General Discussion

pnwmom

(108,981 posts) Sat Dec 30, 2017, 09:03 PM Dec 2017

With today's NYTimes story about Papadopolous, another weird puzzle piece MIGHT have fallen

into place.

It never made sense that Nick Warner, the head of Australian intelligence, traveling on a diplomatic passport for official meetings, would have been FRISKED at the U.S. border in March 2017.

But now we learn that Australian intelligence in 2016 had informed US intelligence about Papadopolous's drunken bragging about his work for Trump/Russia, and THAT is why the FBI began its investigation of collusion.

Just a coincidence? The mystery deepens.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/30/us/politics/how-fbi-russia-investigation-began-george-papadopoulos.html

WASHINGTON — During a night of heavy drinking at an upscale London bar in May 2016, George Papadopoulos, a young foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, made a startling revelation to Australia’s top diplomat in Britain: Russia had political dirt on Hillary Clinton.

About three weeks earlier, Mr. Papadopoulos had been told that Moscow had thousands of emails that would embarrass Mrs. Clinton, apparently stolen in an effort to try to damage her campaign.

Exactly how much Mr. Papadopoulos said that night at the Kensington Wine Rooms with the Australian, Alexander Downer, is unclear. But two months later, when leaked Democratic emails began appearing online, Australian officials passed the information about Mr. Papadopoulos to their American counterparts, according to four current and former American and foreign officials with direct knowledge of the Australians’ role.

The hacking and the revelation that a member of the Trump campaign may have had inside information about it were driving factors that led the F.B.I. to open an investigation in July 2016 into Russia’s attempts to disrupt the election and whether any of President Trump’s associates conspired.

http://www.afr.com/brand/rear-window/asis-directorgeneral-nick-warner-cops-mem-fox-treatment-at-us-border-20170304-guqo0z

But if the Possum Magic author feels cheesed by her "terrifying ordeal", spare a thought for Nick Warner, the Director-General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service. You'd think being the top government spy of a staunch US ally – travelling on a diplomatic passport – would spare you the latex welcome, but no. Not even. Warner got the full treatment last month at LAX arrivals, transferring for meetings in the capital (including, you'd safely assume, at Langley, Virginia).

20 replies

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Highlight:

With today's NYTimes story about Papadopolous, another weird puzzle piece MIGHT have fallen (Original Post) pnwmom Dec 2017 OP

Do we have all the Clinton emails? Baitball Blogger Dec 2017 #1

Hillary's attorneys were delegated to delete her personal emails, and used their computers pnwmom Dec 2017 #2

I agree. brer cat Dec 2017 #3

Thank you, brer cat. pnwmom Dec 2017 #4

I doubt the decision bucolic_frolic Dec 2017 #5

That's what I'm thinking. AND he was a diplomat from a major ally. n/t pnwmom Dec 2017 #6

Excellent connecting the dots about Aussie DG Intell Warner, pnwmom! Thanks! . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Dec 2017 #7

This would explain trumpft's first phone call with Australian Pres Merlot Dec 2017 #8

Right. That's the first thing my husband said. n/t pnwmom Dec 2017 #10

that was my first thought too. OhioBlue Dec 2017 #14

You are not alone in thinking this ProudLib72 Dec 2017 #9

Did you see this comment in the comments sections? It's in an orange box. pnwmom Dec 2017 #11

Yes, and I commented in another thread about Papa ProudLib72 Dec 2017 #13

The NYTimes article makes it clear that he WAS a key player. That guilty plea, pnwmom Dec 2017 #15

The NYT article made it seem like he acted alone to seek out Russian help ProudLib72 Dec 2017 #16

yup triron Dec 2017 #17

He may have made an overture on his own initiative, but the Trump campaign welcomed the help. pnwmom Dec 2017 #18

A patsy Gabi Hayes Dec 2017 #19

KnR Hekate Dec 2017 #12

K&R Scurrilous Dec 2017 #20

Baitball Blogger

(46,749 posts)

1. Do we have all the Clinton emails?

Reply to pnwmom (Original post)

Sat Dec 30, 2017, 10:29 PM

Dec 2017

If not, maybe that's why Trump keeps up the battle cry for an investigation into Clinton? It's because he already knows what he's looking for, because he previously colluded with Russia to get the information?

pnwmom

(108,981 posts)

2. Hillary's attorneys were delegated to delete her personal emails, and used their computers

Reply to Baitball Blogger (Reply #1)

Sat Dec 30, 2017, 10:36 PM

Dec 2017

to sort them out. I don't know if any deleted personal emails were later salvaged.

But I'm positive that if there was anything negative in them, Wikileaks/Trump/Russia would have released them long ago.

brer cat

(24,581 posts)

3. I agree.

Reply to pnwmom (Reply #2)

Sat Dec 30, 2017, 10:47 PM

Dec 2017

You have done a great job finding and posting information on the Trump/Russia investigation.

pnwmom

(108,981 posts)

4. Thank you, brer cat.

Reply to brer cat (Reply #3)

Sat Dec 30, 2017, 10:51 PM

Dec 2017

I'm doing the little I can.

bucolic_frolic

(43,236 posts)

5. I doubt the decision

Reply to pnwmom (Original post)

Sat Dec 30, 2017, 11:23 PM

Dec 2017

to frisk someone with a diplomatic passport was made by low level officials at LAX

So someone higher up was thinking or afraid Australian was carrying some other information

pnwmom

(108,981 posts)

6. That's what I'm thinking. AND he was a diplomat from a major ally. n/t

Reply to bucolic_frolic (Reply #5)

Sat Dec 30, 2017, 11:36 PM

Dec 2017

Bernardo de La Paz

(49,020 posts)

7. Excellent connecting the dots about Aussie DG Intell Warner, pnwmom! Thanks! . . . nt

Reply to pnwmom (Original post)

Sat Dec 30, 2017, 11:42 PM

Dec 2017

Merlot

(9,696 posts)

8. This would explain trumpft's first phone call with Australian Pres

Reply to pnwmom (Original post)

Sun Dec 31, 2017, 12:20 AM

Dec 2017

Remember when he took his first call with the Australian President and was rude...this might be why.

pnwmom

(108,981 posts)

10. Right. That's the first thing my husband said. n/t

Reply to Merlot (Reply #8)

Sun Dec 31, 2017, 12:31 AM

Dec 2017

OhioBlue

(5,126 posts)

14. that was my first thought too.

Reply to Merlot (Reply #8)

Sun Dec 31, 2017, 01:41 AM

Dec 2017

ProudLib72

(17,984 posts)

9. You are not alone in thinking this

Reply to pnwmom (Original post)

Sun Dec 31, 2017, 12:30 AM

Dec 2017

Did Trump know about Australia's spy agency notifying the FBI from the start?

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/12/30/1728716/-Did-Trump-now-about-Australia-s-spy-agency-notifying-the-FBI-from-the-start#comment_68821001

But who told tRump??????? Who at the FBI leaked that Australia had reported these allegations?

pnwmom

(108,981 posts)

11. Did you see this comment in the comments sections? It's in an orange box.

Reply to ProudLib72 (Reply #9)

Sun Dec 31, 2017, 12:36 AM

Dec 2017

This is very interesting, too.

mathGuyNTulsa Dec 30 · 04:49:08 PM
Here are more dots to connect. Papadopoulos’ guilty plea states that he first learned about Russia’s willingness to help rig the election on March 14th of 2016. Two days later, key Senate Republican John Cornyn announced that he intended to block the Merrick Garland nomination.

At the time, blocking the nomination was at best a peculiar move. Everyone expected HRC would win the election and nominate someone even more liberal than Garland for SCOTUS. Polling at the time also gave the Democrats a good chance of winning control of the Senate. Blocking Garland was a risky strategy with a low probability of actual payoff.

However, blocking the Garland nomination makes perfect sense if the Senate leadership knew, in March of 2016, that the Russians were going to rig the election. The path to that knowledge is easy to deduce: Papdopoulos to Helms—already on the inside of the Trump campaign--to McConnell.

Proving all of this is another matter, but the circumstantial evidence is mounting that the 2016 election and all of its consequences was invalid.

ProudLib72

(17,984 posts)

13. Yes, and I commented in another thread about Papa

Reply to pnwmom (Reply #11)

Sun Dec 31, 2017, 01:32 AM

Dec 2017

tRump claims that Papa was low level, not an important member of his campaign. If senate leadership was willing to block Garland because they knew the fix was in, however, doesn't that suggest that Papa was a key player and trusted?

pnwmom

(108,981 posts)

15. The NYTimes article makes it clear that he WAS a key player. That guilty plea,

Reply to ProudLib72 (Reply #13)

Sun Dec 31, 2017, 01:43 AM

Dec 2017

and his agreement to cooperate, might be a much bigger deal than most people yet realize.

ProudLib72

(17,984 posts)

16. The NYT article made it seem like he acted alone to seek out Russian help

Reply to pnwmom (Reply #15)

Sun Dec 31, 2017, 01:58 AM

Dec 2017

Mr. Papadopoulos, then an ambitious 28-year-old from Chicago, was working as an energy consultant in London when the Trump campaign, desperate to create a foreign policy team, named him as an adviser in early March 2016. His political experience was limited to two months on Ben Carson’s presidential campaign before it collapsed.

Mr. Papadopoulos had no experience on Russia issues. But during his job interview with Sam Clovis, a top early campaign aide, he saw an opening. He was told that improving relations with Russia was one of Mr. Trump’s top foreign policy goals, according to court papers, an account Mr. Clovis has denied.

I don't believe he acted on his own discretion, nor do I believe he intended to merely foster good relations with Russia. I think it will turn out that Clovis instructed him to contact Russia. Think about it. Papa was a naive young pup, eager to do anything and everything to work his way into politics. The article stated that Russian spies would have seen this as an opportunity, and that would place most of the blame on Papa. However, the way he went about establishing contacts and the response he got (almost immediately being enticed with dirt on Hilary) makes me very suspicious. He was chosen by the tRump campaign because he was a "nobody" without any experience and they could play him for all he was worth.

triron

(22,008 posts)

17. yup

Reply to ProudLib72 (Reply #16)

Sun Dec 31, 2017, 02:01 AM

Dec 2017

pnwmom

(108,981 posts)

18. He may have made an overture on his own initiative, but the Trump campaign welcomed the help.

Reply to ProudLib72 (Reply #16)

Sun Dec 31, 2017, 02:08 AM

Dec 2017

George P wasn't an insignificant player and he continued to report on his actions to the campaign.

While some of Mr. Trump’s advisers have derided him as an insignificant campaign volunteer or a “coffee boy,” interviews and new documents show that he stayed influential throughout the campaign. Two months before the election, for instance, he helped arrange a New York meeting between Mr. Trump and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt.