Ukrainian flagged as intel danger to Trump had extensive contact with Obama officials, memos show

Obama State Department considered Konstantin Kilimnik a ‘sensitive source,’ Senate report now identifies him as Russian intel officer.

In December 2015, the Obama State Department and its ambassador in Kiev were upset over a negative story about then-Vice President Joe Biden ahead of his visit to Ukraine. So a U.S. embassy official turned to a "sensitive source" for help.

"Thank you very much for looking into this and very sorry to ask," U.S. embassy official Alexander "Sasha" Kasanof wrote businessman Konstantin Kilimnik in a Dec. 6, 2015 email obtained by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigators and reviewed by Just the News. "Ambassador very unhappy about the article, though agree it stinks to me to (sic) of people we know very well."

A few lines later, Kasanof's email offered Kilimnik some valuable inside skinny about the Obama administration's assessment of a sensitive meeting between indicted fugitive Ukrainian oligarch Dmitri Firtash's associate Yuriy Boyko and Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland. "I thought Boyko did quite well, in fact," Kasanof wrote. "Don't know that he convinced Nuland on everything (incl. DF intentions), but his performance was much less Soviet and better than I thought would be. So job well done!"

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Kasanof-Kilimnik (12-06-2015).PDF

In addition to treating him as a valuable political intelligence source, State officials often shared their private insights with Kilimnik, a Ukrainian consultant close to the American lobbyist Paul Manafort, according to numerous communications obtained by Just the News. For instance, Eric Schultz, a former U.S. embassy official in Ukraine who by 2016 had become U.S. ambassador to Zambia, gave his frank personal assessment after President Obama named Marie Yovanovitch to be the new chief U.S. diplomat in Kiev and George Kent to be her top deputy.

"He's ok i think — though yes, very pro-Ukraine," Schultz wrote of Kent in an email from his personal Gmail account in May 2016 to Kilimnik, using mostly lower-case letters. As for Yovanovitch, Schultz added: "she's not (doesn't handle pressure and can be difficult) but then she might be more Russian oriented than you realize. she never learned Ukrainian when she was in kyiv before but speaks good Russian.”

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SchultzKilimnicMay2016.pdf

https://justthenews.com/accountability/russia-and-ukraine-scandals/ukrainian-flagged-spy-danger-trump-had-extensive-contact

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>>10409753

In summer 2016 after Manafort came under investigation for his Ukraine lobbying work after a series of leaked documents, Kilimnik engaged in a lengthy email dialogue with Ambassador Schulz concerning Manafort's liabilities and the possibility he would be traveling to Ukraine in the fall.

"I bet the Manafort connection is keeping you busy these days," Schultz wrote. "I'm two weeks from putting the election here behind me."

Kilimnik responded that he was bewildered by all the media attention Manafort was getting in both Ukraine and the United States. "It is kind of insane and I hate being dragged into it," Kilimnik emailed Schultz in mid-August 2016. "The whole city has turned into Manafort experts."

After Manafort was forced to resign, Schultz offered Kilimnik insights into how a Hillary Clinton administration might treat Ukraine as an antagonist to Russia, using some colorful language in the process.

"so Paul is out and I suspect trump is fu**ed. course I thought so before. It seemed clear to me that he wasn't really listening to Paul," Schultz wrote Kilimnik in August 2016. "I suspect you are probably wrong about how hrc [Hillary Clinton] will view Ukraine. she will see it as important because she will want to make life difficult for vvp [Vladimir Putin] — what goes around comes around. That depresses me though — I think Ukraine should matter for its own sake and especially its people. She's likely to not care too much how PP [Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko] governs."

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Eric Shultz-Kilimnik (May 31-August 2016).PDF

The first stories soon appeared in the media that Kilimnik might be tied to Russian intelligence, because he once attended a school frequented by military officers. Kilimnik quickly disputed the links, saying the school he went to "trained translators and lawyers, not commanding officers."

"Never had any contacts later with the military, KGB, Mossad SAPO, BND, CIA or even my former co-eds," Kilimnik wrote Schultz as he tried to dispel the Russian spy rumors.

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Fauci argues against potential emergency approval for Covid-19 vaccine, says it’ll put other vaccines at disadvantage

Anthony Fauci, a top federal health expert, has warned that rolling out a coronavirus vaccine under an emergency approval could make testing for other immunizations “impossible,” arguing it might rob the trials of participants.

Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Reuters in an interview on Monday that a vaccine should not be given an emergency use authorization (EUA) “before you have a signal of efficacy,” saying it could jeopardize the other various vaccines under testing.

“One of the potential dangers if you prematurely let a vaccine out is that it would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the other vaccines to enroll people in their trial,” Fauci said, adding that before granting approval it is “absolutely paramount” to “definitively show that a vaccine is safe and effective.”

A number of coronavirus vaccine candidates have entered large-scale clinical trials in recent weeks, including immunizations from pharma giants Pfizer, Moderna Inc, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca PLC, each looking to enroll tens of thousands of participants.

Fauci’s remarks come days after President Donald Trump took to Twitter to slam “the deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA,” for making it “very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics.”

The deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics. Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd. Must focus on speed, and saving lives! @SteveFDA

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2020

While the president has made no mention of a EUA for a vaccine, a report in the Financial Times on Monday suggested the administration is mulling emergency authorization for AstraZeneca’s immunization by September, citing White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. They said the decision would ultimately be left to the FDA, however.

https://www.rt.com/usa/498934-fauci-warns-emergency-vaccine/

US & China Agree To ‘Push Forward’ With Phase One Trade Agreement

Statement on Call Between the United States and China From U.S. Trade Representatives:

Washington, DC – Ambassador Lighthizer and Secretary Mnuchin participated in a regularly scheduled call this evening with China’s Vice Premier Liu Hu to discuss implementation of the historic Phase One Agreement between the United States and China. The parties addressed steps that China has taken to effectuate structural changes called for by the Agreement that will ensure greater protection for intellectual property rights, remove impediments to American companies in the areas of financial services and agriculture, and eliminate forced technology transfer. The parties also discussed the significant increases in purchases of U.S. products by China as well as future actions needed to implement the agreement. Both sides see progress and are committed to taking the steps necessary to ensure the success of the agreement.

https://breaking911.com/breaking-us-china-agree-to-push-forward-with-phase-one-trade-agreement/

RT is accused of supporting QAnon. But with Russiagate back for 2020, who are the real state-funded conspiracy theorists?

Certain mainstream media are losing sleep over what they claim is Russian support for pro-Trump conspiracy theory QAnon. But it’s their own obsession that spawned RT’s coverage – and their own behavior that encourages such groups.

According to Reuters, RT’s coverage of social media platforms’ crackdown on QAnon is proof that Russia actually supports the fringe movement, which believes President Donald Trump and a crew of “white hats” within his administration are going to save the US from a cabal of satanic pedophiles any moment now, swooping in to arrest everyone from failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to liberal billionaire George Soros in one great blast of swamp-draining.

Lacking any proof to back this hypothesis – indeed, the writer admits RT’s coverage has not only “fallen short of full-throated support,” but is even “critical” of the rightwing psy-op – the outlet instead defers to disinformation ‘experts’ Graphika, who note that the Internet Research Agency – the “Russian trolls” still blamed in some corners for delivering the 2016 election to Trump – tagged a bunch of tweets with QAnon slogans in 2019.

https://www.rt.com/op-ed/498911-rt-accused-qanon-msm-conspiracy/

>>10410230

Like a host and a parasite

>>10410252

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Mission impossible: Andrews' emergency power play looks doomed

Premier Daniel Andrews’ push for a 12-month extension of Victoria’s COVID-19 state of emergency looks doomed to fail, with nearly all the crossbench MPs in State Parliament’s upper house opposed to the move.

All but one of the crossbenchers who spoke to The Age on Tuesday morning said they were opposed to the government’s proposal and would vote with the Liberals and Nationals to defeat the move when Labor brings Parliament back next week to try to legislate its changes.

Andy Meddick of the Animal Justice Party remains undecided, while disgraced former Labor minister Adem Somyurek, who remains in Parliament as an independent, could not be contacted.

But in the likely absence of Mr Somyurek and with the Greens' leader Samantha Ratnam on leave, Labor with its 17 upper house members now faces a bloc of 20 votes – 11 Coalition and nine crossbench – who oppose the extension.

But there is enough support on the crossbench for three or even six more months of emergency powers to suggest that a compromise deal is possible.

Labor’s parliamentary challenge is further complicated by the advice of Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton that regional and rural MPs should stay out of Melbourne and not attend Parliament, depriving the government of the votes of ministers Jaala Pulford and Jaclyn Symes.

Coalition MPs from outside Melbourne as well as non-metro crossbenchers were prepared to defy Professor Sutton’s advice and turn up to Parliament in early August but it is unlikely government ministers would act against the health advice.

Mr Andrews is facing a broad-based backlash against the 12-month proposal with human rights advocates joining the Premier’s political rivals in criticising the move.

The Premier took to Facebook to stress the state of emergency extension was not the same as the state of disaster and that he was not proposing stage four lockdown measures such as Melbourne's 8pm curfew be extended.

Mr Andrews said the extended state of emergency would prolong "commonsense" rules on face masks and social distancing, which he said had driven down transmission of the virus.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/mission-impossible-andrews-emergency-power-play-looks-doomed-20200825-p55p2q.html