Senate report finds Manafort passed campaign data to Russian intelligence officer

(Axios) The Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday released the fifth and final volume of its report on Russian interference in the 2016 election, which details "counterintelligence threats and vulnerabilities."

Why it matters: The Republican endorsed, 996-page report goes farther than the Mueller report in showing the extent of Russia's connections to members of the Trump campaign, and how the Kremlin was able to take advantage of the transition team's inexperience to gain access to sensitive information.

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The bottom line: "Taken as a whole, Manafort's high level access and willingness to share information with individuals closely affiliated with the Russian intelligence services, particularly Kilimnik and associates of Oleg Deripaska, represented a grave counterintelligence threat," the committee wrote.

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Senate Intelligence ranking member Mark Warner (D-Va.): “At nearly 1,000 pages, Volume 5 stands as the most comprehensive examination of ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign to date – a breathtaking level of contacts between Trump officials and Russian government operatives that is a very real counterintelligence threat to our elections. ... This cannot happen again."

Read More: https://www.axios.com/senate-intelligence-russia-interference-971619a8-a806-470a-9de6-1416220ab35b.html

200 Mormons sign letter breaking away from Republican Party and supporting Biden

(Daily Mail) Donald Trump is losing ground among typically Republican-voting Mormons in Arizona, as some members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints take a surprising turn and put their support behind Democratic candidate Joe Biden. Yasser Sanchez, who twice worked to defeat Biden's bids for vice presidency by building support for Republican candidates among fellow Mormons, now says he'll vote for Biden in the upcoming election. Sanchez finds himself in a surprising position as he's become repelled from his party and by President Donald Trump. 'We're taught to be steady, to be basically the opposite of the way he's lived his life,' Sanchez said.

On Wednesday more than 200 people identifying themselves as Republicans who belong to the church published an open letter declaring their opposition to Trump and calling him 'the antithesis of so much the Latter-day Saints community believes.

In a bid to recapture votes, the Trump campaign launched its Latter-day Saints for Trump Coalition this past week and sent Vice President Mike Pence to Mesa, a suburb of Phoenix, for the kickoff on Tuesday. While many conservative-leaning religious voters warmed to him long ago, Trump has struggled to win over Latter-day Saints.

His penchant for foul language clashes with the church's culture teaching modesty and self-restraint, and his isolationist foreign policy is anathema to a faith spreading rapidly around the world. Trump's fued with Sen. Mitt Romney, a Republican from Utah and one of the best known members of the church, has further tarnished his reputation among believers.

Trump's relative weakness with Latter-day Saints is now a growing political liability. (Read More)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8632581/Mormons-cool-Trump-finding-new-influence-Arizona.html

Florida Voters: please remember to check your voting status ASAP

I live in South FL so I will provide the links in my tri-county area but please feel free to add your own from other parts of the state, we must help one another get through and win this election. Between Trump, DeSantis & S.O.S. Lee - they are going to try their very best to steal our 29 electoral votes, but together we will stand up and say HELL NO to them.

Miami-Dade County: https://www.miamidade.gov/global/service.page?Mduid_service=ser151187731708822

Broward County: https://www.browardsoe.org/Voter-Information/Voter-Lookup-Free-Access-System

Palm Beach County: https://www.pbcelections.org/Voters/My-Status

General Look up for the State of FL: https://registration.elections.myflorida.com/CheckVoterStatus

Trump's Brother Hospitalized in New York

*the last time a brother was hospitalized, trumpy went to the movies....

(ABC News) Robert Trump, the younger brother of President Donald Trump, has been hospitalized in New York, sources told ABC News, a development confirmed by the White House.

The details of his condition remain unknown though he is described by several sources as "very ill."

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany confirmed the hospitalization to ABC News, adding that the president and his brother "have a very good relationship" and that the president would be providing more details later.

Sources told ABC News the president is expected to visit his brother today, though final details were still being worked out.

In June, Robert Trump was hospitalized in the intensive care unit at Mount Sinai hospital in New York for more than a week.
Read More: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-brother-hospitalized-york-sources/story?id=72374353

Justice Department seizes millions in cryptocurrency from terror groups

(CNN)The Justice Department seized $2 million worth of cryptocurrency from terror groups in the Middle East, federal prosecutors announced Thursday, marking the largest ever US government takeover of online terrorist financing.

The funds from ISIS, al Qaeda and the al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, would likely have been used by the groups to buy weapons and train would-be attackers, Justice Department officials said.

"Two million dollars is a lot of equipment that they can buy, a lot of weapons a lot of training that they can fund, a lot of tickets to fly people around the world," said John Demers, the assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's national security division. "This is going to make a big difference in their operation."

The seizure, which also included 300 cryptocurrency accounts, four websites, and four Facebook pages, underscores how terrorist groups have modernized their fundraising tactics in recent years, and how law enforcement has adapted as they've continued to target criminals in their wallets. Officials said that the terror groups issued both transparent public messages to solicit the digital funds as well as schemes designed to dupe unwitting donors, including a website allegedly set up by ISIS in February that purported to sell personal protective equipment to protect against the spread of the coronavirus.

At a news conference on Thursday, law enforcement officials described the terror groups as "nimble" and opportunistic fundraisers who regularly exploit new technologies for moving money. (Read More)
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/13/politics/justice-department-cryptocurrency-terror-groups/index.html

Kamala, this song is for you - we are Overjoyed you will be our Veep!

Rachel Maddow is talking about this great article about Kamala now

TikTok To Sue Trump Administration Over Ban, As Soon As Tuesday

(NPR) TikTok is planning to sue the Trump administration, challenging the president's executive order banning the service from the United States.

The video-sharing app hugely popular with the smartphone generation TikTok will file the federal lawsuit as soon as Tuesday, according to a person who was directly involved in the forthcoming suit but was not authorized to speak for the company. It will be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, where TikTok's American operations are based, the person said.

NPR has learned that the lawsuit will argue that the president's far-reaching action is unconstitutional because it failed to give the company a chance to respond. It also alleges that the administration's national security justification for the order is baseless, according to the source.

"It's based on pure speculation and conjecture," the source said. "The order has no findings of fact, just reiterates rhetoric about China that has been kicking around."

The White House declined to comment on the expected litigation, but defended the president's executive order. "The Administration is committed to protecting the American people from all cyber related threats to critical infrastructure, public health and safety, and our economic and national security," according to White House spokesman Judd Deere. (Read More)

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/08/900394707/tiktok-to-sue-trump-administration-over-ban-as-soon-as-tuesday

Trump reportedly referred to journalists as 'all my killers' on a hot mic while speaking privately

to members of his golf club

(Business Insider) President Donald Trump on Friday was caught on a hot mic prior to his press conference, inviting members at his Florida country club to watch his upcoming news briefing, calling journalists his "killers," a CNN reporter said.

"You'll get to meet the fake news tonight," the president said, according to a tweet from CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jim Acosta, who was present at the New Jersey briefing. "You'll get to see what I have to go through."

"Who's there?" Trump added, according to Acosta. "Oh all my killers are there, wow. So you'll get to see some of the people that we deal with every day."

The White House did not immediately return Business Insider's request for comment Saturday.

As Business Insider previously reported, the president on Friday held a news conference about the coronavirus pandemic at his golf club in New Jersey to reporters and a non-socially distant crowd of supporters behind then. Photographs shared by reporters had shown many mask-less members among the audience, though a reporter at the golf club later said the on-lookers were provided masks before the news conference began. (Read More)

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-reportedly-called-journalists-his-killers-on-hot-mic-2020-8

Rachel Maddow show from last night: GOP Senators are working with Russians right now.

(about halfway through video she names the senators)

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/russian-election-interference-finds-ready-conduit-in-gop-senators-89763397688