Donald Trump And Witch Hunts

In the wake of FBI searches of his lawyer's office, home, and hotel room, Donald Trump has lost his cool, yet again, and declared that authorities are on a "witch hunt", and that "attorney/client" privilege is "dead". He is so wrong.

Bob Mueller discovered some evidence connected to Michael Cohen, the attorney in question, that possibly connected him to crime in New York, and therefore turned the information over to prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. In turn, those prosecutors requested and were granted search warrants for Cohen's properties. That is not a "witch hunt". That is an orchestrated search warrant. Also, attorney/client privilege has never been extended to attorneys and clients who commit crimes together. Officers of the court are expected to remain above suspicion and refrain from corruption. The people of New York do not owe Trump or his attorney a free pass to crime and corruption.

On national television, Donald Trump declared that an FBI search of a property connected to a suspect is not only a "witch hunt", but "an attack on our country in a true sense".....whatever that means.....and "an attack on what we all stand for." Wow. So we now have a leader who thinks that we all stand for crime, and for the ability to get away with crime. Where does this leave all the recent police shootings of innocent unarmed black men? Trump does not have a problem with that. It seems that in Trump's world, the police are only here to promote what he "stands for"; racism and crime. In reality, there are a few of us left in this nation who do not stand for crime. If those agents serving the search warrants for the FBI were truly seeking a Witch, they certainly would have found one by now. 

Operation Cross Country And Junction City, Kansas

It seems that Friday the thirteenth was very exciting, last week, in Junction City, Kansas. The FBI apprehended some folks who were doing what teachers and administration from USD 380, Vermillion, and what former Congresswoman Sharon Schwartz's husband have emphatically stated never happen in Kansas: sex trafficking of children. The thing that makes Kansas very different from other states is the size of the population. There are only about 3 million people in Kansas, making it one of the most sparsely populated states in America, especially for its size; yet one of its cities, Wichita, is in the top five recruiting cities in the entire country for finding and recruiting victims! It does not matter what congressional representatives in Kansas tell us or what school principals tell us: the problem, according to the FBI, is real.

White House Tapes Are A Hot Item Again

Why would Trump mention tapes, in this day and age, when we can record our surroundings on our phones? Chances are, the only recordings of his conversation with Jim Comey, when he asked Comey to stop investigation Mike Flynn, were cell phone recordings. Trump should stop thinking he can act like a mob boss and start understanding that he must play nicely with others.

Look Who Came Home!

Elizabeth Thomas, who has been missing for almost six weeks, and Myra Alissia Freeman, who has been missing for fifteen months, have both been found this week. Thomas had been kidnapped in Tennessee by one of her teachers, who was subsequently given his pink slip in absentee, both she and the fired teacher were found in Northern California, near Yreka. We still do not have a lot of details about Freeman's situation, but we know she is alive and well. She disappeared from her Alabama home, and turned up in El Paso, Texas. It's always a pleasure to see missing persons found alive and well. Thomas's teacher, Tad Cummins did not have any cell service in Yreka, but he has "cell" service now! He is being held without bond.

Here's How It Differs From Watergate

Yes, Donald Trump's phones and computers were investigated by remote. He was, in fact, "wiretapped". A server at Trump Tower had a lot of communication with Alfa Bank, in Russia, and with Vladimir Putin during the summer and fall of 2016. Since nothing we do online is anonymous, the FBI noticed, and got a warrant to investigate. It was that simple. If Donald Trump thinks that any president would say no to such an investigation, he is delusional.

This differs from Watergate primarily because it was an actual investigation, complete with a warrant issued by the court for a wiretap. Watergate was spying and invasion of privacy. Nixon and et els were attempting to manipulate the success of a campaign and the outcome of a future election by criminal means. That's not what happened at Trump Tower. Due process was followed in the wiretapping of Trump Tower. No court gave Nixon permission to eavesdrop on the Democrats, but the court gave the FBI permission to investigate Donald Trump.

Another difference is that the investigation of the server at Trump Tower involves a foreign power. Had a Russian bank, with which Trump claimed he has no commerce, not been flagged, again and again, on his server, nothing would have seemed suspect. As it happens, Alfa Bank is also connected to Vladimir Putin. It would be negligent for the FBI to ignore such communiques. Nothing about this investigation compares to Watergate.

Trump Cries About Wiretaps

In case there is someone out there in Internetland who has not heard, Donald Trump has dominated Twitter, yet again, with yet another petty complaint. This time, it is an accusation against Barack Obama; specifically, that he had the phones at Trump Tower wiretapped during the election. Here's what he said, among other things:

While it is tempting to simply write this off as another stupid sounding complaint by an unqualified and ill-elected president, it is important to note the reaction of Kevin Lewis, Obama's spokesman, prior to passing judgement.  "A cardinal rule of the Obama administration was that no White House official ever interfered with any independent investigation led by the Department of Justice. As part of that practice, neither President Obama nor any White House official ever ordered surveillance on any U.S. citizen. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false, " Lewis stated.

This is interesting. A president cannot order the wiretapping of any American citizen's phone, or any unconstitutional invasion of privacy. If Donald Trump does not know this, and must reach out to his Twitter audience for an answer, he is too stupid for the oval office. Another very telling aspect of Lewis's remark is what he said about DOJ investigations. As it happens, there actually WAS a warrant, which was not obtained by the White House, but by the FBI, to investigate communications at Trump Tower. It centered on a server which was found to be communicating with Russia's Alfa Bank, which has strong ties to Vladimir Putin. It seems that Mr. Trump just found out about the FBI investigation yesterday.

As long as an investigation is ongoing, the FBI is usually not inclined to comment or speak publicly about it. Had Donald Trump just resisted the urge to tweet, many, many Americans would not be aware, today, that the FBI has been investigating his computer and email activities, in connection to his relationship with entities in Russia. It seems plausible that we will hear more about this in the future.

Just A Reminder

 

Just to remind everyone of something, before voting. I stole the meme from Facebook.

Update To Colton Barrera Petition

 

Colton Barrera has now been missing for seven years. There was talk at one point about involving the FBI, but no investigation was ever done by them. There have been tips called in over the years to the sheriff in Russell County, Kansas, concerning a possible murder and possible whereabouts, but it appears that the sheriff and all of his men have chosen to ignore any information that is offered, all the while refusing to ask the FBI for help. I have updated the petition I wrote a few months ago. Please sign it and share it; the link is here: Petition Requesting An Update To Colton Barrera's Case.

The United States Wants Edward Snowden Arrested Immediately

This past week, Edward Snowden was invited to Norway to receive the Bjornson Prize, by the Bjornstjern Bjornson Acadamy for freedom of expression. In their own words, the award is being presented for "work protecting privacy and shining a critical light on U.S. surveillance of its citizens and others." Snowden did not appear in person. Why? Because the United States sent them a memo, demanding the immediate arrest of Snowden and confiscation of his computers, cell phones, and any other electronic trappings found on his person or in his luggage.

Since a Norwegian institution has offered an award to Snowden for the very act for which the United States has issued an arrest warrant, it seems unlikely that anyone in Norway will request any of Snowden's time for anything besides getting an autograph from him. In fact, Norway's Department of Justice reassures us all that, "What Norway has done is to inform the American authorities how the Norwegian justice system works. If they request an extradition, the prosecuting authorities will decide if the case should be brought before the courts. And the court will decide if the terms for extradition are fulfilled." Imagine that! The United States does not get its own way when hounding a citizen in the civilized world! The CIA and the FBI have also pressured other countries to arrest Snowden on sight. America has even threatened to alter diplomatic relations with other countries over imminent refusals to bully and falsely arrest Snowden. He is not their problem; he is America's problem, and many people in America are not particularly troubled by Snowden.

Why hasn't the Department of Justice, here in the United States, looked a little harder at Booz, Allen, Hamilton because of the security leak involving Edward Snowden? They are, after all, the company that was responsible for the "government data" that was revealed to the public. Wasn't it their responsibility to conduct a background check and insure that everyone they trusted with the government's "private" information was worthy of a security clearance? Booz/Allen/Hamilton are really the ones who should answer for Snowden's actions. The government does, indeed, have a civil claim against them, but as other countries see it, not so much against Snowden. If Snowden were wanted for kidnapping, human trafficking, or murder; or even for nonpayment of child support, Norwegian officials might be more sympathetic. At this point, it is a surprise that the United States government even thought that asking for the arrest of Edward Snowden was worth the time it would take to make the request.

Speaking of human trafficking, the government of Guatemala has, since 2012, been demanding the return of a kidnapping victim by the name of Anyeli Hernandez Rodriguez, who was bought by Dr. Timothy Monahan and and his wife, Jennifer, from a kidnapping ring in 2008. Because the Monahans feel that the trafficked child became their personal property upon receipt of payment, they refuse to give her back to her parents and her siblings. In 2012, the State Department announced that it would not require the distinguished customers of human traffickers in Missouri to give the little girl back. "So sorry, Guatemala, we know she was trafficked; it's just that you had not yet signed the Hague Convention, so why should we care about a crime that was committed against one of your citizens?" Or something like that. The point is, if the United States government wants the respect of other governments, human trafficking victims should not be held hostage with the blessing of the State Department.

 

Anyeli Hernandez Rodgriguez, aka Karen Monahan

Frankfort Kansas School Doesn't Impose Sanctions About Guns

Hmmmm....something tells your faithful blogger that this directive, courtesy of thea United States Department of Justice, has not been heeded by the principal of Frankfort High School, in Frankfort, Kansas. On March 3, 2015, an eighteen old senior, who was already on probation for other crimes, took a gun to school and was arrested again. Federal law states that such a student must be expelled and may not enter the building again, for any reason, for an entire year. The school administration has no choice in this matter; the law states that any public school using state or federal tax dollars must follow this directive. One must wonder, then, what was the student in question doing at graduation, less than nine weeks later? And why did he get a diploma from the school that was required, by law, to expel him? Shouldn't that student's diploma be recalled, as he did not properly earn it? And shouldn't Frankfort High School lose a portion of their state funding and their federal funding for their failure to follow the law?

Five Years And The Kyron Horman Case

Five years. Kyron Horman has been missing for five years, as of today. Everyone who had anything to do with Kyron, or with Skyline Elementary, from where he disappeared, has been interviewed by  police, and their alibis checked and double checked. Everyone, that is, except for one person. That person is Kyron's former stepmother, Terri Moulton Horman. Early in the investigation, when it was  still a search and rescue effort and not yet a criminal investigation, Terri's story did not match her alibis, her cell phone pings, her former stories, or eyewitness accounts. Not too much later in the process, law enforcement brought in polygraphers. Everyone who took a polygraph examination passed, with the exception of one person, Terri Moulton Horman. Eventually, Terri hired an attorney, whose refrain is that "Ms. Horman was not the last person to be seen with Kyron." This is in direct contradiction to the testimony offered by two eyewitnesses who were in the bus run, and saw Terri leave the school, WITH her infant daughter, Kiara, and Kyron.

According to Kyron's dad, Kaine Horman, others are now on the FBI's radar as potential suspects. This is interesting: for over four years, Terri Horman has tried very hard to stay out of the public eye. It has only been a recent development that Terri has taken to appearing in public, in two failed attempts to change her name, and one defunct career move as a caregiver for disabled people at a place called Shangri La. At this writing, Terri reportedly bunks with one of this site's sometime trolls, Sandi Lessman. It is the opinion of yours truly that as Terri branches out socially, each contact, especially each contact who denies knowing Terri personally, but actually...ahem...knows her personally, gives law enforcement more to investigate. So it is quite natural to hear Kaine mention this.

No child deserves to have childhood and life stolen. No one left behind deserves to be a tangental victim, either. Skyline Elementary and the surrounding community have taken some measures toward never losing a child again. Hopefully, anyone who knows where Kyron is right now will come forward. It will not undo the heartbreak of the last five years, but Kyron's family and community would like resolution.

Colton Ross Barrera Petition

Colton Ross Barrera did not return home on September 26, 2008. Since then, the case has faltered because of uninvestigated leads and uninterviewed witnesses. This petition is to request an update about the case from the Russell County Sheriff's Office in Kansas and from the Kansas Bureau of Investigations. It is also a request to turn the case over to the FBI. Please sign it and share it with everyone.

Minnesota Minister No Longer On The Lam

Almost a year ago, John Walsh featured a story on The Hunt about a christian minister in Minnesota who had inappropriate sexual relationships with underage females in his church. Is this becoming a familiar scenario with christianity? Or at least, christianity in the Midwest? During the 1990's, a creep named Victor Barnard started a church in Minnesota so that he could entice the young, female daughters of his parishioners to move in with him, in a camp-like compound he built, while holding them hostage. He got the permission of their parents to keep them there, so the teenage girls had no say. Wow......gotta hate christianity sometimes! How could parents allow this? Barnard isn't really unique, either; Catholic parents have been ignoring their childrens' claims of clerical abuse for centuries.

Minnesota decided to find out what the rumors and claims of abuse surrounding Reverend Barnard were all about in 2012, but the good reverend moved his pimping operation to the state of Washington. At that point, it became national affair, rather than merely limited to Minnesota, so the FBI got involved. When enablers of the reverend "annunciated" to him that authorities were still hot on his trail, he picked up and moved to Brazil. It appears that his happened last year, but the story is still unfolding. Interpol got involved, and he was caught in Rio Grande last week, with a Brazilian enabler.

What is it, about Jesus, that makes his legend and persona so convenient for sex offenders and child abusers? And why don't they carry on their abuse with people their own ages, in a safe, sane, and consensual manner? What is it, about these clerical authority figures, that drives them to seek out relationships and isolated encounters with victims, rather than finding willing partners? Is it more holy, according to christian doctrines, to defile one's self with an unwilling child, and either ruin the child's life or kill the child, than it is to just admit that one is a pervert and find an equally corrupt adult? And what's with these parents who allow this crap, and don't put a stop to it when they discover it? Why would anyone cover for these people? Don't they love their children? One might accuse Barnard of starting a cult, but is this story unique to his operation? John Walsh covered it, and the media also made Barnard famous, but there have been so many reports lately involving clergy gone wild that we can no longer ignore the fact that Judeo-Christian religions somehow attract and propagate filth.

How can parents of clerically abused children continue to send them to church? When does enough become enough? Are social connections to abusers that important to these dumbass parents? Are the courts really deaf to the complaints of victims, particularly when voiced in unison? And even if the courts don't care, is it really that hard for an individual parent to look at the socially approved crime objectively and keep children away from it?

Bugbee, Once Again

In November, a Kansas minister by the name of James Bugbee (Washington Christian Church, Washington, Kansas) was arrested for inappropriate sexual conduct with a child. Bugbee is a youth pastor, by the way. There's a bit of a revision to the story now. It seems that Bugbee has also given Kansas cause to suspect him of "theft by deception". He allegedly held two fundraisers for some alleged cancer, with which, as it happens, Bugbee was NOT afflicted. He told his churchmates that he was using the money to travel abroad for "treatment".He then proceeded to use the money to pay personal expenses that had nothing to do with medical problems or travel. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security investigated. In addition, there are three more counts of commercial sexual exploitation of a child, three more counts of sexual exploitation of a child, one count of unlawful sexual  relations, and according to the February 19, 2015 edition of the Marysville Advocate, he has also been accused of sending inappropriate texts to a local high school student.

Christians, don't get your clergy at Kmart.

The one on the right is Bugbee.

Message To The Mountain

"Are they going to repair the property they dig on have they got the ok from the land owner to dig onit i think afew thing's need to be ask.
And who is covering the damage they create by the digging is the town of Bedford going to fork out for the repairing.
Like i said i wish something so stupid would had not been done by someone we do not even know for them to even be on our family mountain."

Grrrr......Allow me to answer this, one asinine statement at a time. No; "they" are only going to repair the property they dig up if they can. It's only dirt, and yes, law enforcement and the specialists they hired will try to leave the area as they found it, but any evidence they find will not be replaced. As for asking your royal highness first, the sheriff doesn't have to. The sheriffs of two different counties, backed by the judicial systems of two different states, and the FBI have warrants to dig on the land owner's land. They do not have to ask anyone, least of all, you.

What damage do you want the police to cover, after evidence was hidden by your relatives and neighbors for thirty-nine years? If someone drove over your lawn and you feel that the tires have done damage to your barbecue grill and possibly, your still, file a claim with your insurance company! They cover spilled moonshine, don't they?

Don't even cry about the actions of "stupid people"! When you say you don't know them, that's a boldfaced lie. You are more than acquainted with at least half of the family in question, and you jumped onto a newspaper forum early in this investigation to state that this particular family never owned property on "your family mountain". To officially differ with you, the registry of deeds in your county states otherwise. You know them, and they've probably bought many a batch of moonshine on the mountain, to take back home with them.

The two young ladies who disappeared in 1975 also had a family and a community. Everyone looked for them; everyone misses them. Well, almost everyone; you have some cousins who lived near the community from which these girls were kidnapped, and they didn't lift a finger to help find them. If I understand correctly, one of them tried to collect reward money, but welched  (pun somewhat intended) when it was time to deliver. Another one is due in court next month because she's a big fat liar. If Sheila and Katherine somehow ended up in "your" community, it's well past time to give them back to THEIR community! They never should have been in "your" community in the first place, and would not have been, but for something done by one of YOUR relatives, so shut the hell up when the police try to put things right! You really sound as if you know there is evidence to be found, and you don't want investigators to find it. That's just too bad, creep. Deal with it, and hide your moonshine somewhere else.

Private Message

I really don't know who the hell you think you are, or why you, personally, feel that the same laws that apply to everyone else do not apply to you, but quite a few people in your neck of the woods seem to have an unfounded notion that as long as the isolated community agrees with your special crime, there should be no consequences! To which I respond: if you can't do the time, don't do the crime!

What the hell were you hiding, or trying to prevent? Just because of the support, in the form of enabling. you seem to attract, I'm pretty sure something is rotten in the State of Denmark, so to speak. Why don't you and your ilk manage your lives legally, from now on, like those of us who do not hail from this area, and stop using unlawful means of manipulating information? Because of the geographic location of a few of your "friends", perhaps federal attention should be given to all this!

Abbie Hoffman Moment

Kansas Gas Station Forced Customer To Pay Twice

A gas station in Kansas sold $85.11 to a customer over the weekend. She paid with a MasterCard; which, she was told, was declined. So she settled the transaction with her Visa. After getting back into her vehicle, she called the bank through which her MasterCard line of credit is extended to find out why her card was declined. Imagine her surprise when she was told that the transaction was not declined at all, but approved, and had already been paid! The customer service representative told her to go back inside the gas station and request that the transaction be voided and her money credited.

The customer went back inside and told the clerk about the phone call to the bank. The clerk insisted, despite the bank's claim that the sale was approved, that the sale had been declined. The clerk also claimed that she "did not know" how to credit a transaction! The customer then requested that she call her supervisor to resolve the conflict of having been forced to pay twice. The supervisor got the number of the bank from the customer and promised to call the bank. A few minutes later, the customer called him back, and he said that he had called the bank and that he had been told that the transaction did not go through. Then, he told the customer that he would not "pay" her anything, and asked her if she "scammed money off credit cards for a living"!

Meanwhile, back at the bank, the customer was later told that the supervisor had never called. So....at this writing, it quite looks as if he lied. A customer was forced to pay twice for her a purchase of $85.11, and then accused of "scamming credit cards for a living". This city in Kansas prides itself on being a quaint small town with a friendly atmosphere, by the way. An accusation of theft to an honest person certainly does not qualify as "friendly", and the whole interaction, from an approved purchase being reported as declined, and twice as much money extorted as was actually owed very much reeks of credit card fraud and possibly of identity theft.

The FBI has a special unit to assist victims of credit card fraud and identity theft; the link is here:http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/victim_assistance/fincrime_vic. In addition, the Federal Trade Commission keeps a record of each and every complaint received. While it does not get involved in conflict resolution, it watches for patterns of practices, such as telling customers that approved credit cards have been declined and double billing and double charging customers. This could easily have been a deliberate attempt to scan as many credit cards, for information on magnetic strips, as possible, during a day's time.

Wrong Poster, Terri Horman

Terri Horman, sometime step parent of missing Kyron Horman, who disappeared at age seven from his school in Portland, Oregon, has made headlines again. Kyron went missing in 2010, and June 4 will mark the four year anniversary of this horrible event, and his former stepmother has finally put up a few posters with Kyron's picture on them. After four years. Yeah. (eye-rolley here)

There are several problems with Terri posters. First of all, she's a little late. Kyron has been missing for four years, and if he is still alive, he could not possibly resemble the seven year old in his pictures anymore. The gesture not only would have been more meaningful, but would have been more helpful, had she done it when Kyron first needed to be recognized and found. And in Roseburg, Oregon, where Terri lives, there was not anywhere near as much attention to Kyron's case as there was in Portland, from where he disappeared. For that reason, posters would actually have been informative and helpful in Roseburg.

The second problem with Terri's posters is that they mention that Kyron was seen with an "unknown man". Four years after the fact, any "unknown" persons are extemporaneous details inasmuch as the general public is concerned. If Terri Horman had any information that law enforcement lacked about any unidentified witnesses, she should have given that information to law enforcement at the moment police were first called. She should also have passed her polygraphs, given factual statements about her whereabouts that day, and communicated truthfully with Kyron's teacher, using a pen and a piece of paper, about any medical appointments Kyron may or may not have had. The purpose of a picture of a missing persons poster is photo recognition. The general public is not charged with the task of solving the crime. If it happens to look as if Terri's story, or Terri's five or six stories, are lacking in sincerity and truthful detail, she should address that with law enforcement.

The third problem with these posters preferred by Terri Horman is that they give out the wrong contact information. The best way to get the correct contact information and picture on a missing person flyer is to use the flyers and posters given out and posted by law enforcement, or use the ones produced by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

A poster with correct contact information.

Age Progression Of Aliayah Lunsford

Does anyone remember Aliayah Lunsford, who disappeared at age three in West Virginia in September of 2011? She is still missing, and the FBI has issued an age progressed picture of her, showing how she might look at age five.