The ongoing federal probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and potential collusion with the Trump campaign has enveloped Trump ally and former UKIP party leader Nigel Farage, The Guardian reported Thursday.
Farage, who helped lay the foundation for last year’s stunning Brexit vote, appeared on the FBI’s radar because of his relationship with both the Trump campaign and Wikileaks, according to the Guardian. In March of this year, Farage visited Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who has been accused of collaborating with Russian hackers to release stolen emails and other information in an attempt to tank the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. CIA Director Mike Pompeo has dubbed Wikileaks a “non-state hostile intelligence service often embedded by state actors like Russia.”
Farage is not accused of any wrongdoing himself, but may have information that could further the investigation, the newspaper reported. “If you triangulate Russia, WikiLeaks, Assange and Trump associates the person who comes up with the most hits is Nigel Farage,” a source told The Guardian. Farage has also appeared several times on the Kremlin-backed network RT, and in 2014 named Vladimir Putin as the world leader he most admires.
In a statement on his Facebook page, Farage dismissed the report as “fake news” and asserted that he has “no connections to Russia.”
lock him up
While it’s still unlikely given the turnout of young Brits, the sight of PM Corbyn dumping Farage off on Mueller’s doorstep would be hilarious.
I give Mueller some credit thus far. Whether he has simply freed up McCabe and Boente to move more aggressively or whether he is taking this on himself with his team, this investigation seems more organized and is more communicative with the public than the Comey led investigation. Farage is an obvious target. He was at the GOP convention, went to TT multiple times, and knew/met every single Russian asset in the US (as well as the UK). He is at the nexus of a lot of contacts between Russia and Trump, particular as it relates to the hackers and social media assets that RU used.
Farage needs to consider looking into whether the London Ecuadorian Embassy guest quarters have bunk beds.
Regarding the UK election, I lived in the UK for 2 years and go back frequently. I sense a different climate this time around as compared to 2015. Theresa May could actually be in some trouble. YouGov polls might be the canary in the coal mine, not the outlier that many in the UK think. Keep in mind that the Tories don’t have to actually ‘lose’ to lose. Their system is as messed up as our own. If the distribution of votes in swing districts favors non Tories, then her absolute majority could be at risk and there is a non-trivial possibility that Corbyn could form a minority coalition gov’t with other partners with the largest party, the Conservative party, being cut out.
A few things jump out at me in this upcoming election as compared to 2015:
All this said, I’m not predicting a Labour win. But I think this could be a narrower Tory win that costs them seats in the parliament, and maybe enough to cost them an outright majority where they will have to scramble to form a coalition with UKIP. The worst case scenario for the Tories is that they fall below the threshold even with UKIP help to form a government and Labour gets a crack at forming one with the Lib Dems and SNP.