<p>A second foreign policy advisor to Donald Trump&#39;s presidential campaign has admitted to contacts with Russian officials during last year&#39;s election and to having proposed that Trump travel&nbsp;to Russia during the campaign.</p>

<p>Former investment banker and Russia expert Carter Page told the House Intelligence Committee last week that he had &quot;brief&quot; contact with a Russian deputy prime minister, Arkady Dvorkovich, during a &quot;private&quot; trip to Moscow in July 2016, according to a transcript of his testimony released late Monday.</p>

<p>Page also said that he had proposed in May 2016 that Donald Trump travel to Russia to meet officials and make a speech.</p>

<p>That was the same month that another foreign policy advisor, George Papadopoulos, also suggested a Trump Moscow visit, according to court documents last week.</p>

<p>The Page testimony added to the mounting ?evidence of numerous contacts between Trump&#39;s presidential campaign and Russia in 2016 just at the time Moscow was mounting a hacking and disinformation operation aimed and boosting Trump&#39;s chances to win the White House.</p>

<p>The House committee and its Senate counterpart, along with a justice department special prosecutor, are investigating whether the campaign colluded with the Russians in any way to help defeat then-front-runner Hillary Clinton.</p>

<p><strong>&nbsp;Parallels to Papadopoulos&nbsp;</strong></p>

<p>Page told the committee in a closed-door hearing last Thursday that he was an unpaid volunteer on Trump&#39;s initial foreign policy advisory team, never met or spoke directly to Trump, and had no inappropriate contacts in Russia.</p>

<p>But in questioning he admitted contacts with Dvorkovich, other officials, businessmen and senior academics while in the country on trips in July and December.</p>

<p>He said he had told Jeff Sessions, now US attorney general but at the time in 2016 the leader of the foreign policy team, that he was planning the Moscow trip to lecture at a university which invited him.</p>

<p>Upon returning, he suggested to senior campaign officials in an email that he had done more than that.</p>

<p>&quot;I&#39;ll send you guys a readout soon regarding some incredible insights and outreach I received from a few Russian legislators and senior members of the presidential administration here,&quot; he wrote.</p>

<p>Page&#39;s Russia contacts paralleled those of Papadopoulos, who, according to the FBI, wrote a number of emails to senior Trump campaign officials between March and September last year about his own Russian contacts and proposed Trump travel to Moscow.</p>

<p>Nothing came of either proposal, and White House officials say both Page and Papadopoulos were insignificant aides on the campaign with few responsibilities or input.</p>

<p>Last week Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to FBI investigators about his Russia contacts during 2016.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In his testimony, Page strongly downplayed his role on the campaign. He told the committee that he never &quot;met&quot; Trump, and had never spoken to him &quot;directly&quot;.</p>

<p>But he also said he had &quot;been in a lot of meetings with him (Trump), and I&#39;ve learned a lot from him.&quot;</p>

<p>Trump&#39;s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and an associate are under house arrest on charges including conspiracy to launder money, linked to the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into allegations that the campaign colluded with Russia.</p>


Former investment banker and Russia expert Carter Page told the House Intelligence Committee last week that he had 'brief' contact with a Russian deputy prime minister, Arkady Dvorkovich

A second foreign policy advisor to Donald Trump's presidential campaign has admitted to contacts with Russian officials during last year's election and to having proposed that Trump travel to Russia during the campaign. Former investment banker and Russia expert Carter Page told the House Intelligence Committee last week that he had "brief" contact with a Russian deputy prime minister, Arkady Dvorkovich, during a "private" trip to Moscow in July 2016, according to a transcript of his testimony released late Monday. Page also said that he had proposed in May 2016 that Donald Trump travel to Russia to meet officials and make a speech. That was the same month that another foreign policy advisor, George Papadopoulos, also suggested a Trump Moscow visit, according to court documents last week. The Page testimony added to the mounting ?evidence of numerous contacts between Trump's presidential campaign and Russia in 2016 just at the time Moscow was mounting a hacking and disinformation operation aimed and boosting Trump's chances to win the White House. The House committee and its Senate counterpart, along with a justice department special prosecutor, are investigating whether the campaign colluded with the Russians in any way to help defeat then-front-runner Hillary Clinton. Parallels to Papadopoulos Page told the committee in a closed-door hearing last Thursday that he was an unpaid volunteer on Trump's initial foreign policy advisory team, never met or spoke directly to Trump, and had no inappropriate contacts in Russia. But in questioning he admitted contacts with Dvorkovich, other officials, businessmen and senior academics while in the country on trips in July and December. He said he had told Jeff Sessions, now US attorney general but at the time in 2016 the leader of the foreign policy team, that he was planning the Moscow trip to lecture at a university which invited him. Upon returning, he suggested to senior campaign officials in an email that he had done more than that. "I'll send you guys a readout soon regarding some incredible insights and outreach I received from a few Russian legislators and senior members of the presidential administration here," he wrote. Page's Russia contacts paralleled those of Papadopoulos, who, according to the FBI, wrote a number of emails to senior Trump campaign officials between March and September last year about his own Russian contacts and proposed Trump travel to Moscow. Nothing came of either proposal, and White House officials say both Page and Papadopoulos were insignificant aides on the campaign with few responsibilities or input. Last week Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to lying to FBI investigators about his Russia contacts during 2016. In his testimony, Page strongly downplayed his role on the campaign. He told the committee that he never "met" Trump, and had never spoken to him "directly". But he also said he had "been in a lot of meetings with him (Trump), and I've learned a lot from him." Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and an associate are under house arrest on charges including conspiracy to launder money, linked to the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into allegations that the campaign colluded with Russia.

Second Trump campaign advisor admits to Russia contacts

<p>The FBI obtained a secret court order last summer to monitor the communications of an adviser to then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, part of an investigation into possible links between Russia and the campaign, The <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-obtained-fisa-warrant-to-monitor-former-trump-adviser-carter-page/2017/04/11/620192ea-1e0e-11e7-ad74-3a742a6e93a7_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_page710pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&amp;utm_term=.f7c95238ca31" target="_blank">Washington Post</a> reported on Tuesday, citing law enforcement and other US&nbsp;officials.</p>

<p>The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department obtained the warrant targeting foreign policy adviser Carter Page&#39;s communications after convincing a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge that there was probable cause to believe Page was acting as an agent of a foreign power, in this case Russia, the Post said.</p>

<p>Page has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in his dealings with the Trump campaign or Russia, the newspaper reported.</p>

<p>This is the clearest evidence so far that the FBI had reason to believe during the 2016 presidential campaign that a Trump campaign adviser was in touch with Russian agents, according to the Post.</p>

<p>In a statement to Reuters, Page said the court order was evidence that the administration of former President Barack Obama wanted to &quot;suppress dissidents&quot; who opposed its foreign policy.</p>

<p>&quot;It will be interesting to see what comes out when the unjustified basis for those FISA requests are more fully disclosed over time ...,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>The Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters, which could not independently confirm the Post story. The White House and FBI declined to comment.</p>

<p>The FBI and congressional committees are investigating whether Russia tried to influence the election in Trump&#39;s favour, mostly by hacking Democratic operatives&#39; emails and releasing embarrassing information, or possibly by colluding with Trump associates.</p>

<p>Russia denies the allegations, which Trump also dismisses.</p>

<p>Page has not been accused of any crimes, and it is unclear whether the Justice Department might later seek charges against him or others in connection with Russia&rsquo;s alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election, the Post said.</p>

<p>(Reuters)</p>


A Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge was convinced there was probable cause to believe Carter Page was acting as a Russian agent

The FBI obtained a secret court order last summer to monitor the communications of an adviser to then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, part of an investigation into possible links between Russia and the campaign, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing law enforcement and other US officials. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department obtained the warrant targeting foreign policy adviser Carter Page's communications after convincing a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge that there was probable cause to believe Page was acting as an agent of a foreign power, in this case Russia, the Post said. Page has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in his dealings with the Trump campaign or Russia, the newspaper reported. This is the clearest evidence so far that the FBI had reason to believe during the 2016 presidential campaign that a Trump campaign adviser was in touch with Russian agents, according to the Post. In a statement to Reuters, Page said the court order was evidence that the administration of former President Barack Obama wanted to "suppress dissidents" who opposed its foreign policy. "It will be interesting to see what comes out when the unjustified basis for those FISA requests are more fully disclosed over time ...," he said. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters, which could not independently confirm the Post story. The White House and FBI declined to comment. The FBI and congressional committees are investigating whether Russia tried to influence the election in Trump's favour, mostly by hacking Democratic operatives' emails and releasing embarrassing information, or possibly by colluding with Trump associates. Russia denies the allegations, which Trump also dismisses. Page has not been accused of any crimes, and it is unclear whether the Justice Department might later seek charges against him or others in connection with Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election, the Post said. (Reuters)

FBI obtained court order to monitor ex-Trump adviser in Russia probe: Washington Post

<p>The FBI possesses information indicating&nbsp;associates of US President Donald Trump communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the divulging of information damaging to Hillary Clinton&#39;s presidential campaign, <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/22/politics/us-officials-info-suggests-trump-associates-may-have-coordinated-with-russians/index.html" target="_blank">CNN </a>reports, citing US officials.</p>

<p>One source told CNN that this is what FBI Director James Comey alluded to when he announced on Monday that not only was the FBI investigating Russian interference in the US election, but the Trump campaign&#39;s ties to Russia.</p>

<p>The information the FBI is now reviewing, CNN reports citing those US officials, includes: human intelligence, travel, business and phone records and accounts of in-person meetings.</p>

<p>US officials told CNN this information intelligence was not taken from the leaked dossier of unverified compiled by Christopher Steele, who was hired by Trump&#39;s opponents (first Republicans, then by Democrats), though that dossier also suggested there was coordination between Russian operatives and the Trump campaign.</p>

<p>These officials have cautioned that the investigation is ongoing and that the information was not conclusive, though it has raised the suspicions of FBI counterintelligence that &quot;coordination&quot; may have taken place.</p>

<p>&quot;Coordination&quot; is a term Comey described during the Monday&#39;s House Intelligence hearing: He made a distinction between two parties actively working together, and one party manipulating a second party into advancing the first party&#39;s interests without them knowing.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><b>Background: Is there anything else&nbsp;to suggest links between Trump and Russia?</b></p>

<p>Two days after the US election, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/moscow-had-contacts-with-trump-team-during-campaign-russian-diplomat-says/2016/11/10/28fb82fa-a73d-11e6-9bd6-184ab22d218e_story.html?utm_term=.30420cbf06da" target="_blank">Washington Post</a> reported&nbsp;Russian officials saying they &quot;conferred&quot;&nbsp;with the Trump campaign, saying &quot;there were contacts&quot;, during the election.</p>

<p>&quot;Obviously we know most of the people from his entourage,&quot; said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Trump spokesman Hope Hicks said the campaign&nbsp;had &quot;no contact with Russian officials&quot;.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Yesterday, an <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-03-22/urgent-manafort-s-plan-to-greatly-benefit-the-putin-government" target="_blank">Associated Press</a> report&nbsp;claimed that Paul Manafort, Trump&#39;s election campaign manager for 143 days, signed a $10 million anual contract&nbsp;in 2006 from a Russian billionaire&nbsp;to advance Russian president&nbsp;Vladimir Putin&#39;s interests.</p>

<p>Manafort <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/paul-manafort-resigns-from-trump-campaign-227197" target="_blank">stepped down</a> from Trump&#39;s campaign after it became known that he lobbied for the pro-Putin Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Manafort denies he is&nbsp;linked to Russia.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>As <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/former-trump-advisor-admits-to-innocuous-private-contact-with-russian-dnc-hacker-during-election-13270">WION </a>wrote on March 11, then-Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone has&nbsp;admitted to having direct contact with both Julian Assange of WikiLeaks and the hacker who hacked the Democrats&#39; emails during the US election Guccifer 2.0, who US intelligence says is really just a front for the Russian military intelligence agency.</p>

<p>On Monday&#39;s <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/03/20/1645393/-Comey-confirms-that-Russia-used-WikiLeaks-which-Trump-loves-to-release-hacked-information" target="_blank">hearing</a>, FBI Director James Comey said that the Russians hacked the Democrats and used &quot;cutouts&quot;...&quot;to cover up that they were the ones releasing&quot; the stolen information.</p>

<p>Roger Stone <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/20/politics/kfile-roger-stone-wikileaks-claims/" target="_blank">appeared </a>to have advanced knowledge of the contents of the emails WikiLeaks possessed before they were made public. Roger Stone has denied there was anything illegal or improper in this communication.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Wednesday@HillaryClinton is done. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Wikileaks?src=hash">#Wikileaks</a>.</p>
&mdash; Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerJStoneJr/status/782443074874138624">October 2, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<p>The first time WikiLeaks published Democrat campaign chief John Podesta&#39;s hacked emails came about&nbsp;two hours after the recording of Donald Trump saying he grabbed women &quot;<a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/10/7/13205842/trump-secret-recording-women" target="_blank">by the p*ssy</a>&quot;.</p>

<p>Afterwards, Trump praised WikiLeaks and continued throughout the election to use&nbsp;Podesta&#39;s hacked emails&nbsp;to cudgel Clinton.</p>

<p>During the third presidential debate, Donald Trump spoke directly to Russia, encouraging them to hack his Democrat opponent Hillary Clinton, saying: &quot;Russia, if you&#39;re listening, I hope you&#39;re able to find the 30,000 [Democrat] emails that are missing.&quot;</p>

<p><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gNa2B5zHfbQ" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>Trump&#39;s pick for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of the world&#39;s largest publicly traded&nbsp;international oil and gas company ExxonMobil, was personally awarded the &quot;Order of frienship&quot; from Vladimir Putin, given to &quot;reward foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts were aimed at the betterment of relations with the Russian Federation and its people&quot;. Despite having one of the most sought after jobs in politics anywhere Tillerson has no prior experience in politics.&nbsp;A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/79fecace-0ee2-11e7-b030-768954394623" target="_blank">report </a>yesterday said Tillerson was &quot;stunned&quot; when he was approached for the job, as he was preparing for retirement.</p>

<p>Several members of Trump&#39;s campaign and White House administration have had contacts with Russian officials&nbsp;and lied about it, including: Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who had to recuse himself from any Trump-Russia probe after meeting Russian ambassador to the US Sergey&nbsp;Kislyak at least three times despite saying under oath he had never met any Russian officials;&nbsp;National Security Adviser Gen Michael Flynn, who had to resign after he was recorded discussing American sanctions against Russia with Ambassador Kislyak&nbsp;and lying about it, even to Vice President Mike Pence; Carter Page, and JD Gordon.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-russian-ambassador-sergey-kislyak-meeting-election-campaign-a7617261.html">Donald Trump</a> himself met with Kislyak, and has both denied and admitted to having a relationship with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCFgYzf4DV4" target="_blank">Vladimir Putin.</a></p>

<p>(WION)</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


US officials say this after FBI Director Comey announced that the US president is under formal investigation for his links to Russia

The FBI possesses information indicating associates of US President Donald Trump communicated with suspected Russian operatives to possibly coordinate the divulging of information damaging to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, CNN reports, citing US officials. One source told CNN that this is what FBI Director James Comey alluded to when he announced on Monday that not only was the FBI investigating Russian interference in the US election, but the Trump campaign's ties to Russia. The information the FBI is now reviewing, CNN reports citing those US officials, includes: human intelligence, travel, business and phone records and accounts of in-person meetings. US officials told CNN this information intelligence was not taken from the leaked dossier of unverified compiled by Christopher Steele, who was hired by Trump's opponents (first Republicans, then by Democrats), though that dossier also suggested there was coordination between Russian operatives and the Trump campaign. These officials have cautioned that the investigation is ongoing and that the information was not conclusive, though it has raised the suspicions of FBI counterintelligence that "coordination" may have taken place. "Coordination" is a term Comey described during the Monday's House Intelligence hearing: He made a distinction between two parties actively working together, and one party manipulating a second party into advancing the first party's interests without them knowing. Background: Is there anything else to suggest links between Trump and Russia? Two days after the US election, the Washington Post reported Russian officials saying they "conferred" with the Trump campaign, saying "there were contacts", during the election. "Obviously we know most of the people from his entourage," said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Trump spokesman Hope Hicks said the campaign had "no contact with Russian officials". Yesterday, an Associated Press report claimed that Paul Manafort, Trump's election campaign manager for 143 days, signed a $10 million anual contract in 2006 from a Russian billionaire to advance Russian president Vladimir Putin's interests. Manafort stepped down from Trump's campaign after it became known that he lobbied for the pro-Putin Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Manafort denies he is linked to Russia. As WION wrote on March 11, then-Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone has admitted to having direct contact with both Julian Assange of WikiLeaks and the hacker who hacked the Democrats' emails during the US election Guccifer 2.0, who US intelligence says is really just a front for the Russian military intelligence agency. On Monday's hearing, FBI Director James Comey said that the Russians hacked the Democrats and used "cutouts"..."to cover up that they were the ones releasing" the stolen information. Roger Stone appeared to have advanced knowledge of the contents of the emails WikiLeaks possessed before they were made public. Roger Stone has denied there was anything illegal or improper in this communication. Wednesday@HillaryClinton is done. #Wikileaks. — Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) October 2, 2016 × The first time WikiLeaks published Democrat campaign chief John Podesta's hacked emails came about two hours after the recording of Donald Trump saying he grabbed women "by the p*ssy". Afterwards, Trump praised WikiLeaks and continued throughout the election to use Podesta's hacked emails to cudgel Clinton. During the third presidential debate, Donald Trump spoke directly to Russia, encouraging them to hack his Democrat opponent Hillary Clinton, saying: "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 [Democrat] emails that are missing." Trump's pick for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of the world's largest publicly traded international oil and gas company ExxonMobil, was personally awarded the "Order of frienship" from Vladimir Putin, given to "reward foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts were aimed at the betterment of relations with the Russian Federation and its people". Despite having one of the most sought after jobs in politics anywhere Tillerson has no prior experience in politics. A report yesterday said Tillerson was "stunned" when he was approached for the job, as he was preparing for retirement. Several members of Trump's campaign and White House administration have had contacts with Russian officials and lied about it, including: Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who had to recuse himself from any Trump-Russia probe after meeting Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak at least three times despite saying under oath he had never met any Russian officials; National Security Adviser Gen Michael Flynn, who had to resign after he was recorded discussing American sanctions against Russia with Ambassador Kislyak and lying about it, even to Vice President Mike Pence; Carter Page, and JD Gordon. Donald Trump himself met with Kislyak, and has both denied and admitted to having a relationship with Vladimir Putin. (WION)

New evidence suggests Trump associates may have coordinated with Russian officials: CNN

<p>Trump was not the only one&nbsp;to have a Twitter meltdown this weekend.</p>

<p>Trump loyalist and former top adviser Roger Stone claimed on Twitter that he had a&nbsp;back channel to&nbsp;work with Julian Assange at Wikileaks&nbsp;to spread damaging leaked Clinton emails.</p>

<p>US intelligence has unanimously said that Russia interfered in the US election in what it called a &quot;multifaceted campaign&quot; of&nbsp;&quot;cyber espionage&quot;, and that&nbsp;Clinton&#39;s emails were obtained&nbsp;by Russian hackers.</p>

<p>Stone&#39;s claim that he worked with Assange&nbsp;to&nbsp;spread Clinton&#39;s emails comes&nbsp;amid growing reports of Trump staffers meeting&nbsp;with Russian officials, then&nbsp;lying about it.</p>

<p>Here is the screengrabbed Tweet that Stone deleted.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Here&#39;s the screengrab of Roger Stone admitting the Trump campaign colluded with Asange and Wikileaks (I know, real stunner) <a href="https://t.co/TcBrMrSTig">pic.twitter.com/TcBrMrSTig</a></p>
&mdash; Kriston Capps (@kristoncapps) <a href="https://twitter.com/kristoncapps/status/838259900627156992">March 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>But he responded to the claim that he did any wrongdoing.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Attention MSM Losers!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LeftistSpasm?src=hash">#LeftistSpasm</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FakeNews?src=hash">#FakeNews</a> <a href="https://t.co/iKTT5buhlq">pic.twitter.com/iKTT5buhlq</a></p>
&mdash; Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerJStoneJr/status/838487222454272002">March 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>While the tone of Stone&#39;s&nbsp;Tweet is defiant, claiming he didn&#39;t hide anything, actually there is video footage of Stone from 2016&nbsp;saying, contrary to the claim in his deleted Tweet, that he did have direct communication&nbsp;with Assange.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Listen to &quot;long time Trump advisor&quot; Roger Stone here... sure seems to know what Assange (Russia) had in store: <a href="https://t.co/EclA0jpXIU">pic.twitter.com/EclA0jpXIU</a></p>
&mdash; justin kanew (@justin_kanew) <a href="https://twitter.com/justin_kanew/status/838485426050641920">March 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>At issue in the investigation into Trump-Russia, conducted by six different US intelligence agencies,&nbsp;is whether anyone in Trump&#39;s campaign actively worked with the Russians against their Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Colluding with a foreign and hostile government to sabotage a national election is illegal.</p>

<p><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/14/politics/donald-trump-aides-russians-campaign/index.html" target="_blank">CNN </a>reported that Trump staffers were in &quot;constant touch&quot; with Russian officials during the election campaign. The subject of these talks has not been disclosed publicly.</p>

<p>Officials emphasised that it is not unusual for campaign staff and representatives of foreign governments to communicate, but that these communications stood out for their frequency, and for the level of Trump advisers involved.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Vulgar abuse</strong></p>

<p>Yesterday, Roger Stone also abused&nbsp;the same&nbsp;female&nbsp;citizen journalist, calling her a &quot;stupid, ignorant, ugly bitch&quot; in a now-deleted Tweet.</p>

<p>Harry Potter author JK Rowling denounced the attack in a screen grab:</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">This man is an advisor to the leader of the free world. This guy, right here. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/rogerstone?src=hash">#rogerstone</a> <a href="https://t.co/brxqZAfw09">pic.twitter.com/brxqZAfw09</a></p>
&mdash; J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) <a href="https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/838294536170389504">March 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Stone also abused Republican strategist Ana Navarro, calling her&nbsp;&quot;fat and stupid&quot;.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Deflection&nbsp;</strong></p>

<p>Stone&#39;s Twitter meltdown&nbsp;comes as Trump&#39;s campaign is trying hard to deflect attention from their various connections to Russia.</p>

<p>US Attorney General and Trump loyalist Jeff Sessions just recused himself from the investigation into Trump-Russia after it became known that he met with the Russian ambassador twice, and lied about it under oath.</p>

<p>Before that, Trump&#39;s pick to head national security Michael Flynn resigned after it became known that he too met the Russian ambassador and lied about it.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Trump&#39;s son-in-law <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/jared-kushner-donald-trump-russia-ambassador-sergey-kislyak-meeting-michael-flynn-white-house-jeff-a7609166.html" target="_blank">Jared Kushner</a>, who is a White House adviser,&nbsp;met&nbsp;the Russian ambassador in Trump Tower. No cameras&nbsp;captured Kislyak entering the building, suggesting he was ushered in a <a href="http://www.politicususa.com/2017/03/03/trump-white-house-downplay-failure-reveal-russian-ambassadors-smuggled-visit-trump-tower.html" target="_blank">back door.</a>&nbsp;A White House spokesman denied this was a secret meeting.</p>

<p>Paul Manafort and Trump&#39;s long-time&nbsp;lawyer Michael Cohen also met with Russian officials and failed to disclose it.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>This weekend former Republican adviser <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-russia-republican-pro-putin-ukraine-stance-rnc-ambassador-kislyak-meeting-a7610621.html" target="_blank">JD Gordon</a>&nbsp;claimed that&nbsp;a pro-Russia change in language to the GOP platform came after&nbsp;the Republican convention in Cleveland of July 2016, and was especially ordered to align with Trump&#39;s own personal views. Gordon claimed he and Carter Page, then a Trump adviser who resigned amid his connections to Russia, also <a href="http://www.vox.com/world/2017/3/3/14789354/russian-ambassador-trump-sergey-kislyak" target="_blank">met </a>Kislyak.</p>

<p>The July convention in Cleveland&nbsp;took place shortly after Sessions met the Russian ambassador. In 2015, Sessions was staunchly anti-Russia. Sessions&nbsp;pro-Russia views seem to have set in&nbsp;after meeting Kislyak.</p>

<p>US intelligence also says that the Russian ambassador, Sergei Kislyak&nbsp;is also Russia&#39;s top spy and spy-recruiter in Washington. The Kremlin has officially <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/02/politics/russia-kislyak-spy-claim-sessions/" target="_blank">denied </a>this claim.</p>

<p>(WION)</p>


Roger Stone's meltdown came as US intelligence investigates Russia's interference in the US election and Trump's connections to Russia

Trump was not the only one to have a Twitter meltdown this weekend. Trump loyalist and former top adviser Roger Stone claimed on Twitter that he had a back channel to work with Julian Assange at Wikileaks to spread damaging leaked Clinton emails. US intelligence has unanimously said that Russia interfered in the US election in what it called a "multifaceted campaign" of "cyber espionage", and that Clinton's emails were obtained by Russian hackers. Stone's claim that he worked with Assange to spread Clinton's emails comes amid growing reports of Trump staffers meeting with Russian officials, then lying about it. Here is the screengrabbed Tweet that Stone deleted. Here's the screengrab of Roger Stone admitting the Trump campaign colluded with Asange and Wikileaks (I know, real stunner) pic.twitter.com/TcBrMrSTig — Kriston Capps (@kristoncapps) March 5, 2017 × But he responded to the claim that he did any wrongdoing. Attention MSM Losers!#LeftistSpasm#FakeNews pic.twitter.com/iKTT5buhlq — Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) March 5, 2017 × While the tone of Stone's Tweet is defiant, claiming he didn't hide anything, actually there is video footage of Stone from 2016 saying, contrary to the claim in his deleted Tweet, that he did have direct communication with Assange. Listen to "long time Trump advisor" Roger Stone here... sure seems to know what Assange (Russia) had in store: pic.twitter.com/EclA0jpXIU — justin kanew (@justin_kanew) March 5, 2017 × At issue in the investigation into Trump-Russia, conducted by six different US intelligence agencies, is whether anyone in Trump's campaign actively worked with the Russians against their Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Colluding with a foreign and hostile government to sabotage a national election is illegal. CNN reported that Trump staffers were in "constant touch" with Russian officials during the election campaign. The subject of these talks has not been disclosed publicly. Officials emphasised that it is not unusual for campaign staff and representatives of foreign governments to communicate, but that these communications stood out for their frequency, and for the level of Trump advisers involved. Vulgar abuse Yesterday, Roger Stone also abused the same female citizen journalist, calling her a "stupid, ignorant, ugly bitch" in a now-deleted Tweet. Harry Potter author JK Rowling denounced the attack in a screen grab: This man is an advisor to the leader of the free world. This guy, right here. #rogerstone pic.twitter.com/brxqZAfw09 — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) March 5, 2017 × Stone also abused Republican strategist Ana Navarro, calling her "fat and stupid". Deflection Stone's Twitter meltdown comes as Trump's campaign is trying hard to deflect attention from their various connections to Russia. US Attorney General and Trump loyalist Jeff Sessions just recused himself from the investigation into Trump-Russia after it became known that he met with the Russian ambassador twice, and lied about it under oath. Before that, Trump's pick to head national security Michael Flynn resigned after it became known that he too met the Russian ambassador and lied about it. Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is a White House adviser, met the Russian ambassador in Trump Tower. No cameras captured Kislyak entering the building, suggesting he was ushered in a back door. A White House spokesman denied this was a secret meeting. Paul Manafort and Trump's long-time lawyer Michael Cohen also met with Russian officials and failed to disclose it. This weekend former Republican adviser JD Gordon claimed that a pro-Russia change in language to the GOP platform came after the Republican convention in Cleveland of July 2016, and was especially ordered to align with Trump's own personal views. Gordon claimed he and Carter Page, then a Trump adviser who resigned amid his connections to Russia, also met Kislyak. The July convention in Cleveland took place shortly after Sessions met the Russian ambassador. In 2015, Sessions was staunchly anti-Russia. Sessions pro-Russia views seem to have set in after meeting Kislyak. US intelligence also says that the Russian ambassador, Sergei Kislyak is also Russia's top spy and spy-recruiter in Washington. The Kremlin has officially denied this claim. (WION)

Trump ally says he worked with Assange pre-election to spread Clinton emails in abusive Twitter tirade

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<p>A day after Washington Post revealed that US Attorney General Jeff Sessions had spoken to russian ambassador on two separate occasions. Sessions says he would recuse himself from the federal (WION)</p>
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<p>Richard Painter, President George W Bush&#39;s top ethics lawyer, told&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bush-ethics-lawyer-painter-jeff-sessions-perjury-resign-2017-3" target="_blank">Business Insider</a>&nbsp;that he believes US Attorney General Jeff Sessions must resign.</p>

<p>While Painter said it was &quot;debateable&quot; whether or not Sessions perjured himself during his senate confirmation hearing, there is a real possibility that Russia has enough material over him for blackmail, and while &quot;we have no way of knowing if we&#39;re in that situation,&nbsp;he said the possibility was&nbsp;&quot;just way too high a risk&quot;.</p>

<p>Painter said: &quot;The thing with Sessions is that the Russians almost certainly have a recording of these conversations or detailed notes about the conversations...And so, they&#39;ve got something over Sessions. Sessions will be asked what was said in these conversations. And if that doesn&#39;t match what the Russians have in their records...then they&#39;ve got him, and they have this over him for the rest of his term. We have no way of knowing if we&#39;re in that situation, but it&#39;s just way to high a risk.&quot;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>During his confirmation hearing, Sessions told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he had no contact with Russian officials during the campaign. He was asked by Al Franken, the Democratic Senator, what he would do if he learned that someone from the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of the campaign.</p>

<p>Sessions responded, &quot;Senator Franken, I&#39;m not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians, and I&#39;m unable to comment on it.&quot;</p>

<p>After the&nbsp;Washington Post responded that actually Sessions&nbsp;had two conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in September 2016--while the then-senator was&nbsp;advising&nbsp;Donald Trump&#39;s presidential campaign and at the height of what&nbsp;US intelligence agencies are <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/03/02/sessions-s-contact-the-russian-ambassador-a-spy-or-not-a-spy.html" target="_blank">united </a>in saying was a concerted Russian cyber espionage campaign&nbsp;to influence the outcome of the US election--pressure mounted for Sessions to recuse himself from any&nbsp;investigation into Trump&#39;s connection with Russia, and even to resign.</p>

<p>Sessions has since announced that he will <a href="http://US Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday recused himself from any investigations into the alleged Russian interference in 2016 US presidential elections." target="_blank">recuse </a>himself from any such investigation.&nbsp;The investigation into Russia&#39;s connection seeks to determine just how Russia influenced the 2016 presidential election, and Donald Trump&#39;s ties to Russia in general.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Democrats and even some Republicans had called for an indepedent investigator, rather than Sessions.</p>

<p>Trump dismissed the increasing pressure against Sessions, calling it a &quot;witch hunt&quot;.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>So far <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-connection-to-russia-doesnt-end-with-flynn-12478" target="_blank">three&nbsp;people</a> from Trump&#39;s camp have resigned or have been fired once their connection to Russia came to light,&nbsp;including&nbsp;former campaign manager Paul Manafort, former adviser Carter Page, and Trump&#39;s choice to lead national security Michael Flynn.</p>

<p>Donald Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/758071952498159616" target="_blank">tweeted </a>in July 26, 2016: &quot;For the record, I have ZERO investments in Russia.&quot;</p>

<p>President Trump&#39;s son, Donald Jr,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2017/01/eric-trump-organization-deals-russia-233360" target="_blank">told </a>a real estate conference in 2008:&nbsp;&quot;Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets...We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.&quot;</p>

<p>Here is then-Trump adviser Paul&nbsp;Manafort in July of 2016, denying that Trump has any financial connections to Russia:</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">MUST WATCH: Paul Manafort doesn&#39;t sound very convincing here.<br />
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Interview was July 27, 2016 <a href="https://t.co/N46Y2DOAJX">pic.twitter.com/N46Y2DOAJX</a></p>
&mdash; Yashar (@yashar) <a href="https://twitter.com/yashar/status/837184121600356352">March 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/02/politics/russia-kislyak-spy-claim-sessions/" target="_blank">CNN </a>reported that US intelligence believes that the Russian ambassador Sergey Kisylak--who met several people associated with&nbsp;Trump&#39;s camp including:&nbsp;Michael&nbsp;Flynn and&nbsp;Jeff Sessions, and also&nbsp;former&nbsp;adviser <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/carter-page-russian-ambassador-meeting-235626" target="_blank">Carter Page </a>and <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/washington/la-na-essential-washington-updates-jared-kushner-met-with-russian-1488499538-htmlstory.html" target="_blank">Trump&#39;s son-in-law Jarred Kushner</a>-- is considered to be one of Russia&#39;s top spies and spy-recruiters in Washington. Russia has denied this is true.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, The Indepedent reports that&nbsp;Christopher Steele, the former British MI6 spy who compiled the infamous dossier alleging&nbsp;Russia has blackmail material over Donald Trump, has been approached about testifying in front of the US Senate Intelligence Commitee&#39;s investigation into Trump&#39;s alleged links with Russia.</p>

<p>Trump has dismissed Steele&#39;s allegations, and called him a &quot;failed spy&quot;.</p>

<p>In the past Donald Trump has&nbsp;denied having any connection to&nbsp;Vladimir Putin repeatedly, but&nbsp;has also bragged about his personal relationship with the Russian President.</p>

<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Does Donald Trump have a relationship with Vladimir Putin? Allow him to tell you.<br />
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Watch this, via <a href="https://twitter.com/MSNBC">@MSNBC</a>. <a href="https://t.co/FN9ZIHRbi3">pic.twitter.com/FN9ZIHRbi3</a></p>
&mdash; Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) <a href="https://twitter.com/BraddJaffy/status/837141504451837952">March 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>(WION)</p>


President Bush's ethics officer said Sessions must step down. While unsure if he's been blackmailed, he said it's 'way too big a risk'

A day after Washington Post revealed that US Attorney General Jeff Sessions had spoken to russian ambassador on two separate occasions. Sessions says he would recuse himself from the federal (WION) × Richard Painter, President George W Bush's top ethics lawyer, told Business Insider that he believes US Attorney General Jeff Sessions must resign. While Painter said it was "debateable" whether or not Sessions perjured himself during his senate confirmation hearing, there is a real possibility that Russia has enough material over him for blackmail, and while "we have no way of knowing if we're in that situation, he said the possibility was "just way too high a risk". Painter said: "The thing with Sessions is that the Russians almost certainly have a recording of these conversations or detailed notes about the conversations...And so, they've got something over Sessions. Sessions will be asked what was said in these conversations. And if that doesn't match what the Russians have in their records...then they've got him, and they have this over him for the rest of his term. We have no way of knowing if we're in that situation, but it's just way to high a risk." During his confirmation hearing, Sessions told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he had no contact with Russian officials during the campaign. He was asked by Al Franken, the Democratic Senator, what he would do if he learned that someone from the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of the campaign. Sessions responded, "Senator Franken, I'm not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians, and I'm unable to comment on it." After the Washington Post responded that actually Sessions had two conversations with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in September 2016--while the then-senator was advising Donald Trump's presidential campaign and at the height of what US intelligence agencies are united in saying was a concerted Russian cyber espionage campaign to influence the outcome of the US election--pressure mounted for Sessions to recuse himself from any investigation into Trump's connection with Russia, and even to resign. Sessions has since announced that he will recuse himself from any such investigation. The investigation into Russia's connection seeks to determine just how Russia influenced the 2016 presidential election, and Donald Trump's ties to Russia in general. Democrats and even some Republicans had called for an indepedent investigator, rather than Sessions. Trump dismissed the increasing pressure against Sessions, calling it a "witch hunt". So far three people from Trump's camp have resigned or have been fired once their connection to Russia came to light, including former campaign manager Paul Manafort, former adviser Carter Page, and Trump's choice to lead national security Michael Flynn. Donald Trump tweeted in July 26, 2016: "For the record, I have ZERO investments in Russia." President Trump's son, Donald Jr, told a real estate conference in 2008: "Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets...We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia." Here is then-Trump adviser Paul Manafort in July of 2016, denying that Trump has any financial connections to Russia: MUST WATCH: Paul Manafort doesn't sound very convincing here. Interview was July 27, 2016 pic.twitter.com/N46Y2DOAJX — Yashar (@yashar) March 2, 2017 × CNN reported that US intelligence believes that the Russian ambassador Sergey Kisylak--who met several people associated with Trump's camp including: Michael Flynn and Jeff Sessions, and also former adviser Carter Page and Trump's son-in-law Jarred Kushner-- is considered to be one of Russia's top spies and spy-recruiters in Washington. Russia has denied this is true. Meanwhile, The Indepedent reports that Christopher Steele, the former British MI6 spy who compiled the infamous dossier alleging Russia has blackmail material over Donald Trump, has been approached about testifying in front of the US Senate Intelligence Commitee's investigation into Trump's alleged links with Russia. Trump has dismissed Steele's allegations, and called him a "failed spy". In the past Donald Trump has denied having any connection to Vladimir Putin repeatedly, but has also bragged about his personal relationship with the Russian President. Does Donald Trump have a relationship with Vladimir Putin? Allow him to tell you. Watch this, via @MSNBC. pic.twitter.com/FN9ZIHRbi3 — Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) March 2, 2017 (WION)

Trump-Russia: Sessions may be blackmailed by Kremlin, says former White House chief ethics officer

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Second Trump campaign advisor admits to Russia contacts

FBI obtained court order to monitor ex-Trump adviser in Russia probe: Washington Post

New evidence suggests Trump associates may have coordinated with Russian officials: CNN

Trump ally says he worked with Assange pre-election to spread Clinton emails in abusive Twitter tirade

Trump-Russia: Sessions may be blackmailed by Kremlin, says former White House chief ethics officer