Local paper says that Manafort's property "may be seized" because of the deal, but it's not clear if the President might pardon Manafort. (My guess is it depends upon what Manafort tells Mueller.) If a pardon is forthcoming, would the seized property be returned --- I guess so.
3
I read the court documents.
Mr. Manafort's greed and avarice was insatiable.
Good thing he was not a mole inside the CIA, whose "lie detectors" he almost certainly would have flummoxed.
14
Seems the primary qualification for working in the Trump organization is engagement in some criminal activity. Regular people that pay taxes and have had real jobs need not apply. Bernie Madoff will always have a job waiting for him in the Trump administration. Maybe not, Donald doesn’t like folks that get caught.
29
".... Rudolph W. Giuliani, quickly sought to distance Mr. Trump from the plea deal: "Once again an investigation has concluded with a plea having nothing to do with President Trump or the Trump campaign,” he said in a statement. “The reason: The president did nothing wrong.....”
In the words of Joseph Welch:
"Have you no sense of decency, sir?"
25
Paul Manafort's plea agreement with the Office of the Special Counsel, entered into on Friday (09/14), is a must read for all Americans irrespective of either political affiliation or partisan persuasion. Its contents and scope underscore the extent of the very real and present existential threats to our democracy from within and without. Whatever the eventual outcome of the Mueller investigation, the work of the Special Counsel's Office and that of the Department of Justice is praiseworthy and ought to go a long way towards restoring our enduring faith in the fundamental values enshrined in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the rule of law.
98
Since we now all know the collusion narrative is a straight up lie invented by the Democrats, why is Mueller continuing?
The longer he takes, the more he ruins his own reputation and risks prison time for himself.
The last desperate hope is that the DOJ can stonewall releasing the evidence of their corruption.
5
@Ken. Wow, just wow. Mueller's reputation remains sterling. Manafort and trump go back decades. Just think about that for a moment
22
@Ken
I would love to see the evidence that shows "collusion narrative is a straight up lie." Some people clearly are desperate but they're not Democrats.
22
Mueller is conducting a through and professional investigation.
25
It's amazing how a flamboyant, ostrich coat wearing stink bomb as radioactive as Manafort was allowed to operate unfettered by law or law enforcement in the fashion described in this piece for so long.
This story is much bigger than just Trump, but my fear is that even if Mueller can show us the truth, will enough people care or have the courage to do anything about it?
Mueller is about to show us the Matrix, so we have to decide whether to take the red pill or not.
Good luck.
31
"Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense." Steady on, Mr. Mueller
20
Well well well, I guess Trump is draining the swamp, just not in a way he, or we, imagined
23
Plea bargains are not about truth. Mueller didn't want another trial.
6
And STILL no evidence of 'Russian collusion' with the Trump campaign that changed the outcome of the 2016 election.
The train keeps a-rollin' 'til 2025!
9
The American people want justice. They see this administration and president as a criminal enterprise. It seems that many Republicans want to turn their heads and allow this criminal activity to go on because they’re getting something they want. What the majority wants justice. We want the full story. And we want the punishment fit the crime. We want it proved that no one is above the law. The rest of the world looks to us to see justice served.
56
Patience will be rewarded. Midterms are the best way for changing this embarrassment from the boomer generation. Time to step aside “olds”.
15
Trump's point about how much the Mueller investigation is costing has been upended by the amount of money returning to the county.
28
What a country this has become. Really. After just spending a week in Montreal it seems I’ve returned to some banana republic.
48
Trump will institute one of his vengeance campaigns now, using Giuliani and anyone else still willing to be his patsy to discredit and malign Manafort. It's a toss-up over which low life should be believed, but I'll go with Manafort over Trump. At this point, Manafort has little to lose, but Trump has everything to lose.
42
If Paul Manafort managed to conceal his ties to Russian and Ukranian mobsters so effectively that the FBI's background investigation of him -- prior to his work on the Trump campaign -- failed to turn up any dirt on him, then we can be certain that Manafort did nothing to involve Mr. Trump in his nefarious wheeling and dealing.
My prediction: Mr. Trump will be completey exonerated.
5
Trump is in Mueller's cross hairs...and not letting up. Now it's just a matter of connecting the dots, getting through the mid terms and moving forward. Slow and steady she goes....slow, steady and unrelenting.
32
It is very sad when the President of the United States makes an investigation into foreign interference in the 2016 election about himself rather than about foreign interference in our electoral system. But that's what happens when we elect a paranoid, not very intelligent, narcissist as POTUS. Trump is worse than just a sad sack of lies. Our unprecedented president is a tragedy of epic proportions unfolding every day. And the tragedy is not just Trump's. All Americans will suffer from this tragedy that will reverberate for decades to come.
64
The notion that Paul Manafort Jr. is a criminal mastermind with no superiors directing him would be a surprise to those who have followed his career starting here in the nutmeg state.
Trump’s hiring of Manafort means one of three things. Either Trump directed a criminal to do his bidding, or Trump was willfully ignorant of Manafort’s actions, or Trump was completely clueless about hiring someone with the perfect skill set for hiding international money transactions and election influencing.
Any of those make him unfit to hold the highest office in the land.
We have a third-rate real estate hustler in charge. The sooner he returns to that role as a civilian, the better.
42
"The reason: The president did nothing wrong and Paul Manafort will tell the truth."
How long do you think we have before Giuliani is on TV walking this statement back and calling Manafort a liar? I'm guessing we won't have to wait very long.
20
Podesta, Craig
Comey, McCabe, Stzok, Page, Mr. and Mrs. Orr, etc. etc.
8
@nessa I'm missing something. What crimes have the above been charged with?
20
Halloween arrived early: and President Trump's supposed witch hunt has born fruit. A witch (and a snitch) is in custody and has pleaded guilty to multiple federal felonies.
32
Try to contain your glee and don't get your hopes up. It will only lead to disappointment.
12
Most interesting point:
Manafort's lawyer saying “He wanted to make sure his family was able to remain safe and live a good life.”
Why on earth wouldn't his family remain safe even if he were in jail, much less if he got pardoned after the midterms?
I guess the flaw in Trump's pardon strategy is that it doesn't come with automatic enrollment in the witness protection program. Manafort thought he would be safe from Russian machinations in supermax. But Mrs. Manafort?
Maybe both Manaforts will now be able to seek a new identity as an prophylactic antidote to Novichuk?
29
All those saying that DT will now be impeached because PM has flipped are forgetting something: a GOP Congress which has done absolutely nothing about DT or exercised their co-equal branch responsibilities. DT won't resign either. People don't get it. We have one more chance to preserve our democracy. Just one. Voting in a new House and Senate in November. If the GOP retains power, both the Congress and DT will feel invincible. And they will torch this democracy to ashes. One more chance, people. One.
86
We are learning what trump means when he says he is going to hire “all the best people”. All the best people in trumps universe are people like the ones being convicted of crimes now. We know that trump is a grifter willing to make a buck on anyone. A showman in a circus. No surprises there. This is what the people of the United States are getting in trump and we all know it. SAD.
22
Ultimately this grandstanding by Mueller will end up nowhere relative to Trump.
3
@DJ Can you give us some examples of Mueller grandstanding? I don't remember him saying much of anything publically thus far. He seems to be playing close to the vest which is a good thing. If I missed some incidents of Mueller grandstanding then my apologies and please point out what I missed.
23
@DJ The loss of Congress is not nowhere.
9
Donald Trump is not loyal to anyone, so why should anyone trust him. Manafort has to look out for himself. If Manafort gets to go free or serve a very short sentence in order to find the truth, so be it. I could care less about Manafort's life and future. I do care about the damage done to our system by an ego-driven and thoughtless president. Wake up Republicans!
37
Giuliani continues to show what a low-life individual he has become or, really, always was.
To state that this has nothing to do with the Trump campaign or Trump himself is a blatant factual lie.
Would anyone want a guy like Giuliani to be their personal lawyer? Why would anyone want to debase themselves to this level to support such a hideous man such as Trump.
29
Like all the other indictees listed who "flipped" to TeamMueller, Manafort has come to realize he doesn't want to fall on his sword for a man who has bragged about not having any friends. "They can't be trusted."
"Trust" is such an interesting word, at least in the binary mind of Donald Trump. What does he expect the people around him to be trusted with? Secrets? Inside knowledge of possible money laundering by The Trump Organization in exchange for investment capital? Names of those Russian oligarchs using Trump to launder money?
Then there is the matter of "flipping." When there is nothing to hide, there is no flipping. TeamMueller would not trade a sentencing deal just to drink from the empty glass. No. And, as friends who went to law school tell me, "never ask the witness a question for which you don't already have the answer." Manafort decided to come clean because he didn't want to spend time in prison for a man who would disavow his testimony and hard evidence. Gates, Papadopulous, Flynn and Cohen all figured this out.
And one has to marvel at the skills of Team Mueller to maintain secrecy within the investigation. This has been a leak-proof team like no other.
So what could possible protect Trump from losing his job as POTUS? Possibly Pence. He would not be the first president to believe in God.
The problems would arise because, according to an article in The Atlantic, Pence thinks God believes in him.
I'm willing to take that chance to rid us of DJT.
17
Hurricane Manafort just made land fall.
Trumpland is the only thing in it's path, and experts say it's going to move very slowly once it hits, almost stationery, just gonna sit over Trumpland churning away and digging up everything until there's nothing left to find. Untold devastation is predicted, no amount of hiding, dodging and denying will do any good, and there will be absolutely no possibility of rebuilding.
And in a first, they're going to name 2 hurricanes both starting with M, but stick with them being named alphabetically: Hurricane Mueller is next up.
17
All the President’s Men are afraid today, especially Don Jr. and Kushner. And for good reason, indictments are coming.
As the Final Days of the Trump Presidency play out, Americans brace themselves knowing Trump will continue to attempt to obstruct Justice.
And the midterms are going to be very ugly for the GOP. Republicans have had every opportunity to stand up and speak out, but it’s too late now for these cowards.
The GOP let Trump take over their party, now they have to live with it.
67
Whatever information Manafort has on Trump will not produce Trump's indictment nor impeachment while he is in office. Trump has enough lawyers and now a judge to cover his behind.
I think what scared Trump yesterday more than anything was that the plea deal included the clawback of $46 million at a minimum from Manafort back into the US government's accounts.
Trump is scared to death that when he leaves office he will be charged by NYS regarding money laundering and tax evasion. He can delay the outcome for years with high paid lawyers but in the end if Trump had to give up money, he would wither up and die.
He loves himself first and running a very close second is money - HIS money. Greed is one of his favorite traits which he wears proudly.
Fear of losing his money will drive Trump to do desperate things. He could care less about being POTUS but is using the position to delay his final reckoning.
49
You’re forgetting what will happen if Democrats take the house.
12
@Elizabeth
Possibly.
But, more likely, the GOP is about to suffer the uncontainable electoral fallout of being Trump sycophants. Before, this wasn't such a problem, but now it is. The GOP thus has to decided if: a) they continue to back Trump to the end and thus lose all credibility (not much left) as a party and get voted out, or b) convince Trump to either resign or not run for a second term. GOP leaders may feel they can threaten him with impeachment if he runs again.
13
Watching our local Sinclair-affliliated news station last night was instructive. There were stories about the gas explosions in Boston and the hurricane in N. Carolina and several other national news stories. Not a peep about Manafort. Some of our fellow citizens are being kept in the dark.
74
Now that Manafort has flipped and agreed to cooperate “fully, truthfully and completely” with Mueller’s investigation it is doubtful that Trump will be able to finish his term (thank God!). The fellow will be forced to resign in shame and. Once out of office nothing will stop either the state of New York or the FBI to indict the most despised, mocked and ridiculed president in US history.
Of course, as is his tweeting custom, the fellow will blame Dems, his sons, Manafort, Sessions, Cohen, the Martians and the Chinese (never Putin, mind you). He will never pardon Manafort, Cohen or any subsequent flipper.
20
@Nelson There will be nothing truthful that comes out of his mouth. He's going to say what Mueller wants to hear and what Mueller tells him to say. This is a farce and an obscenity committed against the American tax payer and public. No truth will be found. No justice will be had.
3
@Piotr how about the indictments and convictions thus far? I believe that is justice, and I bet the people who were convicted are not calling this a farce.
3
As someone else has already pointed out, a lawyer will never ask a question to which he does not have the answer. Mueller has the answers and just wants more confirmation via Manafort in order to have an ironclad case. Manafort could not lie because Mueller would see right through it, thusly losing the protections for his family that the plea agreement assures.
5
Trump has amazing energy and powers of regeneration. We can’t assume anything until a stake is driven into his heart and he is buried in the center of the earth, in chains.
60
Upon hearing the news of Manafort flipping, I broke into my best old lady happy dance.
56
Trump criticized the practice of ratting out others for a lighter sentence? Ha! Trump would roll over on his own mother in a nanosecond to avoid one night in jail. Though in all fairness, his mother is guilty of only one crime.
50
Karma strikes as Manafort chooses to ditch his 3 million dollar Fifth Avenue Trump Tower condominium in New York City rather than surrender one of the four bank accounts Mueller wanted. Donald Trump will take that personally.
Plus it appears President Trump has lost his window of opportunity on granting Manafort an unimpeded pardon.
This weekend I'll be humming John Lennon's Instant Karma and smiling. "Instant Karma's gonna get you ... Gonna knock you off your feet..."
24
How many T-aides do you need to screw in a lightbulb?
It's a trick question, they're all in prison.
24
"Swine! Swine! Swine!" cried Julia as she threw a book at the telescreen during the Two Minutes' Hate. We are all having an Orwell moment at this turning of Manafort thanks to the leading pigs who govern the country.
15
Well, that's one way to drain the swamp:
Lock em up.
31
You have a good man in Mueller America protect him and help him clean house!
46
Trump silent on Twitter it seems from this non-twitterer...the end is neigh for this clown show... the only ones left to charge are the trump family operatives...like a crime scene...the apotheosis of the baby boomers...next gens up.
12
I've also noticed the silence. I wonder how Trump is going to walk back all the "great guy" talk he has lavished on Manafort. Trump's circle of friends just went from zero to less than zero.
19
This country owes Hillary Rodham Clinton a huge apology IMHO.
62
Remember that most of us voted for her.
28
I’ll bet Bob Woodward wishes he could reuse the title “All the President’s Men”.
34
The truth is all we seek....and it shall set us free...at last
15
@D.C. Dan But you won't get it from a process that allows a prosecutor to bribe a potential inmate with less time for the "truth". What you'll get is nonsense. Which isn't the truth the American people seek and deserve, nor the justice which Manafort deserves.
1
@Piotr I thought that plea bargaining was a proven way to get to the root of conspiracies and has been in use for a long time. It seems you have deep legal knowledge so please explain how the plea bargain process does not work. I seem to remember Watergate and the taking down of several crime bosses were successful in great part due to plea bargaining. But I may be wrong so please set me straight as needed because I may be missing some facts.
4
To me the question is how Manafort got away with his criminal life, without getting in trouble with the IRS or other institutions for so long?
How many Manaforts do we have walking free while living a criminal life and masquerading as business people?
It is depressing to think that he may never have been caught, if he wasn’t investigated due to his association with Trump.
61
@Pan-Africanist The Clinton's are still free. That should tell you something.
2
The Clintons have published decades of their tax returns and Trump won’t release any of his. After decades of being investigated by the Republicans, you can be sure that the Clintons are clean otherwise the Republicans would be trumpeting it to the skies. All the Republicans have, like you, is unfounded innuendo.
6
Seems like Manafort woke up this week and saw the writing on the wall: An impeached Trump won't be giving anyone a pardon
22
I imagine the Ukrainians would also like to get their hands on him now . . .
17
After reading the U.S. v. Manafort plea agreement and attachments it is disheartening to understand the depth of access lobbyists such as Manafort have with our federal representatives. As a U.S. citizen, I only wish my representatives would give my positions as much consideration as those of a criminal lobbyist.
51
All the king's horses and all the king's men, couldn't put Trumpy together again.
28
'Darkness is coming out of the woodwork, being squeezed out of many places where it formally hid'
Keep on following the money Mr. Mueller.
djt is not getting much sleep these days . donald john, Mr. Manafort is not the only immoral American citizen involved in the business for profit with Russian oligarchs, is he?
14
Fine, Mueller has won quite a victory and I do agree that despite my reservations of the US idea of a plea deal, this may be another important stepping stone towards impeaching Trump.
Manafort has done quite a few illegal things and in hindsight, this explains a lot about what has been happening in and around the Ukraine.
But I wonder what else will be the consequences?
Trump will get into way more trouble than he is right now but he will not be impeached and not indicted.
The information Manafort will give will only be more of the same type of information and maybe some proof.
But Trump's supporters will not change their mind.
They are way to much bound to one of their own, Trump, to accept his fall for reasons that would send them reeling if the accused was someone else.
So maybe Manafort will at least bring justice down onto some his conspirators in Europe, among them at least two heads of government, Gusenbauer of Austria and Prodi of Italy, and a former Polish president Kwasniewski.
What about them?
If what Manafort has been doing was illegal, why was it OK for his team to do the same?
Or why should the get away with it?
If not the Europeans then at least the US justice system could prosecute them as accessories to the crimes of Manafort.
4
Wow, did you see what the President tweeted overnight? That's right, NOTHING!!!! The Mueller Team showed up with 20 people, including FBI and IRS agents, who at this point can't wait to sink their teeth into the criminal in chief, and his crime family. Manafort will tie it together, one more nail, they have Donnie's tax returns. We have been lulled to sleep about that meeting at trump tower, the spin was who was there, it was a 20 minute meeting that bore no information. I think that story is about to be blown out of the water. Mueller knows something about the outcome of that meeting and is not letting go of it. He is not a legitimately elected president.
39
No mention of Mrs. Manafort but presumably she was at risk of being charged--another point of leverage for prosecutors.
8
The campaign against Tymoshenko sounds a lot like the campaign against Hillary.
Why are autocrats so scared of women?
24
Robert Mueller is my hero!!!!
23
Why Trump's tweet silence on this? Maybe that cheeseburger isn't tasting so good now that he's thinking about how much bigger his crowd size will be on the way out than it was on the way in.
37
Trump please tweet! Tweet tweet tweet. Please provide your comments. You can’t hold back. America awaits Trump tweets.
7
So... “Once again an investigation has concluded with a plea having nothing to do with President Trump or the Trump campaign,” says Mr Giuliani.
Is this guy off his trolley? (A rhetorical question, I know)
Nothing has concluded here. It’s only just begun.
It has everything to do with Trump and the Trump Campaign.
The silence from the WH and the *president is deafening.
23
maybe a lot of "Russian's real estates" will be on sale in the US in thee weeks to come...at a discount price! Thanks Mr Mueller, you did a great job in a very though time for Americans.
11
If it’s what you say it is, I love it!
19
@Patricia
But maybe a little later in the fall.
6
What will it take for Congress to ask the right questions? Why was one campaign full of criminals? Coincidental? Why were so many campaign-Russian meetings forgotten before being remembered? Why did Putin claim hundreds of millions was illegally funneled into Hillary’s campaign, when the Russian ties were apparently to the other campaign, was he making a veiled threat? And how do all the pieces tie together.
12
Oh, to be a fly on the wall at Mir-a-Lago tonight.
10
That the big boar will ultimately be trussed up Mueller and roasted on a spit by Congress, the DOJ and the IRS is a foregone conclusion. The public doesn't much care how many low-lifes have to be cut loose to make that happen. But the hope, I think, for many is that the cabal of self-serving, die-hard Republican office holders that consistently enabled, excused, and egged-on their offensive, odious, incompetent leader this past couple of years will get their just desserts in the end. These are the people who brazenly abused their office and abandoned their sworn duty to the citizens of America. They must be made to wear their badge of shame for decades to come. Aside from the usual legal and political remedies, I would love to see a an asterisk alongside their names forever denoting their abject failure to step in when America's democracy was being systematically destroyed from without and within.
40
Every Sabbath we say a prayer for Robert Mueller.
31
I'm betting Trump made it to the bathroom in double time. I'l also bet he was confronted with the decision of whether to kneel or sit. I could not happen to a more deserving American. May he rot in prison. and may the GOP get the comeuppance it deserves. Both houses go Democrat, Trump resigns and faces charges.
20
I'd like to see Trump in jail, but I will make do with confinement forever to the Ecuadorean Embassy. Plus, the Ecuadoreans could charge him some serious, serious rent for the space and pretty much spiff up their country on the money.
11
Trump has knowingly and unknowingly been laundering Russian Mob money for decades. It’s all coming out.
30
Donald and his toadies was hoping for category 4 hurricane to distract us from his disastrous and abysmal handling of Hurricane Maria. Well, he did not get category 4, however he was hit with category 4 hurricane from the Mueller's team. Soon, he will start his nonsense tweets.
11
A country with an illegitimate government cannot be said to have sovereignty.
14
"I hire only the best people" .... Trump bears full responsibility for hiring Paul Manafort for the most crucial parts of his campaign. Oh wait, he worked for free? Does that mean Trump won't be impeached? I can hear the excuses now.
9
I'll bet there's a lot of worried lobbyists and consultants in dc, what manafort pleaded guilty to- probably 90% of lobbyists and consultants in dc have been doing for years
What's good for the goose... drain that swamp!
16
I’m no fan of trump at all , still I hate what they doing to Mr. Manafort . There must be some better ways to get to the true
3
@X well, his former boss prefers waterboarding, but the kids tell me that’s illegal now. So financial and legal leverage of ill-gotten gains will hafta do for now. Being honest in the first place woulda helped lots, but Paulie and Donnie don’t really seem to go for that.
12
so interesting that trump missed all of manafort's shady dealings when vetting him as campaign manager. beyond that, why was manafort willing to do the job for FREE?
19
No worries everyone, it's all fake news. Trump never met with any Russians. Except the time he did, but that's okay because they just talked about adoption. Oh, and also about trading for info about Hillary, but that's okay because everyone does it. Except everyone doesn't do it because that's conspiracy to commit election fraud. But that's okay because collusion isn't a crime.
Except it is.
31
Paul,
You are doing the right thing.
Sincerely,
Every American who cares about the Constitution
19
@What Is Right And Just? Except for the fact that he got something in exchange...You can stay quiet and face 150 years or you can tell me what I want to hear and we'll work something out *wink *wink. If this is ok by you, then absolutely care not one particle for the Constitution.
@Piotr in the US justice system, the information informants provide must also be backed up with evidence. Perhaps you are thinking of another country's justice system?
5
Our Grifter in Chief Trump, deserves to receive whatever Manafort gives to Mueller to seal his deal.
It's almost two years of graft, greed and corruption that Trump has stolen from us, and Trump has done his best to destroy our democracy. Trump's cesspool and this stain upon America must end.
Democracy must prevail.
24
If Manafort pays back the fifteen million he reportedly defrauded the US treasury of, in addition to fines and penalties, Mueller will have erased the 16 million dollars that his investigation has cost the US taxpayers. Bravo!!
Now, how do we recover the 20 million dollars that Benghazi/ Hillary investigations cost us? No one to blame after 8 different permutations of an investigation. Lots of hand wringing, but nothing stuck to Clinton. A toto waste of time and money.
15
Still zero evidence of “collusion” with Russia. But plenty of evidence of DOJ collision with purpose of their efforts to undermine the President.
1
@Joe Yoh you dusted off the old worn comment about "no collusion". Read the memo authorizing the Mueller investigation and let us know what it says. The word collusion is not in that memo (it does say "coordination"), and it instructs Mueller to investigate any crimes found in the course of the investigation. There are too many commenters like you who have not bothered to do the least bit of fact checking, and just repeat what Trump says.
9
@Joe Yoh. Yeah, Mueller’s charter never mentions “collusion”, but if you would read it, you’d see what it does cover. He’s on track and making record time.
5
After testing waters for pardon, Manafort did the only right thing.
Who would you trust? Finicky Trump who may throw him under the bus anyway? Or Muller who can offer a clear and sure path forward for him and his family?
This was no brainer.
11
My eyes are on the money. Muller brings down people based on fraud and tax evasion. Capone, Nixon, Gotti: the pattern is identical. Gates and Manafort are clean money types: they launder money. The GOP is in for some serious trouble. The transition and innauguration are rife with this, and the NRA has been doing the laundry for russia also. Mueller is going to demolish them.
10
I can't wait for the tweets by my president, praising Manafort for cooperating with the investigation.
3
When are you people going to get over it, Trump won move on! This "investigation" has been going on for almost 2 years and still no charges brought against him, this is a total waste of time and money. The Dem's have been milking this non issue for so long that no one cares any longer, just like all of Trumps pre-presidential sex-escapades - no one cares. When are our liberal friends going to realize that their opinions have no importance for the next 2 years and most probably after Trump is re-elected the next 6 years. Red rules the nation now and for the foreseeable future.
2
@Caveat emptor...Benghazi, emails, uranium deal!!!!
How did those investigations work out for you?
How long did they go on?
How many guilty pleas?
25
@Caveat emptor
Are you living in an alternate universe?
These people pleaded guilty to REAL CRIMES.
The Benghazi investigation lasted over three years and not one indictment .
28
@Caveat emptor the investigation had consumed by far less money and resources than the extra cost of Donnie traveling to his resorts on the taxpayer's dime. Do you care about that?
10
Cohen, Flynn, Gates, Papadopoulous, and now Manafort have all plead guilty to crimes. Just bad luck that the Trump Administration recruited so many criminals, or an indication the Trump Presidency should, or will, end prematurely?
12
Its really too bad John McCain did not live long enough to see what is happening today with the Mueller investigation. As this political saga progresses I think of Mr McCain often.
13
It's so obvious Trump is saving his pardons for his family members and himself. Manafort should've known that. Trump thinks he can get Don Jr., Jared and Ivanka out of this. Someone should share with him the concept of sealed indictments. Once he's out of office, the prosecutions will roll. Mueller's gonna get everyone eventually and Trump will have no pardon card to play.
Hence, you are all going to prison...
That is, unless one of you makes a deal and rat out your dad and the others before he's out of office. That's the only way to save yourself. Otherwise, it's decades behind bars. Decades.
14
Oh how hard it must be for him to stay off Twitter and not send a few more no collusion and with hunt tweets! I'm sure he was warned by lawyers to stay silent.
8
It is amazing that the corruption actually started before day one in office for the Trump administration. Usually it takes some time before the corruption starts
3
If I were Don Jr or Jared I would be very worried around now.
11
"OK D.C.": Mueller: 5; Trump:0.
The frustrating end will be closed on any day. Vote "No" against the rigged nomination of Judge Kavanaugh to save him from becoming a judicial tool of the would be felon.
10
The canary in the coal mine.
7
This is an important article, fellow citizens, but if you don't have time to read it carefully, here are my takeaways:
Manafort was placed in charge of the Trump campaign by the Kremlin. He was working for them. He was getting paid well for it. He knew it.
It was all going to come out in a public trial, so he negotiated a plea deal.
Under the deal, he is supposed to tell Mueller the truth.
Fat chance of that.
7
@IowaFarmer
Agree until your last sentence. Why wouldn't he talk now? It's the deal and if he breaks it he's in worse trouble, i.e. the russian gangsters will kill him. Presumably federal protection is part of this deal.
10
@IowaFarmer Well, if he doesn't tell the truth, and what he says doesn't line up with things that Mueller already knows are true, it is back to square one for Paul. The plea deal is null and void and he will be facing the rest of his life in prison.
11
The quickest of searches reveals that the prime minister who met with President Obama 0n May 16, 2013, the date cited in the Manafort indictment, was Erdogan. Why aren't he and other noteworthy actors on the world stage, members of the "Hapsburg Group", for example, unnamed in this article when their names are easily discovered?
2
People like Trump, Manafort, and their ilk, strive to build a fantasy world in their image where everything is gleefully corrupt and no law is enforceable - until it is, and the fantasy comes crashing down. This criminal fraternity pervades government and industry, awarding huge bonuses to the architects of chaos who hide mockingly in plain sight. They are scions of a social class that no civilised society can afford to bear.
For ordinary people, who labour under wage slavery, the dishonesty is detached from their world as they struggle to survive through instinctive honesty and diligence. When this crass dishonesty becomes apparent, as is the case right now with Trump’s entourage, ordinary people recoil but shrug as if powerless to react. Robert Mueller defends the defenceless by pursuing the worst of western capitalism’s excesses. Good luck, sir.
16
We already know how this will end:
1. Giuliani, Sanders and other Trump mouthpieces will ramp up their assertions that the president is above the law and can pardon anyone he wishes
2. Trump will pardon himself, Manafort and any other former aide who could become too big a threat to him
3. Public outrage ensues, Democrats move to begin impeachment process
4. Congressional GOP again puts party over law and country, blocks impeachment in the Senate
5. Trump remains in office and continues the move towards authoritarianism with no checks by Congress
RIP, Constitution and the rule of law.
4
I have the feeling that Donald’s capability to slither away from immoral and potentially illegal acts is coming to an end. I think Paul and Michael Cohen may be setting a trend for others who don’t want to do serious jail time.
6
I categorically reject the sentiment that this is a symptom of a corrupt system and that somehow the Democrats and Republicans are to blame. This is nothing like the Obama administration. Nor does it remotely resemble the Bush administration or anything like Hillary or Romney or McCain, or Carter, or Reagan or any US presidential administration in modern history. The reason for this level of crime and corruption in our federal government is because of Donald Trump and his supporters.
12
It will be interesting to see how the next president who is a Democrat is treated. Every action has a equal and opposite reaction.
1
@Sean Mulligan
You might look to the last one, to see how a president with a scandal-free administration works. There were no scandals, hence no investigation.
10
Among the critical omitted facts is this:
If Manafort knows that Trump has acted criminally, then Trump almost certainly knows that Manafort knows. If, for example, Manafort was present when Trump agreed with the Russians to fix the election, both men know that Manafort was there and that he has the information to bring Trump down. Assume that that is the case. Then Trump has three main choices: try to brand Manafort as a habitual liar; pardon Manafort; or acknowledge that his goose is cooked. The fourth choice is probably beyond even Trump's mendacity: he could pick up a glock and give Manafort an offer he can't refuse.
Trump has known that this crossroads was coming for a long time. And now that we are here he has no choice but to show his cards. if you're into whodunits, we are approaching the story's climax. Get out the popcorn and a drink of your choice. This one is almost over, and the next show will be deathly boring by comparison.
2
Everyone seems to have some secrets. But those uncovered are no ordinary secrets, which are enough to discredit whatever credibility one has if he ever tried to dismiss them. It looks a bit too many politicians are quite patient to the point of stupidity.
2
The Manafort plea is bad for Trump. But a second Manafort trial would have been worse. At least this way, the Manafort issue will fade into the background as the midterms approach. If there had been a trial, then we would have been hearing daily testimony about Manafort's treasonous lobbying for foreign enemy governments smack in the middle of the midterm campaign season.
One almost wonders if Trump slipped Manafort a note telling him to plead guilty, and sit tight for a post-midterm pardon.
4
Mr Trumps Twitter account has been remarkably quiet. I wonder if something is distracting his attention at the moment?
4
I've watched quite a few people offer opinions (on TV, which I seldom watch), and the one thing that has struck me is that Manafort seems to no longer trust a pardon in the near future.
More inmportantly, maybe he thinks DJT will not in a position TO pardon, in the near future?
All around, a great day of hope that light ahead of this dark tunnel is indeed ahead.
Go Mr Mueller. PLEASE go, and kind of hurry up?
3
Trump's silence is deafening. He must REALLY be in a bad way tonight. Must be an amazing night in the White House. My heart bleeds.
Robert Muller is an American Hero.
5
Mueller spent a lot of time on Manafort. He indicted and superseded the indictment and superseded again. Prior to trial, he accused Manafort of tampering with witnesses and convinced the judge to revoke his bail. The trial that followed was the high point of the Trump investigation.
Mueller has devoted more resources to Manafort than anyone else. The purpose is almost certainly to secure evidence against Trump. At this point, we don't know if Manafort can help to bring down Trump. However, Mueller surely knows. He would not have signed an agreement with Manafort before determining what Manafort had to say.
It is impossible to overstate the importance of today's developments. If Manfort has credible incriminating evidence against Trump, we are around the corner from an impeachment referral. If Manafort is useless, the time spent pursuing him is all for naught.
A possible pardon is a tangential issue. If Manafort has disclosed that Trump is a crook and Trump pardons him, Mueller can prove that Trump pardoned the guy that would secure his impeachment. That is the essence of obstruction. The likelihood of a pardon, therefore, is remote.
Keep your eye on the prize. And the prize is simple and straightforward. Either Manafort can bring Trump down or he can't. If he can, impeachment is likely inevitable. If not, it probably ain't going to happen,
7
I forecast a future Supreme Court decision on all these process crimes and even the Manafort cases being tossed because there was NO crime given the special prosecutor. The law requires a crime instigating such investigations.
1
@L'osservatore (1) he’s not a special prosecutor he’s a special counsel and (2) a federal investigation requires the reasonable suspicion of a crime / credible allegations.
4
It's a joy to watch Robert Mueller work. I thank him for his service to America. Republicans, here is your role model.
12
I seem to recall that President Trump was charging the Secret Service rent for the use of space in Trump Tower that they used as a base for their operations to protect him and his family when at their New York home. Perhaps the government can use the former Manafort apartment that it just seized, and stop paying rent to the president.
10
This is not a legal battle. This is a long-term propaganda war. The truth is slowly winning against Trump, but the battle for the future of our country is ongoing. The republican class war against the middle and working classes began over forty years ago, and continues with or without Trump.
Trump's criminality is a side issue. The most important takeaways from this investigation are that money has corrupted our political system utterly, perhaps irreversibly. Manafort's initial defense amounted to a request to dismiss the case because, hey, everybody does it. The republicans still have not voiced a meaningful word in opposition to Trump's mendacity and blatant corruption.
The middle and working classes of the USA will have to collaborate, put aside their differences, and elect a super majority in congress to go along with a democratic presidency if they hope to forge a viable, lasting future in the US that includes social services, free public schools, unpolluted water sources, social security, medicare, reduced carbon emissions, and (probably) freedom of the press.
18
A couple of months in jail does a man good to think that he has a family and no friends in this power broking game. How much more in the light of the Novichok incident in Salisbury, will Manafort be driven bonkers that he is now open game? He must be a very lonely and vulnerable target.
1
Anyone surprised by this time at the mastermind and brilliance of one great American...Mr Bob Mueller, yes, a Republican? It’s quite amazing that the corrupt conflicted compromised GOP has done nothing to stop the ever increasing diminishing Democracy in our great country and the rapidly daily escalating eroding of it. And our current group of weak, loser, old in every sense of the word, Democrats who should be ashamed of their gross incompetency and whose silence of all things that matters and their inability to corral and stop the insanity is an abysmal failure. Why, for instance, did they ever attend this Kavanaugh charade?
Mr. Mueller is truly, God’s Gift to America. Period.
7
Let the sun shine in. Now we will know what really happened in the Trump/Republican campaign. If, as a result of Manafort's testimony, an indictment is called for, Mr. Muller needs to indict all involved and let the Supreme Court decide if a sitting President may be indicted. A sitting Republican Congress, will bury any Muller report sent recommending impeachment.
1
A modern day Benedict Arnold. It seems he would betray his country without blinking. How sad that he can live without conscience, and sell out our nation simply to increase his illegal earnings. And, what a sad day for our country that individuals such as Manafort often prevail.
2
I believe that Manafort and Trump have a path forward whereby Manafort agrees to a Plea Bargain and to cooperate now, avoids a trial with lot’s of bad press for Trump now before elections, and stalls agreeing to talk to Mueller until after the elections. Without bad Press from trial, Trump hopes that Republicans keep control of Senate in November then after elections pardons Manafort. Manafort after pardon no longer needs to cooperate with Mueller as part of plea bargain. Trump feels he can pardon without impeachment after elections with senate control.
1
Since the American taxpayer now owns his apartment in Trump tower, the Secret Service could use it as its base of operation - no profit for Trump and no cost to the taxpayer. Or perhaps the SDNY might want to use it as office space.
5
I'm trying to get my head around the reality that the president of the US, the most powerful nation in the world, alleged upholder of democracy, had any dealings, let alone intimate ones, with such a revolting crook. It's banana republic stuff.
But, the US isn't quite there yet and the noose is tightening on the man who would be king. Because Mueller embodies what a justice system in a sophisticated Western country is supposed to be about. And he hasn't put a foot wrong in his inexorable march through this quagmire.
What an extraordinary man. A very courageous one, too. The world owes him a debt of gratitude.
9
What if after the plea deal Paul Manafort a key witness in the Russia inquiry, turns hostile in the court?
1
He’ll spend the rest of his life in prison.
8
I never knew how slow it takes the Department of Justice to investigate, verify, and collaborate information so charges can be filed, individuals brought to trial, and justice be served. Mr. Manafort's plea agreement is the most recent example. These charges go above and beyond the notion of collusion, but to include conspiracy, and conspiracy with an adversarial foreign power dedicated to influence and corrupt the 2016 Presidential election. (Perhaps usurp would be the better word.) I speculate this entire process has been hampered because the extent and seriousness exceeded the present codification that's necessary to prosecute some of these charges. I don't think in the history of this country has any election been so compromised as the 2016 election. However slow the wheels of justice turn, justice will be served.
29
" Paul Manafort agreed on Friday to tell all he knows to the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III," Perhaps this is an admission that the investigation(s) have turned up far-reaching evidence that could send Mr. Mueller to prison--for life. I surely hope it's true that Mr. Manafort will be complete truthful, forthcoming, and detail all he knos.
12
I hope that Errol Morris makes a documentary with Bob Mueller one day and we get to hear everything that he’s been silent about all this time.
30
Big deal, this will change nothing and he will also get a jail sentence of 2 weeks. Too bad a deal was offered. Should of thrown the maximum book at him. People like him think they are immune to prosecution, and the sad thing is that they can get away with mostly anything.
16
@mollie
It's not about him, it's about what he knows about Trump. Trump surrounded himself with crooks 'cus he's one too.
2
Time to flip Donald Jr and Jared. If he will not resign, take every piece off the board before the checkmate to drive home the humiliating total defeat. Not for vengence, should this be done, but for justice, and to deter future criminals from seeking the presidency.
90
@enzibzianna
Don't forget Ivanka.
2
With today’s plea (please read the full set of documents), we need to know what Mr. Trump and Mr. Kavanaugh discussed in their private discussions. Was their meeting part of a plan for this inevitable day and as protection for the days ahead? An insurance policy taken out by the president?
40
This article underestimates Israeli involvement in the whole affair. According to Mark Mazzetti's article: "Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election" (May 19, 2018), Israeli individuals, with close connection to the Israeli government, have been deeply involved in the election of Donald Trump.
May be the fact that Mueller's mandate is strictly for investigating "Russian Collusion" has stopped him from looking into possible "Israeli Collusion".
38
@Eddie B.-I hope this angle too gets thoroughly investigated and the findings are fully revealed.
14
@Eddie B.
Trump and family know how to turn on the anti-Semitism switch when it suits them. Recall the right-wing attacks during the campaign against Jewish journalists, a photo of Hillary photo-shopped against Stars of David, suggesting her support came from "Jewish money." And a few days ago, we heard from Eric that Bob Woodward wrote his book for "extra shekels."
3
It’s all about their resentment of Obama. The Russians too.
2
Robert Mueller exemplifies what it means to be a public servant, a concept lost on Trump and the majority of Republicans.
81
Mueller testified that Saddam had “WMDs.”
It’s going to be a real test of the GOP’s integrity when Trump fires Mueller, a test they will inevitably fail, no doubt claiming they want “the voters to decide.”
32
Even more important than whether Manafort will talk truthfully or mislead investigators, he will be a valuable asset to Trump and his attorneys in sharing what he learns by the investigators questioning. Now Trump et al will learn what the "Goods" are on him, in exchange for a pardon. Well played lawyering I would say. Devious of course, but it almost seems like part of the plea agreement that Manafort will be able to assist Trump having been on the inside.
4
@Waves of Brain-This is chilling. I sure hope you're wrong!!
3
@Waves of Brain Now that Manafort has turned state's evidence, he must withdraw from the joint defense agreement with Trump and others (and probably already has). He may not discuss the investigation with anyone but his own attorneys.
@Waves of Brain Speaking from personal experience, I can tell you that proffer sessions are a one-way street. Of course it's possible to read between lines of questioning to some degree, but it's mostly you telling the prosecutor everything you know with little or no comment from the govt.
3
Manafort’s comment, through his lawyer, citing his family’s safety as a reason for agreeing to the plea confirms for me that he has a very real fear of reprisal from the Russian and Ukrainian thugs he served for so many years. Agreeing to testify against them would be key to a prosecution against foreign individuals seeking to improperly influence our government well before his involvement with Trump. He would likely receive protection from the Feds as well.
47
We are now entering the third quarter of this travesty. Sociologically, the Times should do an assessment of the percentage of the MAGA hats that are worn during republican rallies and at Trump based events - the down trend begins to accelerate now. These people will most likely go back to their lives without mentioning that they actually supported this horror of a person - I for one, will never forget them or forgive them. The people will require the leadership of this country to work hard for twenty years to fully recover from the past two, and coming two years of this administration.
93
I myself go with the whole Frodo thing: "I'll never forget. But I may forgive you."
Kinda like trust, but verify, n'est pas?
By the way, every faith I've ever heard about says that forgiveness comes after acknowledgement and at least an attempt at restitution.
1
You really think so? This is all textbook authoritarian desire: easy answers, scapegoats, cognitive dissonance, and magical thinking. Technology hurtles along, big data points to incremental generational improvement, yet core human psychology doesn’t budge. Shakespeare will continue to get it right centuries after we’re dead. Sound and fury.
3
I'm surprised he lasted this long in jail. I thought he'd fold a week or so in although I suspect after the shock of losing the court case his focus shifted. Waiting for a pardon from Mr. Trump is riskier than a paycheck in Vegas. He can't issue a pardon because then Mr. Manafort would be required to tell the truth, no more self-protections. Rock, meet hard place.
28
The Trump crew, once they got over the shock of actually winning the election, apparently thought they could just roll over the most formidable federal bureaucracy on the face of the earth. Now that Manafort has finally taken his medicine, hopefully it's clear to anyone else who aspires to the highest level of American government, the system absolutely will always win.
40
This Shakespearean tragedy is heading towards its inexorable conclusion. If Trump has any ounce of patriotism he should cut the best deal he can by resigning and sparing the American people from having to suffer through the last two Acts.
67
@William Mutterperl He won't resign until and unless the Democrats manage to flip one or both Houses in the November election.
If it's the House of Representatives, he's likely to be looking at impeachment, followed by a nasty trial in the Senate. Whether he's convicted or not, is immaterial.
If it's the Senate, then goodbye to all judicial appointments.
Either House means the end of any legislation that he wants or anything else he's thinking of.
He'll pick up his toys and go home.
And the country will be far better for it.
2
@William Mutterperl
Never mind patriotism; if he has any ounce of self-preservation he’ll fake a heart attack this weekend, resign and head for somewhere with no extradition treaty.
4
Don't expect any tweets from Trump regarding the Manafort guilty plea and cooperation agreement. Trump's attorneys have warned him that anything he says could effect his credibility if prosecuted and the reaction of the congress if he pardons Manafort. It's getting too close to home now to shoot off the cuff tweets that he can later be held responsible for.
45
This statement is almost certainly wrong: "Mr. Mueller’s investigation has maintained such secrecy that it is impossible to know what puzzle pieces he might still be trying to fill in or what Mr. Manafort’s testimony might mean for Mr. Trump. "
Mueller must have good evidence that Manafort is implicated in, and can testify to, crimes by higher-ups. Everybody knows this. Judge Ellis III knew it, saw it as obvious: Mueller was only prosecuting Manafort directly (as opposed to referring the evidence ... as done for Cohen) in order to obtain Manafort's testimony to rat out somebody higher up.
This is entirely obvious, how RICO prosecutions go, how ENRON went. Mueller used convictions of Fastow and his wife (yes, she went to jail too) to get Fastow to testiy ... Lay and Skillings were both convicted.
Now here's the punchline: there was nobody above Manafort except Trumps.
49
Obviously he had to do this. I suspect he rather regrets taking on such a visible role in a political campaign, particularly since the FBI had already been investigating his Ukrainian activities since 2014. I wonder if the cooperation agreement has more to do with Russian interference or with Ukrainian lobbying. I assume Manafort would have much more to offer about the latter.
11
@Frunobulax: Well, what Manafort was paid to do in the Ukraine is what he was likely positioned to do in the US: illegally influence a national election in favor of Putin's interests, using the same techniques, for the same client. Who do you think was financing what Manafort did for Putin in the Ukraine? Who do you think was engineering what Manafort could do for Putin in the US? And who had at least partial knowledge and complicity? Manafort's US candidate. In other words the two situations are one and the same.
26
@ancient mariner - Mr Manafort never did any work for Mr Putin, nor received money from Mr Putin.
He worked for years in Ukraine with Konstantin V. Kilimnik, had a business relationship with Oleg V. Deripaska and promoted the political career of Viktor F. Yanukovych, who was president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014.
@RenegadePriest But both those people are deep in Putin's pocket. So it's hard to see a difference.
After reading the court documents, a few things are clear. First Manafort is admitting that the charges the jury deadlocked over are true.
Second, the information describes in detail how Manafort's lobbying machine, and his work for the pro-Russian, Ukrainian political party created known false news stories. Manafort is a master of creating fake news, creating propaganda. Yet Trump called him a fine man. So Trump admires people who lie, who create fake news, who create propaganda for pro-Russian politicians.
99
Trump admires anyone who supports his criminal behavior.
2
At every Congressional debate this fall, the moderators must ask the Republican candidates about their thoughts on:
* Manafort’s conviction
* Trump’s behavior after John McCain’s death
* the Helsinki summit
* Cohen’s confession
The Republican’s have protected Mr. Trump long enough - now the chickens are coming home to roost. Let’s see them squirm as they speak to the above topics.
165
@JCAZ Squirm? You give them too much credit. Once Mr. Trump faces the music they will all, in lockstep, say they were against him from the beginning.
3
@JCAZ
Don’t forget epic corruption of Trump’s administration.
He brought the swamp to WHite House.
That should be #1 question.
2
Trump may be unpredictable, but this investigation is getting awfully close to his family and himself. At some point he will fire everyone in the Justice department starting with Sessions, Rosenstein and eventually Mueller. He will be banking on the GOP controlled Congress being complicit and a genuine constitutional crisis will ensue. You can blame Mcconnell and Ryan for allowing the potential crisis to materialize, never utilizing their constitutional responsibility as an equal branch of government. They knew the unpredictable and unreliable character of this President. They mad a Faustian Bargain and for the price of a tax bill and a couple of Supreme Court Justices they placed the basic tenants and underpinnings of our 240 year democracy in peril.
181
@jwgibbs - As Bob Woodward said “I just think too many people have lost their perspective and become emotionally unhinged about (President) Trump."
1
Trump and his team are so abused by the system.
Let's all take a knee during The National Anthem to protest the gross injustice that this Administration has had to face every day for the last two years.
Better yet, let's just vote him out office and end his suffering.
77
@SCW I don't want to wait that long--until 2020--to vote him out of office.
And the country can't afford to wait that long, either.
1
Dear Paul. Please don’t protect Trump. It’s just the opposite. America needs to be protected from Trump.
38
@simon simon
He doesn't have the slightest interest in protecting Trump. These are amoral people to a man (and woman), interested only in self enrichment and self aggrandizement, with no feeling for their fellow humans.
1
While complicated criminal investigations can confuse and confound possibly causing disbelief, the documentary "Active Measures" left me very confident Mueller's team, assisted by arguably the most feared law enforcement agents anywhere, the IRS-CID, the Criminal Investigative Division that is, will make history. When they're through with Trump and Co. only a hollow shell will remain. And, prison because nobody's interested in who the kingpin wants to rat out.
31
I want all the rat's to be exposed...everyone.
1
I can still hear, "lock her up", kind of funny. I wonder if Trump would resign if he was given immunity for past crimes? A Spiro Agnew exit.
54
@sdt You can't be given immunity without admitting to those crimes. He's incapable of admitting wrong doing even to stay out of jail. He loves a good court fight, it will keep him in the headlines.
1
It should become evident to the under 40% who still support Trump that he is the Swamp, the most corrupt administration in US history.
The FBI needs to secure Manafort's safety as Putin has poisoned defectors.
115
Sadly, the people who still support Trump may never get it even if they lose their jobs, healthcare, unemployment benefits, and more. I wonder if they would still support him when they are breathing in poisonous air and drinking poisonous water or trying to catch rolls paper towels as if they're were playing a game with him after their home was destroyed by a hurricane. He says lock her up and they happily repeat it and cheer him on. He says jump and they ask how high.
41
@Joseph B
one of the people I heard today was posing that (his and his family's safety) as THE reason for the deal he struck with Mr Mueller.
Totally plausible.
1
A bit over the top in my view, but not being a Trump supporter myself, how would I know? Any Trump supporters out there who can advise why in the world you all still support this guy? And while we’re at it, Trump famously said he could shoot a man in the street and you all would still support him. I buy that. You?
3
Even Alan Dershowitz is beginning to change his tune about Trump. No longer trying his legal acrobatics and appearing to realize that the ship is sinking.
The system makes it exceedingly hard to get rid of an unfit president. The lesson from this should be to amend the constitution and curb the threshold for getting rid of unstable and dangerous Presidents. Woodward’s characterization of Trump leaves little doubt about what we have in the White House. To entrust such a man with the highest office in the land is clearly a failure in the system.
219
@Pan-Africanist I disagree, making it easier to unseat a president would have it become a political weapon for opponents. Donald Trump was elected and so far there is only anecdotal evidence. Bob Woodward is an excellent reporter but it's Mr. Mueller's job to provide solid proof and the voters' to elect a functional Congress, who can then proceed with due process. The system is not failing; it is by necessity, painstakingly slow.
The one thing we know about Robert Mueller is that he knows how to build a solid case that will stand up in even the most biased of courts.
18
I don't think making it easier to undseat a President is the answer - we need a Congress that will hold the President, regardless of party, accountable. The current Congress utter lack of spine over Trump's daily assault on our democracy just because they like the tax cuts is unforgivable. We need to vote those invertebrates out so we can get some real checks and balances back in place.
5
@Kathy Why does our politics have to be a zero sum game? Isn't that what drives the partisanship we're experiencing? What of consensus? Parliamentary democracies seem to make good use of the vote of no confidence.
Since Manafort must forfeit his Trump Tower apartment as part of his plea deal perhaps we will soon learn what laundered money Manafort used to pay for it, who transferred it, where it came from, what Manafort did to get it, how much Trump's business got selling it, how much over fair market value Manafort paid for it, and whether Trump's business kicked back any excess to Manafort.
Follow the money, Mr. Mueller!
100
@allan slipher - Supposition not supported by the facts in evidence.
Still waiting for Russian collusion. Once again, Mueller's investigation, despite millions of dollars spent and access to the entire intelligence agencies information and dozens of crack investigators, not one shred of evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians or that the Russians affected the outcome of the election.
Ironically, it may be suggested that the only interference in the 2016 election was by an American FBI director who interjected himself into a tight election and swayed the election way more than some memes on Facebook posted by some Russian spamming troll farms.
5
You have no idea what Mueller has found out. And as far as the cost, the government will recoup a bit of that with the forfeiture of a part of Manaforte's ill,gotten gains. They will get even more when they give the Trumps the same treatment.
48
Of course, they are still investigating, right?
13
You Trumpets want to keep telling yourselves that there's no collusion. The investigation isn't over yet. What will you do when it is, and there's collusion?
1
Yo, Senator Trey Gowdy. With all the revelations from Paul Manafort coming down the pike, are Senate hearings about money laundering in the near future? How about hearings about offshore accounts that conceal assets from the IRS? Like the one in which Wilbur Ross had ten million stashed and forgot to mention when he filled out his government form. Any thoughts at all?
158
@Mike T My apologies for the error, Rep. Gowdy,. It's Marsha Blackburn who was on your committee who now wants to be a senator.
@Mike T Not a senator..... Trey Gowdy is a member of the House of Representatives, 4th district of South Carolina, unfortunately for me. Senators from South Carolina are Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott. (I am not a supporter of them either.) It is important to get facts and details correct.
Trey Gowder is not a Senator, he is a member of the House, and is not running for re-election.
To the best of my knowledge, Mueller has little or no interest in Russian adoptions.
44
Has anyone else noticed how quiet Trump has been today! Unless I missed it, I don't think he belted out a single tweet today! Hmmmm. Wonder what's bothering him?
108
@Marlo Probably his lawyers have finally gotten through to him - convinced him that any tweets on this will only work against him.
@Marlo
The delusional and irrational, even the pathological often exhibit remarkable flashes of clarity when the jig is up. When all of the cards lie face up on the table.
The walls are closing in on the Prince of Lies.
The truth as to how a majority of voters see him, and the harsh way history is going to judge him is, I suspect, finally breaking through Donald’s delusions.
Our terrible president is in a terrible fix. It’s well deserved, but still pitiable.
4
Trump is tweeting about his heroism in handling the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. He threw paper towels out as if he was hosting a game show.
2
I hope this portends the special counsel also looking into potential money laundering by The Trump Organization and Donald Trump's tax returns prior to his becoming president. It now seems even more likely that Mr. Manafort and President Trump are cut from the same cloth in their business dealings with Russia.
71
He only hired the best people.
90
There is no way Mueller would enter into an agreement with Manafort unless he knows Manafort has valuable information pertaining to his investigation. The first person who will be indicted as a result of Manafort's plea agreement ( prediction) will be Donald Trump Jr. for lying to the prosecutors.
120
Jr has an automatic pardon coming his way.
I understand that Mueller is doing a superbly thorough job and i appreciate it immensely. Still, the fact that the GOP and the real power behind the scene, the American Oligarchs have to be pressured by the media as well as the Democratic Party much more forcefully.
We need Schumer and Pelosi to be in front of cameras full time (they have not much else to do as an ineffective minority anyway) pressuring the villains (plural). Trump, McConnell, Ryan, Koch Brothers, Mercer Père et Fille are villains.
Manafort and all other crooks are pawns. Time to go after the main players.
61
@Blunt
"We need Schumer and Pelosi to be in front of cameras full time (they have not much else to do as an ineffective minority anyway) pressuring the villains (plural)."
What on earth does that mean? "Pressure the villains" how? Thus far. Trump does not seem to be very intimidated by Mueller, so I don't see how having a couple of impotent, feeble-minded septuagenerians is going to help.
6
@GMooG
Perhaps your heroes are a pair of wise, knowledgeable potent septuagenarians in Trump and McConnell.
1
Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. It makes me sick to think of how much he ripped off the government of tax payer dollars. I hope he gives Mueller the info on Trump to finally prod the GOP Congress into doing something to sanction Trump. Their dereliction of their Constitutional duty to hold Trump accountable should be an impeachable offense for them. too.
82
With this amount of damaging evidence at least Nixon had the good sense to resign. Trump and his ilk will flight to the bitter end.
The only good that will come of this be more of the ilk in prison.
55
I'm getting ahead of myself, but when will Pence be indicted, convicted and removed from office?
61
@Ed
Hopefully not until after the 2018 election because if it happens any sooner, Ryan becomes president.
24
I don't know which one is more frightening. The zeal to impeach Trump is understandable but there unitended consequences.
@Ed
The Nov. 6 elections turn out to become a Presidential election. Remember that you are electing the next speaker of the House. Gee, who new Midterms are so important ?
Such a brave, brave man. I sure hope he has an email or some other hard evidence linking Trump to that Russian meeting.
14
Not in a billion years would I ever be like Trump. But man, I wouldn't want to be Trump right now. Though he deserves whatever is coming at him (I write with glee and with absolutely no sympathy).
41
Many i the GOP are complicit in all this and will never let anything harm their power. The "good" people of America empowered them. The "good" people of American empowered Trump.
17
At this point Manafort may not be interested in a presidential pardon.
It may be more valuable to him and his family to be in the witness protection program, which might be waived if he was issued a pardon.
The forfeiture of homes also makes me think he may go into hiding.
79
His attorneys stated many times he is concerned for his family's safety and one of his daughters wants to change her name. That and the prospect of jail time, more costly trials he won't win, he finally realized the gig is up.
52
@northeastsoccermum
She's gonna have to change a lot more than her name. I feel sorry for them -- if they weren't complicit -- living under the fear of nerve gas every day for the rest of their lives.
God bless Robert Muller and his team. They will, when all this scandal is exposed, be credited with saving our democracy and our country's long-cherished belief in the rule of law. Let no man or official be considered above the law!
100
It's encouraging to see that Robert Mueller is doing a great job.
But you can see how decadent and corrupt our political system has become by recalling that Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about a consensual affair, whereas Donald Trump has clearly been involved in high crimes and misdemeanors worthy of impeachment...and the GOP won't allow it to happen.
215
Giuliani's first statement:
"Once again an investigation has concluded with a plea having nothing to do with President Trump or the Trump campaign. The reason: the President did nothing wrong and Paul Manafort will tell the truth.”
Ten minutes later Giuliani issues the same statement but removes "and Paul Manafort will tell the truth."
Yeah, Team Trump is trembling, with very good reason.
61
It was coming, but as of today September 14, Mike Pence is the de facto President of the US.
As per the plea deal, Manafort will testify about the Trump Tower meeting between himself, Jared and Donald Jr, with the Russian agents that claimed to have dirt on Hillary Clinton, dirt that they had hacked from her servers.
He will also provide the details about the last minute change in the platform of the Republican Party that took place during the Convention favoring Putin's interests in Ukraine and most importantly about the cooperation or "strategizing" that took place between his lawyers and Trump lawyers, that started before his indictment and continued even after his trial with the purpose and intent of deceiving the Mueller investigation. "Obstructing justice".
Trump is more than done,
59
@Leon
"as of today September 14, Mike Pence is the de facto President of the US."
I don't know if you are right or not. But if it's true, Lord help us.
1
Another nail in the trump coffin. Trump’s going down. Very odd, trump’s silence today on the manafort plea!
51
@JMN
Yeah, weird. Not a tweet out of him so far. Hope he isn't bottling all that anger up, why he could maybe have a stroke.
Of course, that would be the easy way out for him, now that I think about it.
The hurricane is upon us. The core has collapsed.
30
Some suggest Manfort's lawyer's short statement was a message to Trump that he didn't make a big deal out of it. I think it means just the opposite. Go figure.
Some have noticed his family's safety is part of the deal, and I wouldn't doubt Paul's made a few foreigners very upset, not to mention the president.
20
@Abby
I personally find it difficult to imagine that a man like Paul Manafort is concerned about his "family's safety." He's just means he's concerned for his OWN safety. Donald Trump isn't the only person worried about what Manafort will tell Mueller. Manafort has spent decades dealing with some of the most dangerous, violent men in the world. They aren't going to be happy with him.
Concerned for his family … my eye.
13
The GOP members of both houses, should rent the movie "Ghost Rider", and see what happens when one sells there soul to the devil(trump). It seems that the late Senator John McCain was the only one who really saw the real trump and knew it was bad for our country. It will cost them dearly in the next couple of elections, as the majority of Americans do see trump for what he is, and will hold them accountable.
30
@Ricky
While the GOP and its leadership have behaved reprehensibly, Constitutional prohibitions against cruel and unusual punishment prevent anyone from being forced to watch "Ghost Rider," one of the worst films ever made.
17
Great reply. Funniest comment on here! Nick at his best!
Lovin' these comments. However, just a few minutes listening to "Conservative Talk Radio" (for balance) has been amazing. The high-pitched, quasi-hysterical rantings of various radio 'hosts' that "Manafort's ccoperation with Mueller has NOTHING to do with Donald J. Trump himself" would indicate the faithful are getting nervous.
Meantime, back to humming the theme song from "Flipper"....
62
One small step for Man-afort ,
One giant leap for the Mueller investigation.
49
A slight variation on the immortal words of Paul Weller:
"Are you gonna be threatened by the public enemy, 45
He who plays the Twitter game
He takes the plaudits - you take the blame,
And he tells you there's no more ACA!
Are you gonna try to make this work
Or spend your days down in the dirt
You see things can change
Yes, and walls can come tumbling down!"
8
But, but Hillary!! Uranium One!!
34
Yes, Donald - it's a witch hunt alright!
You're the witch and Robert Mueller's the hunter.
Godspeed Mr. Mueller.
71
Whoa.....
........From brave sartorial stalwart......
.....unbreakable....
to fashionable felonious flipper....
Mueller is now inside the meeting Uday Trump Jr. and Incitatus Kushner with the Russkies.
He now has access to pre-meeting and post-meeting communications.
Alas Benito Trumpolini is going to get a dollar coin and a postage stamp.
I think I can finally justify going cashless.
18
It is another B-O-N-K-E-R-S news day on Friday again...!
Another bubbling caldron with the new revelations on BK (Brett with two t's) teenage angst and history that have emerged, along with Grassley trying to hurry up and get BK across the finish line, even though he has been wounded by devastating accounts in his personal and professional life...!
9
The chickens are coming home to roost. Do us all a favor, Donald, and resign. Save yourself the assault on your fragile ego. Accept the fact that you are a monumental loser. Shame on you.
69
It has become clear that few, if any, associates of Trump would actually take a bullet for him. His best friends don't have the kind of integrity that marks a person who would lay down his life for a friend. They are, rather, exactly who they seem to be. Grifters, scam artists and tax dodgers.
Meanwhile, there are actual members of his political base who undoubtedly really would take a bullet for him, despite his betrayal. Huge tax cuts for the rich. Sacrificing the planet for coal barons (not miners). And tariffs that which cost jobs and which balance trade by reducing the volume and quality of goods that Americans receive for their money.
Sad.
44
This is wealthy privilege, pure and simple. This is a longstanding problem with the justice system. Wealthy crooks can buy their way out of the prison time that they really deserve. Prosecutors need to reject bail or set it with strict rules if a case rolls around with a defendant who is rich or has a rich family.
12
Hurray! The vice is getting tighter and tighter around Trump and his shady minions (including his sons and son-in-law).
If this investigation continues to progress so well, I'd suggest the following:
"MUELLER FOR PRESIDENT!"
(I don't care what political party he'd be in: I'd vote for him.)
For reinforcing the rule of law, even in the face of the most scandalous behavior, the man is a national hero!
36
@EDK
I wonder whether you would feel the same way about Mueller if he ultimately recommends against bringing charges against Trump.
5
@GMooG
Maybe. But I highly doubt that will happen. The Mueller investigation is just scratching the surface of what should be obvious to everyone: Trump has been a crook his entire life.
This story has been a bit tricky to follow but I think I've got it now:
1) Manafort was employed by Russians.
2) Concurrently, he was Trump's campaign manager.
3) Therefore, as Trump has tweeted more than 100 times--"there was absolutely no collusion".
P.S. Imagine FOX news if it had been revealed that Clinton's campaign manager was in the employ of Russians.
50
"Paul Manafort Agrees to Cooperate With Special Counsel; Pleads Guilty to Reduced Charges."
Actually this should have been expected. Paul Manafort has been around. He understands politics and knows that backstabbing in politics is the norm, not the exception. He knows, regardless of how unflinching his loyalty to Trump could be, the minute that it becomes convenient to Trump, he would be thrown under the bus.
14
Indeed, that time has arrived for Trump to throw Manafort under the bus. The weekend will not be over before tweetstorm...
8
Just wondering...does Mueller have to give away his evidence to Manafort in this deal? If so, after receiving this evidence, could Manafort then renege on the plea deal, go to trial where even more will come out in discovery, pass the info to Trump’s team, and then secure a pardon? I’m extremely suspicious of this deal. Or maybe my brain no longer functions after all the twists and turns.
1
@Frau Greta Sure he could pass stuff on to Trump's team -- if he wants to add another count of obstruction of justice to his portfolio.
one more down. next up don jr and Kushner. then the inevitable end of this charade of a presidency. what happens when the house of cards is built on lies, corruption and greed. the man could have stayed in his faux gold tower and enjoyed his ill gotten gains but he wouldn't let an insult from Obama go. hubris does kill indeed
67
Does anyone believe that Manafort would have been prosecuted if he had never worked with Trump. Trump is like a pile of garbage that attracts vermin. Mueller is just doing his part to clean out the swamp in D.C. Let's wish him success. Let this be a lesson for all those who still think associating with this self-serving POTUS will help them gain fortune and fame. Fame maybe but it will cost them bigly.
35
@RLW
No he wouldn't have been, because he would have been under the radar. Anyone having anything to do with Trump will have the Trump stain, for life.
And in the end, thieves do what thieves do, which is save themselves. None of Trumps people including his son Don will go to a federal prison for Trump. And Trump is mistaken if he thinks he will be able to tweet his way out of it. And the republican party that enabled him, they too will not be able to avoid the Trump stain, they too will go down in history as people that violated their constitutional duties. And abdicated their authority over Trump to put country first, not their pockets.
26
Bye, bye Paulie, so long Paulie.
4
Wow! If this keeps up Trumps administration will soon have more indictments tha Obama's...Oh wait...
19
Ding dong, the Witch Hunt's dead.
6
@Fran B.
No the "witch hunt" isn't over, the head witch Trump is still lose, not for long.
13
@James Young Think Trump would turn into smoke if you poured water on him? "I'm melting! I'm melting!"
The rats are leaving the sinking ship, leaving the biggest rat of them all. My guess is that right now The Donald must be baying at the moon, howling is more accurate. He must be meeting with sons; Ivanka and Jared deciding or maybe begging who is going to take the fall for him. I am curious to see if the Republican leadership is making plans to dump this goober. The really big issue for them is that he is their goober who allows them to achieve their conservative agenda. The funniest thing to see right now is Rudy G. babbling tripe. Sad to see how some people have sold their honor and soul to this moron.
34
@General Noregia
It's too late for the republican party, the damage is done, and when the pendulum swings back, they will be lucky if they ever regain power.
21
It appears that the dark underbelly of America is in the penthouse, not the gutter. The people who move in the circles of people like Manafort are special kinds of sociopaths and are the cause of almost every modern problem.
50
@arusso
That's always been the dark underbelly, the rich, and the people it breeds, selfish, human beings, where having everything isn't enough.
24
I'm one proud "bama jew." Filthy Manafort never got to me.
27
Accounting to Manafort's lawyers, privilege also extends to reduced penalities for crimes committed long ago--as if time is the measure of the corruption, fraud, and thief of Manafort's actions.
8
It’s interesting to think what happened to Manafort’s chosen (by Putin) Ukrainian candidate — he ended up fleeing the country after a backlash against a corrupt candidate.
Which makes me wonder what did Manafort think was gonna happen here? Why go through the pain of a first trial? Did he ... gulp ... trust Trump? Or is he just scared of what Putin does to his own? If he did, perhaps he should have studied at Trump University first.
23
@J.P.
Thieves and crooks don't think like normal law abiding people. They think that what they do in the dark, will never come to light, it always does.
5
Trump might take a couple of extra mulligans in his golf game today , justifying them on a loss of concentration due to the despicable, irritating fake news/media.
Mueller for President.
39
Meanwhile, back at the Ranch...........
Jeff Flake and Bob Corker will denounce Trump's attempts to destroy democracy.... and then help him do just that by voting to approve Kavanaugh.
86
Along with Collins and Murkowski.
3
Lock them up!
38
I wonder how the dear leader will now describe the "fine man" who has turned on him? Is he still "brave or has he suddenly turned into a "rat"?
Stay tuned... I haven't been this riveted by a soap opera since Luke & Laura were looking for the ice princess!
30
looks like jr is next
20
Will Trump's tweet be: et tu Monafort?
Or will he cry havoc and let loose the words of war?
10
@Hypatia
NICE! But alas... the Orange One is too dim to grasp the beauties of Mr. W. Shakespeare.
16
Manafort is a complete disgrace. Whether or not he is complicit in engaging in illegal campaign tactics in U.S. elections he surely is morally corrupt as evidenced by his work in the Ukraine. He deserves every bit of time in prison that he gets.
18
I wish they'd had him plead guilty to money laundering, since that's the thread of real crime running through this whole sordid mess... and of course what Trump is embroiled in up to his gold-plated nose holes.
12
If I am not mistaken he is pleading guilty to money laundering. That's where I hope they get Trump. It's a pretty black and white paper trail
10
@Connie He pled guilty to obstruction and conspiracy. The money laundering charges were dropped in exchange for his cooperation.
2
@Dan I don't think so. He plead guilty to all ten counts from the last trial that the jury was hung on.
"No Israeli Collusion!" does not quite have the lyrical ring as "No Russian Collusion," but maybe I'm just not used to it yet.
8
@Chris
That Putin through Manafort found a few operatives in Israel to throw anti-Semitic libel at Putin's liberal democratic opponents all over Europe is no surprise. Look at OUR guy! He's been a traitor to democracy globally for decades. Guys like him made way for Putin's puppets.
I don't blame the people of Israel, but I question if their government has looked into this. If they only acted to influence OTHERS elections with anti-Semitic libel instead of letting foreigners influence their own, then it's Kosher? Seems if Manafort had kept his dirty war to himself inside Ukraine instead of bringing the fight to the US, he's be off the hook like these operatives likely are.
5
The maniac in the WH is under intense pressure and is getting more delirious with each passing day. I fear that when Trump finally goes down, he will try to take down as many as possible with him. Afterall, we have a lunatic with a finger on the nuclear button.
23
I’m getting confused. Which witch is this?
24
@Ernest Ciambarella
Enough witches to fill the ditch and defeat the effort!
3
So who's the WITCH, now ???? I really can't keep up.
Seriously.
9
@Phyliss Dalmatian
Well, all of them, of course. Just pick a name, any name.
4
Trump still has not tweeted about Manafort being a "rat", a "flipper", a coffee boy, a nobody.
Has the White House physician been informed?
Something must be wrong.
4:00 PM EST Sept 14.
51
And the wall around Trump comes tumbling down, crumbling down.......
15
@Stan Carlisle
In the immortal words of Mr. Paul Weller: "...governments crack and systems fall, 'cause unity is powerful, lights go out, walls come tumbling down".
Go Mueller!
4
Every thing we need to know will be known when Michael Flynn pleads guilty to his charges
7
Soon we will get to see El Trumpo turn on his children. You will see him be more vicious nasty and mean than he has ever been to anyone else in public since this evil enterprise to get the GOP cover to further rip off the American people while he distracted us began.
The GOP and their foreign allies has stolen more from us since 1980 than the worlds dictatorships combined have stolen from their countries.
37
Yes, we'll find out who the favorite son is, and which child is as vicious as daddy. I don't usually like blood sports but these people owe us a spectacle of comeuppance after all they've put us through!
1
Illegitime president. Illegitimate tax heist. Illegitimate Supreme Court nominations.
Sweep it ALL out to the sewer!
42
That’s right! When Dems take back our country, and Trump is run out of the WH and hopefully on trial for a plethora of crimes for collusion and obstruction, not to mention crimes against humanity, invalidate his whole administration, including his SCOTUS picks. FAKE POTUS.
16
@Kan
That's what is really "fake" is the SCOTUS appointment. The republicans violated the constitution by NOT considering Obama's pick. That IS their duty, as elected officials to protect and defend the constitution with their lives if need be.
9
The scoreboard so far:
Mueller --
• G Papadopoulos: convicted, sentenced
• A van der Zwaan: convicted, sentenced
• S Patten: pleaded guilty
• R Gates: pleaded guilty
• M Flynn: pleaded guilty
• M Cohen: pleaded guilty, cooperating
• P Manafort: pleaded guilty, cooperating
And the icing on this cake:
• A Weisselberg: fully cooperating in exchange for immunity from prosecution
Trump --
• covfefe
• anonamous, anomanous
Will Don Jr, Eric, or Javanka be next?
When did Mueller obtain a copy of Trump's tax returns?
Will Manafort help dissect the tax returns and identify the Russian money he helped launder before, during, and after the elections?
In the meantime, R Giuliani and S H Sanders are doing their best on what they were hired to do: as clowns and court jesters dancing in front of the cameras and making fools of themselves while Trump readies for his weekend of golfing.
The way things are going, I will double the number of champagne that's on the chiller.
Way to go, Mr. Mueller. You sir, are a true patriot.
93
He's a weasel. He'll change mind. Pardon coming.
1
@Tullymd
Pardon or not, he can't change his mind, read the filing.
8
@James Young
He stops singing, the prosecutors go back to the judge and Manafort never sees another sunrise out from behind bars as long as he lives.
1
What I don’t get is why it took a special prosecutor charged with investigating ties between the Trump campaign and foreign entities, most notably Russia, to bring Manafort to justice for crimes, with the exception of witness tampering, that took place long before his involvement in the Trump campaign. Why didn’t the FBI and DOJ uncover these illegal acts long before Mr. Mueller’s team? Would Manafort have gotten away with the crimes but for the suspicion that Trump colluded with Russia?
15
@Charlie
Yep. It's not fair. If you're a poor and steal one dollar from a candy store, you're in big trouble. Maybe jail? If you steal a million dollars from a bank, a business, or individual consumers spread out among a large population, then if found out, you might be fined, or maybe not.
The FBI and DOJ are busy doing other things, rich people can hire fancy lawyers to get out trouble, and a fully bought Congress applies pressure for the DOJ to have other priorities. Of course it's shocking and disappointing but of all the things that people can do to help fix it, one of them is easy.
Vote.
19
@Charlie As I understand it, there isn't much money available to pursue "white collar crimes".
2
@Charlie
Very good question. One can ask the same question about Mr. Trump. Given all the money laundering he has done, his dealings with Russian Mafia, and his involvements in financial embezzlement (e.g. Trump University), one would expect much interest in him by FBI and DOJ.
What this suggests is that the US justice system is a two-tier system; one for Trumps and Manaforts of this world and one for the Joe Public. The rich hire a herd of lawyers, interposing them between themselves and the legal system. Obviously, the richer you are the thicker your "legal shield". The ordinary folks have no shield; hence they are vulnerable to arrest by FBI and police brutality.
17
I urge you to read paragraphs 8 and 9 of the plea agreement. These paragraphs spell out the cooperation agreement between Manafort and the government. The language is boilerplate. That means that Manafort's attorneys did not negotiate for any concessions regarding their client's cooperation.
The agreement spells out the precise obligations of Manafort and the government. And it would only have been entered into if Manafort has already given a proffer about what he will say about Trump and the government has already decided that the proffer is credible. Mueller knows much more than what is revealed here. He knows exactly what Manafort will say about Trump. And based on that knowledge he knows whether Manafort will help incriminate Trump or is useless in that regard.
According to the article:
"It was not immediately clear what information Mr. Manafort might provide to prosecutors or how the plea agreement might affect Mr. Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and related questions about possible collusion by the Trump campaign and obstruction of justice by Mr. Trump."
In fact, Manafort's version of all the relevant facts is laid out in the yet undisclosed proffer. Whoever gets their hands on that proffer first is the winner of the media contest that is going on right now behind the scenes.
Information like this is known only to the pros. You're welcome.
29
@michjas Thanks for that. M (non-legal minded gut) told me that meuller has to know what Manafort offered before agreeing to the deal. Am I correct in assuming that, at this point, a pardon wouldn't hurt Meuller's case too much, other than all hell breaking loose and also losing Manafort's testimony in court? Does Manafort have any liabilities IF he is pardoned and clams up?
4
@michjas: Your comment is the most important - clearly Paul Manafort can and has probably already provided significant information and evidence that will support the Special Prosecutor's effort to undercover the Truth. Thank you for bringing this to the forefront.
7
"he only worked for me a very short time.....". compared to his impending prison sentence, that certainly is true.
14
Get ready for the next diversionary tactic, courtesy of Mr. Trump or someone in his inner circle (someone like Mike Pompeo, who will be going down with him). This one has to be big!
11
@Eddie B. Handing out paper towels in North Carolina?
6
@Hamlin
Not to get off point, but how long do you think the elected representatives of North Carolina, or Texas, would have kept their butts in their comfortable Congressional chairs, if they has let their hurricane ravaged state go without power for months and months. Or stood there and threw rolls of paper towels at their huddling masses. My guess is, not long. It floors me that the US government shows no interest in taking care of fellow citizens, that live on what we now know (thanks to Trump) is a very large island.
Regardless, those people ARE US CITIZENS.
Is it too much to ask, that the presidency of donald end in total disgrace, embarrassment and repudiation to the same degree that he put the nation through. Is that just too much to ask for?
Recovery from this despotic episode will take a long time, but so many can take a little pleasure in watching this man being escorted from the WH in shame.
39
@Bob812 I want to see him "escorted from the WH" in handcuffs!
17
Hopefully we can reclaim our country from Trump et al.
22
Yeahh, finally Paul Manafort is on "our side".
Why do I still feel so dirty about this victory?
9
Because he's still same sleazy, dirty grub who's only cooperating out of an apparently unlimited capacity for self-interest?
18
@PeteH
Thanks, I think you nailed it.
Five guilty pleas and no allies left... Surely Trump can see that U.S. Marshals are inching their way up the marble stairs. Lonely at the top, isn't it, Crooked Donald?
20
I have come to a possible scenario:
1. Paul is more afraid Darapaska than he is of Mueller.
2. Even pardoning Paul doesn't take King Donald off the hook
as Paul can still be called as a witness for the prosecution.
At least his raiment will match his hair.
13
We want to see this guy prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Letting him off on so many counts better mean that his cooperation will put Trump firmly in jail. No other concession is at all acceptable.
26
"he pleaded guilty to reduced charges stemming from consulting work he did for pro-Russia political forces in Ukraine"
Stop calling it "consulting". He was an agent of a foreign power and if he passed information back to his Russian cut-outs he was a spy. How many others are there on K Street and when will they be prosecuted? Surely Bannon and his illegal use of SCL Elections' government-funded AI tech...oh, wait, that type of consulting? Never mind.
24
@Fran Cisco
Are Tony Podesta, and the former White House counsel in Obama administration also spys?
3
“If it’s what you say (Mr. Manafort) I love it especially later in the summer.”
What goes around comes around. I really do love it!
17
The greater the preponderance of evidence against Trump, the deeper his constituents will dig their heels in the mud. They don't need to defend Trump or his henchmen. This successful work by Mueller simply motivates them to attack Trump's attackers. Trump's supporters thrive on negative press. Manafort and the rest of the Trump mobsters are more useful to Trump as enemies of the DOJ than as supporters of anything he can offer his followers.
13
But they're only 35 percent. They only succeed if 65 percent of us allow them.
17
I don’t know about that. I think there is, in actually, a relatively small amount of dummies that are diehard Trumpists. They’re just the ones that stick out. Many people were voting against Hillary rather than for Trump. If Trump is depending on the loyalty of the anti-Hillary crowd, he’s kidding himself.
1
I gotta admit, this Mueller guy knows what he's doing.
Following the Bush II administration, with all of its corruption, military adventurism, and economic incompetence, we let the Republicans (many of whom should have been criminally prosecuted) up off the carpet. If we had any notion that they might have reformed, we know better by now.
I hope that we understand now that such mercy was inappropriate.
44
Yup, Good old Godfather Don Mueller went after Manafort's family, as usual. If Manafort hadn't done this, his wife and kids would have been out on the street. Nice guy, that Robert Mueller. Remind me to avoid all lawyers in the future.
1
@david
If you don't want to do the time, don't commit the crime.
11
@david . if you're innocent, then what's the issue?
10
@david. Glad you're sympathy is with Manafort, who's been making do with - how many houses? He just gave up FOUR of them... Subsidized with blood money taken from dictators and enemies of the US, money he never reported, let alone paid taxes on, while peddling influence in Washington... and you're afraid Mueller is being MEAN. Seriously.
20
Well, it appears that the rats are abandoning the sinking ship of state.
14
So many Americans struggle every day to lead productive, morally upright lives and our president and his court jester Giuliani protest his innocence too much. Rudi claims the president has done nothing wrong, repeating what the president has claimed on numerous accounts. He besmirches himself.
26
I think the likelihood that Trump fires Sessions and/or Rosenstein just increased.
5
@Ben, Yes. Everyone will be watching.
3
Agatha Christy couldn’t have imagined a more plot twisting who-done-it. I suspect that like “Murder on the Orient Express” they are all guilty.
27
MAGA now means Mueller Ain't Going Away.
103
@KenP
Ha, ha, ha, I wish I would have thought of that. Can I use it.
4
Looks like Mueller is master of the art of the squeal.
39
Brilliant!! This shoild be a Times pick.
6
When Mueller gets to MConnell and the Russian money flowing to him and the GOP through the NRA, I will start celebrating.
105
@LVG: Yes! Millions flowed from Russia to the NRA. Six Republican congressmen were in Russia this summer for ... what? What were they doing there? And what about Putin's laconic claim that the two Russian operatives who poisoned Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK were merely "normal guys"? How many other "normal" Russian "guys" are in the US right now, besides the two the NY Times reported upon recently?
When Cohen started singing like the old lady, Trump called him a weasel, a snitch. Paul Manafort was a 'great' man for not breaking under pressure. Now Manafort will be singing like the old lady. Why is Trump discussing a pardon for Manafort in private already? For a man who boasts he will have the 'best
people" as his advisers, he sure has surrounded himself with the best weasels. Loyalty to Trump? What a laugh! Mueller is a smooth operator. He goes for the jugular so stealthily. Pop, goes the weasel! And perhaps this Presidency!
PS: What happened to the ostrich coat?
16
Don't count your chickens yet.
2
@NNI
Sinatra called Jimmy the Weasel a fink at the Nevada Gaming Commission which was a double negative, but he wanted to make clear he wasn't a rat like Jimmy.
@Tullymd
To late, so far 19 eggs, have been indicted, and a few, fried.
1
I laughed when I read in the agreement that Manafort could not write off the forfeitures on his taxes.
https://www.justice.gov/sco
19
Fun fact: the phrase “loose lips sink ships” was popularized through American propaganda, spread domestically during World War II.
Mueller has enough cooperating witnesses to take out a naval fleet.
22
For the first time in many, many decades, Paul Manafort actually does something intelligent.
20
I sense some eggs are going to crack soon.
16
@Matt586
You can't make a Trumpomlet, without cracking some eggs.
3
"For now [Manafort] will remain in jail, where he has been since June..." and where he hopes his Russian creditors can't get to him.
Manafort probably sleeps better in jail than he ever would again on the outside. I see a witness (welcher?) protection plan in his future.
19
He's much safer with the Feds right now.
2
President Trump is focused now on making sure all the white people still alive after hurricane Manafort - er, Florence - get tickets to his next white power rally.
14
Mueller is now inside the room of the June 2016 meeting with the Russkies.
Mueller now knows about Trump Crime Family in-house talk before and after.
DumDum Donnie Jr. (Freedo) and Incitatus Kushner are clearly next in the dock.
oooooooorah
32
Shakespeare will hoist a goblet, when Jared and Junior roll on the old man.
33
Don Jr. should be very worried.
48
Illustrates the old defense lawyer adage: "A snitch in time saves mine".
11
When Manafort was hired as campaign manager, it was reported that he was unknown to trump at the time. I wondered why the campaign hired an obscure operative whose greatest recent achievement was to install, by hook and by crook, a Russian puppet in Ukraine. Hopefully, now we will learn if the intentions of the trump crime family were parallel to those in Ukraine.
21
@Gustav Aschenbach
"Hired" is the wrong word.
Manafort worked for the Trump Campaign for NO PAY, because he thought the position would open financial doors for him.
Trump, being a skinflint, was delighted to get a campaign manager FOR FREE.
They each served the other guy's purpose.
Two crooks each scamming the other.
15
He's hardly obscure. He co-founded one of the wealthiest conservative lobby firms in DC in the early 1980s.
12
@Gustav Aschenbach You're misinformed. Trump and Manafort have a history that stretches back to the 80's, and Manafort has had a condo in Trump Tower since 2006.
12
Best part of this is that the charges were for conspiracy. When Trump says "no collusion" he means (legally) "no conspiracy". Well, we finally have conspiracy charged against a top Trump associate. And he is cooperating with Mueller; we'll see if there's further news prior to the mid terms. I for one have all it need to know.
20
@deedubs
You're right, there is no word in law for collusion. Collusion is conspiracy. It's a widely misused word, like socialism, libertarian, or a progressive. Each has a separate meaning, but widely misused, and misunderstood.
6
So, why is he caving? Have the prosecutors convinced him that Trump wont or, even, wont be able to give a pardon?
The President "shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment" - Article II, Section 2 US Constitution. The thing is, Clinton was impeached and he pardoned a lot of folks (140 on his last day) when he left.
This second trial, in Washington, is that related to federal crimes? Is that still going ahead? If the prosecution made the argument that he will lose the Washington case and Trump can't pardon that one, because its not federal, then, sure, that's why he would take the deal.
Either way, Trump is deluding himself if he thinks that Manafort isn't going to be another nail in the grand coffin that is being built by the nations legal system for him.
6
@Reasonable
Since the government can delay sentencing, Trump may be gone before they get around to it. I think he pardoned Sheriff Joe before same, but this time, it's obstruction.
2
He’s caving “for the safety of his family.”
He has been threatened.
9
@Abby
But it's too late, rest assured Manafort has already told what he knows. Mueller, isn't going to drop charges without knowing for a fact what Manafort told him is true, and verified, and is usable, for future, indictments, arrests and convictions .
I'm afraid he won't go down without trying to start a civil war.
He has no real legal team, only a public relations team. And he and Fox News and other allies attack the law, the judiciary, the Justice Department, FBI, etc., all the time.
The Republican Party has been calling our government "the enemy," for decades. Their base worships the Confederacy, is heavily armed, and many of them are at war with the Federal Government already. Trump pardoned one of the "protesters"'that shot at the FBI, and a sheriff who ordered his department to ignore a judge's orders.
He says torture is good, and told police they should rough up their prisoners. Although he demands due process for himself, for his political enemies and victims, he makes up crimes, then says, lock them up.
Again, he seems to have no legal strategy at all. Giuliani says his defense is political. "War is politics by other means," and if you go on right wing websites, you will see that these heavily armed lunatics are itching for a purge. They are ready and willing to kill all of the "liberals" and violently expel minorities.
The 90% of the Republican Party that still supports Trump obviously doesn't care about truth, justice, or the Constitution.
Meanwhile a blatantly corrupt president (who puts himself above the People) is making a blatantly corrupt Supreme Court nomination (designed to protect him from investigation) and the Democrats are treating it as just another nomination.
How does Trump avoid prison?
67
@McGloin
Well there's not much the democrats can do, since McConnell changes the rules, they can approve anyone they want. What McConnell forgot is, that is a sword that cuts both ways. And those rule changes have the same effect on them that they do the democrats, and they too will use the same tactics that McConnell did.
Their turn is coming, they've underestimated the normal people in this country, that want balance and equal representation. And a progressive society, not a regressive, Jim Crow backward, dueling banjo playing, society. That has been relegated to the ash heap of history as the GOP will be.
4
It sure was nice of Mr. Trump to gather so many world-class criminals in one place where they could be easily identified, rounded up, indicted, convicted, plead guilty and otherwise point to the boss.
The question is, is the boss Trump or Putin?
41
If Manafort didn't have anything on Trump, why were Trump's lawyers coordinating defenses with Manafort's lawyers. Let's be real. This was a "let's get our stories straight" deal.
22
I gotta confess. I'm well beyond schadenfreude now. I think "ecstatic joy" might cover it. Sweet to see rats get what they deserve. Imagine the rage that Trump is in right now. I hope he can't remember the nuclear codes.
16
Get ready for the predictable Tweet-hurricane; a storm surge of lies and false blaming to follow.
12
Manafort’s lawyer, Kevin Downing, told reporters outside the court that his client "wanted to make sure that his family was able to remain safe and live a good life".
What does it mean "safe"? What do they fear?
After five former aides have pleaded guilty to charges related to the Russian probe, expressing their willingness to cooperate with Mueller in hopes of a lesser punishment, this must leave Trump to wonder what comes next. It’s unlikely that prosecutors would have agreed to Manafort’s deal if they weren’t convinced that he has valuable information . He is seen as a precious asset to the investigation team.
It remains to be seen what Manafort can provide. No doubt he can cast light on the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner and the Russian operatives, that meant to deliver damaging information Russia had on Hillary Clinton. Apparently he took cryptic notes about that meeting that he now might be willing to discuss.
15
@J. von Hettlingen "What do they fear?" Did you hear about the former Russian spy who was poisoned In England?
19
"“He has accepted responsibility and this is for conduct that dates back many years,” Mr. Downing said. “And everybody should remember that.”"
I am literally laughing out loud. Jeepers, Paul Manafort accepted responsibility for his criminal behavior!!
I guess that means everything is ok, right?
NOT.
16
A tough day? Compared to what? Annexation?
10
This is just like the Mafia trials, all these 'tough guys', 'made' guys; the first time they can go to jail, they will betray their friends, forgive the expression, family, anyone.
19
I think you mean if there’s any conspiracy or cooperation with the Russian, Manafort DEFINITELY knows about it.
6
When Trump promised to drain the swamp, we should have realized he meant he'd be pumping swamp water and swamp critters onto his own ship.
This man deserves a big comeuppance; I hope Meuller can deliver one--one that demonstrates Trump's guilt to even his most ardent (aka blind) supporters.
21
I see a category 5 Tweet storm about to make landfall.
20
There is a reason why El Trumpo keep mentioning collusion. It is a diversion.
Mr Mueller is investigating; i) any links and/or coordination bet ween the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump; and
ii) any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation; and
iii) any other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a).
Found here; https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/967231/download
Whatever Mr Manafort has to offer in cooperation will eventually come out but until then try to enjoy El Trumpo going apoplectic and making more of a fool of himself and his supporter's while doing so.
I doubt very much he has any Russian connecting dirt on El Trumpo or he would have been pardoned long ago. What he has is info on how the dirty money is being moved around which will give clues to finding the real crimes El Trumpo is worried about, the source of his money being in large part made from the money stolen from the Russian people by Putin and his crony's.
13
The true patriots are the Mueller team (big credit to Andrew Wiseman who Trump fears most).
23
No tweet from Trump on this yet. That in itself is interesting and rather telling.
19
This time, his staff took the phone off his desk and hid it.
19
@SkL His aides are probably hiding his iPad
8
A few months ago the Times reported that Trump's team hired a guy to write better tweets for Trump. That guy is probably hanging out in a White House bathroom, furiously trying to come up with a pithy and plausible 140 characters that will get his employer off the hook. He may be locked in there all weekend.
I'm going to let John Dean speak for me:
"John Dean
Verified account
@JohnWDean
Manafort has flipped! BOOM (the sound of broomsticks breaking the sound barrier crashing to earth - NO witches). The entire Trump family now in jeopardy. No pardon for Paul from Trump. No nice things to say about Mansfort by Rudy. Nightmares at the White House will be unending."
52
The Eyes of Mueller are upon you, all the live-long day,
You made a deal with Putin, but you can't get away.
Do not think you can escape them
He's got you in his sights
The Eyes of Mueller are upon you
And he will make things right.
22
I understand that one can be found guilty in a court of law by a judge or jury of one's peers and be pardoned by the president but can one plead guilty and be pardoned?
4
As Seth Meyers would say, "Manafort ... Ya Burnt!"
9
Four of his homes? Aw, poor guy. Robber barons are thick from uncontrolled capitalism.
19
I wonder if Trump still think Manafort is a ‘fine man’.
14
So, Manafort can't even profit from a book about his crimes? No Joe Bonanno book for Rudy to chew on?
11
The first rat from a sinking ship that is the Trump White house. Just a matter of time before Admiral Mueller unleashes a broadside of cannon fire right into the ships magazine of lies and deceit.
16
I think this must be the swampiest swamp, that has ever swamped, in the history of swamps.
37
@Maurice Barron
As swamps go, it's bigly yooj. Tremendous! Best ever. Of all time. Trust me...
6
Trump sure seems to know a lot of witches!
20
Draining the swamp, ideed!
5
It is not a good day to be a witch.
23
Strange how a rat will squeal when squeezed. I expect that this is just another nail in trump's coffin.
18
Oooohhhh no! Another 'flipper"! LOL Trump sure knows how to pick 'em, eh? "Only the best."
Meuller is a national hero!
Don't forget to vote.
33
I hope they have started monitoring his food and water for "nerve agents".
13
Did I read this correctly? The money laundering charges are being dropped. I guess money laundering isn't such a big deal, except when Hillary Clinton is accused of it through the foundation.
10
@Metrojournalist
I doubt they dropped them without him providing them information.
3
@Metrojournalist If the money laundering charges are being dropped, that must mean that Manafort has some REALLY important information to provide to Mueller. Something much more important than his crime--which can only point to Trump and Co.
In that case, it is worth dropping the charges to get that information. And at least he will be forfeiting four houses and the contents of some illicit bank accounts!
8
@Expat Annie And maybe the ostrich jacket.
Prosecutors probably convinced Manafort that he would remain in jail for years, until investigations of all the cases against him are completed to prevent him from future witness tampering. Meanwhile, Trump may not be president. That convinced him to dump Trump to save his skin. I must say Mueller team is doing a great job!
27
"Mr. Manafort was once a business partner of another person who has figured in the Mueller inquiry: Roger Stone, who was once a political adviser to Mr. Trump. And in his Trump campaign roles, he worked closely with Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law."
Next up: Roger Stone. The conspiracy to hack emails is another facet of this investigation which may also bring down Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr.,Steve Bannon and Brad Parscales.
Fasten your seat belts.
30
I finally see some reporting that I guessed was at the nub of negotiations with Manafort — the “stuff” - cash, houses, etc. I suspect he held out to see if he was able to set aside or salvage something for his family. I never believed he was holding out over some “honor code” with Trumps and crew.
8
Looks like life just got real interesting for Don, Jr. and Jared. Couldn't have happened to nicer guys.
39
Yep. i jist hope that when the FBI shows up to tote these clowns off the the hoosegow, they're all wearing lion suits.
4
Love it: first Guiliani tweet that Trump is innocent and Manafort will tell the truth. Second tweet, upon thinking about it for a minute, skip the second half of that first tweet. Got a little carried away there, didn't you Rudy.
12
Just read the plea agreement.
Manafort is now pennyless.
Hello Junior, Mr. Mueller will see you now.
35
When The Leader tweets -- as he will -- that his is the Bestest Presidency, Ever; when he next pretends he *is* the Teflon Don ... it's worth remembering that 76 years ago, almost to the day, Axis armies reached their high-water mark at El Alamein and Stalingrad.
Six months later, it was a much different story.
8
And what will the Republican Senate's response be?
"Quick! Confirm Kavenaugh!"
34
Boo Hoo for Paul Manafort, a convicted felon.
Now on to his cooperation agreement-
Did Donald Trump conspire with the Russians (or anyone else) to win the election? Who was involved? What was the quid pro quo? Mueller and his team have been relentless in the pursuit of truth. Bravo!
13
Manafort and Trump and Kushner with years of money laundering and tax evasion thru real estate deals and off shore bank accounts funded with Russian and mideast oil state mafia money. Now Manafort is cooperating! What further can go wrong for Trump and family? Tune in tomorrow and I am sure we will see. Thanks to Mueller for making America great again sans ridiculous red cap.
32
I’m wondering if Mr Manafort questions whether Mr Trump might be unable to give him a pardon either for political reasons or because he would no longer be president. Mr Manafort might be a convicted criminal but he isn’t stupid.
2
Remember 'Aleppo?' Remember 'Bernie's a SOCIALIST!'?
But the obvious psychopath with decades of lawsuits, lies, tabloid nonsense, questionable Russian contacts and school yard insults galore? He was okie-dokie.
Because the guy who sells clickbait and ads is more in tune with Corrupt Capitalism than the one time brain fart 2 term successful governor or the lifelong public servant. And don't think Donnie doesn't know that. It's perhaps ALL he knows; well, that and how to accept bigly money from dubious sources with no questions asked...
7
Does this mean that Mr Manafort will not be receiving a Presidential pardon?
5
Manafort will be safer in prison. No Novichok.
17
@Kathy
Sure. Because everyone knows that while low-grade criminals can smuggle drugs, guns, cellphones, etc. into prison, and that any street gang can arrange a hit in jail, the government of Russia and the KGB could not possibly figure out how to get to Manafort in prison. Riiiiiiight.
3
@GMooG Maybe this will explain Trump staying quiet; he knows Putin will take care of it for him. No pardon needed.
Mr Mueller is closing in on the real issue concerning Trump and his family: dirty money laundering. Forget about the prostitutes and all the diversions, the so-called president is involved up to his neck with the ex-soviet mafias... that is the red line he doesn't want Mr Mueller to cross...
Hopefully we will see Trump and part of his family in orange overalls and, then, you'll see all the hypocrits and spineless dissociate from him: "Fear" cannot last for ever... Thank you Mr Mueller!
39
Who will flip next? Sean Hannity?
When your national security advisor, your personal lawyer, your accountant, your National Enquirer publicist, your campaign advisor and even your coffee boy all turn against you, who is left to flip? Only your best bro Hannity. Who knows what he heard in late night "pillow talk?"
I imagine it will end like Klaus Kinski on that raft full of fleeing rats in Burden of Dreams, floating alone down the river to final ruin and madness.
18
Alice, from your mouth to God's ear
4
“They call him Flipper, Flipper...”
15
@Truie Wonder who's gonna end up "flying there, under, under the sea"?
2
LOL...but now I can’t get that darn tune out of my head!
3
Trump is done. Resignation or fatal heart attack coming shortly.
25
Both!!
4
Hopefully both and as soon as possible.
8
@Richard Drandoff
Something Harding had the decency to do before Tea Pot blew his lid. Pence should take a tip from Coolidge. Get out of the way of Justice and Congress before they look for Liberty Bonds in your own bank accounts! Even though Teddy's son was cleared in having handed those leases over to Secretary Fall to sell to the highest no bidder, his career in politics was OVER.
2
Not an original thought, but timely and appropriate:
MAGA = Mueller Ain't Goin' Away.
21
Let's see ... how many "flippers" in The Donald's tank now?
Flipper Flynn, Flipper Papadopolous, Flipper Gates, Flipper Cohen, Flipper Trump CFO (I forget his name), Flipper(s) Anonymous, .... and now Flipper Manafort.
Does that make a "pod"? Will they be singing in perfect harmony?
And, who's next? Is The Donald being fitted for his orange jumpsuit?
19
@Maynnews "Is The Donald being fitted for his orange jumpsuit?"
At least it will match his hair!
3
Dirty, dirty, dirty, dirty. So he set out 'to plant new stories in the United States with “no fingerprints” alleging that Ms. Tymoshenko had paid for the murder of a Ukrainian official'.
Not only a crook but an adept at dishing out Ukranian/Russian-favored misinformation. That's a little close to home...
23
Nice
5
Trump knows all about flipping, which means he understands how bad things are when first his fixer, and now his consigliere, agree to cooperate with law enforcement.
18
Can't wait to see the Trump tweets about the "brave man" who "refused to break." Don Jr and Disposable Jared should start thinking about what type of prison tattoos they want.
17
Oh, to have been a fly on the wall at the proffer session...
10
The contrast is astonishing. Trump's lies, insults, innuendos, more lies, and incompetence met with silence. A silence that says we won't be swayed by anything except evidence and the law, we are above politics and a president, and we're focused on justice, not speed. A silence only broken when charges are filed, plea bargains made, and persons found guilty.
By saying nothing, Mr Mueller and his team speak volumes.
38
To Paul Manafort: When it's raining on your parade, watch out for those umbrella tips!
7
"Truth is on the march; nothing can stop it now."
EMILE ZOLA
21
@Edgar
Mueller is our very own Celestin Hennion!
"Now that's a man, I swear!" Beefheart
3
Maybe I am just a simple guy, but this all seems like an Amway pyramid scheme.
Only the guy on top wins.
7
After successive terms the Canadian Progressive Conservative party was obliterated in the federal election of 1993, going from 156 seats to 2.
If you make people angry enough you will get their full attention.
I would suggest it's not a blue wave coming, but rather a blue tsunami.
24
How can Giuliani say with a straight face that Manafort’s guilty pleas have nothing to do with the Trump campaign? Sure, nothing about the pleas directly implicate Trump in criminal acts…for now. Yet that leaves the fact that Trump’s campaign manager was basically a career criminal.
This was supposed to be the candidate that only hired the best people and facts are proving to be the exact opposite. Manafort is a great example of the degree of malfeasance we have become inured to with Trump. His campaign manager has been found or pleaded guilty to a total of 10 felonies. That demonstrates extremely poor judgment and an egregious lack of due diligence on Trump’s part…but in our current reality it’s hardly even worth mentioning.
16
@Joe Bob the III. Because rudy is as utterly deranged as trump.
5
Sanders and Guiliani both claim there's nothing to see here so move on, which is equal to Sean Spicer saying that Trump drew the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration, period! There are so many lies now that we don't even pay attention to them because they are expected.
Manafort's attorney said the deal with Mueller was a full-cooperation agreement, so, keeping in mind that Putin loves to poison his enemies, Mueller better provide protection for Manafort and his family because the Russians have a lot to lose if he's going to reveal and prove the connection between them and the Trump Campaign (Trump himself has been dealing with the Russians for decades).
16
I have never seen the expression "the blind leading the blind" realized better (or worse) than listening to the sycophants who still support this administration. Clearly America has gone down a rabbit hole into some kind of alternate reality.
18
It's up to intelligent professional crime fighters, prosecutors, judges and juries to determine the veracity of information from "flipped" criminals. Not presidents.
Only a president who was deluded enough to assume he had the monopoly on the truth would have the nerve to say flipping criminals -- trading a lenient punishment for valuable information about other crimes -- should be illegal. Or a president who had an awful lot to hide.
20
“Once again an investigation has concluded with a plea having nothing to do with President Trump or the Trump campaign,”
This from a man - Guilliani - who has no idea what is in the plea agreement since it has not been made public.
Of all the people involved with Trump, Gillian has fallen the greatest distance. He has made himself into a cartoon figure. What an ignominious self diminution for a man who performed so admirably during 9-11.
25
@Bounarotti Agreed. He seemed a giant on and after 9/11. Since that time, he's devolved into a first-class bozo.
1
Giuliani did nothing admirable on 9/11.
9
@Bounarotti
Rudy was a clown with fascist tendencies before 9/11 and he remains one now.
3
It's hard to predict what Trump might do now. He is completely erratic. Maybe he will pardon Manafort. The power to pardon should not be unlimited. If Trump were to pardon Manafort as part of a cover-up of his own nefarious activities, the Supreme Court should set a limit and disallow such a pardon. It might get interesting.
6
More tongues a’ wagging. This is quickly becoming a wags to witches story.
19
Well all right; let's see if Paul can get him some 14-day type love, too! Or, maybe 14 year, in his case...it's all relative, right?
2
This right here is why there haven't been any self-centered, persecution-complex-driven tweets from you-know-who today.
12
My grandmother always said: “The best way to catch a fish is through its mouth.” That said, let no one in the White House stop Trump from tweeting this time around. He thinks he is so smart. So far, we already know he has a fondness for swimming in dangerous waters. At the next nibble, easy does it, Mueller’s beckoning lure!
8
A hurricane is blowing, tides are rising, and expect a tweet storm this weekend.
14
When will DT enter the plea?
9
My take on this is that the Mueller investigation does not want the Manafort trial to go on as it could make public some of the information the investigation has collected. Mueller would rather keep this under wraps until he's ready to issue the report and/or indict.
14
The cooperation agreement has now been made public.
There are no exceptions to the extent of cooperation by Mueller.
8
@Henry Wilburn Carroll
Now it’s DT’s turn/chance to cooperate.
1
Sorry for being so slow on the uptake. But now I understand why Trump gives no support to or understanding of the work of US Diplomats. He prefers and uses Operators.
11
A great deal of this information seems new to me, and I have been tracking the entire milieu of Trump's wrong doings as they relate the all important Trump Tower meeting.
The idea of putting some "stink" on a foreign government's presidential candidate, is horrifying.
I understand greed, wastefulness, bloated egos, but not the malice it would take to falsely portray a foreign candidate as anti-Semitic, while igniting fear/contempt in another country, Israel, against another, Ukraine, just to bend a challenging election in that not quite free country, Ukraine.
That's a crime I find almost fictional it is so out of my belief zone.
9
I imagine tweet attacks against PM are imminent.
I doubt DT pardons "snitches."
The noose is tightening.
Thank you Mr. Mueller for being a true American hero.
980
@Discerning Amen to that! Answers the question who is really draining the swamp.
2
@Discerning
I keep repeating this but the message somehow keeps getting lost. A pardon would relieve Manafort of his criminal liability, including this plea agreement. But it also obviates his 5th Amendment rights against self-incrimination, because he would no longer be under jeopardy resulting from his testimony. Therefore the government can compel him to testify, and hold him in contempt (including jail) until he testifies. Sticklers will remind us that the pardon only extended to federal crimes, which is correct. So he could still be under jeopardy for state crimes. But I think most state prosecutors would be willing to enter into agreements so he can testify. Example: He didn't pay his federal taxes. The pardon relieves him of that liability, but not the liability for failure to pay NY State taxes. So the NY AG would reach an agreement about the state taxes so he could testify.
@Discerning
"The noose is tightening."
Just what I was going to say.
"Thank you Mr. Mueller for being a true American hero."
Definitely NOT what I would say. Hope you mean it sarcastically.
He's just saving his own skin. I'll grant you that it is a positive thing that he wants to protect his family.
This is like finding an old piece of plywood in a field, lifting it up and watching the bugs scurry for cover.
938
@HighPlainsScribe
But bugs are useful!
2
@sandy
That's what Rudy said about flippers. Without cooperation you can't get wires OR bugs. This was back when he was taking out the Mafia Commission. He said Hoover didn't even believe there was a mafia organization until Rudy flipped them.
@HighPlainsScribe What a perfect description of the Trump administration. Absolutely perfect.
2
The Washington Post is reporting"
When asked if the deal with Mueller’s team is a full cooperation agreement, Downing [Manafort's attorney] replied “it is.”
The NY Times article did not explicitly provide that information.
It sounds like Manafort has decided to cut his losses. If that means giving up information about Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr, or Jared Kushner, so be it.
I think one can count on Robert Mueller to grill Manafort about the June 9, 2016 meeting at Trump Tower, at which time Manafort, Trump Jr and Kushner all were present, and in conjunction with which Trump Jr is reported to have made several phone calls to a blocked number. Donald Trump is reported to use a blocked phone number.
20
Does this mean that I may no longer see Ivanka and Jared, like two prized show poodles at the Westminster Show, strut across the WH lawn? Oh dear.
5
As Trump would say, "Believe me," Manafort remains in custody for a good reason---his own protection.
Facts are a stubborn thing and I think Trump and his entire posse of self-dealing traitors who put Russian rubles before the US Constitution are eventually going to either flee to Russia or start working in the US prison industries stamping license plates for the US Government---now that would be poetic justice. Of course, Pence would have to first see whether his God would show him a sign allowing him to pardon the entire M-1600 Gang (White House 1600 Pennsylvania).
As many are realizing across the political spectrum, Trump's fiasco of a presidency is more than scoring political points, it's the wholesale subordination to Putin's plan of sowing discord amongst America and its allies all to strengthen oligarchs in Russia, America, and those allied with Putin.
The ultimate end state for these corrosive forces is to diminish the rule of law and erode both the free press and
now apparently the internet's search engines. A prosecutor never asks a question he doesn't already know the answer to--so obviously Trump will not be taking any questions from Mr. Mueller. Believe me.
11
As Manafort has agreed to cooperate, I hope that he doesn't get poisoned by Russia.
17
Manafort attended the infamous Trump Tower meeting about Russian "orphans" (lifting sanctions for Hillary dirt) which will send shock waves through the Trump camp.
Not too soon, I imagine for Melania and Ivanka to start working on designer orange jumpsuits for Don junior and Jarrod.
18
Ha! Ha! Ha! "Lordy," as James Comey would say; Mueller isn't a brooding hen. If he has evidence Trump colluded with the Russians to fix the 2016 elections, he would have cracked Manafort open and fried what is inside, just like he did with Gen. Flynn.
3
Trump is playing checkers, poorly. Mueller is playing 3D chess, like a pro.
17
"The president railed against plea deals in general after Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty last month to breaking campaign finance laws and other charges, implicating Mr. Trump in the cover-up of a potential sex scandal during the 2016 presidential race. Mr. Trump said that trading information on someone else for lesser charges or a lighter sentence 'almost ought to be outlawed.' ” Once again, Hamlet's mother comes to mind (paraphrasing): "The man doth protest too much, methinks".
The day Manafort flipped: 45 deserves all that is coming to him. He has turned the government over to criminals who robbed and pillaged at will. Equally guilty and deserving of retribution are the repubs in congress and 45s handlers and enablers.Eternal shame to them for betrayal of their oath and their country.
Let us ensure their shameful exit on November 6. We owe this to our children and our country.
20
If I have a band of liars and criminals around me, it's pretty hard to say I'm 100% clean.
12
"Unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to 'break' - make up stories in order to get a 'deal.' Such respect for a brave man!"
Words like this from the electoral college president are incredible and confirm that there is definitely much he wants to keep from Mr. Mueller.
9
Though Sam Ervin is gone, Adam Schiff will do a fine job in exposing the criminality and venality of Trump and associates when the Democrats gain a majority in the House in November. Vote!
38
“If the broad light of day could be let in upon men’s actions, it would purify them as the sun disinfects”
Louis Brandeis - Supreme Court Justice - 1916 to 1939
The free press and our justice system is not the enemy of the people, on the contrary, it is an air purifier for the stench of corruption.
13
Talk about welfare queens. I hope he has to eat ramen.
8
America, you owe the world a story ending where all the bad guys are brought to justice. Please hurry up! We are very concerned.
30
I don't understand why people keep saying this investigation is an illegal witch hunt that must end.
The sole priority of this investigation is to determine if there is any criminal wrong doing, and follow that wrong doing wherever it may lead. Obviously they are uncovering that criminal activity.
As with tens of thousands of investigations before it, the initial investigation led by the special counsel has uncovered other, ancillary illegal acts. This is not a conspiracy or an anomaly, but a key element of the American judicial system and the rule of law.
People who accept a plea deal cannot lie to get that plea deal. All testimony must be - and is - verified and corroborated by other sources including tax docs, bank filings, emails, computer files, other testimony, etc., before it is accepted by the Special Councel as worth a plea deal. If they do lie, they will be charged and sentenced for each count against them.
I understand many people have very strong feelings about Trump, either pro or con, but our feelings for the president shouldn't impact an investigation into Russian interference in our elections. The investigation might prove out what Trump has said - that he has done nothing criminal against the people of the United States.
What I don't understand is, if folks think Trump is innocent of any wrong doing, why they wouldn't support the investigation as it pursues people who have committed crimes and potentially prove Trump's innocence.
12
@DCS
because they know he's guilty and don't care
8
From The New Yoker's "Not-The-News" satire:
Trump’s Calls to Manafort Going Straight to Voice Mail
4
Just one word encompasses this plea and cooperation agreement: sweet.
20
@JTS
If this isn't an all encompassing cooperation agreement, expect Trump to leak it on Twitter!
1
Lock them up. We need to JACK UP prison sentences for white collar crime and political corruption. 10-25 years, hard time, no early release.
40
Robert Mueller has spent a lifetime in service to this country and is a true American patriot. Godspeed Robert Mueller, Godspeed.
20
MY take: The Criminal-in-Chief has sent word to Manaford that if he pleads guilty and keeps silent, Trump will pardon him.
I urge extensive investigation by Mueller about this because it would most certainly nail Trump for unquestionable OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE.
TRUMP, more than anyone, is NOT ABOVE THE LAW. I look forward to seeing this disgrace carried off in handcuffs from the White House with Pence in tow. Nothing bad will; then happen for two years and we might even be able to reverse some crimes and pass some meaningful, honest legislation, regain our allies and deal with Russian aggression.
12
Bad news for the Carolinas. When Trump visits he'll be firing out those paper towels with extra oomph.
19
Once again, Rudy seems like a fool..At the same time that Manafort is negotiating a cooperation agreement, Rudy is telling the American public..especially Trump's base..that Trump has nothing to worry about because they know that Manafort would never do such a thing since they know his character so well..Oops!
15
I think we should watch out for a Saturday Night Massacre this weekend. I wouldn't be too surprised it Jeff Sessions and Paul Manafort are out of a job by the end of the weekend.
2
Such a brave felon. Pardon this, Mr. Crook in Chief. #FlippingFun
8
@Joe B. I think it's too late. The motive to pardon would be too obvious. Mueller would jump all over that as obstruction.
5
Thank you Robert S. Mueller III !!
13
Link here has readable PDF of Manafort filing in US District Court, DC:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/09/14/paul-manafort-pl...
4
This is the most corrupt bunch to ever grace the White House. We need to get rid of this lot. Our country is not for sale to the Russians.
21
Trump did nothing wrong on the campaign with Russia, did nothing wrong with the hurricane in Puerto Rico, did nothing wrong with the porn stars, did nothing wrong imprisoning children; he seemingly can do no wrong.
22
Many people are saying that Trump barely even knew him, he was basically just a coffee boy.
11
@ES That campaign must have drunk an awful lot of coffee given that every third person is now described as nothing more than a coffee boy.
2
@ES Thumbs up on the "many people", one of Trump's great lines.
Uho, what is he going to tweet now?
4
I can’t wait until Trump flips...the entire GOP...out of office.
15
This is a game changer .
Trump needs to get his just desserts and maybe Mueller is just the one to give it to him !
13
@KarenE Two scoops of just desserts!
3
Manafort has been up to his earlobes with the Russian mafia for years. I guess the Mueller team finally convinced him they could provide protection from the oligarchs who will be itching to silence the guy who threatens their asset in the White House. You think he's been holding out because he's stubborn? Or loyal? He's scared stiff - and he should be.
1196
@gdurt
Accordion to another NYTs story, we saw Putin send a hitman to Florida four years ago, and are now we are very alert to the likelihood he may target flippers here.
4
@gdurt
@gdurt
bingo! but very few people agreed with us.
@gdurt
NBC News is reporting that Manafort made the deal because he "...wanted to make sure that his family was able to remain safe and live a good life."
1
Oh, and didja catch the part where Manafort loses all his properties and gives up his bank accounts?
Heh-heh. I'm thinking of starting a little pool on how long it is before Trump can't take it any more, ignores the three staffers frantically waving big signs with "IGNORE MANAFORT TALK ABOUT CAROLINE RELIEF," written in them in bright crayon, and starts screeching "NO COLLUSION!"
Any takers? I got dibs on two hours, max.
22
Where do I even begin? The stink surrounding Trump and his GOP enablers is reaching epic levels. However, the following is top of mind:
1. Revolutions occur when the vast majority get tired of the elite not playing by the rules. Just ask the Founding Fathers, Marie Antoinette and Czar Nicholas II to name a few. The GOP best wake up to that fact if their claim to patriotism is going to hold any water. If their only avenue to enact their horrific policies is through suppressing the vote, obstructing all legislation proposed by a Democratic president, accepting an inept, corrupt and incompetent president, and packing the federal courts, the demise of the great American experiment will be on them.
2. How can McConnell, Grassley, Hatch and the rest of the Senate logically confirm Brett Kavanaugh, nominated by a president whose very election is deeply suspect, when they denied a hearing to Merrick Garland, nominated by a legitimately reelected president without a whiff of scandal? The answer to this rhetorical question can be found in the preceding paragraph.
1746
@Greenfish This comment belongs in the comment hall of fame.
2
@Greenfish- Revolutions are not started by folks with attention spans of the average fruit fly.
1
@Greenfish
Unfortunately the answer to number 2 is "legally".
1
As part of the agreement, Manafort has surrendered assets worth $46 million. Meuller’s probe has cost $16 million so far. $30 million is a pretty good return on investment.
95
@Morris Cody
thanks for that point!
Omitted from WH statements is that this news reinforces what we already know about the pattern of deep involvement between Trump and his close allies and Russian oligarchs, organized criminals and the Kremlin. For a fuller understanding of the meaning and context of Manafort's Russian ties, I HIGHLY recommend the new documentary "Active Measures," produced with the extensive cooperation of serious people who have studied Russian behavior for decades, such as John McCain and James Woolsey.
10
Does the prison for rich folks like Trump and Manafort have a golf course?
Maybe Mar a Lago could be comandeered as
a prison for the 1% who get convicted.
We can't expect them to endure what common
felons expect in over-packed for-profit prisons.
Trump himself is too sensitive a soul for that.
10
@Poesy I just snorted coffee out my nose reading the words "Trump" and "sensitive" and "soul" in one sentence.
8
Another witch has been caught and the hunt gets that much closer to the main "target" ranting and raving in the Oval Office about Puerto Rico and hurricane Maria. It looks as if we're entering, as Churchill said, "the beginning of the end." Paul Manafort knows why the Republican platform was suddenly changed to favor Russia, and he knows what happened in the June 9, 2016 meeting in Trump Tower, and perhaps, more importantly (if that's possible), he knows all about Russian money laundering and how Donald Trump might have been involved during all the years he spent with him. With Michael Cohen and now Paul Manafort, the Special Counsel's investigation has now reached the very inner-circle of the Trump family itself.
19
@Paul Wortman - i agree, but fear that we're actually where Churchill said, "We're not at the beginning of the end, but we are at the end of the beginning." But we have the time, and Mueller has the patience and skills, to let it develop more fully.
Huh? Yet again Giuiliani shows his stupidity (senility?).
“Once again an investigation has concluded with a plea having nothing to do with President Trump or the Trump campaign,” he said in a statement. Why would Mueller's team make a deal with Manafort if not to do with his time in the campaign? Sure the pleas were on matters unrelated to 2016, but the co-operation? What does Giuiliani think Manafort is co-operating on, the beat places to get ostrich jackets?
“The reason: The president did nothing wrong and Paul Manafort will tell the truth.” If the second half of this sentence is true then we'll come closer to finding out just untrue the first part is?
Guess we should not expect a supportive tweet towards the "Brave man" now!
6
Trump was Manafort's client in the early 80's, when he and partner Roger Stone (and Charles R. Black, and Lee Atwater) were collectively known as "The Torturers' Lobbyists".
Let's not also forget that Manafort paid $3.6 million in cash for a condo in Trump Tower, in 2006. Yeah... right... total strangers.
Trump issues a statement: "I hardly knew the guy. I have so many coffee-boys, it's hard to keep track!"
VOTE in November! Trump IS the swamp.
28
Only the best people.
21
Nothing says "only the best" like accepting "conspiracy against the United States" as part of your reduced charges deal. MAGA! Winning! Had enough yet?
42
Not a witch hunt. The witches are outing themselves.
14
The Trump charade must come to and end. America must return to a modicum of normality!
13
Hmm, I wonder who those senators were...
5
Mueller isn't giving out plea deals because he's a nice guy: if Manafort got deal it's because he's got something to offer, and Mueller knows there's someone bigger out there than a despicable, traitorous, despot-supporting lobbyist. Who could that be, I wonder?
11
This guy must be guilty as sin of a lot of dirty deeds if he agreed to give them everything they want and still the best offer they would give him was 10 years. Mob snitches don't get sentences that heavy.
26
@T Montoya
He's guilty of treason so 10 years is actually pretty light compared to the death sentence
4
Trump must be apoplectic: First he's seething over the Op-Ed in The Times allegedly penned by someone in his inner circle. THen the hurricane ruined his golf outing. Now, he's storming around the West Wing, wondering what Manafort revealed to the Special Counsel today. With all the angst engulfing him, Trump might even lose his appetite for chicken wings and Mallomars and just storm off to bed.
15
For Rudy: You do realize that a) you’re now officially the court jester, and b) sometimes it’s best to say, no comment.
43
I can so easily picture Rudy wearing one of those hats you see on jokers in a deck of cards... He seems to have lost his tiny little mind, doesn't he? Hope he gets a cell right next to Lil' Donnie Dictator's!!!
6
@Matt
I'm thinking that if it were not for the drugs the man must be on the news would have put him into full rigor mortis.
"For what will it profit a man if he gains a Lindsey Graham and forfeits his lawyer and accountant and campaign manager?"
537
@jr
lols!
2
Absolutely priceless!
2
We all changed one way or another. Sad to see Lindsey Graham turns out this way.
If nothing else, we are one step closer to President Pence pardoning Trump. And two years yet from the entire lot being voted out of office.
5
For me, I think there are three (3) fronts to the Muller inquiry.
This front (with Manafort) has to do with the money trail. It is about bank accounts and where do they lead. I think, in the end, that it will have minimal effect overall, and is merely a corroboration to and for the other two fronts.
The other front is the Stormy Daniels (and others) front that has the potential of being much more destructive. (especially as campaign finance laws are concerned) It certainly doesn't help with the ''base'' to have Avenatti on the TV each and every day talking about how the President broke laws. (moral , ethical and financial)
Then we have the last front which is actual conspiracy and/or treason relating to defraud the pubic to win an election with the help from a foreign power. ( this includes Flynn and others - which I have me money on)
All of these threads are leading up to that, We shall see.
8
@FunkyIrishman You forgot the blatant obstruction of justice going on since the Comey firing.
4
I'm far from a Trump lover, and I think there's fire amid all the smoke.
But, it may be that the fire isn't Trump's directly.
It's quite possible that he surrounded himself with people who peddled their influence, without directly accepting a quid pro quo.
In normal times (and importantly, if it emerged during the campaign,) this would be bad. Really bad.
But in the current climate, a "see, it wasn't me, no smoking gun...it was everyone around me" outcome is going to be trumpeted as a stunning repudiation...of Mueller. And about a third of us are going to do victory laps because Trump isn't provably crooked, merely surrounded himself with crooks.
Impeachment AND conviction looks exceedingly unlikely, even if a Democratic majority rules both houses.
I hope the 100 million non-voters realize that this all is the result of their apathetic non-choice. And do something about it next time. Because that is really the only way any of this changes.
Carpe diem.
14
Meanwhile republicans are scurrying to get their ill gotten Supreme Court pick confirmed before the axe falls on the neck of their golden goose. May the axe fall on all of them in November.
36
It is time to increase the IRS budget four fold and go after all these tax evaders. Why should
honest citizens have to put up with all this dishonestly?
21
13 make up a coven? Mr. Mueller is doing an excellent job so far. Trump will break Twitter yet. Russia conspired with all kinds of campaign personnel, entities, and others to put Trump in office. This needs to be stopped, and those responsible-- including in Congress--accountable.
11
I knew that when Trump tweeted
"... unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to “break” - make up stories in order to get a “deal.” Such respect for a brave man!" (Aug 22)
that we had not heard the end of that chapter. No matter what you think of his actions, you would have to admit that Trump is a poor judge of people, having hired and then fired so many, and in cases like Omorosa, multiple times.
10
He hires the ones who will love him, and then despises them for that.
2
Here’s hoping that Hurricane Manafort will be a Category 5 for trump.
25
"Witch Hunt?"......I think not. The noose is tightening around Trump's neck ;-)
14
I believe Manaforts' time behind bars in a holding cell prior to trial was a valuable educational experience. Amid the outcries that he was being treated so unfairly, it actually gave this man so accustomed to wealth, power and privilege a first hand feel of what his life could be like for years to come. Flipping and giving up some of his ill gotten gains is a small price to pay for his freedom.
2
@GA He's still going to jail.
1
I believe that Russia has learned from Afghanistan that buying people is a cheaper form of warfare as opposed the use of military force. I dislike the concept of the '50's having returned, but does the FBI need to start an full investigation of all the Branches of our Government?
3
I too thought Manafort's end game was a pardon. But Manafort remains politically very astute and has likely concluded that Trump will not be in a position to pardon him. On the contrary Trump may need test the proposition that he can pardon himself.
4
The careful and measured progress Mueller’s team is making always gives me hope that some institutions in our country are still working. It gives me hope that we may yet rid ourselves of this undemocratic president, this spoiled wanna-be emperor. It would be evidence that our system can withstand and remove malignant and incompetent leaders.
And then I remember the Republican members in Congress... you know, the ones who are bending over backwards making excuses for the inexcusable. Even without the possibility that he conspired with the Russians to obtain power, Trump is an amoral, unethical, and incompetent leader who flouts the rule of law. If Trump is proven to be complicit in plotting with Russian government operatives to help himself obtain power, what will the GOP say then?
31
The GOP will say nothing. They are, to a man/woman, traitors to their country and its democratic principles.
14
It's hard work being a criminal mastermind. You have to keep track of so many lies, worry about who might flip, watch your back for "resistance" operators among your senior advisors. It just never ends.
7
Back and forth, back and forth I go. All this coverage of the dueling Category 4 Storms is more than I can take!! I suspect Hurricane Manafort is going wreak for more widespread devastation in its wake than Florence when all is done. Hope Trump is preparing his evacuation plan!
6
Thank you Mr Manafort for thinking you could beat Robert Mueller. Maybe now all of the truth will come out. Mr President - what goes around comes around - you give no loyalty and get none in return.
7
The other shoe to drop is a complete rout of the GOP in congress and the senate in the November mid-terms.
'Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.
16
Ken Starr has just written a book on his own investigation of Bill Clinton. The Mueller book on this investigation will be the most fascinating account of any event in the entire American history.
10
@Merlin Ken Starr should shut up and deal with his shame over his actions at Baylor. He's a disgrace.
7
Nobody in their right mind would risk anything for Trump. He wouldn’t for them.
16
Mr. Manafort clearly does not think that the continuing campaign by the Trump Administration to undermine the Special Counsel is having any influence on the Northern Virginia jury pool.
(I would name administration officials, but there are too many to list.)
2
Mueller is incredible. Anyone who goes up against him is working against someone who is single-mindedly focused on finding the truth, within the rule of law, with patience, tolerance and production. I would not want to be in their shoes!
42
Dear Mr. President,
At all of your rallies, the speakers have blared "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by The Rolling Stones. I always thought that was an odd choice for you, but, to each his own, I always say. For your listening pleasure in the days ahead, I suggest you add two songs:
"Another One Bites The Dust" by Queen
"Happy Trails to You" by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans.
Keep smiling!
35
@Tom Q
And Springsteen's "I'm Going Down."
7
@Tom Q
And REM’s “World Leader Pretend”
Trump was not paying Manafort, with Manafort being in a difficult financisl position. Was Manafort expecting later opportunities, or was he going to be paid for his work with Trump from another source?
2
@Nigel Pedersen
He owed some Russian oligarch connected to Putin $10 million. Maybe this was his way of working that off. He was giving them inside skinny reports on the campaign, on a regular basis. He was also in touch with his former Russian inside man in Ukraine, who was a Russian intelligence officer.
4
“The mills of Mueller grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small”.
16
@tardx
Unlike the warning on the coffee grinder not to do so, you CAN regrind this ground down man with new charges.
I guess the 'good guy' wasn't so tough after all. Conservatives should start vetting Pence again.
6
I sure hope Manafort sings and sings well for Mueller.
11
That's how many guilty now? I can't keep track.
5
Our criminal justice system has many, many issues, but over the past hundred years it has sometimes shown itself capable of being the best in the world. As with Watergate, slow but steady led by an honest patriot like Robert Mueller can cut through the lies and the politics to the cores of corruption, malfeasance, and treason.
Sic Transit Gloria Mundi
Or, to use another phrase Trump apparently misunderstands:
Equal Justice Under Law.
7
Trump’s cohorts in Congress are toeing a very fine line now. Yes, they have advanced their political agenda by keeping Trump at the helm a little while longer. But soon enough, they would have crossed that point of no return where they will be marching with their mindless twit as accomplices and co-conspirators in unpardonable crimes against the American people. Flake and Corker were wise for declaring early on that they would rather bail out than be part of their party’s perfidy.
14
There won't be a pardon. They have more on Manafort. Even he received a pardon, there would likely be additional charges. The tax charges were just to shake him up. He should have plead and cooperated before the first trial. His team underestimated the potential jury pool of Northern Virginia.
So, here we are with another plea deal, cooperation agreement and jail time. I think Donald Trump Jr. is next along with a breakdown on Twitter by our President.
6
These people will do or say anything Mueller wants them to say about Trump in order to get a deal.
It's been over a year. Let's see some proof or end this illegal witch hunt.
42
@Don
To paraphrase the oft quoted line by the much loved character Inigo Montoya "I do not think the thing that you refer to is the thing that you refer to."
2
@Don
If you want to end this LEGAL witch hunt, you might persuade Trump to testify himself, face to face with Mueller.
As it is, several of his top campaign advisers and some of his appointees have proven, likely illegal, contacts with Russia that look an awful lot like conspiracy with a foreign enemy actor.
The dominoes keep falling. And falling.
11
@Don. Seriously, that's your take on this article? So it's come to this. The last line of defense for this President is that this long list of criminals who he appointed to key positions and were present at critical meetings are all self-serving liars, therefore the President must be innocent. I think I've fallen down the rabbit hole!
6
With the Manafort plea, now is not the time to start celebrating. We need remember that as Mr. Mueller's noose tightens around Trump's neck, the more dangerous Trump becomes.
These past two years have shown us that Trump is a hateful, mentally unstable man, even in his "best" moments, like when he's surrounded by thousands of his adoring base.
So we need only imagine what this man is capable of, as he sees his Presidency in jeopardy. And yes, he sees the Presidency as very much "his" and not the people's.
The fact is that Trump could still pardon Manafort, despite the plea agreement. Every signal Trump has sent in these past few weeks is that Sessions will be gone after mid-terms. Just as Trump picked a Brett Kavanaugh to support his "get out of jail" card while in office, Trump will find a toadying Attorney General who will do his bidding and end Mr. Mueller's investigation.
It is entirely possible that Mr. Mueller's findings will never see the light of day, unless some true patriot comes forward and discloses them.
We are approaching the most dangerous time in Trump's term. Trump understands that he answers to no one. He has a large, armed, rabid minority of Americans who will also do his bidding, as he installs himself as our nation's first dictator.
Once Trump sees how easy it is for him to dispatch Mr. Mueller, he will then proceed on to manufacture yet another lie as a pretext to cancel the 2020 elections. Neither he nor his rabid followers will go quietly.
33
Everything you need to know about Donald J. Trump can be understood by this simple phrase: follow the money.
58
“Once again an investigation has concluded with a plea having nothing to do with President Trump or the Trump campaign,” he said in a statement. “The reason: The president did nothing wrong and Paul Manafort will tell the truth.” -Giuliani
BUT from the charging document below:
"...Specifically, MANAFORT conspired to act and acted as an agent of the Government of Ukraine, the Party of Regions (a Ukrainian political party whose leader Victor Yanukovych was president of Ukraine"
So basically, Trump literally hired a foreign agent of Ukraine (which was a vassal state of Russia, so in essence he hired a Russian agent) to run his campaign for President of the United States... and of course, this is only the beginning; one sentence from the 76 page charging document.
So even though "America's Mayor" Giuliani has released a statement saying this had nothing to do with Trump, that's such an obvious lie it should only be met with a rain of spit and the echo of bitter historical laughter.
Every day his former reputation rolls over again in its grave.
16
Only a matter of time now. Trump will likely resign and blame the fact it's been a witch hunt and he'll victimize himself. He's already begun making public statements to the effect of how can someone impeach someone who's done a great job? So sad. He really has no insight. Which has also made him easily manipulated with people on the inside who are planning to takeover the moment he's gone. Which will be even scarier, sadly.
19
Manafort’s cooperation with the Special Counsel investigation ends any chance of a pardon from Trump since he regards “flippers” as disloyal. Pardoning Manafort in order to suppress any damaging evidence he may have was never going to be a fruitful strategy for Trump anyway.
First, it would be additional fodder for an obstruction of justice investigation against Trump. He would like us to think the pardon power is ‘absolute’ but if he uses it for corrupt ends then his legal jeopardy is definitely arguable.
Second, Manafort was convicted of 5 counts of federal tax fraud. There are 5 charges of corresponding state tax fraud that could also be brought. Doubly jeopardy does not apply because filing fraudulent federal and state tax returns are separate criminal acts. The state charges could also be used a means to get Manafort’s cooperation and Trump is powerless to pardon state-level crimes.
9
For me, I think there are three (3) fronts to the Muller inquiry.
This front (with Manafort) has to do with the money trail. It is about bank accounts and where do they lead. I think, in the end, that it will have minimal effect overall, and is merely a corroboration to and for the other two fronts.
The other front is the Stormy Daniels (and others) front that has the potential of being much more destructive. (especially as campaign finance laws are concerned) It certainly doesn't help with the ''base'' to have Avenatti on the TV each and every day talking about how the President broke laws. (moral , ethical and financial)
Then we have the last front which is actual conspiracy and/or treason relating to defraud the pubic to win an election with the help from a foreign power. ( this includes Flynn and others - which I have me money on)
All of these threads are leading up to that, We shall see.
3
One can only hope that the prosecutors were canny enough to require Manafort to cooperate with their investigations even if he should be granted a pardon from the president, a desperate move that very well might happen.
3
@Korean War Veteran
This deal does not prevent the government from charging him with other crimes, like conspiring with Russians to impact this election.
It is very unlikely that Manafort will incriminate Trump or his family. The real prospect of a presidential pardon will drive Manafort. This is consistent with Trump’s well known first principle. Personal loyalty trumps every other value.
1
Am I correct in understanding that the plea agreement impacts only the charges that have yet to go to trial and not the charges on which Manafort has already been convicted?
3
@It’s News Here Yes that is correct.
1
@It’s News Here yes.
@It’s News Here
And that also means the government can still charge him for other crimes. We may have to wait for his next trial to get him to tell us what happened in Trump Tower.
it's a small thing but am I the only one who thinks it's hypocritical the movers and shakers of the world can afford a $18,000.00 ostrich jacket but thinks his taxes are too high?
26
Despite what message this sends about white collar crime, obviously the preeminent issue is "what did he know and when did he know it." The dominos continue to fall. Now, it is up to Mueller to get his report out well in advance of the midterms.
1
The ship is sinking. If we think trump has been acting outrageously up to this point it's about to get much worse. He is not someone who will admit to his lies and malfeasance; he'll try to take everyone down, and I do mean everyone, with him.
5
I don't think it's going to be possible for me to overenjoy seeing Rudy, Trump, Sekulow et al flapping about as they try to get out from under the spectacle of Trump's very own chosen campaign manager copping a plea.
Honsetly, schadenfreude ain't in it. I just wish they'd come up with some new whoppers; the whole, "Why, the President hardly knew the man, and anyway he didn't have much to do with the campaign or the Administration," is really getting boring.
2
My fear is what institutions Mr. Trump will further damage as he thrashes on his way down.
12
This is as good a time as any to ask again: what "deals" were struck between Putin and Trump in Helsinki?
17
@Juvenal451
Did you happen to see that notebook Putin was handling during his hours of Trump talking and carried with him inot that disaster of a presser? Covered in fresh notes, but Trump can't even recall what was agreed to. Did he happen to sign anything?
Meanwhile back at the ranch the EPA is being gutted, the CFPB is being dismantled, Dodd–Frank is being compromised, huge chunks of public lands are being sold off, and all while the FBI is being disemboweled.
58
Geez, I have never signed up for Twitter before, but I am thinking about it now.
6
Thank God! We've been waiting for this moment and praying for it, since Manafort was forced to leave the campaign after 6 months. It was obvious that he was guilty and was in conspiracy with Russian oligarchs to get the Ukrainian platform at the Republican Party Convention altered and I had little doubt that was in conjunction with Trump, our 'so-called- president, as Trump was clearly onboard with Russia and Russian operatives wanted him elected. The day of reckoning is at hand. Justice will be served. No one is above the law in America. You've got to go to Russia for that!
6
Three cheers for Mueller!!!
6
as good as this sounds, it is tempered by the fact that there was a joint defense agreement and Trump and Manafort's attorneys have been a constant communication. Even if the joint defense agreement has to be jettisoned - Trump already knows what Manafort has to say and the pardon is in the mail. However, if Manafort doesn't have to serve one more day in jail, do I actually care if the result is Trump is hoisted on his own petard and faces criminal charges. Nah, don't care. Manafort will be free but broke and Trump will be (ultimately) disgraced- not re-elected, and face numerous charges as a private citizen including tax evasion and money laundering. Justice enough for me.
5
The saying, "It ain't over til the fat lady sings".seems appropriate.Mr.Manafort has plenty to sing about when it comes to collusion with the Russian government.The oligarchs paid him huge sums of money-was it to subvert our elections?
6
A defendant only gets offered a plea deal if he or she can offer prosecutors valuable information to help them go after a bigger fish.
There aren't many fish in the Trump orbit bigger than Paul Manafort.
So who, exactly, does the Special Council already have enough incriminating evidence on, that it is worth offering Manafort this deal so he can help them tighten the legal noose?
The answer has to be Trump's family, if not Trump himself. No other person associated with the campaign is a better prize to the Special Council than Manafort is, or hasn't already been carted off in handcuffs. I cannot figure out any other scenario in which this would be logical for Mueller and his team.
This is a very very bad day for Trump and a very very good day for those of us who value rule of law.
31
To Trump's dismay, the most successful "witch hunt" in history continues...
6
Was he still wearing that Botox smile in court?
3
@Jim Steinberg
I heard his pocker face was missing in action. He was downcast and depressed.
"The chickens are coming home to roost." Whose left to charge but Jr, Jared, Ivanka, & Donald? I'll bet Eric is glad he was left out of the loop. If Justice is served Mueller will get Sanders, Stephen Miller, Bannon, & Rudy.
4
@dbl06 . Please also include Hannity and McConnell to that awful list.
2
It is definitely a "Witch hunt" where a lot of witches are being found and prosecuted. Now, we just need to get the head witch, Trump, and impeach and prosecute.
2
Welcome aboard, Paul.
2
What about Konstantin Kilimnik, or "Kosta of the GRU"? He's on the Manafort indictment too. He provides the direct link from what Manafort did during those years representing Putin's interests in Ukraine as well as when he "needed" to get involved with the Trump campaign, and then became Trump's campaign manager -- to Putin himself. Once a spy for Russian intelligence, in this case -- the GRU, in charge of hacking our election -- ALWAYS a spy -- so Putin has said himself in other contexts. Why has this direct connection to Putin been ignored? That in itself must be a very revealing story! Or else we must be both ignorant and stupid. Or Russian assets on Putin's payroll? (Kevin McCarthy's words).
5
I just watched a very disturbing yet enlightening documentary called Active Measures. What's happening in the US is basically a Putin playbook come to life. All concerned citizens should watch this. Manafort, Trump, Stone, Flynn, etc.... This goes back decades. And even worse, it's not just the US that's being manipulated. Similar operatives, including pawn leaders like Trump, have been, or are, in place in other countries (Georgia, UK with Brexit, more....). It's hard to watch. Feels like a Hollywood blockbuster movie... But it's real!
5
Why would any ethical person choose Paul Manifort as a campaign manager? Who is going to be next to stand in front of Lady Justice?
3
I'm telling you, we will need to make room on Mt. Rushmore for Bob Mueller's face. He will be a hero to the Republic.
13
If Trump pardons Manafort -- on top of Arpaio and Libby and DeSousa and soon-to-be Jared and Ivanka and ad infinitum -- would someone please tell me what good The Law is?
I mean, why would any Federal prosecutor bust a gut to find someone guilty of anything, if that someone is just going to get pardoned anyway? Like, why even open the briefcase?
Does no one else see the threat to our entire legal system the Orange One poses?
4
Trump is so delusional that he actually believes, apparently, that people like Manafort and Cohen will do serious time rather than turn on him . . . when they all know full well that he would turn on them in an instant if it were in his own selfish interest.
The prosecution let go of an awful lot of charges against Manafort. One can only assume that they gave up a lot to get a lot. Especially since they had all the leverage and Manafort had none.
Trump has got to be getting very worried right about now. All his yes men, for all their tough guy talk about not flipping, are, when faced with jail time, flipping like a mackerel on the beach. These are selfish, unprincipled men who have always looked out for themselves, just like Trump, and will continue to do so now.
4
A paul has been cast over Trump's presidency.
20
All I have to say is, thank goodness for Robert Mueller. I would prefer that the president of the United States – whoever that might be, whenever - be innocent of any criminal wrongdoing in a conspiracy to violate U.S. election laws. But, if he or she is not, we deserve to know about it. I do not want to live in a banana republic where elections are corrupt shams, and illegitimate leaders control every branch of the government, including the courts, legislature and military.
13
It is not important to impeach. It is important to ultimately convict and put Trump behind bars. Let's get our priorities straight. This is a "Witch Hunt," and it is the season of the witch. Get your Pumpkins out, the "Orange One," of course. Thanks to the baby jesus.
8
@Reuben Ryder
Cue up that song by Donovan, "must be the season of the Witch."
I believe we deserve a full accounting of the Russian oligarch money laundered by everyone associated with Donald J. Trump and Donald J. Trump himself.
11
Guilty. Vote out Republicans for change. Republicans will back Trump no matter what. Vote; Vote; Vote. Ray Sipe
9
The government will seize 4 homes & some bank accounts. But he gets to keep the jackets, right?
4
I guess Trump was wrong. Manafort is going to turn him in.
6
Manafort could still receive a pardon from a grateful President Pence.
2
@ea Sorry to burst your bubble - his guilty plea does complicate any possible pardon.
Only after he testifies. The information gets out. And my sense Pence is also complicit.
The last man standing down, now proceed to the criminal family, Mr. Mueller.
3
Ah, so the big fish finally folds his hand. I suspect the fat lady will be singing by late November or December. Then will see for sure about that shooting on 5th Ave. thing.
I'm guessing that Mr. Manafort & Co. didn't come all this way only to report a few minor infractions and oversights.I expect this is going to be a bombshell, a once in many generations event. We've already seen "obstruction in plain sight" with our own eyes & ears.
Apologies for the poor mixed metaphors.
4
It appears that Witch Hunting Season has been extended indefinitely.
4
Trump has been trumped!
1
@Heidi Z
John Oliver has pegged it: Stupid Watergate
Only the best people...
5
more evidence daily of the crimes that the trump crime family, associates and co-conspirators have committed for money. more evidence daily as well as to the complete depravity of the man known as the donald as to his lack of moral character, and his continual need to lie about everything, anytime, anywhere. what is not amazing is how silent citizens continue to be. there should be revolution in the streets to reclaim our democracy from this poser.
4
Manafort's deal with the Special Counsel has nothing to do with Trump? Right — like Hurricane Florence has nothing to do with the Carolinas.
5
For Today weather forecast in Washington DC after Manafort plea deal, you can expect a "Twiterstorm", the like we have never seen before with the eye of the storm located around the White House.
5
@Chaks They must have the president tied up somewhere in the WH. His twitter account has only been retweeting news about the OTHER hurricane to hit the east coast today.
Clearly, though, he knew what was coming today. That explains his crazier than normal tweets yesterday.
1
The Art of the Deal
6
I want to know who gets the ostrich jacket.
6
Vote in November.
We need a Congress to protect us from Trump...a Congress that does its job.
Let the Republicans learn that America will not stand for Trump and his crooked cronies nor the Republican Senators/Reps' obsequiousness where they are willfully blind and they put their party before our country.
8
Take his houses, his t-shirts and underwear, his tea cup collection and his possum coat, but please,-- please, Mr. Prosecutor, don't throw me in the briar patch. So, now Manafort is finally down on his luck and is wondering why he wanted to slip that sanction relief plank for Russia into the GOP platform. My best guess is that he ran out of Rubles and no one was taking his calls. I'll bet that he is standing three inches shorter when he stands before the judge and speaks, "Yes, Your Honor, I did it and I'm sorry". Maybe he and Bernie Madoff can become pen palls and bemuse about prison spam variety and smashed oatmeal.
4
Don Jr., Erik and Jared are next.
9
I can not speculate on what (if anything) Manafort has to offer by way of his plea-deal.
I can only say that ANY person looking, hearing about, reading or seeing the amount of allegations against the trump administration can not come away without the feeling that something really wrong here.
Think about it. Sexual pay offs, secret meetings with Russians, over 5000 untruths to the American people by trump in less than 20 months, racist tendencies, the inability to condemn Neo-Nazis in our country, repeatedly attacking the press as 'The Enemy of the People', weakening international alliances, polluting the environment, tying to destroy healthcare..the list could go on for pages.
In a normal situation anyone of these things would be reason enough to throw them out.
9
@Lalo
The ones that see nothing wrong are your Republicans in Congress, the enablers who look the other way, while Trump destroys our democratic institutions, attacks the FBI and the Justice Dept., destroys 70 year alliances with decent European countries, and sucks up to Putin. Remember these cowards in November - the ones that put party ahead of country.
3
Let none of us ever forget that Paul Manafort, who has laundered money, hid assets in offshore bank accounts, lied on his tax returns, represented foreign countries and done whatever will be proved while he was the Trump campaign manager, will likely get away with absolutely no prison time at all.
Meanwhile our prisons and jails are filled with people on minor drug charges while - yet again - rich, white, Christian males like Texan Ethan Couch, who killed four people in a DUI, get "sentenced" to rehab at a facility in Malibu, California.
While Mr. Mueller does his job, let's not lose sight of the "justice" system in America and who it favors. And who it actually punishes.
4
@Elise My understanding of the deal is that he will still do significant prison time.
@Elise
Equal justice under the law - sad joke. Some are more equal than others. Like that white Stanford U student that raped an unconscious woman. What did he get? Three months. If that had been a black kid from the inner city, he would have gotten 20 years.
Unlike all major news websites, for Foxnews.com I had to scroll and scroll and scroll to find this development buried in the third tier of news categories... one can make allowances for Florence, and even “Pelosi’s war on coal” (rolls eyes), but there were 70 stories before this one...
You know who is the real “enemy of the people”?
Those who are hidden in Foxholes...
155
Donnie, is Paul Manafort still a great guy?
4
I do not know Trump’s direct ties to Russia. I will wait for Paul Manafort to tell me.
"...with a plea having nothing to do with President Trump.."
No, Mueller is taking a couple of decades off Manafort's sentence because he's such a nice guy. But you keep telling your client that Rudolph. He's unstable and unpredictable enough as is; when the tsunami finally hits, better that he not see it coming.
When it's all over Rudolph and your own reputation - such as it was - is in tatters, you can spend your remaining years reflecting on whether your blind sycophantry to the most odious president in American history was all worth it.
6
@Maggy Carter
maybe Giuiliani was saying that what he pleaded guilty to had nothing to do with Trump. What Mueller wants definitely does!
2
So where are the prosecutions of Tony Podesta (brother of Hillary's campaign manager John) and Greg Craig (Obama's former white house counsel). Both participated in Manafort's lobbying on behalf of "Pro-Soviet" Ukrainian politicians and made millions. Neither registered as "foreign agents." These are publicly disclosed facts!!
The prosecutions of Manafort, Cohen, etc. are all designed to squeeze them into making up facts to support the otherwise unsupported collusion narrative. The NYT and its readers better hope the full power of the federal government, abused so badly here in a nakedly political manner, doesn't ever come after them.
2
When I was a kid I hated children who kicked sand. Still do, come to think of it.
2
What? Do I hear a fat lady singing in the far-off distance?
3
If this is a witch hunt it sure is catching a lot of witches.
2121
@Eric the actual law take careful planning and time devoted to proof and details...
@Eric So did the one in Salem. Not really a good analogy.
Right! Tally ho, Robert Mueller.
It is a bitter irony that in the Vietnam war we had on one hand Mueller commanding a platoon of Company H, 2nd Battalion (“The Magnificent Bastards”), 4th Marines and its mission “to close with and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver, or repel the enemy’s assault by fire and close combat”. He was awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. On the other hand trump at the same time was immersing himself in the Manhattan party scene and cynically boasting that “fighting venereal disease was his Vietnam” A disgusting war coward, he deliberately evaded sacrifice not once but five serparate times in the Vietnam war ... a draft dodger par excellence. Over 50,000 americans sacrificed their lives as he carried on his self-serving hedonistic life style with absolutely no regrets or second thoughts.
50
@John Townsend
Guess his reaponse JFK's "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country"
was "Nothing, suckers!"
2
Mueller better get Manafort a food taster, and keep him away from anyone that the extended Trump crime family (which now includes Russian intelligence services - SAD) might have access to.
11
It's funny how the threat of incarceration focuses the mind - at least for Manafort. I don't think it's sunk in yet for Trump.
8
Trump’s mind can not focus on anything other than Trump.
1
Feeling like there is light at the end of the tunnel! Poetic justice would most certainly be Mueller's team, with increasing cooperation from Trump's corrupt cronies, finally bringing down the whole Trump family and their criminal businesses.
18
Curtains for the Trump administration; unfortunately the people who support/ed him will not be as readily vanquished.
9
The Trumpster has a point! Almost everyone IS trying to get him off the throne - count me in. Go!Go!Go while the going is good.
20
Whatever else the Trump White House might say, it can't get around the fact that the person Donald Trump hired to serve as his campaign manager and who served for a number of crucial months has been convicted of or pled guilty to a total of 10 felony charges, having escaped by 1 vote conviction on 10 others. Is this just another sign that Donald Trump hires only "the best people"? What chance is there that Trump now will pardon Manafort? I would guess the answer is "zero," unless he's prepared to pardon him for crimes he has committed but for which he hasn't been tried and convicted. Without that, Manafort would be exposed to more indictments. Pardoning him for them would, of course, reveal the nature of the crimes about which Manafort has offered to be a cooperating witnessed. But such a pardon would just mean that Manafort would be brought before the Grand Jury and compelled to testify under threat of a charge of contempt for failing to do so. Another possibility would be to grant Manafort a pardon of the kind Pres. Gerald Ford gave to Richard Nixon--i.e. a pardon exempting him from prosecution for all the possible crimes he might have committed. Both strategies would be grounds for impeachment. Perhaps the Republicans in the House and Senate are debased enough to accept that, but one can pray that enough American citizens would be revulsed by such a procedure.
10
So now Trump is on panic on steroids. His public Tweeter promise of a pardon did not work. His admiration and sympathy did not work.
Bad timing. The president should concentrate on his country and Florence. Not that he is good at it.
2
Looking forward to the next Donald tweet about this brave and honorable man.
9
Ever so slowly, the noose is tightening. Mueller's team would be loathe to accept a plea bargain if Manafort had nothing of value to offer.
20
@TyroneShoelaces
Correct. If Manafort wanted to plead guilty, he has the right to do so. But that doesn't mean the government has to give him a deal on the rest of the counts and/or sentence recommendation.
2
It's interesting how many people Trump surrounded himself with have been guilty of crimes. Poor guy. That's some bad luck.
17
@J
Imagine how bad it would be if he hadn't chosen the "best people"!
1
@J, there really should be a sarcasm font. :)
1
Hurricane Donald, a category 5 tweetstorm, is being tracked. The storm is expected to hit the DC area by early afternoon. Damage is expected to mostly affect the area surrounding the White House though some models show the storms path heading north to Trump Tower or south to Mar-A-Lago resort.
116
@Dave in Seattle
Brilliant, Dave..!!
Hurricane Mueller, a category 5 Indictment storm, is being tracked. Unfortunately FEMA has announced that it is an UNPRECEDENTED storm which is proving almost IMPOSSIBLE to track. The storm appears to moving in search of all the available facts and the evidence -- in search of the TRUTH.
They have tried to model it on the Supercomputers, but the systems were over-loaded and blew a fuse..!!
Couldn't cope with all the lies in the tweets, perhaps.
:-)
But by the best estimates from AI && human enhanced intelligence - the Agency now believes it will (probably) make land-fall in about Dec 2018.
In MOSCOW..!!!
Have a good day, Dave..!
Mueller gave up a lot as he likely had enough to put a man of Manafort's age in prison for several life sentences. So what did he get? Manafort had to make a proffer to get these charges dropped. Let us hope that Manafort traded a smoking gun with Trump's DNA on it.
17
Thank you Robert Mueller for draining the swamp. There are just a few big fish left.
18
It makes me wonder just how many other ultra wealthy (aka greedy) individuals in this country, and elsewhere, are committing crimes like money laundering and tax fraud... and are getting away with it.
13
Probably corresponds with the number with bank accounts in the Caymans, Turks and Caycos etc
1
@Dee
They get away with it because they’re rich.
As Shakespeare said. ‘Through tattered clothes great vices do appear; robes and furred gowns hide all. Plate sin with gold and the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks. Arm it in rags, a pygmy’s straw does pierce it’
(King Lear)
Manafort and Putin. 2 Big questions. Did Putin finally give Paul Manafort his approval to confess and flip? Are we keeping Mr. Mueller and his team safe from harm?
9
The fact that Paul Manafort did not plead guilty much earlier in the investigation shows what a tough cookie he is. Never did he fully understand that Robert Mueller is a prosecutor who eats tough cookies for breakfast.
Thank you Mr. Mueller.
219
@Thomas Amen, brother.
4
@Thomas-Agreed. Prior to his "closed-door, not-under-oath-testimony" to the Senate Intel Committee, Manafort said that he'd be "willing to provide ONLY a single transcribed interview to Congress, which WOULD NOT be available to the Judiciary Committee members or staff." Manafort gets to dictate the terms to a U.S. Senate investigative committee? He must have have been convinced he had mighty powerful friends.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/us/politics/paul-manafort-russia-trum...
1
He has -- and is sharing -- some major information if he is getting off this easy.
13
Houses and bank accounts being seized? If we the people pursue Trump and all of his partners in crime, we might be able to pay for the ridiculous GOP tax plan.
51
Pretty sure the endgame is not actually finding collusion, but finding out exactly how the Russians have Trump "over a barrel" (to quote Steele). Manafort is big part of figuring out how that has occurred. In fact, I would bet Trump is less "colluding" and more "completely compromised." Full investigation of Trump's tax returns would be another big find.
49
When Manafort tells Mueller what he knows about the Trump Tower meeting, and Trump finally is brought down: nominate Mueller for the Nobel Peace Prize, since he will save the U.S. from its self-inflicted awfulness, and thereby save truth and hope for the rest of the world.
32
Level 1000 tweet hurricane incoming!! Manafort will probably get more Trump's staffers involved, along with Jared and Junior.
The prospect of a Trump's resignation deal after he pardon his minions could start to become plausible.
7
@Tristan Roy
Trump will not resign UNLESS he's got a guarantee from Pence that he'll get a pardon, 'cos once he leaves the White House he'll be liable for all crimes he's committed, will have to answer subpoenas and, if nothing else, will surely be guilty of perjury.
Maybe he should get himself some real lawyers.
1
I agree with one thing: it should be against the law to break the law and there is no greater example of that than Donald Trump and his co-conspirators.
Even I, a 75 year old son of the Old South, can figure that one out. 52 days until I cast my vote for the Democratic ticket: the first time I've done so in 30 years. Having witnessed the abdication of responsibility by the Republican congress, I can never grant them another dollar or another vote. They have betrayed my trust!!
701
@forgetaboutit
I personally thank you. As an added note, I would not make fun of your regional accent, if you have one.
4
@forgetaboutit
If only you and your fellow GOP voters had recognized that fact in 1980 when they started breaking your trust.
3
@forgetaboutit Glad that you have seen the light. I have never voted for a republican and never, ever will.
"Mr. Manafort, who had repeatedly insisted that he would not cooperate with the special counsel"... And how is that going for you Paul?
22
Time to call your senators again, and Collins and Murkowski. There can be no vote on Kavanaugh with this news.
243
@Colleen M
Exactly, Colleen. Your post should have been designated a NYT Picks.
3
@Colleen M
Perhaps Senator Murkowski, but it is evident that Susan Collins is a lost cause.
On the other hand, the Republicans that should be approached are the those that have shown at least some acknowledgment that the ideology and tactics that brought Donald Trump to the White House are flawed. As it happens, they also have the least to lose. Two of those would be Bob Corker and Jeff Flake.
However, I don't believe that either of those two are susceptible to such pressure, because they have long been schooled in the seductive ideology that capitalism is the highest expression of human interaction: that money is king, and that those who have it should set the rules that the rest of us must follow: That to reform society other that that is heresy, and due to fail. and that it is useless to try to restrain unfettered human nature because the powerful are the only ones who count.
1
Its over for Trump. Let's see how much damage we will all have to live as we watch a "President" unravel in real time.
10
@Joe Barron, so, it can get worse? Ugh.
@Joe Barron
sadly, we've said that before....but maybe, just maybe!
Wonder who will flip first, Jared , Jr, or Ivanka? Melania would in a heartbeat, if she had anything to tell!!
1