The Anti-Trump Conspiracy Theorist Run Wild With FBI Raid On A GOP Consulting Firm

Before I get into the story take a moment and read the next paragraph.

Back during the height of the Iran-Contra scandal (I never realized until this that using Iranian money to kill commies at no expense to the taxpayer could possibly be a bad thing) two leftwing provocateurs, Tony Avrigan and Martha Honey, collaborated by an equally leftwing “public interest law firm” called the Christic Institute to pursue a wide-ranging lawsuit of many members of the Reagan administration as well as prominent anti-communist personalities. This shadowy group, called “the secret team,” was allegedly involved in a multi-decade scheme to sell drugs in the US to buy arms to equip anti-communist forces just about everywhere. Two of the figures in the lawsuit were Oliver North and John Singlaub. Most are familiar with Oliver North. Singlaub was a four-star general who commanded US forces in South Korea during part of the Carter Administration. Carter relieved him in 1977 when he disagreed with the decision to withdraw some US forces from Korea and forced him to retire two years later when he continued to publicly criticize Carter’s defense policy. Anyway, in this lawsuit Oliver and Singlaub were alleged to have hatched a conspiracy when they were in Vietnam to sell heroin in the United States. The sum total of the evidence presented was the fact that they were in Vietnam at the same time. Singlaub was an Army general and North was a Marine lieutenant. In short, this was as ridiculous as most of the Russia allegations being investigated today.

The reason I bring this up is so you can appreciate this story.

Yesterday, the FBI and US Marshals raided the offices of a GOP political consulting firm in Annapolis, Maryland.

The firm in question is Strategic Communications Group whose owner is a part-owner of Conservative Strikeforce. Conservative Strikeforce was accused of being a “scam-PAC,” i.e. a PAC that raises money using candidates’ names and gives them a pittance. Ken Cuccinelli sued them and the FEC was investigating them:

From 2010 to 2016, Conservative Strikeforce raised $12 million, with only a small circle of firms receiving the cash. Strategic Campaign Group earned $579,000 from the PAC during that time, and the PAC spent more than $8 million on efforts to raise more funds. It gave $320,000 to state and federal candidates over the last seven years.

In 2014, Ken Cuccinelli, who had just waged a campaign for governor in Virginia, slapped the group with a lawsuit. The former Virginia attorney general alleged that it had used his name to fundraise without authorization. The PAC ultimately settled with the Republican politician, including paying $85,000 and handing over its distribution lists.

The Virginia lawsuit said Strategic Campaign Group is a part owner of the PAC, and Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show that the Conservative Strikeforce paid Strategic Campaign Group $10,000 in 2015 for “reimbursement for legal settlement.”

This looks pretty simple, right? But when you are dealing with people who dislike Trump nothing is ever that simple. For instance:

Quick thread to explain how Strategic Campaign Group, which is currently being raided by the FBI, has ties to Paul Manafort.

— Molly (@bitchyologist) May 11, 2017

The firm Black, Manafort, Stone, and Kelly was formed in 1980 and merged with another firm to form BKSH and Associates in 1996. pic.twitter.com/Bz4RAWwfL0

— Molly (@bitchyologist) May 11, 2017

Dennis Whitfield, who is listed as a Senior Advisor at Strategic Campaign Group on their official website, used to be a director of BKSH. pic.twitter.com/gANR04yOdf

— Molly (@bitchyologist) May 11, 2017

So this firm has a pretty direct connection to Paul Manafort.

— Molly (@bitchyologist) May 11, 2017

Also, important to explicitly mention that Strategic Campaign Group is also directly connected to Roger Stone.

— Molly (@bitchyologist) May 11, 2017

And the notorious National Enquirer of progressive politics, The Palmer Report (sorry, no links because I don’t want to encourage the clinically deranged) has this headline No, the FBI’s raid of Strategic Campaign Group in Annapolis today wasn’t about Ken Cuccinelli.

As Palmer Report has spent the day digging up, Strategic Campaign Group has indirect connections to Donald Trump campaign advisers Paul Manafort and Roger Stone (link), as well as indirect connections to the Trump Taj Mahal (link). And the FBI used its Twitter account to tip its hand about the importance of the raid at the exact time it was being carried out (link). So while we still don’t know for sure that today’s raid was part of the FBI’s Trump investigation, it wasn’t about Ken Cuccinelli.

(From the styie, sometimes I wonder if the GatewayPundit boys aren’t doing Palmer Report as a side business.)

BREAKING: Ties found between GOP lobbying firm just raided by FBI to Trump, via casino firm Penn Natl. Gaming. pic.twitter.com/D7ZxyIfDrH

— Beth Brigham (@PersuasivePR) May 11, 2017

Kelley Rogers @ SRC -> lobbyist 4 Prince George Racing -> owned by Penn Natl -> bought Argosy from Perry, Pres of Trump Gaming.

— Beth Brigham (@PersuasivePR) May 11, 2017

A casino lobbyist working for a casino company owned by Donald Trump. This is devastating.

If you’ll note the sum total of connections between Strategic Campaign Group and Paul Manafort or Roger Stone is one guy who worked in the the Stone/Mnafort lobbying group 20 years ago. If you rule out the Cuccinelli case, you are making the leap that this group is still affiliated with Manafort and of that there is zero evidence. The fact that they could be sufficiently close to engage in behavior that would merit a visit from federal agents and

None of this is to say I don’t expect Manafort and Stone to get early morning visits from the FBI in the next few months. I do. I fully believe, though do not allege, Manafort is up to his perfumed unibrow in money laundering. But this, ladies and gentlemen, is not tied to the ongoing investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign or to Trump. This is lunacy.

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