CNN panel explodes with laughter imagining GOP response to guilty pleas from Clinton campaign
CNN "New Day" panel, John Avlon, Alisyn Camerota, Chris Cuomo and David Gregory (Photo: Screen capture)
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Tuesday morning’s “New Day” panel seemed punchy while discussing the recent indictments handed up by special counsel Robert Mueller and the grand jury. At one point, the group laughed out loud at the idea of what Republicans would be saying if these legal problems were happening to former Secretary Hillary Clinton.
“History is so instructive here, right? go back to the early days of the watergate investigation podium the White House spokesperson [Sarah Huckabee Sanders] called the Watergate break-in a ‘third-rate burglary,'” began political analyst David Gregory. “History tells us how administrations respond to this. Let’s use the Hillary Clinton test, because I always think that’s instructive. What would Republicans be saying if President Hillary Clinton were facing this fact set? I think we know. They would be calling for her impeachment.”
“They’d be saying what they’re saying right now, David,” Chris Cuomo said as co-host Alisyn Camerota laughed. “Which is that she should be the target of the investigation and she colluded with Russia!”
“Right! Right!” Gregory laughed. “She’s not president and they’re saying it!”
Gregory went on to say that currently there’s not even a need for speculation, the facts are in.
“What we know is that there is evidence that the the rich asshole team at various levels, including his son — they were open for business to work with the Russians, to interfere in the election. That’s what we know. We don’t know if somebody actually committed a crime yet. We just know about that willingness,” he closed.
Watch the full clip below, including a moment where Cuomo compares Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to a Muppet.
Hannity unravels delivering his ‘most important monologue’ ever — and lists every law ‘President’ Hillary Clinton broke
Fox News host Sean Hannity. Image via screengrab.
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On Monday night, Fox News’ bombastic host Sean Hannity delivered what he called his “most important monologue ever” — and attempted to, somehow, blame Bill and Hillary Clinton for Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election that the latter lost.
At one point, Hannity referred to the former Democratic nominee as “President Clinton” before correcting himself and calling her “President Clinton wannabe” — a slip of the tongue that Twitter certainly didn’t miss.
Later in the segment, he began to raise his voice when discussing his distress with a lack of indictment for Clinton over her private email server scandal. But it was when he began touting the Clintons’ relationship to Russians that were cited in the infamous “golden showers” dossier that he becomes the most unhinged.
“Of course, they use Russian sources, bought and paid for by Hillary, the DNC and Obama to smear the rich asshole and influence the election with Russian lies,” Hannity claimed.
“Probably the biggest scandal of all is Bill and Hillary Clinton selling out America’s national security to Putin and the Russians,” he asserted, though his explanation didn’t actually defend exactly how they did that.
Watch the bizarre, rambling monologue below, via Fox News.
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Republicans are no longer interested in protecting Robert Mueller from being fired
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
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For months, congressional Republicans have attempted to cobble together legislation that would protect special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired by President some rich asshole. In wake of the indictments for Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, and with Mueller’s warning of more forthcoming, those GOP attempts have fizzled.
According to interviews with officials on the hill by Daily Beast, they’re suddenly uninterested.
“I don’t feel an urgent need to pass that law until you show me a reason that Mr. Mueller is in jeopardy,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who introduced the bill with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ). “I don’t think anybody in their right mind at the White House would think about replacing Mr. Mueller unless there was a very good reason.”
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) wrote their own bill that would allow Muller to challenge his termination if the rich asshole were to fire him. Such actions would take place before a panel of three federal judges chosen after the firing, were it to happen.
But others believe the likelihood of such an act is so slim, conjecture is a waste of time.
“I can’t even imagine any administration taking a move like that,” said Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), who has been a loud critic of the rich asshole in recent weeks. “That would be going a step further than I could possibly imagine.”
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) called it was too early to know if something like that is necessary. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) said “Mueller knows what he’s doing” and Congress should stay in “our lane.”
“It depends on how the president reacts,” Flake said. “There’s no indication that he’s going to go in and fire or pardon at this point.”
Even Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), both serving on their respective intelligence committees, have indicated they’re interested in such legislation, but have done little to persuade their GOP counterparts to act.
the rich asshole thought about firing Mueller over the last several months. In fact, former senior aide Steve Bannon was reportedly plotted “a much more aggressive legal approach short of firing Mueller,” The Beast reported Monday.
In the past, Fox News touted Mueller’s credibility. When he was appointed, the network listed key components to his background that made him an upstanding, fair and reasonable prosecutor. Recently, however, they’ve been calling for his firing.
‘The walls are closing in’: the rich asshole spent day ‘fuming’ at indictments as aides walked corridors in fear
President some rich asshole (YouTube)
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On Monday morning, as the country waited for the identity of special counsel Robert Mueller’s subpoena recipients to be revealed, President some rich asshole allegedly holed up in his White House residence to wait out the storm.
According to sources close the president who spoke with The Washington Post, the rich asshole frustrated his staff by being late to work at the Oval Office. Instead, he “spent the morning playing fuming media critic, legal analyst and crisis communications strategist” along with making calls to his lawyers “repeatedly.”
Although White House special counsel Ty Cobb said the rich asshole is “spending all of his time on presidential work,” sources close to the president said his “anger Monday was visible to those who interacted with him, and the mood in the corridors of the White House was one of weariness and fear of the unknown.”
“The walls are closing in,” a senior Republican close to White House staffers told the Post. “Everyone is freaking out.”
WATCH: Chuck Grassley scrambles through American flags to evade reporters asking about Mueller probe
Sen. Chuck Grassley abruptly departs press conference
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Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee currently investigating Russian influence during the 2016 presidential election, abruptly fled a press conference after questions turned to Monday’s indictments of two former some rich asshole campaign associates—and knocked into multiple American flags in the process.
Republican senators held a press conference to address the rich asshole’s judiciary nominees. As reporters began questioning the senators on special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) repeatedly refused to answer questions.
As Cornyn declined to comment on Monday’s indictments against former the rich asshole campaign chairman Paul Manafort and adviser Robert Gates, Grassley began eyeing doors hidden behind a row of American flags. He finally makes a break for it, hitting several flags in his hasty exit.
Watch below:
Comey just Twitter-trolled the rich asshole after the Manafort indictment in a strange and cryptic way
Former FBI director James Comey at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on June 8, 2017 (Screenshot/YouTube)
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Fired FBI Director James Comey, the man behind the mysterious “Reinhold Niebuhr” Twitter account, issued another cryptic tweet in the aftermath of the indictment of former the rich asshole campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
“‘Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary,'” the tweet from the @FormerBu account read, citing American theologian and Comey hero Reinhold Niebuhr as the author of the quote.
Shortly after Comey was fired by President some rich asshole, a Gizmodo reporter went down the rabbit hole to reveal that the former FBI director was, in fact, the person behind the strange and sparse Twitter feed. Last week, Comey confirmed that he is, in fact, running the account.
Moments after the tweet was sent, Twitter naturally exploded with speculation and praise for the ex-FBI head. Read some of the best below.
DarlinCompanion
‘Fake news got very real today’: CNN’s Acosta slams ‘delusional’ the rich asshole for trying downplay Mueller probe
CNN White House Correspondent Jim Acosta reporting from the WH lawn. Image via screengrab.
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President some rich asshole may think the Russian election-interference investigation is “fake news,” but as CNN’s White House correspondent Jim Acosta pointed out following the latest news from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, that belief might be “alternative facts.”
“The president appeared to be blind-sided by perhaps the biggest bombshell of the day, the plea deal with former campaign adviser George Papadopoulos,” Acosta said at the beginning of his segment on The Situation Room. “A story the president has called ‘fake news’ got very real for the White House today.”
Around the time that news of Papadopoulos’ guilty plea for to lying to federal investigators broke, the rich asshole tweeted regarding the indictment of another of his former aides — one-time campaign chairman Paul Manafort, whose financial ties to the Kremlin have been the subject of scrutiny for months.
“Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the the rich asshole campaign,” the president tweeted. “But why aren’t Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????”
Later in the segment, Acosta said that rather than being “nervous” about what may happen now that Mueller’s investigation is heating up, many in the White House appear defiant.
“I’m also sensing a good deal of defiance,” Acosta told host Wolf Blitzer. He said he’d spoken recently to a source close to the White House who claimed those within the administration “view what happened today as a distraction.”
“It’s sort of an incredible take-away on all of this,” the White House correspondent said. “It may be delusional to view all of this as a distraction. As we can tell this evening, Wolf, the distraction is only getting bigger and bigger.”
Watch the White House correspondent’s assessment of the the rich asshole administration’s response to the Mueller indictments below, via CNN.
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Pat Robertson demands the rich asshole fire Mueller and pardon everyone: ‘This whole thing has to be shut down!’
Pat Robertson (Screen shot)
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A deeply concerned Pat Robertson implored President some rich asshole to make the whole Russian investigation go away by firing special counsel Robert Mueller and giving a blanket pardon to everyone who is being scrutinized by the FBI and congressional investigators.
In video captured by Right Wing Watch, the 700 Club founder lamented the news that former the rich asshole campaign manager Paul Manafort was indicted, saying the focus should be on “tainted” former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“Manafort is an easy target, if I can use that term” he began while admitting that the former the rich asshole associate has a long history of working with foreign governments and had failed to file the proper paperwork.
“As far as the White House, not a chance,” he continued before mentioning an editorial (presumably in the Wall Street Journal) that asserted the rich asshole has the capability to end the investigation.
“He [the rich asshole] can grant a pardon to everybody involved in this thing if he wants to,” Robertson explained. “This whole thing has got to be shut down … He has every right to shut Mueller down and say, ‘You have gone as far as you need to and I have instructed my Justice Department to close you down.’”
“He can grant a blanket pardon for everybody involved in everything and say, ‘I pardon them all, it’s all over, case closed,’” Robertson rambled. “I think that is what he needs to do … He’s got to shut this thing down, he’s just got to.”
Watch the video below via Right Wing Watch on YouTube:
In a disastrous blow to some rich asshole, two campaign officials have been indicted and a third has pled guilty. But according to the White House, this is all about Hillary Clinton.
MSNBC
Despite three separate the rich asshole campaign officials busted by the feds, the White House is absurdly, ridiculously, laughably insisting this has nothing to do with some rich asshole or his campaign.
Instead, according to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, this has “everything to do” with Hillary Clinton.
During Monday’s press briefing, that was the spin the White House is offering to try to distance the rich asshole from his own campaign:
SANDERS: But look, today’s announcement has nothing to do with the president, has nothing to do with the president’s campaign, or campaign activity. The real collusion scandal, as we’ve said several times before, has everything to do with the Clinton campaign, Fusion GPS, and Russia.
Not a single word of that is true, of course.
On Monday, it was revealed that the rich asshole campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pled guilty to charges of lying to the government about the rich asshole campaign attempts to collude with Russia during the election.
Meanwhile, two top campaign officials, Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, were indicted for conspiracy against the United States and also misleading government investigators — who are investigating the the rich asshole campaign’s collusion with Russia and the rich asshole’s attempts as president to obstruct that investigation.
Gates continued to be a the rich asshole adviser after the rich asshole took office and was called by White House counselor Kellyanne Conway part of the “core four.”
None of that has anything to do with Hillary Clinton — except to the extent that she was the victim of an apparent conspiracy by members of the rich asshole’s inner circle to work with the Russian government in its explicit mission to install the rich asshole in the White House.
The outright lying by the rich asshole and his spokespeople, and the increasingly pathetic attempt to somehow pin the the rich asshole team’s misdeeds on his political opponent, are outrageous and unpresidential. And given that the investigations are apparently ramping up — not winding down, as Sanders has also falsely claimed — it could get much uglier.
And that is all on the rich asshole and his team.
October 30, 2017
some rich asshole started out Monday morning like any other day. He woke up, picked up his phone, and started tweeting the first thing that popped into his tiny little mind. However, when news broke of Paul Manafort’s turning himself in for Mueller’s indictment, the rich asshole’s mindless tweeting suddenly stopped.
JUST IN: Paul Manafort surrenders, Gates asked to turn himself in to Mueller, source says cnn.it/2ig1JQL
Paul Manafort is turning himself in to special counsel Robert Mueller, a source tells CNN cnn.it/2zXI5kF
That is the story that stopped the rich asshole in his Twitter tracks. Here’s what the rich asshole tweeted.
Great job by MichaelCaputo on @foxandfriends.
That’s right. the rich asshole is tweeting blame on Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama while his former campaign manager is walking himself into the courthouse to be booked and released on federal indictment charges. Even the rich asshole’s Twitter followers found the display to be transparent and obvious. Check out the responses to these tweets below:
some rich asshole Is Deflecting Hard This Morning As Manafort Turns Himself In To FBI
It’s Mueller Time, y’all! This morning, President some rich asshole’s former Campaign Chair Paul Manafort walked into the Washington, D.C. office flanked by his attorneys. As Manafort was doing his perp-walk, some rich asshole was tweeting about…Obama.
The president was referencing a report in the right-wing rag, The Federalist that claims the Obama Campaign paid $972,000 to the law firm that passed the money between the Clinton Campaign and Fusion GPS for opposition research on the rich asshole. The Republican Party and the president want everyone to believe the REAL scandal here is Obama….Obama…Obama…Hillary and not the fact that the campaign manager of the winning president of the United States was indicted less than a year after that president took office.
And that’s not all, also indicted this morning was Rick Gates, a political consultant who continued to work for the rich asshole after Manafort left the campaign. Gates was part of the inaugural committee and has been in and out of the White House over the last year. the rich asshole can deflect away but it’s not working, we all see right through his bullshit.
HAPPY MONDAY!
Manafort Will Flip, Roll, Snitch And Impeach Trump To Avoid 20 Years In Prison — So Says Twitter
10-30-17
There is no honor among thieves, so the saying goes. As such, Twitter is surmising that embattled former campaign manager Paul Manafort will spill the beans about any allegations of illegal doings that extend beyond those alleged in the 31-page PDF indictment against Manafort and Rick Gates, as reported by Inquisitr. Manafort and Gates are being viewed as big fish that can be used to potentially catch an even bigger fish — President some rich asshole — as special counsel Bob Mueller’s investigation continues into reportedly illegal happenings and charges of conspiracy against the U.S.
As seen in the above photo, Manafort stood with then-Republican rich asshole and his daughter Ivanka the rich asshole on July 21, 2016. Last year, the trio was performing a walk-through at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. More than one year later, Manafort — along with Gates — is being accused of laundering million of dollars and conspiring against the U.S.
As seen in the below tweets, armchair politicos are guessing that Manafort will speak further about any alleged connections between the rich asshole and Russia and beyond in order to avoid prison time, or to receive a reduced sentence. With the indictment accusing Manafort of lying to federal authorities, the government investigators now purportedly have leverage against Manafort that could be used as a bargaining tool. Manafortand his former business associate are facing charges that could carry prison sentences of up to 20 years, according to the New York Times.
As seen on Twitter, a plethora of tweets are guessing at how long it will take Manafort to flip on the rich asshole in order to strike a deal with federal investigators. With George Papadopoulos, President the rich asshole’s former policy adviser, admitting his guilt over lying to agents about Russian meetings, according to the Guardian, George is also being accused of “rolling over,” as seen in the next tweet.
People on Twitter are also reminding President the rich asshole of just how important Manafort was to the the rich asshole campaign by retweeting a tweet stating as such by Sean Hannity, seen below.
@realDonaldTrump @GOP Sean Hannity says that Manafort was very important to your campaign.. twitter.com/seanhannity/st…
While most Twitter users are betting that Manafort may use any leverage that he can against the rich asshole to avoid prison time, others are blaming Mueller’s entire investigation on a conspiracy against the rich asshole and the alleged tax reform he’s attempting to have passed.
The variety of tweets being published about what Twitter users are claiming is the rich asshole’s inevitable fate — prison time — can be read below.
Pumpkin, have someone who can read walk you through this, okay? It's REALLY bad news for you and your Kleptocracy:nydailynews.com/news/national/…
Opps! Even MORE bad news for you! Yup, definitely look like you'll rot to death in PRISON!usatoday.com/story/news/pol…
I hope Trump folks know that Manafort probably doesn’t live by the “don’t snitch” rule. He’s not trying to die in prison #ManafortGates
Trump is going to prison
How Sh*tty Of A Birthday Must Ivanka the rich asshole Be Having?
With the whirlwind of information coming at us about Paul Manafort’s indictment, the rich asshole’s allcaps claim that their was “NO COLLUSION,” a former advisor’s admission of collusion, and all the other devastating shit happening to Team the rich asshole today, the American public is missing one crucial detail: this is all happening on Ivanka the rich asshole’s birthday.
Daddy’s Little Girl was born on October 30, 1981 and the FBI got her a present: the first of many boots that will be dropping on her father’s administration.
This has to be particularly worrisome for poor, dear, sweet Ivanka, whose husband is also under investigation in Muellergate.
As of 3 PM EST, only one post was on Ivanka’s Twitter — a self-defensive birthday note from her daughter she attempted to use to excuse herself for forgetting her sister Tiffany’s birthday.
Americans were nice enough to pop by and wish her a happy birthday:
Arabella:"Dear Mom, thank you for giving me birth." Clearly, I'm not the only member of my family who doesn't understand how birthdays workpic.twitter.com/fQbAvdtFQ4
Honey you don't understand anything, maybe prison will teach you a thing or two! You can have your birthdays there everyday, deal?
Arabella:"Dear Mom, thank you for giving me birth." Clearly, I'm not the only member of my family who doesn't understand how birthdays work
Happy birthday someone's going to jail today! What do you get a traitor for their birthday? pic.twitter.com/56Xicg6QkZ
Arabella:"Dear Mom, thank you for giving me birth." Clearly, I'm not the only member of my family who doesn't understand how birthdays work
Arabella:"Dear Mom, thank you for giving me birth." Clearly, I'm not the only member of my family who doesn't understand how birthdays work
Arabella:"Dear Mom, thank you for giving me birth." Clearly, I'm not the only member of my family who doesn't understand how birthdays work
Arabella:"Dear Mom, thank you for giving me birth." Clearly, I'm not the only member of my family who doesn't understand how birthdays work
Paul Manafort and Rick Gates have both pleaded not guilty to their respective crimes and former campaign aide George Papadopoulos cut a secret plea deal in which he admitted to lying about the the rich asshole campaign’s outreach to Russian officials regarding a meeting between the rich asshole and Putin and collecting “dirt” on Hillary Clinton.
It’s clear that Mueller is accelerating his probe into the the rich asshole campaign’s collusion with Russia, and it must really ruin Ivanka’s day that they’ll probably be coming for Jared soon.
McCain Has The Best Laugh He’s Had In 80 Years When He’s Asked THIS About some rich asshole
It’s gotta be hard these days to be John McCain. Standing up to some rich asshole is pretty unpopular among Republicans these days, and we’ve seen the proof in how quickly the base turned on some otherwise solidly-conservative GOP Senators who have decided the age of the rich asshole is just too much for them.
First Tennessee’s Bob Corker then McCain’s fellow Arizona Senator Jeff Flake dropped out of the running for reelection, possibly dashing the GOP’s hopes for holding on to the Senate in the 2018 elections. But regardless of the fact that they’ve both been what old Mitt Romney might call “severely conservative,” red meat the rich asshole voters turned on the two like villagers with pitchforks.
That could be, however, because they don’t have the credentials John McCain has. When he trolled the rich asshole hard last week on the “bone spurs” he used as an excuse to dodge the draft with all of his silver spoon, private school pals, the rich asshole tried to clap back with a warning that “people have to be careful because at some point I fight back.”
McCain’s answer?
“I have faced tougher adversaries.”
Now, you might think some rich asshole is at least smart enough not to come at a former POW with some weak stuff like that, but you’d be wrong. Laughably wrong. In fact, go ahead and have a little laugh, because you’re in good company.
McCain thought it was hilarious.
Appearing on The View the following day, the panel gave the senior Arizona Senator a chance to expound a little on his short response to the president’s threat:
“He said he would ‘fight back’ and it wouldn’t be pretty. Are you scared?”
McCain didn’t answer immediately because he was busy laughing his ass off. No, I mean, almost with tears in his eyes. There he is, next to his daughter — who just landed the spot on this show — and this old man looks like he’s going to cry from laughing so hard. Every woman on the panel is cracking up. People offstage are howling.
I just want to know some rich asshole has seen this clip. I can die happy as long as I know Donnie Daycare has watched this octogenarian cry tears of laughter at the prospect of being scared of little old him.
Enjoy!
This Is What Fox News Considered ‘News’ As Everyone Else Covered Indictment Of the rich asshole Camp Manager
This morning, the rich asshole’s former campaign manager was indicted for conspiracy against the United States, a.k.a. treason (among other things – you can read the full list of charges here), and ordered to turn himself in to the FBI. As he did so, every news outlet was busy covering it, reporting on the situation as it developed. Except for Fox News. They must have needed some time to decide on their spin because they were reporting on candy and hamburger emojis while the story on Paul Manafort unfolded.
Seriously. They were reporting on Halloween candy and some kind of “hamburger emoji crisis” at Google as the first indictment in Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation was unsealed and handed down.
Also a good time for public to see which media outlets have been reporting the actual story vs which are obedient vassals of people in power
Everybody else is talking about the Paul Manafort arrest, @foxnews is talking about cheeseburger emojis. #MuellerMonday
They did start talking about Manafort, and even published an opinion piece from contributor Erick Erickson, who is trying to spin this news into nothing by saying that it looks like the charges against Manafort have nothing to do with the rich asshole. He is, of course, calling the whole thing a conspiracy in which Mueller comes up completely empty on the collusion story.
Har de har har. Manafort is a slimeball. Unless the rich asshole has something serious on him (and what could be more serious than the charges already against him?), Manafort will probably place his own ass above the rich asshole’s.
Guilty As Hell Paul Manafort And Rick Gates Enter ‘Not Guilty’ Pleas In Russian Collusion Scandal (TWEET/VIDEO)
The world is exploding right now due to the news that some rich asshole’s second campaign manager, Paul Manafort has been indicted on a litany of felony charges by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Manafort, as well as his business associated and fellow the rich asshole campaign official Rick Gates have been taken into federal custody, but both have laughably entered pleas of not guilty to all kinds of high crimes – including really shady stuff like money laundering and conspiracy against their own country.
Of course, the the rich asshole White House is in all-out “nothing to see here” mode. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders spent her entire Monday briefing lying through her teeth with regards to the Manfort and Gates situation. As if this weren’t bad enough for Team the rich asshole, a third person in their orbit has been charged as well, foreign policy adviser George Padadopoulos. It also seems that this gentleman may be flipping on the rich asshole, because he was caught lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is a crime, and is being listed as a cooperating witness, according to former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara:
In short, the entire the rich asshole White House is in deep shit. Sarah Sanders can say all day long that this has nothing to do with the rich asshole’s campaign, and they had to go flipping it all back to Hillary, even though she is a private citizen:
These people are unbelievable. All I know is that this will continue to get closer to the rich asshole and his inner circle, and they’ll be removed in due course. Hopefully, the snakes in that pit continue to turn on each other in order to save their own skins, and we can take our country back from these treasonous squatters.
Preet Bharara: More charges likely coming in Mueller-Russia probe
BY REBECCA SAVRANSKY - 10/30/17 11:44 AM EDT
Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who was fired by President the rich asshole earlier this year, predicted there are more charges to come in special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian election interference.
"Special Counsel Mueller already has one criminal conviction. And this plea portends more charges to come," Bharara tweeted.
He shared a photo of a portion of a court filing on former the rich asshole campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, which said: "Through his false statements and omissions, defendant PAPADOPOULOS impeded the FBI's ongoing investigation into the existence of any links or coordination between individuals associated with the Campaign and the Russian government's efforts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election."
Papadopoulos earlier this month pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents investigating possible collusion between the rich asshole presidential campaign and the Russian government.
The Department of Justice unsealed the court filings shortly after it announced charges against two other high-ranking the rich asshole campaign officials: Paul Manafort and Rick Gates.
Prosecutors charged Papadopoulos with lying to investigators about his discussions with a foreign professor who told him that Russians had thousands of emails containing "dirt" on Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee.
Manafort is being charged with 12 counts — including conspiracy against the United States — in the first indictment to come from the Mueller's Russia investigation.
On Sunday, Bharara, who announced he was fired in March after refusing to resign when asked by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, said it is important to watch the rich asshole's reaction to the first charges in the Mueller probe, noting the rich asshole's reactions could be used as evidence.
Five things to know about the Manafort indictment
BY JONATHAN EASLEY AND MORGAN CHALFANT - 10/30/17 11:57 AM EDT
President the rich asshole’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort surrendered to the FBI on Monday morning.
Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates are accused of money laundering and tax evasion on tens of millions of dollars they made while secretly lobbying for a political party in Ukraine.
Here are five things to know about the indictment:
Manafort was secretly lobbying for a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine.
Manafort and Gates are alleged to have conducted a multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign on behalf of a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine and its now-exiled leader, Viktor Yanukovych.
Manafort and Gates never registered with the Justice Department as foreign lobbyists, as is required by law. The indictment details the extensive foreign lobbying work they conducted over the course of a decade, as well as the lengths they went to keep their work shielded from public scrutiny.
The indictment says that Manafort’s foreign lobbying work continued through 2016, although the indictment does not mention the six months he spent running the rich asshole’s campaign.
In 2005, Manafort launched a political consulting group called Davis Manafort Partners with staff in the U.S., Ukraine and Russia. The group lobbied members of Congress and their staffs on Ukrainian sanctions and elections and briefed them on allegations against Yanukovych and his Party of Regions.
Yanukovych was elected president of Ukraine in 2010.
In 2012, a group called the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine materialized in Belgium. The indictment describes the group as a “mouthpiece” for Yanukovych and his government, and claims that Manafort and Gates used it as a go-between for Yanukovych’s government and U.S. entities with interests in Ukraine.
Yanukovych fled Ukraine in exile in 2014 amid protests and allegations of widespread corruption.
All told, the Justice Department indictment claims that Manafort and Gates acted as unregistered foreign agents on behalf of Yanukovych and his Party of Regions — renamed the Opposition Bloc in 2014 — from 2006 to 2016. They allegedly used more than 30 entities in the U.S. and Cypress to hide their activities.
When confronted with the allegations of unregistered foreign lobbying, the Justice Department says Manafort and Gates lied or provided misleading statements about their activities.
Manafort allegedly used offshore accounts to launder money from his foreign lobbying.
Manafort and Gates made tens of millions of dollars lobbying on behalf of Yanukovych and his allies.
The indictment alleges that they funneled those gains — more than $75 million — through foreign bank accounts opened by themselves and their “accomplices” in Cyprus, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Seychelles.
Manafort and Gates are alleged to have hidden the income from the IRS, reporting on their taxes that they did not hold foreign bank accounts.
The Justice Department lays out scores of specific transactions originating abroad that the government says Manafort used stateside to fund his lavish lifestyle.
He is also accused of using the offshore accounts to defraud banks by taking out mortgages that made him appear to have more liquid assets than he actually had, enabling him to obtain better interest rates on loans.
'Conspiracy against the U.S.' is among the 12 charges Manafort faces.
Manafort and Gates are both accused of committing “conspiracy” against the United States between 2006 and 2017 — a revelation that threatened to set off immediate alarm bells in Washington.
But the charge, as with the others laid out in the indictment, is related to their financial dealings, particularly the work that Manafort and Gates did overseas on behalf of a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine and their effort to launder money and evade taxes.
The charge does not constitute an accusation of “collusion” with a foreign power and is not related to work either party did for the the rich asshole campaign.
According to the indictment, Manafort and Gates “together with others, knowingly and intentionally conspired to defraud the United States by impeding, impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful governmental functions of a government agency, namely the Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury” — standard language used in federal tax crimes.
In addition to conspiracy and money laundering charges, the two also face charges of acting as unregistered agents of a foreign principal, making false and misleading statements about their overseas work, and failing to file the correct paperwork in connection with their foreign bank and financial accounts.
Manafort lived a lavish lifestyle.
The indictment explains how Manafort used his overseas income to support a “lavish lifestyle” in the United States that included multimillion-dollar real estate purchases, shopping sprees at luxury clothing stores, and high-end car purchases at Range Rover and Mercedes Benz.
In sum, Manafort is accused of laundering $18 million.
“Manafort, without reporting the income to his tax preparer or the United States, spent millions of dollars on luxury goods and services for himself and his extended family through payments wired from offshore nominee accounts to United States vendors,” the indictment states.
For instance, Manafort secretly wired more than $5 million to a company in the Hamptons for home improvement work between 2008 and 2014. He spent nearly $1 million on antique rugs at a store in Alexandria, Va.; more than $1.3 million at clothing stores in New York and Beverly Hills; and more than $800,000 on landscaping.
According to the indictment, Manafort used his overseas funds to purchase three properties in 2012, including a condo in New York, a brownstone in New York, and a house in Arlington, Va., just outside Washington. These real estate purchases totaled $6.4 million.
The indictment says Manafort borrowed millions of dollars from lenders using his properties as “collateral,” thereby allowing him to get cash in the U.S. without reporting his income or paying taxes on it.
“In order to increase the amount of money he could access in the United States, Manafort defrauded the institutions that loaned money on these properties so that they would lend him more money at more favorable rates than he would otherwise be able to obtain,” the indictment states.
There is no mention of the rich asshole campaign in the indictment.
Mueller is ostensibly investigating whether President the rich asshole’s campaign officials colluded with Russians during the 2016 presidential race, but the rich asshole and his campaign are not mentioned once in the indictment.
the rich asshole has already seized on the indictment as proof there was no collusion between his campaign and Moscow, pointing to the fact that it deals with Manafort’s work prior to the campaign.
“Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the rich asshole campaign,” the rich asshole tweeted Monday morning. “Also, there is NO COLLUSION!”
Still, Manafort led the rich asshole’s campaign in some capacity from March through August 2016 and the allegations in the indictment indicate that Manafort is accused of illegal foreign lobbying on behalf of a pro-Russia political party from 2005 through 2016.
That has sparked speculation that Mueller is seeking to first build an air-tight case surrounding the financial crimes of the rich asshole’s associates with the hope of later squeezing them to dish about alleged collusion as part of a deal.
Mueller was given broad authority by the Justice Department to investigate not only potential links between the the rich asshole campaign and Moscow but also any matters that arose as a result of the probe.
As a high-level campaign associate, Manafort theoretically could provide valuable information to prosecutors as they seek to find evidence of collusion between the campaign and the Russian government.
Mueller makes a blockbuster move
BY BRENT BUDOWSKY, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 10/30/17 11:20 AM EDT 676
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL
The indictments of Paul Manafort and Rick Gates that were brought and sealed on Friday and announced on Monday, including for conspiracy against the United States, begin a defining period of investigation and action that will ultimately decide the fate of the rich asshole presidency.
The announcement of the plea bargain of former the rich asshole foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, for lying to the FBI in the Russia probe, brings evidence of Russian interference in the election further into the foreign policy team of the the rich asshole campaign.
The charges brought are sweeping, dramatic and involve potentially substantial prison time if the accused are found guilty. Future charges against Manafort, Gates and others close to the rich asshole are possible and indeed likely as the investigations unfold.
There will now be huge pressure on Manafort and Gates to plea-bargain and seek lesser punishment in return for giving the government evidence involving other suspects in the case of Russian attacks against America.
Nothing in the blockbuster indictments of Manafort or Gates, or any other individuals who may be indicted, proves the innocence or guilt of those who are charged. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. There are no exceptions to this rule. Our political opinions are not relevant to innocence or guilt under the law.
Next, attention will soon turn to other high-level individuals close to the rich asshole and his campaign, especially former national security adviser Michael Flynn and close the rich asshole confidant and son-in-law Jared Kushner, though again this does not suggest innocence or guilt about them or anyone else.
After the big move of Robert Mueller and the special counsel office to bring blockbuster indictments against Manafort and Gates, here are the key points going forward:
First, above all, the indictments begin a red-hot phase of the investigation that will continue to escalate until the investigation is over, charges are filed and verdicts are rendered to clear or convict all who are charged.
Second, everyone associated with Team the rich asshole, including President the rich asshole and some GOP allies in Congress, should stop attacking Hillary Clinton as a diversionary tactic that is doomed to fail as real charges are brought against real defendants, offered by real prosecutors taking real evidence to real juries who will render real verdicts of innocence or guilt.
Third, President the rich asshole should unequivocally announce he will issue no pre-emptive pardons for anyone who is or may be charged and that he will take no action to remove Mueller from his leadership of the special counsel office.
Fourth, the smartest legal and political move for the rich asshole would be to state unequivocally that he now agrees with what our intelligence and law enforcement communities have forcefully stated, that Russia continues to engage in a concerted attack against American democracy.
It provides no benefit and significant danger to the rich asshole to suggest the Russian crimes against American democracy did not happen, when they did.
As the investigations of Russian attacks against American democracy reach radioactive intensity after the blockbuster indictments announced today, the rich asshole and Republicans in Congress should not only agree, but demand that congressional investigations should be thorough, honest and aggressive in getting to the truth of the matters involving Russia that are under investigation by the special counsel.
Robert Mueller is a good man, a Marine, a patriot, a brilliant lawyer who seeks the truth and a widely admired former FBI director who knows a lot about Russian attacks against America. He may ultimately clear the president.
the rich asshole’s widely respected attorney, Ty Cobb, has praised Mueller’s integrity and promised full cooperation with his investigation. This is wise advice that the president and his supporters should follow.
Brent Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) and former Rep. Bill Alexander (D-Ark.), who was chief deputy majority whip of the U.S. House of Representatives. He holds an LLM in international financial law from the London School of Economics.
the rich asshole on Manafort indictment: 'This is years ago'
BY JORDAN FABIAN - 10/30/17 10:29 AM EDT
President the rich asshole on Monday insisted his team did not collude with Russia, adding that alleged crimes committed by former campaign chairman Paul Manafort occurred “years ago.”
In a pair of tweets, the president said the charges against his ex-campaign chief were related to his actions before he “was part of the the rich asshole campaign” and asked “why aren't Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????"
"Also, there is NO COLLUSION!" he tweeted.
Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign. But why aren't Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????
The tweets were the rich asshole’s first response to the charges filed by special counsel Robert Mueller, a significant escalation of the Russia probe that has cast a cloud over the rich asshole’s presidency.
Manafort was charged with 12 counts, including conspiracy against the United States and money laundering related to his work for a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine. His longtime deputy, Rick Gates, was charged as well.
The indictment did not include any references to the the rich asshole, the campaign or collusion.
But the special prosector accused Manafort of trying to hide his work in Ukraine
— and millions of dollars in payments from it— from around 2006 to 2017. That undercuts the rich asshole's claim the charges stemmed from actions that only occurred "years ago."
— and millions of dollars in payments from it— from around 2006 to 2017. That undercuts the rich asshole's claim the charges stemmed from actions that only occurred "years ago."
Many believe Mueller could use the charges to try and pry information from Manafort about whether the campaign colluded with Russia to meddle in the 2016 election.
the rich asshole allies and lawyers have expressed confidence Manafort will not reveal damaging information about the rich asshole or his team in a deal with prosecutors.
The president, however, has not responded to a guilty plea unsealed Monday made by former campaign adviser George Papadopoulos.
The 30-year-old aide pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI about his interactions with Russians.
A professor with close ties to the Russian government allegedly told Papadopoulos he could deliver "dirt" on 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton gleaned from her emails.
The allegations are the clearest evidence yet of a connection between the the rich asshole campaign and Moscow's effort to interfere in last year's election.
Rebecca Savransky contributed
- This report was updated at 10:48 a.m.
Watch live: WH holds briefing after Manafort indictment announcement
BY THE HILL STAFF - 10/30/17 10:43 AM EDT
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will answer questions from reporters Monday afternoon.
Earlier Monday, President the rich asshole's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, turned himself in to the FBI on Monday after being indicted on 12 counts, including conspiracy against the United States.
It is the first indictment to come from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
The indictment includes Manafort’s former business partner Rick Gates, who was ousted from the pro-the rich asshole group America First Policies in April.
Manafort turned himself in at the FBI's Washington, D.C., field office on Monday morning.
The charges are related to work done by Manafort and Gates on behalf of a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine. Mueller alleges they were paid tens of millions of dollars for that work and then laundered the money “in order to hide Ukraine payments from United States authorities."
The White House briefing is scheduled to begin at 1:15 p.m.
Watch live in the video above.
Court partially blocks the rich asshole's transgender military ban
BY REBECCA KHEEL - 10/30/17 01:00 PM EDT
A federal court has blocked President the rich asshole in part from changing the military's transgender policy as a case against his ban works its way through court.
However, the judge denied the plaintiff's motion to block the ban on funds for gender reassignment surgery.
However, the judge denied the plaintiff's motion to block the ban on funds for gender reassignment surgery.
In a 76-page memo accompanying the ruling, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed in their case arguing the transgender ban violates their Fifth Amendment right to due process.
“The court finds that a number of factors—including the sheer breadth of the exclusion ordered by the directives, the unusual circumstances surrounding the President’s announcement of them, the fact that the reasons given for them do not appear to be supported by any facts, and the recent rejection of those reasons by the military itself — strongly suggest that Plaintiffs’ Fifth Amendment claim is meritorious,” she wrote.
The plaintiffs in the case, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), celebrated the injunction Monday as a "complete victory."
“This is a complete victory for our plaintiffs and all transgender service members, who are now once again able to serve on equal terms and without the threat of being discharged,” Shannon Minter, NCLR’s legal director, said in a statement.
“This court saw straight through the smokescreen the government tried to create to hide the bias and prejudice behind the rich asshole’s change in military policy," added Jennifer Levi, director of GLAD’s transgender rights project. "This clear, powerful ruling confirms that there is no legitimate reason to exclude transgender people from military service.”
In July, the rich asshole tweeted that he would ban transgender people from serving in the military in any capacity.
He made good on the tweets in August, signing a presidential memo that prohibits the military from enlisting transgender people and from using funds to pay for gender transition-related surgery. The memo also gave Defense Secretary James Mattis six months to determine what to do with transgender troops who are currently serving.
NCLR and GLAD sued in August on behalf of six unnamed service members and two recruits.
The government asked for the case to be dismissed, arguing that because Mattis is in the midst of the six-month review and has said no service member will be discharged in the interim, the plaintiffs have not been affected by the policy yet.
But Kollar-Kotelly ruled that while “perhaps compelling in the abstract,” the government’s arguments for dismissal “wither away under scrutiny.”
“The memorandum unequivocally directs the military to prohibit indefinitely the accession of transgender individuals and to authorize their discharge,” she wrote. “This decision has already been made. These directives must be executed by a date certain, and there is no reason to believe that they will not be executed. Plaintiffs have established that they will be injured by these directives, due both to the inherent inequality they impose, and the risk of discharge and denial of accession that they engender.”
But the plaintiffs did not establish that they would by harmed by the ban on funds for gender reassignment surgery, Kollar-Kotelly ruled. Therefore, she said, the court does not have jurisdiction to enjoin the aspect of the rich asshole’s policy.
Still, she wrote, the plaintiffs are likely to succeed in their case against the accession and retention policies because the government’s arguments for the ban “appear to be hypothetical and extremely overbroad.”
“As far as the court is aware at this preliminary stage, all of the reasons proffered by the president for excluding transgender individuals from the military in this case were not merely unsupported, but were actually contradicted by the studies, conclusions and judgment of the military itself,” she added, referring to the military’s 2016 study done during the Obama administration that led to allowing open service by transgender troops.
Kollar-Kotelly also said the court has to consider the circumstances of the rich asshole’s announcement -- that is, the fact that it was made abruptly on Twitter.
“The President abruptly announced, via Twitter—without any of the formality or deliberative processes that generally accompany the development and announcement of major policy changes that will gravely affect the lives of many Americans—that all transgender individuals would be precluded from participating in the military in any capacity,” she wrote. “These circumstances provide additional support for plaintiffs’ claim that the decision to exclude transgender individuals was not driven by genuine concerns regarding military efficacy.”
Asked during a press briefing about the court's decision and whether the administration had a plan to move forward, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said: "Obviously this is something just announced. The Department of Justice has it, they’re reviewing it and I’d refer you to them for any specific questions."
Former the rich asshole adviser pleads guilty to lying about Russia contacts
BY BEN KAMISAR - 10/30/17 10:36 AM EDT
One of President the rich asshole's former campaign advisers has pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents who are investigating possible collusion between the the rich asshole campaign and the Russian government, the Department of Justice said Monday.
George Papadopoulos, the 30-year-old foreign policy adviser, was arrested in July and pleaded guilty earlier this month, according to court filings unsealed on Monday. The Justice Department unsealed the documents shortly after it announced charges against two other higher-ranking the rich asshole campaign officials — Paul Manafort and Rick Gates.
The charges stem from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
Prosecutors charged Papadopoulos with lying to investigators about his conversations with a foreign professor who told him that Russians had thousands of emails containing "dirt" on Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
He allegedly lied about his contact with a Russian woman whom the Justice Department says he worked with "in an effort to arrange a meeting between the campaign and Russian government officials." Papadopoulos initially identified the woman as Russian President Vladimir Putin's niece, but later found out she was not related to Putin.
Papadopoulos allegedly told the FBI that those conversations happened before he joined the the rich asshole campaign, statements rebutted by the Justice Department's timeline.
Charging documents paint a picture of Papadopolous as eager to leverage his relationships with the professor and the Russian woman as part of his role with the the rich asshole campaign. He told a group of fellow foreign policy advisers and the rich asshole himself during a spring 2016 meeting that he could use his connections to broker a meeting between the rich asshole and Putin, authorities said.
To that end, Papadopoulos allegedly emailed a Russian with connections to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, forwarding information from the correspondences to a top campaign official not identified in the documents. On numerous occasions, he tried to negotiate a meeting with either the rich asshole or campaign officials and "members of President Putin's office" as well as the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, officials said.
Those meetings never occurred, but officials in the the rich asshole campaign appeared to encourage his efforts.
When Papadopolous told one campaign official about his early attempts to work with the professor and the Russian woman to orchestrate a meeting, the supervisor told him in an email: "Great work."
The campaign supervisor also encouraged him to take an "off the record" meeting with Russian officials "if it is feasible," according to the emails
A second campaign official at one point saidd the rich asshole himself shouldn't take any trip to meet with the Russians; instead, "it should be someone low level in the campaign so as not to send any signal."
While Papadopolous disclosed the meeting with the professor to FBI agents during a January interview, he told them that they spoke before he joined the rich asshole's campaign, authorities said, adding that he sought to play down his own interest in the professor's claims because he thought the man was "BS'ing" him.
According to authorities, Papadopoulos told them about the professor: "This isn't like he's messaging me while I'm in April with the rich asshole."
"This was a year ago, this was before I even got with the rich asshole."
But the FBI found that the meetings happened after Papadopoulos had been told he would join the campaign and that the professor's interest in him only stemmed from his position with the rich asshole's campaign.
He also allegedly made a similar claim about his relationship with the Russian woman, arguing that he had only exchanged pleasantries with her when he had in fact emailed her about arranging meetings between the Russians and the rich asshole representatives.
Following his interview with the FBI, authorities say Papadopoulos deactivated the Facebook account that had information about his conversations with both the professor and the Russian with connections to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also changed his cell phone number.
Papadopoulos's name emerged in media reports back in August, after The Washington Post uncovered internal emails he sent offering to broker a meeting with the campaign and the Russians.
The Post reported at the time that the rich asshole aides didn't warm to the idea, with some top officials raising concerns that a meeting could either violate federal law or reflect poorly on the campaign.
The former the rich asshole aide faces up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and supervised release as part of a plea deal with the government. But the agreement notes that prosecutors estimate he'll serve no more than six months in jail and face a fine between $500 to $9,500 as long as he isn't found to have committed any additional crimes.
His plea deal could open the door for further cooperation with the special counsel's investigation, something noted on Twitter by former U.S. District Attorney Preet Bharara, a vocal the rich asshole critic who was fired by the president.
Special Counsel Mueller appears to have a cooperating witness, George Papadopoulos. That is significant. Time will tell how significant.
Manafort indicted on 12 counts, surrenders to FBI
BY KATIE BO WILLIAMS - 10/30/17 09:17 AM EDT
Former the rich asshole campaign chairman Paul Manafort is being charged with 12 counts, including conspiracy against the United States, in the first indictment to come from the investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller.
The 12-count indictment includes Manafort’s former business partner and protégé Rick Gates, who was ousted from the pro-the rich asshole group America First Policies in April.
Manafort turned himself in at the FBI's Washington, D.C., field office on Monday morning.
The sprawling 31-page indictment, unsealed on Monday morning, makes no mention of Manafort’s work for President the rich asshole’s campaign, which began in March of 2016 and ended with his ouster in August.
Separately, however, prosecutors announced that former the rich asshole campaign aide George Papaopolous, 30, had pleaded guilty last month to lying to investigators about conversations he had with a foreign professor who told him he had thousands of emails containing "dirt" on Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
He also allegedly lied about his contact with a Russian woman who the Justice Department says he worked with "in an effort to arrange a meeting between the campaign and Russian government officials."
Papadopolous allegedly emailed a Russian with connections to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, forwarding information from the correspondences to a top campaign official not identified in the documents. On numerous occasions, he tried to negotiate a meeting with either the rich asshole or campaign officials and "members of President Putin's office" as well as the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, officials said. Those meetings never occurred.
It is unclear whether Papadopolous is now cooperating with Mueller's investigation. The announcement of his plea was released an hour or so after new broke about Manafort and Gates.
Mueller has the authority not only to investigate any potential collusion between the rich asshole’s campaign and Moscow, but also any auxiliary matters arising from the primary probe — in this case, Manafort’s financial dealings.
According to the indictment released Monday, Manafort and Gates, “together with others, knowingly and intentionally conspired to defraud the United States by impeding, impairing, obstructing and defeating the lawful governmental functions of a government agency, namely the Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury” — a common charge in tax cases.
The two have been charged with laundering tens of millions of dollars “through scores of United States and foreign corporations, partnerships and bank accounts,” according to the indictment.
More than $75 million flowed through various offshore accounts set up by Manafort — and he laundered more than $18 million, prosecutors allege. Gates transferred more than $3 million from offshore accounts to other accounts he controlled, according to the indictment.
In addition to the conspiracy and money laundering charges, Manafort and Gates also allegedly ran afoul of laws requiring individuals lobbying on behalf of a foreign principal to register with the U.S. government.
The two face charges for acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign principal, misleading the government about the nature of their foreign lobbying efforts and making false statements — as well as seven counts of failure to file the appropriate government documents for foreign financial accounts.
Beginning in 2006, according to the indictment, Manafort began to do work for the Party of Regions, a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine. In 2010, its candidate, Viktor Yanukovych, was elected president. He was later forced to flee to Russia in 2014 in the wake of popular protests, effectively ending Manafort’s work.
During that period, Manafort and Gates allegedly created more than a dozen foreign financial entities in Cyprus, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Seychelles, according to Mueller’s indictment.
But in his tax filings from 2008 to 2014, Manafort reported that he did not have authority over any foreign bank accounts, according to the indictment. He allegedly used his offshore accounts to purchase real estate in the U.S. on which he took out mortgages, thereby gaining tax-free cash in the United States.
Prosecutors allege that Manafort used his hidden overseas wealth to enjoy a “lavish lifestyle in the United States, without paying taxes on that income,” spending millions on luxury goods and services through payments wired from his offshore accounts.
Questioned about these activities by federal investigators in 2016, Mueller claims, Manafort and Gates “responded with a series of false and misleading statements.”
During the same time period, Manafort and Gates also engaged in a “multi-million dollar lobbying campaign” in the United States “at the direction of Yanukovych, the Party of Regions and the government of Ukraine” without providing the appropriate disclosures to the federal government, prosecutors allege.
They solicited two unnamed Washington, D.C., firms to lobby members of Congress about Ukraine sanctions and the validity of the elections, among other things, providing the firms “a false and misleading cover story that would distance themselves and the government of Ukraine” from the two companies.
Manafort for months has been suspected to be one of the most high-profile targets of Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the election. In July, the FBI conducted a pre-dawn raid of a home that Manafort owns in Alexandria, Va.
Some legal experts have suggested that Mueller’s decision to move forward with an indictment of Manafort is a signal that he is trying to “flip” him — or convince him to act as an informant, potentially about the the rich asshole campaign.
“This is consistent with an early indictment to get Manafort to flip,” tweeted Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor who is running for Illinois attorney general as a Democrat.
“Indictment makes clear that Mueller is seeking *a ton* of forfeiture--I imagine that gives him some serious leverage over Manafort,” tweeted Carissa B Hessick, a criminal law professor at the University of North Carolina.
Or, others say, Mueller may also simply believe that he has sufficient evidence against Manafort to prove charges in court — or both.
The indictment also raised questions about how the president will respond.
the rich asshole has repeatedly characterized Mueller’s investigation as a “witch hunt” crafted by his political enemies, and speculation has roiled Washington that he could try to either fire Mueller or pardon anyone the special counsel indicts.
He drew scrutiny earlier in the year for his controversial pardon of Maricopa County, Ariz., Sheriff Joe Arpaio — and has reportedly explored with aides the breadth of his authority to immunize individuals from legal peril.
This story was updated at 10:25 a.m.
Manafort turns himself in to FBI after charges
BY REBECCA SAVRANSKY - 10/30/17 07:58 AM EDT
Paul Manafort, President the rich asshole's former campaign chairman, turned himself in to the FBI on Monday after being indicted on 12 counts, including conspiracy against the United States.
Other counts in the indictment include conspiracy to launder money, false statements and seven counts of failing to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts.
They appear to be the first charges related to special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
News cameras caught Manafort walking into the front door of the FBI's Washington, D.C., field office with his lawyers.
CNN first reported that Manafort would surrender to the authorities. The New York Times reported that Manafort’s business partner, Rick Gates, has also been advised to surrender.
The indictments were reportedly returned by a grand jury on Friday and were unsealed after the defendants were permitted to surrender themselves, according to a statement from the FBI.
Manafort and Gates could make an initial court appearance on Monday to hear the charges against them and to be advised of their rights.
Manafort’s surrender marks a turning point in Mueller’s investigation into whether the rich asshole campaign officials had improper contacts with Russia during the 2016 election.
The investigation has opened Manafort to scrutiny of his past business dealings and foreign lobbying.
Manafort has earned millions of dollars for work he did on behalf of a pro-Russia political party in Ukraine.
The special counsel reportedly issued subpoenas over the summer to the lobbying firms involved in that public relations campaign, which Gates also worked on.
Manafort’s business interests span the globe, and media reports indicate that investigators are looking at everything from wire transfers through foreign banks and off-shore accounts to payments in real estate deals in New York City.
In July, FBI agents conducted a raid at Manafort's home. The agents had a search warrant to seize materials from his house in Alexandria, Va. The raid happened the day after Manafort had a meeting with staff for the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Manafort was also present at a 2016 the rich asshole Tower meeting between campaign officials and a Russian attorney who has been linked to the Kremlin.
the rich asshole vented over the weekend about the political “witch hunt” surrounding the investigation into Russian election meddling. He will meet with Vice President Pence and Attorney General Jeff Sessions at the White House at 12:30 p.m.
On Sunday, the rich asshole said it isn't a coincidence that news surrounding Mueller's investigation was surfacing at the same time Republicans are pushing for tax reform.
"All of this 'Russia' talk right when the Republicans are making their big push for historic Tax Cuts & Reform," the rich asshole wrote on Twitter.
"Is this coincidental? NOT!"
Last week, the rich asshole said it is "commonly agreed" he didn't collude with Russia during the presidential race, instead accusing Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton of working with the Kremlin.
the rich asshole has repeatedly referred to the Russia probe as a "witch hunt," and he and his aides have denied collusion.
This report was updated at 9:13 a.m.
