Dossier revelations spotlight influence, authority of lawyer Marc Elias

[Dashinka 24,741]

Mr. Elias is an interesting character with probably more conflicts of interests than anyone else in Washington, but at least we know he can sit in front of Congress with a straight face as the man next to him, John Podesta, tells a bald faced lie.  He is also partly responsible for why Facebook could sell political advertising to any foreign agent with little or no disclaimers.

 

Michael Kranish

The Washington Post

 

6:30 AM

Oct 30, 2017

 

When Marc Elias, general counsel for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, hired a private research firm in the spring of 2016 to investigate Donald Trump, he drew from funds he was authorized to spend without oversight by campaign officials, according to a spokesperson for his law firm.

The firm hired by Elias, Fusion GPS, produced research that resulted a dossier detailing alleged connections between Donald Trump and Russia. While the funding for the work came from the campaign and the Democratic National Committee, Elias kept the information about the investigation closely held as he advised the campaign on its strategy, according to the spokesperson, who requested anonymity to discuss the internal dynamics.

Elias’ involvement in the financing and internal dissemination of the Trump research underscores the influence he wields behind the scenes in Democratic politics - a role that is now being pushed into the spotlight amid multiple investigations into Russia’s attempts to meddle in the 2016 elections.

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The 48-year-old lawyer and his firm, Perkins Coie, represent many of the party’s political committees and candidates. Elias also has worked on behalf of companies such as Facebook, fighting in 2011 to exempt the social media network from disclaimer rules on political ads. The company’s sale of ads to Russian actors during last year’s campaign triggered calls on Capitol Hill for more disclosure of online ads.

 

Elias’ robust client list - which included both Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee last year - has led to questions about how he juggles competing interests and whether some of the arrangements create awkward dynamics.

Elias declined to comment.

In September, he accompanied former Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta to a closed-door interview with Senate Intelligence Committee staffers, during which Podesta said he had no knowledge of payments to Fusion GPS, according to CNN.

 

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-nation/2017/10/29/Dossier-revelations-spotlight-influence-authority-of-lawyer-Marc-Elias/stories/201710290241

 

[Dashinka 24,741]

Hmm, no one wants to talk about the elephant in the room, and the actual collusion between a campaign and a foreign agent?

[jg121783 3,921]

But Manafort filled out some paperwork incorrectly so that means Trump is a Russian agent.

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

2 minutes ago, jg121783 said:

But Manafort filled out some paperwork incorrectly so that means Trump is a Russian agent.

yeah it is a clerical error, mea culpa 

[jg121783 3,921]

Just now, Il Mango Dulce said:

yeah it is a clerical error, mea culpa 

Whatever it is it has nothing to do with alleged Russian collusion and if this is the best Mueller can come up with after almost a year that is pretty pathetic and outside of the scope of what he is supposed to be investigating.

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

4 minutes ago, jg121783 said:

Whatever it is it has nothing to do with alleged Russian collusion and if this is the best Mueller can come up with after almost a year that is pretty pathetic and outside of the scope of what he is supposed to be investigating.

1. we are probably getting all the money back if we can just get Manafort to pay back taxes on the laundered millions he brought in illegally 
2. no one is above the law
3. The activities of Manafort and Flynn not registering as foreign agents most definitely was in scope, and if an officer of the law finds more as their investigations are executed, they cannot ignore a breach of law
4. more is coming, stay tuned, this is only the third inning

[Dashinka 24,741]

1 minute ago, Il Mango Dulce said:

1. we are probably getting all the money back if we can just get Manafort to pay back taxes on the laundered millions he brought in illegally 
2. no one is above the law
3. The activities of Manafort and Flynn not registering as foreign agents most definitely was in scope, and if an officer of the law finds more as their investigations are executed, they cannot ignore a breach of law
4. more is coming, stay tuned, this is only the third inning

That is fine, prosecute Manafort for his crimes, but admit that the Russian collusion with the Trump campaign is simply non-existent.  Of course that may not be the case with the Clinton campaign, but what else is new with the DNC and their dirty politics and their dirty lawyers.

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

5 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

That is fine, prosecute Manafort for his crimes, but admit that the Russian collusion with the Trump campaign is simply non-existent.  Of course that may not be the case with the Clinton campaign, but what else is new with the DNC and their dirty politics and their dirty lawyers.

There is no one on this forum ( unless we have a lurker from Mueller's team) that can make the claim you are trying to make.  Why would we wind the investigation down at this point?    

 

[Dashinka 24,741]

16 minutes ago, Il Mango Dulce said:

There is no one on this forum ( unless we have a lurker from Mueller's team) that can make the claim you are trying to make.  Why would we wind the investigation down at this point?    

 

No doubt, hence the problem of turning a special prosecutor loose with no guidelines, no actual crime, and a big budget.  You knew they would find something.  So far we have a procedural crime (can't lie to the police), and some old stuff from Manafort that has nothing to do with Russian collusion.  I am fine if we want to keep going, (actually, I think having this investigation helps Trump with his base) but we need to continue this new precedent every time a president is elected, appoint an open ended special prosecutor to investigate the campaign, family etc., regardless of party.

[Tahoma 2,292]

Manafort?  He's only the end of the beginning. Stay tuned.

[JimandChristy 1,689]

40 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

No doubt, hence the problem of turning a special prosecutor loose with no guidelines, no actual crime, and a big budget.  You knew they would find something.  So far we have a procedural crime (can't lie to the police), and some old stuff from Manafort that has nothing to do with Russian collusion.  I am fine if we want to keep going, (actually, I think having this investigation helps Trump with his base) but we need to continue this new precedent every time a president is elected, appoint an open ended special prosecutor to investigate the campaign, family etc., regardless of party.

Well you can blame Trump for this investigation, he was the one who fired James Comey. It was his Justice Department that appointed Bob Mueller.  Know what else Trump could've done to help himself here? Released his tax returns, if that was out in the open the air of suspicion around Russia would be greatly reduced. Hillary released hers on the campaign trail, just like every other presidential candidate has done going back to Carter, 40 years ago.

[Dashinka 24,741]

1 hour ago, JimandChristy said:

Well you can blame Trump for this investigation, he was the one who fired James Comey. It was his Justice Department that appointed Bob Mueller.  Know what else Trump could've done to help himself here? Released his tax returns, if that was out in the open the air of suspicion around Russia would be greatly reduced. Hillary released hers on the campaign trail, just like every other presidential candidate has done going back to Carter, 40 years ago.

Yeah, the old he fired Comey and his failure to release his personal information excuses.  That is such a joke, this would have happened regardless considering all the outrage that Trump actually beat the DNC chosen one in the electoral college.  Is thee a requirement to release tax returns, or is that just done for potential political gain.  Well, Trump won without doing it, so who cares.  The Comey thing is getting old, he tried playing both sides during the campaign and lost, he deserved to go.  If Mueller and the FBI want to continue investigating a non-crime, then fine.  If I was a lawyer, I would advise anyone contacted by them to not say a word to avoid any potential procedural crime.

2 hours ago, Tahoma said:

Manafort?  He's only the end of the beginning. Stay tuned.

Tony Podesta?  Maybe Marc Elias?  

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

2 hours ago, Bill & Katya said:

No doubt, hence the problem of turning a special prosecutor loose with no guidelines, no actual crime, and a big budget.  You knew they would find something.  So far we have a procedural crime (can't lie to the police), and some old stuff from Manafort that has nothing to do with Russian collusion.  I am fine if we want to keep going, (actually, I think having this investigation helps Trump with his base) but we need to continue this new precedent every time a president is elected, appoint an open ended special prosecutor to investigate the campaign, family etc., regardless of party.

No actual crime?  

Perjury is a crime. 

Money Laundering is a Crime

Not registering as a foreign agent is a crime 

Not paying your taxes is a Crime

 

AND

We are looking at several mysteries:   Here is one how did the Trump team know about the stolen DNC emails before the DNC and the public knew?

[Dashinka 24,741]

3 hours ago, Il Mango Dulce said:

No actual crime?  

Perjury is a crime. 

Money Laundering is a Crime

Not registering as a foreign agent is a crime 

Not paying your taxes is a Crime

 

AND

We are looking at several mysteries:   Here is one how did the Trump team know about the stolen DNC emails before the DNC and the public knew?

What is your source for the last assertion?  I thought it was proven the DNC email hack was an inside job.

 

As to the other items, I never said they weren’t a crime, but they are a far cry from Russian/Trump collusion.  Along with those you listed, how about bribery from a foreign entity, or maybe filtering campaign money through a lawyer to hide a connection to a foreign agent.  Since Mueller apparently has free reign, maybe he should start looking into those crimes?  Or maybe Sessions can do it himself since it is not connected to Trump/Russian collusion and wouldn’t violate his recusal.

[Tahoma 2,292]

Ho-hum...the usual desperate distractions in the face of mounting evidence:

1.  It was an inside hack job - Already debunked.

2.  Comey was going to be fired anyway - Trump admitted he fired Comey because of the Russia investigation.

3.  Illegal dossier payments - Totally legal under FEC rules.

4.  Manafort's charges have nothing to do with the collusion investigation - When did the investigation end?