Maria Butina & I, Part III: Betraying Maria

I will disclose nothing more than I disclosed in television interviews two months ago. However, I will tie things together in a way that will help the public comprehend what is going on in our country, and shift the dialogue from Stuck on Stupid to something more constructive. Readers should begin by reading these two parts of the story:

Maria Butina & I, Part I: Meeting Maria

Maria Butina & I, Part Deux: Romancing Maria

As we left things….In July of 2016 the Men In Black came back asking me to rekindle a romantic relationship with Maria Butina. As I have emphasized, they were aghast at making this request of me. They emphasized it had never been done in their experience, that the USA is the Good Guy, we do not operate like the Bad Guys, and so on and so forth. But the request was coming from X, Y, and Z, federal officials of whom I had heard (incidentally, I initially misunderstood one detail, in that I thought the request was coming from all three: two months later they let me know that Z had added his signature to the request, and only then did I become aware of my slight misunderstanding of the original request).  I emphasize again that there was no leering, no rubbing of hands gleefully, or laughing. Men in Black are honorable people, and they were extremely discomfited by the request they were communicating. They reminded me I had every right to say, “No”, and no one would think worse of me.

I agreed to carry out the request, joking, “It’s not exactly hardship duty.”

Internally, meanwhile, I decided I would create the impression of romancing Maria for them, while in fact not laying a finger on her, and instead, focus on setting up X, Y, and Z for felony charges. 

Why did I do that? Let me stipulate that if I thought there were a legitimate law enforcement purpose to their request I would have complied without a second thought. I am patriotic, and no saint. But as I have described in the two previous essays on Maria, my alarm bells were going off. I knew I was being played in some way.

  1. I was now certain they had been duping me all along in pretending to have no interest in Maria, and I figured there was some other scheme at work. Three months earlier they had told me (against all reasonable evidence and interpretation) that there was nothing unusual about her, but to get her out of my life. Now they were back with this inexplicable request from X, Y, and Z: it all smelled like skunk. I cannot claim to have sussed it out, but one of my hypotheses was the one that I had formed in January 2016: they were creating a Can-O-Scandal that they were going to whip out some day in the future, shake up, and spray all over anyone they wanted to (including, possibly, me, though I am scandal-proof in ways they don’t understand). Again, I had little confidence in any hypothesis, but I had high confidence there was mischief afoot.
  2. Second, they had also involved me in an operation having to do with a corrupt federal official, and that operation had ended in a way that was extremely disconcerting. As in: it made me wonder who was corrupt and who wasn’t, or if there was anyone on the scene who was not corrupt.

So when they came back with a request to rekindle a romance with Maria, I was determined to get to the bottom of it. Why did I take it as my job to get to the bottom of it? Because unbeknownst to the Men In Black, I had been instructed, by another party within the federal government, to investigate the federal government itself. I had been at it for over a decade. Maria Butina brought me the perfect opportunity to bring that investigation to its conclusion.  So I took it.

Thus I responded to their request by making a joke about it not being hardship duty, saluted, and went about rekindling a fake relationship with Maria.  Why did I make it fake, and not just go through with it? Because I expected that someday, one way or another, everything was going to be exposed, and when it was, I was not going to have Maria Butina, the United States of America, or even Russia disgraced by committing what felt like it might have been sexual assault on their daughter. I do not know if it would have been in any legal sense, and like I say, if I thought it had some legitimate purpose I would have done it without a second thought. But the first period I dated Maria while also informing on her was problematic enough: however, because it was she who initiated that physical relationship, and because my intent throughout it was yenta-ing her in to foreign policy circles where her dreams of being a back-channel for peace might have come true, I was comfortable with what I was doing. But given that by July 2016 I had come to understand that I was being used in some kind of political espionage, both with regard to Maria and with regard to a corruption investigation of a federal official, I decided instead simply to play along, and set up X, Y, and Z for felony charges, in the hope that someone would come along who could bring the criminals to justice.

Given the harshness with which I had ended things with Maria the first time, it took me awhile to win back Maria through emails, texts, and phone calls. Eventually I got her to visit me in Utah, I wined and dined her, I romanced her in front of 8,000 people at a corporate party.

Let me repeat that Maria Butina is a spectacular woman: watch the interview on RussiaTV at the bottom of this essay, and you will see what I mean. She’s the proverbial woman they don’t make many of any more. So that I do not sound any more of a cad than is absolutely necessary, I wish to emphasize that (unlike the first period I actually did date Maria) at no point throughout this period did I have a physical relationship with Maria. I knew we had to have a bright line on that, so if and when this all got unscrambled later, she would not be disgraced. As I have explained, Maria wants to run for President of Russia someday, and if she is known as the woman who had succumbed to an American shmuck like me playing games, her chances of being President of Russia would be hurt. In addition, to her credit she told me, “I have boyfriend now, Patrick. Am not Russian prostitute. If you wish to date me you will court me, and I will decide if I wish to leave boyfriend, and be yours.” From European women (who still understand “seduction”) I would normally take that only as an opening gambit, but in this case it played into my plans perfectly, and she only had to say it once.

Yet publicly I created publicly the impression that we were hot and heavy, and reported that this as the truth. In fact, once that was accepted, I started taking it farther and farther (in ways I will not reveal here), simply in order to incriminate further the people at the top of the chain of command who were sending me this request.

By November 2016 Maria was ready to leave her Republican boyfriend and move to Utah. I reported that, but was admonished not to let her do so, because X, Y, and Z wanted her to stay in DC doing…. precisely the shmoozing that two years later she was arrested and imprisoned for doing.

I wish also to state again how entirely inappropriate it would be if anything should happen to the Men In Black who were conduits for these orders. I deliberately kept them confused about what the hell was going on, and if there are any legal repercussions brought against them I hope their lawyers get in touch with me, because I can exculpate them. The people at the top of their chain of command can be hanged for all I care, but the agents who were involved in these activities were caught completely off guard by some of the things I said I was doing, by my design.

Maria and I discussed getting together over Christmas, 2016. I think she was going to be in Dakota with her Republican boyfriend, and my home in Utah was only a jaunt away. We could have made it work. If I remember correctly (and sometimes these things get a little fuzzy), we did not. That is because, while keeping the relationship warm at a distance, I began to beg off meetings with her. There were only so many times I could report, “Maria has now met with this Republican, and then this one, and now she is angling for a meeting with this other one… and she is making arrangements about meeting such-and such, and then the National Prayer Breakfast, and then she’s meeting so-and-so…”

In addition, I shudder to confess, I was beginning to have a pang of conscience about it all. The truth is, until then, while I admired Maria, and I respected her, and I thought it would be the greatest thing in the world if a liberal like her could go on and be President of Russia … I was still comfortable using her in my own designs. But somewhere along the way, I began to develop a fondness for Maria. Not romantic, but such as is characterized by Bill Murray towards Scarlett Johansson in Lost in Translation. It seems to be my lot in life (as the middle-aged bachelor into whom I have grown) to come across, from time to time, young women who develop an attachment to me. I have learned that the responsible thing to do in such circumstances is to use our times together to open their eyes a bit, to give them experiences which may enhance their lives and futures, and memories they can reflect on when they go on with their lives…. But to try not to possess. That is the understanding that Bill Murray brings to Scarlett Johansson in that movie. To the extent that my involvement with Maria was not completely cold-blooded on my part, that is what I was trying to do for Maria. I thought it would be a good thing for all concerned, and that I would be able to shield her from any harm.

But by late 2016 I realized things were going too far, and notwithstanding my own designs, I had more of a duty to protect her than I was respecting, especially as I became certain that there was no legitimate law enforcement or national security interest being served. Thus, I found ways to avoid following through on the opportunities that were cropping up to carry it farther with her.

So while we discussed getting together at Christmas, or in the months after it, and I found ways to dodge, simply because I wanted to freeze things where they were to reduce the damage to Maria. On balance I may be a jerk for what I did, but I can claim that much honestly.

In late February, 2017, an article appeared in the Daily Beast about Maria Butina. It was the first such article to have appeared, and it laid out with perfect accuracy her entire story (as I knew it, anyway). I was summoned angrily by Men In Black, who wanted to know if I had had anything to do with the story. I had not, and was unaware of it until they brought it to my attention. It is important to know this: every piece of information in that Daily Beast from early 2017 was known to the United States Government by September, 2015. Everything. Read that, and ask yourself, “If the USG knew all this in September, 2015, what are the chances that they were telling the truth when they were pretending to be ignoring Maria from September 2015 – March 2016?” I put the odds at 0%. Which means that by letting her swank around in Republican political circles like they were, they were doing something other than whatever they were supposed to be doing.

After that article appeared, I was instructed angrily to get to Washington, DC and get to the bottom of it. A mistake they made was the disparity between their anger at the appearance of this article, and how they had treated in a nonchalant manner all the same information when I had provided it from September 2015 (and their lackadaisical nonchalant-ness about further information I developed up through March, 2016, when they had had me break up with Maria for the first time). Now completely convinced I was being manipulated in a game unrelated to anything to do with law enforcement or national security, I agreed to go to DC and get them the information they requested, but tried to use the opportunity to set a trap of sorts. I won’t go into the details, but I did manage to learn the source of the article, how the information had leaked from Maria to the press (via some fellow students and a professor), and everything else for which they had asked.

They were satisfied with my results but I think they sussed out that I had a hidden agenda I was not exposing. In any case, in March of 2017 was I told, once again, to get Maria Butina out of my life. I did. It was in the course of that conversation that I was told that what was going on was that Putin had a campaign that was designed to get all of America chasing our tails, and that whoever had won the 2016 election, he was going to push a button and create an enormous shit-storm that would engulf the USA…. Precisely as was already happening.  They said it had nothing to do with Trump, and the same thing would be happening if Hillary had won, or Cruz or Rubio. The national security apparatus had reached that conclusion by March, 2017. 

In any case, I was told to get Maria out of my life again, and to have no further contact. I complied. While there may have been an incidental text between us over the next year, there was nothing of substance, no phone calls, no meetings.

About 15 months later, in May or June, 2018, I was speaking in Washington, DC in a public forum. I received a text from Maria: she had been tracking me, and was aware that I was in DC. She told me that she had finished her Master’s Degree at American University, and wondered if she could come by my hotel and show me her diploma and transcript. Although for those 15 months I had complied with the request of Men In Black to have no further contact with Maria Butina, that day I said, “Yes.” Why? Partially I did not have a good answer to refuse such a benign request. Partially I was a little soft-hearted. But partially it was, after all this,…. Because fuck them.

I told Maria to come to my hotel. Maria came, and we spent about 40 minutes together. After an initial few minutes, the warmth slowly returned, and eventually she pulled out her cell phone and showed me a photograph of her transcript. As I expected, it was more or less straight A+, all the way down.

Clever girl that she is, Maria waited until I was studying the photograph of the transcript for a moment…

…. Then she swiped the screen. I was staring at a subpoena she had received from the Senate Intelligence Committee a few weeks earlier.  She told me about being questioned by Senate Intel, about how the forces of the USG were closing in on her. All along, she was studying my face for a reaction. I gave her none: I was still in the mode of needing to let things play out, so I would have the answers I sought. But finally, probably crossing some lines, I told her that I thought she was dreaming if she thought she was going to skate from everything. We were 18 months into a Russian espionage scandal that was engulfing Washington, DC and the Trump administration. I asked her if she could go home to Russia safely. Maria replied, “Patrick, they have destroyed my group with all the liberals of Russia. If I go home I will go to prison for 15 years. “ I told her that the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigations was about six blocks away, and she should walk over there that very moment, knock on the door, and simply say, “You must have read about me and have some concerns. I would like to speak to someone and explain who I am and what I am doing here, and allay any concerns.” She told me that as a loyal Russian she could not do that, and even if she could, they would not believe her.

I told her that she was what we called in English, “a loose end,” and that she should not expect things to end well. She was either going to get whacked by some FSB goons, or she would be arrested by the FBI. The look on her face told me she knew I was right. Sadly, she kissed me goodbye for the last time, studying my face for answers I could not provide. I told Maria not to forget our North Star, the principles of liberalism.

About four weeks later I was in Atlantic City, and my iPad served up some YouTube clips with a man named “Peter Strzok” being grilled by Congress. His testimony gave me the missing pieces I needed to put everything together. The next day I was in Washington, DC trying to explain to the right parties what was going on behind the curtains regarding Maria Butina and a great many other matters.

Days later, however, before anything could be done, but on the very day that Presidents Trump and Putin met, Maria was arrested and put in solitary confinement (“Solitary Housing Unit” or “SHU”), and was ultimately sentenced to 18 months in a box the size of a typical shower stall.  I read that she was let out every morning at 2 a.m. for 30 minutes, so she could brush her teeth and take a shower.

Both the judge and prosecutor were Obama second term appointments.

About the judge, U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, a courtroom observer has noted that she is known as “a defendant’s judge,” always taking the side of leniency for defendants in her courtroom. Maria’s case is the only case in her career that this judge demanded more punishment be meted out than the prosecutor requested.

About the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik Kenerson, I know several things. I know that his marriage to another Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Leigh Rakoczy was covered in the New York Times (“First, Due Diligence, Then Romance“) and got me all verklempt . I know that they were married in Whittemore House, the home of the Woman’s National Democratic Club in Washington, DC.

I know that Kenerson’s wife, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Leigh Rakoczy, was (interestingly enough) also a second term appointment of President Obama. In addition, she worked for Robert Mueller on his Special Counsel Investigation (“Inside Mueller’s New Army“, Daily Beast, July 11, 2018). Of the appointment of Kathryn Rakoczy to Robert Mueller’s Special Counsel Investigation, the Daily Beast noted:

“Rakoczy’s role on Mueller’s investigation—made public in a June 22 court filing—has raised some questions in Washington legal circles. An assistant U.S. attorney in the district of D.C., Rakoczy is best known for her work on violent crime cases. She focused on misdemeanors until about eight years ago, and then shifted to primarily prosecuting D.C. street crime. A Washington criminal defense attorney familiar with her work, who spoke anonymously to prevent tension between himself and Rakoczy, said her work for Mueller has generated some head-scratching, since Mueller isn’t investigating any violent street crimes.”

Head-scratching indeed. “If only there were a pattern, if only there were a pattern….”

It has been reported that it was Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team who insisted on Maria Butina’s isolated confinement. Here are some curious things to know about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

  • Robert Mueller knows all about me. In a previous post I revealed that I helped the FBI indict 200 Wall Street players from 2009-2011. Mueller was FBI director that entire time. I received his personal thanks and congratulations from back in those days. I promise, Bob Mueller knows who I am.
  • The Mueller Special Counsel Investigation was formed to investigate Russian spying in the 2016 election. Maria Butina is the only “Russian spy” that has show up through this entire charade.
  • Maria Butina and I had an on-and-off affair for the three years she was here and in play. I am all over the Maria Butina file.
  • The Mueller Special Counsel Investigation never contacted me.

Therefore I ask: was Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation supposed to get to the bottom of anything? Or was its purpose to obfuscate the bottom of everything?

Today, as I wrote this, the news brings word that the DOJ has opened a criminal investigation into the origins of the Russian probe. I think I know just a fraction of what the DOJ is going to turn up, and what I have revealed is a sliver of what I know. All I can say is, “It is about time.” For the last three years our country has been put through a ringer as the organs of law enforcement and national security got hijacked by traitorous psychopaths, and they have nearly destroyed the United States of America. If it had not been the eventual appointment of an Attorney General who seems determined to return Rule of Law to our country and wrestle it back from the criminals who almost destroyed it, they might have succeeded.

I do not expect those criminals to go down quietly. Today it has been amusing to watch The New York Times (Official Publication of the Deep State) going to work to discredit Durham’s newly criminal investigation. They are digging themselves a deeper hole, and to them I say: “Keep at it fellows!” They have no idea yet how stupid they are going to look soon. I hope they bet the last ounce of their credibility on the proposition that Durham’s investigation is just a political witch-hunt: Americans will all become conversant with the concept of “gaslighting,” which will render the most important weapon in the arsenal of The New York Times useless.

I hope that as Maria Butina flies home to Russia in the hours ahead, she can take satisfaction in the fact that she did stay true to her North Star. It is our country that has lost its way. Maria is the finest that Russia has to offer. And I hope that President Putin may look past some of his philosophical differences with Maria long enough to understand she does not deserve 15 years in Siberia. In fact, he might consider getting to know her himself.

I do not know what that prosecutor and federal judge knew about the background of Maria Butina and the events which landed her in their courtroom. But I can guess. And I think that with a little luck, both that prosecutor and the judge, and perhaps Andrew Weissmann and Robert Mueller, and maybe even X, Y, and Z, are going to find out what it is like to be brushing their teeth standing on cold tile of a SHU unit somewhere at two o’clock in the morning.

Res ipsa loquitur.

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  1. What I find most surprising here is the ability to do all this while continuing to make Overstock.com a profitable e-com company and building out the tech stack for society by way of blockchain.

    What an honor it was to work there and see an up close glimpse of greatness of a patriot.

  2. You have far more faith in Bill Barr than I. He is as political as they come. His only job thus far is to try and cover for Donald Trump. Perhaps someday they will all be sitting in a SHU somewhere brushing their teeth at 2am on the cold floor. They should but I have little faith that will occur

  3. Patrick it’s time to put up or shut up. Maria was released today and no one mentioned you, you’re not the story anymore. If you actually have evidence it’s time to release it because everyone else has moved on. DC is a shit show where a story can’t stay in the news for more than a day, recapping something you already said isn’t gonna cut it.

    1. Rob,

      “Put up or shut up“ what? Why do I care who mentioned me, or about being the story? “Evidence“ of what? Your message is simply gibberish.

      I am not in the convincing business: some department of justice indictments will do that. I am just in the business of elucidation for those who want it.

      Patrick

      1. Patrick, you yourself have written here you have evidence of this deep state conspiracy. Why not come forward with what you have? If you really feel this is an important issue, which it is obvious you do as you sacrificed your career for it, it seems like it is worth going all in. Instead you are rehashing a story you already told. I think you’re putting too much faith in Bill Barr to get his head out of Trump’s ass.

        1. He HAS come forward, to proper law enforcement – once he felt they would handle his testimony properly. He has no duty to do a media tour, and I believe he realizes he only knows a small part of the bigger picture. It’s up to the authorities to roll this out on their own (with actual indictments) and to tell the entire story to the American citizenry (and the world) about what happened here.

        2. You’re TDS is clouding your mind.

          Patrick is an actual Patriot and he has been told to stand down. Him leaking further information would set off a cascade of events that would not be conducive to Justice Being Served.

          It’s that simple fool. He’s not going to “provide evidence” to you people… so sit back and chew your fingers off… while folks like me sit back and enjoy the show

        3. Rick & Anonymous have it EXACTLY right.

          It may not seem like it (because of these essays I have been writing), but I am trying to lay … the … hell … low. I felt I had to write about Maria because she was on her way home to Russia, and the last I had heard from her, she was facing 15 years there. While she was here, was she as innocent as she led me to believe? Was she as guilty as the “Red Sparrow” crowd would say? Was she somewhere in between? That’s for Bigger Brains than mine to decide. The one thing I am SURE of is that she was used in domestic espionage by certain parties within our government, primarily to dirty up Republicans they wanted dirtied, I think. But the last I heard from her she was facing 15 years at home, and I did not want her going home to Russia without my telling the story, so they could know she was a good and loyal Russian while here. A remarkable one, actually.

          Now having done so, I am done talking about Deep State matters. I may write about other things, business, Overstock’s past, phases of the moon, whatever…. but not Deep State. As Rick and Anonymous point out: I DID come forward. To law enforcement. I know I am but a tiny piece in a much bigger puzzle, and I may have already muddied things up for them by going public as I did. I am sorry about that. I waited over a year from the first moment I went forward, then finally took Buffett’s advice and decided to stop working within the system. But having done so, and having gotten this finished about Maria, you will get no more of that Deep State stuff from me.

          As Anomymous wrote: ” he has been told to stand down. Him leaking further information would set off a cascade of events that would not be conducive to Justice Being Served.”

          You guys Rick & Anonymous are reading my mind.

          Patrick Byrne

          1. Thanks Patrick.
            Those of us who read the site regularly know where you are coming from but still am glad you took the extra effort to clarify as above.
            May i ask how many unique visitors are coming to this site daily/monthly ?
            Am curious how many people in the usa are aware of current situation in these matters. Am aure it ia a tiny tiny fraction but still the data hound in me would love to know 🙂
            Anil

  4. Patrick,

    I thought your Twitter poll showed people wanted to read the billion dollar bribe story next. Few were interested in Butina. Unless the numbers drastically shifted later.

    If you’re annoyed by much younger women, just tell them you lost all your money in the stock market. I guarantee you’ll never hear from them again.

    Middle-aged men traveling alone in Southeast Asia are usually looking for one thing, so law enforcement takes notice. Since you seem to be susceptible to honey traps, be very careful. The Deep State could set you up as another Jeffrey Epstein.

    1. Pam,
      Three points, three replies:

      1) My Twitter poll was “non-binding”, and Maria’s release made finishing this story more topical;
      2) Did I say anywhere that younger women annoy me? Sometimes they do, if they are the kind who open their mouth and their brains slide out, but some are interesting, and Maria is exceptional;
      3) Which one of us was the honey pot? 😉

      All three of your points followed from not reading closely. If you feel like playing again, you are welcome to do so, but if your points again depend on not reading closely I will just ignore you next time.

      Patrick

      1. Patrick,

        I really hate to break it to you, and I know this well from the line of work I am in, you, and me for that matter, are well past middle age. It may not feel like it but you and both know the numbers don’t lie. Now maybe the new and improved crispr will change that but…….

    1. Interesting that the young woman makes no comment about her Patrick Byrne relationship while seeming mostly oblivious to what supposedly really took place in “The Deep State” where “espionage” was part of the U.S.A. inner eye. She may be extremely bright as Dr. Byrne has indicated, but her lack of insight into what happened, or unwillingness to address it head on behind her own nation’s fences makes her appear naive, unpatriotic or something worse. Hair seems to grow very long in prison while she appears as “Thing.” Something is NOT right about that. Patrick, I am still disappointed in you for the selected censoring that has continued to take place in this forum.

        1. I suspect it’s an IT problem. Often when I post it can take 24 hrs before it shows up. Sometimes it never does. Once, when I hit the Post Comment button, the initial disclaimer on the home page appeared on a red background but my post never appeared. Hackers?

          I support free speech but this is your website, Patrick, you are responsible for the cost and annoying maintenance so if you want to delete a post, I don’t have a problem with it, even if it’s my own post that gets deleted. I do suspect sometimes you reply to our comments before having your morning coffee so are a bit cranky!

  5. Trolls always appear en masse when someone gets too close to the truth for their comfort. Thanks for sharing your truth, Patrick. I will continue to follow with much interest

  6. Keep posting whatever you want to talk about and do whatever you want Its your life and thanks for wasting all these years trying to protect all these morons.

  7. I can only say one thing here:
    I am very disappointed in you, was respecting you so much after meeting with you couple times, not anymore.


    I may be on balance a total douchebag for what I did, but I can claim that much honestly.

  8. It certainly is discouraging to constantly see and hear the political divide and hysteria ( such as the recent Russia hysteria) in which many people seem to only care about their favorite political team “winning” with no regard for the possibility that the truth is not in harmony with some of their beliefs.

    And it certainly seems that for some of those in government,their favorite political “team” is not simply a matter of “Republican” or “Democrat” ,but perhaps something more complicated and sinister.

    Truth is not conservative,liberal or progressive.It is simply truth.
    Truth can be ignored,but never changed.

    What is it that makes people unwilling to consider that any of their beliefs might possibly be wrong? I believe it is pride.

    Pride is the cause of an endless amount of conflict within ourselves and with others.

    pride
    (Definition from dictionary.com)
    1. a high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct, etc.

    Here is a recommended video on the topic titled “Conscience vs Pride”:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_sUBYfK880

    1. You should probably just chillax, comments don’t appear instantly.

      Sheesh.

      I had one comment not show up here though – but I didn’t gripe about it. I assume it had something to do with the link I posted.

      Some of you people are annoying AF – how about before you spout off you consider just air typing your drivel and moving on. Especially those butt hurt “investors” that come here to whine like sissies

      1. Don’t be such a disk. The initial comment appeared immediately, then disappeared, but then reappeared. This all happened between refreshes.

  9. Irrespective of the censoring being “selective” disclosure, or otherwise, does anyone find it odd that a woman who was just released from prison the day prior, had hair long enough to hang herself and a other inmates in her cell if that had become the set up?

    This is fast becoming a fiction story in this feeble mind.

    Looks like JJ is tripping on himself again with digital dividend distribution “seemingly” being “delayed” by the regulatory authority again.

      1. My point was only part of an “observation” non congruent with a high security prison environment to where she was incarcerated and treated so inhumanely according to various accounts including but not limited to Patrick Byrne’s story line.

        For further effect, did she have her own hair dresser tending to washing and combing it daily too? It would take quite a lot of time in the “shower” to was that head of hair she is wearing. What about the potential for lice or other germs accumulating there?

        Someone who knows the regulations of that given prison block in Florida would be able to answer my suspicions better.

        Regarding Patrick Byrne, he can never disassociate himself from his Overstock creation regardless of his “surfing banter” otherwise because he is addicted to it, like a heroine addict for immersing his whole life into its development no different than a father rearing a son, and since he never had one, Overstock is synonymous with his own child. Moreover, he may use site administrator excuses for what continues to take place and is being proven out by me personally even after various exchanges where censorship continues to take place, this is his site, and a reflection of himself, therefore; one expects and hopes that he takes accountability for it. It’s not to be critical as much as to be reasonable and rational as part of setting expectations for ones own self as well as others this “one person” chooses to engage, or abandon when irreparable differences might arise. I still give Dr. Byrne the benefit of the doubt even while I hope and pray the kind of Rule of Law he states that he seeks in America again, is restored sooner rather than later.

  10. Patrick, I believe you but how does an “administrator” have authority to censor on a site whose owner endorses all the principles of liberty including “free speech”?

    I can prove that two of my posts which remain thought provoking, introspective, and civil but also critical of this or that according to my nature were indeed prevented from being posted, and both of them were inter-related including my response to your direct reply to me on this subject matter.

    What do you think about her ability to grow so much hair, and at such great length while in prison? Very odd, and it definitely appears to be her own hair vs. a wig.

    For the record, I told Johnson to sue the GD SEC, and the criminally induced prime brokers SCHNELL!!!!!

    1. Dude,
      I’m not censoring anyone. If you are the guy posting lengthy advertisements over and over, maybe that got to the administrator. No idea.

      As far the other…Not even following OSTK. Board told me they wanted me “completely disassociated from the firm.” Not “completely dissociated, but stay our largest shareholder.” They wanted a clean break. I made a clean break. I have no idea of anything going on there. There’s only even two people there I’ve spoken to in the last month (telling them not to quit), and a third when he was fired. I could not tell you Word 1 on any business issue. Will have to look up what you are talking about but expect nothing more from me than whatever you can see for yourself.

      1. Just to be clear, I have not ever posted here or anywhere with anything to do about “advertising” nor earning a dime, but only to express my opinions relating to or surrounding the business of speculation we engage in.

        Interesting that you have become a California personality type–more loose writing style–with that “dude” expression which is hardly our “east coast” origin nor generation we were hatched into. I never liked being referred to as a “dude”–doesn’t seem respectful, but I am older school upbringing–but in a forum like this, WTF, eh?

        P.S. One of those “censored” posts referred you to a Netflix drama “non fiction” series called “Spy,” which if you haven’t seen, you might enjoy. Series 5 of “Peaky Blinders” also a slant of “non fiction” history inside of a mostly fictional account of that English group of WW1 “Tunnelers” with reference to “English Fascism” right underneath The King’s nose. The people who control “media” around our globe not unlike The Wall Street Criminals who you and I know, have a most WRY sense of humor having told the truth as it was perceived by the leaders of the working class during that era, but making it appear so “dumb” while Catholic Gangsters who were supposedly on the working man’s side were moving against it right into the newest “Cliff Hanger.”

        1. Ok you have a point on “Dude”. Maybe I am surfing too much. Or perhaps I intended it to express some mild exasperation with another accusation about me censoring someone. As if I do not have better things to do then worry about comments on this message board. For your reference, this is what I’m doing:
          https://www.google.com/search?q=divers+whale+sharks&safe=strict&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=inv&sxsrf=ACYBGNRUzs75Ua3s-xrHLi963VXuG10r4Q:1572333744848&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiM19HS98DlAhUaSY8KHdG-BTIQ_AUoAXoECBAQAQ&biw=1024&bih=650&dpr=2

          I promise, I’m not worrying about censoring anyone.

          I do notice some statement about Askimet Appearing when i come to this board: I think the way their software works is that there are words that trigger rejection. Or it could be the site administrator. Or it could be the phases of the moon for all I know. But I promise, so I don’t have to say it again: I am not reviewing messages on a message board and giving them a thumbs up or thumbs down. So stop exasperating me by accusing me of it, and I’ll stop saying “Dude”.

          1. I think you said dude after I said dude. It is contagious. I got an entire Department full of East coasters saying it one time. Then I switched to bro, and they just about fell out.

        2. Dude, you are so tedious and annoying. Patrick is interesting and has something worth saying. You? Not so much….

  11. Patrick, do you intend on coming back to the United States? Why did you feel it necessary to leave in the first place?

  12. Patrick, I’d love to see you put some of your considerable wealth and status towards criminal justice reform in this country. You spoke eloquently about the depravity of solitary confinement. There are tens of thousands of men and women currently facing that same treatment. It’s inhumane and sick. President Trump has shown interest in these types of reforms – would you be interested in helping?

  13. I always liked her. I remembered her when she asked Trump about “Sanctions” as far back as 2015. It was on the news. Her accent was unmistakably Russian. When she was jailed I thought she was a political prisoner of the Mueller probe and the Deep State. I have never been a fan of the Deep State. You are a real American Patrick.

  14. We’ll hear more of the story when/if the DOJ issues indictments. We ain’t ever going to hear the full story. SE Asia is lovely and full of vibrant people. Many of them just need a little capital to build a company, although I think Americans are better at building big companies. If the whole truth would come out, Congress couldn’t form a quorum.
    Reading about the NSA destroying hundreds of millions of records for the time period in question, I tend to believe that was done knowing that information would have been used for the good of these United States, to exonerate the innocent, and to deal with the guilty. A quick screen to find the White Hats: see who is attacked the most viciously and frequently, and also, whose good work is completely and utterly ignored.

  15. It may be worth comparing abuses in the cases of Butina and Mifsud. New audio (allegedly) from Joseph Mifsud may turn out to have some parallels with Maria in that he was swept up into being accused of a spy/intel role when he may have been simply a civilian trying to be a “bridge builder” in conversations he thought were innocent (and he does not seem to have anything directly to do with any Russia/USA issues). He has been living in hiding and he says it is all over ridiculous false assertions about his role.

    [[ linked below, (possible) Mifsud audio statement denies any knowing contact with any intel agency (it sounds legit)]]

    “A newspaper in Italy published an audio statement provided by someone claiming to be Joseph Mifsud.”

    “In the seven-minute recording, the man said he did not knowingly have contact with any intelligence services in 2016. ”

    Mifsud: “It is extremely important that somebody, somewhere decides to let me breathe again.”

    https://dailycaller.com/2019/11/13/joseph-mifsud-audio-recording/

    here is the source with audio (the audio is in English):

    https://www.corriere.it/video-articoli/2019/11/13/mifsud-l-uomo-chiave-russiagate-scomparso-due-anni-riappare-audio/0e920ede-0621-11ea-a1df-d75c93ec44da.shtml?refresh_ce-cp

  16. Compare Fed handling of Maria’s case with prior handling of “Anna Chapman” case (article from Aug. 1, 2018). Wildly different approaches….. in Anna Chapman case, stop the infiltration immediately when it gets close to Democratic bigwigs…. in Maria Butina case, allow it to go on for YEARS vs Republicans…..

    AND, “Anna Chapman” cell was clearly known to be more “dangerous” to US national security…. Anna Chapman expelled for getting close to Democrats, Maria Butina allowed to smudge and smear Republicans for years….. HMMMMMMMMM……

    https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/399970-the-real-maria-butina-scandal-fbi-could-have-prevented-it

  17. Paul,

    Mifsud has been knee deep in the international spook world for decades.

    There’s a very good reason why Barr and Durham went to Italy.

    1. You know this, how?? Certainly we all have seen rumors and allegations about Mifsud, but not anything that seems firm at all. As for Barr/Durham in Italy, (1) they would want to confirm OR repudiate stuff regarding Mifsud… their mere investigation proves nothing about whether or not Mifsud really was in “spook world” or what he may or may not have done with Papadopoulos etc. (2) There are other intel/investigative aspects Barr/Durham would want to discuss with Italian officials, not only about Mifsud.

      I’m not saying we can believe Mifsud’s (alleged) audio, I don’t know and you don’t know. But I am not ready to believe the rumor mill about Mifsud, either.

    2. Now there are claims that the Mifsud audio is a fake (not his voice) and that he may even be D-E-A-D….

      https://saraacarter.com/italian-prosecutors-believe-that-joseph-mifsud-the-man-who-started-russiagate-is-dead/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-pug

      He seems to be out of sight and contact for 2+ years now, or at least no one is confirming any contact with him. This certainly may lend more credence to the “spook” narrative about him, although the article above suggests possible financial crimes so who knows what is really going on.

      Anyway, what he originally told Papadopoulos does not seem to imply any definite “spook” world knowledge — he merely repeated gossip about possible dirt on Hillary Clinton that lots of media types discussed, too. Did not seem to guarantee that Mifsud had any definite intel background, maybe yes but maybe no…..

  18. I don’t know about this, rather conspiratorial but from Daniel Ellsberg the “leaker” of the Pentagon Papers (1971)….. interesting to compare “Deep Throat” type leaks with what is going on currently (much more openly in many cases but secret leaks in others):

    https://twitter.com/KoenSwinkels/status/1197022698284732417

    @KoenSwinkels

    Interesting: Scott Horton & Daniel Ellsberg take seriously the idea that Nixon was ultimately impeached because he ended the war on Vietnam & sought detente with China & the Soviet Union.

    That’s what angered the intelligence agencies and started the leaks that led to Watergate.

    9:23 PM – 19 Nov 2019

  19. Working my way through your essays for the first time as I prepare to write a synopsis. When I set out, I’ll admit my intention was to speed read, take notes and then prepare a written summary- cut and dry. Instead I’ve been at it for about three days, constantly opening new tabs to pursue tangents and compare perspectives. I’ve been absorbed by this series, and my notes are becoming as complex as these essays. I’ve considered just breaking it down into a timeline, a daunting prospect but tempting.

    The article you published previous to this about the SEC took me a good 4 hours to sort through, I kept getting distracted wondering just how many other shareholders had been screwed in favor of short sellers (TSLA comes to mind, they were being arbitrarily reviewed by the SEC prior to their 10/24 surprise earnings report which caused the stock to rise and short sellers to lose something to the tune of 1.4 billion. The month long review ended three days later, unable to dig up dirt in time to save the shorts I imagine. Well done Mr. Musk.) And then I wondered about Ms. Butina, who seems to have truly drawn the short straw. An interesting article published all the way back in April of this year paints a particularly fair portrait of Maria, something you might be interested to read (https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/25/politics/maria-butina-case/index.html). CNN of all places, go figure.

    With the way news articles and media have treated you, I spent the first few hours delving into your work, waiting for you to sound crazy. The podcast that originally lead me to Deepcapture.com (Stuff They Don’t Want You To Know) had implied some eccentricity backed up by some small vindication in 2008. But I don’t see anything crazy about people being influenced by large sums of money. Or blackmail. Or officials tampering with evidence to cover their asses. Or beautiful red heads seeking favor with wealthy politicians. And this far in, I’m mostly wondering why I haven’t heard more.

    I felt compelled to comment, because I’m not the sort of person that gets involved in these kinds of things. I was a skeptic from the outset. But you paint a practical and convincing portrait and I feel like I ought to thank you. It would have been easy for you to say nothing. You’d be wealthier, better liked, more comfortable if you had. But the alter of truth demands a sacrifice, and you can’t get something for nothing. I appreciate what you have given up for this. A mitzvah indeed.

  20. Patrick, hope you are well…. in case you haven’t seen, this fine blog references you and Maria again, in context of an excellent overview of what Durham seems to be doing. Also, there is a fascinating comment below the article about how crucial it is to Brennan, Comey, Strzok, et al. to pretend that the real investigative “predicate” of “Russian interference” was only acted upon by the FBI beginning July 31, 2016….. which makes your case with Maria all the more “interesting” for Durham, perhaps:

    https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2020/02/14/u-s-and-u-k-intelligence-agencies-worry-about-john-durham-scrutiny-of-cia-draws-media-apoplexy/comment-page-2/#comment-7850871

    When you’ve operated in a completely lawless manner for so long that nobody can remember getting in trouble for breaking the law, you tend to get rattled when investigators show up and find that you’ve been breaking the law.

    This leak to the NYT? The coup plotters are trapped, and they do not know what to do. Brennan cannot go on TV and directly refute specific narrative claims because John Durham has a DVR.

    They’ve all chosen 7/31/16 as their hill to die on. If the July 31, 2016 date collapses (ie the official start of the Russia investigation), the entire plot implodes. Everything.

    If you think about it, this is why Mueller ultimately imploded. His report reads like a high school term paper called “What I Learned on Rachel Maddow’s Show that Turned Out to be Untrue.” Why? Because there was no significant Russian interference in the election (a few bloggers generating memes does not interference make). No Russia-collision means no obstruction of justice. Case closed.

    No Russia collusion means no FBI or Mueller investigation. Therefore, it’s a hoax. Therefore, the FBI and CIA lied. Therefore, people go to prison.

    QED.

  21. If the Qook Qult actually knew anything (“we have it all”) they would have given us THIS (see below)… but they didn’t because the Qooks don’t know anything except what appears on the internet… and they make up so much b.s. that it is difficult to sort out fact from fantasy in the Qook stream. This, on the other hand, is looking very real and important:

    https://twitter.com/ClimateAudit/status/1240720302285430786

    Stephen McIntyre
    @ClimateAudit

    After more than 3 years, identity of Steele’s Primary Sub-Source still unknown. Horowitz Report gave important new details. We use details to conclude that Primary Sub-Source was living in U.S. (not Europe or Russia), was a Ukraine partisan. And much more.

    https://www.scribd.com/document/452403558/Primary-Sub-Source

  22. Patrick, an appearance from you old pal Brett Tolman, who finds he can still be surprised by the depth and extent of Deep State corruption:

    “Former U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman thought he had “seen everything” over the course of his career until a federal judge opened the door Tuesday for legal experts and other outside parties to oppose the Justice Department’s motion to drop the case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn.”

    “Appearing on “Fox & Friends,” Tolman said he believed Judge Emmet Sullivan’s decision was “outrageous” and that the Washington D.C. judge had turned himself into an “activist,” willing to set aside rules, ethics, and precedent in favor of partisanship.”

    https://www.foxnews.com/media/us-attorney-flynn-judge-decision-district-case-washington-dc

  23. More from Brett Tolman: today he has an important Twitter thread on the Susan Rice “CYA” email of Jan. 20, 2017. Trying to deflect possible future recriminations back toward Comey and away from Obama/Biden/Rice is most interesting……

    https://twitter.com/tolmanbrett/status/1262862711039250432

    Brett L. Tolman
    @tolmanbrett

    This is the declassified Rice “Top Secret” email from her official email to presumably her personal email. This is not just a CYA but a CEA “cover everyone’s a**” attempt. This shows Obama and Biden were calling shots against Flynn and Comey was providing the ammunition.

  24. More from Brett Tolman: today he has an important Twitter thread on the Susan Rice “CYA” email of Jan. 20, 2017. Trying to deflect possible future recriminations back toward Comey and away from Obama/Biden/Rice is most interesting……

    https://twitter.com/tolmanbrett/status/1262862711039250432

    Brett L. Tolman
    @tolmanbrett

    This is the declassified Rice “Top Secret” email from her official email to presumably her personal email. This is not just a CYA but a CEA “cover everyone’s a**” attempt. This shows Obama and Biden were calling shots against Flynn and Comey was providing the ammunition.

  25. I’m trying to learn as much as I can. I’ve been reading about Butina and South Dakota, my interest piqued as my home-town is Sioux Falls. Butina was living a mere 5 minutes away from my parents’ home! Small world indeed. I don’t live there now (but hope to return when we retire), but still find it a bit crazy that I’d NEVER HEARD of her until I began following your work (post 2020 election). Really enjoyed that she’s quoted as describing Sioux Falls as feeling like home! LOL That makes absolute sense to me. SD gets cold, we are largely a stoic bunch born of Norwegian, German, Polish, Swedish immigrants. The air in SD is wonderful and the people are very nice, nicer than people in most places (I am just a few years younger than you are and husband and I have lived all over the US). South Dakotans can be too naive though, too trusting, too enthralled with somebody simply because they’re from another country. (They might read this and say “By God, we are NOT!” SoDakotans–Yes, you are. I love that about you (us).)

    Thank you for everything you write. Your writing is fun to read.

  26. This week’s news implies that X,Y and Z will not be prosecuted. It is unlikely that liberal America will ever receive full discovery of this Affair, but we would benefit if you would fill in the blanks for us now. I understand if this is a Snowden-level request; in that case, I will just have to keep my lamp trimmed and burning and suffer the ridicule.

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