Powerful people in US sell their anti-Russian stance to their nation – Putin

There are powerful people in the US who steer the entire country on the path of confrontation with Russia, President Vladimir Putin warned, adding that the Kremlin must take this factor into account.

The warning came as Putin was addressing the senior members of the Russian diplomatic corps in Moscow. He spoke off the script to warn Russian ambassadors of the danger posed by Russia-haters in America.

We can see forces in the United States, which would easily sacrifice Russian-American relationship for the sake of their ambitions in domestic political struggle in America. They would sacrifice the interests of the US business, which loses contracts and ties in Russia, US jobs, few as they may be, that rely on Russian-American cooperation,” Putin said.

These forces "would sacrifice the interests of their allies in Europe and in the Middle East, including the state of Israel… They would sacrifice their own security.”

He explained the latter point, saying that a lack of work on continuation of the New START nuclear arms limitation treaty between the US and Russia will result in its automatic expiry.

“We were taught that a statesperson should always prioritize core interests of his or her nation above everything else. Not so in this case. We see the forces in the US, who put their narrow group and party interests above those of their nation. Our satirists would describe them as ‘pathetic puny people’. But they are neither. On the contrary, they are quiet powerful, if they can swindle millions of their countrymen to buy stories that would not normally stand to reason,” Putin said.

The president added his warning was not meant to scold anyone, but as an instruction to the diplomatic corps to take the existence and influence of such forces into account during their work.

“Such are the facts of life for us today,” Putin stressed, before going back to his scripted speech.

The apparent improvisation comes days after Putin met US President Donald Trump in Helsinki, after which the American leader came under fire at home as critics accused him of caving in to Putin and selling out US interests. Trump later deflected the criticism, saying that people who hate him would rather see the two nations engaged in a shooting war than see him get along with Putin.

https://www.rt.com/news/433683-putin-us-anti-russian-stance/

Investigative Summary: Findings of Misconduct by a DOJ Supervisory Attorney for Sexually Harassing a Subordinate and for Creating a Hostile Work Environment, and by a Second DOJ Supervisory Attorney for Instructing a Subordinate Not to Discuss Certain Events and for Lack of Candor

https://www.oversight.gov/sites/default/files/oig-reports/f180718.pdf

Maxine Waters warns supporters of possible 'armed protests' against her

Rep. Maxine Waters warned supporters on Wednesday of potential "armed protests" against her after an extremist group called for ongoing demonstrations outside her office in Los Angeles.

In a lengthy statement issued late Wednesday, Waters, D-Calif., said she’d been notified about forthcoming protests by the Oath Keepers, which she described as "an anti-government militia" that's staged armed protests in cities across the country.

She warned her supporters against being "baited" into counter-demonstrations or confrontations with the organization, which she said has a track record of "violent and provocative behavior."

"I am requesting those individuals and groups planning a counter-protest to not be baited into confronting the Oath Keepers with any demonstrations in opposition," Waters said. "Such an occurrence would only exacerbate tensions and increase the potential for conflict."

She urged supporters to avoid protesting on the same date and time as protests planned by the Oath Keepers.

"The Oath Keepers would like nothing more than to inflame racial tensions and create an explosive conflict in our community," Waters said. "The group is known to protest in military-style clothing while carrying various assault weapons."

The Oath Keepers bills itself as a non-partisan association of current and former military officers, cops and first responders. The group issued a "call to action" against Waters on Tuesday, telling members to prepare for as many as several weeks of protests in the Los Angeles area.

More:

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/maxine-waters-warns-supporters-possible-armed-protests-against-090504635–abc-news-topstories.html

Mueller's list of 500 items to be presented at Manafort's trial next week

https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000164-b049-d929-a5e4-b2f9d8e80000

A fringe internet hoax goes mainstream

QAnon is seemingly everywhere.

This week, a Florida GOP chapter tweeted, then deleted, a video explaining it. You can buy QAnon merch on Amazon. Billboards promoting the hoax are popping up in states like Georgia. QAnon even has its own app, which rose to the top of Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store for months — and both companies made money from it.

But what actually is QAnon, the complex pro-Donald Trump conspiracy theory that used to only be fodder for right-wing internet users? The Daily Beast’s Will Sommer has done some good reporting on the hoax, and previously wrote that its adherents essentially believe that the U.S. government has been secretly investigating Democrats and the Justice Department will soon reveal compromising information about Hillary Clinton.

That sounds outlandish, but the conspiracy has gone mainstream because there are increasingly fewer barriers to entry, Sommer said.

“There's a pretty well-laid-out (for an ultimately fake conspiracy theory) QAnon video going around that makes it pretty easy for people who are already inclined to believe in a pro-Trump conspiracy theory but don't want to dig through hundreds of clues on 4chan to understand QAnon,” he told Daniel in an email. “There's also been more celebrity attention promoting QAnon — Roseanne (Barr), obviously, and now Curt Schilling. I think the appearance of ‘Q’ shirts at Trump rallies is playing a role, because it's making it feel like more of a real-life thing.”

“Finally, with the Russia investigation apparently heating up over the past few months, I think more Republicans are getting interested in finding a counter-narrative, which QAnon certainly provides.”

https://amp.poynter.org/news/how-far-right-conspiracy-theory-went-4chan-t-shirts

Spanish court drops extradition request for Catalan leader

Spain’s Supreme Court has dropped the extradition request for former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont. He is currently in Germany and was wanted under the charge of misuse of public funds. The rejection comes a week after a German court ruled that Puigdemont could be extradited under the charge, after using the money to organize Catalonia’s banned independence referendum in 2017. However, it rejected the request of the more serious charge of rebellion and sedition - which carries a jail term of up to 30 years – sought by Madrid. The Spanish court also withdrew existing European Arrest Warrants (EAW) issued for other on-the-run Catalan politicians linked to the illegal poll.

https://www.rt.com/newsline/