The bank for opposition research firm Fusion GPS handed over financial records on Friday, after a Federal judge struck down the firm's attempt to conceal the records from the House Intelligence Committee the previous day.
At issue are 70 financial transactions from 2016, however Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) demanded "complete" records going all the way back to Aug. 2015 Fusion filed for an injunction - claiming Nunes issued the subpoena illegally, it was overly broad, and it was a violation of the 1st amendment.
The request also covers a period in which Fusion was paid $523,651 by a law firm for a Russian businessman whose company, Prevezon Holdings, Ltd. settled with the U.S. Justice department for $5.9 million in a money laundering an embezzlement scheme involving high level Russian officials. The Russian's attorney was none other than Natalia Veselnitskaya of Trump Tower meeting fame.
Federal District Court Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote a scorching denial to Fusion's request - concluding that Nunes legally issued the subpoena, it wasn't overly broad, and that the transactions are not covered by the first amendment.
"Unfortunately for the plaintiff, I cannot agree," Judge Leon wrote on the basis that Fusion's commercial relationship with its clients does not provide Fusion with "some special First Amendment protection from subpoenas," since it would allow "any entity that provides goods and services to a customer who engages in political activity to resist a subpoena on the ground that its client engages in political speech."
While we don't know what the 70 financial transactions cover, Nunes' Subpoena was broad, demanding complete records going back to August, 2015...
In late November, The Daily Caller's Chuck Ross reported that heavily redacted Fusion GPS bank records unsealed Tuesday reveal DNC law firm Perkins Coie paid Fusion a total of $1,024,408 in 2016 for opposition research on then-candidate Donald Trump - including the 34-page dossier.
Ross also reported that law firm Baker Hostelter paid Fusion $523,651 between March and October 2016 on behalf of a company owned by Russian businessman and money launderer Denis Katsyv to research Bill Browder, a London banker who helped push through the Magnitsky Act - named after deceased Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
Katsyv was busted for a high level embezzlement and money laundering scheme, sanctioned by Russian Officials, in which large sums of money were stolen from the Russian government and invested in New York real estate. Some of the missing funds were traced to Katsyv's firm, Prevezon Holdings Ltd., which settled with the Justice Department in 2017 - paying $5.9 million in fines.
And again, what does Nunes' Subpoena cover? Banking records from the period in which Katsyv utilized Fusion GPS services.
Enter Natalia
Katsyv's attorney, Natalia Veselnitskaya - a John McCain fan who hates Trump and uses Democrat lobbyists, was initially denied entry into the United States, only to be allowed in under "extraordinary circumstances" by Obama's Homeland Security Department and approved by former AG Loretta Lynch so she could represent Fusion GPS client Denis Katsyv's company, Prevezon Holdings - and attend the meeting at Trump Tower with Donald Trump Jr. - arranged by Fusion GPS associate Rob Goldstone.
Let's Review:
- Russian businessman Denis Katsyv was a key figure in an embezzlement and money laundering scheme involving New York real estate, uncovered by Russian lawyer and accountant Sergei Magnitsky. Magnitsky reportedly died in Moscow's Butyrka prison after a year of inhumane treatment.
- Katsyv settled with the U.S. Justice department in 2017, paying a paltry $5.9 million in 2017 to settle the case - less than 3% of the amount originally sought by federal prosecutors.
- Fusion GPS was paid $523,651 by Katsyv to investigate London Banker Bill Browder who pushed for the Magnitsky Act, while Katsyv's attorney, Natalia Veselnitskaya, was in the United States actively lobbying to remove the sanctions imposed by the Magnitsky Act.
- Fusion GPS associate Rob Goldstone set up the infamous meeting at Trump Tower between Donald Trump Jr., Katsyv's lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and various associates. The meeting was pitched to Trump Jr. as a "discussion on adoption"(not opposition research on Hillary Clinton) and was shut down by Trump Jr. after it became clear Veselnitskaya wanted to discuss the Magnitsky Act - which Don Jr. apparently didn't realize was linked to the adoption issue. Others present at the meeting include Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, and Rob Goldstone.
- Hours before the Trump Tower meeting, Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson met with Veselnitskaya.
Meanwhile...
- Fusion GPS was paid $1,024,408 by DNC law firm Perkins Coie, which acted as an intermediary for Hillary Clinton and the DNC, to create the salacious 34 page dossier.
- Fusion paid former British spy Christopher Steele $168,000 to assemble the document (which had the cooperation of two senior Kremlin officials).
- Clinton campaign manager John Podesta met with Fusion CEO Glenn Simpson the day after the 34 page dossier was made public.
For their efforts, Fusion GPS was paid over $1.5 million dollars between Hillary Clinton, the DNC, and the holding company owned by pro-Kremlin businessman Denis Katsyv.
Also recall that Fusion GPS hired Nellie Ohr, the CIA-linked wife of demoted DOJ official, Bruce Ohr, to help with investigation Trump, and that Bruce Ohr was demoted after meeting with Simpson and Christopher Steele, the former MI6 spy who assembled the dossier for Fusion.
House investigators have determined that Ohr met shortly after the election with Glenn Simpson, the founder of Fusion GPS the opposition research firm that hired Steele to compile the dossier with funds supplied by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
...evidence collected by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), chaired by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., indicates that Ohr met during the 2016 campaign with Christopher Steele, the former British spy who authored the dossier. -Fox News
Let's also remember Fusion's failed effort to link the President to billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein:
Since you asked, yes, they helped me with that, Mr. Silverstein said. But as you can see, I could not make a strong case for Trump being super close to Epstein, so they could hardly have been thrilled with that story. [In my humble opinion], that was the best story written about Trumps ties to Epstein, but I failed to nail him. Trumps ties were mild compared to Bill Clintons.
As well as a fabricated story that a secret email server existed between Trump Tower and Moscow's Alpha Bank - which was debunked by internet sleuths who traced the IP address to a marketing server located outside Philadelphia.
Fusion is currently being sued for libel in two separate cases by three Russian businessmen-bankers in US District Court for their inclusion in the Dossier, along with the 'secret server' story pushed by Glenn Simpson. Alfa bank executives Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven and German Khan filed suit in early October, claiming their reputations were harmed by the largely unsubstantiated document.
Given that Fusion GPS appears to have had their 'investigative' hands in several pots related to ongoing investigations on Capitol Hill, it's no wonder they penned a desperate self-defense last week, as if to leave people with some sort of positive impression of the company before the storm truly arrives.
Comments
Nothing to see here. Move along.
– Jeff Sessions
The weasels have no time for trivial things like national security and the Russians....they're too busy chasing pot heads, chastising police departments for so-called 'civil rights violations' and going after hard working patriots like Sheriff Clarke.
In reply to … by macholatte
And what does it say about the concern for "national security" when the candidate (or her proxies) is hiring foreign ex-spies to create political research that is then used by authorities of the same party to "legally" bug her opponent?
This is the MO of the Klintons.
And Obama.
In reply to The weasels have no time for… by Handful of Dust
Common knowledge to George Webb. This man deserves a Pulitzer, for diligent investigative work, so far ahead of the curve. - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_5cihUdQDU
In reply to And what does it say about… by nmewn
Yes, now it is.
But they said Trump was nutz for tweeting Obama had him "wiretapped".
Not so nutz after all ;-)
Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump
Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!
6:35 AM - Mar 4, 2017
In reply to Common knowledge! by IntercoursetheEU
That's all a DISTRACTION as they're getting ready to set the Middle East on fire. http://wp.me/p4OZ4v-2g9
In reply to Yes, now it is… by nmewn
Fusion GPS Bank Records Handed Over; May Shed Light On Payments From Russian Embezzler
My response: GOOD!! Let JUSTICE be served!!
The DEMOCRATS and their operatives like FUSION GPS are the scourge of America and a CLEAR and PRESENT DANGER to the REPUBLIC.
People involved in this CRAP should be given a permanent residence at GITMO with all financial assets seized.
In reply to That's ALL a distraction… by bobcatz
Read and weep: https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/01/05/operation-condor-how-ns…
Some folks are going to prison.
Hey, where's Barry hanging these days?
In reply to Fusion GPS Bank Records… by GUS100CORRINA
It's going down. Good link.
In reply to Read and weep: https:/… by TuesdayBen
Aye. Big uptick. Huge number of dots connected.
Should be ZH featured.
If authentic, it's kinda odd, because I never saw Mike Rogers as one of the good guys.
Comment on the article sums it up: "Person wishing to seek a definition for the term Mind boggling – Read this article."
In reply to It's going down. Good link. by WFO
I suspect a lot of soiled trousers out there in DNC land right about now.
Going long tar, feathers, rope, and popcorn.
In reply to Aye. Big uptick. Huge number… by CuttingEdge
Maybe it's just wishful thinking, and Sessions is Rip Van Winkle reincarnate, but...
The number of high level players involved (per that link) would make it imperative for the AG not to play any hand until every box is ticked. And with more boxes (i.e corrupted Obambam appointees) being revealed into the public domain on a weekly basis, it could take an awful long time to complete the set and push the nuke button.
And in the meantime, Mueller just keeps digging himself into a deeper, more ridiculous hole, while his Clintonista staffers' prior (recorded) actions just keep piling on the humiliation. Just wait until he is in front of committee explaining why the FBI on his watch ditched Uranium 1.
The big question is, could the USA handle the massive fallout from the mass purge anyone with three functional brain cells knows is required to cleanse it's god-awful corrupted government soul? Say during the mid-terms next year after Bob Mueller's credibility is completely shot?
In reply to I suspect a lot of soiled… by Automatic Choke
Someone tap Mueller on the shoulder... If he's looking for evidence of monetary influence on the 2016 election, then here it is...
In reply to Maybe it's just wishful… by CuttingEdge
10 to 1 odds that Bannon is......involved here.
In reply to Someone tap Mueller on the… by Keyser
Word is that Bannon was a leaky plant...
In reply to 10 to 1 odds that Bannon is… by 1 Alabama
Could the USA handle the massive fallout from a mass purge? You mean could the USA survive actually draining the swamp? Wow - we would do very well with 50% of the federal "government" we have now.
The Swamp is a giant make work project. Paper pushers and checkers checking checkers. No one would notice if 50% of what the Swamp Dwellers do stopped happening. All the time and effort spent dealing with the 50,000+ rules and regulations added each year could be put to productive use. Keep the VA. Pull back the military out of 100+ countries and shrink DoD to about half. The Germans and the Koreans can defend themselves.
What iota of value does the Dept of Education provide? There are 7,000+ Dept of Agriculture employees in DC, and not one farm. Send half the Ag money to the state ag departments based upon farm production. Who would notice if Health and Human Services disappeared? Give half the money to the states to pay for Medicare. Dept of Commerce? Dept of Transportation? About 90% of the State Department deserves to be kicked to the curb. What could 10,000+ State Department employees possibly do that adds any value?
Time for a 4th Turning Massive Reset. Bring it on.
In reply to Maybe it's just wishful… by CuttingEdge
Contrary to all the musings of the potheads on ZH, I have had suspicions that Sessions was laying a trap. Anyone one who has lived in the south for any length of time knows never to underestimate anyone with a deep southern drawl. They may appear uneducated and simple, but are smart and cunning like a fox.
Think through how sloppy this whole FISA unmasking has been from the start. The perps were certain Hitlery was going to win, hence they didn't think it necessary to cover their tracks. There was just too much info to clean up after the election and the diarrhea inducing fear has been rampant ever since in the DNC and Obama admin.
This is going to be captivating as it unwinds. IMHO, Mueller was put in place as the insurance policy to keep DJT off balance. This has not happened and DJT has completely neutered him. I wonder what burned last week in Chappaqua?
DaddyO
In reply to Maybe it's just wishful… by CuttingEdge
X2
In reply to Contrary to all the musings… by DaddyO
It really is shameful how these criminals are still roaming free with all the evidence out there. Jeff Sessions and Trump should be ashamed for continuing to allow this.
In reply to I suspect a lot of soiled… by Automatic Choke
I think it's unraveling beautifully.
Fools rush in.
In reply to It really is shameful how… by j0nx
THE STORM IS HERE
In reply to Aye. Big uptick. Huge number… by CuttingEdge
The storm...
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C0ue9qeXEAA_LoV.jpg
In reply to THE STORM IS HERE by SamAdams
Those guys have been on point lately. I just started reading them a few months back, they do an excellent job of connecting the dots.
So these people were involved in shady dealings with shady Russians, huh? One thing with democrats, when they accuse others of something you KNOW they are doing that very thing.
In reply to Read and weep: https:/… by TuesdayBen
Mueller, hey Mueller. Not that we would use you as special prosecutor BUT we are finding a BUNCH of collusion between DEMS and Russia and we aren't even paying $36,000. a day for your wanderings.
In reply to Those guys have been on… by greenskeeper carl
...where's Barry hanging these days?...
I figured he and Mr. Corzine got a room together. Haven't heard much from either in quite some time. Not that that's a bad thing.
In reply to Read and weep: https:/… by TuesdayBen
Thank you for the link. This is explosive. I urge everyone to read it and send the link to everyone you know regardless of the their feelings about Trump. The implications of "Deep State" conspiracy is astonishing.
In reply to Read and weep: https:/… by TuesdayBen
In reply to Read and weep: https:/… by TuesdayBen
I think he's hiding out in the bath house sucking Reggie's dick.
In reply to Read and weep: https:/… by TuesdayBen
Choom Gang Chumps
In reply to Read and weep: https:/… by TuesdayBen
I can't think of a worse punishment for Bruce Ohr than to make him wake up every morning for the rest of his life to that incredibly ugly face of his wife. That punishment would drive any normal man insane.
In reply to That's ALL a distraction… by bobcatz
Waking up with Bubba in a prison cell serving life without parole.
In reply to I can't think of a worse… by IH8OBAMA
Could be worse, and should be worse. Hang them both as traitors, dump thier bodies in a grease plant.
In reply to I can't think of a worse… by IH8OBAMA
Sharing a cell with Hillary would be magnitudes worse.
In reply to Could be worse, and should… by Jethro
You never know what redeeming qualities she has, did you ever have a horse eat corn out of your hand?
In reply to I can't think of a worse… by IH8OBAMA
he doesn't look like a 'bruce ohr'.... he's more of a ming tsai or a liu kang.
In reply to I can't think of a worse… by IH8OBAMA
Because Bruce is such a studly hunk?
In reply to I can't think of a worse… by IH8OBAMA
You might be right about the Middle East but what you call a distraction is nothing short of a tangled web of treason at the highest level of leadership in government, the deep state intelligence agencies and MSM. Trump was the supposed Russian colluder, now mentally unfit president. Trump Jr is now treasonous. Anyone with half a brain cell can see that from the beginning Trump's enemies have accused him of everything that they actually are. Saul Alinsky 101.
In reply to That's ALL a distraction… by bobcatz
They also say Natalia was somehow an agent of the Russian govt, when in fact she was the lawyer for a company stealing from the Russian govt...? But hey, it's not a problem because she's a 'special' illegal alien 'specially excused' by Obamunist Lynch mob.
In reply to Yes, now it is… by nmewn
This is why I think Romney threw the election. They had massive dirt on him. Same thing happened to McCain.
In reply to And what does it say about… by nmewn
Strongly recommend everybody check this out. Looks like the illegal surveillance of Trump tower was blowing up after Trump was elected. 2 more names to add to the usual suspects: John P Carlin DOJ/NSD (national security division) and Peter Strzok's boss Bill Priestap (FBI Chief of Counterintelligence). NSA chief admiral Rogers had already cited the FISA 702 violations. For that, Clapper/ODNI and Carlin/DOJ-NSD tried to get Rogers fired.
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/01/05/operation-condor-how-ns…
https://ru.scribd.com/document/349542716/Top-Secret-FISA-Court-Order-Pr…
In reply to And what does it say about… by nmewn
I read it.
Arcane spookology isn't going to send Cankles to prison. I mean, she has a trail of bodies - BODIES - in her wake, for chrissakes.
Extra-spooky spook paperwork that may or may not have been filed properly by all of the FBI's horse-faced lawyers isn't going to land anyone important an orange jumpsuit.
The average American has the intelligence of a fourth grader. So unless you can spin this stuff into "Clinton steals aborted kitten fetuses to blend into her life-extending milkshakes", no one will care.
If anything, I can see the headline being manufactured by the NYT right now:
"Trump tipped by NSA spook - helped Russia damage Clinton campaign"
In reply to Strongly recommend everybody… by otschelnik
and don't forget what Sessions has said is a second DOJ priority ,
namely to arrest Julian Assange of WIKILEAKS.
In reply to The weasels have no time for… by Handful of Dust
They weren't smoking pot - it's all good.
- Jeff Sessions
In reply to … by macholatte
I don't know why people here like to both about Sessions. HE will happily nail Hillary to the wall if he has a chance.
In reply to They weren't smoking pot -… by BidnessMan
If only he were the head of the Department of Justice, maybe he'd have the chance.
In reply to I don't know why people here… by yomutti2
...I don't know why people here like to both about Sessions....
I'll take a stab at why many here "both" about Mr. Sessions. He has the appearance of being asleep at the wheel in regards to actually bringing charges against even if, (which I hope he is), just being methodically ponderous in building a unassailable case against scofflaws, his delaying is being seen as denial of justice.
Further, he's voicing a currently unfavorable stance on what many see as an improvement regarding the decriminalization of cannabis. I must admit the legal issues surrounding the process taken by the advocates, IE states rights, place a lifelong Republican's Republican in an awkward position and is entertaining to watch what tact he uses now that will come back to haunt him later.
As a fellow Sunday school teacher in a Christian fellowship likely far more "conservative" than his post at Ashland Place United Methodist Church in Mobile, I am inclined to take issue with his "good people" don't smoke dope comment, but can admire him for at least kicking the issue back to Congress, because they're the ones that have set his agenda in large degree.
I think most here would like to have their cake, (an HRC indictment / imprisonment), and not be deemed a criminal if it was smoked too.
jmo.
In reply to I don't know why people here… by yomutti2
don't forget
The arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is now a “priority” for the US, the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, has said.
In reply to ...I don't know why people… by Boxed Merlot
wait for it.... Sessions may very well come through. We'll see. Within two weeks we will know. DOJ IG report release may very well be pivotal.
In reply to … by macholatte
That will not work,
Signed, the American public that cares!!
In reply to … by macholatte
Is that all you've got? How many times do you have to repeat the same thing? Get up to speed on what is really going on with the FBI and DOJ - the walls are closing in:
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/949501891108593664.html
In reply to … by macholatte
Pagination