Mediaboss Marketing

Nine months after Donald Trump upset Hillary Clinton to win the presidency, congressional Republicans and conservative legal watchdogs are continuing to probethe scandals that dogged the Democratic campaign. And in conservative media, the churn of possible investigations has created a news cycle that operates independently of the one seen in most of the press.

The latest round of pressure for new investigations gained steamlast week, when Judicial Watchand then the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) released the latest fruitof a federal lawsuit against the Justice Department email traffic inside the agencyabout the June 2016 decision by Bill Clinton to walk across the tarmac at Phoenixs Sky Harbor airport and have a conversation with then-Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch. The meeting, first reported by a local news station that also reported being told not to photograph Lynch or Clinton, caused an instant scandal, despite a hasty attempt by Hillary Clintons campaign to describe the meeting as nonpolitical.

On Nov. 2, six days before the presidential election, ACLJ chief counsel Jay Sekulow announced that he would be suing for documents after the Justice Departmentand FBI claimed that a Freedom of Information Request turned up nothing. On Friday, Sekulow, who is now a member of the presidents legal team and a frequent advocate for him on television, reported that the lawsuit had turned up hundreds of pages of emails.

It is clear that there were multiple records within the FBI responsive to our request and that discussions regarding the surreptitious meeting between then AG Lynch and the husband of the subject of an ongoing FBI criminal investigation reached the highest levels of the FBI, Sekulow wrote. There is clear evidence that the main stream media was colluding with the DOJ to bury the story.

In a pattern similar to the long-running investigation of the September 2012 attacks in Benghazi, the emails have turned up not the redacted talking points but evidence that public affairs officers in theJustice Department, FBI and White House were communicating on how to spin the story. (The ACLJ has also unmasked an email pseudonym Lynch sometimes used, though thats not uncommon for high-profile public officials, and the emails were obviously discoverable as part of lawsuits.) On Monday night, Sekulow appeared on Foxs Hannity, which frequently editorializes on the need for more Clinton investigations, to share the findings.

Does this potentially expose its own version of collusion that theyre trying to cover up the fact they were in the fix, if you will, for Hillary Clinton and they didnt want it exposed? asked Sean Hannity. And add to that that its not an investigation, its a matter? That seems to be building a case.

Sekulow said: Yes, but add to that also, Sean, that the basis upon which James Comey said he went public was because of these meetings that weve got the documents on now. Thats the reason he said he made that public statement, because he said the integrity of the agency, the FBI, was put at risk, and the Department of Justice, by Loretta Lynchs action. But remember that she never recused herself from the actual outcome of the proceeding.

On the Tuesday episode of his radio talk show, Rush Limbaugh focused on the dismissive tone reporters used to ask questions of the government spinners and the Lynch email alias. It turns out these people are using aliases, fake names so that they would not be discovered, he said, overstating the meaning of the attorney generals dummy email. Later in the day, the president himself drew attention to the lawsuits, without naming them.

Separately, the Senate and House judiciary committees have been carrying out or exploring investigations into aspects of the 2016 campaign and Clintons years at the State Department. In July, before the start of the August recess, the House committee hollowed out a Democratic resolution intended to expand the investigation of Comeys firing and replaced it with one demanding answers about Clinton. On July 26, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) held hearings on the Foreign Agent Registration Act, suggesting that as an aide to Clinton at the State Department, Sidney Blumenthal carried out lobbying activity but never registered.

News articles reported that Mr.Blumenthaltransmitted documentation to Secretary Clinton on behalf of the Georgian Dream, a political party in the country of Georgia, Grassley said. The Justice Department never explained why it failed to require Mr.Blumenthaland his partner, John Kornblum, to register under FARA.

In a letter, which he copied to The Washington Post, Blumenthal demanded an apology from Grassley, saying he had never represented Georgia Dream or partnered with Kornblum.

You have a responsibility to yourself as well to me and to the American public to determine who gave you this false information, encouraged you to make your recent statement and the reason why, Blumenthal wrote. In light of current events, it appears to have been instigated as a means to distract and diminish the public attention from the Russian intervention in the presidential election of 2016.

In an emailed statement,Grassley spokesman George Hartmann said that the fault was with Blumenthal for declining to explain himself.

Senator Grassley has publicly written the Justice Department several times since 2015, citing news reports about Mr. Blumenthals alleged activities with respect to foreign interests, and never received any contact from Mr. Blumenthal about it until now, nor any substantive response other than the Justice Departments noting that its Foreign Agents Registration Act Unit was aware of the news reports, Hartmann said. In his letters, and at the recent hearing on the Justice Departments failure to adequately enforce the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Senator Grassley cited news reports and noted that if Mr. Blumenthal did not have to register, the Justice Department should explain why not in order to be fair to him. Mr. Blumenthal should direct his attention to the news reports and the Justice Department rather than a senator who cited the reports in the context of whether the Justice Department has been as transparent as it should be with the American peoples business.

Blumenthals letter is below.

To Senator Charles Grassley:

You owe me an apology for lying about me.

On July 26, 2017, you made a public statement about me that was completely false in every particular.

You stated: News articles reported that Mr.Blumenthaltransmitted documentation to Secretary Clinton on behalf of the Georgian Dream, a political party in the country of Georgia. The Justice Department never explained why it failed to require Mr.Blumenthaland his partner, John Kornblum, to register under FARA.

In fact, I have never represented Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili or his political party, Georgia Dream, or any other foreign entity, nor rendered them any services. I have had no contact with Mr. Ivanishivili, or his political party Georgia Dream, and made no agreement with anyone, ever, to represent him or his party. I have received no payment or benefit from Mr. Ivanishvili, his political party Georgia Dream, or any other foreign entity for representation or rendering of services covered by the Foreign Agent Registration Act.

Indeed, I have received no payment or benefit from Mr. Ivanishvili or any person I have reason to believe associated with him or his political party, ever. I have made no agreement, written or oral, with any foreign entity, at any time, relating to any matter covered by the Foreign Agent Registration Act.

Nor was John Kornblum my partner. We have never had any business or financial relationship of any kind. Ambassador Kornblum is one of the most distinguished diplomats to have served the United States. I first met him in 1986 when he was the U.S. Consul-General in Berlin and I was a reporter for the Washington Post. He played an instrumental role in the creation of President Reagans speech calling on the Russians to tear down the Berlin Wall. He also served as the U.S. ambassador to Germany.

I forwarded to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Ambassador Kornblums personal observations on the 2012 Georgian election and a letter from Mr. Ivanishvili that Ambassador Kornblum informed me he had already sent to Secretary Clinton. I made a point of writing Secretary Clinton that I was sending them to her without comment.

I also included an article fromThe Economist, reporting on the blood feud of Georgian politics, that contained negative facts about all sides, including concerning Mr. Ivanishvili. I neither expected a response from Secretary Clinton, nor received one.

Nor were there, as you claimed, any news stories, because there are no facts. There can be no news without facts. Whatever you may have read could only have been baseless smears.

Thus, there is not a scintilla of evidence for your statement. Nor would it ever be possible to have such evidence because there is none.

Whoever provided you with this false information was harming you and your reputation as well as intending to harm me.

You have a responsibility to yourself as well to me and to the American public to determine who gave you this false information, encouraged you to make your recent statement and the reason why. In light of current events, it appears to have been instigated as a means to distract and diminish the public attention from the Russian intervention in the presidential election of 2016.

I request that you therefore investigate the sources of the false information to determine whether they have been engaged in an attempt to mislead the Congress and obstruct the ongoing investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

I look forward to your early reply.

Sincerely,

SidneyBlumenthal

Read the original post:
Nine months after Election Day, probes of Clinton and her campaign continue - Washington Post

Donald Trump just made yet another terrifying comment about the possibility of nuclear war.At a briefing on Aug. 8, Trump said that any further threats from the North Koreans would be met with fire and fury. And it's making everyone think of the same thing: Hillary Clinton's tweet about nuclear weapons from the 2016 campaign.

A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons, Clinton warned the United States in a tweet barely a year ago.

The message was signed with Clinton's first name, a sign that she wrote it herself, as opposed to staffers. It's frighteningly relevant now, as Trump appears to levelthreats against North Korea.

Trump's comments came at a meeting at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey, where he was leading a briefing on opioid addiction, according to the Associated Press. He seemed to be responding to the recent reports that North Korea has successfully created a nuclear weapon that can fit inside its missiles, a step closer to the nation developing the ability to wage war on the United States.

North Korea had best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen, Trumpsaid. They will be met with fire, fury, and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before.

Can you give an I told you so about nuclear war?

Seriously though, this is kind ofterrifying. Fire and fury is a great line when it comes from Daenerys Targaryen, not so much when it's coming out of the mouth of the president of the United States.

Fire and fury like the world has never seen, he said. Let's hope it never has to.

Subscribe to Elite Daily's official newsletter, The Edge, for more stories you don't want to miss.

Lilli Petersen is the Night News Editor at Elite Daily. She previously covered News & Politics for Refinery29, and has also been published at The Mary Sue. She writes people and argues with things.

Lilli Petersen is the Night News Editor at Elite Daily. She previously covered News & Politics for Refinery29, and has also been published at The Mary Sue. She writes people and argues with things.

See original here:
Everyone's Using This Hillary Clinton Tweet To Mock Trump On North Korea - Elite Daily

Topeka lawyer Margo E. Burson faced a formal complaint based on the losses of more than $183,000 by two Topeka women.

The family of one woman said she violated their trust. A nursing home had asked her repeatedly to fill out required paperwork for the other woman.

But when Burson appeared at a disciplinary hearing before the Kansas Supreme Court and was asked what authority she had to remove money from a clients account without a judges approval, she paused.

At this time, I decline to answer, Burson said.

Im sorry. What? Justice Dan Biles asked.

I decline to answer, Burson said.

Are you taking the Fifth Amendment? Biles asked.

Yes, Burson said.

With that, questioning about the status of the money ended. That hearing was June 15.

The Fifth Amendment protects a defendant from testifying to something that might be self-incriminating. A witness may sometimes plead the Fifth in district court cases.

But disciplinary administrator Stan Hazlett said he couldnt recall the protection being used in an attorney disciplinary hearing.

In a letter dated July 18, Burson voluntarily surrendered her Kansas law license, and the Kansas Supreme Court disbarred her a day later.

Burson was facing two complaints filed by the Office of the Disciplinary Administrator, which polices the conduct of Kansas lawyers, based on the losses of more than $183,000 by two Topeka women.

The estate of Dorothy May Harvey, an 89-year-old woman who died in September 2011, and a 96-year-old woman living in a senior care facility reported the losses. The name of the older woman hasnt been disclosed in public documents.

Betrayed

Family members were grateful for Bursons help during Harveys final illness, and Burson got initial accounting to family within days of Harveys death.

We trusted her implicitly, said Don Peters, a brother-in-law of Harvey who is married to her sister, June Peters.

Peters, who lives outside of Kansas, said Harveys obituary even reflected respect for the attorney.

The family expresses their deep appreciation to Margo Burson, who lovingly managed her health care affairs, the obituary said.

But the closing of the estate is still ongoing, Peters said. The Peterses became a little suspicious about a year after Harveys death, and by September 2016, they registered a complaint with the disciplinary administrators office.

In essence, she violated our trust, very seriously, Peters said. We feel betrayed, not so much for the money lost but for the time (lost).

Ten internet transfers totaling $66,000 were made from the Harvey estate account, then were deposited into Bursons operating account, according to disciplinary administrators records.

The transfers started on Aug. 19, 2016, and ended on Jan. 30, 2017, and ranged from $1,000 to $19,000 for each transfer, the records show.

We did trust her for years, unfortunately, until we learned she didnt merit our trust, Peters said. She is now our ex-lawyer.

In the other complaint against Burson, more than $117,249 wasnt paid to the account of a 96-year-old woman living at Brewster Place, officials said.

The disciplinary administrator received a complaint from an individual reviewing accounts on behalf of Brewster Place, where Burson had power of attorney for a resident beginning in 2005.

Records show Brewster Place sent letters and emails to Burson on numerous occasions asking her to fill out and file a Medicaid application, a request that began in March 2014.

By February 2017, the residents balance due to Brewster Place was more than $99,000, and on May 24, the balance was $117,249.

When the complaint was filed in June, Burson hadnt completed the Medicaid application process, and the resident remained at the facility.

Brewster Place does not wish to evict the woman, the complaint said.

Worn out

In an interview last week, Burson said she couldnt talk at length about the disciplinary case.

I am not in a position to discuss it at this time, Burson said.

The disciplinary action coincides with Bursons planned retirement, she said. Burson said she had planned to retire at the end of the fiscal year, which was June 30.

The timing on the other matter happened to coincide with her retirement, she said.

It was a surrender of the license, Burson said, rather than a knock down, drag out (disciplinary hearing). Some of us are worn out and ready to do something else.

A full evidentiary hearing was scheduled for Aug. 17 before a three-member panel of lawyers, but that was canceled after Burson surrendered her license.

During her June 15 appearance before the Kansas Supreme Court, Burson asked for time to complete documents for several other clients. She cited her health as a reason for retiring, saying she developed arthritis in the mid-1980s.

Lawyers facing serious allegations in disciplinary cases appear before the supreme court justices, and hearings are recorded on video. Serious cases include alleged acts of dishonesty, misappropriation of money and extreme misconduct.

The day Burson appeared before justices, they temporarily suspended her law license.

Hazlett, the disciplinary administrator, said she was disbarred a month later as a result of the allegations against her and her decision to surrender her license.

Hazlett said he would turn over the investigative materials to a law enforcement agency, and they can decide on how to proceed.

Contact reporter Steve Fry at (785) 295-1206 or @TCJCourtsNCrime on Twitter.

Read more:
Topeka lawyer for elderly women takes Fifth, disbarred amid ethics questions - Topeka Capital Journal

It speaks volumes that the past weekwhich featured an all new presidential agitprop production, rumors that an entire field of shadow GOP primary candidates are emerging to challenge Trump in 2020, and another patented Twitter hissy fitqualifies as a fairly quiet one in the Trump Administration, but that's 2017 for you. Still, boiling beneath the surface of the relative calm are the 16-23 DC-area souls that comprise Robert Mueller's shiny new grand jury. We begin this week's power rankings (see last week's here) with with him...

1. Robert Mueller (Last Week: 2) The Special Counsels impanelling of a grand jury in the Russia investigation, while not uncommon, is significant because it gives Mueller the power to subpoena any documents related to the investigation, and to compel any witness to testify under oath, rather than as a non-binding courtesy, as weve seen in Congressional testimonies to date. What you can expect then, if any crimes were committed, is a lot of pleading the Fifth. Legally speaking, a Fifth Amendment assertion is an admission of guilt of a crime, which, assures indictment and keeps the investigation rolling until heads do as well. Vox reported last week that as many as 10 senior FBI officials will testify, completely throwing out the window the He said, He said defense Trump was hoping to use against James Comey. And again, the fact that Mueller and his team havent so much as raised their head to defend against the administrations attacks should worry the hell out of Trump.

2. Paul Manafort (NA) The Ukrainian oligarchys favorite bank teller will be possibly the hardest target in Muellers investigation, will definitely be called before the grand jury, has almost certainly committed crimes that may have been recorded, and has no position in the administration. He then, is our pick for first player to roll on everyone else.

3. Jared Kushner (10) Last week we said OG Kush was the most likely administration candidate for prison, but was largely skating thanks to the personnel circus happening within the White House. One grand jury announcement later, and it appears Kushner will be facing much oath-swearing and asserting his Fifth Amendment privilege for the foreseeable future. Kushners only below Manafort because he has familial incentive to keep the administration afloat.

4. Donald Trump (3) - Combined polling average today: 36.6% approval In his first Twitter tantrum of the Kelly era, Dear Leader attacked Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal for lying about having served in Vietnam. This line of attack would be more effective coming from someone who hadnt received five deferments during the war and never served himself. In other news, the walls are closing in.

5. Mike Pence (NA) The VP doth protest too much, wethinks.

6. H.R. McMaster (NA) The alt-right and Russian social media bots have turned against the National Security Advisor (who enjoys a largely stellar reputation among the sane) for his alleged anti-Israel, anti-Russia, andmost-importantanti-Bannon views, leaving Trump in the unenviable position of defending him against the only people likely to ever vote for him again.

7. John Kelly (7) A week and a half in, the General doing an admirable job getting the house in order (relatively speaking) and getting a lot of media attention for it. In any other presidency this would be cause for celebration. In this one, you can almost see the praise eating away at the First Orange Veneer.

8. Jeff Sessions (NA) Our esteemed Attorney General continued on his mission to get out of the Prezs dog house by tossing some red meat to the base by launching a war on leaks, upping his Sisyphean crusade against legal marijuana (against his own advisors recommendations) and beginning an all-new crusade against affirmative action. His gambit may actually pay off politically, but he appears to be acting as his own agent, which, history shows, roils the boss.

9. Rod Rosenstein (NA) After the announcement of the Mueller grand jury, the Deputy Attorney General (leading the DOJ in this matter thanks to Sessionss recusal) went on Fox News Sunday and clarified that, despite warnings of red lines from the Trump camp, Mueller has the right to investigate any and all crimes uncovered over the course of his investigation, including those related to Trump family finances. Gulp.

10. Stephen Miller (NA) The leading candidate for White House Communications Director following Mooch got that way thanks to a condescending, hypocritical rant against a CNN reporter over a combination of legislation Trump promised not to pursue and a poem on the Statue of Liberty that has sacrosanct to the American experiment. Hell fit right in, for awhile.

Original post:
10 People Causing the Most Panic In the White House This Week - UrbanDaddy

Brands have long been able to search for company mentions on social media, but theyve lacked the ability to search for pictures of their logos or products in an easy way. Thats where Salesforces latest Einstein artificial intelligence feature comes into play.

Today the company introduced Einstein Vision for Social Studio, which provides a way for marketers to search for pictures related to their brands on social media in the same way they search for other mentions. The product takes advantage of a couple of Einstein artificial intelligence algorithms including Einstein Image Classification for image recognition. It uses visual search, brand detection and product identification. It also makes use of Einstein Object Detection to recognize objects within images including the type and quantity of object.

AI has gotten quite good at perception and cognition tasks in recent years. One result of this has been the ability to train an algorithm to recognize a picture. With cheap compute power widely available and loads of pictures being uploaded online, it provides a perfect technology combination for better image recognition.

Rob Begg, VP of product marketing for social and advertising products at Salesforce, says its about letting the machine loose on tasks for which its better suited. If you think of it from a company point of view, there is a huge volume of tweets and [social] posts. What AI does best is help surface and source the ones that are relevant, he says.

As an example, he says there could be thousands of posts about cars, but only a handful of those would be relevant to your campaign. AI can help find those much more easily.

Begg sees three possible use cases for this tool. First of all, it could provide better insight into how people are using your products. Secondly it could provide a way to track brand displays online hidden within pictures, and finally it could let you find out when influencers such as actors or athletes are using your products.

The product comes trained to recognize two million logos, 60 scenes (such as an airport), 200 foods and 1000 objects. That should be enough to get many companies started. Customizing isnt available in the first release, so if you have a logo or object not included out of the box, you will need to wait for a later version to be able to customize the content.

Begg says it should be fairly easy for marketers used to using Social Studio to figure out how to incorporate the visual recognition tools into their repertoire. The new functionality should be available immediately to Salesforce Social Studio users.

Link:
Salesforce AI helps brands track images on social media | TechCrunch - TechCrunch