It has been claimed that when Donald Trump travelled to Moscow for the first time back in 1987, as a 40-year-old real estate developer, he was recruited as a KGB agent
A former Soviet intelligence officer has claimed that Donald Trump was recruited by the KGB (
Donald Trump was allegedly recruited as a KGB agent during a trip to Moscow in 1987, a former Soviet intelligence officer has claimed.
Alnur Mussayev, who previously headed Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee, said one of his job “recruiting businessmen from capitalist countries” – and claimed that one of those recruits was Trump. At the time, the now-US president was a 40-year-old New York real estate developer.
The former Kazakh intelligence chief didn’t provide evidence to support his claim, which he made on Facebook, but this has created further speculation about Trump’s ties to Russia, dating back to his first visit to Moscow 38 years ago. Trump, who was a rising star in the New York property market, travelled to the Soviet Union to explore the possibility of building a hotel in the capital.
Trump with Vladimir Putin before a meeting in Helsinki, Finland, in July 2018(
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)
Soviet officials reportedly facilitated the trip, raising questions among intelligence analysts about whether it was a routine business opportunity or something more scandalous. Several years ago a report highlighted how, in 1985, the KGB had updated a secret personality questionnaire distributed among its officers, detailing how to identify and recruit Western figures.
The document, according to intelligence sources, instructed agents to target “prominent figures in the West” with the aim of “drawing them into some form of collaboration with us… as an agent, or confidential or special or unofficial contact.” Mussayev’s claim appears to suggest that Trump may have been one such target.
Despite years of scrutiny, Trump has vehemently denied having any improper ties to Russia or colluding with President Vladimir Putin. However, some US officials have repeatedly raised concerns about his close relationship with the Kremlin leader, particularly during his first term in office.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday threw out the conviction and death penalty for Richard Glossip, an Oklahoma man who has maintained his innocence for more than a quarter century, and who came so close to execution that he three times ate what was supposed to be his “last meal.”
But on Tuesday, three of the court’s conservatives joined the court’s three liberals in concluding that prosecutors had denied Glossip a fair trial, not once, but twice.
The six-justice court majority said that prosecutors had violated Glossip’s rights by concealing evidence helpful to the defense — including information about the drug use and mental status of the prosecution’s star witness, and by persuading that witness to change his testimony when it conflicted with his prior testimony.
Glossip’s lawyer, Don Knight, said his client is “beyond thrilled,” noting that “He actually has a future that’s not going to be on death row.”
Prosecutors never contended that Glossip himself bludgeoned motel owner Barry Van Trease to death with a baseball bat. Rather, they ultimately settled on the theory that Glossip, who managed the motel, commissioned handyman Justin Sneed to murder Van Trease. The alleged motive being, alternately, to steal a wad of cash from the owner, or to conceal embezzlement of funds.
There was no physical evidence to tie Glossip to the crime, so prosecutors initially offered to take the death penalty off the table if he testified against handyman Sneed. But when Glossip continued to maintain his innocence, the prosecution offered the deal instead to Sneed, who was sentenced to life in prison, while Glossip was convicted and sentenced to die.
The case, in many ways, is as remarkable as a True Crime mini-series. Most extraordinary is that Glossip’s Supreme Court appeal was supported by Oklahoma’s Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a conservative Republican and supporter of the death penalty. After two separate independent investigations found that both Glossip trials had been tainted by prosecutorial misconduct, Drummond took the very rare step of formally asking for a new trial.
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals, however, refused to accept the attorney general’s so-called “confession of error,” and the state court maintained that its decision was not reviewable in federal court.
On Tuesday the Supreme Court vociferously disagreed. Writing for the Court majority, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said that the prosecutors had violated their constitutional obligation to correct false testimony elicited from Sneed, the only witness to tie Glossip directly to the crime. The obligation to correct such false testimony, the court observed, is a clear violation of the court’s precedents dating back more than 65 years.
Joining Sotomayor in the majority were Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and, for the most part, Amy Coney Barrett.
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented and accused the majority of bending “the law at every turn to grant relief to Glossip.” Justice Thomas said that the Court did not have jurisdiction to hear the case, and that Sneed’s false testimony did not significantly alter the outcome for Glossip anyway.
Justice Neil Gorsuch was recused from the case, presumably because it came before the appeals court he served on prior to his appointment to the Supreme Court.
Much of the credit for Tuesday’s win goes to to Attorney General Drummond, said defense attorney Knight. “Only he had the courage to say, ‘we’re not going to continue to try to kill this man.’ That’s a tremendous amount of political courage for a man who is now running for governor as well. He saw something that was wrong and he tried to make it right, and he did.” (Emphasis mine-A.)
I appreciate that Ten Bears adds his thoughts here. I have taken great value from his comments and his posts. I admit I don’t know enough about social media and these spoofing of names / IDs online. I don’t comment much and I doubt I am important enough for anyone to do this horrible thing to me. I imagine finding others posting as Scotties Playtime, as me saying things I do not agree with nor would ever say and the thought of it would not only anger me but how to explain to people now angry it was not me who felt that way. So this is a repost to let people know if they read something that sound off from what you know I would say, what others you follow would say, please think about if it is really them saying that thing. Hugs
Several years ago I participated on a social-ish health website named Sparkpeople (it’s not out there anymore. If it is, it isn’t the same one. Anyway.) A gentle friend who battled weight gain and depression told us one day about a phone app called “Eternal Sunshine.” It sends out daily (sometimes not as often) affirmation messages, just to sort of pat a person on the back and remind them that they’re enough. Here is today’s, because maybe someone can use it:
“The best thing you can do for yourself is to give yourself grace. Falling is not failing; it’s learning to fly. Forgive your mistakes, and look forward to trying again.”
It’s just that many times, this little app sends exactly the message I need when it arrives. I’m OK on this so far today, so maybe somebody else needs it, and here it is. Fly!
February 25, 1941 A general strike was called in Amsterdam to protest Nazi persecution of Jews under the German Nazi occupation. The previous weekend 425 Jewish men and boys had been imprisoned (only two survived the war). Truck drivers, dock and metal workers, civil servants and factory employees — Christians, Liberals, Social Democrats and Communists — answered the call and brought the city to a standstill. The work stoppages spread to Zaanstreek, Kennemerland and Utrecht. Two days later the strike was called off: nine people were dead, 50 injured and another 200 arrested, some of whom were to die in the concentration camps. “The Dokwerker” is a statue by sculptor Mari Andriessen in Amsterdam’s Jonas Daniel Meyer Square commemorating the February 1941 strike. It is frequently the rallying point for demonstrations against racism. Read more (pdf)
February 25, 1968 Discussing the war capacity of North Vietnam, a country that had been fighting for its independence for 23 years and had just staged the massive, successful Tet Offensive, U.S. General William C. Westmoreland stated, “I do not believe Hanoi can hold up under a long war.” He was replaced as commander in Vietnam less than four months later. Vietnam commander General William Westmoreland meeting with President Lyndon Johnson Westmoreland’s life and career (It’s NYT’s obit.)
February 25, 1971 Legislation was introduced in both houses of Congress to forbid U.S. military support of any South Vietnamese invasion of North Vietnam without prior congressional approval. This bill was a result of the controversy that arose following the invasion of Laos by South Vietnamese forces. On February 8, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam had launched a major cross-border operation into Laos to interdict activity along the Ho Chi Minh Trail and destroy the North Vietnamese supply dumps in the area. The Ho Chi Minh Trail, named for the leader of North Vietnam, was an informal network of jungle trails down which supplies came from the north, supplying insurgents and troops in the south.
February 25, 1986 The newly elected Philippine president, Corazón Aquino, was sworn in, bringing to an end years of dictatorship under Ferdinand Marcos. In the face of massive demonstrations against his rule, President Ferdinand Marcos and his entourage had been airlifted from the presidential palace in Manila by U.S. helicopters.
February 25, 2011 A Day of Rage saw demonstrations across the Middle East. Protesters in Iraq, Yemen, Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, and Bahrain showed their support variously for an end to corruption and income inequality, political reform and better public services, and the replacement of long-running dictatorships with democratic regimes. Day of Rage in Taiz, Yemen Reports from throughout the region
I just saw this, over supper just now. I’m a big fan of Roberta Flack’s talent.
Roberta Flack, the Grammy-winning soul singer best known for her celebrated interpretations of romantic ballads like “Killing Me Softly With His Song,” as well as her professional collaborations and social activism, has died, according to a statement from her publicist.
She was 88.
Flack died Monday at her home, surrounded by her family, Elaine Schock, her publicist, told CNN. Her death followed several years of health challenges, including a diagnosis, revealed publicly in late 2022, of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. The progressive condition, often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease, made it impossible for Flack to sing, her representatives said at the time.
Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Scottie's Playtime 