a href=https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2021/01/04/proud-boys-leader-enrique-tarrio-arrested-for-allegedly-burning-churchs-black-lives-matter-flag/?sh=1e83b26b5d6d>reported for Forbes</a>, "Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the far-right Proud Boys, was arrested in Washington, D.C. Monday on charges of destruction of property and illegally possessing high capacity magazines, as the city remains on edge with pro-Trump protests planned this week to dispute the 2020 presidential election results."</p>
<p>"The Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church filed a lawsuit against the Proud Boys and their leader, Enrique Tarrio, in D.C. Superior Court Monday, saying the group trespassed on its property and destroyed its Black Lives Matter banner," <a href=https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/proud-boys-leader-arrested-sued-for-allegedly-destroying-churchs-blm-sign/2529006/>NBC News also reported that same day</a>.</p>
<p>On February 5th, the church <a href=https://eaccess.dccourts.gov/eaccess/search.page.3.1?x=fr36RXh-nSm4zhdKthfsl8lURzPNqoLQCfNo9D*LKmCeD0rW4xZwOjHpVblCoKHuSLTdI56oYXM3oNek8mfgZrOLwpfb8zEzgK-A9hkE0dXlBYDPStH369tiR3fR1wlFXGkvVonV3rQ>filed a motion</a> to get a default judgment against the Proud Boys, even though they don't seem to have made any attempts to contact Tarrio or his criminal lawyer, Lucas Dansie. They only appear to have contacted Van Dyke, who claims he hasn't had anything to do with the Proud Boys since 2018.</p>
<p>"Just like the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, Rep. Thompson and the NAACP are engaged in a publicity stunt," Van Dyke told me in an email. "The existence of Proud Boys International LLC was terminated on 2-12-2021 with the Texas Secretary of State."</p>
<p>Van Dyke added: "The latest lawsuit was filed on 2-16-21. It’s clear that, like MAMEC, the attorneys representing Rep. Thompson couldn’t be bothered to take the time to figure out whether they were suing the correct entity or whether the entity that they were suing even exists. As I have not been associated with the Proud Boys in over two years, I will not be participating in this lawsuit."</p>
<p>"However, if the attention to detail (or lack thereof) shown by Plaintiff’s counsel is any indication of its legal talent, I don’t think it will take President Trump’s legal team very long to prevail," Van Dyke predicts.</p>
<p>Van Dyke further explained: "Proud Boys International LLC was – by agreement – to have been taken over by the then-existing Proud Boys leadership under Chairman Enrique Tarrio in late November of 2018. It never was. It has sat dormant since that time. It has never held any asserts, it held no assets at the time either lawsuit was filed, and it had no assets at the time of its termination. If these attorneys think I am going to waste my time having anything to do with publicity stunts involving an organization I have not been a part of for over two years, they are clearly unfamiliar with both my resolve and my willingness to bill them for wasting my time with this malarkey."</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bXWGBK4C4cE/YC7tQfeMD0I/AAAAAAAABng/rf2ri5hnzeU9ZAQGhXtH_ff7MnofUK5DACNcBGAsYHQ/s780/Screenshot%2B2021-02-18%2Bat%2B5.40.04%2BPM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="565" data-original-width="780" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bXWGBK4C4cE/YC7tQfeMD0I/AAAAAAAABng/rf2ri5hnzeU9ZAQGhXtH_ff7MnofUK5DACNcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screenshot%2B2021-02-18%2Bat%2B5.40.04%2BPM.png"/></a></div>
<p>Van Dyke informed the court that he forwarded the service of process "immediately" to Tarrio using the address connected to Warboys LLC. But neither of the lawsuits seem to mention that entity at all in their filings. Warboys LLC is a <a href=https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_fl/L20000195420>still active</a> Florida Limited Liability corporation connected to Tarrio, and Proud Boy leaders Ethan Nordean aka Rufio and Joseph Biggs aka Rambo, who were both arrested for entering the US Capitol building on January 6th.</p>
<p><a href=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/lawsuit-trump-capitol-riot/2021/02/16/1695b6b0-6fd6-11eb-b8a9-b9467510f0fe_story.html>The Washington Post also reported</a>, "Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio called the lawsuit frivolous and doubted it would be allowed to proceed in federal court."</p>
<p>Tarrio claimed: "Were there Proud Boys that went in? Yes, and they’re idiots. They shouldn’t have gone in. But I’m going to support them because they are my brothers. But there was no plan to go into the Capitol. Unfortunately, one of my guys broke a window. Others trespassed. But there was no plan to even interrupt Congress.”</p>
<p>Strangely, the Washington Post didn't even provide a full quote of the sentence that included "frivolous."</p>
<p>However, a <a href=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-55959134>BBC report</a> conclusively shows that "the Proud Boys were already heading to the Capitol before President Trump had even spoken at his rally by the White House."</p>
<p>The Washington Post didn't seem to ask Tarrio why the Proud Boys happened to be at the Capitol when it was breached, just like they didn't report that Proud Boys International LLC doesn't even exist anymore.</p>
<p>At his Parler account, a few days ago, Tarrio posted a profane response to the NAACP lawsuit which could come back to haunt him, since he is acknowledging that it exists, and a judge could determine he has been properly served.</p>
<p>Tarrio wrote, "So the NAACP and Congressman Benny Thompson are attempting to sue Me, Trump, Guliani and the OathKeepers....and I couldn’t be more thrilled. A little over a year ago I ran for Congress and bowed out before the primary because of credit card processors. But I would never imagine that retards like this would give me a louder voice."</p>
<p>"At the end, this will be thrown out and I’ll get to say I won in federal court against the NAACP and a retarded Congressman with Donald J Trump as my co-defendant," Tarrio added. "They literately got their asses handed to them last week by a personal injury attorney. Now they’re going to get their shit pushed in by a little brown dude from little Havana."</p>
<p>Tarrio continued: "Sometimes the best weapon against your enemies is ridicule. They want a circus...but they forgot I’m the fucking ringleader. Suck my rebel dick."</p>
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<p>Many journalists have done stories about Van Dyke, relying on the claims of convicted felon Tom Retzlaff, but they have ignored that Retzlaff was arrested last year, and <a href=http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/docket/CriminalCourtCases/caseInfo.asp?caseNumber=CR2020-136827>faces four felony charges</a> for allegedly forging documents and cyberstalking his daughter. Retzlaff and former Democratic campain worker Neal Rauhauser work together with a racist blog that posts revenge porn, threats, and personal information of their enemies. The blog has also posted my social security number, because I won't stop reporting on the cyberstalking activities of Rauhauser, Retzlaff and the trolls that work with them. Rauhauser and Retzlaff have been pushing outlandish conspiracy theories related to the FBI investigation, calling their critics Proud Boys supporters or snitches, which could be considered witness tampering.</p>
Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-50906089925376133932021-01-08T18:00:00.070-05:002021-01-27T20:49:25.515-05:00Defiant Stop the Steal leader Ali Alexander says he will 'fight the FBI' and blasts comments by Trump as 'reckless'<p><i>(MORE TO COME...)</i></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HlzV_7xEfQs/X_lH0qsqN_I/AAAAAAAABlc/T-URQ2EUdOgImevBN6dmG970aV7iA3YIACNcBGAsYHQ/s560/Screenshot%2B2021-01-08%2Bat%2B11.00.00%2BPM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="560" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HlzV_7xEfQs/X_lH0qsqN_I/AAAAAAAABlc/T-URQ2EUdOgImevBN6dmG970aV7iA3YIACNcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screenshot%2B2021-01-08%2Bat%2B11.00.00%2BPM.png"/></a></div>
Stop the Steal leader Ali Alexander is a political operative who has a long history of contradicting his own words and actions.
<p>Sometimes he's humble, sometimes he's defiant. Sometimes he's calmly calling for peace. Other times he's inciting violent actions.</p>
<p>Before he supported Mitt Romney's unsuccessful 2012 campaign for president, Alexander was a hardcore critic. He once managed a teenager who falsely claimed President Obama had blocked him on Twitter, then began trolling him after they had a falling out. And Alexander has spent the last few months, alternating between violent rhetoric and calls for peace, much like President Trump.</p>
<p>After being suspended for a week by Twitter at his @ali account, roughly at the same time Trump was on Wednesday, Akbar has tried to use other social media outlets to defend himself.</p>
<p>For the last two days, Alexander has made contradictory statements in rambling videos, claiming he's for violence, but against it, and he also began bashing Trump.</p>
<p>Yesterday, on a Periscope video (<a href=https://www.pscp.tv/w/1gqxvoMeaRBKB>see link</a>), posted at the StopTheStealUS twitter account, Alexander profusely defended himself - but alternated between praising insurrectionists wanted for domestic terrorism for breaking windows and storming the US Capitol, while the Vice President and Congress were certifying the results of the election, that Alexander has vociferously contested, with no real evidence to back up his claims - and condemning violence.</p>
<p>He blamed "mass psychology and peer pressure" as the reasons why most had gone into the US Capitol building, but that "99.9%" of the protesters on Wednesday "did nothing wrong."</p>
<p>The Stop the Steal tweet reads: "@Ali Alexander, calls for PEACE, Twitter suspends him for 7 days. Please share." He called on Twitter to stop suspending accounts that were needed for the "coming civil war."</p>
<p>Alexander began turning against Trump in the video, yet his entire Stop the Steal movement was formed to defend Trump.</p>
<p>"I'm disappointed that the president has pumped the gas and the brakes," Alexander complained, adding: "A lot of these failings are his own. The fact that Trump did not regulate big tech when they were regulating our speech illegally was a failing. He did not recognize the moral importance of the issue there and that was his own arrogance."</p>
<p>Everyone from the government to the Supreme Court to the US Senate and anyone "not well read" is "illegitimate", according to Alexander.</p>
<p>Alexander kept saying he was against violence, but that it was wrong to say he denounces all violence. He oddly called anyone that calls the police or uses a bodyguard a hypocrite, because those are acts of "force." Yet, one day later, Alexander began asking for money so he could hire a full-time bodyguard.</p>
<p>He "doesn't denounce all violence," but does support violent "revolutionary acts against tyranny" or to defend women and children.</p>
<p>"Force is an unfortunate, natural, and justified, and obvious end to the threat of other force," Alexander stated.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VWsdyS_0QQ8/X_lJFQABc4I/AAAAAAAABlk/xJX3DuTNQNEbC2RO-hqQFtiR8WiwmXYPQCNcBGAsYHQ/s890/Screenshot%2B2021-01-08%2Bat%2B5.30.25%2BPM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; clear: left; float: left;"><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="649" data-original-width="890" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VWsdyS_0QQ8/X_lJFQABc4I/AAAAAAAABlk/xJX3DuTNQNEbC2RO-hqQFtiR8WiwmXYPQCNcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screenshot%2B2021-01-08%2Bat%2B5.30.25%2BPM.png"/></a></div>
<p>Today, Alexander complained about another Twitter suspension ("Twitter just suspended General Flynn. We are under attack") and quoted Rush Limbaugh on Parler (<a href=https://parler.com/profile/ali>see link</a>), a right-wing leaning social media network that is less stringent about hate speech and threats than Twitter: "There’s a lot of conservatives on social media who say that any violence or aggression at all is unacceptable, regardless of the circumstances. I’m glad Sam Adams, Thomas Paine — the actual Tea Party guys, the men at Lexington and Concord — didn’t feel that way."</p>
<p>Later today, the @StopTheStealUS twitter account showcased another <a href=https://twitter.com/StopTheStealUS/status/1347639138057523200>Periscope video</a>, while claiming he was "being targeted by ANTIFA" and "forced to flee DC."</p>
<p>"I won't take an iota of blame that doesn't belong to me," Ali intones slowly but firmly.</p>
<p>Alexander calls comments by Trump that criticized protesters on Wednesday "frankly reckless" and comments by Democrats about BLM demonstrations during the summer were "satanic and demonic." But, even though he sported a Stop the Steal sweatshirt, he only mentioned Trump once or twice during the entire video.</p>
<p>Then he spent much of the video, defending nearly every single person involved in what is widely being called domestic terrorism and sedition, arguing that they might have "violated norms, but remained broadly peaceful." In contrast, Alexander argued, Black Lives Matters demonstrations were far worse than what transpired on Wednesday. He doesn't even seem to think many people violated laws this week, but, that, in contrast, Antifa and BLM protesters were committing "heinous crimes, destroying businesses and lives, and assassinating police officers", despite Democrats calling it the "summer of love."</p>
<p>Alexander believes no one should have gone inside to begin with, but blasted anyone on the right or in law enforcement who were "maligning the patriots that followed" a few "agitators" into the US Capitol building. No one that entered the building that didn't destroy property or commit violence should be facing charges, according to Alexander. He also called Vice President Pence a "scumbag."</p>
<p>Alexander repeatedly said "I will sue your fucking ass" if you blame anyone in the Stop The Steal movement for anything that happened on Wednesday. "My rally never turned violent," Alexander insists.</p>
<p><b>(1/26th Update: I just noticed that I accidently deleted parts of my last paragraph, where I noted that Ali Alexander threatened to sue the FBI, and said he would "fight the FBI." I'll try to find the video, so I can add direct quotes regarding that.)</b></p>
<p>According to Alexander, he and Alex Jones - a crackpot conspiracy theorist (who I saw personally trying to get protesters to attack police officers at the WTC remains during the 2004 RNC) - acted like heroes, on the outside of the building, on the steps. And he made up conspiracy theories, blaming Antifa for all the bombs that are being found around D.C.</p>
<p>In the video posted yesterday, Alexander claimed that Secret Service agents escorted him and Jones away from the initial rally, before Trump finished his speech, so that they could "be servant leaders" and march to the US Capitol to "help rescue people", and that they "could have died" doing it. They led 25,000 to the backside of the Capitol, according to Alexander, then went to the top of the steps, and allegedly asked everyone else to back down the steps, but they were overwhelmed.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e2_DQnBkkek/X_ul9K7bSsI/AAAAAAAABmg/CXYmQAeKZf8FEPJqxWGPoOOCsmRknyn2gCNcBGAsYHQ/s784/Screenshot%2B2021-01-10%2Bat%2B7.32.38%2BPM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="732" data-original-width="784" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e2_DQnBkkek/X_ul9K7bSsI/AAAAAAAABmg/CXYmQAeKZf8FEPJqxWGPoOOCsmRknyn2gCNcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screenshot%2B2021-01-10%2Bat%2B7.32.38%2BPM.png"/></a></div>
<p>(<b>Update:</b><i>On Saturday, January 9, 2021, @andrewkimmel <a href=https://twitter.com/andrewkimmel/status/1347942363340029953>tweeted<a> a video of Infowars' Alex Jones, in which the "<a href=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/not-fake-news-infowars-alex-jones-performance-artist-n747491>performance artist</a>" asserts that "the White House told him three days before" the rally: "We're gonna have you lead the march, the Secret Service, before Trump finishes thirty minutes before...and take you out of the front row and lead you to the place where they want you to start the march and Trump will tell people, 'go and have a meet at the Capitol.'"</i>)</p>
<p>Alexander argued that everyone was only rowdy outside, but since no one was harmed, it was all justifiable.</p>
<p>In the second video he posted today, Alexander used lots of profane language, while also claiming that he was called on by Jesus Christ to lead the Stop the Steal movement.</p>
<p>He said that his followers should remain "truthful, moral and rowdy", but not "violent, yet." Then, he whipped himself into a fury, advocating violence against the government in other circumstances: "If the government starts pushing us into camps, I say get violent. I say get very violent. If the government seeks to take your children away from you, get violent. If the government seeks to force shots into you or put chemicals inside you, you should get violent."</p>
<p>As usual, Alexander asked for money, and complained about others who called it "begging."</p>
<p>"My friends, we've been asked to walk on water, Alexander said, "so, lets walk on water."</p>
<p>According to a video posted today by controversial (<a href=https://alibi.com/news/15330/Who-is-Greg-Palast.html>see link</a>) journalist Greg Palast - who helped expose voter purges in Georgia a few years ago (<a href=https://www.salon.com/tv/video/616464>see link</a>) - Alexander was at a protest in Georgia in December with Alex Jones outside the governor's mansion, where he screamed through a bullhorn, "We'll burn the whole shit down!" (<a href=https://www.gregpalast.com/why-did-the-georgia-gop-team-with-a-riot-instigator/>see link</a>)</p>
<p>Also in December, the Associated Press reported (<a href=https://www.mysuncoast.com/2020/12/09/new-movement-trumps-false-election-claims-take-hold-states/>see link</a>): "The Arizona Republican Party late Monday appeared to ask supporters to consider dying to keep Trump in office. The state party’s official Twitter account retweeted conservative activist Ali Alexander’s pledge that he was “willing to give my life for this fight."He is. Are you?” the Arizona GOP added."</p>
<p>From an article posted at the Anti-Defamation League (<a href=https://www.adl.org/blog/extremists-and-mainstream-trump-supporters-plan-to-protest-congressional-certification-of>see link</a>): "Many extremist and mainstream Trump supporters are framing the rallies as a last stand to prevent Biden from being sworn in as the next President, and some chatter indicates that there is a desire to engage in radical and sometimes violent tactics to ensure that the election is not stolen from President Trump. For instance, “Stop the Steal/Wild Protest” organizer Ali Alexander warned in video posted on Twitter on December 27, 2020 that if President Trump tells people not to leave D.C. then he will not leave and he will have truckers sit on the bridges so that no one else can get out."</p>
<p><b>UPDATES</b></p>
<p>On Friday 1/8/21, <a href=https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/08/us/online-extremism-inauguration-capitol-invs/index.html>CNN reported</a>, "Ali Alexander, a political activist who has organized pro-Trump rallies, including one of the demonstrations that converged on the Capitol lawn Wednesday, accused the left of 'trying to push us to war.' In late December, Alexander told followers on Periscope that he and three GOP congressman -- Reps. Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs of Arizona and Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama -- were planning something big."</p>
<p>CNN's investigtive team - Rob Kuznia, Curt Devine, Scott Bronstein and Bob Ortega - reported that Alexander said on the video: "It was to build momentum and pressure and then on the day change hearts and minds of Congress peoples who weren't yet decided or who saw everyone outside and said, 'I can't be on the other side of that mob.'"</p>
<p>A spokesman for Rep. Biggs told CNN: "Congressman Biggs is not aware of hearing of or meeting Mr. Alexander at any point -- let alone working with him to organize some part of a planned protest. He did not have any contact with protestors or rioters, nor did he ever encourage or foster the rally or protests. He was focused on his research and arguments to work within the confines of the law and established precedent to restore integrity to our elections, and to ensure that all Americans -- regardless of party affiliation -- can again have complete trust in our elections systems."</p>
<p>Alexander <a href=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPkDGZE1DAA>claimed that</a> he "was the one who came up with the January 6th idea with Congressman Gosar, Congressman Mo Brooks and, then Congressman Andy Biggs. We forced schemed up of putting maximum pressure on Congress while they were voting so that who we couldn't lobby we could change the hearts and the minds of Republicans who were in that body hearing our loud war from outside."</p>
<p>At a Stop the Steal rally held in Phoenix, Arizona on December 19, 2020, Ali said: “We will not go quietly. We’ll shut down this country if we have to." Congressman Paul Gosar also spoke at the rally, and <a href=https://twitter.com/DrPaulGosar/status/1340447508359593984>tweeted</a>: "I took the stage and made it mine. Arizona patriots are not giving up. Some conspiracy theorists claim, without evidence, that it was a fair election. Right. #StopTheSteaI2020."
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MDwu7dZ6-5Q/X_sx6ZYRUhI/AAAAAAAABmQ/E48RKEVCzVIL7eZhqKhmZlRsXc7yn_63QCNcBGAsYHQ/s645/Screenshot%2B2021-01-10%2Bat%2B11.53.56%2BAM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="645" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MDwu7dZ6-5Q/X_sx6ZYRUhI/AAAAAAAABmQ/E48RKEVCzVIL7eZhqKhmZlRsXc7yn_63QCNcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screenshot%2B2021-01-10%2Bat%2B11.53.56%2BAM.png"/></a></div>
<p>"Smile," Gosar said at the Stop the Steal rally (<a href=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHRxiqXz36s>see video</a>), "Arizona and the USA are worth fighting for." After a woman from the crowd shouted out the New Hampshire state motto, Gosar repeated it: "Absolutely, live free or die."</p>
<p>While he didn't attend the rally, Congressman Andy Biggs did address the crowd by phone (<a href=https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=1603266863274691&story_fbid=2957235874544443>link</a>).</p>
<p>However, Biggs and Alexander were interviewed in Washington, D.C. by Brave Hearts host Sean Lin, who wrote on December 14, 2020 (<a href=https://odysee.com/@BraveHearts:4/the-path-forward-dialogue-with-rep-andy:1>see video</a>), "After the huge Stop The Steal Rally over the past weekend, we had dialogues with Congressman Andy Biggs from Arizona, religious leader Brian Gibson, and his wife Jessica Gibson, along with Stop The Steal organizer Ali Alexander about Trump's campaign's path forward and their challenges ahead."</p>
<p>Alexander told Lin that Brooks would object to the certification on January 6, and that they would prove "foreign agitators and domestic enemies" had "compromised our election in key swing states."</p>
<p>Biggs and Alexander don't appear on camera together, but Lin is wearing the same clothes, and the interviews took place at the same location, as shown in the following screenshots:</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vvk65J1QSAU/X_ssggrYhDI/AAAAAAAABl8/N-MMzw2YsSgfG8e7oCpMqUOcp42zcWpJQCNcBGAsYHQ/s884/Screenshot%2B2021-01-10%2Bat%2B11.07.09%2BAM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="482" data-original-width="884" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vvk65J1QSAU/X_ssggrYhDI/AAAAAAAABl8/N-MMzw2YsSgfG8e7oCpMqUOcp42zcWpJQCNcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screenshot%2B2021-01-10%2Bat%2B11.07.09%2BAM.png"/></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0W8H9U0kYRw/X_sspBb_nzI/AAAAAAAABmA/mnALKAz_oIog7umLjQNDaEMMU5eUINhCQCNcBGAsYHQ/s894/Screenshot%2B2021-01-10%2Bat%2B11.09.46%2BAM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="894" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0W8H9U0kYRw/X_sspBb_nzI/AAAAAAAABmA/mnALKAz_oIog7umLjQNDaEMMU5eUINhCQCNcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screenshot%2B2021-01-10%2Bat%2B11.09.46%2BAM.png"/></a></div>
<p>EDITOR'S NOTE:</p>
<p>Alexander's history as a felon was first revealed by a blogger who called himself Liberal Grouch in 2012, while I was being falsely sued for a series of swattings committed against conservatives, related to Weinergate, and I was wrongly accused of working with convicted bomber Brett Kimberlin and accused cyberstalker Neal Rauhauser. Ali helped spread lies about me, and raised money for the multi-million dollar lawsuit that was tossed out of court. Liberal Grouch defended Kimberlin and Rauhauser, but viciously smeared me, and has also been accused of cyberstalking by a few far right bloggers that worked with Ali Alexander.</p>
<p>As a result, even though I've reported on Alexander many times since 2012, including just a few days before the Georgia Senate run-off, it's been extremely difficult to get mainstream media journalists to report on the Stop the Steal founder's many ties to the Romney president campaign, Senator Ted Cruz, and other established conservatives, instead of the far right kooks that Ali has mostly worked with since Trump was elected president in 2016.</p>
<p>I've had the same problem trying to get journalists to report on my stories about Kimberlin and Rauhauser, who have a long history of spreading hoaxes about Republicans during presidential races.</p>
<p>Past stories include:</p>
<p><a href=https://ronbryn.blogspot.com/2021/01/washington-post-journalist-philip-bump.html>Washington Post journalist Philip Bump ignores tips regarding convicted felon Ali Alexander's ties to Team Romney</a></p>
<p><a href=https://ronbryn.blogspot.com/2012/08/is-former-leadership-institute-operative.html>Former Leadership Institute operative linked to a convicted felon now works for Romney campaign</a></p>
<p><a href=https://ronbryn.blogspot.com/2012/10/did-team-romney-quietly-fire-social.html>Team Romney Did Not Quietly Fire Social Media Director Bill Murphy</a></p>Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-76722538848305704422021-01-04T00:21:00.006-05:002021-01-04T12:57:18.079-05:00Washington Post journalist Philip Bump ignores tips regarding convicted felon Ali Alexander's ties to Team Romney <p><b>2012 Mitt Romney POTUS campaign Digital Director Zac Moffatt - now, Targeted Victory CEO - blocked me after I exposed Social Media Director Bill Murphy tweets about "race war", then scrubbed tweets to Ali Akbar Alexander. Now, Moffat's firm could be working on Georgia Senate run-offs.</b></p>
<p><i>UPDATE: On July 11, 2019, Marie C. Baca <a href=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/07/11/who-was-who-trumps-social-media-summit/>reported</a> for The Washington Post that Ali Alexander and Zack Moffat were both at President Trump's social media summit. Roca wrote that "[an] attendee with mainstream credentials was Zac Moffatt, chief executive of Targeted Victory, a Republican-leaning digital strategy and marketing firm, who was digital director for Republican Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign" and that "Gateway Pundit founder Jim Hoft, who has long been criticized for spreading conspiracy theories online, was there as was Ali Alexander, who recently became notorious for questioning in an inflammatory tweet whether Sen. Kamala D. Harris (Calif.), a Democratic presidential candidate, was actually an “American black.” However, Alexander's ties to the Romney campaign and Moffatt were not reported.</i></p>
<p>Less than a month ago,Washington Post journalist Philip Bump <a href=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/12/08/decade-wringing-money-power-out-conservative-victimhood-nears-its-apex/>wrote a story</a> called "A decade of wringing money and power out of conservative victimhood nears its apex", which began with a paragraph about Ali Akbar Alexander, who first entered the limelight eight years ago, when he helped raise money for an absurd lawsuit against me, falsely accusing me of being in a conspiracy with convicted bomber Brett Kimberlin and cyber-stalking hoaxer Neal Rauhauser to commit swattings against conservatives, that was dismissed with prejudice.</p>
<p>Bump wrote: "Ali Alexander is a right-wing personality who has worked with a rogue’s gallery of notorious characters in that world: Alex Jones, Roger Stone, Jacob Wohl, Laura Loomer, you name it. A decade ago, he was flitting around on the fringes of the conservative movement where his past legal troubles contributed to scrutiny of his efforts to raise funds for an online publishing venture. Now, he identifies himself as 'national organizer' for 'Stop the Steal,' an organization which adopts the tagline of President Trump’s ploy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election."</p>
<p>However, Bump and other journalists have ignored for eight years, my reporting on Ali Alexander's ties to Republican Congresspeople and other important figures in the GOP who aren't considered "notorious characters."</p>
<p>I sent Bump emails, DMs and tweets trying to get him to respond to stories I've written, and additional research I have on Alexander's past, but like other journos, he ignored my tips, but then at least immediately blocked me, after I gave up and asked him, so I could write this article.</p>
<p>Days before the Georgia Senate run-off, which could completely change which political party controls the chamber, Bump chose to ignore these initial DMs - cleaned up just a bit for clarity's sake - that I sent him on Saturday.</p>
<p>"Hello, for the last 8 years I haven't been able to get one journalist to report on Target Victory CEO Zac Moffatt's ties to felon and fraudster Ali Alexander aka Ali Akbar and how he scrubbed all evidence of it. Even though my reporting led to their mutual pal (and longtime Akbar colleague) Bill Murphy who was Mitt Romney's Digital Media Director but had to stop tweeting the day before Romney's speech at the RNC in 2012 and he scrubbed his blog and resume because i exposed their ties to Akbar while he was still on probation and showed that Murphy had used that same twitter account to tweet about 'race war' and hype Ali Akbar."</p>
<p>I continued: "Bill Murphy then went to work for the Senate Republican Committee for two years, because no one will report on what I reported as it happened and in other articles (<a href=http://ronbryn.blogspot.com/2012/08/is-former-leadership-institute-operative.html>LINK</a>). Eight years, and still not one journalist I've contacted will report on any of this, plus tons of other research i have about Ali Akbar's past. Also, none of you report on the fact that when Ali Akbar got booted from CPAC, the only person that showed up was Sen.Ted Cruz."</p>
<p>"Isn't it more important to report on this Stop the Steal fraudster's ties to actual legit republicans than his ties to wackadoos on the right?" I added. "I mean, wtf, how is it not a story that Alexander is tied to the Romney presidential campaign in 2012"?</p>
<p>After he ignored my DMs, even though he had just tweeted, I <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/1345537221978427395>tweeted</a>: "After 8 years, I still can't get 1 MSM journalist to report on ties between Stop the Steal fraudster, convicted felon Ali Akbar aka Ali Alexanderm & the 2012 Mitt Romney POTUS campaign. I'm sure @pbump will be the latest journo to ignore my tweets & DMs."</p>
<o>Still getting no response, I made another <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/1345542894971740162>tweet</a>: "2012 Mitt Romney POTUS campaign Digital Director Zac Moffatt - now, Targeted Victory CEO - blocked me after I exposed Social Media Director Bill Murphy tweets about "race war", then scrubbed tweets to Ali Akbar Alexander. [Huffington Post reporter] @LukeOBrien won't report on this.</p>
<p>Giving Bump the benefit of the doubt, that he might have not read what I sent him, I wrote an email to him that included my DMs and my entire story, with this header: "No one will report on Ali Akbar Alexander ties to Mitt Romney & Ted Cruz." A second email asked, "How is this still not a story?"</p>
<p>I waited a day, but Bump didn't respond and since time was running out before the run-off, I sent him more DMs: "Seriously, are you going to ignore all my tweets, DMs and emails about this? Someone eventually will report on this all....it's a shame that you've chosen to ignore me. I used to love WaPo more than anything in the world....until you hired back Dave Weigel, who decided to threaten me in an email that your outgoing Managing Editor Kevin Merida personally apologized to me over. Is it because you just blacklist me or would it be inconvenient to report about Mitt Romney,now?"</p>
<p>I then sent him the screenshot, displayed below, figuring that would finally attract his attention, since Moffatt's firm could be working on the run-off election, too.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hi0wQlta5q4/X_KmbZZoJsI/AAAAAAAABks/kMsOmPsMlnciWgfsJ5XOB2WCrPbFQVMwQCNcBGAsYHQ/s1366/Screenshot%2B2021-01-03%2Bat%2B11.54.30%2BPM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1366" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hi0wQlta5q4/X_KmbZZoJsI/AAAAAAAABks/kMsOmPsMlnciWgfsJ5XOB2WCrPbFQVMwQCNcBGAsYHQ/s600/Screenshot%2B2021-01-03%2Bat%2B11.54.30%2BPM.png"/></a></div>
<p>Losing my patience, I added, "See, that, Phil? I'm about to tweet how you are ignoring that I've tied Targeted Victory to Ali Akbar...and they were paid millions just a few months ago by the Georgia Action Fund. That's a really good look for you." Then I showed why it could be important in the following <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/1345881139605549058>tweet</a> with the screenshot appended: "Zac Moffatt's firm, Targeted Victory, was paid $4,257,259 by the Georgia Action Fund just before the election, yet @PBump ignores emails, tweets & DMs about my article proving ties to Stop the Steal hoaxer Ali Akbar Alexander & how Zac scrubbed his tweets."</p>
<p>I waited a few more hours, but still didn't hear back from Bump, so then I got a bit angrier, which I believe was justified, but I'm sure many of my longtime critics will just use these final DMs as excuses on why my reporting is often ignored, no matter how important it could be to readers.</p>
<p>"You should have contacted me to begin with when you reported on Ali Akbar," I complained, then added: "I just don't understand why you all refuse to report on any of this or anything I break. I've worked with John Solomon, Tom Fitton and Chuck Johnson, and many other people connected to Trump scandals surrounding WikiLeaks etc. No one uses my research. No one contacts me to interview me. You all ignore what many of these people did to me.It's absurd."</p>
<p>Bump finally proved he read these DMs, at least, because he blocked me, immediately after I sent them: "Can you just please block me on Twitter, so I can add that to my stories? So, that, when they do eventually break, you make yourself look worse? You know who else is connected to Ali Alexander Akbar? Dave Weigel. He wrote countless stories on Ali Alexander and his little group of pals on the far right for years at different media outlets, without revealing he was pals with them all. They used to hang out and get drinks. Ali Alexander and Bill Murphy worked together on the Bob Turner campaign after Weiner resigned."</p>
<p>My final DMs included some information about other research I had, and which the Washington Post ignored when I proved it in countless emails to Merida and other editors: "Instead of reporting on Ali Alexander's work and relationship with elected Republicans etc. you all only note his connections to the far right fringe people. There are countless FEC violations committed by Dan Backer with all these people. Ladd Ehrlinger was bought and paid for, and he created commercials for many of these people, plus he was involved in the SuperPAC Supreme Court decisions, which Trump SuperPAC treasurer Dan Backer won, and changed all of politics. And Ladd, Backer and Akbar have a convoluted history, but Dave Weigel refuses to probe those connections, he'd rather get drunk with them, and shill for them."</p>
<p>I added: "It's outrageous. Then you wonder why people fall for fake news. Because you all just ignore tips....barely do any research....but find lots of time to tweet and retweet your pals at other media outlets, while ignoring criticism, tips, etc.Why do you even put your email address on your twitter account if you can't even respond to emails? It's really sad. You're like the deaf, dumb and blind monkeys all combined in one."</p>
<p>"Okay, Philip, I give up," I continued, "It's been real nice talking to a brick wall. I'll return to the search to find journalists who are willing to report on all the things these wackadoos have done...their ties to established GOP...and then I guess publish all these emails, tips etc that I sent in vain to journos who ignored them. The Washington Post has plagiarized me many times over the years....so don't do it again."</p>
<p><i>(Editor's Note: In a future article, I will go into greater detail on the numberous emails I sent to the Washington Post regarding how Weigel had shilled for Alexander and his pals, without noting his friendship with them all. As one example, on April 3, 2013 Weigel <a href=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2013/04/the-social-media-fail-of-the-mark-sanford-race.html>reported for Slate</a>: "Simple: The Bostic campaign bet late on social media without really understanding its relevance. In the short two-week stretch of the runoff, the campaign hired roving new media guru Ali Akbar to beef up its presence. Akbar bought the web domain “TrustCurtis.com,” and hashtagged the slogan. Rick Santorum, whose PAC has co-sponsored Akbar’s CPAC 'Blog Bash' parties for two years running, flew down to South Carolina for one day of campaign events with Bostic. On Twitter, certainly, mentions of Bostic surged from nothing to something. ViralRead.com, a news site co-founded by Akbar in 2012, became a one-stop shop for #SC01 news, with a jaundiced view of Sanford.")</i></p>Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-17532662138523244952020-12-20T15:55:00.003-05:002020-12-24T11:04:38.821-05:00QAnon follower CJTruth RT'd by Trump predicted Pizzagate "truth" would be revealed in 2017 <p>Not much appears to be known about Twitter and Parler account user @CJTruth, who <a href=https://twitter.com/cjtruth/status/1340654914238865411>tweeted a link</a> to a YouTube video - retweeted by outgoing President Trump earlier today - that suggested there was a wild conspiracy theory by Democrats linking the Coronavirus to stealing the election.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rgqI2aPT7b0/X9-17pEd86I/AAAAAAAABj8/OWe3vWzVRzA6G6QOACRryImvlzOQMgcPwCNcBGAsYHQ/s1014/Screenshot%2B2020-12-20%2Bat%2B3.34.59%2BPM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1014" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rgqI2aPT7b0/X9-17pEd86I/AAAAAAAABj8/OWe3vWzVRzA6G6QOACRryImvlzOQMgcPwCNcBGAsYHQ/s600/Screenshot%2B2020-12-20%2Bat%2B3.34.59%2BPM.png"/></a></div>
<p>The current Twitter profile by CJTruth claims, "REAL ACCOUNT Jesus Christ is Lord! Patriot/Digital Soldier Fighting 4 Faith, Justice & Freedom. WE ARE THE NEWS NOW #GodWon #SpiritualWarfare #Pray714 #Psalm91."</p>
<p>Although the account started in June of 2009, tweets by CJTruth weren't <a href=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401054700if_/https://twitter.com/cjtruth>archived</a> until April 1, 2019, when the profile claimed, "Husband/Father Fighting 4 Faith, Justice & Freedom. #Resist the #Socialism. #Jail 4 the #Democrats. Stop the #BlueWave, #Bernie, #Socialism. 🇺🇸WWG1WGA."</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Iw3TnFkIfvE/X9-pO1qUROI/AAAAAAAABiw/MF9eexuAVHc-2VwayUm4oZA44qZuz8iWgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1048/Screenshot%2B2020-12-20%2Bat%2B2.35.42%2BPM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="1048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Iw3TnFkIfvE/X9-pO1qUROI/AAAAAAAABiw/MF9eexuAVHc-2VwayUm4oZA44qZuz8iWgCNcBGAsYHQ/s600/Screenshot%2B2020-12-20%2Bat%2B2.35.42%2BPM.png"/></a></div>
<p>Early tweets reveal that CJTruth is a longtime soccer fan who appears to have lived in Houston, Texas - at least a decade ago - and once <a href=https://twitter.com/search?q=http%3A%2F%2Fyfrog.com%2Fh4hghhnj&src=typed_query&f=live>posted a now-deleted photo with Hulk Hogan in Orlando</a>. CJTruth claimed that he traveled a lot, but aside from a fondness for conservative pundit Michelle Malkin, didn't even really tweet a lot about politics until after Trump's election. The earliest tweet bashing Democrats was <a href=https://twitter.com/cjtruth/status/10757341184>posted</a> in 2010, but most tweets still viewable on Twitter made by CJTruth were about sports until 2017.</p>
<p>This appears to be one of the first <a href=https://twitter.com/cjtruth/status/10757341184>tweets by CJTruth</a>, posted on January 4,2010, and it combines his passion for politics and sports.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TMJYRnKS9D0/X9-1BNEYV3I/AAAAAAAABj0/6xBQIVRimGQy5WC5VGXNEJ9QxSxExp60QCNcBGAsYHQ/s1014/Screenshot%2B2020-12-20%2Bat%2B3.32.11%2BPM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1014" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TMJYRnKS9D0/X9-1BNEYV3I/AAAAAAAABj0/6xBQIVRimGQy5WC5VGXNEJ9QxSxExp60QCNcBGAsYHQ/s600/Screenshot%2B2020-12-20%2Bat%2B3.32.11%2BPM.png"/></a></div>
<p>Unless scrubbed, CJTruth's <a href=https://twitter.com/cjtruth/status/756860252306354177>first tweet</a> about Trump wasn't until July 23, 2016.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-szBMuIqYPm8/X9-x1OySFOI/AAAAAAAABjo/y6az0vEw25AYCxtWX5HVoQqyq_Rw50hqwCNcBGAsYHQ/s1014/Screenshot%2B2020-12-20%2Bat%2B3.18.41%2BPM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1014" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-szBMuIqYPm8/X9-x1OySFOI/AAAAAAAABjo/y6az0vEw25AYCxtWX5HVoQqyq_Rw50hqwCNcBGAsYHQ/s600/Screenshot%2B2020-12-20%2Bat%2B3.18.41%2BPM.png"/></a></div>
<p>On January 22, 2017, two days after President Trump's inauguration, <a href=https://twitter.com/cjtruth/status/823278844186677248>CJTruth tweeted</a> that "the truth will be found out in 2017 #pizzagate."</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X31z2VZO2EQ/X9-v9VRlO8I/AAAAAAAABjc/WdFxKxYNYVwkSK-nSDzbrpyPKDsSt91TgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1014/Screenshot%2B2020-12-20%2Bat%2B3.09.33%2BPM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1014" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X31z2VZO2EQ/X9-v9VRlO8I/AAAAAAAABjc/WdFxKxYNYVwkSK-nSDzbrpyPKDsSt91TgCNcBGAsYHQ/s600/Screenshot%2B2020-12-20%2Bat%2B3.09.33%2BPM.png"/></a></div>
Suddenly, <a href=https://twitter.com/cjtruth/status/979728096625614848>on March 29 & 30, 2018</a>, CJTruth <a hef=https://twitter.com/cjtruth/status/979547839557722113>began heavily promoting QAnon</a> and a bizarre conspiracy theory about how black left eyes relate to Satanic rituals combined with the Egyptian sun god Horus and linked to <a href=https://hiddeninthecrag.com/2017/09/13/the-left-eye-of-horus-the-cattles-black-eye-badge-of-honor/>this 9/13/17 blogpost</a> about it, which ties it to Trump's favorite Bible quote about an eye for eye: "Trump appears to be referring to a passage from Exodus 21-24, which lays out the Old Testament rules governing personal behavior."</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OopJOKMVKw8/X9-5AfYztnI/AAAAAAAABkI/CpemYYAG604owHH2H_77MmRbf9wT3SSkgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1014/Screenshot%2B2020-12-20%2Bat%2B3.49.35%2BPM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1014" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OopJOKMVKw8/X9-5AfYztnI/AAAAAAAABkI/CpemYYAG604owHH2H_77MmRbf9wT3SSkgCNcBGAsYHQ/s600/Screenshot%2B2020-12-20%2Bat%2B3.49.35%2BPM.png"/></a></div>
<p>"Actors, musicians, politicians, and even the Pope have all been snapped with shiners recently - sparking claims they are members of a secret society," <a href=https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6831331/prince-philip-liz-hurley-illuminati-conspiracy-black-eye/>a British tabloid noted in 2018,</a> adding: "Conspiracy theorists claim Illuminati recruits are forced to 'eat pain' during high-level initiation rituals. They claim bruised left eyes - known as 'Illuminati shiners' are marks given to those who have scaled their way to the top of the sinister organisation."</p>
<p>On December 27, 2019 <a href="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1210595975783432193.html">CJTruth</a> gloated, "Trump just retweeted a 'QAnon' hashtag to his 68 million followers," then added: "And many other times. Including one at 00:17:17 military time #QAnon😂 WE ARE THE NEWS NOW. Q😂."</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aXoPU90w5_M/X9-sCJzB4bI/AAAAAAAABi8/V_ZK7GYo12MJRZEZkui6_ltjm1_InmF5gCNcBGAsYHQ/s807/Screenshot%2B2020-12-20%2Bat%2B2.54.11%2BPM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="807" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aXoPU90w5_M/X9-sCJzB4bI/AAAAAAAABi8/V_ZK7GYo12MJRZEZkui6_ltjm1_InmF5gCNcBGAsYHQ/s600/Screenshot%2B2020-12-20%2Bat%2B2.54.11%2BPM.png"/></a></div>
<p>In June of 2020, CJTruth RT'd a video promoting the Eye of Horus symbolism and added,"Symbolism will be their downfall #QAnon."</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E4eOxpC6YVQ/X9-ugjUWMQI/AAAAAAAABjI/4Dl4O3A26ogyfnsFuEOhVLvE-ZPBZQiAACNcBGAsYHQ/s1014/Screenshot%2B2020-12-20%2Bat%2B3.04.51%2BPM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1014" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E4eOxpC6YVQ/X9-ugjUWMQI/AAAAAAAABjI/4Dl4O3A26ogyfnsFuEOhVLvE-ZPBZQiAACNcBGAsYHQ/s600/Screenshot%2B2020-12-20%2Bat%2B3.04.51%2BPM.png"/></a></div>
<p>Lately, QAnon has been targeted by Anonymous, but - interestingly enough - ardent Christian CJ Truth is also highly critical of the Church of Scientology, and has <a href=https://twitter.com/cjtruth/status/1221787179233480704>accused it</a> of "[t]rying to intfiltrate."</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5N36tddcMjI/X9-u9l3Sl6I/AAAAAAAABjQ/l28-vnwVxfwfnlr1puhOBuJjgQaKXTWIgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1014/Screenshot%2B2020-12-20%2Bat%2B3.06.13%2BPM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1014" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5N36tddcMjI/X9-u9l3Sl6I/AAAAAAAABjQ/l28-vnwVxfwfnlr1puhOBuJjgQaKXTWIgCNcBGAsYHQ/s600/Screenshot%2B2020-12-20%2Bat%2B3.06.13%2BPM.png"/></a></div>
Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-44038039442281139092020-12-08T13:24:00.000-05:002020-12-08T13:24:01.989-05:00Hoaxer Neal Rauhauser Boasted About Creating Dangerous "Origins of Anonymous" ARG<p>In October of 2012, Neal Rauhauser published a "Compendium Of Trollish Behavior" on his personal blog in which he boasted about "some of the better hoaxes", he'd "been involved in over the last few years." Rauhauser often deletes his tweets, blogs, and whatever comments he can from the internet, when he faces lawsuits, cybercrime investigations, journalists working on stories related to him and because he often revises his conspiracy theories to target anyone he perceives as an enemy.</p>
<p>Rauhauser has always been braggadocious, but, in reality, nearly all of his hoaxes were unsuccessful, unless the intent was to scare and menace people, while calling himself the "Principal Investigator for The Internet."</p>
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<p>Rauhauser's "Stranded In Spook Country" blogpost has been scrubbed from the Internet, but he wrote, "Is this a secret history of the origins of Anonymous? A weaponized alternate reality game? A training program for grassroots intelligence agents? A complex rabbit hole, but one that contains the clues of how to find the real ARG? The true answer to all of these is … kinda. The few people who texted 832-429-4827 for instructions have been sorted and then sent out on various quests based on their talents and temperament."</p>
<p>At the end of his post, Rauhauser added, "There are seeds out there that haven’t germinated yet. If you see anything with my name on it after the 2012 election you can assume that you are being trolled."</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u0TmdoRqawc/X8_Ea_WvuPI/AAAAAAAABic/V1VoAg7Fh-w6_kx_PGpdBp8M8FwIEd__QCNcBGAsYHQ/s893/Screenshot%2B2020-12-08%2Bat%2B12.14.29%2BPM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="893" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u0TmdoRqawc/X8_Ea_WvuPI/AAAAAAAABic/V1VoAg7Fh-w6_kx_PGpdBp8M8FwIEd__QCNcBGAsYHQ/s600/Screenshot%2B2020-12-08%2Bat%2B12.14.29%2BPM.png"/></a></div>
<p>That wasn't the first time Rauhauser blogged about his "weaponized alternate reality game."</p>
<p>In another blog post, that has been scrubbed from the Internet, from March of 2012, Rauhauser wrote, "Origins of Anonymous is a bundle of five PDFs that I published during January while I was revisiting some of cyberpunk author William Gibson’s work in audiobook format. I was nearing the end of a class on alternate reality game design so this work very much reads like an ARG “trailhead”. I have actually put some time into developing this game, tentatively named “Spook Country”, but it will never be played – there are simply far too many real world dangers associated with the basis for the game for me to release it and remain within accepted bounds for an ARG puppetmaster. The style is a sort of grand “delusion of reference”, a bit of fun creative writing for me brought on by the combination of listening to Gibson and reading ARG maven Jane McGonigal’s book Reality Is Broken."</p>
<p>"I am a hacker, in the sense that I instinctively know how things fit together, rather than the 31337 h4x0r getting into people’s stuff use of the word," Rauhauser added.</p>
<p>Rauhauser then admitted how he does "really mean things" to "crazy people following [him] around injecting their mental illness into [his] life." For some reason, Rauhauser rationalizes trolling and cyberstalking anyone he considers a troll or cyberstalker, even if they are just reporting on his misdeeds.</p>
<p>"If you read the nealr Tumblr you will see a lot of fact, some ARG-ish posts, and a few that are obviously meant to convey one message to the overactive pattern matching of paranoid, delusional stalkers, and quite another to coherent readers," Rauhauser continued.</p>
<p>Rauhauser used to claim that he worked with a group he called "Anonymiss", but it's hard to tell when he tells the truth, since he rarely ever does, and he likes to start Twitter accounts such as "Reality Broker", "Elect Marc Rubio" or "The Real Q" to confuse people.</p>
<p>"Email addresses, phone numbers, Twitter accounts, Tumblr accounts, Scribd documents, and so forth come and go," Rauhauser wrote. "Some of it is me, some of it is Anonymiss, and like the geolocation bit above it’s all calculated to annoy the shit out of any obsessive stalker kook without providing anything they can actually use."</p>
<p>Rauhauser added: "A big chunk of the investigative work I do is with the help of Anonymiss – I play John Bosley’s role in Charlie’s Angels to about a dozen women who range in age from early twenties to mid fifties. They like solving puzzles and they keep a very close eye on things that would quickly drive me to distraction. I make it a point to not know names or locations and they don’t want to talk to you, so don’t even ask."</p>
<p>Finally, this is a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170626022738/http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=922586">cache link</a> to an ARG forum that Rauhauser started a thread on in January of 2012, which was shut down after the mods expressed confusion about his intents and purposes.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OFyC-AAlQmY/X8_EqrNiM-I/AAAAAAAABik/7AlSBOB3ATAEy0HqjQKbJ0csB3SiCpXWgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1366/Screenshot%2B2020-12-08%2Bat%2B12.43.43%2BPM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1366" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OFyC-AAlQmY/X8_EqrNiM-I/AAAAAAAABik/7AlSBOB3ATAEy0HqjQKbJ0csB3SiCpXWgCNcBGAsYHQ/s600/Screenshot%2B2020-12-08%2Bat%2B12.43.43%2BPM.png"/></a></div>
<p>"There is a simmering three way conflict between Andrew Breitbart partisans, members of Democratic Underground, and a motley band of b-tards/goons/EDiots from 4chan, Something Awful, and Encyclopedia Dramatica," Rauhauser announced in his "Spook Country" post.</p>
<p>But nearly everything Rauhauser wrote was complete nonsense and spin, since - in reality - Rauhauser has been accused of many computer crimes related to his hoaxes, and has spent much of the last decade hiding off the grid, so he can't be sued or easily reached by law enforcement agents.</p>
<p>"If you see people talking about this please point them to this post as a means of warning them off any involvement," Rauhauser added.</p>
<p>The forum was confused, and one member wrote, "I don't think this is an ARG. I think this person is genuinely crazy."</p>
<p>Rauhauser added another post, explaining that it was a warning not to play this real-life game, because he claimed it "actually got violent."</p>
<p>"It looks like an ARG trailhead, but it is most pointedly NOT - there are some ARG-ish features to the conflict because of the people that got involved, but posting here was not intended to attract new players - it's basically a creepy political thing that actually got violent in the first days of 2012 and I suspect it's going to keep escalating until a few of the ringleaders face serious consequences," Rauhauser wrote.</p>
<p>Then, in February of 2012, Rauhauser added "a small update" before the mods closed his forum, referring to his "secret history of Anonymous" ARG.</p>
<p>"I am learning about ARG design and I started playing with a back trail - a secret history of Anonymous," Rauhauser wrote. "I put in a bunch of story line - I'm a pretty good writer, and I know this topic well."</p>
<p>Most of what Rauhauser wrote is a pile of nonsense, and most of his predictions never came close to being true.</p>
<p>"I have done political consulting the last few years and it got really ugly in 2010 - think packing up on a moments notice and driving off into the night while the FBI hate crimes squad was knocking on doors in the states in the southeast," Rauhauser wrote. "Things have progressed from there - there are civil and criminal things going on in Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and California."</p>
<p>Rauhauser added: "A couple of lawyers are going to lose their licenses, one guy seems primed for some jail time, another guy got hospitalized and there is a civil suit over that. I get targeted quite a lot - have to keep utilities and rent under company name rather than mine, I don't disclose travel plans, have basically dropped public speaking, etc. So my just for fun back trail and real world political stuff was getting swirled together, and I was worried someone would come along and say 'Oh, a game!' and end up getting dragged into something that is both very real and potentially violent. So that stuff is out there, it looks like a game, it might even feel like a game at first, but it will rapidly lead to people the Southern Poverty Law Center has characterized as white supremacists."</p>
<p>Any journalist that reports on anything connected to Neal Rauhauser, without mentioning his self-admitted background as a troll who spreads confusion and conspiracy theories to menace whomever he thinks is "crazy", is guilty of the same cyberharassment that this notorious hoaxer has committed for close to a decade.</p>
Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-80896875810064463712019-12-04T15:35:00.001-05:002019-12-05T14:54:31.341-05:00Alexandra Chalupa claimed DHS and DOJ worked with Anonymous group tied to fugitive hacker and convicted bomber<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5LcooJIYyWA/XelZ_tCFYJI/AAAAAAAABd4/zDfQ2Btu9V4DiVw9bWKtDxr1m3dz-JIhwCNcBGAsYHQ/s1600/comm.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5LcooJIYyWA/XelZ_tCFYJI/AAAAAAAABd4/zDfQ2Btu9V4DiVw9bWKtDxr1m3dz-JIhwCNcBGAsYHQ/s200/comm.png" width="200" height="169" data-original-width="591" data-original-height="500" /></a></div><p><b>UPDATE - On 12/5/19, fugitive hacker Commander X <a href="https://twitter.com/CommanderXanon/status/1202652192643178499">tweeted</a> that he was granted emergency refugee status in Mexico. In an <a href="https://pastebin.com/1PGCQJfz">open letter</a> addressed to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Christopher Doyon wrote, "I request that I be well received, and that I be granted emergency refugee status due to the current threats against my life and liberty by ex-officials of the US government currently involved in the security contracting industry."</p>
<p>Commander X added, "For nearly ten years I have been the target of a campaign of persecution directed against me by the US DoJ and the FBI for my human rights work online, as well as my close association with WikiLeaks and Julian Assange - and my online defense of both."</p>
<p>Doyen vowed to share "working computer code" that the CIA & NSA "use in their network operations and surveillance against" Mexico. He wrote, "If the nation of Mexico will grant me sanctuary, I offer to brief members of your Executive branch, including the President himself - on the nature, extent, and scope of the threat posed to your civil society, economy, and democratic process by the government of the USA through the agency of the CIA & NSA."</b></p>
<p>"Why have I never heard of Alexandra Chalupa's claim that the United States Department of Justice teamed up with an offshoot of Anonymous known as 'The Protectors'?" <a href=https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1034080329265553409.html>@The_War_Economy</a> asked on Twitter in 2018.</p>
<p>There may be two reasons why the mainstream media has stayed away from reporting on the former DNC contractor's work with sketchy characters in 2016, and barely followed-up on a <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/ukraine-sabotage-trump-backfire-233446">2017 Politico story</a> about her meetings at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington to get foreign officials to "expose ties between Trump, top campaign aide Paul Manafort and Russia." The foremost reason is because most journalists report on one side or the other, and there aren't many liberal-leaning reporters who want to give any credence to alleged shenanigans committed by Democrats. But, at the same time, there are conservatives who absurdly claim that reporting on this somehow negates the very real Russian interference in the 2016 election.</p>
<p>The second thing may be fear, since two of the sketchy characters include a convicted bomber and a cyberstalking deadbeat dad, who have terrorized and falsely sued journalists, websites and media organizations.</p>
<p>On November 9. 2016, Alexandra Chalupa <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AlexandraChalupa/posts/10157855450785389?__xts__[0]=68.ARA58gJpvHWQ9hZ2-dkvnDotyeD1X5sgVjEqZ8xIJLtl_9H8BCP-y04EMpie0XgzS8aJKdwxkP6KHE-culaLF_j_n7WYHT4_WCR-mfgQvjF1-8AdsMhB3gvOOM0YEbtHWO8AAD_FgVfKVUgHNSzgj2Q0oHkNKZ9gtM5nojzRFtaU-SKjBptShCBaxSYDQeVOMSbcIyT4HwXfqqqDrSw1_LjbwAoMEhdu9xHsr3oE2QwbLWzk54GrgGJT-SBckh7POxaX_gADWedBzYVvuzXcJLqYqfJrePG08sCO6CxDgf0M6x6GZI1pq1aGJRA1ZhkjsXgmTEYRBMin21IA9uljPw&__tn__=H-R">wrote on Facebook</a>, "Homeland Security/DOJ teamed up with a group that is part of Anonymous based in Washington, D.C. called 'The Protectors."</p>
<p>"This group saw a lot of activity during Election Day from the Russians and believe that the voting results projected don’t match the internal and public polls because the voting results were manufactured in favor of Trump in heavily Republican counties in key states, and voting results may have been decreased for Clinton in key Democratic counties via malware that was placed by the Russians when they hacked the election systems of more than half our states," Chalupa wrote.</p>
<p>I helped expose "The Protectors" as a hoax in <a href=http://ronbryn.blogspot.com/2012/11/did-orca-project-intend-to-violate-ohio.html>November of 2012</a>. As I noted seven years ago, "On November 16, <a href=http://wonkette.com/489966/anonymous-claims-it-stopped-karl-rove-from-hacking-the-election-by-hacking-orca-we-think>Wonkette's Rebecca Schoenkopf</a> blogged about an unsubstantiated claim that 'Anonymous had stopped Karl Rove from hacking the election by hacking Orca,' and added 'we think' to the headline."</p>
<p>"Former Democratic operative Neal Rauhauser - who has spent the last two years trolling and harassing conservatives and even liberal critics [including me] - has claimed responsibility for many political hoaxes, in the past, and appears to be one of the driving forces behind this one," I added.</p>
<p>However, perhaps it wasn't a hoax, and a fugitive hacker did hack into the 2012 election.</p>
<p>In his book, "Dark Ops: Anonymous Story", Christopher Doyon aka Commander X claims that on November 6, 2012 he "hacked into the national election in the USA" from a Starbucks in Toronto. "No, seriously," he insists.</p>
<blockquote>"The manifesto for the hack was simple: to find any way we could to destabilize and de-legitimize the 2012 national election in the USA. It was an apolitical approach, we would not attempt to favor either candidate. In fact we would take pains not to. Instead the goal we settled on was in showing easily we hacked in, doing some random damage - and then putting out a statement after detailing the hacks and pointing out the obvious fact that if we could do it, others probably also did too. This line of argument ultimately leading to - no one actually knows who did win the national election in the USA. And whomever they crown would be thus de-legitimized by those lingering questions, and the entire democratic process in the USA would be brought into question over the doubts whether it could ever be secured from network hacking attempts."</blockquote>
<p>X claimed he spent a year-and-a-half working on this operation with his "Crew", and that included "days researching white papers and YouTube videos on proof-of-concept hacks against everything from individual voting machines to the ORCA electronic vote counting systems."</p>
<p>"The latter ended up as our primary attack vector for Florida and Ohio," Doyon wrote.</p>
<p>However, X claimed that "one of the six people in [his] Crew turned out to be a snitch working as a Confidential Informant for the FBI." Without any proof, X fingers Locke as the person who got him "vanned" by the FBI when he was chased and arrested outside of a San Francisco coffee house. Since he was meeting his attorney, Jay Leiderman, at the time of his arrest, it's also possible the feds were wiretapping his communications.</p>
<p>But X and his four remaining alleged co-conspirators - who he names as Gh0stAn0n, Vect0r, PizzaMan and DigitalTerrorists - decided to press on without Locke.</p>
<blockquote>"Days later we packaged the whole thing up and sent it to the media. We invented a Crew in Anonymous called the Protectors of Democracy (a name that still makes me want to vomit), gathered what little forensic evidence we had on the GOP, and blasted the entire thing to the world's media outlets. To their credit, several had the balls to actually go with the story. In the underground, the whole thing became a bit of a legend. Anonymous has been credited with many amazing things but saving the election for Barack Obama has to be right up there near the top of the 'most epic list'. Sort of ironic since Obama has tormented, tortured, jailed and even killed more Information Activists in his eight years than all other previous Presidents combined. Hell of a way to show your gratitude."</blockquote>
<p>"Several months later, the hacker I have called 'Vect0r' live tweeted as he went out on Golden Gate Bridge and threw the laptop he had done the election hack with into the San Francisco Bay," X wrote. "He then left the Underground, got a good paying job as a White Hat security consultant - and never looked back."</p>
<blockquote>"Postscript: I reiterate here the offer I have made publicly in recent months, to both the USA and Russian governments. I will gladly return to the USA in order to offer testimony and evidence to Congress regarding the election in the USA, the above report - and how to end the war between the world's Black Hat hackers and the government of the USA by ceasing political persecution of Information Activists and reforming the CFAA. I will only give testimony to Congress or directly in person to President Trump, and I will never debrief either the FBI oir the CIA. I will require in advance a full Presidential Pardon, and a guarantee of Full Immunity when I testify."</blockquote>
<p>Doyon added: "The counter proposal is addressed to the Russian Government. I will happily travel to Moscow and testify under oath in the Duma regarding the details of the above report. The Russian people, and their government - have been so brutally maligned in the West that I feel they deserve to hear the Truth from someone who is actually on the inside of the Hacker Underground. I will require full and permanent political asylum and transport from Canada to Russia."</p>
<p>Five days before he was set to go to court in February of 2012, Doyon <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/12/anon-on-the-run-how-commander-x-jumped-bai/3/">issued a press release called “Commander X escapes into exile.”</a> As <a href="http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/anonymous-hacker-flees-country-984512">The Smoking Gun</a> reported in March of 2012, "A lawyer for Christopher Doyon, a homeless 47-year-old who calls himself 'Commander X, recently told a federal judge that his client 'has fled to Canada,' <a href="http://i.cdn.turner.com/dr/teg/tsg/release/sites/default/files/assets/fleetocanada.jpg">according to a filing in U.S. District Court in San Jose</a>." The story added, "As a result, an arrest warrant has been issued for Doyon, who is pictured in the above United States Marshals Service mug shots."</p>
<p>Convicted bomber Brett Kimberlin's Velvet Revolution website linked to <a href="http://www.velvetrevolution.us/images/Anon_Rove_Letter.pdf">the letter</a> that the Protectors released in 2012, and former Project Vigilant associate Neal Rauhauser hyped it <a href="https://www.blogtalkradio.com/vinceinthebay/2012/11/20/disorderly-conduct--case-of-the-mondays">on a podcast</a>. Rauhauser and Kimberlin have been accused of committing swattings, cyberattacks and countless political hoaxes together. I was absurdly accused of making fake 911 calls to get police to harass bloggers who reported on Weinergate and Kimberlin, and was sued by a lawyer I outed for using a fake name, <a href="http://ronbryn.blogspot.com/2011/12/lawyer-using-fake-name-asked-others-for.html">while asking</a> for people to attach their real names to offensive cartoons of Muhammad. The attorney for Aaron Worthing/Walker was Dan Backer, who later became the Treasurer for a Trump SuperPAC. Patrick Frey, a deputy District Attorney in Los Angeles who blogs as Patterico, falsely accused me of swatting him and working with Rauhauser and Kimberlin, but the judge dismissed the Dan Backer led multi-million dollar bizarre conspiracy theory lawsuit, which conservatives like Law Professor Glenn Reynolds, Michelle Malkin, Glenn Beck and Ali Akbar promoted and helped raise thousands of dollars slandering me.</p>
<p>I don't think Kimberlin had anything to do with the swattings, but it's possible that Patterico and Rauhauser worked together on them. However, <a href="http://patterico.com/2012/11/23/is-neal-rauhauser-the-one-who-wrote-the-anonymous-claim-that-roves-orca-system-was-hacked/">Patterico is correct</a> that the Protectors letter sounds like it was written by Neal Rauhauser. "We may just put all our evidence into a tidy little package and give it to a painfully bored nemesis hanging out in a certain embassy in London," the letter ends, as Patterico notes, and Rauhauser has used the term "tidy little package" before. In a <a href="https://www.dailykos.com/comments/517291/19282832#comment_19282832">Daily Kos diary post</a> ten years ago, Rauhauser wrote, "Their only choice
Huckabee as VP with an aging, tottering McCain't is likely the only thing that'll keep the Republican base in line ... disaster ticket for the country if they should win(read:steal another election) but dream ticket for Democrats - something for everyone to hate all in one tidy little package."</p>
<p>Both Kimberlin and Rauhauser have been involved in lengthy lawsuits against bloggers, media organizations and website owners, so that's probably why most journalists refuse to probe this wacky never-ending saga.</p>
<p>More to come...</p>
Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-54516334465217655202019-04-11T21:17:00.002-04:002019-04-11T22:15:19.388-04:00Day before Assange indictment, Chelsea Manning claimed she chatted 'with multiple people' at WikiLeaks, but her 2013 statement referred to 'an individual'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_c3cDV-ul20/XK_m6UZG6JI/AAAAAAAABb0/AdDZdzEK_h8rvHuiCgI8rpbVGVoP5YKSgCLcBGAs/s1600/manningtalk1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_c3cDV-ul20/XK_m6UZG6JI/AAAAAAAABb0/AdDZdzEK_h8rvHuiCgI8rpbVGVoP5YKSgCLcBGAs/s320/manningtalk1.png" width="320" height="277" data-original-width="544" data-original-height="471" /></a></div><p>Hours after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested in London today, a March 6, 2018 indictment was unsealed by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, which stated, "On or about March 8, 2010, Assange agreed to assist [former US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea] Manning in cracking a password stored on United States Department of Defense computers connected to the Secret Internet Protocol Network, a United States government network used for classified documents and communications.” Manning was jailed one month ago for refusing to testify before a grand jury about her contacts with WikiLeaks. A day before the indictment, on March 5, 2018, Manning responded to a question after <a href=https://luskin.ucla.edu/chelsea-manning-discusses-values-secrets-whistleblowers-luskin-lecture/>a lecture she gave at UCLA</a>, which asked about her "interactions" with Assange.</p>
<p>"No idea," Manning claimed roughly 56 minutes into the posted video of the lecture. "Whomever I was communicating with...I mean it was...I can say this...It was multiple people I was communicating with."</p>
<p>She added, "That is the thing about the Internet...and the tools that we're using...because I don't want to be identified...and they sure as hell don't want to be identified."</p>
<p>"But it was multiple people," Manning insisted. "It was not one person."</p>
<p>However, in her <a href=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/01/bradley-manning-wikileaks-statement-full-text>March 13, 2013 statement</a> during her court martial, Manning seemed to suggest that she was speaking with "an individual."</p>
<p>"Almost immediately after submitting the aerial weapons team video and rules of engagement documents I notified the individuals in the WLO IRC to expect an important submission," Manning's statement said. "I received a response from an individual going by the handle of 'Ox' - at first our conversations were general in nature, but over time as our conversations progressed, I accessed this individual to be an important part of the WLO."</p>
<p>Manning noted, "Due to the strict adherence of anonymity by the WLO, we never exchanged identifying information."</p>
<p>"However, I believe the individual was likely Mr. Julian Assange, Mr. Daniel Schmidt, or a proxy representative of Mr. Assange and Schmidt," Manning's statement continued. "As the communications transfered from IRC to the Jabber client, I gave 'Ox' and later 'pressassociation' the name of Nathaniel Frank in my address book, after the author of a book I read in 2009."</p>
<p>Manning added, "After a period of time, I developed what I felt was a friendly relationship with Nathaniel. Our mutual interest in information technology and politics made our conversations enjoyable. We engaged in conversation often. Sometimes as long as an hour or more. I often looked forward to my conversations with Nathaniel after work."</p>
<p>A <a href=https://emma.best/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/2010-03-05-to-2010-03-18-CM-JA-log.pdf>chatlog of Manning's communications</a> reveals that on March 17, 2010, "Nathaniel Frank" told her, "will be doing an investigative journo conference in Norway this week end, so may be out of contact most of the time."</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-grr_MaUghlc/XK_s8OzZ7TI/AAAAAAAABcI/tvdOMVi2rfg5M3AUVxG_rblesplfzoAHQCLcBGAs/s1600/assange222.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-grr_MaUghlc/XK_s8OzZ7TI/AAAAAAAABcI/tvdOMVi2rfg5M3AUVxG_rblesplfzoAHQCLcBGAs/s640/assange222.png" width="640" height="83" data-original-width="860" data-original-height="111" /></a></div>
<p>As <a href=https://www.flickr.com/photos/espenmoe/4466613035>this picture shows</a>, Assange attended the Norwegian conference on investigative journalism (SKUP) on March 20, 2010. A <a href=https://grapevine.is/news/2010/03/26/wikileaks-statement-regarding-persecution-and-surveillance-in-iceland/>statement by Assange</a> released on March 26, 2010, noted, "On Thursday March 18, 2010, I took the 2.15 PM flight out of Reykjavik to Copenhagen–on the way to speak at the SKUP investigative journalism conference in Norway."</p>
<p>Earlier today, <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/1116413973249835014>I tweeted</a>, "On 12/6/13, after I criticized @kpoulsen for not reporting for @wired that it may be tough to prove Assange was or always was "Nathaniel Frank" in convos with @xychelsea, @WikiLeaks tweeted that Manning's statement suggested as much, too. I presume JA will stick to that defense."</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Qiuyg4_YkE/XK_weQPVf8I/AAAAAAAABcg/QS1dhCIjEjo2G59LP_gdwIbwpoKDXfJIACLcBGAs/s1600/wikileaksron1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7Qiuyg4_YkE/XK_weQPVf8I/AAAAAAAABcg/QS1dhCIjEjo2G59LP_gdwIbwpoKDXfJIACLcBGAs/s400/wikileaksron1.png" width="400" height="270" data-original-width="683" data-original-height="461" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CKmAjH3ZJ_k/XK_whwNuvlI/AAAAAAAABck/OzI6lS2seR85VppeBlCenZKVefRH-It1QCLcBGAs/s1600/wikileaksron2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CKmAjH3ZJ_k/XK_whwNuvlI/AAAAAAAABck/OzI6lS2seR85VppeBlCenZKVefRH-It1QCLcBGAs/s400/wikileaksron2.png" width="400" height="273" data-original-width="688" data-original-height="469" /></a></div>Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-30289145404185284662019-02-02T16:12:00.000-05:002019-02-02T16:53:56.462-05:00Former "senior Trump campaign official" Steve Bannon was "directed" by Breitbart editor Matt Boyle, not Trump, to contact Roger Stone<br>Many media accounts based on the January 24, 2019 indictment of dirty trickster Roger Stone might be misinterpreting a phrase in paragraph 12, and some are wrongly presuming that the Special Counsel investigation is suggesting that "a senior Trump Campaign official was directed to contact STONE" by the president. However, it most likely refers to "a reporter who had connections to a high-ranking Trump campaign official", which is mentioned in paragraph 16.</br>
<br>"After the July 22, 2016 release of stolen DNC emails by Organization 1, a senior Trump Campaign official was directed to contact STONE about any additional releases and what other damaging information Organization 1 had regarding the Clinton Campaign," the indictment stated. "STONE thereafter told the Trump Campaign about potential future releases of damaging material by Organization 1."</br>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QgKp4kbsVmE/XFYL1Uq3XjI/AAAAAAAABZ4/eHYn_1Iat04SuqBzl2TLnW5KSFwC0li-QCLcBGAs/s1600/boylebannon2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QgKp4kbsVmE/XFYL1Uq3XjI/AAAAAAAABZ4/eHYn_1Iat04SuqBzl2TLnW5KSFwC0li-QCLcBGAs/s400/boylebannon2.png" width="400" height="91" data-original-width="718" data-original-height="163" /></a></div></p>
<br><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/25/7-biggest-claims-in-robert-muellers-indictment-of-trump-pal-roger-stone.html">Dan Mangan reported the next day</a>, "Organization 1 refers to WikiLeaks. A source has told CNBC that the senior campaign official was Steve Bannon, who later served as senior advisor to Trump once he was elected president."</br>
<br>But Mangan quotes a <a href="https://twitter.com/seungminkim/status/1088842671475564546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnbc.com%2F2019%2F01%2F25%2F7-biggest-claims-in-robert-muellers-indictment-of-trump-pal-roger-stone.html">tweet</a> by Washington Post White House reporter and CNN political analyst Seung Min Kim quoting Democratic House Intel Chair Rep. Adam Schiff's statement that the "Committee will be eager to learn just who directed a senior campaign official to contact Stone about additional damaging information held by Wikileaks, one of the publishing arms of Russian government hackers."</br>
<br></br>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-USIXo7lyiF4/XFYL9mS7U4I/AAAAAAAABZ8/x98dl2uCv1ogIhuy2lHfoDQfnhiAPmQ8QCLcBGAs/s1600/boylebannon3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-USIXo7lyiF4/XFYL9mS7U4I/AAAAAAAABZ8/x98dl2uCv1ogIhuy2lHfoDQfnhiAPmQ8QCLcBGAs/s400/boylebannon3.png" width="400" height="128" data-original-width="673" data-original-height="215" /></a></div></p>
<br>"It’s difficult to dismiss that as some coincidence, drafting error or a careless choice of words. The people who write these things parse them endlessly, and had to know that line would stick out," <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/02/01/trump-denies-hes-mysterious-person-roger-stone-indictment-will-his-denial-hold-up/?utm_term=.70017219818c">Washington Post reporter Aaron Blake argues</a>, before adding, "Considering that, some have theorized it’s a reference to Trump himself."</br>
<br>Blake concludes, "Who else would direct a 'senior Trump Campaign official,' after all?" However, the email sent by Boyle certainly could be characterizing as a form of direction, and the word "directed" has two definitions.</br>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JgBKGJb0VB8/XFYPTsueyZI/AAAAAAAABaY/RhXH75-Ibz07FivAD9Tyt7QmpEqg9jKKQCLcBGAs/s1600/directed.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JgBKGJb0VB8/XFYPTsueyZI/AAAAAAAABaY/RhXH75-Ibz07FivAD9Tyt7QmpEqg9jKKQCLcBGAs/s400/directed.png" width="400" height="171" data-original-width="643" data-original-height="275" /></a></div></p>
<br>Most readers are focused on the first definition - "control the operations of; manage or govern" - but the second definition doesn't insist on the director of having a authoritative position: "aim (something) in a particular direction or at a particular person."</br>
<br>On January 11, 2018 the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/01/us/politics/wikileaks-roger-stone-trump.html">NY Times</a> published the email from Matt Boyle to his former boss, Steven Bannon.</br>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pu6I5XDXIow/XFYMEURmYgI/AAAAAAAABaA/YFORclrnycgLK8NOoBcUicI5cuIyUSaqQCLcBGAs/s1600/boylebannon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pu6I5XDXIow/XFYMEURmYgI/AAAAAAAABaA/YFORclrnycgLK8NOoBcUicI5cuIyUSaqQCLcBGAs/s400/boylebannon.png" width="400" height="118" data-original-width="596" data-original-height="176" /></a></div></p>
<br>Former Breitbart News White House reporter Lee Stranahan, who now hosts a radio show on the Kremlin-funded Sputnik noted the theory that it was Boyle during a <a href="https://youtu.be/SvtZM7V6QE0">video</a> shot at a Roger Stone hearing on January 25th.</br>Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-7980950511113178902019-01-07T14:09:00.000-05:002019-01-07T14:21:06.510-05:00Russian 'troll factory' lawyer represented Breitbart News companies in libel case<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mKuuTATYqAY/XDOiUHHqLRI/AAAAAAAABY0/WX5I7jbNmlAZIaFIhjsWwMi_BGIbN2eYACLcBGAs/s1600/dubelierea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mKuuTATYqAY/XDOiUHHqLRI/AAAAAAAABY0/WX5I7jbNmlAZIaFIhjsWwMi_BGIbN2eYACLcBGAs/s320/dubelierea.jpg" width="283" height="320" data-original-width="468" data-original-height="530" /></a></div><p>A US attorney has garnered a lot of media attention for defending a Russian troll factory accused of allegedly interfering in the 2016 presidential election, but his prior work for the Trump-friendly website Breitbart News - which has been accused of publishing fake news - has been ignored by the press.</p>
<p>In April of 2018, it was revealed in court filings, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-concord/russian-company-indicted-by-mueller-hires-washington-lawyers-idUSKBN1HI2DR">that</a> "[a] Russian company charged with helping fund a Russian propaganda operation that allegedly tampered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election has retained two Washington lawyers to handle its defense." Reuters reported,"Concord Management and Consulting LLC, will be represented by Eric Dubelier and Katherine Seikaly of the law firm Reed Smith, the filings say." Concord was one of three firms located in Russia that were accused by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller "in a February indictment of a conspiracy to defraud the United States."</p>
<p>The indictment <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1035562/download">stated</a>, "Defendants CONCORD MANAGEMENT AND CONSULTING LLC and CONCORD CATERING are related Russian entities with various Russian government contracts. CONCORD was the ORGANIZATION's primary source of funding for its interference operations. CONCORD controlled funding, recommended personnel, and oversaw ORGANIZATION activities through reporting and interaction with ORGANIZATION management." Russian businessman Evgeny Prigozhin who is suspected of being the owner of Concord was also indicted, and he reportedly has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.</p>
<p>"Prigozhin, nicknamed 'Putin’s cook' because of his catering business that has organized banquets for Russian President Vladimir Putin and other political figures, has been quoted by the RIA news agency as saying he was unfazed by the indictment," Reuters reported.</p>
<p>As John Simerman <a href="https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/courts/article_752bc164-5ac7-11e8-aa95-834f28cf6483.html">reported</a> for the Advocate on May 20, 2018, "the Tulane University graduate had a hand in some controversial cases," and "also played a key role in a case that featured perhaps the most infamous episode of prosecutorial misconduct in New Orleans in a generation."</p>
<p>Dubelier was blamed by a judge for withholding a confession in a point-shaving college basketball case in 1985, and "led the trial team that helped ship John Thompson off to death row" that same year. "Thompson was staring at an execution date in 1999 when a defense investigator unearthed a lab report that undermined his conviction in an earlier armed robbery trial that Dubelier had also prosecuted," Simerman reported. "Dubelier, the lead prosecutor in Thompson's subsequent murder trial, used the earlier armed robbery conviction to persuade a jury to hand Thompson a death sentence."</p>
<p>As Simerman noted, Dubelier gained a lot of media attention "for his feisty courtroom advocacy", and has "presented an aggressive challenge to the indictment." He has accused prosecutors of lying and claimed that Mueller was "conjuring up a 'make-believe' crime in the indictment for political reasons."</p>
<p>In October, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/lawyer-indicted-russian-firm-special-counsel-made-crime/story?id=58514125">ABC News reported</a> that Dubelier argued Mueller's indictment was an attempt to "regulate what people say on the internet.” Ironically, President Trump has tweeted many times that mainstream media stories he considers "fake news" should be regulated, and the press is the "enemy of the people."</p>
<p>Earlier today, Tierney Sneed <a href="https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/russian-firms-lawyer-accuses-judge-of-bias-after-she-bashes-his-inappropriate-filings">reported for Talking Points Memo</a>, "A federal judge on Monday reamed the American lawyers for a Russian firm charged by special counsel Robert Mueller for the lawyers’ 'unprofessional, inappropriate, and ineffective' court filings." Dubelier accused Judge Dabney Friedrich of "some bias" after she told him to "knock it off."</p>
<p>In an October 5, 2013 <a href="https://legaltimes.typepad.com/files/susannah-breitbart-response.pdf">court filing</a>, Dubelier represented Susannah Breitbart, after attorneys for former U.S. Department of Agriculture official Shirley Sherrod substituted Andrew's widow in a defamatory lawsuit, a year-and-a-half after he suddenly died. Josh Gerstein referred to him "as Breitbart companies lawyer Eric Dubelier" in a <a href="https://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2014/07/feds-fight-to-keep-white-house-e-mails-secret-in-breitbart-sherrod-libel-suit-192565">Politico article</a> published on July 21, 2014. In late 2015, Sherrod <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ex-usda-official-sherrod-in-settlement-over-supposedly-racist-video">settled</a> her case over a "selectively edited" video which cost her her job with the Obama Administration, but the terms have remained confidential.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.law360.com/cases/4d78f060b4e3ed22d9000001">www.law360.com</a>, Eric A. Dubelier also represented BREITBART HOLDINGS, INC., BREITBART NEWS NETWORK LLC, BREITBART.COM LLC, and
BREITBART.TV LLC in the Sherrod case. A <a href="https://www.plainsite.org/dockets/l5stk0rz/district-of-columbia-district-court/sherrod-v-breitbart-et-al/">notice of appearance</a> was filed by Dubelier on July 17, 2014 for all four of the Breitbart companies.</p>
<p>Breitbart News was co-founded by Steve Bannon in 2007, and five years later, after Andrew Breitbart died, Bannon took over as executive chair of Breitbart News LLC. Bannon left Breitbart News to advise Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential race, but after serving as the White House Chief Strategist for seven months in 2017, he returned to the website, which has almost unconditionally supported Trump, and dismissed the Russia probe as a "witch hunt."</p>
<p>Last October, Samantha Cole <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/pa9qvv/wikipedia-banned-breitbart-infowars?utm_source=vicefbuk">reported for Motherboard</a>, that editors for Wikipedia voted that Breitbart "should not be used, ever, as a reference for facts, due to its unreliability.”</p>
<p>"Breitbart, a far-right conservative media website, has come under scrutiny—such as when it vehemently supported Alabama politician and alleged pedophile Roy Moore, when it shilled for scam cryptocurrencies through its newsletter, or when it fueled racist narratives about black NFL players," Cole wrote. "Wikipedians decided that because fact checkers have found much of Breitbart’s coverage to be 'misleading, false or both,' they won’t abide it as a source of fact anymore."</p>
<p>"Right-wing news site Breitbart News has apologized to German football star Lukas Podolski after publishing a photo of the 32-year-old former international player accompanying a story about human traffickers operating between Morocco and Spain," <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/breitbart-shamed-for-mistaking-soccer-star-for-human-trafficker-1.5444564">Haaretz reported</a> on August 21, 2017. Breitbart admitted, "There is no evidence Mr Podolski is either a migrant gang member, nor being human trafficked."</p>
<p><i>(Editor's Note: I've worked on a few articles published at Breitbart News, including <a href="https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2015/09/28/huma-abedins-lawyer-benghazi-point-person-exchanged-redacted-email-hillary/">this story, where I'm named</a>, but I've never been paid by them. Or Russia, as far as I know.)</i></p>
Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-33016466401976650532018-11-15T17:08:00.000-05:002018-11-15T17:08:04.411-05:00Progressive radio host regrets texting Roger Stone about 'big news' regarding Hillary Clinton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9pBjzpU92-k/W-3jhxzNEFI/AAAAAAAABYU/w7Ndz2UJiX0Jqg5MbEuiNM8n-0lQumhCQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_20181115_162138%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9pBjzpU92-k/W-3jhxzNEFI/AAAAAAAABYU/w7Ndz2UJiX0Jqg5MbEuiNM8n-0lQumhCQCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_20181115_162138%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" height="320" data-original-width="320" data-original-height="320" /></a></div>On late Wednesday evening, Anna Schecter <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/exclusive-text-messages-show-stone-friend-discussing-wikileaks-plans-n936371">reported for NBC News</a> that "Roger Stone exchanged text messages with his alleged WikiLeaks back channel about imminent 'big news' harmful to Hillary Clinton's campaign six days before WikiLeaks released hacked emails from former Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, according to new messages released by Stone."<br /><br />
However, progressive radio host/comedian Randy Credico <a href="https://twitter.com/CredicoRandy/status/1063096874540896256">claimed on Twitter</a> that the "story regarding Stone...by NBC News was meant to divert attention from" a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/mueller-probes-possible-witness-intimidation-by-roger-stone-1542222284">Wall Street Journal</a> article written by Shelby Holliday and Aruna Viswanatha published on Wednesday. "Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office is exploring whether longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone tried to intimidate and discredit a witness who is contradicting Mr. Stone’s version of events about his contacts with WikiLeaks, according to people who have spoken to Mr. Mueller’s investigators," Holliday and Viswantha reported.<br /><br />
Earlier today, Credico told me - via direct messages on Twitter - that the former campaign adviser for President Donald Trump was "cherry picking information" in order to pretend that the radio host who <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEmM4rHVlTQ">interviewed Julian Assange</a> for WBAI Radio in August of 2016 was a "back channel" for WikiLeaks.<br /><br />
According to texts that Roger Stone shared with NBC News, Credico texted the "political hitman" on October 1, 2016 that there would be “[b]ig news Wednesday" and, as a result, “Hillary’s campaign will die this week."<br /><br />
Credico explained that he "started out as a [Bernie] Sanders supporter and was upset," and that he had switched to Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein after the Vermont senator dropped out and endorsed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.<br /><br />
"I was hoping that Hillary would not win by 20 points," Credico added. "[T]he day that Trump won I was at a Stein event and when I started seeing results favoring Trump I knew he was going to win and I walked home more depressed than I've ever been in my entire life." The progressive radio host who supports WikiLeaks called his interactions with Stone a "big mistake."<br /><br />
NBC News also reported that Credico texted Stone on October 3, 2016, "Why can't you get Trump to come out and say that he would give Julian Assange Asylum[?]"<br /><br />
Credico argues, "I wasn't doing it for a pardon", and that "it was a bad calculation." If "you want to look at the state of the nation under Trump I'll probably never get over it."<br /><br />
"I was not a back-channel and I stand by my testimony in front of the grand jury," Credico said. "Stone is cherry picking information."
Credico then compared himself to French officer Alfred Dreyfus, who was falsely convicted of treason in 1894, but wasn't fully exonerated until 1906, even though evidence suggested that another officer had actually acted as a spy for Germany. Like Credico, Dreyfus was of Jewish descent, and many French journalists suspected that anti-semitism played a factor in his wrongful conviction.<br /><br />
"I'm ready and I've told my lawyer this to revoke my 5th Privileges and go before the house Intel committee and tell them everything," Credico said.<br /><br />
Credico then provided details about his actions during the late September to early October of 2016 time period. "I was in London the 28th, 29th and 30th and came back on the 1st to New York. I spent 3 days with a fellow by the name of Barry Crimmins, a political satirist who died 5 months ago. I dropped off a letter from the station that I was working for WBAI at the embassy. And left on the 1st."<br /><br />
He said he "never had any information" regarding any WikiLeaks-related drops regarding Clinton, and that he would "swear on the soul of [his] grandchildren" that he is telling the truth.<br /><br />
"Stone had been talking about a back channel for ages," Credico said. "So he put me in that role."
Credico explained, "I was basing my prediction on public statements made by WikiLeaks that they would do something in October. So I said wow this is going to be a bad week for Hillary. Cuz I was expecting them to do something."<br /><br />
The Wall Street Journal reported, "Prosecutors also are examining messages between Messrs. Stone and Credico that involve the radio personality’s decision to assert his Fifth Amendment before Congress, according to a person familiar with the probe...In emails sent to Mr. Credico and reviewed by the Journal, Mr. Stone threatened to 'sue the f—' out of him, called him 'a loser a liar and a rat' and told him to 'prepare to die c— sucker.'"<br /><br />
On November 2nd, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/02/politics/roger-stone-randy-credico-messages-attacks/index.html">CNN reported</a>, "Investigators have been examining the text messages and emails and questioning witnesses about whether there was an attempt to harass or intimidate Credico, according to people familiar with the matter."<br /><br />
"The messages raise the possibility that Mueller could pursue obstruction or witness tampering charges against Stone," the CNN story by Sara Murray added."<br /><br />
Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-75518943415416104322017-10-09T11:39:00.002-04:002017-11-05T03:31:54.965-05:00Firm tied to consultant who obtained stolen data from Guccifer 2.0 scrubbed FLA GOP from client list(Editor's note: I wrote this story on June 1st, and it's mostly based on prior blog posts. I'm working on a follow-up story, but I think this is probably the best version of what I've reported, so far. However, I still need to add some screenshots.)<br /><br />
A consulting firm's website tied to a blogger who collaborated with Guccifer 2.0 - the alleged DNC hacker that has been accused by many US intelligence officials of working for Putin and Russia to help sway the 2016 election for Trump - was scrubbed to remove the Republican Party of Florida as a client, perhaps on election eve. His name and biography were also erased, along with the firm's president and founder.<br /><br />
According to his LinkedIn <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-nevins-96223a5/?locale=de_DE">resume</a>, the once-anonymous blogger from HelloFLA.com who the Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-alleged-russian-hacker-teamed-up-with-florida-gop-operative-1495724787">outed last week</a> as "a Republican political operative in Florida named Aaron Nevins" has been a partner at Richardson Partners, since November of 2012..<br /><br />
At some point in the last week, Nevins updated it, and it now says he left the firm in April. But his LinkedIn page still lists www.richardsonpartners.com as his company website.<br /><br />
As an <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20131029202737/http://richardsonpartners.com/portfolio/">archive.org link from October of 2013 reveals</a>, the website once claimed the Republican Party of Florida was one of "[p]ast and current Richardson Partners clients" that "include a diverse group of corporations and candidates throughout Florida and across the nation."<br /><br />
However, at some time between <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20160401101723/http://richardsonpartners.com/portfolio/">April 1st, 2016</a> and <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20161107231221/http://richardsonpartners.com/portfolio/">November 7, 2016</a>, the website was scrubbed to remove the Florida GOP as a client. There aren't any saved screenshots between those dates, so it's possible that the reference was removed on the day before the 2016 election.<br /><br />
Before it vanished, the Guccifer 2.0 collaborator's biography stated: "Aaron Nevins is founder and managing partner of Chelsea Road Consulting. He brings to Richardson Partners almost a decade of experience serving in senior level positions in both bodies of the Florida Legislature. His relationships with key policy makers in both chambers of the Legislature, as well as local government, helps to provide our clients with a direct line of communication with legislative, executive, and municipal leaders, and their staff."<br /><br />
"He has a candid ability to review, evaluate, and provide an assessment of upcoming legislative actions, and his extensive knowledge of the Legislative process provides our clients with a critical advantage when dealing with governmental entities," it said.<br /><br />
Currently, the About page only shows a message stating, "No Results Found."<br /><br />
Nevins and Richardson haven't responded to queries over Twitter asking why all these changes were made to their website before last year's election, and the HelloFla! blogger wouldn't explain why he made the change to his LinkedIn page.<br /><br />
It wasn't until <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/us/politics/house-democrats-hacking-dccc.html">December 13, 2016</a> that the New York Times reported that "Guccifer 2.0's most important partner was an obscure political website run by an anonymous blogger called HelloFLA!, run by a former Florida legislative aide turned Republican lobbyist," and he "sent direct messages via Twitter to Guccifer 2.0 asking for copies of any additional Florida documents."
The May 25th WSJ article adds that "Nevins confirmed his exchanges after The Wall Street Journal identified him first as the operator of the HelloFLA blog and then as the recipient of the stolen DCCC data", which included documents that "analyzed specific Florida districts, showing how many people were dependable Democratic voters, how many were likely Democratic voters but needed a nudge, how many were frequent voters but not committed and how many were core Republican voters—the kind of data strategists use in planning ad buys and other tactics."<br /><br />
Nevins claims to the WSJ journalists, that "he didn’t use any in his consulting business, which includes running grass-roots-style campaigns for corporations and wealthy landowners seeking to influence local politics."<br /><br />
According to his <a href="https://twitter.com/toddlrichardson">Twitter profile</a>, Todd L. Richardson is the "[p]resident of Richardson Partners, a South Florida based public affairs & communications firm". In 2014, a Tampa Bay, Florida third-party political organization tied to Richardson <a href=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-boca-candidate-attack-20141223-story.html>called</a> "Floridians for Integrity in Government" released flyers against a Florida candidate, who allegedly rejected a bid by Todd to handle his city council campaign. "It has received nearly $1.4 million in donations since it started in 2012," and "[m]ost of its recent donations have come from the "Florida Leadership Committee", the Sun-Sentinel reported.<br /><br />
In another 2014 race, Republican Ellyn Bogdanoff lost to Democratic state Sen. Maria Sachs, even though Richardson's group helped pay for advertising that "blanketed the airwaves", since the Florida GOP gave her "no direct support", and she entered the race late. "The Floridians for Integrity in Government political committee got most of its funding from another PAC, the Florida Leadership Committee," Dan Sweeney <a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-election-bogdanoff-sachs-20141104-story.html">reported for the Sun-Sentinel on November 11, 2014</a>. "And that PAC, in turn, is closely associated with state Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater."<br /><br />
At his <a href=http://linkstraveler.com/trump-turnberry-golf-resort-turnberry-scotland/>LinksTraveler</a> website, Richardson blogged that he "had an opportunity to visit Trump Turnberry two days before the opening round of the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon." He said new renovations "easily puts this legendary links course, on the west coast of Scotland, into one of the top courses in the world."<br /><br />
On January 17, 2017, Richardson Partners <a href="https://www.myboca.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/5389">collected $2,500</a> and on February 3, 2017 <a href="https://www.myboca.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/5621">was paid</a> over $3550 for communications for the successful Scott Singer City Council 2016 campaign in Boca Raton. Singer won his seat unopposed three years ago, and his "challenger" last year, was - according to a <a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/endorsements/fl-editorial-boca-raton-council-endorsements-20170301-story.html">Sun-Sentinel editorial endorsing him</a> - "Patti Dervishi, a mostly retired Realtor who rants about development and whose rambling, unfocused answers show that she has not prepared herself for a council race," who was "unqualified."<br /><br />
The firm also earned <a href="http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00576660/1028020/sb/17">over $9,000</a> working for the unsuccessful <a href="http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/florida-house-district-68-race-starts-off-with-a-republican-gaffe-then-a/2283621">Joseph JB Bensmihen for Congress campaign</a> in Palm Beach County in 2015.<br /><br />
On November 12, 2016, in response to a question "Could hackers hack each state's voting system so that Donald Trump is elected president?" posted in August, Nevins <a href="https://www.quora.com/Could-hackers-hack-each-states-voting-system-so-that-Donald-Trump-is-elected-president">responded</a>, "The fact that it would be much harder to hack 50 separate state systems, or even enough of them in the key places where it would matter (and not get caught) is reason enough to keep the electoral College."<br /><br />
He added, "If we went with the national popular vote, you would only need to ballot stuff in one sympathetic state to cheat."<br /><br />
On October 20, 2016, <a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/broward-politics-blog/sfl-disgrunted-gop-voter-aaron-nevins-threatens-to-shut-down-u-s-441-for-car-race-on-election-day-20161014-story.html">Brittany Wallman reported for the Sentinel</a>, "Aaron Nevins, a 35-year-old Republican voter in Broward and former staffer for ex-state Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, said he's going to shut down U.S. 441 on Election Day for an automobile race."<br /><br />
Before the shut down was canceled, Nevins told the newspaper he wasn't a supporter of Trump, and that he is "not coordinating with the Republican Party or Roger Stone or any of those people." The Wall Street Journal reported that Guccifer 2.0 "sent a link to the blog article to Roger Stone, a longtime informal adviser to then-candidate Donald Trump, along with Mr. Nevins’ analysis of the hacked data." Nevins told the Sun-Sentinel that "he didn’t have any dealings with Stone about the material," but "he had a group dinner with Stone three or four years ago and hasn’t seen or spoken to him since."<br /><br />
The Florida paper also noted that Nevins "doesn’t believe he is facing any legal jeopardy over the matter, and he has not been contacted by any investigating authorities." He said, “The way I look at it, I was acting as a journalist," and that he forwarded the stolen data to journalists, not to political campaigns", because he "felt forced to publish it.”<br /><br />
But Nevins does believe that if he "used it for a political campaign without releasing it" or only sent "it to political operatives around the state we would be having a different conversation, probably from a jail cell.”<br /><br />Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-76261271040850719582017-06-12T14:55:00.001-04:002017-06-12T14:59:26.710-04:00Updates To StoriesThere are many recent updates to my last few articles, but the biggest one is to a <a href="http://ronbryn.blogspot.com/2015/12/new-york-times-journalist-michael.html">December 1, 2015 story I published</a> called "New York Times journalist Michael Schmidt wrongly reports on Hillary Clinton emails again."<br /><br />
Although the original article should be read to learn more about Schmidt's misreporting, this is the entire new update I added over the last few days due to recent news events and more research I completed. If you appreciate my hard work, please contribute to my PayPal account ronbrynaert@yahoo.com, since I keep working hard on this story - for years - but have never earned a dime for it.<br /><br />
<i>(Updates added from June 8 to June 12, 2017, in light of recent news events.)</i><br /><br />
<i><b>6/8/17 Update: Why is the following significant? Essentially, the adviser to former FBI Director James Comey - who once worked with him in US Attorney's office - has been a source for New York Times reporter Michael S. Schmidt for at least nine years. Schmidt reported many things incorrectly about Hillary Clinton during her unsuccessful 2016 presidency campaign, but he also got a lot of great scoops. Some Clinton supporters believe Comey may have violated the Hatch Act just before the election, and - one of the reasons - he was fired by President Trump as FBI director was due to wrongful testimony regarding her longtime aide, Huma Abedin.<br /><br />
On November 2, 2016, a NYT article - Schmidt co-wrote - reported, "Daniel C. Richman, an adviser to Mr. Comey and a Columbia University law professor, argued that despite the backlash, Mr. Comey’s decision to inform Congress preserved the F.B.I.’s independence, which will ultimately benefit the next president."<br /><br />
Defending Comey, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/02/us/politics/fbi-james-comey-hillary-clinton-donald-trump.html">Richman told the paper</a>: "Those arguing that the director should have remained silent until the new emails could be reviewed — even if that process lasted, or was delayed, until after the election — give too little thought to the governing that needs to happen after November. If the F.B.I. director doesn’t have the credibility to keep Congress from interfering in the bureau’s work and to assure Congress that a matter has been or is being looked into, the new administration will pay a high price."<br /><br />
Schmidt and Richman appeared as guests during alternate halves of a <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/whats-behind-comeys-unprecedented-reveal-congress-clinton-probe/">PBS NewsHour broadcast</a> last Halloween, three days after Comey sent his October 28 <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/politics/oct-28-fbi-letter-to-congressional-leaders-on-clinton-email-investigation/2113/">letter</a> - to eight Republican chairmen of Congressional committees, seven Democratic ranking members and vice chairman of the Select Committee of Intelligence Sen. Dianne Feinstein - in order to "supplement [his] previous testimony" that the FBI had "completed its investigation of former Secretary Clinton's personal email server." The letter was very brief, but reverberated at the end: "I believe it is important to update your Committees about our efforts in light of my previous testimony."<br /><br />
"In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation,” Comey wrote. "I am writing to inform you that the investigative team briefed me on this yesterday, and I agreed that the FBI should take appropriate investigative steps designed to allow investigators to review those emails to determine whether they contain classified information, as well as to assess their importance to our investigation."<br /><br />
On May 3, 2017, editor-in-chief Nate Silver <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-comey-letter-probably-cost-clinton-the-election/">claimed</a> at FiveThirtyEight - which is now owned by ESPN, but had a "partnership agreement" and was published at the NY Times from 2010 to 2012 - that this letter "upended the news cycle and soon halved Clinton’s lead in the polls, imperiling her position in the Electoral College." Silver also noted, "The <a href="https://web-beta.archive.org/web/20161109090648/nytimes.com">article</a> that led The New York Times’s website the morning after the election <a href="https://web-beta.archive.org/web/20161109085001/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/09/us/politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-president.html">did not mention</a> Comey or 'FBI' even once — a bizarre development considering the <a href="http://cloudfront.mediamatters.org/static/uploader/image/2016/10/30/nytsat.png">dramatic headlines</a> that the Times had given to the letter while the campaign was underway."<br /><br />
On the October 31st NewsHour show, New York Times reporter Schmidt - who was criticized a few times by the Clinton campaign for misreporting that had to be corrected - brought up the "classified" word first, and didn't note that there weren't any emails that were marked classified before they were sent by the Democratic presidential candidate and her former State Department staffers to private accounts. "That’s the real question here, whether any of the e-mails they’re in possession of are ones they had before that they know are classified or they know they looked at or if these are entirely a new batch," Schmidt said.<br /><br />
Schmidt defended the letter and wrongly predicted: "I sort of find it hard to believe that the FBI would go with such an aggressive step of telling Congress without really having some idea of what is truly here. If these end up to be just a bunch of duplicates, then this will have been a big hubbub over nothing." Politico's Josh Gerstein countered that "Comey might have violated Justice Department policy," and said, "We know from our other reporting that Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates strongly advised Comey against sending the letter, but he felt he needed to, so he did it anyway."<br /><br />
Without realizing that her next guest had been a Schmidt source for many articles, host Judy Woodruff asked him, "Is it your understanding from your reporting that FBI officials already know what’s here or are they truly looking for something unknown?" The New York Times journalist responded, "If you look at Director Comey’s letter to Congress, he basically says, we haven’t had a chance to look at these yet...so I wonder what the FBI really knows here. And did that lead them to push as far as they did?"<br /><br />
When asked if "Comey acted because of pressure of some sort from FBI agents who felt that he wasn’t being tough enough on Hillary Clinton", Schmidt said, "I find that hard to believe."<br /><br />
"I think that the line FBI agents who really knew what was going on with the e-mail investigation understood why Director Comey came out and said that the bureau wasn’t recommending charges," Schmidt said, before adding, "I think they realized that there wasn’t criminal intent there," and "So the idea that Director Comey would do this facing some insurrection by FBI agents, I think, is probably not true."<br /><br />
In the following half of the NewsHour broadcast, Woodruff welcomed Richman, introducing him as a "professor at Columbia Law School...a former federal prosecutor, himself, and current policy adviser to Director Comey." Richman sounded much like Schmidt, when he said that Comey was "protecting the credibility of the organization and of his own credibility with Congress," and had been "confronted with very little notice with a trove of e-mails that appeared to be pertinent."<br /><br />
Woodruff's other guest, Arent Fox attorney and partner Peter Zeidenberg - who "spent 17 years at the Justice Department as a federal prosecutor" and "also joined 100 others in an open letter critical of Comey’s actions" - said he thought the then FBI director was "premature to notify Congress before he had had a chance to actually examine these e-mails," that "it was a mistake," adding, "And, frankly, I think it was irresponsible to do it and drop this bomb."<br /><br />
"And, as Josh Gerstein mentioned, it’s very possible, if not likely, that all these e-mails have been looked at already," Zeidenberg told Woodruff. "They could all be duplicates."<br /><br />
Woodruff asked Comey's spokesman if there was "inconsistency", since, that day "the Clinton campaign and others pointed out that there is now new reporting that Director Comey didn’t want it to be known that the administration had confirmed that the Russians were behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee, arguing that it was too close to the election, that this would influence the election."<br /><br />
Five months before Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway would catch heat over "<a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/324621-conway-defines-alternative-facts-additional-facts-and">alternative facts</a>", Richman said, "There is only inconsistency, in the sense that there are really different facts."<br /><br />
Richman added: "And I certainly don’t know all the facts with regard to the internal deliberations with regard to the Russian hacking. But, yes, it certainly is the norm that the department doesn’t confirm or deny investigations and doesn’t confirm or deny the focus on any particular party."<br /><br />
"James Comey told a Senate committee on Thursday he was behind the leak of a memo he wrote that said President Donald Trump asked him to stem the FBI’s investigation to former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn," Max Kutner reports for <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/james-comey-columbia-professor-friend-dan-richman-623229">Newsweek</a>. "The account appeared in The New York Times in May, days after the president fired Comey as FBI director."<br /><br />
Kutner adds: "Comey did not name the friend, but Columbia Law School professor Daniel Richman reportedly confirmed he is that person to the Financial Times and CNN. In an email to Newsweek, he declined to comment."<br /><br />
<blockquote>"Richman’s <a href="http://www.law.columbia.edu/faculty/daniel-richman">faculty webpage</a> says he is 'currently an adviser to FBI Director James B. Comey.' The New York Times previously quoted Richman in multiple articles about the former FBI director, around the same time the newspaper published the Flynn article. A New Yorker article in May <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/james-comeys-conspicuous-independence">quoted</a> him and described him as Comey’s 'unofficial media surrogate.'"</blockquote>
"The professor is a former federal prosecutor and served as chief appellate attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where Comey also worked," Kutner notes. NBC News <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/who-daniel-richman-columbia-professor-who-leaked-comey-s-private-n769846">adds</a>: "Richman and Comey’s ties run deep, and the pair has been friends for 30 years, the law professor told NBC News last fall."<br /><br />
Schmidt's byline appears on multiple Comey stories that quote Richman, including "<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/02/us/politics/fbi-james-comey-hillary-clinton-donald-trump.html">F.B.I.’s Email Disclosure Broke a Pattern Followed Even This Summer</a>" (1/11/16), "<a href=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/22/us/politics/james-comey-election.html">Comey Tried to Shield the F.B.I. From Politics. Then He Shaped an Election.</a>" (4/22/17), and "<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/10/us/politics/how-trump-decided-to-fire-james-comey.html">‘Enough Was Enough’: How Festering Anger at Comey Ended in His Firing</a>" (5/10/17).<br /><br />
Schmidt has cited Richman as a source - on the record - for his New York Times articles going back at least nine years to 2008, when he reported many stories related to drugs and baseball.<br /><br />
Some examples include: "<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/sports/baseball/24canseco.html?ex=1358917200&en=0c3b7ed1e6146e4a&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink">Canseco Is Said to Seek Favor to Omit Name</a>" (1/24/08), "<a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03E7D7123FF935A15751C0A96E9C8B63">Motion Would Take Aim At Clemens's Top Lawyer</a>" (2/26/08), "<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/20/sports/baseball/20bonds.html">Balco Prosecutors Target Trainer’s Wife</a>" (2/20/08), and "<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/sports/baseball/25radomski.html?_r=1&ref=sports">Contradictions in Kirk Radomski’s Book Could Benefit Clemens</a>" (1/25/09).<br /><br />
Schmidt has apparently ducked questions from multiple media organizations regarding his outed relationship with Richman, but he probably isn't the only journalist at the Times and other outlets that has used the former FBI director's friend, colleague, advisor and spokesman as an unnamed source for articles that have been published regarding Russian interference in the 2016 elections, Clinton and Abedin controversies surrounding the use of a private email server, and the presidential race itself.<br /><br />
However, Schmidt got a lot of things wrong in his reporting for the New York Times and in other media appearances, such as the PBS broadcast, but doesn't seem to care or ever apologize for his role in creating - arguably - "fake news". Despite being part of the story, on June 8th, Schmidt <a href="https://www.facebook.com/nytimes/videos/10151197283804999/">conducted</a> a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000005153216/key-takeaways-from-comeys-testimony.html?partner=rss&emc=rss">Facebook Live</a> discussion video for the New York Times called "Key Takeaways From Comey's Testimony." One reader asked if Comey would face any "legal repercussions" for "leaks" from himself and "friends" to the media. Schmidt never mentions his source by name.<br /><br />
"Comey explained today how he had instructed one of his friends to put out to the media the contents of one of these memos," Schmidt said, then placed both hands against his chest to add, "I was the recipient of that memo." On May 16, Schmidt had <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/16/us/politics/james-comey-trump-flynn-russia-investigation.html?_r=0">reported</a>, "The New York Times has not viewed a copy of the memo, which is unclassified, but one of Mr. Comey's associates read parts of it to a Times reporter." Schmidt said he didn't think Comey would face any "legal jeopardy" because the "contents of the memo were not classified."<br /><br />
Schmidt claimed "Comey went to great lengths to make sure that the memos were not classified I believe, in part, because if he ever needed to get them out there, that made it much easier." He added, "If they were classified it would have been very difficult to declassify them and get information from them out."</i></b><br /><br />
As noted above, the original article can be found <a href="http://ronbryn.blogspot.com/2015/12/new-york-times-journalist-michael.html">at this link</a>.<br /><br />
Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-79729620083380789892017-06-07T14:26:00.000-04:002017-06-12T15:01:09.506-04:00Trump FBI Director Nominee Christopher Wray Defended Library Record ProbesDuring an October 21, 2003 Congressional hearing concerning US Terrorism prevention efforts, President Trump's FBI Director nominee Christopher Wray defended the controversial Patriot Act section related to library record borrowings.<br /><br />
According to a 2003 Congressional Quarterly Press <a href="http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2003102400">article</a> referring to the (perhaps now revised) Section 215 of the Patriot Act, Kenneth Jost wrote, "The section has been dubbed the 'angry librarian' provision because it could be used to obtain records of a person's library borrowings," and that "Justice Department officials appearing as witnesses at the hearing also rejected criticisms of the law."<br /><br />
"The various misperceptions that have been perpetuated about the Patriot Act are disturbing and simply wrong," Jost noted Christopher Wray, who was then the "assistant attorney general for the criminal division", said at the hearing.<br /><br />
Declaring, "We should not allow libraries or any other businesses to become safe havens for terrorist planning, financing, or communication," <a href="https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/wray_testimony_10_21_03.pdf"> Wray told Congress</a> in his opening statement that day:
<blockquote>"As you know, several groups including the ACLU, have claimed that Section 215 of the Patriot Act allows the government to investigate the library habits of ordinary citizens. This misinformation has apparently led a number of librarians to warn patrons needlessly of possible government monitoring. This overreaction has only led to further public confusion and
misunderstanding about the scope of the Patriot Act.<br /><br />
The suggestion that federal agents are snooping on innocent citizens' reading habits is inflammatory and simply untrue. First, the Patriot Act explicitly protects Americans' First Amendment rights by providing that an investigation may not be conducted 'of a United States person solely upon the basis of activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States.' Second, terrorism investigators have no interest in the reading habits of ordinary Americans. As the Attorney General pointed out recently, as of September 18, 2003, this provision had never been used. The House Judiciary Committee also concluded in its October 17, 2002, press release that its 'review of classified information related to FISA orders for tangible records, such as library records, has not given rise to any concern that the [government's] authority is being misused or abused.'<br /><br />
But historically, terrorists and spies have used libraries to plan and carry out activities that threaten our national security. For example, Brian Patrick Regan, who was convicted last February of offering to sell U.S. intelligence information to Iraq and China, used a computer at a local public library to look up addresses for Iraqi and Libyan embassies overseas. Similarly, in a recent domestic terrorism criminal case, a grand jury served a subpoena on a bookseller to obtain records showing that a suspect had bought a book giving instructions on how to build a particularly unusual detonator that had been used in several bombings. This was important evidence identifying the suspect as the bomber. We should not allow libraries or any other businesses to become safe havens for terrorist planning, financing, or communication.<br /><br />
The Patriot Act ensures that business records can be obtained in a national security investigation with the approval of a federal judge. Under the Patriot Act, the government can now ask a federal court to order production of the same type of records available through grand jury subpoenas, but only after the government shows that the records are sought for an authorized foreign intelligence investigation or to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities. Moreover, Congress also exercises careful and ongoing oversight: Every six months, the Attorney General must 'fully inform' Congress of how Section 215 has been used."</blockquote>
Jost's article added: "Echoing Attorney General Ashcroft's speeches in defense of the law, Wray pointed out that the law required judicial approval for records searches and delayed notification search warrants. He also noted that no library borrowing records have been sought under the law, but said that such information could be useful in some cases in identifying and thwarting suspected terrorists."<br /><br />
"For example, you could easily have -- and this is a hypothetical based on the kinds of things that come up on a day-to-day basis at the FBI and the Justice Department, CIA and other places -- you could have a foreign intelligence service that has a raid in a safe house overseas somewhere, and in the course of that raid, comes up with records that -- for example, there might be rental-car records or job applications, tenancy documents of some sort," Wray <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?178751-1/us-terrorism-prevention-efforts&start=10184">said</a> at the hearing (which can be viewed on the CSPAN clip below). "There might even be a library book, for example, from the DC library."<br /><br />
CSPAN video from the same hearing shows former Democratic Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold noting, "Secondly, I do acknowledge that the administration has indicated that they have not used the Section 215 library provisions, provisions that they describe as essential to the fight against terrorism."<br /><br />
But Feingold wondered: "Now, which is it? That they never used them or that they are essential? And what is the objection then to reasonable modifications if they haven't even been used?"<br /><br />
Reporting for ProPublica in 2013, Justin Elliott <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/remember-when-the-patriot-act-debate-was-about-library-records">wrote</a>, "Civil liberties groups and librarians’ associations, which have long been fiercely protective of reader privacy, quickly raised fears of the FBI using that authority to snoop on circulation records."<br /><br />
Elliott added, "Even before the Patriot Act passed, the American Library Association <a href="http://www.propublica.org/documents/item/714347-alaterrorism">warned</a> members of Congress that the business records provision under consideration would 'eviscerate long-standing state laws and place the confidentiality of all library users at risk.'"<br /><br />
"So has the government ever used Section 215 to get library records?" Elliott asked, before answering his own question: "We don’t know."<br /><br />
Elliott's 2013 story continued: "Testifying before Congress in March 2011, a Justice Department official said Section 215 'has never been used against a library to obtain circulation records.' But as with so much else about the Patriot Act, how often or even whether the government has obtained library records is secret. Section 215 imposes a gag order on people or businesses who are compelled to produce records."<br /><br />
"The FBI has also used a separate Patriot Act provision, issuing what is known as a national security letter, to seek library patron records," Elliott reported in 2013. "<a href="http://www.aclu.org/national-security/librarians-nsl-challenge">One such episode</a> prompted a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/13/nyregion/13library.html?pagewanted=print">successful</a> court challenge by Connecticut librarians in 2005-06."<br /><br />
In his <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/07/us/some-librarians-use-shredder-to-show-opposition-to-new-fbi-powers.html">April 7, 2003 New York Times article</a>, - "Some Librarians Use Shredder to Show Opposition to New F.B.I. Powers" - Dean E. Murphy wrote, "In a survey sent to 1,500 libraries last fall by the Library Research Center at the University of Illinois, the staffs at 219 libraries said they had cooperated with law enforcement requests for information about patrons; staffs at 225 libraries said they had not."<br /><br />
On June 7, 2017, after Trump tweeted about picking Wray, <a href="http://reason.com/blog/2017/06/07/trump-wants-to-replace-comey-at-the-fbi">Reason's Scott Shackford</a> blogged: "On the negative side of the ledger, Wray has been a <a href="https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/wray_testimony_10_21_03.pdf">major defender of the Patriot Act</a> and the expansion of surveillance authority that it granted the federal intelligence community. In Senate Judiciary Committee testimony in 2003, he praised the act as a tool for fighting terrorism and pushed back against 'myths' that the law would be used to authorize surveillance against U.S. citizens. It's interesting to read that old defense in light of what we know now. Remember when one of the bigger worries was that the feds would use the Patriot Act to track what library books we were checking out?."<br /><br /><br /><br />
<object id='cspan-video-player' classid='clsid:d27cdb6eae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000' codebase='http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0' align='middle' height='330' width='512'><param name='allowScriptAccess' value='true'/><param name='movie' value='//www.c-span.org/assets/swf/CSPANPlayer.swf?pid=178751-1'/><param name='quality' value='high'/><param name='bgcolor' value='#ffffff'/><param name='allowFullScreen' value='true'/><param name='flashvars' value='system=//www.c-span.org/common/services/flashXml.php?programid=120940&style=inline&version=2014-01-23'/><embed name='cspan-video-player' src='//www.c-span.org/assets/swf/CSPANPlayer.swf?pid=178751-1' allowScriptAccess='always' bgcolor='#ffffff' quality='high' allowFullScreen='true' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer' flashvars='system=//www.c-span.org/common/services/flashXml.php?programid=120940&style=inline&version=2014-01-23' align='middle' height='330' width='512'></embed></object>Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-69541398895888937172017-05-25T21:20:00.001-04:002017-06-01T14:31:03.581-04:00Consulting firm website tied to blogger who collaborated with alleged DNC hacker scrubbed Florida GOP as client<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mBycSsvhZcA/WTADiFmiMPI/AAAAAAAABW0/ezLJAOGK9eU7-GwRNzudDG9qlETL-XFRgCLcB/s1600/nevinslinked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mBycSsvhZcA/WTADiFmiMPI/AAAAAAAABW0/ezLJAOGK9eU7-GwRNzudDG9qlETL-XFRgCLcB/s320/nevinslinked.jpg" width="320" height="156" data-original-width="326" data-original-height="159" /></a></div><b><i>6/1/17 Update: Aaron Nevins updated his LinkedIn resume after the Wall Street Journal outed the Republican consultant one week ago - on May 25th - as the HelloFLA.com blogger who sought and obtained 2.5 gigabytes of stolen Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) data from alleged Russian hacker Guccifer 2.0 last August. When this article was published, hours after the WSJ report, the resume said he currently worked as a partner at Richardson Partners, but now it says he left the firm in April. However, it still lists www.richardsonpartners.com as his company website.<br /><br />
As I exclusively reported, the Republican Party of Florida was removed as a past or present client of the firm, perhaps as late as November 7, the day before the 2016 elections. But there was another big change to the website, too, which seemed to occur that same day: the About page for the team.<br /><br />
Since the website was launched, the team showed only two partners: Nevins and Tony L. Richardson, who - according to his scrubbed biography - is "the founder and president of Richardson Partners." It added: "After working with several high profile campaigns, including the Bush/Brogan Gubernatorial Campaign of 2002, Todd went on to serve in the Executive Office of Governor Jeb Bush, where he worked with the governor to appoint leaders to Florida’s civic boards of service involving education and economic development. Following nearly three years in the Governors Office, Todd went on to join the Tom Gallagher for Governor Campaign, where he managed the campaign’s South Florida operations."<br /><br />
"Following the 2006 election, Todd opened a political consulting company in South Florida where he oversaw numerous state and local races, and managed grassroots campaigns on behalf of national corporations," it continued. "Richardson Partners has since grown into a successful public affairs firm representing over a dozen corporate and political clients on a state and local level."<br /><br />
Richardson is "a seasoned consultant specializing in grassroots management, media messaging and public relations", and "[h]is extensive knowledge of the political landscape in the South Florida community has been an invaluable resource on many political and issue advocacy campaigns."<br /><br />
The Guccifer 2.0 collaborator's biography once stated: "Aaron Nevins is founder and managing partner of Chelsea Road Consulting. He brings to Richardson Partners almost a decade of experience serving in senior level positions in both bodies of the Florida Legislature. His relationships with key policy makers in both chambers of the Legislature, as well as local government, helps to provide our clients with a direct line of communication with legislative, executive, and municipal leaders, and their staff."<br /><br />
<blockquote>"Prior to working in the Legislature, he helped organize a statewide campaign and bus tour to protect the Bright Futures Scholarship Program. Having traveled to all 67 counties in Florida, Aaron provides our clients with a unique of how the diverse needs of the different communities within our state affect the thinking of their leaders.<br /><br />
He has a candid ability to review, evaluate, and provide an assessment of upcoming legislative actions, and his extensive knowledge of the Legislative process provides our clients with a critical advantage when dealing with governmental entities."</blockquote></i></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j64Wug0jez0/WTA4YCTgZaI/AAAAAAAABXc/OQEBJzuWahI5MhtyuRanLp6urIHg7Cz6gCLcB/s1600/aar2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j64Wug0jez0/WTA4YCTgZaI/AAAAAAAABXc/OQEBJzuWahI5MhtyuRanLp6urIHg7Cz6gCLcB/s640/aar2.jpg" width="640" height="219" data-original-width="820" data-original-height="281" /></a></div><br /><br />
<b><i>Currently, the About page only shows a message stating, "No Results Found."<br /><br />
"The page you requested could not be found," it added. "Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post."</b></i><br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2512D3J1ev8/WTA37wl9gYI/AAAAAAAABXY/9r6TpMcWhGIrk1BxvDsxwYz41eKiKQEbQCLcB/s1600/rp4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2512D3J1ev8/WTA37wl9gYI/AAAAAAAABXY/9r6TpMcWhGIrk1BxvDsxwYz41eKiKQEbQCLcB/s640/rp4.jpg" width="640" height="239" data-original-width="647" data-original-height="242" /></a></div><br /><br />
<b><i>Nevins and Richardson haven't responded to tweets asking why all these changes were made to their website before last year's election.</b></i><br /><br />
A consulting firm's website tied to a blogger who collaborated with Guccifer 2.0 - the alleged DNC hacker that has been accused by many US intelligence officials of working for Putin and Russia to help sway the 2016 election for Trump - was scrubbed to remove the Republican Party of Florida as a client, perhaps on election eve.<br /><br />
The confirmed collaboration began three days after that firm was paid a few grand for consulting fees by a Florida political campaign last August.<br /><br />
According to his LinkedIn <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-nevins-96223a5/?locale=de_DE">resume</a>, the once-anonymous blogger from HelloFLA.com who Wall Street Journal reporters Alexandra Berzon and Rob Barry <a href=https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-alleged-russian-hacker-teamed-up-with-florida-gop-operative-1495724787>outed today</a> as "a Republican political operative in Florida named Aaron Nevins" has been a partner at Richardson Partners, since November of 2012.<br /><br />
<i>(Editor's note: The biggest news in the WSJ report might be that "Mr. Nevins said he hasn’t been contacted by any investigators about last year’s political hacking," and there is more related to that at the end of this article.)</i><br /><br />
As an <a href=http://web.archive.org/web/20131029202737/http://richardsonpartners.com/portfolio/>archive.org link from October of 2013 reveals</a>, the website once claimed the Republican Party of Florida was one of "[p]ast and current Richardson Partners clients" that "include a diverse group of corporations and candidates throughout Florida and across the nation."<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BWi9M5BVcNk/WSeTUbVIGhI/AAAAAAAABWU/y_EpY_tGP1gKUSu2jRx_iTFpjyVo5HbLwCLcB/s1600/richardson1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BWi9M5BVcNk/WSeTUbVIGhI/AAAAAAAABWU/y_EpY_tGP1gKUSu2jRx_iTFpjyVo5HbLwCLcB/s640/richardson1.jpg" width="640" height="470" data-original-width="717" data-original-height="526" /></a></div><br /><br />
However, at some time between <a href=http://web.archive.org/web/20160401101723/http://richardsonpartners.com/portfolio/>April 1st, 2016</a> and <a href=http://web.archive.org/web/20161107231221/http://richardsonpartners.com/portfolio/>November 7, 2016</a>, the website was scrubbed to remove the Florida GOP as a client. There aren't any saved screenshots between those dates, so it's possible that the reference was removed on the day before the 2016 election.<br /><br />
This is how it looks <a href=http://richardsonpartners.com/portfolio/>today</a>:<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-boS6SyQ4W4c/WSeT9sPfLVI/AAAAAAAABWc/owaV5JVkdfEPAwzJlxtjv0vXgzn0FhxjQCLcB/s1600/richardson2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-boS6SyQ4W4c/WSeT9sPfLVI/AAAAAAAABWc/owaV5JVkdfEPAwzJlxtjv0vXgzn0FhxjQCLcB/s640/richardson2.jpg" width="640" height="478" data-original-width="631" data-original-height="471" /></a></div><br /><br />
It wasn't until <a href=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/13/us/politics/house-democrats-hacking-dccc.html>December 13, 2016</a> that Eric Lipton and Scott Shane reported for the New York Times "Guccifer 2.0's most important partner was an obscure political website run by an anonymous blogger called HelloFLA!, run by a former Florida legislative aide turned Republican lobbyist," and he "sent direct messages via Twitter to Guccifer 2.0 asking for copies of any additional Florida documents."
<blockquote>“I can send you some docs via email,” Guccifer 2.0 replied on Aug. 22, according to a cellphone screen shot of the message that the blogger, who writes under the pen name Mark Miewurd, provided to The New York Times. “Great! Editor@hellofla.com. I’m just getting my kid from school but I’ll be able to get it up pretty quick after I get it. Thanks!”<br /><br />
“Do u have a size limit?” Guccifer 2.0 replied, a question that led the Florida blogger to set up an anonymous Dropbox account so he could take thousands of pages of stolen information from the Russian operative, data that the blogger immediately recognized would have an extremely high strategic value for the Republicans.<br /><br />
“I don’t think you realize what you gave me,” the blogger said, looking at the costly internal D.C.C.C. political research that he had just been provided. “This is probably worth millions of dollars.”<br /><br />
Guccifer 2.0 wrote back: “Hmmm. ok. u owe me a million.”</blockquote>
Today's WSJ article adds that "Nevins confirmed his exchanges after The Wall Street Journal identified him first as the operator of the HelloFLA blog and then as the recipient of the stolen DCCC data", which included documents that "analyzed specific Florida districts, showing how many people were dependable Democratic voters, how many were likely Democratic voters but needed a nudge, how many were frequent voters but not committed and how many were core Republican voters—the kind of data strategists use in planning ad buys and other tactics."<br /><br />
Nevins claims to the WSJ journalists, that "he didn’t use any in his consulting business, which includes running grass-roots-style campaigns for corporations and wealthy landowners seeking to influence local politics."<br /><br />
A <a href=http://flleadershipfund.org/files/2012/07/flf_expend.pdf>Florida Leadership Committee
Expenditures PDF</a> names Richardson Partners, Inc. from Boca Raton as a recipient of payments of $10,000 each on 1/28/14, 9/19/14 and 10/07/14, totaling $30,000 for the year. The firm's address is a post office box address in Boca Raton, which matches the P.O. box - 273932 - listed on the Richardson Partners <a href=http://richardsonpartners.com/contact/>website's contact page</a>.<br /><br />
Nevins and Todd L. Richardson are named in a <a href=http://www.leg.state.fl.us/data/lobbyist/Reports/lobfirml_2013.pdf>2013 Legislative lobbying report pdf</a> for the firm, using that same P.O. box address. On August 9, 2016, the firm was <a href=http://www.fec.state.fl.us/FECWebFi.nsf/0/26522D1998C2E43B85258066004E32C6/$file/16-307+Bennett,+Tony_Redacted.pdf>paid</a> $2,000 for consulting fees by <a href="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/endorsements/fl-endorse-tony-bennett-palm-beach-commission-20161013-story.html">Democratic attorney</a> Tony Gerard Bennett, a candidate for Palm Beach County Commissioner, District 1 in the 2016 elections, which is three days before Nevins contacted Guccifer 2.0, as he claimed to the WSJ. Other filings show on October 18 the firm earned over $6,200 for mailers and phone calls for Bennett's unsuccessful campaign.<br /><br />
According to his <a href=https://twitter.com/toddlrichardson>Twitter profile</a>, Richardson is the "[p]resident of Richardson Partners, a South Florida based public affairs & communications firm". In 2014, a Tampa Bay, Florida third-party political organization tied to Richardson <a href=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-boca-candidate-attack-20141223-story.html>called</a> "Floridians for Integrity in Government" released flyers against a Florida candidate, who allegedly rejected a bid by Todd to handle his city council campaign. "It has received nearly $1.4 million in donations since it started in 2012," and "[m]ost of its recent donations have come from the "Florida Leadership Committee", the Sun-Sentinel reported.<br /><br />
In another 2014 race, Republican Ellyn Bogdanoff lost to Democratic state Sen. Maria Sachs, even though Richardson's group helped pay for advertising that "blanketed the airwaves", since the Florida GOP gave her "no direct support", and she entered the race late. "The Floridians for Integrity in Government political committee got most of its funding from another PAC, the Florida Leadership Committee," Dan Sweeney <a href=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-election-bogdanoff-sachs-20141104-story.html>reported for the Sun-Sentinel on November 11, 2014</a>. "And that PAC, in turn, is closely associated with state Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater."<br /><br />
At his <a href=http://linkstraveler.com/trump-turnberry-golf-resort-turnberry-scotland/>LinksTraveler</a> website, Richardson blogged that he "had an opportunity to visit Trump Turnberry two days before the opening round of the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon." He said new renovations "easily puts this legendary links course, on the west coast of Scotland, into one of the top courses in the world."<br /><br />
On January 17, 2017, Richardson Partners <a href=https://www.myboca.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/5389>collected $2,500</a> and on February 3, 2017 <a href=https://www.myboca.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/5621>was paid</a> over $3550 for communications for the successful Scott Singer City Council 2016 campaign in Boca Raton. Singer won his seat unopposed three years ago, and his "challenger" last year, was - according to a <a href=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/opinion/endorsements/fl-editorial-boca-raton-council-endorsements-20170301-story.html>Sun-Sentinel editorial endorsing him</a> - "Patti Dervishi, a mostly retired Realtor who rants about development and whose rambling, unfocused answers show that she has not prepared herself for a council race," who was "unqualified."<br /><br />
The firm also earned <a href=http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00576660/1028020/sb/17>over $9,000</a> working for the unsuccessful <a href=http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/florida-house-district-68-race-starts-off-with-a-republican-gaffe-then-a/2283621>Joseph JB Bensmihen for Congress campaign</a> in Palm Beach County in 2015.<br /><br />
<a href=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-reg-russia-hacker-guccifer-connection-20170525-story.html>Florida's Sun-Sentinel confirms</a> that "Nevins, 36, is well known in political circles in South Florida. He has two companies, Chelsea Road Consulting and Painted Dog Productions, and is affiliated with Richardson Partners, a political consultancy in Boca Raton."<br /><br />
"Nevins was the chief of staff for Ellyn Bogdanoff when she was a Republican state senator and state representatives," Anthony Man adds. "He is also the son of former Sun Sentinel political columnist Buddy Nevins."<br /><br />
The LinkedIn resume for Nevins also notes that he was the "Senior Legislative Assistant (Chief of Staff)" for the Florida House of Representatives from May 2004 until November of 2010," in "Tallahassee und Umgebung, Florida."<br /><br />
On November 12, 2016, in response to a question "Could hackers hack each state's voting system so that Donald Trump is elected president?" posted in August, Nevins <a href="https://www.quora.com/Could-hackers-hack-each-states-voting-system-so-that-Donald-Trump-is-elected-president">responded</a>, "The fact that it would be much harder to hack 50 separate state systems, or even enough of them in the key places where it would matter (and not get caught) is reason enough to keep the electoral College."<br /><br />
He added, "If we went with the national popular vote, you would only need to ballot stuff in one sympathetic state to cheat."<br /><br />
On October 20, 2016, <a href=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/broward-politics-blog/sfl-disgrunted-gop-voter-aaron-nevins-threatens-to-shut-down-u-s-441-for-car-race-on-election-day-20161014-story.html>Brittany Wallman reported for the Sentinel</a>, "Aaron Nevins, a 35-year-old Republican voter in Broward and former staffer for ex-state Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, said he's going to shut down U.S. 441 on Election Day for an automobile race."<br /><br />
Before the shut down was canceled, Nevins told the newspaper he wasn't a supporter of Trump, and that he is "not coordinating with the Republican Party or Roger Stone or any of those people."<br /><br />
The Wall Street Journal reported that Guccifer 2.0 "sent a link to the blog article to Roger Stone, a longtime informal adviser to then-candidate Donald Trump, along with Mr. Nevins’ analysis of the hacked data."<br /><br />
"Nevins said he didn’t have any dealings with Stone about the material," today's Sun-Sentinel article adds. "He said he had a group dinner with Stone three or four years ago and hasn’t seen or spoken to him since."
<blockquote>Nevins said he doesn’t believe he is facing any legal jeopardy over the matter, and he has not been contacted by any investigating authorities.<br /><br />
“The way I look at it, I was acting as a journalist. And my actions would show evidence of that. I was sending it out to journalists, not to political campaigns,” he said. “I, to some extent, felt forced to publish it.”<br /><br />
He said he is not concerned about getting in legal trouble or becoming the subject of an investigation.<br /><br />
“I’m not going to live my life concerned about that. I don’t think that I did anything illegal,” he said. “I think if I held onto the data and if I used it for a political campaign without releasing it or if I just ended up sending it to political operatives around the state we would be having a different conversation, probably from a jail cell.”</blockquote>
Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-75152564346803925632017-05-25T06:23:00.000-04:002017-05-25T07:55:25.170-04:00Bodyslam defending Gianforte flack Shane Scanlon works for firm tied to Manafort & Trump scandal <i><b>(Editor's note: It's late and this is a breaking story, so it's mostly going to be copy-and-paste job from multiple sources. One reason that no other journalists seem to be making this connection is that many of them might rely on Shane Scanlon or other strategists from Mercury for scoops. Mercury claims to be a bi-partisan lobbying and public relations firm, but it obviously leans towards the right. However - and, of course - most D.C. based P.R. firms usually have at least a few agents and clients from the other side of the aisle. Also, I wouldn't trust any of the reporters tied to the "bodyslam" story, especially <a href=https://twitter.com/alexis_levinson/status/867529149409349632>anyone</a> who works for Buzzfeed.)</i></b><br /><br />
The spokesman for a Montana Congressional candidate - who was arrested on election eve after allegedly bodyslamming a reporter for aggressively asking a healthcare related question - works for a lobbying firm that did undisclosed lobbying for a pro-Russian Ukrainian party with former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort's colleague, Rick Gates.<br /><br />
However, Shane Scanlon wasn't hired by Mercury LLC until last December - five years after the Ukrainian lobbying - and the head of the firm, former Republican Congressman Vin Weber, didn't endorse Trump.<br /><br />
Last night, Alicia Acuna reported for <a href=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/05/24/greg-gianforte-fox-news-team-witnesses-gop-house-candidate-body-slam-reporter.html>Fox News</a>, "The race to fill Montana's sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives took a violent turn Wednesday, and a crew from the Fox News Channel, including myself, witnessed it firsthand."<br /><br />
"As part of our preparation for a story about Thursday's special election to air on 'Special Report with Bret Baier,'...I joined field producer Faith Mangan and photographer Keith Railey in Bozeman for our scheduled interview with [GOP candidate Greg] Gianforte," but, during "small talk...another man — who we now know is Ben Jacobs of The Guardian — walked into the room with a voice recorder, put it up to Gianforte's face and began asking if he had a response to the newly released Congressional Budget Office report on the American Health Care Act," Acuna adds. "Gianforte told him he would get to him later. Jacobs persisted with his question. Gianforte told him to talk to his press guy, Shane Scanlon."
<blockquote>"At that point, Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. Faith, Keith and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the reporter. As Gianforte moved on top of Jacobs, he began yelling something to the effect of, 'I'm sick and tired of this!'<br /><br />
Jacobs scrambled to his knees and said something about his glasses being broken. He asked Faith, Keith and myself for our names. In shock, we did not answer. Jacobs then said he wanted the police called and went to leave. Gianforte looked at the three of us and repeatedly apologized. At that point, I told him and Scanlon, who was now present, that we needed a moment. The men then left.<br /><br />
To be clear, at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte, who left the area after giving statements to local sheriff's deputies.</blockquote>
Gianforte spokesman Shane Scanlon released a statement blaming the "liberal journalist", full of claims that don't seem to align with the recorded audio, and not even mentioning the body slam: "Tonight, as Greg was giving a separate interview in a private office, The Guardian's Ben Jacobs entered the office without permission, aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg's face, and began asking badgering questions. Jacobs was asked to leave. After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined. Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face. Jacobs grabbed Greg's wrist, and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground. It's unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ."<br /><br />
"As for myself and my crew, we are cooperating with local authorities," Acuna added for FOX NEWS. "Gianforte was given a citation for misdemeanor assault and will have to appear in court sometime before June 7."<br /><br />
On December 19, 2016, a <a href=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mercury-announces-launch-of-montana-office-addition-of-republican-strategist-shane-scanlon-300381122.html>press release announced</a>, "Mercury, a leading global, bipartisan public strategy firm, announced today the expansion of its Montana presence with the launch of an office in Helena, and the addition of Shane Scanlon, who will serve as Vice President."
<blockquote>"Mr. Scanlon previously worked as a senior advisor and communications director for the Montana Republican Party. He played a leading role in the party's successful 2016 campaign cycle, which saw the MT GOP win four of the five statewide races, giving Republicans control of the Land Board for the first time since 1928. In 2014, Scanlon served as a senior member of the communications team for the Steve Daines for U.S. Senate campaign. That race, identified as one of the most competitive in the nation for the midterms, helped Republicans regain control of the U.S. Senate. Prior to his involvement in Montana politics, Scanlon worked in the U.S. Senate for Senator John Thune (R-SD), holding positions on the Senate Republican Policy Committee and the Senate Republican Conference.<br /><br />
Mercury began its work in Montana in 2014, following the additions of Rehberg and Baker. The firm has worked on a host of core policy issues statewide, including work in healthcare, agriculture, energy & natural resources, telecommunications, education and defense.<br /><br />
Scanlon started his tenure with Mercury December 1st."</blockquote>
"Mercury is a high-stakes, bipartisan public strategy firm," the press release claims. "The firm provides a comprehensive suite of services that includes federal government relations, international affairs, digital influence, public opinion research, media strategy and a bipartisan grassroots mobilization network in all 50 states."<br /><br />
It adds, "Our firm is not just led by top talent — we distinguish ourselves by having senior talent deeply engaged in each project from start to finish, a promise we keep to clients. The firm has an established global presence, with U.S. offices in Washington, DC, New York, California, New Jersey, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Tennessee, as well as international offices in London and Mexico City. Mercury is a part of the DAS Group of Companies."<br /><br />
On August 17, 2016, <a href=https://apnews.com/c01989a47ee5421593ba1b301ec07813/ap-sources-manafort-tied-undisclosed-foreign-lobbying>the Associated Press</a> exclusively reported, "Donald Trump’s campaign chairman helped a pro-Russian governing party in Ukraine secretly route at least $2.2 million in payments to two prominent Washington lobbying firms in 2012, and did so in a way that effectively obscured the foreign political party’s efforts to influence U.S. policy."<br /><br />
"The revelation, provided to The Associated Press by people directly knowledgeable about the effort, comes at a time when Trump has faced criticism for his friendly overtures to Russian President Vladimir Putin," Jeff Horwitz and Desmond Butler reported. "It also casts new light on the business practices of campaign chairman Paul Manafort.<br /><br />
They note, "Under federal law, U.S. lobbyists must declare publicly if they represent foreign leaders or their political parties and provide detailed reports about their actions to the Justice Department" and that "[a] violation is a felony and can result in up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000."<br /><br />
<blockquote>"Manafort and business associate Rick Gates, another top strategist in Trump’s campaign, were working in 2012 on behalf of the political party of Ukraine’s then-president, Viktor Yanukovych.<br /><br />
People with direct knowledge of Gates’ work said that, during the period when Gates and Manafort were consultants to the Ukraine president’s political party, Gates was also helping steer the advocacy work done by a pro-Yanukovych nonprofit that hired a pair of Washington lobbying firms, Podesta Group Inc. and Mercury LLC.<br /><br />
The nonprofit, the newly created European Centre for a Modern Ukraine, was governed by a board that initially included parliament members from Yanukovych’s party. The nonprofit subsequently paid at least $2.2 million to the lobbying firms to advocate positions generally in line with those of Yanukovych’s government.</blockquote>
"That lobbying included downplaying the necessity of a congressional resolution meant to pressure the Ukrainian leader to release an imprisoned political rival," the AP story added. "The lobbying firms continued the work until shortly after Yanukovych fled the country in February 2014, during a popular revolt prompted in part by his government’s crackdown on protesters and close ties to Russia."<br /><br />
On May 11, 2017, Bloomberg BNA's Kenneth P. Doyle <a href=https://www.bna.com/doj-deflects-calls-n73014450776/>noted</a> that "two major Washington, D.C., consulting firms, the Podesta Group Inc. and Mercury Public Affairs LLC, filed FARA registrations last month regarding work they did in 2012 related to Ukraine."<br /><br />
Doyle continues, "The registrations followed news reports in recent months that the Ukraine advocacy work was arranged by another former Trump adviser, Paul Manafort, and that the arrangement may have been intended to avoid revealing the involvement of a pro-Russia Ukrainian political party, which was seeking to improve its image with U.S. officials."<br /><br />
<blockquote>"Manafort hasn’t registered separately as a foreign agent for the Ukraine-related work, but he was listed in the new FARA disclosure documents filed by Mercury Public Affairs as participating in meetings along with Weber. The two met in 2012 and 2013 with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), former Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.) and others, the disclosure said.<br /><br />
...<br /><br />
The DOJ has brought only seven criminal FARA cases in the last 50 years, according to the DOJ’s inspector general. The department also has the ability to seek injunctive relief to achieve compliance with the law but hasn’t done so since 1991."</blockquote>Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-74606314941862670242017-04-18T15:14:00.000-04:002017-04-18T19:05:22.292-04:00Weiner Landlord - Tied To Russian Bank Linked To Putin - Defends Trump And Owns Cybersecurity Firm<i><b>(Editor's Note: Former British M.P. Louise Mensch has received a lot of attention for controversial reporting on Trump, Russia, and the latest Weiner sexting scandal. My last <a href=http://ronbryn.blogspot.com/2017/04/sydney-leathers-role-orchestrating-2016.html>story</a> - which I'm still updating - explores hoax claims, political dirty trick allegations, and sketchy reporting on the allegations that Weiner sexted a teen, and how Hillary Clinton emails with Huma Abedin ended up on Weiner's computer. This article isn't intended as a "conspiracy theory" article, with preconceived notions about how it may conclude. It's, essentially, what I've been reporting on since the first Weinergate story broke in May of 2011. The rest of the media dropped that story, even though the source for the surveillance on Weiner - which <a href=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/18/nyregion/fake-identities-were-used-on-twitter-to-get-information-on-weiner.html>included the use of forged documents, emails and Direct Messages by "fake teens"</a> - has never been outed, and I've been falsely persecuted and accused of insane crimes for refusing to drop this investigation. My paypal account is ronbrynaert@yahoo.com, if you can help a journalist who reports fairly on Trump & Clinton, but is persecuted and blacklisted.)</b></i><br /><br />
While American Jewish Congress (AJC) chairman Jack Rosen is often referred to as a friend of the Clintons and other Democrats, the real estate tycoon also has a long history with many Republicans, as well.<br /><br />
As Haaretz reported in <a href=http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/jack-rosen-turning-u-s-presidents-from-friends-in-need-to-friends-indeed.premium-1.470860>2012</a>, "Obama isn’t the first U.S. president Rosen has been friendly with. He was close to his predecessor, George W. Bush, as well. Rosen appreciated Bush’s friendship toward Israel and contributed a reported $100,000 to his 2004 campaign."<br /><br />
Rosen has many friends, including "former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, now President Putin’s Chief of Staff," which Haaretz noted.<br /><br />
However, Ivanov was "unexpectedly fired" by Putin, <a href=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/13/world/europe/sergei-ivanov-putin-russia.html?smid=tw-share>the New York Times reported last August</a>. "Ivanov was the most recent casualty in what seemed to be an orchestrated plan by Mr. Putin, 63, to install a new generation of 'servants' to replace his contemporaries, who might still have had the standing to occasionally question his decisions." But Ivanov is reportedly still a special envoy for transportation and the environment.<br /><br />
<a href=http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/guess-who-came-dinner-flynn-putin-n742696>Reporting for NBC News</a> on April 18, 2017, Robert Windrem revealed that Ivanov attended a "December 2015 dinner celebrating the 10th birthday of Russian TV network RT," where "President Vladimir Putin and a host of Russian luminaries toasted a state-backed news channel that U.S. intelligence calls a Kremlin mouthpiece."<br /><br />
"And next to Putin at the head table, in the seat of honor, was an American," Windrem writes. "Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who would later become Donald Trump's national security adviser, was already advising Trump's presidential campaign when he was paid $45,000 to speak at the gala."<br /><br />
The breaking NBC News report continues, "Sergey Ivanov, then Putin's chief of staff, sat directly across the table from Flynn. A former KGB general who at one point ran KGB operations in Africa, he has also served as Russian defense minister and deputy prime minister. Ivanov had been under U.S. and European sanctions for a year and a half by the date of the dinner."<br /><br />
More from the 2012 Haaretz interview with Weiner's landlord: "Rosen believes Israel should recognize that the United States is not a solo player on the world stage anymore and engage more actively with Russia, China, India and multilateral organizations, especially the UN. He says the same about Jewish communities around the world, noting that they are in a far better position to influence their countries’ leaders. 'They can visit Putin,' he says of the Russian Jewish community, “and they will have much greater impact than we Americans."<br /><br />
"Rosen has partnered with Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman, who, according to press reports, is investing $1 billion in American real estate through Rosen’s company (and who denies press reports that his Alfa-Bank is dealing with Iran)," the article added.<br /><br />
On October 31, 2016, Eric Lichtblau and Steven Lee Myers <a href=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/01/us/politics/fbi-russia-election-donald-trump.html?utm_source=huffingtonpost.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pubexchange_article&_r=0>reported for The New York Times</a>, "In classified sessions in August and September, intelligence officials also briefed congressional leaders on the possibility of financial ties between Russians and people connected to Mr. Trump. They focused particular attention on what cyberexperts said appeared to be a mysterious computer back channel between the Trump Organization and the Alfa Bank, which is one of Russia’s biggest banks and whose owners have longstanding ties to Mr. Putin."<br /><br />
The story continued: "F.B.I. officials spent weeks examining computer data showing an odd stream of activity to a Trump Organization server and Alfa Bank. Computer logs obtained by The New York Times show that two servers at Alfa Bank sent more than 2,700 “look-up” messages — a first step for one system’s computers to talk to another — to a Trump-connected server beginning in the spring. But the F.B.I. ultimately concluded that there could be an innocuous explanation, like a marketing email or spam, for the computer contacts."<br /><br />
"On May 7, 2012, a new Statement of Organization was filed by Friends of Weiner which changed the committee's email address to Weiner's former campaign finance director Dolev Azaria," I reported <a href=http://ronbryn.blogspot.com/2012/05/is-weiner-planning-to-win-back-his-old.html>five years ago</a>. "The old address for Friends of Weiner was also changed from 1 ASCAN AVENUE #31 FOREST HILLS, NY 11375, as the 2007 Statement of Organization indicated, to 254 PARK AVE SOUTH SUITE 12A NEW YORK, NY 10010."<br /><br />
A few months later, <a href=http://nypost.com/2012/08/13/anthony-weiner-and-wife-move-into-3-3m-manhattan-apt/>The New York Post reported</a>, "Anthony Weiner’s wife not only took him back, she took him back in style — moving with the shamed pol into a luxurious, $3.3 million Manhattan pad owned by a deep-pocketed Democratic donor, The Post has learned."<br /><br />
"After quitting his Queens House seat amid a notorious sexting scandal, Weiner and beautiful, brainy spouse Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, landed in the sprawling, 12th-floor Park Avenue trophy residence owned by Rosen Partners LLC, which is headed by close Clinton pal Jack Rosen, records show," the Post added.<br /><br />
The <a href=https://www.rosenpartnersllc.com/firm>Rosen Partners LLC website</a>, refers to cybersecurity as an industry it's involved with, and that the firm "focuses on domestic and international investments where value can be added by leveraging capital, global networks and expert knowledge."<br /><br />
"While the primary focus is real estate, we seek to identify unique opportunities worldwide," it adds.<br /><br />
At <a href=http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/01/huma-abedin-hillary-clinton-adviser>Vanity Fair</a>, William D. Cohan reported on January 6, 2016, "Thanks to the generosity of Jack Rosen, a longtime Clinton supporter and New York developer, the couple moved into a sunlit, 12th-floor, 2,120-square-foot, four-bedroom apartment in one of Rosen’s buildings, at 254 Park Avenue South. The monthly rent has been estimated to have been at least $12,000. (In an interview, Rosen says the apartment was made available to the couple in part because of his relationship with the Clintons and they paid a market rental rate.) How Weiner and Abedin could afford the rent had the press wondering, although Weiner had started a consulting firm, Woolf Weiner Associates. The couple reported a combined income of $496,000 for 2012."<br /><br />
On October 9, 2015, Emily Opilo <a href=http://www.mcall.com/news/local/allentown/mc-allentown-fbi-jack-rosen-contract-20151009-story.html>reported</a>, "A security company financially backed by a New York City developer and major Democratic campaign donor was about to get a no-bid contract to assess Allentown's computer systems when the FBI raided City Hall in July, according to city emails recently obtained by The Morning Call through a Right to Know request."<br /><br />
"The company — referred to in emails as Ciiber also known as Five C — is financially backed by Jack Rosen, a top fundraiser for President Barack Obama who has secured more than $880,000 for federal candidates since 1990, according to the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C. Rosen and his family collectively were among the top donors to Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski's now-suspended U.S. Senate campaign," Opilo added.<br /><br />
Even though, "Rosen, his son Jordan Rosen and Five C are also among the more than two dozen people and businesses listed on an FBI subpoena served at Allentown City Hall on July 2 in a raid tied to a Philadelphia-based grand jury investigation," Opilo noted, "The Rosens have not been accused of any wrongdoing."<br /><br />
"Ciiber, a New York City-based security firm with Israeli principals, was scheduled to assess Allentown's security cameras, police wireless network and vehicle tracking systems the week of July 27-31, the emails stated," the story added.<br /><br />
In a follow-up article published November 13 ,2015, Opilo <a href=http://www.mcall.com/news/local/allentown/mc-allentown-fbi-streetlight-ten-20151113-story.html>reported</a>, "The first contract scrapped in the wake of an FBI investigation was on July 16 when Allentown canceled a no-bid contract with Ciiber, formerly Five C, a New York City-based security company with Israeli principals. [City solicitor Susan Ellis] Wild has said that the contract was canceled because Ciiber failed to provide proof of liability insurance to the city."<br /><br />
"Neither the Rosens nor Ciiber have been charged or accused of wrongdoing," Opilo added, again.<br /><br />
At Tech Dirt, <a href=https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170323/15433936995/russian-bank-sends-legal-threats-to-researcher-who-revealed-spike-traffic-supposedly-tied-to-trumps-server.shtml>Tim Cushing recently wrote</a>, "Late last year, a security researcher noticed what was believed to be an unusual amount of network traffic between Donald Trump's server and a Russian bank. A lot of bad reporting followed -- some it aided by the security researcher's conclusions -- which attempted to tie some spikes in spam to Trump's supposed collusion with the Russians."<br /><br />
While Cushing rejects this as a "whole lot of nothing" (which is related to stories that former British M.P. Louise Mensch has infamously been blogging about since last fall), he adds, "The other party that can't let go of this conspiracy theory is the Russian bank's lawyers. CyberScoop reports Alfa Bank's lawyers have issued legal threats to a security researcher behind the Trump-Russia story."<br /><br />
"In a document obtained by CyberScoop, Alfa Bank notified Indiana University computer researcher L. Jean Camp that it’s pursuing 'all available options' after Camp’s research suggested the bank engaged in some form of communication with the Trump Organization, Washington-based law firm Kirkland & Ellis sent the letter on the bank’s behalf on March 17," CyberScoop <a href=https://www.cyberscoop.com/alfa-bank-l-jean-camp-donald-trump-cfaa-suit-dns-data/>noted</a>, as Cushing blogged.<br /><br />
Cushing adds, "Alfa Bank is considering, among other things, using one of our nation's most easily-abused laws to pursue legal action against Camp for 'promoting an unwarranted investigation' into the bank's ties to Donald Trump. The CFAA is cited as one route the bank may take towards making Camp pay for besmirching the reputation of the Russian bank.<br /><br />
DEVELOPING....Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-84744442834780728202017-04-14T20:51:00.004-04:002017-05-18T12:37:51.991-04:00Sydney Leathers Role 'Orchestrating' 2016 Weiner Sexting Scandal<i>(5/13/17 update: As I reported, Sydney Leathers told Inside Edition last October, "When I helped the 15-year-old get her story out there, it wasn't something I expected to see with the FBI talking about Hillary's emails again. I didn't think any of that would be intertwined."<br /><br />
Two days ago, award-winning journalist Peter Elkind <a href=http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/james-comeys-conspicuous-independence>reported</a> for The New Yorker and ProPublica, that Leathers told him "that the teen-ager wanted to go public, but [she] urged her to call the police instead." He added, "After it became clear that the teen-ager was determined to tell her story, Leathers said she shifted to 'damage control.'"<br /><br />
Elkind's story continues: "'How can I at least make you some money?' she said she asked the teen-ager. 'I basically said, ‘The only way you should do this is if they pay you.’ Certain outlets will pay you to talk, and I had made deals with a lot of them.' Leathers's agent alerted dailymail.com, the online version of a British tabloid with which she’d previously done business. Both Leathers and the girl received a sizable fee; the teen’s father, an attorney, helped negotiate her payment."<br /><br />
Leathers immediately began bashing Elkind on Twitter, before his story was published. She <A href=https://twitter.com/sydneyelainexo/status/862324252523077632>tweeted</a>, "Everyone beware of @peterelkind, the least ethical journalist I've ever encountered. Don't trust him not to run info given off the record."<br /><br />
Yesterday, in a Daily Caller story called "<a href=http://dailycaller.com/2017/05/12/exclusive-ex-weiner-flame-furious-about-lies-in-media-reports/>EXCLUSIVE: Ex-Weiner Flame Furious About Lies In Media Reports</a>," Leathers told Betsy Rothstein, "There’s a quote attributed to me that I never said to the girl, none of the stuff about deals with the Daily Mail should’ve been in there, they left out that I had my therapist contact CPS because it didn’t fit their narrative."<br /><br />
"The quote attributed to me about making the teen some money was fake," Leathers argues. "I never said that to her."<br /><br />
Rothstein <a href=https://twitter.com/betsyscribeindc/status/863093320163221504>tweeted</a> about her story, "FAKE NEWS ALERT: Weiner's ex @sydneyelainexo gets screwed over by the media and spills about it." Then, Leathers <a href=https://twitter.com/sydneyelainexo/status/863094845061173248>tweeted</a>,"lol @ @peterelkind, @ProPublica, & @NewYorker for thinking I wouldn't call them out on their shitty, unethical 'journalism.'"<br /><br />
Then, as seen in the following screenshot, Leathers began viciously bashing Elkind on Twitter, calling him "an old cunt" and "a nasty old bastard."</i><br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ODW7WQiwXO0/WRfMl0IeubI/AAAAAAAABVk/6ywHzJF1fcUmWTKquziSYTtuazOTWCOuACLcB/s1600/unhinged.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ODW7WQiwXO0/WRfMl0IeubI/AAAAAAAABVk/6ywHzJF1fcUmWTKquziSYTtuazOTWCOuACLcB/s400/unhinged.jpg" width="400" height="333" /></a></div><br /><br />
<i>Elkind <a href=https://twitter.com/peterelkind/status/863139039121215489>tweeted</a>, "For the record: There are many falsehoods in your tweets and your claims to @DailyCaller, which I can readily prove, if necessary."<br /><br />
Both Rothstein and Leathers blast the New Yorker over fact-checking, but there are many facts wrong in the Daily Caller story. For instance, Leathers states, "In the past the New Yorker had identified me as a poker player from Vegas (someone from Weiner’s first scandal,) so I should’ve known they wouldn’t get their story right," but that other woman was a blackjack dealer, not a poker player. And I couldn't find any evidence that it ever even happened, unless Leathers mixed up the New Yorker with another media outlet.<br /><br />
Also, Rothstein reports, "In an exclusive interview with The Mirror, Leathers said she had her therapist call Child Protective Services," and adds, "It’s a fact that at least two publications — The New Yorker and ProPublica, which ran identical stories — conveniently left out in their reports on the matter." But that's not an established fact since no one seems to have fact-checked it, it's only hearsay, and Leathers gave that exclusive to the <a href=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3798498/Anthony-Weiner-s-former-sexting-partner-Sydney-Leathers-calls-ex-congressman-predatory-explicit-messages-15-year-old-girl-revealed.html>Daily Mail</a>, not The Mirror.<br /><br />
Perhaps performing "damage control" for herself, Leathers <a href=http://pagesix.com/2017/05/12/sydney-leathers-i-warned-weiner-before-teen-sext-scandal-exploded/>also spoke</a> to Page Six, the New York Post gossip column: "It was a pretty awful situation to be placed in the middle of. I felt a lot of pressure to help this kid I don’t even know. I didn’t know what to do other than to contact [child-protective services], and when that failed, I felt pretty helpless."<br /><br />
After bragging that she helped get the teen's story out there, Leathers isn't being very clear, consistent or honest about what exactly she did do, when she allegedly - in her own words - inadvertently helped Trump defeat Clinton. Since Leathers now claims, "in reality, I did all I could to help this kid without getting press involved," and "that was the last thing I wanted."<br/><br /></i>
<i><b>(5/2/17 update: In an extremely explicit July 2014 <a href=https://interviews.adultdvdtalk.com/sydney-leathers/>Adult DVD Talk interview</a> about her porn work, Sydney Leathers complained that after she tipped off a gossip blog in July of 2013 about her sexting with former Congressman Anthony Weiner - when he was running for Mayor of NYC - that the political website Buzzfeed actually "outed" her and she feared "it would ruin [her] life."<br /><br />
"The owner of the blog actually did protect my anonymity and didn’t tell who I us but it was another website, Buzzfeed, that outed my identity and linked me to Anthony," Leathers said. "In the beginning, I was getting ready to go back to school and, in my mind, I was thinking about school and I didn’t want my name or face associated with it because I thought it would ruin my life. I really didn’t want to be a part of it and I guess I was a little naïve that I could do that anonymously and not be outed."<br /><br />
As noted in the last update, the alleged teen sexter that Sydney Leathers <a href=http://www.insideedition.com/headlines/18351-sydney-leathers-weighs-in-on-anthony-weiners-latest-sexting-scandal-hes-quite-the-egomaniac>takes credit</a> for "helping to get her story out there," attacked the media for trying to out her in an exclusive interview with Buzzfeed.<br /><br />
On May 28, 2011, Ben Smith shared a byline with Jonathan Allen at <a href=http://www.politico.com/story/2011/05/lewd-photo-was-hack-weiner-says-055877>Politico</a> to report, "Rep. Anthony Weiner says social networking identity hacking is to blame for the lewd material that a conservative news website reported was sent from his Twitter and yfrog handles to an unidentified woman in Seattle." The article also noted, "Weiner’s office — generally one of the most press friendly around — did not respond to a request for comment on whether he has contacted federal authorities to report the alleged cyber-attack, which could fall under laws prohibiting cyberhacking and impersonating federal officials."<br /> <br />
The next day, Ben Smith <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/ben-smith/2011/05/a-statement-on-a-tweet-036232">applauded</a> a statement released by Gennette Nicole Cordova - the "unidentified woman in Seattle" who actually used everything but her last name in the handle Weiner tweeted - for its "comprehensiveness and force that make it quite effective", and lamented that she had been "dragged into a new-media maelstrom." Cordova complained that her "life has been seriously impacted by speculation and faulty allegations," and that her "reputation has been called into question by those who lack the character to report the facts."<br /><br />
Even though Cordova used her name as a byline in the statement published by the <a href=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/statement-gennette-cordova-student-lewd-twitter-photo-rep-weiner-account-article-1.140477>New York Daily News</a>, Smith left her name out of his column and referred to her as the "addressee of the lewd tweet from Anthony Weiner's account." Smith also appeared to be suggesting that Weiner could have been hacked, which turned into a mostly partisan debate, at the time, before Weiner even admitted sending the underwear pic to Cordova.<br /><br />
Seven months later, Ben Smith became editor in chief at Buzzfeed, <a href="https://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/12/buzzfeed-adds-politico-writer/?_r=0">the New York Times reported</a>.)</i></b><br /><br />
<i>(4/26/17 update: Buzzfeed's David Mack is reportedly the only other journalist who has met the Gaston County, North Carolina teen who allegedly sexted with former Congressman Anthony Weiner. Among other oddities, the <a href=https://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/heres-an-open-letter-to-james-comey?utm_term=.eiZ72gLwx#.xgwlp64k7>November 2nd, 2016 article</a> doesn't really explain why this exclusive doesn't break the nondisclosure agreement her father told other journalists the family signed with The Daily Mail; why it would possibly matter if FBI agents interviewed the teen before or after Comey's letter; and why she would speak to Mack, instead of whatever other REPORTER she claims called her on October 28th.<br /><br />
Mack doesn't seem to have scored many exclusives in his Buzzfeed reporting, but <a href=https://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack/the-mystery-of-a-shady-cloaked-figure?utm_term=.lqq9qMzBj#.ne0y7xK9m>an article</a> he wrote in August of 2015, takes place in the same county - perhaps, the same town - and also involves a family that didn't want it's name released; "undue" social media attention; hoax claims; photos and video of a tall, skinny girl; plus, the lack of a local police department investigation.<br /><br />
The biggest mystery surrounding this teenage girl and her father still probably remains why Clinton supporters would give their exclusive to the sketchy conservative UK tabloid Daily Mail, in the first place. Especially since Daily Mail reporter Alana Goodman has a long history of anti-Clinton reporting, which includes a <a href=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3726250/Enemies-Hillary-Bill-say-27-year-old-murder-victim-Seth-Rich-suspected-leaking-DNC-emails-belongs-Clinton-Death-List-people-ties-couple-died-time.html>hit piece</a> that names 20 "possible victims of a vast Clinton conspiracy", and asks "WHO ELSE IS ON THE CLINTON DEATH LIST?")</i><br /><br />
<i><b>(4/17/17 update: On August 30, 2016, I reported for <a href=http://dailycaller.com/2016/08/30/new-york-times-scrubs-nyc-services-quote-from-weiner-article/>The Daily Caller</a>: "A New York Times article about the latest sexting scandal involving disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner was mysteriously scrubbed late Monday night, removing a quote from the city agency that probes suspected child abuse or neglect. Another quote from a NYC professor noting 'investigations rarely are done on the privileged side of town' was also removed."<br /><br />
According to <a href=http://newsdiffs.org/diff/1238750/1238771/www.nytimes.com/2016/08/30/nyregion/anthony-weiner-sexting-huma-abedin.html>NewsDiffs</a>, on August 29, 2016 at 3:29 PM EDT, the following line was also stricken from the article credited to Amy C. Chozick and Patrick Healy: "Campaign officials had braced for fresh revelations about Mr. Weiner after the Post reported earlier this month that a Republican had baited Mr. Weiner into a sexual online chat."<br /><br />
As noted below, last month, Alana Goodman <a href=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4323848/Questions-credibility-Trump-spy-claim-originator.html>reported for the Daily Mail</a>: "We were first alerted in early August that Anthony Weiner, whose sexting history was well known, had been sexting which was said to be an unnamed woman. While working on this investigation, the New York Post revealed on August 29 his sexting relationship with a 40-something divorcee. On the day of that revelation, a source disclosed to DailyMail.com that the woman in the relationship DailyMail.com was investigating was a different person to the one revealed by the New York Post."<br /><br />
"On August 30 Huma Abedin announced her separation from Weiner, and that day a source told DailyMail.com the woman we were investigating was in fact an underage girl," Goodman added.)</i></b><br /><br />
In three different years, former New York Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner was hit with reports that he had been sexting younger women, while married to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's longtime aide, Huma Abedin. Even before he accidentally publicly sent his infamous underwear tweet to a Seattle student in May of 2011, Breitbart News had already been alerted by a still unknown source that Weiner was sexting. The story behind how these related events were reported, and or leaked, has a few twists and turns, and may prove to be bumpy for some of its travelers, depending on exactly what federal agents are looking at in multiple probes.<br /><br />
"But no one could have guessed that Sydney Leathers and Anthony Weiner would come back to haunt the 2016 presidential election," former award-winning adult film actress Aurora Snow reported for <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/11/19/porn-star-sydney-leathers-opens-up-i-m-sorry-for-helping-elect-donald-trump.html">the Daily Beast</a> on November 19, 2016. That was three years after Leathers - like every single other sexter or female in the spotlight after Weinergate - had bizarre dealings with the media, and the strange way that the FBI has handled events since then.<br />
<br />
<i>(Editor's Note: I certainly did predict Anthony Weiner would haunt the 2016 presidential election, and I've been probing hackers, feds, security firms, sketchy journos, fake news, Russia propaganda, WikiLeaks, Trump, Clintons and related political dirty tricks since June of 2011, when I first started getting harassed reporting on Weinergate. The original name for this blog was "Hackers and Fake News", when I launched it in July of 2011.)</i><br /><br />
Snow added, "Leathers played a pivotal role in orchestrating the shocking <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3790824/Anthony-Weiner-carried-months-long-online-sexual-relationship-troubled-15-year-old-girl-telling-hard-asking-dress-school-girl-outfits-pressing-engage-rape-fantasies.html">Daily Mail</a> story back in September revealing how Weiner had been sexting a 15-year-old girl—a development that put the ex-politician under federal investigation and reopened <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/30/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-latest-hillary-clinton-email-controversy.html">the FBI inquiry into Hillary Clinton’s emails</a>."<br /><br />
Last September, <a href=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/anthony-weiner-allegedly-sexted-15-year-old-girl-report-article-1.2800788><i>The NY Daily News</i></a> reported the teen's father claimed that a "nondisclosure agreement [had been] reached by the family with the Daily Mail," however, it's unknown if this included a payment of some sort. The Daily Mail's Goodman has ignored multiple requests on Twitter regarding whether or not Sydney Leathers was paid for her role in "orchestrating" the scandal, which many believe may have cost Hillary Clinton some votes in the 2016 presidential election.<br /><br />
When <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/842938592561254400>asked</a> if Leathers was paid for Snow's Daily Beast story, Aurora <a href=https://twitter.com/MissAuroraSnow/status/843730999838236673>told me on Twitter</a>, "worry not, in that regard she's pure 😉 there was no payment for the interview."<br /><br />
<b><i>(4/17 Editor's Note: This article is far from finished, and the following twenty tweets that I made on April 6th at my @RonBryn twitter account will be transformed into a more readable story, as I add more updates.)</i></b><br /><br /><br /><br />
01. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/849981634283687939>7/26/16 Anthony Weiner's odd DNC exclusive: "You don't think I care about Fox 5, here's what I got for you..."</a><br /><br /><a href=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NM0x2DEEO4></a><br /><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-NM0x2DEEO4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />
02. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/849983825295712256>7/26/16 Weiner brags he'd come out of "retirement" & beat @DonaldJTrumpJr like 'rented mule' in a NYC mayor race</a><br /><br /><a href=http://www.fox5ny.com/news/181741895-story>Anthony Weiner and Trumps take swipes at each other</a><br /><br />
03. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/849984941899235328>Without trying to inject opinion, I don't think anyone - including Weiner - realistically thinks he'd be able to run for NYC mayor again.</a><br /><br />
04. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/849986330134061056>7/26/16: @realDonaldTrump & @DonaldJTrumpJr mock Weiner who used DNC to promote himself with far-fetched scenario</a><br /><br /><a href=http://www.fox5ny.com/news/181741895-story>Anthony Weiner and Trumps take swipes at each other</a><br /><br />
05. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/849988319257575424>8/1/16: Alleged Clinton supporter Sydney Leathers calls Weiner "delusional narcissist" in Daily Mail exclusive</a><br /><br /><a href=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3718592/He-s-delusional-narcissist-job-s-qualified-dog-catcher-Anthony-Weiner-s-sexting-partner-Sydney-Leathers-lashes-Huma-s-husband-teases-NYC-mayoral-run.html>EXCLUSIVE: 'He's a delusional narcissist and the only job he's qualified for is dog catcher!' Anthony Weiner's sexting partner Sydney Leathers lashes out at Huma's husband after he teases a NYC mayoral run</a><br /><br />
06. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/849990226638393344>8/11/16 Sydney Leathers falsely claims Weiner admitted he had at least 6 sexting partners including 1 that was 17</a><br /><br /><a href=http://washingtonbabylon.com/two-thumbs-down-on-weiner-plus-pop-up-anthony-weiner-not-again/>Two Thumbs Down on Weiner Doc</a><br /><br />
07. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/849992901509566465>Delaware police cleared Weiner in 2011, who exchanged 5 DMs but didn't sext 17-year-old; Patterico posted hacked DMs to smear him, however</a> (Editor's Note: I wrongly tweeted Vermont, instead of Delaware)<br /><br />
08. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/849995445589884929>8/11/16 Sydney Leathers claims a "woman" who was currently sexting Weiner recently reached out to her for advice.</a><br /><br /><a href=http://washingtonbabylon.com/two-thumbs-down-on-weiner-plus-pop-up-anthony-weiner-not-again/>Two Thumbs Down on Weiner Doc</a><br /><br />
09. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/849997158233157633>8/11/16 Alana Goodman @DailyMail jumps on Leathers "Weiner" review to note claim "STILL talking to cyber hookups"</a><br /><br /><a href=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3735100/Anthony-Weiner-s-sexting-partner-Sydney-Leathers-claims-disgraced-politician-talking-cyber-hookups.html>'I am certain his behavior continues to this day': Anthony Weiner's sexting partner Sydney Leathers claims the disgraced politician is STILL talking to cyber hookups</a><br /><br />
10. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/849999641630302208>8/13/16 NY Post reports Weiner was catfished by "dude". He uses same exact "Nikki" that fake teen used in 2011.</a><br /><br /><a href=http://nypost.com/2016/08/13/anthony-weiner-caught-in-new-flirty-online-chat/>Anthony Weiner caught in new flirty online chat</a><br /><br />
11. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/849999758647189508>8/28/16 NY Post reports, "Anthony Weiner sexted busty brunette while his son was in bed with him"</a><br /><br /><a href=http://nypost.com/2016/08/28/anthony-weiner-sexted-busty-brunette-while-his-son-was-in-bed-with-him/>Anthony Weiner sexted busty brunette while his son was in bed with him</a><br /><br />
12. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/850002507036327937>3/21/17 Bashing @LouiseMensch. Alana Goodman reports, "We were 1st alerted in early August" Weiner sexting woman</a><br /><br /><a href=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4323848/Questions-credibility-Trump-spy-claim-originator.html>EXCLUSIVE: Serious questions over credibility of former UK lawmaker who sparked claim that Obama spied on Trump after her latest conspiracy theory is revealed as a 'farrago of fantasy and nonsense'</a><br /><br />
13. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/850003356395257856>8/29/16 Source allegedly tells Daily Mail that woman it's probing is a different person than revealed by NY Post</a><br /><br /><a href=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4323848/Questions-credibility-Trump-spy-claim-originator.html>EXCLUSIVE: Serious questions over credibility of former UK lawmaker who sparked claim that Obama spied on Trump after her latest conspiracy theory is revealed as a 'farrago of fantasy and nonsense'</a><br /><br />
14. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/850004715978891269>8/30/16 Abedin dumps Weiner. Daily Mail source allegedly says woman it's probing is "in fact an underage girl"</a><br /><br /><a href=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4323848/Questions-credibility-Trump-spy-claim-originator.html>EXCLUSIVE: Serious questions over credibility of former UK lawmaker who sparked claim that Obama spied on Trump after her latest conspiracy theory is revealed as a 'farrago of fantasy and nonsense'</a><br /><br />
15. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/850005376015532034>9/1/16 Daily Mail conducts an on-camera interview with father and 15-year-old in hotel...before fact checking</a><br /><br /><a href=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4323848/Questions-credibility-Trump-spy-claim-originator.html>EXCLUSIVE: Serious questions over credibility of former UK lawmaker who sparked claim that Obama spied on Trump after her latest conspiracy theory is revealed as a 'farrago of fantasy and nonsense'</a><br /><br />
16. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/850006335563284481>9/21/16 Alana Goodman breaks sensational exclusive & refers to teen as a "troubled 15-year-old girl" in headline</a><br /><br /><a href=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3790824/Anthony-Weiner-carried-months-long-online-sexual-relationship-troubled-15-year-old-girl-telling-hard-asking-dress-school-girl-outfits-pressing-engage-rape-fantasies.html>EXCLUSIVE: Anthony Weiner carried on a months-long online sexual relationship with a troubled 15-year-old girl telling her she made him 'hard,' asking her to dress up in 'school-girl' outfits and pressing her to engage in 'rape fantasies'</a><br /><br />
17. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/850007435465052160>9/22/16 Teen's father refers to Weiner as "monster" in Alana Goodman exclusive after Weiner claims he got hoaxed</a><br /><br /><a href=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3802454/Father-15-year-old-online-sexting-relationship-Anthony-Weiner-outraged-disgraced-congressman-discloses-daughter-s-identity-media.html>EXCLUSIVE: 'He's a monster!' Father of 15-year-old who had an online sexting relationship with Anthony Weiner outraged after disgraced congressman discloses his daughter's identity to the media</a><br /><br />
18. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/850008344429445120>9/23/16 Alana Goodman exclusive: Leathers claims 15-year-old reached out over Facebook in May to ask for advice</a><br /><br /><a href=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3798498/Anthony-Weiner-s-former-sexting-partner-Sydney-Leathers-calls-ex-congressman-predatory-explicit-messages-15-year-old-girl-revealed.html>EXCLUSIVE: 'There is no line for him' - Anthony Weiner's former sexting partner Sydney Leathers calls the ex-congressman 'predatory' after his explicit messages to 15-year-old girl are revealed</a><br /><br />
19. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/850009521229451265>11/19/16: @MissAuroraSnow @DailyBeast: "Leathers played pivotal role orchestrating shocking Daily Mail story"</a><br /><br /><a href=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/11/19/porn-star-sydney-leathers-opens-up-i-m-sorry-for-helping-elect-donald-trump.html>Porn Star Sydney Leathers Opens Up: ‘I’m Sorry’ for Helping Elect Donald Trump</a><br /><br />
20. <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/status/850011699914522624>3/16/17: After I ask questions on Twitter, Sydney Leathers suggests she only talks to reporters if she gets paid</a><br /><br /><a href=https://twitter.com/sydneyelainexo/status/842271820128612352>Sydney Leathers @sydneyelainexo: I feel the same way about reporters as I do findom subs: if you're not paying me I'm not going to talk to you 🙃</a><br /><br />Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-87197297343453800562016-08-09T18:53:00.003-04:002016-08-09T18:53:35.284-04:00Trump Tweeted Link To Blog That Published Articles By Police Protest Critic Facing 21-Count IndictmentRepublican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been criticized for not vetting sources he links to on Twitter, and on Sunday night he tweeted a link to a blog just days after one of its "former" contributors was hit with a 21-count indictment.<br /><br />
On August 3rd, 36-year-old Michael Aaron Strickland was accused by an Oregan Grand Jury of committing 10 counts each related to menacing (misdemeanors) and unlawful use of a weapon (Class C felonies) plus an additional disorderly conduct charge, after pulling a gun against Portland protesters on July 7, 2016 (<a href="http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3005400-Stricklandindictment.html">PDF indictment link</a>). A judge set his bond at $250,000 and Strickland paid 10 percent and remains free, at least until his arraignment this Friday.<br /><br />
Multnomah County prosecutor Katie Molina stated that Strickland was brandishing a Glock 26 with an extended clip, which "he swept at chest level multiple times in front of Don't Shoot PDX protesters and a plain-clothed Portland police officer, The Oregonian <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2016/08/grand_jury_returns_21-count_in.html">reported</a>.<br /><br />
The protests were against police shootings of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota, and Strickland was reportedly armed because he "was jumped by an anti-gun activist who broke his arm in three places at an anti-Second Amendment event," Gateway Pundit founder Jim Hoft <a href="http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/07/conservative-activist-jailed-pulling-gun-gang-thugs-trying-kick/">explained</a> on July 10th.<br /><br />
Even though Gateway Pundit published a <a href="http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/07/gun-owner-thwarts-knife-wielding-robber/">story</a> by Strickland on July 2nd, Hoft referred to him as "a former contributor" in his blog post titled, "Conservative Activist Jailed After Pulling Gun on Gang of Thugs Trying to Kick His A$$."<br /><br />
Hoft noted that Strickland "has a concealed carry permit in Oregon and can legally carry a weapon." He also argued that Strickland "was being threatened and he pulled the gun on his would-be assailants," but the videos don't really seem to support that version of events. Journalists or bloggers that carry weapons, even in warzones, are generally frowned upon, since it may put other unarmed reporters at risk of being attacked or falsely arrested as spies.<br /><br />
Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/762439658911338496">tweeted</a> "ICYMI: Will Media Apologize to Trump?" Sunday night, and linked to a story by Kristinn Taylor, an activist and journalist, who has also had stories published at Free Republic and Breitbart News. Even though Taylor tends to focus on protests, she hasn't tweeted about Strickland's arrest, and didn't respond to a request for a comment to see if she thinks he was wrongly arrested.<br /><br />
The Republican presidential candidate has been sharply criticized for tweeting links to white supremacists and other sketchy sources, but his campaign has argued that he shouldn't be considered guilty of association just for not closely vetting his sources, which sometimes contain misinfo.<br /><br />
But both sides constantly politicize every police shooting or incidence of violence at counter rallies. Even deranged mass shooters are used as political wedges. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Trump have also accused each other of encouraging ISIS terrorists with their statements against each other in the extremely heated 2016 presidential race.<br /><br />Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-2101000939750375962016-06-04T13:26:00.001-04:002016-06-04T13:26:37.772-04:00Cheryl Mills said 'I don't remember' 34 times in Clinton email deposition and Benghazi House testimonyLongtime Hillary Clinton aide, Cheryl D. Mills - who served as Counselor and Chief of Staff to the former Secretary of State from January 21, 2009 to February 1, 2013 - said "I don't remember" 34 times while testifying about two key scandals.<br /><br />
On May 27, 2016, Mills was deposed in regards to the Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of State (No. 1:13-cv-01363), concerning the use of non-government emails. According to the <a href=http://www.judicialwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/JW-v-State-Mills-deposition-01363.pdf>transcript</a>, Mills said "I don't remember" nine times. She also said she didn't "recall" or "recollect" when questioned a number of times during the deposition.<br /><br />
"Cheryl Mills’ handling of a now-forgotten email scandal that unfolded during the Bill Clinton White House era was 'loathsome' and 'totally inadequate' a federal judge wrote in a scathing opinion in a 2008 lawsuit, Chuck Ross <a href=http://dailycaller.com/2016/06/01/judge-called-cheryl-mills-handling-of-clinton-email-scandal-inadequate/>reported</a> for Daily Caller on June 1, 2016.<br /><br />
Mills claimed she couldn't recollect even testifying during the 2008 trial based on an earlier lawsuit by Judicial Watch over 1.8 million emails that went missing during former President Bill Clinton's administration.<br /><br />
After being asked if she recalled speaking to the State Department in December of 2008 or January of 2009 about the usage of "devices to communicate via e-mail," Mills said she didn't remember, but "imagined it would have occurred close in time to when we were onboarding."<br /><br />
"Probably just weren't significant in my mind," Mills claimed.<br /><br />
Mills also testified that she couldn't remember if she had to request for a State Department email account to be created for herself and if there was an email "within the Secretary's office" regarding Clinton's switch from an AT&T account to the unsecured personal server.<br /><br />
Although Mills recalled that an assistant gave support for "six, seven, eight months" she apologized that she couldn't remember her name. "And not because she didn't do a great job," Mills added.<br /><br />
Dennis McDonough was appointed to the National Security Council after President Obama's election before becoming Deputy National Security Advisor on October 22, 2010, but Mills couldn't "remember if he came into the government first with the President and then left or if he came in later and then..." nor could she recall "what his title was or what his capacity was."<br /><br />
Mills also couldn't remember if Hillary Clinton's former Deputy Chief of Staff Huma Abedin, who now serves as the vice chair for the 2016 presidential campaign ever discussed having email troubles during Hurricane Sandy, which occurred in late October of 2012, or even if the department's servers were down "during that time period or not."<br /><br />
Finally, Mills said it was "odd" that she couldn't recall sending a test email to Clinton due to "issues receiving" them. She said, "Obviously I sent her an e-mail that says Test, but I don't have a recollection of it."<br /><br />
During her September 3, 2015 testimony before the U.S. House of Representative Select Committee on Benghazi, Mills used the phrase "I don't remember" twenty-five times, according to <a href=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1MK_8G2uKyfZ1RFOEM2czJLWlE/view?pref=2&pli=1>the transcript</a>.<br /><br />
In both testimonies, most of the things Mills says she didn't remember were common knowledge, reported widely by the media, or answers to questions she presumably would have been prepped by her lawyers upon.<br /><br />Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-39097162925881583302016-05-29T12:30:00.001-04:002016-05-29T12:42:24.041-04:00Support independent journalism!Unlike nearly every blogger or struggling journalist on the Internet, I rarely ask for money. But I'm pretty much in desperate need now. The last time I asked for contributions was in February 26, 2015, and since then, many of my stories were picked up by media outlets and journalists from The New York Times, BBC, MSNBC, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Judicial Watch, Huffington Post, DC Examiner, and even Rush Limbaugh, Alex Jones and Breitbart News.<br /><br />
<b>My PayPal account is ronbrynaert@yahoo.com</b><br /><br />
Since late February, I've had 30 stories published by the Daily Caller, mostly on presidential candidates Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton; and former contenders Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz. I've also done stories on Pakistan, the Panama Papers and President Barack Obama. Even though I'm liberal, the Daily Caller lets me report fairly and critically on all the candidates. Regretfully, many left-leaning journalists and readers refuse to read articles based on where they are published, even though I'm an independent reporter, and no one ever tells me what to write and my stories are never one-sided. All my Daily Caller articles can be read here: <a href=http://dailycaller.com/author/ron-brynaert/>link</a>.<br /><br />
The Washington Post, The New York Times and Wired have added corrections to many articles based on my reporting, but have never credited me once. Unfortunately, some of my work has also been plagiarized or presented as new news, even though I reported it months earlier. The Washington Post's Tom Hamburger and Politico's Rachael Bade stories reported articles on Teneo and how it relates to the Clintons, and even though both contacted me before publishing, neither of them gave me credit for breaking their "exclusives" first. Both of them, and their editors, along with media critics who regularly report on plagiarism ignored my complaints in emails, tweets and Direct Messages, regarding this unethical injustice.<br /><br />
I do my best to show all sides, get to the truth, listen to critics, and allow readers to make up their own minds on whom to support in this quite crazy presidential race. Since I'm a media critic, too, I also often defend candidates when false stories are reported about them.<br /><br />
Thanks to the thousands of readers who retweet or like my articles on Twitter (<a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/with_replies>@ronbryn</a>) or share them on Facebook! I've been trying to follow back on Twitter nearly everyone who has linked to me, critically or supportive. So just follow me on Twitter or mention me, if I overlooked you (but don't mock my avatar, because Krazy Kat will get upset).<br /><br />
Here are a few of my Daily Caller articles: <a href=http://dailycaller.com/2016/03/08/sanders-took-heat-from-the-anti-war-left-over-gulf-war/>Sanders Took Heat From The Anti-War Left Over Gulf War, Yugoslavia Intervention</a>; <a href=http://dailycaller.com/2016/03/01/ambassador-joked-about-state-dept-incompetent-nincompoops-after-mystery-hostage-release/>Ambassador Joked About State Dept. ‘Incompetent Nincompoops’ After Mystery Hostage Release</a>; <a href=http://dailycaller.com/2016/02/24/ex-army-chief-quietly-hired-by-firm-with-close-clinton-ties/>Ex-Army Chief Quietly Hired By Firm With Close Clinton Ties</a>; <a href=http://dailycaller.com/2016/02/19/longtime-clinton-aide-also-used-personal-email-address-at-state-department/>Longtime Clinton Aide Also Used Personal Email Address At State Department</a>; and <a href=http://dailycaller.com/2016/03/04/hillarys-it-guru-jokes-about-security-risks-posed-by-federal-employees-using-personal-mobile-devices-video/>Hillary’s IT Guru Jokes About Security Risks Posed By Federal Employees Using Personal Mobile Devices [VIDEO]</a> by Chuck Ross, who noted, "Former RAWSTORY Executive Editor Ron Brynaert — who recently reported for the Daily Caller that another longtime Hillary Clinton aide used a private email address while working at the State Department — provided some research for this article."<br /><br />
Last year, Judicial Watch did an entire article on my reporting on Teneo and the Clintons, which can be read <a href=http://www.judicialwatch.org/bulletins/teneo-the-clinton-machine/>at this link</a>. It's one of the first articles that come up on Google searches for "Teneo." I also had an article published on the front page of the Washington Times op-ed section called <a href=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/30/ron-brynaert-a-liberal-take-on-the-hillary-clinton/?page=all>A liberal take on the Clinton email scandal</a>, which was mostly about the dangers of the revolving door at the White House.<br /><br />
Huffington Post published <a href=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/31/hillary-clinton-speeches-keystone_n_7463108.html>a big story</a> that had an enormous impact - and still does - on Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign called "Banks Behind Hillary Clinton’s Canadian Speeches Really Want The Keystone Pipeline", and it credited me as the reporter who broke some of its findings first. Hillary Clinton still hasn't released the transcripts for the speeches she gave to those banks, and I exclusively reported she was paid $150,000 for a speech plus a meet-and-greet at the CIBC 18th Annual Whistler Institutional Investor Conference in January of 2015.<br /><br />
I worked at RAW STORY for six years, including four years as Executive Editor. Most of my stories can be read here: <a href=http://www.rawstory.com/author/ronbrynaert>link</a>. During my stint running the website, I provided research and edited nearly every story we published, and had reporters in the White House, Afghanistan and Iraq. I was one of the first editors to publish battlefield stories written by James Foley, who was kidnapped and murdered by ISIS terrorists, which you can read about <a href=http://ronbryn.blogspot.com/2016/01/on-publishing-early-work-james-foley.html>at this link</a>.<br /><br />
<b>Thanks, and, once again, my PayPal account is ronbrynaert@yahoo.com</b><br /><br />
Original post from February 26, 2015:<br /><br />
From 2007 to 2010, I was Executive Editor of RAWSTORY.COM where I broke many big stories that were appreciated by liberals AND conservatives, and which sometimes even influenced events and were reported by the mainstream media. Some include: <a href=http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/In_new_book_Coulter_cribs_stem_0614.html>alleged plagiarism by Ann Coulter that was later confirmed by an expert</a>, <a href=http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Ombudsman_looking_into_Washington_Post_milblogger_0105.html>the smearing of a conservative-leaning military blogger by the Washington Post</a>, <a href=http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Nonprofit_think_tank_wrote_articles_favorable_0309.html>non-profit wrote editorials for Abramoff clients</a>, <a href=http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Exofficial_Cheney_sought_National_Security_Advisers_0502.html>Vice President Cheney given power to preside over NSC meetings</a>, <a href=http://rawstory.com/news/2005/U.S._changed_Iraq_policy_to_begin_airstrikes_months_before_0630.html>US changed Iraq policy to begin airstrikes before war</a> and <a href=http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Miers_misleads_Senate_Judicial_Committee_on_1020.html>Miers provided misleading info to Judiciary Committee</a>.<br /><br />
Since leaving RAW STORY, I worked with David Corn and Mother Jones on a story based on WikiLeaks documents called <a href=http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/04/al-qaeda-anthrax-operative-new-york-pharmacies>"Does an Al Qaeda 'Anthrax Operative' Own New York Pharmacies?"</a>, Jennifer Preston and The New York Times on <a href=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/18/nyregion/fake-identities-were-used-on-twitter-to-get-information-on-weiner.html>"Fake identities were used on Twitter to get information on Weiner"</a>, Kevin Morris at The Daily Dot on <a href=http://www.dailydot.com/news/wikipedia-john-allen-jill-kelley/>"Gen. John Allen didn't troll Jill Kelley on Wikipedia"</a> and, most recently, with Chuck Johnson at Got News on multiple stories about NBC News anchor Brian Williams including <a href=http://gotnews.com/breaking-april-2003-essay-proves-brianwilliams-apology-faulty-memory-story-fake/>"April 2003 Essay Proves #BrianWilliams Apology & Faulty Memory Story Are Fake"</a> and <a href=http://gotnews.com/2013-nbc-news-book-narrated-tom-brokaw-claimed-brian-williams-receiving-end-ambush/>"2003 NBC News Book Claimed Brian Williams Was on 'Receiving End of an Ambush'"</a>.<br /><br />
At this blog I <a href=http://ronbryn.blogspot.com/2012/05/is-weiner-planning-to-win-back-his-old.html>broke the news</a> that former Congressman Weiner was running for NYC mayor months before anyone else and I was cited by <a href=http://observer.com/2013/08/anthony-weiners-relationship-with-former-staffer-raises-questions/>the Observer</a> for being the first to report on the last scandal that hurt his campaign, even though he denied it in speeches, as reported by <a href=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/16/weiner-staffer-affair_n_3768349.html>The Huffington Post</a>. Click on my archives to read exclusive reporting on Vice President Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Adrian Lamo, Bradley Manning, Barrett Brown, former Pakistan military coup leader Musharraf, and other stories that you won't find anywhere else.<br /><br />
I haven't been paid for any of my reporting since I left RAWSTORY, so please help support -sometimes incredibly risky - independent journalism by contributing to my PayPal account at RonBrynaert@Yahoo.com.<br /><br />Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-17556242884342302922016-05-25T23:27:00.000-04:002016-05-25T23:28:55.982-04:00Former CENTCOM commander victim of 'cybersecurity incident' Hillary Clinton didn't report<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y6zGqSl2ro8/V0Zrt9qTcxI/AAAAAAAABUk/19t4O27IFhkhEk2iPAe_a9EJ2-e-_dxDgCLcB/s1600/emailclintonvir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y6zGqSl2ro8/V0Zrt9qTcxI/AAAAAAAABUk/19t4O27IFhkhEk2iPAe_a9EJ2-e-_dxDgCLcB/s320/emailclintonvir.jpg" /></a></div>The State Department's inspector general report reveals that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and two key staff members failed to report a potential hacking attempt that was referred to as a "cybersecurity incident" they received on Friday the 13th in May of 2011.<br /><br />
A footnote on page 40 of the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/politics/state-department-report-on-clintons-email-practices/2039/">report</a> states, "In another incident occurring on May 13, 2011, two of Secretary Clinton’s immediate staff discussed via email the Secretary’s concern that someone was 'hacking into her email' after she received an email with a suspicious link."<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9l4I90ezXiM/V0ZrmlgWjrI/AAAAAAAABUg/Jksr3OOpxk0Du9i_RH0zm4a-gj80ngwAwCLcB/s1600/insgen1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9l4I90ezXiM/V0ZrmlgWjrI/AAAAAAAABUg/Jksr3OOpxk0Du9i_RH0zm4a-gj80ngwAwCLcB/s400/insgen1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />
"Several hours later, Secretary Clinton received an email from the personal account of then-Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs that also had a link to a suspect website," the footnote continues. "The next morning, Secretary Clinton replied to the email with the following message to the Under Secretary: 'Is this really from you? I was worried about opening it!'”<br /><br />
The link in the <a href="https://foia.state.gov/searchapp/DOCUMENTS/HRCEmail_OctWeb/218/DOC_0C05786962/C05786962.pdf">email</a> sent by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Joseph Burns appears to be a virus that could have infected multiple email accounts belonging to one of her top aides and former officials, including the former Commander in Chief of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM).<br /><br />
Along with Clinton, the possible malware virus was sent to Joseph E. Macmanus, who served as Secretary Clinton's Executive Assistant until April of 2011, before becoming Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs in May. Clinton cc'd her response to the email to Deputy Chief of Staff Huma Abedin, who is now the vice chairwoman of her 2016 presidential campaign.<br /><br />
It was also sent to former US ambassador to Morocco Marc Ginsberg; Sr. Vice President, Public Affairs, Communications & Governance Apache Corporation Sarah Teslik; retired United States Marine Corps general and former CENTCOM Commander in Chief Anthony Charles Zinni; Philip N. Remler, the Head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Mission to Moldova; U.S./Middle East Project President Henry Siegman; Mark Foulon, former Deputy Undersecretary for Industry and Security at the Department of Commerce from 2003 to 2006 and Acting Under Secretary of Industry and Security from 2006 to 2007; and unknown persons referred to as "sburns" and "iburns."<br /><br />
The footnote adds: "Department policy requires employees to report cybersecurity incidents to IRM security officials when any improper cyber-security practice comes to their attention. 12 FAM 592.4 (January 10, 2007). Notification is required when a user suspects compromise of, among other things, a personally owned device containing personally identifiable
information. 12 FAM 682.2-6 (August 4, 2008)."<br /><br />
"However, OIG found no evidence that the Secretary or her staff reported these incidents to computer security personnel or anyone else within the Department," the inspector general report noted.<br /><br />Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-87969842586148498392016-05-25T16:02:00.001-04:002016-05-25T19:26:56.647-04:00Another embarrassing error in Washington Post reporting of Clinton emails<b><i>(Update: Three hours after publishing this article and alerting four Washington Post journalists, I noticed today's typo was fixed, but there was no editor's note for the correction added. The error can still be viewed at <a href=https://www.google.com/search?q=In+January+2011%2C+there+were+two+hacking+attempts&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=%22In+June+2011,+there+were+two+hacking+attempts%22&filter=0>other outlets</a> that picked up the Washington Post story which was published four hours before my article. But the December 31, 2015 typo still hasn't been fixed)</i></b><br /><br />
Nearly six months after I <a href=http://ronbryn.blogspot.com/2016/01/state-department-scrubbed-hillary.html>reported</a> about an embarrassing mistake by the Washington Post in its reporting on Hillary Clinton's email scandal, there was another one in a top article published today.<br /><br />
At The Washington Post, Rosalind S. Helderman <a href=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/12/31/state-department-misses-court-ordered-goal-on-clinton-email-release/>wrote</a> on December 31, 2015: "In the emails released most recently, for instance, Clinton thanked a top aide, Joe McManus, in July 2012 for forwarding what appeared to be information about a threat against her long-serving close personal aide, Huma Abedin...as part of an email chain titled 'Huma' and that included the State Department's top security officer, Eric Bosworth. Abedin's primary residence with her husband, former Rep. Anthony Weiner, was in Manhattan."<br /><br />
The "State Department's top security officer" was actually Eric Boswell, not Bosworth, as the Post wrongly reported.<br /><br />
Ms. Helderman and multiple Washington Post reporters and editors have ignored emails and tweets about that typo, which they still haven't corrected.<br /><br />
Today, in another story that Helderman worked on, Carol Morello and Jia Lynn Yang <a href=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/05/25/here-are-the-most-critical-parts-of-the-state-dept-inspector-general-report-on-clintons-email-use/>reported</a>: "In June 2011, there were two hacking attempts on the Clinton email system in one day. An adviser to President Bill Clinton tried to shut down the server each time."<br /><br />
However, the screenshot from page 19 of the <a href=https://www.washingtonpost.com/apps/g/page/politics/state-department-report-on-clintons-email-practices/2039/>State Department inspector general report</a>, that the paper ran right beneath those sentences, clearly states, "On January 9, 2011, the non-Departmental advisor to President Clinton who provided
technical support to the Clinton email system notified the Secretary’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations that he had to shut down the server because he believed 'someone was trying to hack us and while they did not get in i didnt [sic] want to let them have the chance to.' Later that day, the advisor again wrote to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, 'We were attacked again so I shut [the server] down for a few min.'"<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-00b8zSNmyFM/V0YEqlJWXnI/AAAAAAAABUI/VQsnq_MQee4bXK-ShmIt3753yaCc7XjggCLcB/s1600/525wapotypo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-00b8zSNmyFM/V0YEqlJWXnI/AAAAAAAABUI/VQsnq_MQee4bXK-ShmIt3753yaCc7XjggCLcB/s400/525wapotypo.jpg" /></a></div>
"Tom Hamburger, Rosalind Helderman and Carol D. Leonnig contributed to this report," today's Washington Post article notes at the bottom.<br /><br />
As usual, I will tweet this article to the reporters about the error, and, as usual, I presume my tweets will be ignored and it won't be corrected. I won't be tweeting Pulitzer winner <a href=https://twitter.com/CarolLeonnig>@CarolLeonnig</a>, because she has blocked me on Twitter for <a href=https://twitter.com/search?f=tweets&vertical=default&q=ronbryn%20carolleonnig&src=typd>criticizing her reporting</a> in 8 tweets on 4 separate days last year.<br /><br />
Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-54733610043684803542016-05-12T03:20:00.002-04:002016-05-12T03:23:25.749-04:00Daily Caller storiesSorry, I've promised a few new blog posts the past couple of months, but I've been busy working on stories that have been published at Daily Caller instead.<br /><br />
I have more to add to some of these stories, that I'll eventually blog about here, but, in the meantime, in case you don't know, my twitter account is at <a href=https://twitter.com/ronbryn/>@ronbryn</a>, and my Daily Caller articles can all be accessed at <a href=http://dailycaller.com/author/ron-brynaert>this link</a>.<br /><br />
This blog isn't dying. I'll still be doing stuff here, too. See you, soon.<br /><br /> Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4026303632473658845.post-68318559539448869652016-04-22T18:50:00.001-04:002016-04-22T18:50:22.742-04:00 After sniffing pot leaves, Orthodox rabbis decide it's Kosher for PassoverTwo leading Orthodox rabbis sniffed some pot plants this week in Israel and okayed it for Passover, but only for medicinal purposes.<br /><br />
88-year-old Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, who is "widely considered the leading living ultra-Orthodox halachic authority", and Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein blessed the weed, after prodding from the pro-marijuana group Siach.<br /><br />
Passover is an eight-day Jewish holiday, which has strict dietary rules, but the rabbis said that it was kosher to eat or smoke it, but only if it isn't for recreational purposes. "Kanievky stipulated that in normal circumstances the plant is considered a member of the kitniyot group of legumes and pulses that are banned on Passover among Jews of Ashkenazi origin," <a href="http://www.timesofisrael.com/getting-baked-on-passover-not-just-for-matzah-rabbi-rules/">The Times of Israel reported</a>.<br /><br />
Many US states have passed or are pushing legalization laws for marijuania, but critics claim that it's far too easy to get prescriptions, since anyone can claim stress as a medicinal purpose.<br /><br />
According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, at the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/ondcp-fact-sheets/marijuana-legalization">White House's website</a>, "Confusing messages being presented by popular culture, media, proponents of 'medical' marijuana, and political campaigns to legalize all marijuana use perpetuate the false notion that marijuana is harmless."<br /><br />
Even though some elected Republicans and Democratic officials want the White House to deschedule marijuana as a Class I narcotic, the office contends that these actions "significantly diminishes efforts tkeep our young people drug free and hampers the struggle of those recovering from addiction."<br /><br />
Three of the five current candidates still running for the 2016 presidential favor various forms of legalization, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-weigant/the-candidates-positions_b_9744362.html">The Huffington Post</a> recently noted. Democratic rivals Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are considered marijuana friendly, and Republican Ted Cruz believes the decision should be left up to states. Donald Trump and John Kasich have been a little bit harsher about the topic, but haven't completely decided against some form of legalization.<br /><br />
"Mazel Tov, Jewish stoners!" <a "href=http://perezhilton.com/2016-04-22-passover-marijuana-kosher-rabbi-video#.VxpxukelxaU>gossip columnist Perez Hilton wrote in response</a> to the news today.<br /><br />
"Blessed is Hashem our God, King of the universe, who has created types of fragrances," was the blessing, according to an English transcripted posted on the following video.<br /><br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8q4PAAWPz0">video link</a><br /><br />
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C8q4PAAWPz0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Ron Brynaerthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04418681813831294580noreply@blogger.com0