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One day the screaming tedium of all these revelations will burst the dam of indifference — the dam of willful blindness, by those on the Trump side, who just will not see …
That day cannot come soon enough. Because that damn camel can’t carry many more of those Trump-corruption “straws” ...
Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election
WASHINGTON — Three months before the 2016 election, a small group gathered at Trump Tower to meet with Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son. One was an Israeli specialist in social media manipulation. Another was an emissary for two wealthy Arab princes. The third was a Republican donor with a controversial past in the Middle East as a private security contractor.
The meeting was convened primarily to offer help to the Trump team, and it forged relationships between the men and Trump insiders that would develop over the coming months — past the election and well into President Trump’s first year in office, according to several people with knowledge of their encounters.
Erik Prince, the private security contractor and the former head of Blackwater, arranged the meeting, which took place on Aug. 3, 2016. The emissary, George Nader, told Donald Trump Jr. that the princes who led Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were eager to help his father win election as president. The social media specialist, Joel Zamel, extolled his company’s ability to give an edge to a political campaign; by that time, the firm had already drawn up a multimillion-dollar proposal for a social media manipulation effort to help elect Mr. Trump.
[...] [Emphasis added]
Talk about your cast of misfits and hoodlums and oligarchs, with enough vested interest among them, to fund an LLC account or two. Why in the world would Trump Jr take this meeting (after the last one) — unless of course there was something he desperately need there: like more Campaign Funding, and more Voter-persuasion expertise.
Donald Trump Jr. and Trump aides were reportedly open to foreign help in 2016 election beyond Russia
by Emily Stewart, Vox.com — May 19, 2018
[...]
On August 3, 2016, Trump Jr. took part in a meeting with Erik Prince, a Trump booster, founder of the private security firm Blackwater and brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos; George Nader, a business executive and emissary for the princes of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates; and Joel Zamel, an Israeli expert in social media manipulation. The men met at Trump Tower in New York, according to a report from Mark Mazzetti, Ronen Bergman, and David Kirkpatrick. Nader told Trump Jr. that the princes of Saudi Arabia and UAE were “eager” to help Trump win the White House, saying they believed he was a strong leader who would “fill the power vacuum” they thought President Barack Obama had left in the Middle East. Zamel’s company, Psy-Group, had put together a proposal for an online manipulation program to help elect Trump using thousands of fake accounts to promote him on Facebook.
According to the Times, it’s not clear whether the proposal was executed, and it’s not clear who commissioned it in the first place. But Trump Jr. “responded approvingly,” and Nader joined the Trump-world fold, meeting often with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and his former strategist, Steve Bannon.
After the election, Nader paid Zamel as much as $2 million, and what the money was for isn’t clear. White Night, a Philippines-based company linked to Zamel, reportedly provided Nader with an elaborate presentation about the importance of social media campaigning in Trump’s win.
It’s illegal for foreign governments or people to get involved in US elections. The Trump campaign seemed open to it.
[...] [Emphasis added]
By the way, this isn’t your run-of-the-mill, pay-for-play, secret Meeting at Trump Tower — where “potential graft” is sold to the ‘highest bidder’. No this is much more than that. This meeting has drawn the keen interest of Robert Meuller and FBI Investigators. No doubt, they were tipped off to the meet-up, by the now co-operating witness to it all, George Nader ...
Mueller Investigators Questioned Witnesses in Israel and Seized Computers, Report Says
by Amir Tibon (Washington), haaretz.com — May 19, 2018
[…]
The [NYTimes] report, citing four sources, said that a company linked to Zamel, Psy-Group, was working on an online manipulation campaign that involved usage thousands of fake social media accounts to help Trump get elected. According to the report, Zamel himself was questioned by Mueller's investigators and at least two FBI agents were sent to Israel to interview the company's employees. Mueller's team also worked with the Israel Police to seize computers of one of Zamel's firms. The New York Times notes that there were concerns inside the company about the plan's legality, since U.S. law prohibits non-Americans from being involved in the election.
[...]
The report claimed that a short time after Trump's election victory, Nader transferred a large sum of money to Zamel. "There are conflicting accounts of the reason for the payment, but among other things, a company linked to Mr. Zamel provided Mr. Nader with an elaborate presentation about the significance of social media campaigning to Mr. Trump’s victory," the report stated. The sum of money could have allegedly been as high as $2 million.
Zamel has already been questioned by Mueller's team, according to an earlier report by the Wall Street Journal. [...] [Emphasis added]
So about that Voter-persuasion expertise the Trump Team sorely needed in August of 2016 ...
Here’s some of Psy-Group’s SOP sales pitch, from the company’s own very slick brochure:
Intelligence Collection
PSY’s proprietary methods of intelligence collection form the cornerstone to all of our operational activities. Backed by decades of combined experience in a broad spectrum of professional disciplines, PSY applies a unique methodology to gathering intelligence that is comprehensive and “game changing”, while maintaining full legal compliance and oversight. PSY exercises a multi-level approach to intelligence collection:
[...]
Human intelligence. As needed, PSY may rely on its decades of collective experience to employ covert and legal techniques and tactics in the physical world. Maintaining full security and discretion, PSY engages in dedicated “real world” operations that are tailored to gain lawful access to required information on behalf of its clients.
[...]
Influence Campaigns
PSY’s proprietary influence campaigns combine unique, actionable intelligence obtained through a variety of sources with a broad range of expertise in the areas of advertising and media, public relations, guerilla marketing, online reputation management, search engine optimization and more.
PSY uses this gathered intelligence and broad expertise to build highly effective, targeted, online and offline campaigns. These campaigns leverage third party “influencers” to deliver and promote key messages, sway opinion and emphasize (or de-emphasize) issues of relevance to our clients.
PSY’s covert capabilities enable targeted audiences to be impacted and influenced by credible, trusted third parties and online avatars and platforms that maintain client privacy and discretion and operate within the law.
[...] [Emphasis added]
If PsyGroup didn’t deliver on their Psy-ops promises, then WHY did Zamel the company’s owner receive a payment $2 million dollars, after the election (for about 2 months work). Surely he wasn’t paid that for his Powerpoint presentation at Trump Towers on Aug 3, 2016. Everyone in business knows sale pitches are done on the Vendor’s dime, not the prospective Client’s …
So it seems that Jr arranged to get Cambridge Analytica and Brad Parscale a little more help, from yet another “Reality Shaper” Pys-ops outfit — from outside of the USA. The American Voter should what to know exactly how they were targeted by Team Trump, and their contractors (who were less than transparent in social-targeting manipulations).
The Special Counsel certainly wants to know … how this Foreign-entity PsyGroup was involved,
among other things.
( Like why was Nader signing the Joel Zamel payment checks? With whose funds? For exactly what “services”? And how many campaign finance laws they broke, in the process? )
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