A Back-Channel Plan for Ukraine and Russia, Courtesy of Trump Associates

[highplainsdem]

Source: NYT

A week before Michael T. Flynn resigned as national security adviser, a sealed proposal was hand-delivered to his office, outlining a way for President Trump to lift sanctions against Russia.

Mr. Flynn is gone, having been caught lying about his own discussion of sanctions with the Russian ambassador. But the proposal, a peace plan for Ukraine and Russia, remains, along with those pushing it: Michael D. Cohen, the president’s personal lawyer, who delivered the document; Felix H. Sater, a business associate who helped Mr. Trump scout deals in Russia; and a Ukrainian lawmaker trying to rise in a political opposition movement shaped in part by Mr. Trump’s former campaign manager Paul D. Manafort.

At a time when Mr. Trump’s ties to Russia, and the people connected to him, are under heightened scrutiny — with investigations by American intelligence agencies, the F.B.I. and Congress — some of his associates remain willing and eager to wade into Russia-related efforts behind the scenes.

-snip-

But the proposal contains more than just a peace plan. Andrii V. Artemenko, the Ukrainian lawmaker, who sees himself as a Trump-style leader of a future Ukraine, claims to have evidence — “names of companies, wire transfers” — showing corruption by the Ukrainian president, Petro O. Poroshenko, that could help oust him. And Mr. Artemenko said he had received encouragement for his plans from top aides to Mr. Putin.

-snip-

Read more: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/02/19/us/politics/donald-trump-ukraine-russia.html

[George II]

1. Lost in the smoke of Flynn lying to Pence (did he really, or is Pence lying?) is the fact....

....that Flynn conducted treasonous communications with the Russians BEFORE trump was inaugurated. That is illegal.

And during his wandering "press conference" the other day trump admitted that in November, December, and early January Flynn was "doing his job" by speaking to world leaders. During that time it WASN'T his job, it was Susan Rice's job under President Obama until January 20, 2017.

[Squinch]

2. KICK!

[yallerdawg]

3. This is sounding more and more like...

a deep cover operation to put a Putin-friendly government back in Ukraine, settle the Ukrainian conflict and Crimea status, remove US sanctions in "a new global alliance," and get SoS Tillerson's ExxonMobil back in the business of extracting the wealth of their major investment of Russian oil leases put on hold by the US sanctions.

It's remarkably convoluted and long game (a Republican tactic) but as usual, it all boils down to "follow the money."

Politics and political power is ultimately the determination of "who gets the gold."

This may be why so many are already saying this is the most corruption ever seen in American history.

[janx]

5. It is, but

what if Artemenko is just some kind of a nut?

[BumRushDaShow]

6. "this is the most corruption ever seen in American history."

If anyone thought the idea of a kleptocracy could not move from theory to reality, then this is the proof that it can.

[tenorly]

7. I never though anyone could outdo Reagan and the two Bushes - but Trump always breaks the mold.

Trump's Russiagate seems about as big as Star Wars, Iran-Cocaine-Contra, the 'Enterprise', Sammy Pierce, Iraqgate, Halliburton, Cost-plus, Carlyle, and the F-35 put together - and all those scandals took 25 years to accumulate.

[highplainsdem]

10. Agree.

[WhiteTara]

4. more evidence of treason on very high levels.

And they are so arrogant that they keep pushing the treasonous proposal.

[BadgerMom]

8. K and R

[Mc Mike]

9. I suppose 'business associate' is one way to describe Sater.

"On the 24th floor of Trump Tower, in an office two floors below Donald Trump, Felix Sater was trying to revive his career. The Russian-born businessman had already done a stint in prison for stabbing a man in the face with the stem of a margarita glass, and he was now awaiting sentencing for his role in a Mafia-orchestrated stock fraud scheme — all the while serving as a government informant on the mob and mysterious matters of national security."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/former-mafia-linked-figure-describes-association-with-trump/2016/05/17/cec6c2c6-16d3-11e6-aa55-670cabef46e0_story.html

The inclusion of Mike Cohen in the story is interesting, because Pence threw Cohen under the bus, when defending Flynn to Chris Wallace.

Birchers vs. Jewish wiseguys.

[MBS]

11. Appalling at every possible level, for all the reasons

mentioned in the NYT article, and elsewhere in this thread.
This is a BIG story, and it will not go away now.

Josh Marshall gives a good summary of this tangled saga: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-big-shoe-just-dropped