Just How Long are Republicans Going to Enable the Trump-Putin Partnership?

Jennifer Rubin @ Washington Post:

The Republican Party, once the strong-on-defense party -the party whose revered president said of the desired end to the Cold War, 'We win,
they [the Soviets] lose' -- showed its new, true colors on Wednesday. 

The AP reports on Wednesday’s vote on sanctions relief for a Russian oligarch. 'The Senate has narrowly upheld a Treasury Department decision to
lift sanctions from three companies connected to Russian oligarch
Oleg Deripaska. A vote to move forward on a Democratic resolution that would have reversed Treasury’s decision failed Wednesday on a 57-42 vote, just short of the 60 votes needed.' Eleven Republicans voted with Democrats to oppose lifting sanctions...

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12 Reasons Why Russia SUCKS

Talk about a shithole country... 

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Analysts Predict Break-Up of Russian Federation

UA-Wire:

American publisher and global intelligence company Stratfor forecasted the break-up of the Russian Federation in the next decade. According to Stratfor, the intervention of the USA and external management of the country for its nuclear disarmament will follow the collapse of Russia...

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Is Russia About to Invade Ukraine?

Atlantic Council: 

Vladimir Putin must be kicking himself. Four years ago, he could have invaded and seized most of Ukraine in a few weeks. Believing that Ukrainians were an 'artificial' nation led by 'fascists'-- however, he figured an invasion was unnecessary and the state would collapse on its own. 

Now, Ukrainians are daily demonstrating their desire to leave the Russian zone of influence forever. An invasion may be the only thing that could postpone the inevitable, but it's an extremely risky undertaking that could result in Russia's collapse...

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Michael Cohen Gathered DIRT on Jerry Falwell Jr- Utilized to Force Evangelicals Aboard the Trump Train

BuzzFeed: 

Influential evangelical leader and Donald Trump backer Jerry Falwell Jr. went into business with a young pool attendant he and his wife met while staying at a luxury hotel in Miami Beach, according to a lawsuit filed in
Miami-Dade County...

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Manafort's NOT Stupid

Terri Kanefield (via Twitter):

He's not reckless, and he isn't stupid enough to think a pardon will save him. So why can't he tell the truth? I think it's helpful to remember a few things about the nature of the criminal enterprise:

Trump and Manafort are not the top of the international criminal enterprise.
In a 1-27-2011 lecture -given while Mueller was FBI director- he talked about a new kind of organized crime threatening the US. Today’s mobsters have
gone international. They're 'iron triangles' consisting of (1) organized criminals
(2) corrupt government officials, and (3) business leaders.
And they pose a signifiant security threat. 

They're also cornering the international market on natural gas & oil (which explains climate change denial). They infiltrate US businesses, and try to manipulate people at the highest levels of government. Motivated by greed, they sell to the highest bidder and will stop at nothing to make money. 

Mueller explained that by 2011, the FBI was developing a long-term strategy for dismantling these enterprises, including Threat Focus Cells to target mobsters like Semion Mogilevich—who he said was on the FBI's
Ten Most Wanted list. 

Mogilevich -'Russia’s top crime boss'- has ties to Trump Tower. Mogilevich’s operative David Bogatin bought 5 condos in Trump Tower for $6 million cash. 1,300 Trump-branded condos were sold in all cash purchases to anonymous shell companies. 

Mogilevich got rich stealing from Russians and scamming Americans. He's also one of Russia's most powerful oligarchs. Russian oligarchs, don't forget, are Manafort's buddies and clients. 

Manafort conspired with Gates and Konstantin Kilimnik to act (and acted) as an agent of the Government of Ukraine, the Party of Regions -the pro-Putin party- between at least 2006 and 2015. Kilimnik is another Russian oligarch. Manafort's buddy. 

We all know what happens to people who rat on Russian oligarchs—as do their families. I never believed Manafort, who cares about his family,
was really going to rat on his Russian buddies. But Mueller is confident Manafort is lying, which means Mueller knows the truth.

And Mueller is after something bigger (and more dangerous)
than either Manafort or Trump.