This is a coup by foreign powers (not just Russia, but others in cahoots with it).

It's not just trump and Rudy this touches, it's the whole repug party.

He is either in their custody or under house arrest. He sounds like one person who should be talked to by our government, but it would probably be best to wait until Trump and Barr are out of office.

The other guy, Victor Shokin, is the form Prosecutor General of Ukraine. He was appointed, as far as we know, when the Russian puppet was put in charge, with the help of Paul Manafort.

They all seemed to be closely allied with Russia?

<snip>
Shokin was appointed Prosecutor General of Ukraine on 10 February 2015, replacing Vitaly Yarema.[4] He was a controversial appointee due to his perceived role in blocking prosecutions against those accused of shooting demonstrators in the 2014 Ukrainian revolution.[5] As Prosecutor General, he was accused of blocking major cases against allies and influential figures and hindering the fight against corruption in Ukraine.[6]

In early April 2015, Shokin stated that the General Prosecutor Ukraine (GPU) files about criminal orders from former General Prosecutor Viktor Pshonka[a] had disappeared, along with Pshonka's secret casework and secret materials. Shokin stated, "I will tell you more: not only criminal cases, but secret materials are missing - secret casework. Including, as far as Victor Pshonka's orders were concerned." (Ukrainian: Віктор Шокін: "Я вам больше скажу: пропали не только уголовные дела, но секретные материалы – секретное делопроизводство. В том числе, то, что касалось распоряжений Виктора Пшонки.&quot .[12][13][14]

Various street protests demanding Shokin's resignation were held.[15][16][17] On 2 November 2015, there was an assassination attempt against him when an unidentified sniper fired three shots into his office, but was foiled by the bulletproof glass window.[18] In response to a query from Ukrainian News Agency in late 2019, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) acknowledged that it is continuing to investigate the attempted assassination of Shokin.[19]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Shokin

I seem to recall that he donated money to the Repukes, but I often mix up the Russian rich.

He has been fighting extradition for over a year, at least.

Isn't he the one Ghouliani's two clowns were going to visit in Vienna when they were arrested at the airport?

Several insiders to the Viktor Yanukovych regime had to flee the country when they had their revolution in 2014. He was more or less a Russian puppet, put into power with the help of Paul Manafort.

(One must ask why Rudy Giuliani visited Manafort so often in prison?)

candidates and causes (like the NRA).
After Parnas was arrested and interviewed, it was discovered he had 51 bank accounts, 9-10 iPhones, and had 'forgotten' to mention a recent inbound wire transfer of around $1MM.

Link to tweet

Firtash might spill the beans. Saying that he’s wanted here is word salad. I’m quite surprised he’s still alive. If the heat gets turned up, not only Barr, but his buddy Putin may want him silenced. He knows too much.

Putin seems to be the top boss but has formed a network to undermine democracy throughout the world. I remember being surprised at the video of Putin and MBS greeting each other at the G20 summit. They looked like old buddies who were congratulating themselves on a big accomplishment. Trump is a tool, but he’s a greedy, amoral man who will do anything necessary to stay in power and enjoy piling up money at our expense. And he seems willing to do anything Putin tells him.

I hate to be pessimistic, but I do not think we have the people in power who are willing to unravel this mess. Bill Barr has put himself in the position of hiding anything that would prevent Trump’s re-election. Trump has so denigrated US intelligence services that they might not be believed even if they have proof of crimes committed. Congress can only do so much when you have a Republican Party willing to overlook every criminal connection to hang on to their power. McConnell has been corrupt for decades, and his connection to Elaine Chao and her family raises questions. It was not that many years ago when drugs were found on one of their ships at a US port. With her connections in government, are their ships even searched anymore?

How do all these connections see the light of day?

At least, I hope so.

No one would believe it.

They have all the bases covered and, with all the judges Trump has appointed (with McConnell's help), we're doomed unless we can get control of the situation and put them behind bars.

There have to be a whole bunch of Republican congresscritters who are nervous. I'm looking forward to watching the faces during the impeachment process.

...because most of it is illegal.

We need another Teddy Roosevelt to crack down on the corruption, in my opinion.

it was this vast about three years ago. I'm really unhappy about being right about it. We haven't come to the human trafficking and slave trade and kids in cages' fate yet. It's coming.

Like many have said and I agree, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

This is not one of those things I can delight in being right about. At the time I came to this conclusion, I was desperately hoping I was wrong. But it's the one thing that made the most sense. Sadly, I agree about what's yet to come as well. These fuckers are pure evil.

To spy illegally on Americans in other countries and here in our country?

and that informs and enables everything the republican party and its reps have become and represents

this is all pretty clear by now.

BUT, the problem is that SO many in this country were sucked into it with "conservatives" buying every last bit of bullshit the republic party has thrown at the for decades, and the "middle' buying the bothsiderism bullshit, so they have been eased into this over time.

BUT, it is stone cold obvious what is going on now, and 1/3 of the country if COMPLETELY on board with it, and again, the "middle" one third is willfully oblivious to it, or just doesn't give a fuck.

there's a cause and talk radio is the primary and only unique media player in this disaster, and artificial intelligence suddenly makes it very vulnerable

While trying to keep an open mind with regard to this so called administration (regime) it’s difficult to not believe that Trump is a Russian asset, plain and simple. The evidence is overwhelming. He’s destroying America on orders from the Kremlin. There’s no other possible way to explain the actions that he’s taken not only domestically but foreign as well. And yet, no public official has had the guts to be on record making the claim.

Well then, I must be wrong. My thinking, reading, and listening must not as open minded as I would like it to be. I must be missing his pretense of innocence. What we are living through in America right now is astounding. We are at the gateway and the next “election”, if it can possibly be free of foreign interference, will foretell if we remain a democracy.

If you haven’t read the entire Mueller Report or Crime In Progress, I highly recommend it.

I have been saying since the 2016 election that McConnell and a large % of the GOP are up to their necks in Russian money. Possibly a lot of the judicial system too.

And how did it get that way?

Prior to Citizens United, the only way a foreign actor could influence a U.S. politician was via illegal bribes, etc.

Citizens United legalized hidden foreign influence of our politicians.

I wish I knew how to get out of this mess.

Our GOP controlled govt is now allowing poisoning of our land, air, water. Burning up the planet. Unaffordable health care. And the average GOP supporter is all gung-ho for this destruction of our lives. What they don't understand is this is not a team sport where winning means you get to feel good and wear a winning jersey. We're *all on the same team*. We all want and need the same things, a healthy, comfortable, peaceful prosperous life. If your team winning means the loss of your own health, or comfort or prosperity or peace, that is worth another look.

Citizens United opened a huge can of worms.