All Things Russia & Ukraine

[dislaxxic]

INFORMATION IN AMENDED DNC LAWSUIT REVEALS THAT ROGER STONE IS AT SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER RISK FOR CFAA INDICTMENT

"Computer Fraud and Abuse Act"

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[Trinity]

US sides with Russia and Saudi Arabia on Climate Change report.

[dislaxxic]

Comrade Saltkevych! More news on Comrade Butina!

Accused Russian spy Maria Butina cooperating with federal prosecutors as part of plea deal

Hopink zey don’t look too far into NRA caper, da?

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[a fan]

The sad part is, do you really think the NRA leadership cares that if in bed with Putin, so long as the checks clear?

The question is: do the NRA members care? I'm not sure I want the answer to that question.

[dislaxxic]

and Saltskya, is first Russian national to cooperate!

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[old salt]

and Saltskya, is first Russian national to cooperate!

If she was colludin', they'd charge her with more than FARA, failure to file, & conspiracy to act as an agent of Russia.
...espionage maybe ?

0-6 mos recommended. She's already served 5 mos.

[Trinity]

What’s Vlad doing on the Ukraine border while Trump flops around like a dead fish? Meanwhile enjoy the photos online today of Sheriff David Clarke and Butina making America look soo effing stupid.

[dislaxxic]

If she was colludin', they'd charge her with more than FARA, failure to file, & conspiracy to act as an agent of Russia.
...espionage maybe ? 0-6 mos recommended. She's already served 5 mos.

I'm disappointed. Was looking forward to how you'd make fun of the issue.

Seems a trifling penalty to decide to enter into a plea agreement over...nyet?

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[Typical Lax Dad]

and Saltskya, is first Russian national to cooperate!

If she was colludin', they'd charge her with more than FARA, failure to file, & conspiracy to act as an agent of Russia.
...espionage maybe ?

0-6 mos recommended. She's already served 5 mos.

How about ....If she wasn't cooperating, "they'd charge her with more than FARA, failure to file, & conspiracy to act as an agent of Russia.
...espionage maybe ?" My opinion is just as right as yours.

[old salt]

If she was colludin', they'd charge her with more than FARA, failure to file, & conspiracy to act as an agent of Russia.
...espionage maybe ? 0-6 mos recommended. She's already served 5 mos.

I'm disappointed. Was looking forward to how you'd make fun of the issue.

Seems a trifling penalty to decide to enter into a plea agreement over...nyet?

She's been in solitary confinement for 5 mos. Take a plea & walk for time served.
Get out & go home.
Don't have to give up anything else. If they had more on her, they'd charge her.

[foreverlax]

We don't know what they had on her nor do we know what she gave them, still.

[old salt]

Did Ukrainian President Poroshenko provoke the Kirch Strairs incident by conducting the transit without notification ?

https://nationalinterest.org/feature/do ... -war-38367

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s conduct before, during, and after the November Kerch Strait incident, should trouble all thoughtful Americans. Three Ukrainian naval vessels sought to transit the strait—a narrow waterway between Russia’s Taman Peninsula and Crimea—that connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Kiev considers the strait international waters and points to a 2003 bilateral navigation treaty with Russia to vindicate its position. However, after Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine and annexed that territory in 2014, Moscow now treats the strait as Russian territorial waters. It insists on forty-eight hours notice and explicit Russian approval before Ukrainian ships can use the strait.

Ukraine had complied with that requirement a few months earlier, but in late November declined to do so and attempted to carry out an unapproved crossing. Russian security forces rammed a Ukrainian tug, fired on the two other ships (wounding several sailors) and then seized all three vessels.

The motive for Kiev’s challenge was murky and the timing extremely suspicious .

This is a sticky wicket for the US. It is in our interest to uphold freedom of navigation through the Kirch Straits into the Sea of Azov.
But Ukraine's timing is dubious, particularly since they set a precedent by complying with Russian restrictions earlier.

I'm not thrilled with the recent decision to send a USN DDG into the Black Sea alone, without it being part of a combined NATO naval force.
Russia is less likely to respond provocatively if their EU gas customers are on the receiving end. It might jump start the Minsk process.
I still think the idea of a NATO flotilla in the Black Sea is valid, while NATO flagged merchant vessels transit to & from Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov.

[MDlaxfan76]

and Saltskya, is first Russian national to cooperate!

If she was colludin', they'd charge her with more than FARA, failure to file, & conspiracy to act as an agent of Russia.
...espionage maybe ?

0-6 mos recommended. She's already served 5 mos.

How about ....If she wasn't cooperating, "they'd charge her with more than FARA, failure to file, & conspiracy to act as an agent of Russia.
...espionage maybe ?" My opinion is just as right as yours.

I'm not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV, but I'm pretty sure that nothing we've heard (so far) that she did would fit under either the common definition of "espionage" nor, much less, the legal one.

What she definitely did do, however, appears to be that she operated clandestinely to represent the interests of Russia instead of registering as an authorized agent. FARA doesn't get prosecuted typically for filing flubs but clear clandestine intent is another matter.

What we don't know is how much else the prosecutors can prove, perhaps most intriguingly the question of funneling money to support GOP candidates, esp. Trump, through the NRA. That's got all sorts of additional potential criminal charges but most importantly it's the questions of who knew, what did they know, and when?

[old salt]

and Saltskya, is first Russian national to cooperate!

If she was colludin', they'd charge her with more than FARA, failure to file, & conspiracy to act as an agent of Russia.
...espionage maybe ?

0-6 mos recommended. She's already served 5 mos.

How about ....If she wasn't cooperating, "they'd charge her with more than FARA, failure to file, & conspiracy to act as an agent of Russia.
...espionage maybe ?" My opinion is just as right as yours.

Informed opinion = espionage-lite.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/maria-but ... te-with-us

In July of this year, Butina was arrested and charged on two counts: acting as a covert agent of a foreign government, and conspiring to break federal law by doing so. The specific charge for acting as a foreign agent is colloquially known as Section 951. It’s often confused with the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), but the two are separate. FARA bars secret foreign lobbying, while DOJ lawyers refer to Section 951 as “espionage-lite.” She has only pleaded guilty to the second count, conspiracy. The defense’s estimated sentence for this conviction, according to the plea deal, is up to six months. She has already spent almost five months in jail.

[Typical Lax Dad]

and Saltskya, is first Russian national to cooperate!

If she was colludin', they'd charge her with more than FARA, failure to file, & conspiracy to act as an agent of Russia.
...espionage maybe ?

0-6 mos recommended. She's already served 5 mos.

How about ....If she wasn't cooperating, "they'd charge her with more than FARA, failure to file, & conspiracy to act as an agent of Russia.
...espionage maybe ?" My opinion is just as right as yours.

Informed opinion = espionage-lite.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/maria-but ... te-with-us

In July of this year, Butina was arrested and charged on two counts: acting as a covert agent of a foreign government, and conspiring to break federal law by doing so. The specific charge for acting as a foreign agent is colloquially known as Section 951. It’s often confused with the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), but the two are separate. FARA bars secret foreign lobbying, while DOJ lawyers refer to Section 951 as “espionage-lite.” She has only pleaded guilty to the second count, conspiracy. The defense’s estimated sentence for this conviction, according to the plea deal, is up to six months. She has already spent almost five months in jail.

Thanks. When criminals are picked up, it is not uncommon for additional charges to be filed as the investigation continues. Would you happen to know if the investigation continued?

[dislaxxic]

The NRA spent a tad over 12 million to try to elect Mitt Romney.

They spent 30 MILLION to elect Trump.

“COINCIDENCE NUMBER 395”: THE N.R.A. SPENT $30 MILLION TO ELECT TRUMP. WAS IT RUSSIAN MONEY?

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[dislaxxic]

...and then AFTER spending that YUGE sum on Don the Grifter, we get THIS:

IS THE NRA GOING BANKRUPT? GROUP CLAIMS IT WILL SOON BE ‘UNABLE TO EXIST’ DUE TO FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES

Aren't conspiracy theories FUN??

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[old salt]

and Saltskya, is first Russian national to cooperate!

If she was colludin', they'd charge her with more than FARA, failure to file, & conspiracy to act as an agent of Russia.
...espionage maybe ?

0-6 mos recommended. She's already served 5 mos.

How about ....If she wasn't cooperating, "they'd charge her with more than FARA, failure to file, & conspiracy to act as an agent of Russia.
...espionage maybe ?" My opinion is just as right as yours.

Informed opinion = espionage-lite.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/maria-but ... te-with-us

In July of this year, Butina was arrested and charged on two counts: acting as a covert agent of a foreign government, and conspiring to break federal law by doing so. The specific charge for acting as a foreign agent is colloquially known as Section 951. It’s often confused with the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), but the two are separate. FARA bars secret foreign lobbying, while DOJ lawyers refer to Section 951 as “espionage-lite.” She has only pleaded guilty to the second count, conspiracy. The defense’s estimated sentence for this conviction, according to the plea deal, is up to six months. She has already spent almost five months in jail.

Thanks. When criminals are picked up, it is not uncommon for additional charges to be filed as the investigation continues. Would you happen to know if the investigation continued?

Ken Dilinian of MSNBC reported -- if she had simply registered under FARA, much of this would be legal.

Pete Williams of MSNBC reported -- it's a far cry from the case the govt originally brought. A lot of backing off by the govt. They've changed their minds about her. Just influence peddling. No indication she had anything to do with election meddling, No suggestion she had anything to do with Russian intelligence.

[dislaxxic]

Still curious about the reported plea agreement though, no? Much ado about nothing if as we're hearing here...why plea if there's nothing there?

May be a nothingburger...may not be...

..

[Typical Lax Dad]

and Saltskya, is first Russian national to cooperate!

If she was colludin', they'd charge her with more than FARA, failure to file, & conspiracy to act as an agent of Russia.
...espionage maybe ?

0-6 mos recommended. She's already served 5 mos.

How about ....If she wasn't cooperating, "they'd charge her with more than FARA, failure to file, & conspiracy to act as an agent of Russia.
...espionage maybe ?" My opinion is just as right as yours.

Informed opinion = espionage-lite.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/maria-but ... te-with-us

In July of this year, Butina was arrested and charged on two counts: acting as a covert agent of a foreign government, and conspiring to break federal law by doing so. The specific charge for acting as a foreign agent is colloquially known as Section 951. It’s often confused with the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), but the two are separate. FARA bars secret foreign lobbying, while DOJ lawyers refer to Section 951 as “espionage-lite.” She has only pleaded guilty to the second count, conspiracy. The defense’s estimated sentence for this conviction, according to the plea deal, is up to six months. She has already spent almost five months in jail.

Thanks. When criminals are picked up, it is not uncommon for additional charges to be filed as the investigation continues. Would you happen to know if the investigation continued?

Ken Dilinian of MSNBC reported -- if she had simply registered under FARA, much of this would be legal.

Pete Williams of MSNBC reported -- it's a far cry from the case the govt originally brought. A lot of backing off by the govt. They've changed their minds about her. Just influence peddling. No indication she had anything to do with election meddling, No suggestion she had anything to do with Russian intelligence.

1) Much does not equal all....much of what OJ did the night of the murders was probably legal.


2) Is there any reason for her to sign a cooperation agreement if she did not do anything?


3) When the Feds cut people loose is there generally a cooperation agreement signed?