Is Trump Targeting Elijah Cummings Because Cummings Is Onto The Worst Trump Family Swamp Yet?

Most Americans outside of Washington and other than his own constituents in Baltimore had never heard of Elijah Cummings before Trump went on a week-long tirade against him. Can you recall Trump being more consistently vitriolic against any other member of Congress? Not Pelosi, not Schumer, not Adam Schiff, not Maxine Waters, not AOC, not Justin Amash, not Frederica Wilson, not Rashida Tlaib... Maybe Ilhan. But he's really been on an uncontrollable tear over Cummings. And now pretty much everyone knows something about Elijah Cummings, the son of sharecroppers from South Carolina, who, unlike the low-IQ "president," became a Phil Beta Kappa member and graduated college around the same time as Trump, but with honors. Trump lashed out at him blindly at first, accusing him, for example, of never visiting his district, even though Cummings home in Baltimore is his only home and where he sleeps every single night. But after Trump was made into a laughing stock for that comment, he assigned a team of White House aides (taxpayer paid) to start digging up dirt on Cunnings, like the video Trump, attempted to confuse people about the phrase "rat-infested" instead of "drug-infested", tweeted yesterday of Cummings making a plea for funds to solve solve drug problems in inner-city neighborhoods.

I'm The Least Racist Person There Is In The World by Nancy Ohanian

So why is Trump going after Cummings the way he is? Well, with Trump, it's always personal. Everything-- every single thing he does, every single breathe he takes, every move he makes, every bond he breaks, every step he takes, every smile he fakes, every vow he breaks, every claim he stakes-- is entirely self-serving. So... Cummings subpoenaing slumlord Kushner-in-law? the obscure personal bond Trump once had, briefly, with Cummings. It's more than just Trump's racism. But what?

How about Saudi Arabia? More than anything else, Trump is a greedy crook looking for a score. Saudi Arabia is that big score, more so than Russia. Ever since Trump met the Saudi dictator over that crystal ball, he's been trying to sell the regime there nuclear plants, not an idea any sane person approves of. The Daily Beast reports that "an underground coalition" of nuclear energy executives and lobbyists and apparatchiks they buy, is promoting an American nuclear energy comeback, a comeback that "would come via Saudi Arabia and would rely on using President Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s cozy relationship with the country’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Riyadh had launched its Vision 2030-- a project to decrease the country’s reliance on oil by building up its other economic sectors, including nuclear-- and it was looking for tenders to build its first reactors." The Daily Beast also asserts that it is this coalition is trying to persuade Trump. I'm not so sure, though. Is the "underground coalition" working for Trump rather than trying to influence him?

If the administration backed American nuclear enterprises in Saudi it could fulfill one of its main policy goals-- countering Russia and China. The coalition leaned on Trump officials to help them push forward its case, including former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Trump adviser Tom Barrack. Barrack is now under investigation in New York for his lobbying work. The New York Times reported that investigators have asked Barrack about his work related to the Saudi nuclear deal. Flynn, who left the administration in February 2017, was later indicted by Robert Mueller’s special counsel’s office and plead guilty to charges of lying to the FBI about his communications with then Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak.

...The coalition’s secret campaign to win over the Trump administration is concerning officials and Capitol Hill who are fearful that the plans for Saudi Arabia will move forward despite the fact that they raise legal concerns and could potentially threaten U.S. national security, according to two senior administration officials and more than half a dozen lawmakers. Congress is currently wrapping up an investigation into the origins of the coalition’s plans.

...The report into the House Oversight Committee’s congressional investigation into the coalition’s plan and its development is set to be released in the coming days.

House Oversight Committee? Who chairs that again? OK, let's look at a report from ABC News' Ben Siegel and Matt Mosk, House Dems blast Trump insider in new report, allege profit motive in push for Saudi nuclear plan. House Dems? Well... Oversight Committee Dems... Cummings. And who are they going after? Long time crooked Trump crony Tom Barrack who was the one pushing the proposal to build dozens of nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia while seeking to avoid restrictions on the transfer of U.S. nuclear technology and, likely to profit gigantically for... himself and... Señor Trumpanzee? Would it surprise you? It wouldn't surprise Elijah Cummings, who said "Today's report reveals new and extensive evidence that corroborates Committee whistle-blowers and exposes how corporate and foreign interests are using their unique access to advocate for the transfer of U.S. nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia."

The 50-page report, which relied on 60,000 documents and statements from whistle-blowers inside the administration, was made public Monday. It focuses on the actions of Thomas Barrack, a wealthy Los Angeles businessman who oversaw President Donald Trump's inaugural committee, as well as earlier efforts by retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn to push a Saudi nuclear energy plan. Investigators said they found evidence that "private parties with close ties to the President wield[ed] outsized influence over U.S. policy towards Saudi Arabia."

"These new documents raise serious questions about whether the White House is willing to place the potential profits of the President's friends above the national security of the American people and the universal objective of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons," according to the report.

...The investigation focuses on company called IP3 International, which is run by a group of retired American generals, and their years-long effort to promote a plan to sell dozens of nuclear power plants to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. The company has been aided in its efforts by two well-known Trump advisers: Flynn and Barrack, a California investment executive who has deep ties in the Middle East.

The report alleges that Flynn and later Barrack helped push the proposal during the 2016 campaign, in the White House and later during briefings with senior White House officials including Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and ultimately President Trump. IP3 officials also briefed cabinet officials including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, according to the report.

Barrack promoted the effort as part of what he called a "Middle East Marshall Plan" despite concerns from some White House officials and lawmakers that Saudi Arabia's true goal was to obtain technology for nuclear weapons, which could heighten tensions in the unstable region.

Ahead of the report's release, a spokesman for Barrack spoke with the New York Times about allegations that the longtime Trump friend used his connections to assist foreign interests, telling the newspaper Barrack had no incentive to lobby on behalf of any particular country or countries in the Persian Gulf because his business interests and policy concerns span the entire region.

...Barrack met with Trump at the White House about the Middle East Marshall Plan on the same day the president met with Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House, correspondence between Barrack's secretary and the White House cited in the report shows.

Barrack told a business associate he briefed Trump before and after his meeting with the Saudi deputy crown prince and helped facilitate the prince's visit, according to text messages cited in the report. Those text messages also indicate that Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and a White House senior adviser, participated on a call with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and leader of the United Arab Emirates who is closely aligned with Saudi Arabia.

Barrack later emailed Kushner about his potential role in the administration.

"After thinking through our discussion this week, it might be an interesting idea to have the Special Envoy position hold responsibility for implementing the economic agenda and related action items that will arise out of your Saudi-sponsored summit," he wrote, according to the report.

Barrack texted a business associate in UAE that he had floated the idea, which he said would be "to make me a special envoy to the Middle East to help them with Saudi, UAE and gulf USA cooperation…"

In the days following Trump's meeting with the Saudi deputy crown prince, IP3 leaders engaged with senior Trump administration officials to promote the nuclear proposal, including former Defense Secretary James Mattis, Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

In a March 17, 2017, letter to the Saudi leader, the IP3 officials said the "agreements" between the president and the Saudi ruler "established the framework for our unique opportunity to take the next steps with IP3 and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia." The letter also referenced a "partnership" to acquire Westinghouse Electric, a U.S.-based company that manufactures nuclear reactors.

Soon after, Barrack began corresponding with top officials at IP3 about a plan to bid for Westinghouse in what Democrats believe to be the Saudi Public Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth fund. IP3 officials met with Kushner in August on their proposal to acquire Westinghouse, which, under the agreement, would be the main partner in the effort to build more than 30 nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia.

In a memo to Stephen Schwarzman, the CEO of Blackstone, one of the private equity firms he contacted about potentially bidding, Barrack said Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates "have committed to invest in the Westinghouse acquisition and are willing to concurrently lock in Westinghouse as their primary partner on the 30+ reactors expected to be constructed… in the coming decade." Blackstone declined to partner with Colony.

While that bid for Westinghouse was unsuccessful, Barrack in January of 2018 began corresponding with a top official at Brookfield Asset Management, the firm that acquired Westinghouse, according to emails cited in the report, offering his assistance.

More than a month later, an employee at Barrack's firm firm Colony NorthStar sent a slide presentation to another associate, suggesting it had been invited to contribute $50 million to Brookfield's bid for Westinghouse.

On Aug. 1, 2018, Brookfield completed its acquisition of Westinghouse after securing final government approval for the deal from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a review board filled by Cabinet secretaries. It's not clear whether Barrack's company participated in the successful bid.

The House report notes that just two days later Brookfield agreed to a 99-year lease of 666 Fifth Avenue, a distressed building owned by Kushner Companies, Jared Kushner's family real estate firm. The property was a financial burden on Kushner Companies and the group was facing a $1.4 billion mortgage payment the following February.

Cummings is lucky Trump didn't have him eliminated. Or kill a member of his family.

Today Facebook announced it had removed Saudi manipulative endeavors on its platforms. "This week," wrote Nathaniel Gleicher, their Head of Cybersecurity Policy, "we removed multiple Pages, Groups and accounts that were involved in coordinated inauthentic behavior on Facebook and Instagram. We found two separate operations: one of which originated in United Arab Emirates and Egypt, and another in Saudi Arabia. The two campaigns we removed were unconnected, but both created networks of accounts to mislead others about who they were and what they were doing. We have shared information about our findings with law enforcement, industry partners and policymakers."

We also removed 217 Facebook accounts, 144 Facebook Pages, five Facebook Groups and 31 Instagram accounts that were involved in coordinated inauthentic behavior originating from Saudi Arabia that focused primarily on the Middle East and Northern Africa, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan.

The individuals behind this activity posed as locals in countries targeted by this campaign-- often using fake accounts-- and created fictitious personas to run Pages and Groups, disseminate their content, increase engagement and drive people to an off-platform domain. They managed Pages that masqueraded as local news organizations. The Page admins and account owners typically posted in Arabic about regional news and political issues, including topics like the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, his economic and social reform plan “Vision 2030,” and successes of the Saudi Armed Forces, particularly during the conflict in Yemen. They also frequently shared criticism of neighboring countries including Iran, Qatar and Turkey, and called into question the credibility of Al-Jazeera news network and Amnesty International. Although the people behind this activity attempted to conceal their identities, our review found links to individuals associated with the government of Saudi Arabia.

• Presence on Facebook and Instagram: 217 Facebook accounts, 144 Facebook Pages, 5 Facebook Groups and 31 Instagram accounts.
• Followers: About 1.4 million accounts followed one or more of these Pages, about 26,000 accounts joined at least one of these Groups, and around 145,000 people followed one or more of these Instagram accounts.
• Advertising: Around $108,000 spent on Facebook and Instagram ads paid for in Saudi riyal and US dollars.

Would Trump And His Cronies Really Sell Nuclear Technology To The Saudis?

Michael Flynn by Nancy Ohanian

The Republicans put Gym Jordan in as ranking member of the House Oversight and Reford Committee, basically to obstruct oversight and reform. He has 17 GOP members behind him, although two of his members, Justin Amassh (R-MI) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) are know to sometimes weigh things from a patriotic, rather than a partisan perspective. Not that it matters that much. Chairman Elijah Cummings is backed by 23 Democrats. And it's not just the number disparity that favors the Dems. Look who's on the committee: Ro Khanna (D-CA), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), John Sarbanes (D-MD)... FIRE. CRACKERS. And the committee is about to come front and center.

If there's a group who can confound the fascist-oriented new "legal" theory by crackpot wing nuts David Rivkin and Elizabeth Price Foley that Congress can't investigate Trump because there are too many crimes, Cummings has the team. And, like the House Judiciary Committee, they're taking one crime at a time. I'm particularly interested in something that has caught Ro Khanna's attention: a plot my Trump insiders to subvert the law by transferring nuclear technology to the Saudis.

Flynn may be headed to prison and I've been predicting that eventually Trump crooked billionaire crony Tom Barrack would eventually follow him. But now the two of them appear to be at the heart of this scheme to sell the Saudis and other Middle East players nuclear technology as Trump was being sworn in to his illegitimate "presidency." NBC has been reporting the story for 3 days and it's being picked up widely now. But there are still some important at the center of this that will have to be answered by Cummings and Khanna, if not Mueller. Were the whistleblowers encouraged by Netanyahu-- or someone else within the Israeli establishment-- for example?

This morning Ro Khanna told me that "It’s is deeply concerning given the financial interests Tom Barrack has that he was driving our policy in selling nuclear secrets to the Saudis. For context, Barrack has defended the murder of Khashoggi as legitimate. He raised $100 million plus for Trump’s inaugural and he would stand to gain millions from the sale of nuclear technology to the Saudis."

What Ken Dilanian reported for NBC News is that "whistleblowers" from within Trump's National Security Council have told the Oversight Committee that "efforts by former national security adviser Michael Flynn to transfer sensitive nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia may have violated the law, and investigators fear Trump is still considering it."

The House Oversight Committee has formally opened an investigation into the matter, releasing an interim staff report that adds new details to previous public accounts of how Flynn sought to push through the nuclear proposal on behalf of a group he had once advised. Tom Barrack, a prominent Trump backer with business ties to the Middle East, also became involved in the project, the report says.

Just days after Trump's inauguration, backers of the project sent documents to Flynn for Trump to approve, including a draft Cabinet memo stating that the president had appointed Barrack as a special representative to implement the plan and directing agencies to support Barrack's efforts, the report says.

Career national security officials objected to the plan, citing what they deemed Flynn's conflict of interest, and also that the proposal sought to bypass a policy review that is required whenever nuclear technology is transferred to another country, the report says.

The proposal, which involved enlisting the U.S. nuclear power industry to build nuclear plants across the Middle East, was backed by a group of retired generals who formed a firm called IP3. Flynn described himself in financial disclosure filings as an "advisor" to a subsidiary of IP3, IronBridge Group Inc., from June 2016 to December 2016 — at the same time he was serving as Trump's national security adviser during the presidential campaign and the presidential transition, the report says.

The report quotes one senior Trump official as saying that the proposal was "not a business plan," but rather "a scheme for these generals to make some money," and added, "OK, you know we cannot do this."

"The whistleblowers who came forward have expressed significant concerns about the potential procedural and legal violations connected with rushing through a plan to transfer nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia," the report says.

"They have warned of conflicts of interest among top White House advisers that could implicate federal criminal statutes. They have also warned about a working environment inside the White House marked by chaos, dysfunction, and backbiting."

The Oversight Committee, led by Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said its investigation of the plan "is particularly critical because the administration's efforts to transfer sensitive U.S. nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia appear to be ongoing."

On Feb. 12, the report notes, Trump met with nuclear power developers at the White House about sharing nuclear technology with countries in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia. Next week Trump son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner is set to embark on a tour of Middle Eastern capitals-- including Riyadh-- to discuss the economic portion of the administration's Middle East peace plan.

"Experts worry that transferring sensitive U.S. nuclear technology could allow Saudi Arabia to produce nuclear weapons that contribute to the proliferation of nuclear arms throughout an already unstable Middle East," the report says.

Khanna has been reminding people that "the Saudis have a track record of providing weapons to America’s enemies-- such as Al Qaeda In Yemen. We should be very concerned about the threat of nuclear proliferation if the Saudis were to acquire sensitive nuclear technology." He added when we spoke that he "will work on the Oversight Committee to get to the bottom of the financial interests that are driving the Administration’s policy to sell nuclear technology to the Saudis. I also will work to make sure Congress opposes under the Atomic Energy Act any such sale to the Saudis."

In a press release from Cummings office Tuesday, there were two highlighted sections:

and, ominously...

Aside from a letter to Señor Trumpanzee's clownish Chief of Staff, Cummings sent letters to multiple entities involved with promoting this plan, including the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy, State, and Treasury; the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the Central Intelligence Agency; Flynn Intel Group; IP3; ACU Strategies; Colony NorthStar; and Mr. Barrack.

Out-Of-Yemen Bill Passes-- Trump Vows To Veto It-- One Step Closer To Proving Foreign Cash Financed Trump's Campaign

Tom Barrack, knee-deep in Trump's criminal shit

Today, the House voted overwhelmingly, 248-177, to approve a resolution authored by Ro Khanna that direct the removal of US armed forces from hostilities in Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress. All the Democrats voted YES, along with 18 Republicans. Justin Amash (R-MI) voted "present" and 177 other Republicans voted to continue aiding the Saudi genocide in Yemen. Central Valley Blue Dog Jim Costa, who has been heavily pressured by Blue America to stop voting with the Republicans on this-- as he had done twice before-- finally did vote against the war.

It was definitely time for a victory lap for Khanna. He issued a statement acknowledging the success of grassroots activism in the successful outcome on the floor, calling victory "historic. This is the culmination of several years of legislative efforts to end our involvement in the Saudi war in Yemen. I’m encouraged by the direction people are pushing our party to take on foreign policy, promoting restraint and human rights and with the sense they want Congress to play a much larger role."

Ted Lieu, who got this out-of-Yemen ball rolling before Khanna-- or Trump-- was elected said e-mailed his constituents to say that he has been "gravely concerned about the catastrophe unfolding in Yemen since 2015, and have worked to stop U.S. military involvement in this bloody civil war. The Saudi-led coalition was dropping bombs on civilians and we were helping fuel those planes. Millions of people were becoming aid-dependent in what was turning into, and now is, the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. The U.S., despite Democrats’ calls for answers and actions for change, continued to support the coalition’s efforts. Every step of the way, the Republican-controlled House obstructed debates on Yemen because it was uncomfortable to shame our partners and make tough choices about ending our support in order to protect civilians. After nearly four years of conflict, Congress finally took action on the House floor. I commend Congressman Ro Khanna for authoring this legislation. I’m proud that we’ve passed this bill, which I coauthored, to send a clear message to the Administration that we must end all U.S. military support in Yemen." The ball is now in Trump's court-- or Miss McConnell's. The Senate passed the bill 56-41 in December but-- thanks to Paul Ryan and Kevin McCarthy-- it was never voted on in the House. Noe that it passed the House, it has to pass the Senate again. It's unlikely McConnell will allow a vote and if he did it would be unlikely it would pass again. In any case, Trump already said he would veto it if it ever got to his desk.

I'm going too take a little jump now-- but just a little one, despite how it's going to sound at first. You probably remember-- back before most of America was accustomed to hear Trump lie all day and all night every single day-- that he was spouting some bullshit about self-funding his own presidential campaign and that in any case he wouldn't accept any money from SuperPACs. That's always been a very conscious lie and one of his few friends, uber-crooked real estate mogul Tom Barrack, set up the Rebuilding America Now SuperPAC in June 2016. Leading up to the election, Rebuilding America Now reported raising $22,610,717 and spending $22,763,915 (leaving them-- in magic math-- with $841,772 "left over").

This is a list of their 15 biggest contributors, many of whom have since been handsomely rewarded with public money doled out by Trump.

• Linda McMahon- $6,000,000

• Geoffrey Palmer- $5,000,000
• Bernard Marcus- $5,000,000
• Ronald Cameron- $2,000,000
• Stephen Feinberg- $1,475,000
• Peter Zieve- $1,000,000
• Walter Buckley- $500,000
• Beverly Elliott- $450,000
• Hamilton Company- $300,000
• Geo Corrections- $275,000
• Boyd Smith- $275,000
• Murray Energy- $200,000
• Llwyd Ecclestone- $200,000
• Frank Caladra- $150,000
• Anthony Scaramucci- $100,000

Those were the reported contributions. It is also widely suspected that Trump's campaign was soliciting highly illegal foreign contributions-- presumably from the Kremlin and the Saudis and Emiratis-- through the PAC, contributions that have no been accounted for. One of the big donors, Geoffrey Palmer-- another Trump-like real estate crook-- is suspected of laundering foreign money into the Trump campaign at the request of Paul Manafort. At least a million, and probably more, was put into the Barrack SuperPAC and made to disappear. It has now reappeared and Mueller is on the case in a big way. Money from the SuperPCA went into Trump's pockets and as kickbacks for his top aides, all completely illegal.

I'm fairly certain that Trump's White House sojourn will eventually result in Barrack going to prison for a long time. Tuesday-- so a day before Khanna's Yemen resolution was voted on-- Barrack was in Dubai, speaking at the Milken Institute MENA Summit. He said that America is in no moral position to criticise Saudi Arabia (over the crown prince's brutal and premeditated murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. "Whatever happened in Saudi Arabia," he told CNN, "the atrocities in America are equal, or worse. He referred to the murderous and primitive crown prince-- and Kushner-in-law amigo as "a young man and regime that is trying to push themselves into 2030," and that lecturing them about a moral code (i.e., torture and murder) "is a mistake."

Barrack went on to launch a lengthy defence of Saudi Arabia, accusing Western countries of failing to understand the kingdom.

“The problem that has happened with the Khashoggi incident,” he said, “is the same problem with the West misunderstanding the east that has existed since Sykes-Picot.”

“So, the West is confused, it doesn’t understand the rule of law in the kingdom, it doesn’t understand what succession in the kingdom is, it doesn’t understand how there can be a dilemma with a population that has 60 per cent of people under the age of 20.”

He later added that the West had always been confused about the Middle East.

“The corrupt hand of the West has been the primary instigator in the kingdom, and in the resource curse across the region forever.”

Barrack then praised the strong leadership across the Arabian Gulf in the face of this perceived Western ineffectiveness, especially in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

“The leadership in the UAE is brilliant,” he said, adding: “The English manipulated the region for decades.”

The private equity investor also defended Saudi Arabia’s transformation, saying that “in a transition, bold action is required for bold places.”

Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Riyadh represented some of the “most organised leadership regimes” in the world, he added.

Time to bring our truck home from Fresno-- mission accomplished