It left me shaken. She laid out 3 instances in which Trump himself, or Trump officials, have articulated foreign policy concerns that are (a) completely off the wall in terms of any political opinion in this country (in Rachel's terms, they "don't exist in nature" in the U.S.),
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and (b) traceable directly to (and *only* to) Russian military intelligence. The first instance, in the first weeks after inauguration, was an administration request for intel agencies to report on Polish military incursions into Belarus.
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There never were such incursions, or preparations for such incursions, but the Kremlin was just then beaming exactly such disinformation at Belarus (to frighten them into closer ties w/ Russia). The ONLY people in the world then pushing that line were the Russian GRU.
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The second instance linked Trump's very odd on air comment abt Montenegro joining NATO (weirdly commenting on how warlike the 'very strong' Montenegrans are), and his shoving aside of the Montenegran PM at Trump's first NATO summit, with Russia's attempted coup (including the
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planned assassination of the PM) in Montenegro. The coup was foiled only months after Trump made his comments. The 3rd case linked Trump's comments y'day abt. Russia having been right to invade Afghanistan (b/c "terrorists were coming into Russia" from Afghanistan)
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w/ the planned intro *next month* of a bill in the Russian Duma aimed at 'rehabilitating' the legacy of Russia's Afghan misadventure. The bill makes the identical claim abt Russia having been provoked by Afghan terrorists. Until now, no one in Russia has even attempted to make
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this baseless claim. Rachel's point: these are obscure foreign policy issues about which it is, in the first place, beyond strange that this ignorant POTUS would ever have heard of them, let alone develop opinions about them.
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And, second, the only possible source for Trump's awareness of these issues, and ability to articulate the particular positions he's taken (which NO ONE in the U.S. has EVER voiced), is the Kremlin itself. As Rachel asked: who is piping these views into Trump's ear ?
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Bottom line: persuasive additional evidence that Trump is, literally, an active Russian agent or asset, in close communication (either by phone w/ Putin or otherwise) with Russian 'handlers.'
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These cases come on top of the change in the RNC's platform plank on Ukraine, the efforts to lift sanctions on Russia, the very strange volte face on Syria and many other matters which are most readily explained by accepting that Putin 'owns' Trump.
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yes rick. some have been on to it. you need to start listening to people like
@sarahkendzior and@AndreaChalupa -
I'm a fan of both, and it's beyond dispute that they've warned, directionally, abt many of the same things
@Maddow featured last night. A particular focus of theirs has been Putin's interference in Ukraine, and the risk of war over Ukraine.+ -
But, having checked their feeds cursorily (including by Google search), I don't think they've been "on to" ANY of the specific stories
@Maddow did last night: not the GRU deza on Poland invading Balarus; not Trump's apparent sympathy with GRU's failed coup in Montenegro; and + -
not Trump's apparent advance knowledge of, and sympathy with, a still emerging Russian attempt to revise ('rehabilitate') the justification for its invasion of Afghanistan. Gaslit Nation has, in many ways, worked a broader canvas to which these stories are relevant, but+
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I don't think it's fair to suggest that ppl (like me) who found much new in the Maddow report last night were simply catching up to stuff that Kendzior and Chalupa had put out long ago.
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I agree with your points. I haven't watched the Maddow episodes in question, but Trump/Russia is an enormous story and it's good that there are analysts covering it from multiple angles. Andrea and I were indeed early to it but it's necessary and beneficial for many to cover it.
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And, again, we’re in your debt for the great work you’re doing. Many thanks.
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Agreed! Thank you Sarah... you've been sounding the alarm for 2 years+
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I had forgotten about the “polish incursions” propaganda, but the Montenegro thing had bothered me since he did it. It’s obviously not an issue about which he would care on his own. Either it’s Russian trolls, as Clint Watts has suggested, or he’s being directly handled.
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It’s a great segment, no matter what (and it goes into C block). Everyone should watch.https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-curiously-well-versed-in-specific-russian-talking-points-1419581507654 …
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In any case, either this is the biggest scandal in American history by miles (and the greatest treachery since the Civil War), or we’ve all gone collectively crazy.
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We’re not crazy.
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I think you’re right. We were out there protesting tonight. We’ve been there for 172 nights.
#KremlinAnnexpic.twitter.com/jdrI4qbKgd
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Huge respect !
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Maybe you could tweet the link to our donations page? We’re running very thin on cash, entirely run by local people and performers, and we would like to keep this going. We need help.https://secure.actblue.com/donate/occupylafayettepark# …
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