“US Senator @LindseyGrahamSC of South Carolina caught Smurfing, i.e. criminally laundering monies into his campaigns: $8,171,663.00
🧨Scroll down in my tweets to see other US Senators exposed. We’re running all 100 of them. Note the image here just shows the top 20 Smurfs, but we run the full data. The $8.1 million above is of the 2,000 Smurfs from across the nation we identified used to stuff Graham’s campaign coffers.
The top 20 is a “quick” data run of the top Smurfs found to have had their identities stolen by his campaign. And related: wait until the Ukraine audit comes out and the connections to Graham! 👀👀
Where is the @FEC ? @PamBondi
Be aware the FEC is concealing large amounts of contribution transactions, from 30-50% depending on the campaign. You can’t get all the data from their website, bulk download or API.
Smurfs are victims as their names and addresses are being stolen without their knowledge. It is identity theft by these US Senators’ campaigns.
Smurfing is another form of election fraud: politicians cheated to get elected by using criminally laundered money. They were really selected, not elected.”
After that exchange between Zelenskyy and Trump/Vance before the press, it’s clear that cooler heads need to prevail. Let’s pray for wisdom for the key leaders in these negotiations (esp. as it seems now that an agreement won’t be happening as soon as expected).
Hopefully, they can still get together at say, Camp David, over the weekend. It would be a big mistake for Zelenskyy to fly back to Ukraine at this point, possibly the end of his political career.
Trump has stated and been firm, no deal, no more US aid to follow. It’s time for Zelensky to end his grift and slink away with what he has already stolen. Yet it seems he’s burned his bridge out, again.
“JD Vance to Zelensky: “I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media.”
“You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October. Offer some words of appreciation for The United States Of America and the president who is trying to save your country.””
“Maurene Comey, an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), has been with the office since 2015. She is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey. What a shocker that she was put into SDNY right before Trump came into office.
She has been involved in:
Jeffrey Epstein Case: She was one of the lead prosecutors in the 2019 case against financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Ghislaine Maxwell Trial: In 2021, Maurene served as a lead prosecutor in the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s associate. Maxwell was convicted on multiple counts, including sex trafficking of minors, and received a 20-year prison sentence.
Robert Hadden Prosecution: She was involved in prosecuting Robert Hadden, a former gynecologist accused of sexually abusing numerous patients. Hadden’s trial has been scheduled for 2022. Natalie Edwards Case: Maurene participated in the case against Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards, a former Treasury Department official who pleaded guilty in 2020 to leaking confidential documents related to the Russia investigation and other matters. Between October 2017 and October 2018, Edwards disclosed numerous SARs and other sensitive government information to a reporter from BuzzFeed News, identified in court documents as Jason Leopold. The leaked information pertained to high-profile individuals and entities, including Paul Manafort, Richard Gates, the Russian Embassy, Maria Butina, and Prevezon Alexander. These disclosures formed the basis for a series of investigative articles highlighting suspicious financial activities.
“VANCE: I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media. You guys are forcing conscripts to the frontlines because you have manpower problems. You should be THANKING the president.
ZELENSKY: Have you ever been to Ukraine?
VANCE: You bring people on a propaganda tour. Do you think it’s respectful to come to the U.S. Oval Office and attack the administration that’s trying to prevent the destruction of your country?”
“I watched the entire press conference with Zelensky. There was 40 minutes of discussion up to the argument. Most people saw at most the last ten minutes. The whole video gives the proper context.
When I first watched the argument without the proper context, I thought it was possible that Trump and Vance ambushed Zelensky or were even trying to humiliate him. That’s not what happened.
You had 40 minutes of calm conversation. Vance made a point that didn’t attack Zelensky and wasn’t even addressed to him, and Zelensky clearly started the argument.
,In the first 40 minutes, Zelensky kept trying to go beyond what was negotiated in the deal. When Trump was asked a question, it was always “we’ll see.” Zelensky made blanket assertions that there would be no negotiating with Putin, and that Russia would pay for the war. When Trump said that it was a tragedy that people on both sides were dying, Zelensky interjected that the Russians were the invaders.
For his part, Trump made clear that the US would continue delivering military aid. All Zelensky had to do was remain calm for a few more minutes and they would’ve signed a deal.
The argument started when Trump pointed out that it would be hard to make a deal if you talk about Putin the way Zelensky does. Vance interjects to make the reasonable point that Biden called Putin names and that didn’t get us anywhere.
The Zelensky/Trump dynamic was calm and stable. It was when Vance spoke that Zelensky started to interrogate him. Throughout the press conference to that point, everyone was making their arguments directly to the audience.
Zelensky decided to challenge Vance and ask him hostile questions. He went back to his point that Putin never sticks to ceasefires, once again implying that negotiations are pointless. Why on earth would you do this? Then came the fight we all saw.
Zelensky was minutes away from being home free, and he would have had the deal and new commitments from the Trump administration. The point Vance made was directed against Biden and the media, taking them to task for speaking in moralistic terms. This offended Zelensky, and that began the argument.
I’ve been a fan of Zelensky up to this point, but this showed so much incompetence, if not emotional instability, that I don’t see how he recovers from this. The relationship with the administration is broken. Ukraine should probably go with new leadership at this point.”
“REUTERS: Senior U.S. official says clash between Zelenskiy and Trump will likely accelerate efforts to investigate waste, fraud, and abuse in U.S. aid to Ukraine”
I watched 2 versions of the pre-signing interview between Trump and Zelensky. One was 12 minutes and the other was over an hour. The long one obviously contained all the comments and questions and the context. The last 12 minutes was where things broke down. Zelensky was given a lot of time to talk as he wished. He even claimed that Europe had given more help to Ukraine than the US.
But this is the odd thing. After I watched the long version I searched for some other things then went back to link the long version for the blog. But the long version I watched had apparently been changed. It seemed to have been spliced. At the beginning was the last 12 minutes, and then after that it went back to the beginning. I’m not linking it because splice creates a different impression than the whole interview was bad. But there was almost 50 minutes of much more cordial conversation. But you could see Zelensky was not at all happy with President Trump. In fact, I don’t think Zelensky came here to sign the ‘deal’ but to negotiate more money and arms for Ukraine.
It’s a shame for the people of Ukraine. Instead of security and a lucrative deal, they’ll be lucky to get blankets like Obama sent them. And I would not be surprised to see Trump make a deal with Putin for minerals.
Actually, I thought the Ukrainian President did well, expressing real concerns of the Ukrainian people. I thought our two could have toned it down a bit and listened. It should not have taken place in front of the media. I think they all need to calm down and try again in a more private venue.
Zelensky did better than I expect at first. He should have said less about what we (the US) are going to feel or be forced to do. That was over the top arrogant and that’s really when it went bad. And actually, it was the second time Zelensky said it, and the first time Trump let it go. Zelensky was the one who pressed it, perhaps because he’s desperate. I don’t think Zelensky came here in good faith to sign the deal.
And also I think Zelensky is wrong that the country who starts the war pays for the damage. The loser doesn’t dictate terms in any war I’m aware of. We offered a good deal for them and us—a deal that would have kept us involved in their rebuilding process (although personally I don’t want to be too involved but would like to see the fighting end).
“The US is terminating aid to help Ukraine restore its energy system that has been devastated by Russian attacks.
NBC News, citing two USAID officials working on the agency’s Ukraine mission, said the decision was made by the US State Department this week.
“It significantly undercuts this administration’s abilities to negotiate on the ceasefire, and it’d signal to Russia that we don’t care about Ukraine or our past investments,” one USAID official involved in the Ukraine mission told NBC News.
“Russia is fighting a two-pronged war in Ukraine: A military one but also an economic one. They’re trying to crush the economy, but USAID has played a central role in helping it be resilient, [including] shoring up the energy grid…We’ve provided vast amount of support to the Ukrainian government to avoid a macroeconomic crisis,” the official added.
Katarina Mathernova, the EU’s ambassador to Ukraine, said in summer 2024 that Russia’s strikes had deprived Ukraine of more than nine gigawatts (GW) of power production since March – half of what was needed to power Ukraine over the last winter.
Before Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine had 56 GW of installed capacity – sometimes called nameplate capacity – and 36 GW of actual capacity.
For context, a single GW is enough to power approximately 750,000 homes simultaneously in the US. Ukraine lost nine times that within three months during Russian strikes in the summer of 2024….”
I should say I don’t know much about the Kiev Post linked below. Usually I vet the links before I post, but this time I didn’t. I’m always on the lookout for foreign sources to get a different perspective, so if anyone knows a good one, please share. :–)
“THE WHITE HOUSE — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tanked his own peace talks on Friday afternoon after he disrespected the American people in an Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump.
After the meeting, which saw Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance disabuse Zelensky of the notion that he was in any position to make a power play for more money and military aid, Trump announced, “I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations.”
“I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE,” Trump continued. “He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for peace.”
Wandering Views 
The Babylon Bee: “Laid-off IRS agents now forced to go door-to-door, robbing people directly…” 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Stop it.
mumsee
LikeLiked by 1 person
I shared that with Art. Thanks!
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This is how the grift works, Lindsey Graham style.
This is the same corrupt scam ActBlue runs.
https://x.com/PeterBernegger/status/1895226584543740213?t=47zG7X8Tz2hj3HEIN2mA0w&s=19“https://x.com/PeterBernegger/status/1895226584543740213?t=47zG7X8Tz2hj3HEIN2mA0w&s=19
“US Senator @LindseyGrahamSC of South Carolina caught Smurfing, i.e. criminally laundering monies into his campaigns: $8,171,663.00
🧨Scroll down in my tweets to see other US Senators exposed. We’re running all 100 of them. Note the image here just shows the top 20 Smurfs, but we run the full data. The $8.1 million above is of the 2,000 Smurfs from across the nation we identified used to stuff Graham’s campaign coffers.
The top 20 is a “quick” data run of the top Smurfs found to have had their identities stolen by his campaign. And related: wait until the Ukraine audit comes out and the connections to Graham! 👀👀
Where is the @FEC ? @PamBondi
Be aware the FEC is concealing large amounts of contribution transactions, from 30-50% depending on the campaign. You can’t get all the data from their website, bulk download or API.
Smurfs are victims as their names and addresses are being stolen without their knowledge. It is identity theft by these US Senators’ campaigns.
Smurfing is another form of election fraud: politicians cheated to get elected by using criminally laundered money. They were really selected, not elected.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
After that exchange between Zelenskyy and Trump/Vance before the press, it’s clear that cooler heads need to prevail. Let’s pray for wisdom for the key leaders in these negotiations (esp. as it seems now that an agreement won’t be happening as soon as expected).
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hopefully, they can still get together at say, Camp David, over the weekend. It would be a big mistake for Zelenskyy to fly back to Ukraine at this point, possibly the end of his political career.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Praying alongside, Tychicus.
mumsee
LikeLiked by 1 person
He finds himself between a rock and the Russians.
Trump has stated and been firm, no deal, no more US aid to follow. It’s time for Zelensky to end his grift and slink away with what he has already stolen. Yet it seems he’s burned his bridge out, again.
https://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1895530552079405082?t=Npy96CxgmIPSpsdIT4Jc3w&s=19
“JD Vance to Zelensky: “I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media.”
“You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October. Offer some words of appreciation for The United States Of America and the president who is trying to save your country.””
LikeLiked by 2 people
Look how shocked I am….. 😑
https://x.com/DefiyantlyFree/status/1895241081358557554?t=AR55d7DSzt2P1_fT5r-iaw&s=19
“Maurene Comey, an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), has been with the office since 2015. She is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey. What a shocker that she was put into SDNY right before Trump came into office.
She has been involved in:
Jeffrey Epstein Case: She was one of the lead prosecutors in the 2019 case against financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Ghislaine Maxwell Trial: In 2021, Maurene served as a lead prosecutor in the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s associate. Maxwell was convicted on multiple counts, including sex trafficking of minors, and received a 20-year prison sentence.
Robert Hadden Prosecution: She was involved in prosecuting Robert Hadden, a former gynecologist accused of sexually abusing numerous patients. Hadden’s trial has been scheduled for 2022. Natalie Edwards Case: Maurene participated in the case against Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards, a former Treasury Department official who pleaded guilty in 2020 to leaking confidential documents related to the Russia investigation and other matters. Between October 2017 and October 2018, Edwards disclosed numerous SARs and other sensitive government information to a reporter from BuzzFeed News, identified in court documents as Jason Leopold. The leaked information pertained to high-profile individuals and entities, including Paul Manafort, Richard Gates, the Russian Embassy, Maria Butina, and Prevezon Alexander. These disclosures formed the basis for a series of investigative articles highlighting suspicious financial activities.
She served 6 months in prison only. “
LikeLiked by 1 person
https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/1895529557635059846?t=AXXzgUji9z5cS-fA6V4ihg&s=19
“VANCE: I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media. You guys are forcing conscripts to the frontlines because you have manpower problems. You should be THANKING the president.
ZELENSKY: Have you ever been to Ukraine?
VANCE: You bring people on a propaganda tour. Do you think it’s respectful to come to the U.S. Oval Office and attack the administration that’s trying to prevent the destruction of your country?”
LikeLiked by 2 people
“The White House is having press staffers eat President Zelensky’s lunch after he was kicked out of the Oval Office, according to Fox News.
“Zelensky, we’re told, was begging to stay…”
“The lunch that they were supposed to have is sitting right outside the hallway, and the press staffers are going to be eating that lunch.”
https://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1895556998625698152?t=QU7v_4ddy0IKs2FAmXwUbA&s=19
Ouch.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Ukrainian Parliament is now going to have an emergency meeting to possibly impeach Zelenskyy.
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This poor Ambassador from Ukraine to the USA photographed with her hands over her face probably in pure horror and embarrassment:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1BGfB6YT3q/
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Zelensky should have known better….Trump is no Biden!!! It’s a new day in America!
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“I watched the entire press conference with Zelensky. There was 40 minutes of discussion up to the argument. Most people saw at most the last ten minutes. The whole video gives the proper context.
When I first watched the argument without the proper context, I thought it was possible that Trump and Vance ambushed Zelensky or were even trying to humiliate him. That’s not what happened.
You had 40 minutes of calm conversation. Vance made a point that didn’t attack Zelensky and wasn’t even addressed to him, and Zelensky clearly started the argument.
,In the first 40 minutes, Zelensky kept trying to go beyond what was negotiated in the deal. When Trump was asked a question, it was always “we’ll see.” Zelensky made blanket assertions that there would be no negotiating with Putin, and that Russia would pay for the war. When Trump said that it was a tragedy that people on both sides were dying, Zelensky interjected that the Russians were the invaders.
For his part, Trump made clear that the US would continue delivering military aid. All Zelensky had to do was remain calm for a few more minutes and they would’ve signed a deal.
The argument started when Trump pointed out that it would be hard to make a deal if you talk about Putin the way Zelensky does. Vance interjects to make the reasonable point that Biden called Putin names and that didn’t get us anywhere.
The Zelensky/Trump dynamic was calm and stable. It was when Vance spoke that Zelensky started to interrogate him. Throughout the press conference to that point, everyone was making their arguments directly to the audience.
Zelensky decided to challenge Vance and ask him hostile questions. He went back to his point that Putin never sticks to ceasefires, once again implying that negotiations are pointless. Why on earth would you do this? Then came the fight we all saw.
Zelensky was minutes away from being home free, and he would have had the deal and new commitments from the Trump administration. The point Vance made was directed against Biden and the media, taking them to task for speaking in moralistic terms. This offended Zelensky, and that began the argument.
I’ve been a fan of Zelensky up to this point, but this showed so much incompetence, if not emotional instability, that I don’t see how he recovers from this. The relationship with the administration is broken. Ukraine should probably go with new leadership at this point.”
https://x.com/RichardHanania/status/1895562922593841557?t=qJqPxfJJIJoIqBAOAX0Lew&s=19
LikeLiked by 2 people
Good.
https://x.com/joshdcaplan/status/1895546452761624734?t=czuKpM-upDSWMQma7zlD7Q&s=19
“REUTERS: Senior U.S. official says clash between Zelenskiy and Trump will likely accelerate efforts to investigate waste, fraud, and abuse in U.S. aid to Ukraine”
LikeLiked by 1 person
“A lot of European leaders have come out in the past three hours to express their “unwavering support” for Zelenskyy.
Great. Maybe they’ll be happy to pay the cost of this war for once. Money and weapons will win more wars than platitudes.”
https://x.com/charliekirk11/status/1895597743059714073?t=Hebdu5iN_q-n2WrdNpW0_w&s=19
LikeLiked by 1 person
I watched 2 versions of the pre-signing interview between Trump and Zelensky. One was 12 minutes and the other was over an hour. The long one obviously contained all the comments and questions and the context. The last 12 minutes was where things broke down. Zelensky was given a lot of time to talk as he wished. He even claimed that Europe had given more help to Ukraine than the US.
But this is the odd thing. After I watched the long version I searched for some other things then went back to link the long version for the blog. But the long version I watched had apparently been changed. It seemed to have been spliced. At the beginning was the last 12 minutes, and then after that it went back to the beginning. I’m not linking it because splice creates a different impression than the whole interview was bad. But there was almost 50 minutes of much more cordial conversation. But you could see Zelensky was not at all happy with President Trump. In fact, I don’t think Zelensky came here to sign the ‘deal’ but to negotiate more money and arms for Ukraine.
It’s a shame for the people of Ukraine. Instead of security and a lucrative deal, they’ll be lucky to get blankets like Obama sent them. And I would not be surprised to see Trump make a deal with Putin for minerals.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Actually, I thought the Ukrainian President did well, expressing real concerns of the Ukrainian people. I thought our two could have toned it down a bit and listened. It should not have taken place in front of the media. I think they all need to calm down and try again in a more private venue.
mumsee
LikeLiked by 2 people
Zelensky did better than I expect at first. He should have said less about what we (the US) are going to feel or be forced to do. That was over the top arrogant and that’s really when it went bad. And actually, it was the second time Zelensky said it, and the first time Trump let it go. Zelensky was the one who pressed it, perhaps because he’s desperate. I don’t think Zelensky came here in good faith to sign the deal.
And also I think Zelensky is wrong that the country who starts the war pays for the damage. The loser doesn’t dictate terms in any war I’m aware of. We offered a good deal for them and us—a deal that would have kept us involved in their rebuilding process (although personally I don’t want to be too involved but would like to see the fighting end).
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And now the pressure is on:
“The US is terminating aid to help Ukraine restore its energy system that has been devastated by Russian attacks.
NBC News, citing two USAID officials working on the agency’s Ukraine mission, said the decision was made by the US State Department this week.
“It significantly undercuts this administration’s abilities to negotiate on the ceasefire, and it’d signal to Russia that we don’t care about Ukraine or our past investments,” one USAID official involved in the Ukraine mission told NBC News.
“Russia is fighting a two-pronged war in Ukraine: A military one but also an economic one. They’re trying to crush the economy, but USAID has played a central role in helping it be resilient, [including] shoring up the energy grid…We’ve provided vast amount of support to the Ukrainian government to avoid a macroeconomic crisis,” the official added.
Katarina Mathernova, the EU’s ambassador to Ukraine, said in summer 2024 that Russia’s strikes had deprived Ukraine of more than nine gigawatts (GW) of power production since March – half of what was needed to power Ukraine over the last winter.
Before Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine had 56 GW of installed capacity – sometimes called nameplate capacity – and 36 GW of actual capacity.
For context, a single GW is enough to power approximately 750,000 homes simultaneously in the US. Ukraine lost nine times that within three months during Russian strikes in the summer of 2024….”
. https://www.kyivpost.com/post/48056
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I should say I don’t know much about the Kiev Post linked below. Usually I vet the links before I post, but this time I didn’t. I’m always on the lookout for foreign sources to get a different perspective, so if anyone knows a good one, please share. :–)
LikeLiked by 1 person
And a conservative American assessment:
“THE WHITE HOUSE — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tanked his own peace talks on Friday afternoon after he disrespected the American people in an Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump.
After the meeting, which saw Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance disabuse Zelensky of the notion that he was in any position to make a power play for more money and military aid, Trump announced, “I have determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for Peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations.”
“I don’t want advantage, I want PEACE,” Trump continued. “He disrespected the United States of America in its cherished Oval Office. He can come back when he is ready for peace.”
https://thefederalist.com/
LikeLiked by 2 people