5129

Do TV broadcasters have to disclose who pays for their ads?
If so, then it seems similar enough to justify the regulation.

5130

Yes, at least in my experience, though they usually do it with a tiny font on the bottom that no one can read.

And when it comes to political ads, definitely, though it gets cloaked via PACs most of the time.

5131

I’m Vladimir Putin and I approve this message!

5132

It’s interesting that the Russians like to release these damning comments. I think they want to make Trump squirm. Every little thing they release must remind Trump that they have much more damning stuff they could release.

5133

Sure he may suck at things like disaster relief or consoling the families of those who died for their country. But when there’s justice to be obstructed, Trump is on it.

5134

Even Republican staffers are complaining about partisanship.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats on a congressional panel say members of its Republican majority are trying to sabotage an investigation into suspected Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, raising concerns the two parties will reach contradictory conclusions.

Republicans on the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee have coached witnesses, scheduled interviews without first requesting important documents, and many fail to attend witness interviews, four sources close to the investigation said.

On one occasion, three sources said, Republican Representative Trey Gowdy told Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and White House aide, that he was testifying voluntarily and could leave whenever he liked. After about two-and-a-half hours, one of the sources said, Kushner took the cue and left before Democrats had finished questioning him. Kushner’s lawyer and Gowdy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The panel has heard from about 10 witnesses, the sources said. But given the lack of preparation and the absence of many Republican members, hearings amount to “going through the motions” rather than a serious investigation, one source said.

Two Republican committee staffers, speaking on the condition of anonymity, also criticized what they called a partisan effort to discredit rather than investigate allegations that some aides or advisers to Republican Trump’s election campaign may have colluded with Russia, which has been under U.S. sanctions for several years.

5135

I’d be shocked if the House committee found anyone at fault other than Hillary.

5136

That’s way too cynical. They’ll also find Obama at fault.

5137

Don’t forget Bill.

5138

In related news.

5139


Putin’s interpol thing isn’t anything new, like Browder said, it’s been done 5 times to him.
The US pulling his visa though… that’s something else. I’m sure Tillerson doesn’t know anything about it as he shines his Putin’s Bestie Medal.

5140

Edit: Also I’m with Gary on this one.

Why is Putin allowed to use Interpol against his critics in the first place? Russian law enforcement and judiciary are corrupt as hell.

5141

A spokesperson at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told The Hill late Monday afternoon that Browder had been cleared for travel to the U.S., indicating that the department had initiated a manual review of his application last week, which would result in it being placed in a “pending status.”

Toward the end of the day Monday, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a unit of DHS, said Browder is free to visit the United States and that his ESTA remains valid after it was manually approved by CBP officials on Wednesday of last week.

It was not clear why Browder thought his clearance had been revoked, and the CBP spokesman did not offer many details. But the spokesman noted that “applications being manually reviewed may temporarily be placed in a pending status until a final determination is made,” hinting that the confusion may be the result of slow or miscommunication between the agency and Browder.

5142

In other words: “oops, we thought we could get away with this.”

5143

He’s free to travel to the US (at which point we will arrest him and extratide him back to his comrades in Russia).

5144

Wait, since it’s Trump it’s “our comrades.” Also, extratide sounds like whitewashing.

5145

House Republican leaders have taken the extraordinary step of curtailing Rep. Dana Rohrabacher’s (R-CA) ability to conduct official business out of fear that he is too compromised by his ties to Russia.

Rohrabacher has drawn scrutiny for his longstanding links with Moscow, his closeness to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, and his recent willingness to allow his subcommittee to be used for Kremlin propaganda purposes.

In response, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs has placed heightened restrictions on the trips abroad that he can take with committee money as well as the hearings he can hold through the subcommittee on Europe that he chairs.

5146

image
image.png700×490 43.8 KB

Ha Ha… ha.

5147

The Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee helped fund research that resulted in a now-famous dossier containing allegations about Donald Trump’s connections to Russia and possible coordination between his campaign and the Kremlin, people familiar with the matter said.

Marc E. Elias, a lawyer representing the Clinton campaign and the DNC, retained Fusion GPS, a Washington firm, to conduct the research.

Fusion GPS hired dossier author Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer with ties to the FBI and the U.S. intelligence community.

Elias and his law firm, Perkins Coie, retained the firm in April 2016 on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the DNC. Prior to that agreement, Fusion GPS’s research into Trump was funded by a still unknown Republican client during the GOP primary.

5148

I thought it was established last year that Jeb’s supporters initially hired him, and Clinton and the DNC picked it up after Bush dropped out.