Virtually every talking head in the mainstream media is claiming as fact that “we now know” that Russia was trying to help Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton, which proves Russian interference in the election. The way the major media tells it, it sounds as if there is no question that Russia has now admitted it was trying to help Trump by dishing dirt on Hillary. But in fact, the evidence is laughable. It’s based on a series of emails between a not-so-credible British music promoter, Rob Goldstone, and the president’s son, Donald Trump jr. The emails are not from anyone with bonafide ties to Russia—only third or fourth hand claims that the “Russian Crown Prosecutor” (a position that doesn’t exist) told the father of a Russian rock star, who “told me” that they had dirt on Hillary Clinton about her involvement with Russian backers. If this kind of unsubstantiated conjecture had been presented to the press by a right-wing source to attack Barack Obama, it would have been discarded instantly as third hand innuendo. But the media was quick to jettison their vaunted journalistic standards to promote this piece of garbage—so eager are they to produce a true “smoking gun” to back up the nine month old false narrative of Russia backing Trump.
The mainstream media seems obsessed with the Russian claims. CNN even spent 93% of their air time on this issue. Others are similar.
All of this happened in June of 2016 just after Donald Trump had secured enough electoral votes to win the nomination. Trump Jr. was traveling at the time the first email arrived and didn’t have the time or experience to know he should have had this invitation vetted before accepting a meeting. Goldstone claimed that a “Russian government lawyer” would meet with him to present the evidence of Hillary’s Russian connection.
Naturally, this began after emails stolen from Trump Jr’s computer were leaked, which ties this entire affair to the NSA. The NY Times was the recipient of the leak and called Trump Jr’s high profile attorney (who had previously defended a mafia kingpin) and told him they were going to release the emails at a certain time and date as proof of Russian collusion. The lawyer, Alan Futerfas, quickly instructed the young Mr. Trump to release them in order to pre-empt the Times. I’ll discuss the content of the emails shortly.
But when the brief meeting occurred (with Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner present, as well as a former Russian counter-intel man acting as translator) with Natalia Veselnitskaya—who was obviously was not a government lawyer— she had nothing to say about dirt on Hillary, let alone have “official documents,” but was only looking to lobby against the US imposed sanctions that had made Putin stop all further adoptions of Russian children by US parents.
As background, a lawyer by the name of Sergei Magnitsky had accused Moscow law enforcement of stealing $230 million in tax rebates from his client. The Russian authorities had Magnitsky arrested and then he was beaten to death in jail. In 2012, his client, American Bill Browder, secured passage of the Magnitsky Act in the US Congress with the help of the Obama administration, which imposed sanctions on the officials involved. President Putin took retaliatory action by banning adoptions by Americans.
Trump Jr. ended the meeting after only 20 minutes and made no commitments and received no damaging files or information.
Let’s take a brief look at the principle characters in this charade that will quickly dispel the notion that there is anything to this story, other than the president’s son being setup by the deep state—through Goldstone.
Robert Goldstone (anglicized form of Goldstein): A British music publicist, who now lives in New York, with a flair for weird hats, funny T-shirts and lots of bizarre Facebook posts—hardly a serious connection to the Russian government. He does have a minor Russian connection as the publicist for Emin Agalarov, a young Russian pop star. But a more important connection (for tracing down his motive in this setup) is with the Focus GPS group, which was hired by Democratic operatives to act as a conduit for the phony Trump dossier put together by the British Deep State (using former MI6 agent Christopher Steele) to claim Trump had an affair with prostitutes in a former Moscow visit. Goldstone does know Trump Sr through the elder Asalarov’s dealings with a Moscow development project (a Moscow Trump Tower which never materialized).
Aras Agalarov: The father of Emin, the Russian pop star and an acquaintance of Trump Sr. (who called both father and son “fine people”). Aras is a billionaire from Azerbaijan who made his fortune developing shopping centers in Moscow, along with other hidden deals—like all oligarchs make with connections to the PTB in Moscow. However, it appears that his name was used by Goldstone to add credibility to the story. Aras denies ever speaking to the top Russian prosecutor Yuri Chaika (the closest thing anyone can figure to Goldstone’s mistaken “crown prosecutor” claim).
Natalia Veselnitskaya: (pronounced, “Vi-Syel-nitz-sky-ya”) A Moscow lawyer who was once married to a deputy transportation minister of the Moscow region, was “a largely unknown figure until” she began to represent the son of a Russian official in a major money-laundering trial, according to the AP. Her company, Kamerton Consulting, defended Denis Katsyv, the son of a vice-president of state-owned Russian Railways who was charged with money-laundering in the United States over a case tied to a massive Russian tax-fraud scheme. However her main efforts have been in the US to help overturn the Magnitsky Act. Veselnitskaya founded a Delaware-based organization called "Human Rights Accountability Global Initiative Foundation" in an unsuccessful attempt in Washington to repeal the Magnitsky Act. Obviously, she was used by Goldstone who probably told her she would get a chance to pitch the Magnitsky repeal thing to the Trumps. She has denied being both a government attorney and having any information about Hillary Clinton’s connections to Russia. But she does know Emin Agalarov and was seen seated with him behind President Obama during one of his speeches. So, obviously, neither were in opposition to the Democratic party.
My Analysis of the Email Exchange [in brackets]:
3 June 2016: Rob Goldstone to Trump Jr
Emin just called and asked me to contact you with something very interesting. [Goldstone will use these contacts that Trump knows in order to gain credibility, but at no time will he allow Trump Jr to go to Emin directly to confirm what he says.]
The Crown prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father. [This makes it 4th hand information: Crown Prosecutor (which doesn’t exist) to the father, to the son and now to Goldman.]
This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr Trump – helped along by Aras and Emin. [These statements are quoted in the media as proof of Russian interference, but all these claims are Goldman’s, not Russia’s.]
What do you think is the best way to handle this information and would you be able to speak to Emin about it directly? [But he won’t let him speak to Emin directly. This is a sophisticated ploy.]
I can also send this info to your father via Rhona [Rhona Graff? -Trump’s executive assistant], but it is ultra sensitive so wanted to send to you first. [Doesn’t make sense. Why would Trump Jr be the one he would want to send it to first, rather than Trump Sr? I suspect Goldstone knows Trump Jr will be less experienced at detecting this fraud. Trump wouldn’t have hesitated to call Emin’s father on the phone.]
Trump Jr to Goldstone:
Thanks Rob I appreciate that. I am on the road at the moment but perhaps I just speak to Emin first. Seems we have some time and if it’s what you say I love it especially later in the summer. Could we do a call first thing next week when I am back? [Notice the caveat, “IF it is what you say, I love it.” Trump Jr wants it confirmed with Emin, but watch how Goldstone diverts this:]
6 June 2016 Goldstone to Trump Jr:
Let me know when you are free to talk with Emin by phone about this Hillary info – you had mentioned early this week so wanted to try to schedule a time and day. Best to you and your family.
Trump Jr to Goldstone:
Rob could we speak now?
Goldstone to Trump Jr
Let me track him down in Moscow. What number he could call?
Trump Jr to Goldstone
My cell.
Goldstone to Trump Jr
He’s on stage in Moscow but should be off within 20 minutes so I am sure can call. [First he says, “let me track him down,” and then he says he’s on stage, implying Goldstone is with him right then. Which is it?]
Trump Jr to Goldstone:
Rob thanks for the help.
7 June 2016: Goldstone to Trump Jr:
Hope all is well. Emin asked that I schedule a meeting with you and the Russian government attorney who is flying over from Moscow for this Thursday. I believe you are aware of the meeting – and so wondered if 3pm or later on Thursday works for you? I assume it would be at your office. [So, in the end Goldstone doesn’t have him call, but claims Emin asks him to set up the meeting with a “Russian government attorney” (a lie). At no time will Trump Jr talk to Emin to confirm anything. Goldstone was counting on the fact that Trump Jr didn’t have a phone number for Emin.]
Trump Jr to Goldstone
How about 3 at our offices? Thanks Rob appreciate you helping set it up.
Goldstone to Trump Jr
Perfect ... I won’t sit in on the meeting, but will bring them at 3pm and introduce you etc. I will send the names of the two people meeting with you for security when I have them later today. Trump Jr to release the stolen emails in order to pre-empt the times.
I think it’s telling that Goldstone said he wasn’t going to sit in on the meeting. He knew Veselnitskaya didn’t have the claimed dirt on Hillary and didn’t want to be there when Trump Jr turned to him and said, “Rob, I thought you said she would have information about Hillary’s Russia connections?”
And, we are now expected to believe that this entire affair is worth hundreds of hours of air time and commentary and a Congressional investigation with possible criminal charges?
To me this indicates that the Democratic team, in concert with US and British Deep State had decided early on to implicate Trump in a Russian collusion scandal, knowing that the Russian ambassador would want to meet with Trump and other key players.
This incident, I believe, was one of the early planted circumstances just to make sure they could make their case for Russian collusion even if the Russian ambassador didn’t seek out Trump or Michael Flynn. They are having to use it simply because the conversations with the Russian ambassador showed no collusion, and they are desperate for something to keep the false narrative going.
But ultimately, the most telling contradiction in the entire set-up was the claim that this Russsian government attorney had dirt on Hillary’s Russia connection. Why would any attorney, acting for the Russian government, finger Russia as the bad guy in a relationship with Hillary? That’s simply incomprehensible, and why it never happened!
Part of the reason why this weak piece of evidence was introduced this week, might have been to counter the surprising good relationship Putin established with Trump last Friday at the G-20 summit. The meeting happened after the WAB had been published so I didn’t have time to comment on it in last week’s edition.
The meeting was scheduled for a half an hour but ended up going more than two. Trump’s advisor’s tried to intervene and remind him about his other commitments but he brushed them off. As a last resort they sent in First Lady Malania, but she was unable to get Trump to end the interview either.
It was obvious that Trump was taken by Putin and his forthright denials of the entire Russian interference narrative. Both Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov insisted that Trump accepted their denials, which put the mainstream media into a fit of apoplexy.
The only other topic about their conversation that was revealed was an agreement to create a joint deconfliction zone in Southern Syria along the border with Jordan. This was an important gain for Russia since it was agreed that the Russians could enforce the agreement. The US military was clearly miffed that Trump allowed the Russian participation since US globalists want the presence of US troops in the areas Assad doesn’t control in order to occupy these regions in the name of the US backed rebels—and not return them to Assad, even after the battle with ISIS is won. This is a clear violation of Syria’s sovereignty, as is the presence of US aircraft and troops without Assad’s permission.
In another example of how the US globalists are changing their attitude toward Russia (after years of detente and complicity in aiding Russia after the phony “fall of the Soviet Union”) the Defense Intelligence Agency as put out its FIRST report about the Russian military threat. Heretofore, it has only put out a report about the Chinese threat—and always downplaying both the Chinese and Russian threats. Now, it’s only Russia. Go figure.
The neocon agenda to criticize Russia and attack Syria demands full complicity from mainstream media, including from the pundits on the faux conservative network Fox News. It looks like they are displeased with Tucker Carlson’s refusal to go along with the neocon agenda in Syria. A subscriber sent me this excellent analysis:
Following the June 19th shoot-down of the Syrian fighter-jet… Charles Krauthammer was on the Tucker Carlson Show (FOX News), and presented his justification for the shoot-down AND why the US should escalate the war in Syria…. referring to our Syrian policy as "high-level chess".
Thankfully, Tucker didn't buy it… and responded by saying: "It's way too high-level to be real in my opinion!"
Well… I'm sure that didn't sit well with the controllers at FOX News… and low-'n-behold, two nights ago (July 11th) they rolled-out Ret. Lt. Col. Ralph Peters and put him on Tucker's show to "straighten him out".
Spend the 12-minutes to watch Peters' incredibly aggressive attack against Tucker. Peters demeanor shows how desperate the Neo-Cons are about the awakening which is occurring in our country. (12-minutes link here)
The establishment didn't stop there. The next night (July 12th) they rolled-out CFR advocate Max Boot and put him on Tucker's show. Max displayed the same aggressive, self-moralizing arrogance that Peters did. (10-minutes link) Interview begins at: 18:10
Both of these interviews are very telling. I'm sure the pressure to cancel Tucker's show is in the works. Kudos to Tucker for standing strong.