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Farage says Stone did no such thing.
David CornJun. 6, 2017 10:32 AM
Brent N. Clarke/AP
Last week, the Guardian published a report revealing a new and odd twist in the Trump-Russia scandal: Nigel Farage, the British politician who led the Brexit movement in Great Britain, is a person of interest in the FBI investigation of interactions between Trump associates and the Russian government. The newspaper reported that Farage was under FBI scrutiny because he had relationships with both the Trump camp and WikiLeaks, which disseminated Democratic emails swiped by Russian hackers in an effort to help Donald Trumps presidential campaign. Farage dismissed the story as hysteria and said he had not been contacted by the FBI. But Farage did meet with Trump during the campaign. And a source close to the Trump camp tells Mother Jones that a Trump-Farage meeting was set up by Roger Stone, the veteran political dirty-trickster and long-time Trump adviser who has come under investigation in the Trump-Russia inquiry.
That source is Stone himself.
In the months since the election, Stone has drawn the attention of investigators and reporters because he made statements during the campaign that implied he possessed inside information about WikiLeaks plans to release material stolen in the hack-and-leak covert operation mounted by Putins regime to subvert the 2016 campaign and assist Trump. In early Augustafter WikiLeaks had disseminated Democratic Party emails hacked by Russian intelligenceStone said at a Republican event in Florida, I actually have communicated with [WikiLeaks founder Julian] Assange. I believe the next tranche of his documents pertain to the Clinton Foundation, but theres no telling what the October surprise may be. On October 2, he tweeted, Wednesday@HillaryClinton is done. #Wikileaks. (This was five days before WikiLeaks released the emails of Clinton campaign CEO John Podesta, which were stolen by Russian hackers.) That month, Stone claimed he had a back-channel communication with Assange through a good mutual friend. During the campaign, Stone also communicated with Guccifer 2.0, the online persona that posted hacked Democratic emails, and Stone publicly insisted Guccifer 2.0 was not connected to the Russians.
Stones prescient statements about WikiLeaks anti-Clinton dumps and his claim of a connection with Assange naturally have raised questions about his role in the Trump-Russia scandal. And the Guardian report on Farage partly focused on the Brits ties to Stone. The story raised the possibility that Farage might have been Stones contact with WikiLeaks.
After the Guardian article was published, Mother Jones asked Stone if Farage was Stones mutual friend who had been his go-between with Assange. Stone replied, Dined with him once in Cleveland [during the GOP convention in July]. Got him a meeting with the candidate. Never spoke to him again.
So did Stone hook up Farage and Trump? The two politicians had a much-noticed rendezvous when Farage, then the leader of the UK Independence Party, appeared with Trump at a campaign rally in Mississippi in late August and declared, If I was an American citizen, I wouldnt vote for Hillary Clinton if you paid me. It was a moment when the conservative anti-European populism of England merged with Trumps anti-establishment American Firstism. Farage spoke of pro-Brexit voters supporting the referendum to withdraw Great Britain from the European Union so they could take back control of their country, take back control of their borders, and get back their pride and self-respect. Farage urged the American people to stand up against the establishment.
A book written by a Farage associate and published in October reported that Farages partnership with Trump came about because the British politician, while attending the GOP convention, had a chance encounter at 4:30 a.m. in his hotel bar with an aide to Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, a Republican. The aide suggested Farage visit Mississippi and subsequently sent him a formal invitation. A month later, Farage flew to Mississippi, just when Trump was scheduled to speak at a Republican fundraiser and a campaign rally. Farage had dinner with Bryant and regaled him and other guests with Brexit stories. Bryant suggested Farage speak at the Trump rally the following nightafter speaking at the GOP fundraiser. On a radio show the next morning, Farage announced he was in Mississippi to show his support for Trump. Steven Bannon, who had recently been named Trumps chief strategist, called Farage to check what Farage intended to say at the Republican dinner and the Trump rally. Hours later, Farage met Trump for the first time, according to this account, in a holding room at the Republican fundraiser. Trump strode across the room and gave the British politician a bear hug.
This account makes no mention of Stone. I asked Stone how his assertion that he had set up a meeting between Farage and Trump squared with this report. He replied, I suggested candidate [Trump] meet Farage immediately after the convention. Certain [Farage] asked others to secure a meeting. Dont recall when it happened only that it did. Its unclear whether the meeting Stone says he brokered was the same as the Mississippi get-together.
Stone added, You report so much bullshit why do you care about the facts?
The facts here are intriguing. If the FBI is indeed examining Farage for his ties to Assange and the Trump crew, Stones interactions with Farageand whether or not Stone really did connect him with Trumpcould be relevant. The brash and brassy Stone, who relishes publicity and mud-slinging and who has written a book claiming LBJ killed JFK, has been an enticing target for Democrats and investigators pursuing the various threads of the Russia-Trump scandal. With the Farage connection, the plot thickens.
Farage did not reply to a request for comment. Neither did the White House.
UPDATE:A spokesman for Farage says, Nigel met Roger Stone in a restaurant in Cleveland during the RNC purely by chance. They subsequently met each other in a hotel in Washington during Trumps inauguration, again without planning and by chance. He did not organise any meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Farage.
Mother Jones is a nonprofit, and stories like this are made possible by readers like you. Donate or subscribe to help fund independent journalism.
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Roger Stone: I Hooked Up Nigel Farage With Donald Trump - Mother Jones
Deadline | Donald Trump Rage Tweets Against Media For Taking Seriously His Tweets Deadline Donald Trump began his observation of D-Day accusing the media of trying to get him to stop using Twitter. TV news outlets this week are doing so by taking seriously Trump's tweets and expecting surrogates who appear on their TV programs to explain the ... This Man Is Turning Donald Trump's Tweets Into 'Official' Presidential Statements Trump wants you to take his tweets seriously. His aides don't. Real Press Sec. (@RealPressSecBot) | Twitter |
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Donald Trump Rage Tweets Against Media For Taking Seriously His Tweets - Deadline
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For the last year, researchers and journalists have speculated about whether the mostly-online alt-right movement would ever coalesce with real world action. They excelled with memes and trolling, but was there more to it?
Its happening now, with the proliferation of street gangs inspired by the alt-right who are showing up at rallies across the country.
The New York Times recently described such groups as part of a growing movement that has injected a new element of violence into street demonstrations across the country.
One such group is the Fraternal Order of Alt-Knights, founded by Kyle Chapman, known online as Based Stickman. The name comes from a widely-circulated video in which Chapman hits a counter protestor with a stick. Based is slang for not caring about how you are perceived by others. The Proud Boys is another prominent group, spearheaded by Vice co-founder Gavin McInnes.
These alt-right inspired groups are part fight club, part Western-pride fraternity, the Times writes, which recruit battalions of mainly young white men for one-off confrontations with the left-wing anti-fascist protestors who have also become fixtures at protests in recent months.
Email Sam Kestenbaum at kestenbaum@forward.com and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum
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'Alt-Right' Gangs Like Proud Boys Ramp Up Activity The Forward - Forward
Pro-Trump demonstrators at the rally on Sunday. The event sparked controversy in the wake of a racially charged killing. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images
Republicans have used a controversial alt-right rally in Portland, held in the wake of the the killing spree allegedly perpetrated by a local white supremacist, to recruit new members to the party.
The effort was led by James Buchal, chair of the Multnomah County Republican party, who urged attendees at the rally on Sunday to join to the GOP. Details of his efforts were uncovered in a recording from the rally.
I want to say, since I am involved in the Republican party, that the structure to change the government officials in a party, a political party, Buchal told the crowd . And we are looking for young conservatives to get active in the Multnomah County Republican party.
He added: Were looking for young conservatives to step up and run for local offices. We need to get control of local school boards and every other local district. We need people on the streets talking to people, knocking on doors, making phone calls. The party is there, the party is open. Come and help us win America back.
On Monday, Buchal confirmed to the Guardian that he used the controversial rally to recruit new GOP members, and said the effort paid off. I have had a handful of calls from people, but I do not know whether or not they are rally participants, and I did not ask them.
Buchal shared a platform at the event with Kyle Based Stickman Chapman, who became a cult figure in the far right movement after wielding a stick in a skirmish with anti-fascist protesters in Berkeley.
Not long after Buchal spoke, the leader of the militant Oath Keepers group, Stuart Rhodes, publicly swore Tusitala Tiny Toese into the organisation. Toese was filmed punching an anti-fascist demonstrator to the ground during a confrontation last month, later defending the move as an act of self-defense.
Buchal and the organisers of Sundays rally, which was ostensibly a protest over free speech, have distanced themselves from Jeremy Christian, who is accused of fatally stabbing two men in Portland when they tried to shield young women from his anti-Muslim tirade.
However the decision to press ahead with the rally, so soon after the racially-charged murders, has inflamed tensions in Portland.
Buchal is the same senior local Republican that the Guardian previously reported was considering using the Oath Keepers and a similar group called The Three Percenters as security, because of what he called belligerent, unstable people who are convinced that Republicans are like Nazis.
The same militant groups provided security for the Sundays rally in downtown Portland, where anti-fascist counter-protesters had tear gas and rubber bullets deployed against them by riot police.
Buchal praised the Oath Keepers in his speech on Sunday, comparing them to the two men who victims who were allegedly murdered by Christian.
Now, theres been a lot of attacks on people like the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters. People say that theyre racist and theyre evil, well you know what? I think theyre acting from the same moral impulse that Rick Best and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche had.
He continued: They are there to protect. They see that wolves are on the rise, and they step forward like sheep dogs to protect us. The people who cant see that, the people sitting in that office over there who cant see that? They are morally blind.
Buchal said he did not attend the event in any official capacity. His main purpose was to investigate whether some of the media claims concerning the event were correct: that the rally would consist of hate speech uttered by bigots and white supremacists.
Asked about the impression he formed following his investigation, Buchal said: I did not find that to be the truth.
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Republicans use 'alt-right' Portland rally to recruit new members - The Guardian