Get Trump

  

NY Post

Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign paid an internet company to “infiltrate” servers at Trump Tower and the White House in order to link Donald Trump to Russia, a bombshell new legal filing alleges.

The Friday filing from a Department of Justice prosecutor tasked with investigating the origins of the FBI’s Russian probe served to throw cold water on Democrats’ longstanding allegations of collusion.

Special Counsel John Durham filed a motion related to potential conflicts of interests in connection with the case of Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, who is charged with lying to the feds, according to Fox News.

Sussmann allegedly told the FBI he was not working on behalf of Clinton when he presented the agency with documents that supposedly linked the Trump Organization to a Kremlin-tied bank two months before the election.

The lawyer has pleaded not guilty to the charge of making a false statement to a federal agent.

Durham’s motion reportedly alleged Sussmann “had assembled and conveyed the allegations to the FBI on behalf of at least two specific clients, including a technology executive (Tech Executive 1) at a U.S.-based internet company (Internet Company 1) and the Clinton campaign.”

Records showed he “repeatedly billed the Clinton Campaign for his work on the Russian Bank-1 allegations,” which involved an investigative firm, a tech executive, cyber researchers and numerous employees at internet companies, the motion reportedly stated.

In 2017, Sussmann provided “an updated set of allegations” about then-President Trump’s Russian connection to another government agency, the motion said, according to the outlet.

Among the accusations leveled at that time was that suspicious DNS lookups by Russian-affiliated IP addresses “demonstrated Trump and/or his associates were using supposedly rare, Russian-made wireless phones in the vicinity of the White House and other locations,” the motion reportedly said.

The allegations “relied, in part, on the purported DNS traffic” that Tech Executive-1 and others “had assembled pertaining to Trump Tower, Donald Trump’s New York City apartment building, the EOP, and the aforementioned healthcare provider,” according to Fox’s report.

Durham said his office found “no support for these allegations,” claiming the supposed evidence Sussmann provided was incomplete and skewed.

Cuomo's patronage mil is pricey

From AM-NY:

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s hiring of 13 former staffers from the Obama administration, Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid and other national campaigns is costing state taxpayers $1.5 million a year, state records show.

Some of the hires are being paid not through the governor’s office budget but through state authorities and other entities considered “off budget.”

The top hires include Maria Comella, whose hiring as Cuomo’s chief of staff was announced in April. She is being paid $175,000 a year, according to records obtained under the state Freedom of Information Law. Comella initially had been hired as a consultant to Cuomo to help shape this year’s agenda after working for Republicans in presidential races, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, George W. Bush’s 2004 re-election, as well as Rudolph Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Other hires include Andrew Tillman, a former speechwriter for Obama’s chief of staff. Tillman is being paid $80,000 a year in his state job writing speeches for Cuomo. Jen Darley, who was the national lead advance staffer for the Hillary for America Campaign, is now paid $110,000 as Cuomo’s assistant director of executive operations, records show.

Such hiring of staff from outgoing adminstrations or failed campaigns isn’t uncommon. Cuomo’s hiring comes as he prepares his 2018 re-election campaign and as some supporters urge him to run for president in 2018.

Council members want Clinton Foundation to stop using AirBnB

From Crains:

Nine members of the City Council are calling on the Clinton Global Initiative to end its partnership with controversial room-sharing startup Airbnb to provide accommodations to AmeriCorps volunteers.

In a letter sent Sept. 24 to Clinton Foundation CEO Eric Braverman, the council members claim that Airbnb is "the leading operator in the illegal hotel industry that is exacerbating the affordable-housing crisis in New York City." They urge Mr. Braverman to reconsider his group's partnership with the company, which was announced Wednesday during CGI's annual global meeting in midtown Manhattan.

"We believe in the Clinton Foundation’s guiding principle that 'we’re all in this together,' " they write. "But it appears Airbnb does not subscribe to this principle, as it is content to flout our laws, put tenants at significant risk, and deal a serious blow to our efforts to make this city more affordable for working New Yorkers."

The letter is signed by council members Helen Rosenthal, Daniel Garodnick, Corey Johnson, Ben Kallos, Rosie Mendez, Brad Lander, Mark Levine, Antonio Reynoso and Ritchie Torres.
An Airbnb spokesman dismissed the claims of the letter writers.

"We are proud to support AmeriCorps and more than 1,000 new corps members as they embark on their service in schools, health centers, parks and communities recovering from disasters across the country," the spokesman said, referring to the national service program launched during the first few years of the Clinton administration.

Crowley/Ackerman/DeBlasio donor in big trouble

From the NY Observer:

Hotel magnate Sant Singh Chatwal, who has lavished campaign cash on everyone from Hillary Clinton to Mayor Bill de Blasio, pleaded guilty today in Brooklyn federal court to campaign finance fraud and witness tampering, U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch announced.

Mr. Chatwal, 70, who runs a chain of luxury hotels and other companies, allegedly broke federal law by using straw donors–whom he called “conduits”–to make more than $180,000 in illegal campaign contributions to three candidates in an effort to gain access and influence federal regulations, according to a federal complaint.

Prosecutors alleged that, from 2007 to 2011, Mr. Chatwal “used his employees, business associates, and contractors who performed work on his hotels … to solicit campaign contributions on Chatwal’s behalf in support of various candidates for federal office and PACs, collect these contributions, and pay reimbursements for these contributions, in violation of the Election Act.”

A source close to the investigation told the Observer the campaigns belonged to Ms. Clinton, former Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, and then-Florida Congressman Kendrick Meek, who ran an unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign in 2010. The source originally identified Majority Leader Harry Reid’s campaign, which has received Chatwal contributions, as one of the related cases, but later reached out to say that was incorrect.

Federal finance records show that a Mr. Chatwal contributed to Ms. Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. Multiple individuals with the same last name and hotel employer also gave to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and a Democratic National Committee account, the records show.

Mr. Chatwal additionally appears to be a financial supporter of two federal lawmakers in Queens: Congressman Joe Crowley, the head of the DCCC, and Congressman Gary Ackerman, who recently retired. He also gave extensively to Mr. de Blasio’s mayoral campaign.

There is no allegation, however, that the candidates participated in, or were aware of, Mr. Chatwal’s scheme.

Vito Photoshop bust

How many differences can you spot between these 2 photos?


The top one comes from the Daily News.

The bottom one comes from a recent Vito Lopez mailer.

Miss Heather has the story and the rest of the mailer.

The Daily News goes in depth on what this is about.

This guy is either really stupid, or has cojones the size of cantaloupes.

Bloomberg supports Hillary for mayor

From the NY Times:

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has long struggled to imagine a successor with the combination of star power, experience and grit to fill his shoes.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, the retiring secretary of state, told Mayor Bloomberg she was not interested in running for the office.
But not long ago, he was struck by an inspiration: Hillary Rodham Clinton, the retiring secretary of state.

In a phone call confirmed by three people, Mr. Bloomberg encouraged Mrs. Clinton to consider entering the 2013 mayor’s race, trading international diplomacy for municipal management on the grandest scale. She would, he suggested, be a perfect fit.

Much about the call, which occurred some months ago, remains shrouded in mystery. But Mr. Bloomberg’s overture to the former first lady highlights the level of his anxiety about the current crop of candidates, his eagerness to recruit a replacement who can rival his stature and his determination to become a kingmaker in the political arena he will soon exit.

In Mrs. Clinton, it seems, a mayor known for his sometimes unsparing critiques of those in public life sees a globe-trotting problem solver like himself.

During their conversation, Mrs. Clinton left little room for doubt: she was not interested in seeking the mayoralty, people briefed on the call said.

Weiner to wed next weekend

From the Washington Post:

...first up: a celebration of the upcoming marriage of Rep. Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin, Hillary's longtime personal aide.

The Clintons hosted a garden party Wednesday night at their Embassy Row home with more than 300 people, a sumptuous buffet of Mideastern food and a sign with the couple's wedding date, "7-10-10," near the pool.

"I have one daughter," said the former president, pulling Chelsea into a hug. "But if I had a second daughter, it would Huma."

The striking brunette, 34, has been working as Hillary's right hand since 1996, and at her side through the Senate and presidential campaigns and move to the State Department last year. Abedin quietly started dating Weiner, 45, two years ago, and they announced their engagement last summer.

It was "love at first sight" for Weiner, Hillary told the crowd Wednesday. The Clintons encouraged the match between the Muslim beauty who grew up in Saudi Arabia and the Jewish Democrat from New York City. The couple represents, Bill said in his toast, what he wants "the future of the world to be."

At least he's honest about it...

From the NY Times:

In unusually revealing remarks, Gov. David A. Paterson said on Wednesday that he never envisioned himself becoming governor and that he is trying to do the best with the situation he has found himself in.

Speaking at a luncheon organized by The Associated Press, Mr. Paterson said that when he ran for lieutenant governor in 2006 on a ticket with Eliot Spitzer, he had hoped that then-Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton would later become president and Mr. Spitzer would appoint him to her seat.

“I did not sign up for this,” Mr. Paterson said. “I wanted to be lieutenant governor. I had this grand plan that Hillary Clinton was going to become president. Maybe the governor would appoint me to the Senate.”

Things obviously did not work out that way.

A parting gift from Hillary

From the NY Post:

In a surprise turnaround that will cost the city $260 million in back taxes and untold millions in future lost revenue, Hillary Rodham Clinton's State Department has quietly reversed a longstanding policy requiring foreign governments to pay taxes on some diplomatic residences.

It's a shocking about-face by Secretary of State Clinton -- who repeatedly spoke in favor of the city's right to collect the taxes when she was New York's junior senator.

The Big Apple, which recently won a federal court ruling requiring India and Mongolia to fork over some $46 million in back taxes, is expected to lose about $7 million a year in current tax revenues.

Upstate leather man won't miss Hillary

Sorry this is so bizarre I had to post it.

And we have a winner!

From NY Magazine:

At a press conference at noon today, Governor Paterson will announce that he's chosen Kirsten Gillibrand to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Senate. Gillibrand is a 42-year-old U.S. Representative from upstate who is a centrist backed by the National Rifle Association. The choice has already angered some more liberal members of the state party, and at least one fellow Democrat has vowed to run against her in 2010. But Paterson's decision — finally made, according to the Times, at 2 a.m. this morning — was calculated to actually win himself support, from upstate voters and women, who he'll need in order to be reelected in 2010.

Hey, at least this one's from New York!

Maloney wants Hillary's seat

Rep. Carolyn Maloney launched her own upstate tour Saturday - with a few more public stops than her more talked about rival for Sen. Hillary Clinton's seat.

Maloney, a Manhattan Democrat, arrived in Buffalo Saturday morning for the start of a three-day tour that will also include Syracuse and Rochester.

These are the same cities Senate contender Caroline Kennedy visited last month. Unlike Kennedy, who was criticized for meeting only with city mayors and a handful of other officials, Maloney's schedule included public forums.

Kennedy has captured the most attention of the contenders for Clinton's seat.

Maloney, however, is also known to be aggressively seeking the seat and has hired Bill Lynch Associates, a political consulting group, to help promote her cause.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney makes upstate bid for Hillary's Senate seat

When will these folks just go away?

CLINTONS TO PUSH BUTTON ON TIMES SQUARE BALL

WILL BE GUESTS OF MAYOR BLOOMBERG

Bill and Hillary Clinton will push the ceremonial button to signal the lowering of the giant illuminated ball in New York's Times Square this New Year.

The former president and his wife -- a U.S. senator from New York and President-elect Barack Obama's choice for Secretary of State -- will join New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in this year's festivities, event organizers said in a statement Tuesday.

They will push a button at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday night, starting the 60-second countdown that is part of the annual celebration in New York City's signature square.

City kicks Broad Channel fire squad in the ass

FOR a century, the Broad Channel Volunteer Fire Department has occupied a small red firehouse about 400 feet from the waters of Jamaica Bay, Queens. The building, with one garage door, barely accommodates the department’s fleet of two ambulances and two fire trucks, one of which bears the volunteers’ nom de guerre, “Renegade Warriors.”

In the mid-1990s, the group bought a plot of land on Cross Bay Boulevard, the island’s main thoroughfare, with the goal of constructing a new building that would be part firehouse and part community center.

The volunteers raised a good deal of money for the building, and things began to look especially promising in 2005, when, with the support of Representative Anthony Weiner and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, $2 million in federal transportation money was earmarked for the project.

Since then, the leaders of the volunteer firehouse have been navigating the serpentine process of acquiring approvals for the project from state and city agencies. But they say their plans have been blocked for several months by the city.

The Little Engines That Couldn’t

Yeah, the City says it's too expensive. God forbid we should spend tax money on protecting the lives of the public. Much better to concentrate on priorities like this: Res 1686-2008.

Gary not a fan of Caroline

A Democratic congressman compared Caroline Kennedy to Sarah Palin, saying the would-be senator hasn't proved she has the "guts and the gumption" to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Rep. Gary Ackerman of Queens said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday that the Kennedy legend and connections won't be enough to make her a successful senator if Gov. David Paterson appoints her to the U.S. Senate.

"Everyone knows who she is, but I'm not sure what she is," said Ackerman. "Eventually she has to get in the ring, and face the public."

"DNA in this business can take you just so far," said the congressman, before cracking a joke. "Rembrandt was a great artist. His brother Murray, on the other hand, Murray Rembrandt, wouldn't paint a house."

Democrat Questions Caroline Kennedy's Experience

Note that Gary only seems to get press when he's displaying Borscht-belt type humor.

Nanny wants Senate seat

Actress Fran Drescher has expressed interest in being appointed to the U.S. Senate seat that New York's Hillary Clinton is giving up to become secretary of state, a spokesman for the actress said.

No, seriously.

"Fran Drescher, actress, women's health advocate and public diplomacy envoy for the U.S. State Department, announced that she is throwing her hat into the ring of contenders for the senate seat being vacated by Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton," Drescher spokesman Jordan Brown told CNN in a written statement late Monday.

Drescher, 51, is best known for her starring role in the 1990s television comedy "The Nanny" and an adenoidal voice that could strip the rust off an engine block — a talent that might come in handy during a Senate filibuster.

Don't laugh! Actress and Queens native Fran Drescher wants Hillary Clinton's senate seat

Senator Kennedy from NY?

Sources: Caroline Kennedy Interested in Clinton's Senate Seat
By DEVLIN BARRETT and BETH FOUHY
Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic officials say Caroline Kennedy has spoken to New York Gov. David Paterson about the Senate seat that will come open when Hillary Rodham Clinton becomes secretary of state.

Paterson's office says that the governor had been approached by several candidates for the job but that he would not discuss private conversations.

Kennedy is the daughter of President John F. Kennedy and a niece of Edward and Robert Kennedy. Robert Kennedy held the New York seat from 1965 until his assassination in 1968.

Democrats familiar with the conversation with Kennedy spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to divulge it.

Take our Senator - please!

Sen. Hillary Clinton, who was President-elect Barack Obama’s leading rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, is being considered for the job of secretary of state in the Obama administration, sources with knowledge of the transition process tell ABC News.

Discussions about Clinton, D-N.Y., being asked to accept the post are "very serious," an Obama source says.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton? It's Being Considered

Hillary will stay home from now on

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton puts the chances of her running for president again at near zero -- slightly higher than the chances she gives for becoming Senate majority leader or a Supreme Court justice.

Sen. Clinton tells FOX: I'm not running for president again

Hillary Clinton wants Newtown Creek cleaned up

August 13, 2008

The Honorable Stephen L. Johnson
Administrator
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Ariel Rios Building - 1101A
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20460

Dear Administrator Johnson:

I am writing to request that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), use its Superfund authority to conduct preliminary tests at four known hotspots along Newtown Creek, in New York City (Attachment A).

Newtown Creek, which borders Brooklyn and Queens, is well known as one of the most polluted industrial waterways in North America, where chemicals from factories along the bed of the Creek have seeped into the soil, sediment and water. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Office of the Attorney General have found evidence that certain hazardous substances regulated under CERCLA have been released at the Newtown Creek site (Attachment B). It is time the federal Superfund program conduct the testing that is necessary to determine whether Newtown Creek should be on placed on the NPL list. As the Chair of the Superfund and Environmental Health Subcommittee and a member of the Senate’s Environmental and Public Works Committee, it is of particular interest to me.

For years, the residents in the vicinity of Newtown Creek have been forced to live, work and play with toxic fumes in the air and contaminated water, soil and sediment on the ground. This exposure has led to community concern about potential pockets of serious illness. Superfund was established to address abandoned hazardous waste sites. The factories responsible for much of the chemical contamination have long since closed and as the cleanup authority of last resort, I see the federal Superfund program as the most effective way to solve this longstanding problem once and for all. The people of Newtown Creek have suffered long enough.

I appreciate your prompt attention and response to this matter.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Curiously, I got this letter from Miss Heather, who has more on the matter.