More Russiagate evidence in the case for impeachment

Trump’s Russiagate excuses start to unravel

By Samuel Warde

Attorney and University of New Hampshire professor Seth Abramson has been publishing extensive tweets regarding the Trump-Russia conspiracy for months now; and, while he has his critics, he has been correct on most of his assessments.

Abramson – a former public defender – has an impressive resume. As his website notes:

Seth is regularly interviewed about politics and higher education by domestic and International media. Recent interviews include the BBC, CNN, NPR, PBS, ABC Radio, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Chronicle of Higher Education, New York Magazine, and The New England Review of Books. 

Seth’s essays have also been widely cited, including discussions on CNBC, PBS, FNC, BET, and NPR, as well as in Politico, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, The Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy, Slate, and Pitchfork.

Abramson published a massive megathread on Twitter regarding the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence‘s release of the 208* page transcript of the committee’s November 2, 2017 hearing with Trump’s former foreign policy adviser, Carter Page. [* while the transcript itself is 208 pages, the full document as released by the committee is 243 pages in total.]

Abramson concluded, after posting more than 100 tweets, that:

Today a great blow was struck against the Trump-Russia conspiracy—which is now *undeniable*, and will bring down this presidency.

In broad terms, some of the key points in Abramson’s analysis included the following:

Carter Page repeatedly implicated Attorney General Jeff Sessions, confirming multiple times that Sessions was aware of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia;

Page repeatedly implicated other members of the Trump campaign to include National Co-Chair Sam Clovis and Trump’s entire national security team – which also included then Senator Jeff Sessions;

Page’s testimony confirms portions of the infamous Steele Dossier;

Page confirmed much of what we now know about George Papadopoulos, the first person to plead guilty in Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s Trump-Russia investigation;

Page confirmed he met with Russia’s deputy prime minister during a 2016 trip to Moscow and informed members of the Trump campaign about the Russia trip, including Jeff Sessions;

Page confirmed he spoke with Trump’s national security team members *and* Trump campaign officials about that Moscow trip ahead of time – including Jeff Sessions;

Page confirmed that he traveled to Budapest in 2016, the European headquarters for Russian intelligence, the FSB which is the successor of the infamous KGB;

The aim of significant Kremlin contact with Page and the Trump campaign/administration was to *negotiate Russia policy* [i.e. end Russian sanctions] – which later occurred in the form of the Trump campaign’s successful efforts to alter the GOP Platform.

Abramson refers to Page on several occasions as a “perjury machine.” 

“I say that because Page is a perjury machine—reckless talker—so in “many” FBI meetings with no lawyer he would’ve made false statements.” “Rooney and Gowdy let him testify, at one point, “by narrative”—which is when you let a liar or troubled person just talk themselves out.“

Page could be subject to arrest at any time: “This would also seem to confirm the FBI could charge Page at any time, as it’s clear he *wasn’t* honest with Congress or investigators."

Abramson, himself, identified 8 “bombshells” from Page’s testimony that would lead to the end of the Trump regime. In Abramson’s words:

The picture of what happened between Trump and Russia is now getting *very* clear despite it *still* being early- to mid-investigation.

What we saw in this transcript was enough scandal—proof of WH and Trump campaign lies—for 10 administrations. And Mueller knows *more*.

Abramson’s bombshells included:

BOMBSHELL #1: Page *lied to FBI investigators and Congress*. He in fact *told the campaign he had a private meeting with the Deputy PM*.

BOMBSHELL #2: Page admits meeting multiple Kremlin agents and discussing Kremlin “outreach”—offers to cooperate—with *top Trump aides*.

BOMBSHELL #3: Jeff Sessions organized the June 2016 Capitol Hill Club NatSec meeting, and let the WH lie that no such meeting occurred.  [NatSec refers to Trump’s national security team.]

BOMBSHELL #4: Page gives the first ever confirmation, it appears, that Jeff SESSIONS received Papadopoulos emails about Kremlin meeting.

BOMBSHELL #5: Page admits to meeting a top Rosneft official during his July 2016 Moscow trip, exactly as alleged in the Steele Dossier.

BOMBSHELL #6: Page admits to talking sanctions/sanctions policy with a top Rosneft executive and Sechin lieutenant during his July trip.

BOMBSHELL #7: Page admits to discussing the sale of Rosneft in July 2016 with a top Rosneft exec. That’s what Steele’s Dossier alleged.

BOMBSHELL #8: As Clovis was saying only a “private citizen” Moscow trip would work, Page was revealing to the team his Moscow trip plan.[Clovis refers to “Sam Clovis, a top adviser to Trump during his election campaign,” who withdrew his candidacy [October 2, 2017] for a senior administration post, just days after he was linked to another aide [George Papadopoulos] who pleaded guilty in the probe into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election.” source: Reuters]

Abramson also posted a series of what he called “Major Reveals.”

MAJOR REVEAL #1: Page admits he told HOPE HICKS he was going to Moscow. You’d *only* do that if you wanted to make sure that Trump knew.[Hope Hicks is the current White House Communications Director for Trump.]

MAJOR REVEAL #2: HICKS lied in saying the campaign had no Russia contacts. She knew Page asked her—i.e. Trump—for permission re: Moscow.

MAJOR REVEAL #3: Page says Manafort never responded to him. So it’s telling that Manafort *did* think he had to respond to Papadopoulos.

MAJOR REVEAL #4: The WH says NatSec met once; Page says it met so many times Papadopoulos only attended “some” of the “group sessions.”[NatSec refers to Trump’s national security team.]

MAJOR REVEAL #5: The man Page spoke to in July (Russian Deputy Prime Minister) he then met with—AND with Rosneft execs—in December 2016.

Abramson also questioned Page’s competence several times:

For instance, early on in his analysis he remarked: “Page came without counsel—in context, itself nearly a sign of mental instability—after recanting his raising of his 5th Amendment rights.“

In another tweet, Abramson posted a screenshot of a portion of Page’s testimony with the following observation: “This is hard to read. I’ve questioned *many* witnesses and—how to say it—this witness would strike me as having several personal issues.“

Abramson also expressed almost feeling pity for Page at one point tweeting: “Page’s limited understanding, as a pro se witness, of how the Fifth Amendment works is so embarrassing I’m starting to feel bad for him.” [The term pro se refers to an individual who represents instead of having an attorney.]

He followed that up with the following observation: “Attorneys: read pp. 61-63 of the PDF if you want instant recall of every interrogation you’ve done of a borderline incompetent witness.“

Be sure to check Abramson’s Twitter page for his ongoing point-by-point mega-thread regarding the Trump-Russia investigation.