Dr. András Göllner’s essay is the first installment of a three part series in HFP.
Introduction
It was during the 2016 Presidential election campaign, and for the first time in American electoral history, that a hostile foreign power, aided and abetted by one of the candidates, was able to decisively intervene and significantly influence the outcome of an American election.
American public opinion, the mass and social media, the political establishment and, the country’s secret services, are bitterly divided about the veracity of the relationship between the Russian secret services and Donald Trump’s campaign team. Most commentators claim that even if conclusive evidence of collusion were to be found, it is well nigh impossible to prove, that the relationship had any tangible impact on the outcome of the election.
This first, of a two part series, summarizes some fresh evidence about the nature of the collusion between the Russians and the Trump campaign. It will provide some empirically verifiable evidence of the electoral impact of the Russian leaks, in the context of the strategic aspirations of the Trump campaign.
We do not claim to have any insight into the evidence at the disposal of the FBI about the alleged collusion between the Trump team and the Russian secret service. What we have, is evidence, that the FBI is forbidden by law to investigate, because it lies outside the territory of the USA.
This series argues that the place where the FBI, Congress, and the American mass media should be looking for evidence, about the collusion between senior Trump staffers and the Russian secret service is not in America, but in far away Hungary, a member of NATO, the European Union, and a champion of Vladimir Putin in the West.
The Chain Bridge in a foggy Budapest. Photo source: piusz / muemlekem.hu
Our investigation has uncovered „the smoking gun” about the relationship between the Trump campaign and the Russian secret services. It shows that the connection between the Russian secret services and the Trump campaign is not a direct one. It did not run through the Russian embassy in the US or through the spies that have been expelled by Obama. It did not run through New York City or Moscow, or in conversations between campaign staff and the Russian ambassador to the US. It ran through Budapest, which is the European Headquarters of Putin’s FSB. Budapest was the „bridge” between the Trump campaign and the Russian secret service.
Some of our evidence is well known. It is known, for example, that the Russians and the Trump campaign had identical strategic interests. They both wanted to position Hillary Clinton as a „crooked and untrustworthy” candidate. What has not been known, up to now is, that the unacknowledged architect of this grand strategy was the notoriously secretive Arthur J. Finkelstein, a long time New York associate of Donald Trump, going back to the Roy Cohen days.
Finkelstein is perhaps the most bitter opponent of Hillary Clinton amongst a small circle of pro-Republican campaign gurus, and a frequent flyer to many of the capitals where Putin is seen as a hero. Finkelstein introduced Paul Manafort years ago to Putin’s pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarchs, who use their corporate hats, to advance Putin’s fortunes abroad. Finkelstein also had a big hand in Manafort’s addition to the Trump team. Finkelstein has also served as chief political strategist for the past 10 years, to Putin’s most loyal follower in the Western alliance – the Hungarian PM, Viktor Orbán. Finkie, as Orbán is fond to call him, also works for some of the most notorious autocrats of the former Soviet Republics, and always indirectly, so his pay-masters can’t be easily identified – a skill that he passed on to Trump’s ex-campaign chairman, Manafort.
As Steven Bannon confessed to the Hollywood Reporter, after the elections, polling and visceral messaging, a Finkelstein specialty, played a critical part in the Trump campaign. It is not a coincidence, that the campaign’s senior pollster was Tony Fabrizio, who learned his craft on Finkelstein’s knees. Virtually the entire top tier of the Trump campaign, including Roger Ailes and Roger Stone, have close personal ties to the man, who is known worldwide, as „The Merchant of Venom”.
While Finkelstein has been consciously kept out of the Trump campaign’s limelight, the campaign worked from his playbook, and that playbook had an important, hitherto unseen chapter on the art of dealing with Russia’s secret services. This series argues, that the Trump campaign had not only criminal intent (aiding and abetting Russian hacking of a political opponents’s confidential data base) but benefited from its criminal activities, by cornering the political market. (As our evidence about Finkelstein’s role in the campaign began to gather momentum, Finkelstein became unreachable. His friends and associates say, that he is undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer. We hope this is not yet another Finkelstein maneuver to throw people off his scent. We wish him speedy recovery so we can ask him directly, what he was doing on „the Budapest Bridge”.)
Putin’s Trojan Horse and the Trump campaign
During the past 7 years, and much of it thanks to Finkelstein’s successful Hungarian consulting practices, Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s current PM, managed to transform this small Central European country into a pale shadow of it’s former democratic self. Orbán, by his own admission, is Putin’s most supportive champion inside the Western alliance and the first and only Western leader to publicly endorse Trump as a candidate. By conservative estimates, Budapest is home to approximately 1000 members of the Russian secret service, most of them in the possession of Hungarian passports provided for by Hungary’s pro-Russian Ministry of the Interior. (These passports can be had for a hefty fee -300,000 Euros a pop – and after waiting only 30 days, which allows no time for a thorough vetting of the applicant. If passports were to be given to foreign aliens under such circumstances in the US, Homeland Security would be purged from top to bottom. In Canada, the minister would have to resign. In Hungary, this „passport business” has been subcontracted out to some of the most corrupt people in Viktor Orbán’s immediate entourage.)
The Hungarian government’s corrupt passport system, enables Russia’s top operatives to work and travel without any restrictions within the EU, and more importantly, to travel to the USA without a visa. Hungary’s bank laws provide an impenetrable financial shelter to those who are dealing with Putin’s secret services. Orbán’s Ministry of the Interior provides a protective umbrella against internet and telephone snooping. It is no coincidence that Europe’s most notorious right-wing populists, anti-Semites and anti-Muslim radicals, such as Holland’s Gert Wilders and Britain’s Nick Griffin, have established residences in Hungary. It is no coincidence that Putin is a frequent secret visitor. It is also not a coincidence that Finkelstein has a home in Budapest, and was, until recently, in weekly contact with Vladimir Putin’s most loyal Hungarian surrogate, Viktor Orbán.
Finkelstein and Orbán’s top Hungarian strategist, Árpád Habony, have a London based joint company, close to the headquarters of Wikileaks. The Russian leakage of embarrassing information about Hillary Clinton, was coordinated through Budapest, and London, and was designed to lower Clinton’s trustworthiness at pre-planned moments during the campaign. Clinton’s trustworthiness ratings, her public opinion support plumeted, on average, 5% points after each well timed leak, and especially during the closing stages of the campaign. These leaks dominated the news cycles at critical junctions in the campaign. Carefully orchestrated, they drove the all important pro-Trump social media (Facebook, Snapchat, twitter) that left the Clinton campaign grasping for air in the critical battle ground states. Arguing that the leaks had no concrete effect on the outcome of the election in the targeted states, is equal to saying that birds can fly without wings.
Some argue, that one of the reasons why Paul Manafort, Carter Page, and Roger Stone offered to voluntarily testify before the congressional committee is, that they were not the principals in the transactions, that took place on „the Budapest bridge”. We argue, that their eagerness to testify early has an entirely different explanation. They simply wanted to get through the congressional screening process early, before the proverbial brown matter hits the fan, and before the learning curve of the congressional investigators goes up a notch.
Who were the principals on „The Budapest Bridge” the FBI and Congress should investigate particularly closely, apart from Arthur Finkelstein ? The investigations should include Jo Anne Barnhart, Finkelstein’s close personal friend, and managing director of the Hungarian government’s secretive lobby arm in the US, the „Magyar Foundation”. It should include another Finkelstein protegé, and Hungarian lobbyist, ex-congressman Connie Mack IV. The latter is the recipient of a 5 million dollar contract, through a third party, to promote Putin’s Hungarian disciple in America. The Congressional investigators should also talk to Senator Sessions’ right hand man during the campaign, J.D. Gordon, who travelled six times to Budapest, and considers Putin’s Trojan Horse as one of the finest leaders within the Western alliance. Last, but not least, the FBI and the Congressional team should investigate Sebastian Gorka, Bannon’s „terrorism expert” and a man with a 15 year connection to anti-American, pro-Russian, pro-Iranian radicals in Hungary.
In our second installment, we shall provide some empirically verifiable evidence about Gorka’s Hungarian associates, and his 15 year track record in Hungary as an enemy of democracy and the rule of law. That alone should make for his rapid exit from his strategic position in the White House. Our own findings fully support the call of three American senators – Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, and Ben Cardin of Maryland – who, on March 17, sent a joint letter to the US Justice Department asking the agency to look into whether Gorka “falsified his naturalization application or otherwise illegally procured his citizenship.” We will argue, that Trump’s senior campaign associate, failed to disclose the full extent of his neo-fascist, anti-American, anti-Democratic political ties in Hungary prior to being given American citizenship. By marrying an American multimillionaire, a Trump campaign donor with connections in high places, Gorka managed to secure access to the White House on behalf of forces, that, are diametrically opposed to America’s national interests.
In our second installment we shall provide further evidence of „the smoking gun” in the Trump campaign, and in Mr. Gorka’s closet.
To be continued in HFP on Friday…
*
About the Author of this series
András B. Göllner split his time between Budapest and Montreal from 1990 until 2010, as a senior political-economic advisor, on governmental transparency. He organized the current Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán’s first visit to Canada, and learned, through close personal contact, about many of his corrupt practices. He conducted the first and only study (financed by USAID) that looked inside the operations of the Hungarian Ministry of the Interior, which today, works arm in arm with Russia’s secret services. He is an internationally recognized expert on Central European politics, has a PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics, published 3 books, and dozens of articles, in such well known English language media as The LA Times, The Huffington Post, The National Post, or the Montreal Gazette, to name just a few. He is a regular contributor to the Hungarian Free Press. His current status is Professor Emeritus, at Montreal’s Concordia University.
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A FALSE PREMISE AND STATEMENT-THE REST IS IRRELEVANT!
False without proof: “It was during the 2016 Presidential election campaign, and for the first time in American electoral history, that a hostile foreign power, aided and abetted by one of the candidates, was able to decisively intervene and significantly influence the outcome of an American election.”
the truth will set you free. Imminent freedom awaits
Another Putin troll weighs in
Collusion between the Trump campaign/administration and the Hungarian far right (which includes Orban) is undeniable. Gorka is the practical linchpin, Finkelstein is the political mastermind. But I wonder if this cozy relationship will change now that the State Department and the fed administration made it clear that it is miffed by the CEU affair and demand that the Fideszniks repeal their law.
@ Jr
Grow up 🙂
I know you hate Hillary. You have told me that in writing, hundreds of times. I also know, from our earlier correspondences, that the alt-right’s gun-totting grand-standing, and Trump’s maniacal boulder-dash is the thing that gets your juices flowing, as it does in the case of many post-retirement white males in America.
Jr ! When you can refute my arguments rather issue blanket statements, I may take you seriously. Until then, you and the likes of you are wing-nuts in my eyes.
Bravo!
Absolutely remarkable investigative work by Professor Gollner!
If even only a third of it can be solidly verified, it should be invaluable to sorting things out in both Budapest and Washington (not to mention Moscow) in relation to the unspeakable mess the planet is in now.
@ Prof Harnad
Thanks for the interesting complement 🙂 Your comment suggests to me that for you and for now, my “absolutely remarkable work” is entirely unproven, and you will be delighted if someone comes along and verifies at least a third of my claims. Let me try to make you a happy man 🙂
I stand by every one of the arguments I put forward in this study, because I have been a strict observant of the scientific method for the past 45 years of my life, and got to my current position because of this dedication. I stand by my arguments, until someone comes along and refutes them, using this method, rather than categorical assertions, or arguments based on the size of my hands, or the shape of my nose 🙂 Having arrived at my conclusions via the scientific method – using deductive and inductive reasoning and empiricism – I stand by my conclusions, and encourage all comers to use this method in an effort disprove me and thereby move us closer to the truth.
But let me provide you an even more satisfying piece of news. A very significant part of my “remarkable work” – roughly 70% – is of the type that experts in the field have already verified. (For the sake of illustration: When we talk about the earth being round these days, or about its trajectory around the sun, we do not need to present yet again, Copernicus’ detailed calculations.) Russia’s meddling in the US elections has already been verified by 17 separate American state organizations, not to mention, the work of the British, German and French Secret Services. The Hungarian Secret Services do not require any verification, since they participated in the exercise, and some of their members, like Ferenc Katrein, have already spilled the beans. It’s only Trump, Steve Banon’s or their ilk, who believe that the hacking of the DNC data base was the work of a 400 lb woman sitting on her bed. Each of the players named by me in this report, participated in the process of convincing Americans, that Hillary can’t be trusted. Each of them occupies a seat inside Putin’s Trojan Horse. (For the latter tern, the copyright is Jan Werner Müller’s.) The occupants of the Trojan Horse have now been put on the investigators’ target list, they can no longer hide, or fly under the radar as they have, until now.
Dear Prof Harnad: I am certain, that you and I have a common purpose. We both want the Trojan Horse and its occupants out of our lives, and out of the electoral processes of nations, who value the rule of law, justice, and the protection of the dignity of our fellow human beings.
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This is amazing. Have you shared it with authorities? Why did you wait so long to being this forward?
American’s need to act decisively and with haste to punish all actors of treason , impeachment is immediate , and no one gets away with treason in the USA, Trump and his campaign didn’t understand that Treason is the worst crime a US citizen can perpetrate against his Nation.
“having arrived at my conclusions via the scientific method – using deductive and inductive reasoning and empiricism – I stand by my conclusions, and encourage all comers to use this method in an effort disprove me and thereby move us closer to the truth.” ‘Scientific method’?
Of course it couldn’t possibly be that Hillary Clinton is/has been the most hated and scandal plagued female politician in America for twenty years and the DNC got caught cheating Bernie Sanders out of the nomination, further depressing Democratic turnout. Like Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) citing the ex-FBI agent turned Hooverite Clint Watts, you have zero evidence that any Russian trolls changed a single vote in Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, so you rely on imputations. You cannot show how white working class voters who barely know what Twitter is and are on Facebook just to keep up with their grandchildren were influenced by ‘Russian propaganda’, so you assume it, like Joe McCarthy assumed the State Department and even the US Army and Eisenhower Administration was full of ‘reds’ in the 1950s.
http://www.roguemoney.net/2017/04/02/clint-watts-con-deep-state-smears-trump-and-defames-63-million-americans/
The irony of the situation is rich — in the name of fighting conspiracy theories that allegedly come from Russia (the latest ABC News story on the #SyriaHoax story being a classic example of no proof, it couldn’t possibly be that many Americans don’t trust the White Helmets or think they’re in bed with Al-Qaeda) you have created a monster conspiracy theory, an Atlanticist/globalist stab in the back myth to explain the MSM and Establishment’s humiliation over Hillary losing. In the name of fighting foreign power influence in American politics you skip over the three biggest foreign meddlers in Washington, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, all three of whom demand American boys bleed and die to topple Assad for them (and in the latter two cases, have already had their terrorist proxies get caught making mustard gas and other chemical weapons).
This American salutes the patriots of Europe resisting Islamization, open borders globalist fueled street crime insurgency, and the end to brother wars and endless Cold War 2 with Russia.
Fascinating. Have you shared with MSNBC? Rachel Maddow could tell your story beautifully. You should give that a chance, then, your story will grow wings.
“Russia’s meddling in the US elections has already been verified by 17 separate American state organizations,” this is a hoax, a lie, an endlessly repeated Democrat talking point uncritically accepted by the neocon dominated portions of the GOP that are sadly bullying/blackmailing Trump into buying into their supporting Al-Qaeda gassing civilians and blaming Assad in Syria agenda.
NSA accepted the findings only with ‘medium confidence’, CIA and FBI pushed it under their politicized directors John ‘ibn Saud’ (former Riyadh station chief and suspected Saudi asset after his Muslim conversion, promoter of Muslim Brotherhood and Syria jihad) Brennan. James Comey, the compromised director of FBI whose deputy Andrew McCabe has a wife receiving large campaign contributions from Clinton crony Terry McAuliffe and is close to #NeverTrump fanatic Benjamin Wittes of Lawfare, pushed this agenda. As did known perjurer to Congress James ‘the clap’ Clapper who lied through his teeth despite knowing the question was coming and the option to discuss in closed sessions whether or not the NSA spies on Americans.
This is remarkable. I hope it can help us!!!
Really interesting assertions that will hopefully be looked into and further corroborated by other investigative journalists too. Thanks for your hard work!
What has not been known, up to now is, that the unacknowledged architect of this grand strategy was the notoriously secretive Arthur J. Finkelstein, a long time New York associate of Donald Trump, going back to the Roy Cohen days.
Trump’s scumbag attorney’s name was Roy Cohn, not Cohen.
Correction:
Trump’s scumbag attorney’s name was Roy Cohn, not Cohen.
Professor Göllner, I read you with fascination and respect. One question. You write: “Clinton’s trustworthiness ratings, her public opinion support plumeted, on average, 5% points after each well timed leak, and especially during the closing stages of the campaign.” Can you document this statement?
So there really was a ‘vast far right conspiracy’! I wonder if even Hillary Clinton knew it went *this* far.
It couldn’t possibly be that Hillary Clinton is reviled because of a decades old smear campaign by Repuglicans with added touches now by Rupert the Demon Murdoch’s hellspawn demon empire faux news.
James sure seems to be towing the party line. Such outbursts only lend credibility to these theories as the willful ignorance and obvious susceptibility to misinformation is madder public.
It is “toe the line”. Look it up: http://grammarist.com/usage/toe-the-line/
Can all of the above be true? Speaking as a well educated. long time US left activist, I say yes. You don’t have to be on the right to know Hillary was the worst possible candidate for this time period. She was/is hated by both left and right (for different reasons) long before this election. While lacking details, every knew the Clintons are totally without a principled core, neoliberal and hawkish. . Everyone knew, in general, about their speaking engagements, that the Clinton Foundarion was basically a way to launder money. Persinally, I was surprised she ran. Really who else would gladly suffer what was in store for her.
To assert that the Russian connection, which apparently is real, is the reason she lost is another thing. I’m sure it didn’t help but the criticisms of her predate the leaks. Young educated people of color concluded the Clinton politics are racist, cutting her assumed massive numbers of votes from the Black and Asian communities, many simply didn’t vote for President.
I am assuming next piece will show some polling data that tried to measure her negatives. I’m looking forward to the piece
Good grief “James” or (should I call you Roger Stone?) your repeating the claims about Brennan being Muslim puts you in the league with Glenn Beck. Just proves the point of Russian bots Clint Watts, whom you also disparage, do exist. The minute you said: “You cannot show how white working class voters who barely know what Twitter is and are on Facebook just to keep up with their grandchildren were influenced by ‘Russian propaganda’…” you gave yourself away as someone with no clue about the Rust Belt or working class Americans. Apparently this excellent article is being taken a might too personally….hitting too close to home for you?
Also, Hillary didn’t even bother to go the UAW union halls in Michigan to pass around the usual pablum about the Dems being the party of “working families” She assumed that the Union could manuage turnout for her. Oops.
@ Todd Gitlin
I have done the math. It would take too much space here – this is not a graduate student dissertation. The numbers are freely available to the mass media, if it would only get off the pot, and do its homework. I await to be proven wrong, by anyone. Please follow the dates of the leaks – and look at Hillary’s trustworthiness ratings 5 days before, five days after each date, especially in the battleground states. These were the numbers that Trump’s chief polling strategist, Tony Fabrizio, kept his eyes on, while everyone else looked at the size of Donald’s hands. This is why Donald kept saying, “I love Wikieleaks” while holding up his hands in front of the cameras. 🙂
As I said, anyone who claims the leaks did not affect Clinton’s trustworthiness ratings – i.e. did not feed into the strategic narrative of the Trump campaign and diminish her competitiveness – are arguing that birds can fly without wings.
Thank you, and everyone, for your comments.
You are basing your theory on US polls which ended up being totally bunk, or even fake.
While internal polling and polls which the US Hilary Media refused to even acknowledge, already predicted a Trump win in key states throughout the summer.
Hilary was lost as early as June of 2016. After her public collapse on 911, she took the final blow.
The rest was just media trying to rescue her. From certain death as she never recovered after that. The polls were faked. They over polled Democrats, blacks, Hispanics, they manipulated the numbers so that Trump support would diminish due to the sheep effect.
Where that failed, was in the assumption that the people they tried to persuade with their propaganda, never even read, watch or see their “reporting” or care or even know about their polls.
Those people don’t watch MSNBC and CNN.
America is a country of towns and is made of people who live locally.
Trump understood that, because he had good advice. Hilary ignored that reality and tried to motivate her own choir, over and over. Never really even trying to understand how people think or live in fly over country.
Trump didn’t win because of Wikileaks, he won because the Democrat white working class switched to Trump and repeated the Reagan math of 1980. A section Hilary declared deplorable, irredeemable and her media allies even went as far as calling them racists, sexist, homophobic and dumb. Try to sell something to someone you just insulted to the core. Try to earn the love of someone who’s issues and concerns you just dismissed, mocked and derided.
You can promote all the conspiracy theories you want, they have no basis in fact. None. Nor do they have basis in any objective measure of anything because you diminish your own theory’s credibility yourself by your ignoring of polling data which did reflect the reality of the race. By ignoring the US economy and focusing on one person, Finkelstein, one country Hungary and one villain, Russia. That may be your world of heroes and villains. But it is not the world of 90% of Americans.
They live in their world. Their problems, unemployment, crime, drug addiction, urban decay, racial relations which Obama brought back to the 60s were the issues they voted on, not Hilary and Podesta bitching over pasta sauce and Bernie.
– Bernie, a non party member communist, who almost took it from Hilary !
A man who honeymooned in the USSR and praised Che and Castro, almost took it from Hilary. Because Hilary was so bad and so corrupt. The Democrats had no other option but to support Bernie if they didn’t want Hilary. The Clintons ruined the Party and ruined the race by pushing out all alternatives. Leaving that to a non Democrat member Marxist.
The issues Trump won on were the most basic issues.
Bread & butter issues which also propelled Obama in 2008. Because then, they were ignored by Bush and McCain.
Now, after being ignored by Obama and the Democrats who were more interested in Islam appeasing, trans-gender wash rooms in schools, police controversies, opening the borders wide open during a time of record high unemployment and also, on the foreign front, making apologies for America and its policies and constant vilification of the military and the notion of American greatness, “exceptional-ism” when these small communities of “deplorables” are the ones sending their sons to die or be mutilated in foreign wars.
They lost the trust of the common man. End of story.
Hilary, the Democrats (whom she and her machine intimidated into nominating her by destroying all opposition and contest ) saw middle America as the villain and as the enemy. Because they believed their own virtue signalling propaganda and now are running to conspiracy paranoia for saving face. Because defeat of the self righteous is a hard one to swallow.
This is 911 Truth in reverse. 11/9 Truth.
You can make the same arguments about Bush “colluding” with Saudis ahead of 911 using personal contacts, alleged meetings and addresses being “close”. Its not evidence. It’s emotions chasing coincident occurrences or circumstantial indicators. Which you cobble together like the Loose Change producers. Thrown in a “expert” and some grainy photographs, quote unnamed sources about “explosions” heard in the towers before collapse, and you will sell seminar space to disaffected weak minded idiots with strong egos.
If you made similar accusations of Hilary, had she won and Trump was claiming some conspiracies, you would be treated like the Pakistani “journalists” trying to prove that Bin Laden was not behind 911 but “Jews and Bush were”.
Hilary was also the worst alternative when trying to run her against a supposedly “foreign backed” Trump. Her associations to Saudi Arabia, Quatar, and YES RUSSIA made the allegations against Trump look like jokes.
This woman sold 20% of US Uranium deposits to a KGB front company. While her rapist husband took $100s of 1000s in “speaking fees”. Podesta is now trying to use his lawyers to silence reports of his shares and warrants obtained from Putin linked companies in shady deals he and his brother did in Moscow. Then Biden’s son and his deals with Ukrainian oligarchs and oil/gas concessions.
-You can’t throw stone from glass castles.
The world wanted Trump to lose. The world media was out to get him, from NY to Beijing to London and Paris in between.
What logical mind would believe that little Orban could overcome all of that. That he’s some super power hiding in plain sight. That his efforts, could overcome and outdo, the British, French, German, Swedish, etc…intelligence agencies and their media puppets.
This neo McCarthy obsession with Russia, whom the Democrats and the Left have been working so hard to appease for decades is back. Except now the paranoia has no ideological base to it.
-Communism is gone, though it is amusing to see Russia emerge as a villain among those who wanted to appease it before it dropped Marxism.
With the media succumbing to madness and conspiracy peddling, after seeing their candidate lose, you can now sell this paranoid bullshit as reporting. Otherwise you would be booking hotel rooms with cheap muffins and a white board showing how water flows up, how Russian spies are hiding in the closet and how an election was stolen from a thief.
Hating Hillary does not prove she is right.
Hating Putin also does not prove he is not right.
And vice versa.
Even if somebody is the slave of Putin, she may be skilful in finding the result of 2×2.
But the worst is the tantalising hunglish of the style.
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@ Ákos Magyar
Are you the tail that wags the dog, or the man who throws glasses from a stoned castle ? You know what the joker said to the thief ? He said: There must be some way outa here. Why don’t you find it, and tweet about it next time. 🙂
@András Göllner
It is not correct to call Geert Wilders an anti-semite. Quite the contrary, he is a big friend of Israel and American-Jewish sponsors in the US. Be aware, between the various European far-right parties a lot of differences exist.
Just found this (through Hungarian Spectrum), it’s very interesting, but have one reservation/question about this first part:
The mentioned “passport-business” isn’t about passports (for 300.000 EUR), but the Hungarian Residence Bond Program. Through this program permanent Hungarian Residents Permits can be obtained, and it was advertised in Iraq as “the fastest, cheapest and guaranteed way to get European Schengen Permanent Residency For All Life”. So it’s not about passports, but residence permits for Hungary, valid also for European Schengen area (only).
Another related item is the so called “visa factory”, which was run between 2011 and 2015 in Moscow by a member of the member of the Hungarian diplomatic corps, latest numbers I remember were some 4,000 pieces issued to Russian citizens. To my knowledge this case is still under investigation, certain (for the government not positive) things take a lot of time in Hungary.
So my question: do EU residence permit and/or EU visa, but a non-EU passport, really make it possible to travel to the USA without a visa?
Dear Prof. Gollner,
Think positive: the fact that you receive comments from the likes of Jr., James, and Akos suggests that your writings (and HFP itself) are read and taken seriously by Gorka, Bannon, and their establishment(s). Be happy and smile!
Re/ Prof. Harnad’s comment: I think the two of you would agree if the word “verified” were replaced by “corroborated” — after all, the American intelligence bodies do have the means to follow up on your one-person investigation, although if they did, it might well lead to the end of Trump’s presidency.
Just what happened to the rest of the comments ?
There have been more comments posted before.
Dear Professor Gollner;
First of all, Akos Magyar given a pretty well summed up response to your article. He listed the facts that cleared up, as well contradicted your allegation.
You have not given him an civilized reply.
Instead, you have only attempted to trash him.
( I posted the above remark before, that simply vanished. Seems censored. Really nice.)
Second; Your article is full of contradictions. In case you have not noticed it yourself, I list a few here. Hopefully, it is not going to vanish again.
1., ” Most commentators claim that even if conclusive evidence of collusion to be found, it is well might impossible to prove…”
So, even IF evidence could be found to prove your allegations, it could NOT be proven?!
Dos not that simply means that there just do not exist any “evidence”, and EVEN if there was some, it could NOT be proven. Strange indeed.
2., “…it will provide some empirically verifiable evidence…”
Let’s see some !
3., “We do not claim to have any insight into the evidence at the disposal of the FBI….what we have is evidence…”
Fact; The FBI investigated it, you do NOT have any idea what they uncovered, yet you have the evidence. Hmmm? But not the FBI .???
4., ” Our investigation has uncovered …in Budapest,which is the European headquarter of Putin’s FBS…”
Oh come on professor. even back when Hungary was a strong ally of the Soviets ,as well the KGB , it had NOT have its headquarter in Budapest.
Now that Hungary is being in the hand of right-wing political parties and officials, they set up the FBS headquarter in Budapest?
Professor, you know that is not true.
5., ” Some of our evidence is well known…”
Than just why do NOT you disclose it ?
Several other commenters have suggested to you, to provide it all to proper authorities. Why didn’t you?
Really wonder, just how much one well known individual who is so much has being locked horns with the Orban regime. As well hoped to live to see Mrs. Clinton crowned, has been blown by the American voters, now so eager to get even with the winner of the US election, willing to spend any amounts to have his revenge.
Is that where the wind is blowing from ?
Living here in Budapest as an American, none of this surprises me at all, although I was unaware of any actual direct collusion. But certainly makes sense in so many ways. And of course, Orban’s swift visit after the inauguration to work on deals in light of the belief that sanctions would swiftly be eased also plays to this. I think more research should be done as to the extreme ties between US and Hungarian evangelical groups, which I know to exist. In any event, thank you for your work, and you had me at “Senator Sessions’ right hand man during the campaign, J.D. Gordon, who travelled six times to Budapest.” I mean… who the hell would visit Budapest six times?! And I assume you mean our now Attorney General Sessions? Another interesting item to note on a more macro level is the Hungarian-Chinese tie…. just in terms of where Hungary’s interests lie and how those interests may or may not be influenced or influence a Trump administration:http://bbj.hu/economy/first-direct-freight-train-from-china-arrives-in-hungary_131868
@Bendeguz79 American voters did “crown” Hillary Clinton so check your facts. Like 3 million of them. Also, @ Ákos Magyar have you heard of the expression “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks?” You are throwing so much to hope something sticks that your entire argument is suspect.