The GOP has always been filled with loons. Think Joe McCarthy.
Think Ollie North.
Falling on swords is a way of life.
16
Manafort better pray Trump stays in office long enough to pardon him. If Trump goes (read: is impeached) Manafort's hopes will ride on the largess of President Pence, who will be far less likely to risk being tainted by the Trump fiasco.
4
There's no such thing in Trumpworld as lying, just Alternative Facts.
4
One thing is for sure .. we are in for more drama. Trump will surely pardon Manafort, and McConnell will not protect Mueller (the House can't do it alone). It would seem that Jan, 2019 is the time for Mueller to come with a full report. It will be a happy (or hellish) new year.
9
Criminals always think they can outsmart everyone else and get away with it. Manafort has been involved in dodgy business activities his entire life and until entering Trumpworld, relatively free of concern. He figured the president would take care of him. Sure, Trump's loyalty is deep and pure. When that didn't materialize he grabbed a plea rather than face another trial. However, entering into an arrangement with a foreign entity to sway an election is far more serious than money laundering. It sounds a lot like self-protection and buying time, hoping that by choosing his information the Special Counsel would not dig deeper.
Well, oops.
10
Wheeling and dealing to the tune of many millions of dollars - maybe if Manafort did not hold up his end of his bargains, a prison stretch looks comfortable compared to what his enablers might do to him. It is after all a lot of money, the kind of sums no one gives (or takes) lightly.
Will patiently wait for Mueller’s report before jumping to conclusions though...
3
Allegedly lied. This is a very unique case. The prosecutors are leaning hard on people who would normally not be prosecuted in order to get to Trump. They have had a very heavy hand here. We shall see.
2
It may turnout that the worst thing that happened to 45 and company, was citizen Donald J. Trump run and winning the presidency of the USA.
And at the end, we all lose.
14
Trump had a joint defense agreement with former campaign chairman Paul Manafort. This agreement is presumably related to all aspects of the ongoing Russia probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller. The president’s lead attorney, Rudy Giuliani, confirmed the agreement and said that President Trump’s team was regularly in contact with Manafort’s own attorneys. Giuliani also confirmed that the arrangement allowed both sides to share confidential information with one another.
This agreement was supposed to have been terminated once Manafort signed a plea deal. Who knows if it was?
This means that Trump and Manafort were probably corroborating on answers to Muellers questions. Now that Trump turned in his answers, Mueller has said that Manafort lied. This is just like cheating on a test and both get the wrong answers.
8
What Manafort knows or doesn't know isn't important now.
It's a suspenders and belt issue. While Mueller could have used honest testimony from Manafort to support his investigation, it's actually redundant. He already has the information he needs to bring three strong cases against Trump: aiding and abetting Russian meddling in the 2016 election, campaign finance fraud, and obstruction of justice.
What's happening now appears to an end-game tug-o-war between what Trump wants to get away with versus what Mueller can or ultimately will nail him for. And presently, with bags of fresh testimony from Gates, Cohen, Stone, et al, plus all the other information Mueller has that we don't know about, Mueller appears to have the weight advantage.
Trump will never admit it, but he's outwitted, outmanned, outdone. He can attempt to pardon all the Manafort-like miscreants he wants, but ultimately, he won't escape the tightening jaws of justice.
16
Ever since I first read about Manafort's activities in the Ukraine I have wondered why Ukrainian politicians would find Manafort's work to be worth that kind of money.
They hired Manafort to tell them how do deal with Ukrainian politics?
More likely, they hired him to influence American policy, which he did, without registering as a lobbyist.
I don't buy the idea that he's lying because his brain is so scrambled by a personality disorder than he doesn't know truth from fiction.
It can seem like that, but it's usually because the interviewer hasn't been able to appreciate the criminal's own understanding of the situation.
Bear in mind that Trump has been deposed a number of times, with no perjury conviction. He knows truth from fiction and he knows how to avoid crossing the line when there is a real penalty.
9
According to the “Paul Manafort Defense Fund” website: “Donors should consult their tax advisors. Trustees may, in their discretion, reject any gifts they deem inappropriate. Donations from foreign individuals, corporations and other entities are subject to public reporting. Contributions are not tax deductible.”
....priceless
9
Yes please, more jail time.
40 years would keep society safe from his thefts.
Also, have him pay everything he owes, his family included if needed.
Set an example.
17
The silent majority and all concerned American should closely follow this dangerous development. Please keep in mind that Trump and his GOP attack dogs have ceased to act as responsible elected officials.
In the very near future, the true enemies of the Americans will be unmasked.
19
No surprise. He’s praying that Trump rescues him. Impossible.
9
Sex, Lies and Videotape - It adequately describes Trump and his team.
10
Too bad Mr. Mueller, America's Truth Fairy, didn't have such strict standards regarding honesty when he himself testified before Congress in 2003 to claim that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction - and they were prepared to use these weapons against America domestically.
https://fas.org/irp/congress/2003_hr/021103mueller.html
To whip up fear, Mueller used the word "attack" 37 times in his fallacious testimony, under oath, before congress. How many people would be alive today had Mueller and his cohorts told the truth?
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
6
This raises the question of whether or not Manafort was told by a messenger or Trump himself that as long as he didn't implicate Trump, he would be pardoned regardless of his crimes. Another possibility is that Manafort wants to remain jailed as his creditors have now put a bounty on his head if he is ever released.
5
Is Manafort more afraid of imminent death by Russian polonium than deferred death in prison?
Is Manafort stalling, keeping hope alive that he might somehow escape, or simply delaying the inevitable?
Is Manafort simply an incurable compulsive liar or gambler?
Whatever the explanation, I do think that the republic actually needs justice to be served on Manafort; the damage to the concepts of, and to people's faith in, the rule of law and equal justice under law should Manafort "get away with it" would be severe.
14
Manafort is a sleazy con who apparently thinks he can outwit the FBI. He is nothing more than a greedy fool, not any different than the occupier of the White House.
Keep him in jail. I can’t wait for the day when the con in the White House is behind bars. This whole administration is a dangerous joke.
18
Not too surprising since Manafort was part of a joint legal defense with Trump, using same lawyers, and apparently trying to get their stories straight. The truth will come out, and Trump team will forcefully and vehemently deliver their carefully planned counter narrative. It has already started with their tweets. We must all be ready and be wise. Look at the facts and not their silly alternate reality.
11
It's All falling into place like an obscene
JIG SAW PUZZLE
13
Show him no mercy. If he were poor that is what would be done.
10
The central question isn't whether Mr. Trump has managed to remain ethically pure while moving within a thick ring of criminal liars. We know from his own documented actions and statements - throughout his career, to the present moment and continuing - that he lies and that his catalog of lies includes denials. The big question (and it's a hard one) is: how do we forestall a repeat of the current executive debacle? A presidency like the current one is national death by a thousand cuts. Mr. Trump does not have an armed gestapo to shield him from justice and he will be called to account before we reach one thousand. But the wounds already inflicted - including the polarization and hate that he stokes - are real and debilitating.
21
Running my own investment fund in Ukraine-Russia for twenty years, I was totally outraged about Manafort's sordid business dealings, particularly his propping up murderous dictator Yanukovych, who had 93 innocent protesters shot by snipers before fleeing Ukraine afterstealing half the state's treasury. I hate to say this about any human being but Manafort DESERVES to spend the rest of his life in prison.
22
When it is lie and go to prison to maybe die or not lie and rat out people who will kill you the choice is easy. Manafort sees what Putin has been doing to his enemies - poisoning them, throwing them out of windows, etc. Prison doesn't seem so bad when those are the alternatives.
10
He may prefer to be in Federal Prision that face the ire of Russian spies with poison.
10
No honor amount thieves
6
Should the headline read "Manafort is accused of lying to investigators"?
What is sounds like is another shake down. Who is reneging on the deal here? Manafort or Mueller?
2
You didn’t follow this story. Manafort lied within his federal testimony. That’s a huge problem. That doesn’t change the guilty plea for reduced sentence but had other consequences. The Republican Conservative Robert Mueller is as nonpartisan as could be. He is also a laser focused prosecutor, legal scholar and reflects in his work allegiance to nothing but factual truth. Any crime found in the course of investigation must be handled by his team or passed on to the DOJ, FBI or appropriate State agency, attorney general etc.
7
Liars all the time. But, they have to. Their whole philosophy is based on false premises. so what choice do they have? Sadly, they are very good at knowing what the fox nation wants to hear.
4
Literally EVERYBODY associated with Trump is rotten to their core.
15
Craig Unger, House of Trump, House of Putin, page 190.
Reports on: " . . . text messages hacked from the phone of Manafort's daughter Andrea. In March 2015 Andrea texted her sister, Jessica, saying their father had no moral or legal compass".
"You know he has killed people in Ukraine?" she wrote. "Do you know whose strategy that was to cause that, to send those people out and get them slaughtered". [100 protestors and 17 police officers were killed]
Don't fool yourself," Andrea texted. "That money we have [over $100 million] is blood money."
Manafort ran the Trump campaign. In that position he met and/or communicated with Russian agents. The guardian reported today Manafort met with Julian Assange to coordinate the release of Hillary's campaign's hacked emails. These are treasonous acts.
This man has serious character deficits. Look what his daughter said about him.
20
Muller didn't get what he was fishing for...now he's trying to trash him. He's already sending him to jail for unrelated charges. $$$$ to the taxpayers!
4
How about the wall you are going to pay for? Loss of thousands of American jobs, our country has been sold out to Russia, the economy is going to tank hard. Wake up Mary.
17
Read the facts, accept the truth.
7
@Mary
Manafort is no victim. He pleaded guilty. Meaning he did a crime. He should now do the time. Or do the Trumpists no longer believe in the rule of law?
14
This is what we get for electing a liar and a crook, liars and crooks from top to bottom. So much for draining the swamp..
16
Oh pardon me Mr.Manafort! Either total idiotic or guaranteed a pardon? We will find out soon enough...
4
No pardon can fly. The crimes are egregious and impact the nation.
3
"I dont recall" and "I forgot about that" are sadly completely legal and valid ways to avoid prosecution.
Expect many to say this over and over as Muller's investigation continues.
The 2nd most popular user comment for this article hopes to get at "The Truth." What we are likely to get is something far more murky than that.
2
Manafort may be in a hopeless position - knows too much to tell the truth.
19
The Russian Oligarchs, including Putin, the people Manafort spied for inside Trump's campaign, are scary people. Their reach is global and they can hire assassins and torturers to murder a person inside a US prison. Manafort is evidently more scared of them than he is of a life sentence.
27
@Federalist Even a "life" sentence for him could be very short...
1
Maybe a bit too much of a conspiracy theory but:
Maybe Manafort lied to misdirect Muller away from Trump on the basis of a promise of a pardon from Trump.
Maybe Muller figured this out a while ago and now has Trumps written replies (lies) to his questions that conveniently match up with Manafort’s lies. Note: Manafort's lies came out after he got Trumps replies.
Has Muller got Manafort and Trump conspiring and lying?
22
@Martin The timing looks like it! If it is the case Manafort should protected 24/24 by US Marshals ...
1
Yeah and they had a joint defense agreement in which they could have collaborated.
Both get the exact same wrong answers on a test. LOL
3
Why is this being reported on the front page, clear for all to see to get clicks? Why are the stories about the growing list of indictments being reported? None of them have anything to do with the original premise of the investigation--collusion.
In a NPR story in September 2018 by Miles Parks, it was reported that "about 1 out of every 3 American adults thinks a foreign country is likely to change vote tallies and results in the upcoming midterm elections." This is in spite of there being no evidence to support such thinking.
The reason for such groundless cynicism is stories like this, trying to make the implication, without actually saying it outright, that the election of 2016 was illegitimate because the Russian government actually changed votes. Bill Maher is famous for calling Americans stupid. And I must agree that there are a lot of stupid ones who don't actually take the time to investigate this stuff.
4
@Xyce
Anything related to Trump, regardless of how salacious or "unproven" (the NYT's own word), is too good to pass up evidently.
The only thing more ridiculous is when these things get repeated as fact, and Americans go off responding as though they've actually occurred. They rarely do and it was just a big exercise for nothing.
@Xyce The election of 2016 WAS illegitimate and we the people have the absolute right to know exactly how this election was fatally tainted. It takes a cynic to accuse the truth tellers of being cynical- right out of Richard Nixon's playbook. And, of course, a move that has been been perfected by none other than Vlad Putin.
8
Today the POTUS lashes out calling the war hero and US patriot Mueller names, accusing him of "doing TREMENDOUS damage to the criminal justice system",
BUT not ONE LITTLE PEEP about the Army Ranger who was killed in Afghanistan over the weekend or the roadside bomb that killed three U.S. troops near Afghan city of Ghazni today.
Now that is a real patriot for you.
35
Regardless. He will never be free. He will die in jail.
Next one, please.
8
So... did his demonstrated lies concord w/ the written answers Trump mailed in to Mueller over TG weekend?
8
Manafort is a criminal in his bone, and was a perfect fit to Donald Trump. These two individuals must live in prison, not in free world. The fact that both people and climate are suffering mightily at present is because these criminals are afflicting so much destruction onto the world. Lock both Trump and Manafort up for the duration of their natural lives.
13
Negotiated a pardon long before his arrest.
12
Why is Manafort pictured walking freely in a suit? How about a photograph of him in his prison garb? Let him be seen for what he is.
34
The "better alive in prison, than dead by Russia" bandwagon are watching a bit too much TV. The US Marshalls and DOJ run WITSEC, and do a good job with it. The list of people who have used it and been found is non-existent (where it has had problems it has almost usually been the fault of the witness). And I'd wager a comfy life would await a witness who brought down a sitting president. Maybe not what Manafort is used to, but far, far better than federal prison.
No, Mr. Manafort has some idea that he will be pardoned. How exactly? Well, seems his lawyers have been talking to Trump's legal team (in itself likely constitutes even more criminal activity). This was oh-so-predictable, and I bet Mueller has had a close eye on Manafort (remember, he got busted for communicating via his lawyer's laptop after he was jailed?), and was waiting for this one.
When coupled with the accidentally (?) disclosed info that Assange is under indictment, this information is a giant red-alert warning with all the subtlety of an air-raid siren that machine-gun fires treason flares. Trump's campaign is now CAUGHT conspiring with the Russian effort to effect the 2016 election. Will Trump claim he didn't know?
(hint: of course)
This is like a "Treason Turducken". Colluding with a foreign power, stuffed inside an obstruction of justice, and wrapped in a witness-tampering and bribery scandal.
The fallout will be delicious, but harmful for our country. How can anyone support this criminal cretin?
22
@Drew
"Treason Turducken" -- brilliant! Thank you for a giggle.
3
@Drew The fallout will be the beginning of the healing process for the USA.Best
@Drew - Once more, he can not be pardoned for state crimes.
2
Spies gonna spy, spies gonna lie. Lock him up !
11
Republican Presidents never fail to serially disappoint but Trump is the very worst. He appears to come out of the bowels of hell and seemingly wants to take all of us with him.
34
I have a feeling that Putty is running this whole show.
I worry about Robert S. Mueller and his team’s safety.
23
Once again Robert Mueller III shows how he is running an inquisition rather than an investigation.
His job is to find out if there was any illegal collusion between the Trump administration and the Russian government in the 2016 election. It is now clear that there was not.
Yet he still rumbles on, destroying lives and livelihoods and accomplishing nothing that our existing justice system could not have handled.
Your job is over, Robert Mueller. Stand down and fade away.
5
@John Smithson Why, what a quaint sentiment. "Destroying lives and livelihoods". You do know that Paul Manafort had managed to do that on his own by incurring huge debt both and before he quit working for the corrupt Ukranians. He was persona non grata in DC; hence he tried to trade his past successes for a "non-salaried" job with Trump--all the while, planning his big payday, by getting Deripaska to forgive his debt. We have an existing justice system--Manafort's crimes were adjudicated through that justice system. No doubt, without the Special Counsel, Jeff Sessions would not have investigated his former buddy.
I suggest you wait until the final report is issued by Mueller before you tell him to stand down.
22
So interesting that this article about committing a crime and then committing a second and third crime would lead you to this conclusion.
Investigating Whitewater and having that lead to questioning about sex with an intern and , yes, perjury. Now there was a inquisition.
In an administration that pledged to drain the swamp , the number of guilty pleas and indictments is astounding.
This is all legitimate as this investigation can and will go where the evidence leads it. Get over it and get over this most corrupt of administrations
15
@John Smithson The reason that there is a special counsel is precisely because it needs to be thorough and without political interference. There are many trails that they must follow given the Trump business orgnanization's activities and its interconnection with Russian mobsters and oligarchs.
The investigation needs to continue until the American public can be assured that the president is not a criminal or the stooge of a foreign power.
Also, Trump has so muddied the waters with all his own lies and fake news claims. Since he seems to think that the DOJ is supposed to protect him - as if it were his own personal legal team, there has to be an appearance of having done the job with this investigation.
It is strange how Trump and his supporters talk about destroying lives and livelihoods with respect to the Mueller investigation. And there is Trump who has cheated, lied and destroyed many a person's life and livelihood through his various fraudulent enterprises. All this is said without any sort of awareness in either Trump or his followers of how bizarre it is.
I wonder if there has ever been a president as corrupt.
15
If he was relying on a pardon as so many seem to suggest, why would he agree to cooperate in the first place? Trump seems to value loyalty above all else, so any whiff of cooperation would seem to diminish the chances of convincing the president to issue a pardon. In for a penny, in for a pound it would seem to me.
5
Cooperated until after the election. Then back to lying. Pardon next.
Because he thought he could lie and the Feds would believe him and he was still collaborating with Trump and attorneys by using a joint defense agreement. Trump gave the same exact wrong answers as Manaforts lies most likely.
They both were outsmarted.
2
I think Paul Manafort is a nice guy and he means well. I feel that he probably has a big heart and its probably made of gold. He is just misunderstood like most of these guys we sit back and armchair quarterback their every move weekly.
2
@Mark Hope this is sarcasm- that's the only way your statement makes any sense.
10
@Mark For sure, man.
3
could additional reporting be provided in regard to the solitary confinement? I'm just not understanding what would make a 'white collar' criminal need to be in solitary confinement and I would like to understand this further. Is there a concern that he could/would communicate sensitive details about the investigation to the wrong person?
6
He had tried to contact and influence witnesses prior to his trial and the judge threw the book at him.
9
@Lisa
He was already caught doing so.
@Lisa
He was in solitary confinement with access to a pay phone, which makes the need for solitary confinement highly suspicious. Like so many other things about this hunt for Trump.
My fear is that when all of the facts come out - even those which show that Trump knew the Russians were helping him, Trump's base is so drunk with affection for him they won't even care. Nor will they realize (or even care) about the destruction he has wrought to our democracy and institutions. That has become the new normal - totally depressing.
33
Well, that would be a fight worth having. We as a country, leaders of the free world, need to protect our values. Not doing so, erodes our freedoms.
3
The only Truth the Trump Clan knows and respects is the value of a dollar (or Ruble or Yuan).
All the denials (Collusion and otherwise) requires a Shakespearean response "Methinks thou doth protest too much".
16
No grand schemes are necessary when people are united by greed. No lie is too big, no deed too dastardly, just by the nature of their essential character flaw.
10
It seems evident that Manafort has received information from Trump via his lawyers that he will be pardoned if he keeps quiet about the Trump family's ties with Russia and Russia's interference in the election. How will Mueller handle this?
9
Excellent article Mr. Schmidt. I thought I couldn't think less of Paul Manafort but my eyes have been opened. I hope we are never subjected to such a debased example of humanity again. Now, if we could get his brethren out of the White House, our country can begin to heal.
19
Manafort is possibly more worried about retribution by Putin's henchmen than the consequences of US prosecutions (federal or state). Putin obeys no rules and he will kill or worse anyone who crosses him and this applies to the families of the transgressor. Manafort may be avoiding telling-all about the Russian connection out of fear of Putin. We may need a witness protection program for Manafort and his whole family
5
Solitary confinement is unfair. He should at least share a cell with Trump so that they each have someone to talk to.
18
Manafort “believes he has provided truthful information.” Sounds exactly like something President Pie Hole would say. Birds of a feather...
8
I imagine that Manafort was considering a future with plutonium poisoning if he cooperated with Mueller....
9
Is he more afraid of the Russian mob than a long jail sentence?
3
I’m no fan of Manafort, but why is he in solitary? Is this normal? Serious question.
3
@Cali Girl He tampered with witnesses in his own case. That gets you into solitary. I'm sure if he complains enough about the conditions they can throw another inmate in there with him.
2
@Cali Girl He was initially under house arrest, but he apparently did some witness tampering and the judge put in jail in Virginia. He was in solitary confinement because he violated his plea agreement and also perhaps to protect him from other criminals - he is getting the VIP treatment. This solitary confinement is not the usual sort of solitary that other criminals experience: apparently he has a phone, lap top, office, private toilet and shower and other amenities and relaxed rules. He is now headed for a detention center where he awaits trial.
2
Manafort has been in solitary confinement and yet he is able to appear as cocky as he does in that photois chilling. These people are a gang with no conscience.
8
Weexclaim: P.M. lied ... surprise, surprise. It's time to use fMRI type brain scans for lie detection. It's real and it's available now. Time for some courts to recognize this technology.
3
Clearly there are many stupid people ... it is obvious given the fact Trump is President. But how many times do you have to explain the fact there are state charges Manafort is subject to if the plea is negated ... and, being on a state level, Trump cannot influence anything by way of a 'pardon.' This has been clear for many months: so why do so many nitwits continue to insist Trump will simply pardon Manafort??
By revoking the plea deal and reverting back to a trial in VA, a guilty plea there would remove any and all potential influence by Trump. And if Manafort is as broke as I suspect, is he really ready for another full scale trial in VA, which he is an odds on favorite to lose?? So many idiots!!
7
No kidding, drives me nuts!
"They are a disgrace to our Nation and don’t care how many lives."
Can you even imagine what the Republicans would have done if Bill Clinton had said this of Ken Starr and his team of investigators?
(We don't have to imagine because no Democrat has ever displayed such a disgusting lack of respect for this nation's most important institutions.)
10
Perhaps he's not protecting Trump. I wonder if he's protecting Russia, in the fear that if he talks, he'll be the next to be 'novachocked'.
20
With each passing day, this actions of current and past members of this administration look more and more like outtakes from GOODFELLAS.
20
The TV news programs are all asking why Manafort would lie and thereby risk lengthy prison time. It's simple enough. Better in prison and alive than lying dead in your room or on the side of the road because Putin has made it plain he does not want Russia's involvement with the 2016 presidential election proven beyond a reasonable doubt along with other unpleasant things his people were and are doing.
17
Gee, there's a shock - a liar lied after he promised he wouldn't.
22
Give it a rest.
Nobody and his uncle thought Trump was going to win.
Not Russia, not Trump, not anybody.
Lenin had problems winning elections in Russia.
If Russians are able to win elections in the US, more power to them.
Tell that to the Democrat Machines in the US for a big laugh.
Obviously Manafort was playing fast and loose with his taxes.
Looks like the IRS under Democratic and Republican administrations wasn't doing its job.
5
But their filing on Monday, a rare step in a plea deal, suggested that they thought Mr. Manafort was withholding details that could be pertinent to the Russia inquiry or other cases.
Does that mean the same thing as not telling them what they wanted to hear? It sort of sounds like they'd already made up their minds what the truth was but only lacked any means of convincing others of it. So rude of Mr. Manafort to disappoint them. No wonder Mueller is upset and now wants to lock him up and throw away the key.
4
@John Doe Mueller, being crafty, has set up Trump on perjury and other charges. I think it is clear that Manafort was passing information to Trump. Offering Manafort "leniency" until and only as far as Trump's written answers came into Mueller's custody, we now have the possibility of two wildly divergent testimonies. Interestinger and interestinger . . . .
5
You are mistaken. It is probably that Meuller had indisputable facts that Manafort contradicted. Manafort and Trump are simply chronic liars. The US just needs to get back to the concept of "the rule of law."
2
@John Doe Because they have interviewed so many people, they have a fair idea of what he should know so if he doesn't tell them, well they have a pretty good idea that he is lying.
2
Manafort was up to his neck with the Russians. It seems he is more afraid of them than going to jail. If he has something to tell tell he is going to be mute about them.
6
Pop quiz: guess who holds the “trump” cards here? Trump! No matter what Mueller says, Trump has Manafort’s “get out of jail cards!” And, Mitch McConnell holds Trump’s “stay in office” card. So, who ya gonna bet on? Besides, Pelosi wants to play footsie with Trump because “bipartisanship” is what the founding fathers intended. Game, set, and match! The only monkey wrench here is if the electorate (Trump voters primarily) realize that the economy and tax cuts ain’t what they were cracked up to be! That’s not likely to happen because they’re all still pretty much enraptured. Besides, the Supreme Court is rigged to the Right! So, again, game, set, and match! There’s really no reason for Trump to interfere with Mueller (that’s Whittaker’s job) because he knows how this drama is supposed to end (Where’s Dick Wolfe when you need him, or Francis Underwood for that matter?). Let’s just figure that this will all play out so the mainstream media can continue to champion justice for the American people!
4
@Richard Mays Do not underestimate Mueller. I think Trump has just been trapped with his written answers having been synchronized with Manafort's now reported lies . . .
9
MR president, in the name of the 63 million americans that voted for you, we ask you to please give a full pardon for paul manafort and all other political victims
2
That will be the icing on the cake!
I'm sitting on the edge of my seat full of anticipation of the impending impeachment proceedings.
6
@Mark
Why in the world is Paul Manafort deserving of a presidential pardon? How is he a “political victim?”
When the criminal charges against Donald Trump and members of his family are proven, will you claim that he’s the victim of a political conspiracy?
When will Trump loyalists come to terms with facts, with the truth, with reality? Will they ever?
2
@Mark
Mr. President, in the name of the 63 million Americans that voted for you, we ask you to please work to lower the cost of psychiatric counseling services and psychotropic prescription drugs.
Living with the terrible mistake we made two years ago is driving many of us into irrational denial, suicidal ideation, and worse.
You have nothing to hide, right?
You’re an honest hard-working guy who pays his taxes and deals from the top of the deck.
So. Show them your tax returns. Tell them about any questionable dealings you’ve had with foreigners. You know, money laundering and whatnot. A hundred million here, a half a billion there. They’ll understand. You were just trying to pay the rent and put groceries on the table. Weren’t you?
Throw yourself on the mercy of the court. Tell the judge you’re sorry, and that you’ll never do it again.
C’mon.
Lay your cards face up on the table.
In the name of the 63 million Americans who voted for you.
5
I suppose a guy like this figures, now I can REALLY start lying.
2
...Storms, The Donald:
“They have found no collusion and have gone absolutely nuts, "reports" The Donald.
"They are screaming and shouting at people, horribly threatening them to come up with the answers they want,” shouts Donald Trump, our duly elected President, while no doubt brewing still more insults and obfuscations in the midst of his self-delusional diatribes.
Sounds a lot like the Donald we all know, don't it?
Bombastic. Lotsa huffing and puffing, presumably, to blow down what he believes is some key element or other of the prosecution's evidence, all while insulting the nation's intelligence...altho' I have to say we have a goodly number of ordinary American voters who continue to swallow his fish tales hook, line and sinker. Could it be they THEY, the swallowers, who are the Stinkers in this appalling tale of titanic ego and stupidity heaped upon lies and still more lies?
He's our national tar baby. And I can assure you it will take a lot more than cakes of soap to cleanse our nation's hands and become Americans again, finally worthy of the heroism of all those who died for our freedoms.
Good Bless America.
4
Meantime Trump tweets that Mueller is "doing TREMENDOUS damage to our criminal justice system." Trump is acting like a guilty man.
These are Mueller's credentials.
6th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under Bush and OBama
United States Deputy Attorney General under Bush
United States Attorney for the Northern District of California under Bush and Clinton
United States Assistant Attorney General Criminal Division under Bush and Clinton
Acting United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts under Reagan
Marine Corp Captain H Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, Platoon Commander Viet Nam
Bronze Star w/ Combat V
Purple Heart Medal
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal w/ Combat V and gold star
National Defense Service Medal
Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Medal
Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation
Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross w/ bronze star
Marksmanship badge for rifle
Expert marksmanship badge for pistol
Vietnam Service Medal w/ 4 bronze campaign stars
Vietnam Campaign Medal
Combat Action Ribbon
Princeton University BA
New York University MA
University of Virginia JD (law degree)
18
Better resume than anyone in the Trump WH, including DJT. I trust Robert Mueller III to do the right thing.
3
@Dan
Thank you so much for posting this.
It is devastating...and mind-boggling. He is a patriot.
4
@Dan
Love to see a similar list of Trump's ' credentials'...
3
How can you 'mistakenly' lie? Did he suddenly not understand English? It's like saying "I'm a little bit pregnant'.
He lied; he knew it; he hoped to get away with it. Too bad, Manafort; no matter which way you look, they have you by the short and curlies.
9
Trump’s newest Twitter blasts at Robert Mueller and his investigation are very telling. I’ve followed the Mueller investigation very very closely. The slower-than-a-snail pace seems awful in the world of the internet and 24-7 cable news. Except that it’s the correct way to proceed.
Lest he be accused of interfering in a election, Mueller and his team went silent for months prior to the midterms. It’s been reported, though, that significant periods of time have been spent on questioning Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen, two individuals who are likely to have very damaging knowledge of Trump’s affairs. The Wikileaks connection involving Roger Stone and Corsi has also been thoroughly investigated.
I’ve been expecting Mueller to drop a bomb or two shortly after the midterms. He’s followed the slow and painstaking course of an old school FBI investigation and I have no doubt it’s produced very significant results.
Trump is howling about it now. His legal team has probably briefed him that a series of explosive indictments and a damning report are about to come down. My only question is how big the explosion is going to be.
Howl, Donald, howl. Mueller has you nailed, and I think you know it.
19
I wonder why he lied?
I mean..sure...he went from an opulent lifestyle...fancy homes, fine cuisine, European furnishings, imported cars, the wardrobe of a prince--- to an 8 x 12 cell with a steel chair and lumpy mattress..but still---that's no reason to lie.
3
@BluelineBlast Mattress? What has he done since entering prison to earn a mattress?
2
And to think that just one hold-out juror saved him from being convicted of all 18 counts!
13
Lock him up,
lock him up,
lock him up,
lock him up,
CHORUS
lock him up,
lock him up,
FOREVER!
18
I wonder why he lied?
I mean..sure...he went from an opulent lifestyle...fancy homes, fine cuisine, european furnishings, imported cars, the wardrobe of a prince--- to an 8 x 12 cell with a steel chair and lumpy mattress..but still---that's no reason to lie.
1
Mr. Manafort, like Mr. Corsi, Mr Stone, etc., have all known that The Fix is in. Presidential pardons will be forthcoming pending proof of loyalty.
The House may impeach (maybe), but the Senate will not, as they long ago sold their collective soul for a GOP President to do what they want.
The Ship 'o Fools sails on.
9
I hope this does not end with Manafort not cooperating with Mueller, getting sentenced, and then immediately getting pardoned by President Trump. I am a pessimist or will be as long as Trump sits in that Oval Office.
5
This guy knows too much. He's finished.
Even if Trump pardons him, Putin is going to poison him.
3
Manafort was trying to mislead Mueller so as to undercut his credibility.
Well, he’s not the first Republican to make that mistake.
5
@Tell the Truth ... and Trump's written answers came in while they thought they were getting away with it. Mueller is playing chess while these buffoons play checkers.
7
When a prosecutor knows more about you than you do, you are in trouble!
9
Throw away the key!
4
Shocking! Who would have thought this guy is an unrepentant criminal? I for one never would have guessed!
5
Pure arrogance and stupidity. He still thinks he will win in the end. I bet his idea of a win has changed an awful lot from before he was charged until today. I expect it will change a lot more before he finally accepts that he has lost and even then there will be no contrition.
3
@magicisnotreal
It just keeps getting better.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/27/manafort-held-secret-talks-with-assange-in-ecuadorian-embassy
2
These people are like a pack of mean, sneaky, junkyard trash who made the big time.
They dress better than their brethren, but they're just as dirty.
8
@KJ: Dress better?
Take a good look at photos of Messr. Manafort's special ostrich-skin jacket. It's some wannabe-Made-Guy's idea of high fashion circa 1982. It's the sort of thing a Russian oligarch's gofer would wear.
5
Liars gonna lie.
3
Man's a hero by any measure, but now headed to Mueller's Stalinist gulag after having dealt with Stalinist interrogating and show trial. Deep-swamp at its best.
3
@Alice's Restaurant - What exactly has he done that is heroic?
3
@Alice's Restaurant
Anyone who has been on the receiving end of the Feds understands Trump's predicament all too well.
@DR
Heroism comes in many forms. Standing against Mueller's deep-swamp Stalinist interrogation and show trial is just one. Mueller's team should be working Obama over for his criminal behavior--FBI-FISA to spy on American citizens at will; drone-killing American citizens without due process; and his 60-Minute "There's no there, there." dog-whistle to Comey with the Comey-Lynch follow up for the DNC Politburo's "the matter". Mueller's crew is a fraud. End of story.
1
Lying after the plea agreement indicates he's covering up something really significant.
15
Both Jerome Corsi and Paul Manafort can go to prison for life-plus as far as I'm concerned. Both are saying/implying they were dishonestly treated by the special prosecutor's staff, but in fact, neither has told the truth once in their lives.
Lock them up as members of the initial class in the Trump Wing at USP Hazelton. Don't ever set them free, because they tried their best to destroy the United States of America.
13
Trump must be shaking in his space boots knowing his once campaign manager is sitting in SOLITARY CONFINEMENT. I predict Trump will be the first President to be indicted upon leaving office. If not for the things he’s done while president, then for his sheisty dealings and dirty business in his life up until the presidency. The tax returns are key. Follow his money and transactions. What kind of guy do you think hires a guy like Paul Manafort to lead his campaign? Trump is holding our country hostage while he avoids jail time BECAUSE he’s President. Most diabolical heist in history.
20
Well said, direct and to the point.
1
Trump surrounds himself with the best people doesn’t he?
11
I hope they all go to prison. What a horrific chapter in our country's history.
16
@Marti Detweiler The period in American history after 1776 has indeed been horrific.
1
@VoiceofAmerica - "The period in American history after 1776 has indeed been horrific."
The voice of the Tories and Loyalists saying, we were right! Hardly the the voice of America.
1
When is mr Trump to be kicked out of office? What we, the citizens of this country can do? Trump insults us, and everybody constantly, daily and worst of all, he attacks the rule of law! Can we do some legal process as citizens against this man and his enablers in the Senate? It really hurts, I see Trump and it comes his face and attitude, in tandem with another white angry male now sitting at the Supreme Court. The other, the enabler of everything wrong, racist and, on top, totally ignorant on everything I mean it, everything, sitting at the White House. it's maddening.
7
@Maita Moto
It would be worse if trump would be impeached-we’d get Pence. He “seems” to be more normal and rational than trump, and likely be a more electable conservative, but who has an even more draconian far right agenda. Especially, because it’s verging on Christian sharia-type concepts of law and behavior.
3
@Kri Yes, you are right but in my Alice in Wonderland phantasy, if it is proven the Russian-Republican-Trump connection, shouldn't all Trump administration (including Gorsuch and Kavanaugh) exit too?
3
While Trump may pardon Manafort; that's what he hoping for.
He's trusting Trump? Trusting Trump? That is pure foolishness.
3
What is it that the late manager of the Yankees, Billy Martin, once said about Reggie Jackson and George Steinbrenner? "One's a born liar and the other's convicted". Manafort is a two for one special on that comment. Unless, of course you want to put President T in the equation. Those of us who despise T hope for the day when the two for one will apply to him as well. He is proven to be a born liar already. We pray the convicted tag will apply as well one day.
8
What this paper doesn't dare say...is that Manafort lied because there is a back channel deal for him to be pardoned regardless of final sentence...as long as he protects the President.
So, no, he won't spend much - if any - time in prison AS LONG AS he holds the line and excludes any evidence of Trump involvement from his testimony.
It is irrelevant if he is caught in a lie. All that matters is that he protects the President, so he will get his pardon. Ideally, he would have a plea deal + an eventual pardon...but Mueller is no fool, and he called this weasel on it.
So, Manafort had to choose between a mild sentence or no sentence at all. He went with the higher stakes route and, no doubt, has been 'assured' that a pardon will be forthcoming for this "witch hunt".
Given the reasoning skills of his base, it will be extremely easy for Trump to justify the coming pardons. What you will see after sentencing is a bunch of Trump tweets calling out the Democrats and Mueller for their 'war on Manafort' and other innocents. That will be followed by a repetitive chorus on Fox News about Republican 'fall guys' who have been victims of a Democratic smear campaign.
Finally, the self-righteous pardons will come....with two benefits. First, it will close the door on evidence of Russian collusion. Second it will delight his ignorant base who love to trigger Liberals more than they love the Constitution.
This is all foretold unless you are a complete idiot. Trump wins again.
4
@Jack I so hope you are wrong...
Presidents can only pardon for federal law crimes. There are state charges pending against him. Trump can't pardon those.
10
Why would Manafort risk his plea bargain when at age 69, an extra 5 or 10 years in prison is significant. My guess is that he is desperate to stay alive. If Manafort met multiple times with Assange, then Manafort’s allegiance to Russia is confirmed - and likely that he is afraid for his life or for family members’ lives from a foreign government’s lethal revenge.
26
@Maureen
And why would Trump pardon Manafort now?
That would trigger a national outrage and additional ammo for "obstruction of justice" charges.
Damage has already been done. Mueller knows obviously knows the truth if he says he can prove that Manafort lied. So what good is Manafort to Trump now?
2
I am just amazed at how many people close to Trump have gone to jail. Is there any other time in our history when so many people at this level have been sent to jail?
17
@a reader
Well, that's Trump, just aiming to "BE BEST"
as Melania says.
4
Under the Nixon Administration.
2
This is not good news for trump. It is no coincidence that this came out shortly after trump submitted his written answers. It seems pretty clear that Manafort was feeding trump the answers he was providing, thinking that the SC was accepting them as the truth. Meanwhile, Mueller knew they were lies and was just biding time for trump to submit those same lies in writing.
23
When Manafort agreed to cooperate with Mueller, I naively thought he had become exhausted from a lifetime of lying, cheating, and dishonesty. I honestly thought he looked unburdened that he no longer had to play the role of Trump's pitbull while being abused by him. But obviously, I was wrong. Turns out lying is just a way of life for Manafort- a way to advance one's selfish interests. I look forward to the day when we say, "Remember that guy Manafort? I guess he must still be in prison."
13
Manafort has never been a smart man. He tried to live like a billionaire without a reliable source of income to support it. He ended up conning people and institutions into giving him vast amounts of money. Some of those people are criminal sociopaths who would kill anyone without remorse. He’s facing living the rest of life imprisoned, so he makes a deal that he cannot reverse and reneges on it. Crazy.
Trump may pardon him but he can be prosecuted at the state level and because he’s being such a slimy character, it’s unlikely that any of his crimes will be forgiven.
7
@Casual Observer, like Sarah Palin said: I can see Russia through these woods from my back deck. Crazy.
1
"They are screaming and shouting at people, horribly threatening them to come up with the answers they want." Gee, who does this sound like?
~Only the Best People
5
Manafort is a lawyer and absolutely knows what he is doing. A possibility is that he knows (hopes) that Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker will stifle Mueller's final report by not allowing it to be made public. Under cover of this, Manafort gets a 'pardon' and an entirely new catastrophe emerges. Grist for Fox News...
8
@Leonard Wood
There will the largest march on Washington DC in U.S. history if Whitaker tries to "stifle" Mueller's report.
9
@JM And if the report is "stifled, how will you know?
This is where the rubber meets the road for Jeff Flake and Bob Corker. As lame ducks who know what is truly the right thing to do, force a vote in the Senate to protect Mueller. Flake has already stated he won’t move judicial nominees forward unless the vote happens. Corker is on the Foreign Relations Committee. He knows the stakes.
Country before Party. Force the vote.
6
It may be no coincidence that Manafort lied to Mueller to protect Trump and now Trump attacks the Mueller probe for ruining lives (Manafort) and follow it up with a pardon. Corsi also backed out of plea deal and he was engineer of Birther movement that TRump embraced and used to enter politics guided by Bannon alt right guru. Pardon pitch is obvious as he claims he will not lie to hurt Trump . It seems all these guys around Trump have been crooks giving America a black eye in the world yet to Trump they are like minded heroes. Trump is calling Mueller conflicted head of witch hunt despite numerous indictments and convictions. Yes and Trump is really a war hero and noted for his honesty and never lying he is the good one and Mueller is bad as can be believe me says the Birther/Trump University proven liar.
4
Manafort continues to ooze self-aggrandizement, playing both ends against the middle. This is a man who after living an opulent life with snake and ostrich jackets, and mansions all over, has the temerity to have his wife set up a fund for his legal defense. How much have they given to something other than their own "charity".
7
Nothing will move the trumpists off their deranged collective perch. I just went over to foxnews to see how they are reporting this and the top story is "Hateful critics hit new low bashing Melania over White House holiday décor".
24
@gary: Well, that explains the lack of Trumpists on this forum. Normally they're out in droves, trolling in defense of their guy. Guess they're leaping to Melania's defense at the moment. Funny. I haven't cared enough to even wonder what she has done with the WH decor. It seems like such a trivial topic in comparison. But that's Fox for you: gin up the audience with imaginary problems, and turn a blind eye to anything of real importance.
4
@gary
Wait, I thought Melania said she "didn't care" what the press said about her? She even printed it on her jacket!!
WH decor: A few comments were pretty mean. Someone said the row of red christmas trees looked going through a car wash.
Now I can't get that image out of my head.
2
Latest report: Manafort met with Assange right around the time he joined the Trump campaign, and 3 weeks before the first Wikileaks release of DNC emails. Shocked? Me neither.
And to the Bernie crowd: any time you want to admit that motives matter, I won't rub your face in it. A foreign power was manipulating our elections and attacking our democracy, and you were cheering the whole time.
And to the NYT: when are you going to do a story on why Assange is in the Ecuadorian embassy? I mean how does that make sense - why Ecuador of all places? And in other news: the largest foreign investor in Ecuador is - wait for it - Russia. And the country helping Russia circumvent western sanctions with shipments of milk, butter, and other staples - wait for it - Ecuador. This story is begging to be told.
29
@MR - I've never met or heard of a Bernie supporter who was pleased about the Russian interference.
4
Ecuador would does not permit extradition of those charged with what they deem to be political offenses. That’s why.
5
@DR Oh I have. Absolutely gleefully happy about it. "It doesn't matter who leaked the documents and why, what matters is what they say." Heard it a zillion times in 2016.
1
Whom does Manafort fear most: Robert Mueller or Vladimir Putin?
19
@Raster007
EZ... Putin.
Poison is a very slow and painful death.
5
Oh the foes will rise
With the sleep still in their eyes
And they'll jerk from their beds and think they're dreamin'
And they'll pinch themselves and squeal
And they'll know that it's for real
The hour that the ship comes in
And they'll raise their hands
Sayin' we'll meet all your demands
But we'll shout from the bow your days are numbered
And like Pharaoh's tribe
They'll be drownded in the tide
And like Goliath, they'll be conquered.
-B. Dylan
5
Wow, look at that. Seems like only a presidential pardon is going to get him out of the pickle jar. Hmm, who would be able to swing that though... DJT!
1
The Guardian is reporting that Manafort met with Julian Assange a few months before becoming Trump's campaign manager. The article also says that in 2017 Manafort flew to Equador to possibly speak on Assange's behalf.
It seems that Manafort lied to the special counsel because he was conspiring with the Russian government to get Trump elected.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/27/manafort-held-secret-talks-with-assange-in-ecuadorian-embassy
10
All these people ever do is lie, lie, lie. Prison is too good for all of them.
11
@atb
Perhaps a visit to the Saudi Embassy in Turkey?
4
I'm not surprised he is a Catholic ,evangelical supported Republican and it seems they all lie . Remember Rudy the truth isn't the truth. Very sick group of people.
7
Nixon used home made burglars to break into DNC; got caught. Trump and his pals were smarter! they used foreign made burglars (Russia and Wikileaks) through Manafort, Stone...to break into DNC. We are yet to catch all of them.
5
Hopefully, Mr. Manafort will spend the rest of his natural life behind bars and in solitary confinement, stripped of all his worldly wealth and possessions.
9
What gall! The man is sitting in solitary confinement with a gimpy leg and he still is lying and cheating. If the laws of the country can not manage to have this fraudster put in jail then we have a broken justice system that caters to the rich and powerful. Even a Presidential pardon should not be allowed. One con man protecting another con man. Is that what defines America today?
Looks like Paulie 'Suits' is betting on that. What a disgrace.
Mueller is doing his best but the tag team of Manafort and Stone go back decades and they long ago forgot the meaning of the truth.
If the GOP Congress endorses the Trump pardon of Manafort, we will have officially entered third world style dictatorship and or Russian oligarchy style rule.
16
Life in prison might be preferable to being on the outside where he could be poisoned by the Russians.
7
@P.G.
That can happen on the inside as well - maybe even easier!
1
Looks like the Russians can still put the fear in Paul. Wonder what they have on Trump?
16
@alan . aside from his infamous escapade in a Russian hotel, money laundering?
1
Manafort's history with lobbying, with little regard for those people affected by who he lobbies for, and why these people hired him, goes back to 1980, when he started a firm called, "Black, Manafort, Stone," Charlie Black, Paul Manafort, & Roger Stone." He has lobbied for the rebel leader in Angola, Saudi Arabia, and a Ukrainian leader who was pro-Russian. He has been on the radar of the justice department for a very long time, at least 10 years. Now, it remains to be seen, if he will receive a pardon from this President if he ends up in jail.
3
When all is said and done, Manafort will receive a long prison sentence, Trump will pardon him, and following Trump's impeachment, the former president and his erstwhile campaign manager ("I hardly knew him, folks!") will open up shop developing hotels and condos in Russia, stiffing contractors, laundering money, and reverting to their private-life criminal exploits.
2
The problem with the Republicans’ penchant to lie, cheat and steal is that eventually they need to remember all your lies and misdeeds, and their timelines and how they fit into the entire narrative.
Now, when your record of lies, cheating and fraud extend to your entire adult life, not even a genius with a criminal mind can possibly remember all of them.
The President and Manafort will be trapped in a wave of lies and misdeeds of their own creation.
5
Do not cave, Jeff Flake. Force a vote to protect Mueller. Make other Republican Senators show their true allegiance; America or foreign influencers.
17
Shocking news that Paul Manafort, a pillar of integrity and honesty, lied to federal investigators! Manafort, surely one of the many vice-presidents of the Washington Liars Club, would never dream of trying to pull a fast one on the Manafort team, would he?
Seriously, they were surprised?
Why claim that this is the 11th hour of the investigation?
Sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy if we given them any reason to declare this thing over.
1
"Mr. Mueller’s investigators have charged a number of former aides to Mr. Trump with lying to them."
Exactly, and that may well indicate that Mueller cannot tie anything they may have done to Trump himself. Must be frustrating for Mueller to realize that his report will not be able to come up with the goods his supporters so fervently hope for.
Even the Trump Tower meeting, sure to be cited in the forthcoming report but which turned out to have been about adoption policy, fails to establish that Trump World succeeded in altering actual election results.
True, we don't know everything Mueller has. But there have been so many "bombshell" leaks which don't directly tie into Trump that it's seems highly unlikely Mueller has a smoking gun. Sure looks like Trump will serve out his term, regardless of whether there will be another one.
1
"Must be frustrating for Mueller to realize that his report will not be able to come up with the goods his supporters so fervently hope for. "
Hence the term witch hunt. We ste supposed to investigate crimes in search of those who committed them. We are not supposed to investigate people in search of any crimes they may have committed.
So what specific statue(s) violations is the Mueller investigation in response to. What probable cause justified the searches and surveillance?
If the government in holding those being investigated to the letter of the law, then perhaps the same standards should be applied to the investigators. Were the unmasking of American's involved to the letter of the law. Was the leaking regarding intercepted communications with Flynn a crime? Did the original FISA warrant adequately disclose the funding of the dossie? Did I TV explain Steele had been fired as an informant. Was there the required
NEW evidence when Rosenstein signed off on the third FISA extension. In that Rosenstein wrote the memo upon which the Comey firing is based, and then installed Mueller to in part investigate obstruction in that firing is he not obliged to recuse himself far more than the acting AG?
I expect that just as people often get away with lying, the government probably gets away with a great deal when it comes to cover surveillance.
Should we apply the same rule of law rigor when investigating the investigators as they apply to their targets?
1
@John, you're reaching here. Trying to make excuses for some , while attempting to hold others accountable. You cant have it both ways. And, not surprisingly, you have you're facts and talking points completely jumbled and mixed up.
5
@SSnow
"Trying to make excuses for some , while attempting to hold others accountable."
I believe both sides are doing this. One side would like to hold the Trump admin to a rigorous application of the letter of the law while making excuses for the issues in the invedtigation.( Fisa issues, failing to deliver documents related to the investigation process to Congress, indictments outside stated reason of the investigation,...)
The other side wants the rigorous application of the letter of the law applied to the investigators, while making accuses for the admin (crimes are out of investigation scope, different standards for HRC investigation, ...).
Do you believe the investigators should be held to the same rigorous application of the law that the investigation targets are? Or are the investigators above the law?
Manafort has obviously heard from the Trump lawyers over the past months. To protect Trump and his sons and son-in-law Kushner, Manafort is willing to do a little prison time and wait for his pardon from Trump. Simple. Hope it doesn't work out that way, and that all of them "will fall from grace"--which they've never deserved, anyway!
3
There are NO known indictments for illegal election collusion involving both Americans and Russians.
Arguably every one of Muellers indictments happened because there was an excuse to investigate the Trump admin. Most or all got action because of Trump although they were not related.
In that sense, is the Mueller investigation p ol political. Abiden and Mills are said to have lied during the email investigation of HRC and did not get charged. Flynn is charged with lying about something that is not illegal and they through the book at him. That also happened to Bill Clinton under oath in the Monica Lewinsky, Oops I mean White Water investigation.
1
Some possible scenarios, which aren't mutually exclusive.
1. Manafort assumes he's in a better position for a pardon, especially with Whitaker in charge of the DOJ and constraining Mueller. It may not be coincidental that Jerome Corsi, is rejecting a plea deal.
Of course, this doesn't save Manafort from state charges, but maybe he buys himself a year or more of freedom until he's likely tried and convicted. Or perhaps he's deluded about the likelihood of his conviction and imprisonment on state charges.
2. Manafort is terrified of what the Russians will do if he turns on Trump... and on them.
3. Mueller has received new information from other sources that proves Manafort has been lying.
4. Manafort is in a perpetual state of panic and irrationality, and is making poor decisions. Recall that his financial and personal crises practically drove him to a nervous breakdown that lead him to check into a recovery facility shortly before he resurfaced as Trump's campaign chair.
5. Like Trump, Manafort simply believes he can talk his way out of anything and never intended to tell the truth. There's no end to these criminals' sense of entitlement and belief that they're above the rule of law.
5
@Roberta
Well thought out.
I'm thinking #4 or 1.
3
Personally, I hope they all go down.
Rich, greedy, immoral, the lot of them.
13
Finding a truthful person in the Trump orbit is very difficult. Max jail time for them all. Ray Sipe
8
Corruption is endemic to capitalism. The "crimes" Manafort has been convicted of committing would not even have been prosecuted--as the Judge in the case himself observed--were not the Special Counsel trying to pressure him to testify against the President. . . . And there is nothing wrong with that? . . .
The Democrats have got the campaign manager of their political enemy sitting in solitary in prison--and will keep him there, until he goes along with their story, that the evil Russians somehow stole the elections from them. Yet they are "worried" that the "judicial process" might become "politicized"! That is rich. . . .
Between racist Republicans and war mongering Democrats, the working people have no dog in this fight.
1
@Red Allover - I will never understand why people who don't read the news comment on the news.
Manafort has a long history of shady activity. He should have been prosecuted years ago.
5
The Guardian's anonymous source regarding the Manafort/Wikileaks meetings in 2013, 15, and 16 is really interesting if anything comes of it. To anyone really paying attention, Wikileaks is an FSB front and Manafort meetings could potentially be a smoking gun.
6
A consoling thought: if they know Manafort lied, they also know the truth enough to prove it.
12
Manafort is a career criminal who fostered his opulent life style by stealing from the US Treasury by not paying his income taxes. How could anyone expect that he was going to tell the truth to the Special Counsel's office? No doubt that Robert Mueller is not playing games while evryone who is associated with Trump who has been found guilty of the same charge is. Just like their leader they lie and lie and lie and lie.
11
Trumpster will try and pardon Manafort in hopes that his buddies on the Supreme Court will give the ok.
5
Shouldn't we be wondering why it is so easy to believe that an associate of Mr. Trump has lied. I think liar is the go to emotion when people hear Mr. Trump speak.
1
Here's the thing... Trump has consistently tweeted and clearly stated that Russia did not interfere in the 2016 Presidential Election. He is lying. They clearly did. This is the pivotal question: Was and or HOW was Donald Trump, his family and/or his close supporting staff directly involved in this interference? The American People have a right to know the answer to these questions. The POTUS serves the American People. On May 12, Trump tweeted "James Comey better hope that there are no 'tapes' of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!", The media, political and legal analysts, as well as opposition politicians, interpreted this as a threat to Comey. On June 8, when Comey was asked by the Senate Intelligence Committee about the existence of tapes, he replied "Lordy, I hope there are tapes!" He added that he would have no problem with the public release of any recordings. Get ready DT. My guess is that there are tapes... and the Mueller has them. Not only that Mueller has piles of transcripts of testimony from Manafort, Stone, DTJr. and Donald Trump blatantly lying. Manafort will not be spending time in prison by alone. I think he is going to have a lot of company. Get ready Mr. Trump, you and your buddies have lost this chess game. Brace yourself... Trumptopia is about to implode.
9
I guess life in prison -- unless the unlikely pardon comes through -- is preferable to some Ukrainian operative making sure he goes down for a dirt nap. He definitely played in a league with guys you don't want to inform on.
7
My guess is Julian Assange (and Maria Butina) will also be pardoned. Trump's abuse of presidential powers needs to lead to limits on those powers. I guess we never thought we'd have another -- and worse -- Nixon in office, but we should've learned.
If Trump (or Pence if it comes to it) tries to pardon a my of these Trump-Russian-Saudi criminals I hope we take to the streets and demand justice.
Our justice system is EXACTLY backwards. A white collar criminal who commits treason, evade taxes, and does much more harm to society than someone with an ounce of Marijuana serves 14 days in jail if even. But the guy smoking pot ends up in prison for years or decades.
7
In the end we will see all of these despicable men in the Trump gang go down. Trump cannot save them all nor can he save himself. I am patiently waiting for the Dems to start their oversight efforts and believe that we will see the Trump crew being taken down as the evidence that was never allowed into the public realm by his enablers in Congress is shared with the public. This will force the Repubs to back off and stop protecting this man and the people that helped him get elected with lies, deception and foreign actors. The truth will come out. Buckle up, it is about to get nasty and even more dangerous for our nation than it already is. DT will not go down without a fight and who knows what he will choose to do in an effort to save himself and his family. I hope his supporters are proud. Our nation is about to enter untested waters and our survival as a Democracy is on the edge and we must do everything we can to protect it.
4
Did Manafort lie - or did he simply not tell Mueller, what Mueller wanted to hear? Two very different things.
Remember the old days when J. Edgar Hoover was set up as some kind of god? Then we found out that he was a total sleaze. I'm beginning to wonder about Mueller - is witness torture his only skill?
And all this fuss about Podesta. Nobody has ever denied that the information in the released emails was totally authentic. Hillary Clinton lost the election because the American People found out the truth about her. Why are the individuals, whoever they are, responsible for the release of this information being cast as some kind of criminals?
Is our Democracy the place where the truth is a crime? I don't think it is supposed to work that way. That certainly can't be what free speech is all about.
Maybe Mueller should go work for the Saudi's.
2
I am confident Mueller and his team know the difference between a lie and an omission. Honestly, I guess education, credentials, experience and reputation mean nothing to some.
15
@Peter Zenger Sorry, smear campaign against Mueller is not working. Last attempt was a story about how Mueller sexually assaulted a secretary and it didn't go well for the Republicans.
12
@JMM
J. Edgar Hoover had a fabulous reputation. But when the truth came out, we knew that he was the worse kind of garbage.
Credentials mean absolutely nothing. Sheriff Joe Arpaio had credentials.
I find that 99% of those who profess admiration for Mueller, had no idea who he was, until the defense of Hillary Clinton's 2020 nomination - commonly known as the "Mueller Investigation" - got under way.
1
I am sincerely hoping that the President will be indicted, along with Manafort, and that the indictment will be sealed till the President is out of office, as the rumors go.
It all seems to fit the very original report that Mueller was approaching the investigation as is if it where an organized crime investigation, with the President at the epicenter of its investigation.
The thought that the President and Manafort will be able to defeat Mr. Mueller is laughable.
After this sordid episode is over the Justice department should focus on Russia and Putin and get them to forcibly swallow some of their own medicine.
It is a time for patience.
8
I gather that Trump, in a Freudian slip, has called the Mueller probe a "fake witch-hunt." This is refreshing. It takes us back to the moment, weeks after his inauguration, when his wife had to show him how to salute the Flag and sing the anthem.
9
A lot of people forget that Michael Cohen was a deputy finance chair of the Republican National Committee's Finance Committee, at the same time Manafort was campaign convention manager for the Republican Party's mid-July gathering in Cleveland.
Mueller probably got some very interesting emails and recordings from Cohen's phones and computers. Quite possibly the same ones found on Manafort's.
15
And a new report comes out that at the same time Manafort is hired by Trump, he visits Assange of Wikileaks at the Ecuadorian embassy.
Of course, he is the PERFECT go between with Russian GRU intel and Wikileaks since he had connections to Russian oligarchs. The fact that he was in business with Roger Stone previously and Stone was also in contact with Assange.
Why else would Manafort be visiting Assange except to use Wikileaks?
No wonder Manafort won't talk. This is a US treasonable offense and he would be ratting out the GRU.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/27/manafort-held-secret-talks-with-assange-in-ecuadorian-embassy
9
For this guy to be persistently lying given he was the first to be in Mueller’s crosshairs regarding Trump’s Russia malfeasance...means that there is A LOT to lie about.
11
I hope Mueller has all the facts because if Trump dangled a pardon contingent upon Manafort's obstruction, Trump is de facto guilty of obstruction of justice. This would apply even if he does so after the 2020 election. Trump is the worst kind of criminal - playing Americans like dominoes for his own nefarious desires.
TRUMP IS GOING DOWN in so many ways! If he were indeed innocent of crimes against the State and people, he should be happy to have Mueller exonerate him. He's quaking in his pants, waiting for the axe to fall because, although he is delusional and a pathological liar, he knows what he's done and that it can be proven.
Buckle up - he'll try anything to distract as he gets closer to the end. War is not out of the question.
14
With life in prison he will supposedly get to live out the rest of his natural life. But throwing a Russian oligarch under the bus and trying to live as a free man, he would be an easy target. He’s seen what happens to people who cross powerful Russians.
14
Our well-known commenter for the NY Times, Socrates, recommends the following course of action pertaining to trump: impeach, indict, incarcerate. Let's go!
12
In the alternate universe that is reader comments in the Wall Street Journal, you will become sick and disgusted. In the comments attached to their news story about Manafort, Mueller is called evil, a thug and a villain who is punishing Manafort for NOT lying about Trump.
5
State of New York's AG (and any other states than have cause)should start the case against Manafort NOW. Before the Supremes can rule on the Trump request to change laws that allow states to charge people and avoid double jeopardy.
9
It all starts with the notion that one can have more, and more, and more, and that this is the ultimate purpose in life. Once that has taken root there is no morality other than that which enriches those who have enlisted in this unholy cabal of getting and having.
6
Why won’t anyone state the obvious possibility that if Manafort talks there will be more serious consequences then the loss of his fortune and freedom? It would seem to me that if the information that he offers up to Mueller results in the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars for Russian oligarchs, his life and the lives of his family may be in danger. Hate to spread any unfounded theories, but the level of desperation that he exhibits by continuing to lie seems to indicate more than just an expected pardon.
5
@Cal-Exit your name cal exit was a group started by Russians to break CA off from the US.
2
@Cal-Exit I was thinking the same. Manafort might fear for his life since Putin could well served him some special tea in prison. But then again, the FBI could put him in witness protection program or some sort of new ID. Come on, this is America, we 're not afraid of thugs and criminals.
Unquestionably Mr Manafort has already gotten word to his co-conspirator in the Oval Office that even though he agreed publicly to cooperate with the Mueller investigation he would in reality continue to lie and try to make Mueller look foolish by beiieving Manafort's lies. Pathologic liars like Trump and Manafort have already learned through experience that they often gain more by lying than by truth telling. Trump has already, undoubtedly, told Manafort (through surrogates) that he will be pardoned if he just hangs in there. So in the end Manafort's agreement to "co-operate" with Mueller was just another lie. But, there are non-federal laws that Manafort has broken that cannot be pardoned by Trump. So where does that leave Trump's co-conspirator?
Trump wants to lock up Hillary. But it seems like those being locked up today are in jail because of their association with Trump. Lives ruined, Yes. But by Whom? Lock Them Up!
7
I don’t understand why they haven’t gone after Trump for: 1) violating the Emoluments Clause; 2) taking money from his family’s “charity foundation,” 3) sexually assaulting women; and/or 4) inciting violence.
12
@Jill Lewis. The party of morals...i.e. the GOP is protecting him.
7
Did you vote?
3
This part says it all:
Mr. Manafort “believes he has provided truthful information.”
In the immortal words of George Constanza: "It's not a lie if you believe it."
13
I hope the Feds drag out formal reinstatement of federal charges against Manafort for as long as possible, forestalling Trump from pardoning Manafort. You cannot pardon someone for any and all crimes committed, only those that they are deemed guilty of (don't have to be proved guilty). If Mueller hangs on to some of them until statute of limitations runs out, can't this move Manafort's fate out of Trump's hands? I hope so, crooks should go to jail, not be pardoned (or even talked about being pardoned) before they even begin to pay back their debt to society.
3
Manafort must have changed his mind in the hope Trump will pardon him in any case .
@Khaganadh Sommu - For the one hundredth time, Trump can not pardon state crimes.
3
Trump has called the Mueller investigation a "Witch Hunt". And indeed that is what it is. Although in gender specific terms he should call it a "Warlock Hunt" because most, if not all, of the Chief Warlock's co-conspirators are male. When and if there is a Witch Burning on the steps of the Capitol I for one would like to be in the front row of spectators. Behind a protective barrier of course. When they light fire to Trump I fear that we in the front row may get splattered with the manure that Trump has within his pompous person-hood.
4
Quite simply, we must rescue the truth before it is buried under a regime of lies by Trump and his fraudulent cronies.
Those people who are dumb enough to continue to fall for their shell game are complicit in the destruction of all that is good and decent.
22
The Guardian reports that Manafort met with Julian Assange at the embassy of Ecuador in London, right as he was joining the Trump team. If proven true, not telling Mueller would be a huge whopper.
A pardon by Trump, in the event this is true, should be the basis for impeachment and subsequent prosecution.
---
Things Trump Did While You Weren’t Looking https://wp.me/p2KJ3H-2ZW
19
No matter how this turns out or whether there was collusion or not, how can this not reflect poorly on Trump? Manafort is a criminal and led Trumps campaign. There are clearly ties to Russia, The power of the Trump phenomena is really scary. He’s turned traditional criminal hating anti-Russian conservatives into blind fools. Amazing.
15
What a surprise! Someone from 45's inner circle lies under oath!
Whodathunkit?
EVERYBODY!
13
Manafort is playing both sides to avoid spending the rest of his life in prison. He agreed to the plea deal knowing he would lie (i.e., not implicate Trump). And then he would get a lighter sentence and/or Trump will pardon him. He wins either way. Now, he must rely on a pardon, however. Worth the try, he thought.
159
@RAH
That makes sense --
OTOH, perhaps he simply cannot stop prevaricating, since nothing he has ever done has been on the level. As with Trump, his assumption is that the entire world operates the same way. Most of it probably does. Just not Mueller and Co.
Or maybe is this the forlorn last-ditch holdout in expectation of a pardon?
21
@RAH
Wishful thinking. He owes Trump nothing. And as far as Trump is concerned, likewise.
13
@RAH
The pardon won't matter. Mueller was using federal prosecution to turn Manafort. The other charges were reserved intentionally to take pardon power off the table. Manafort can now get charged with various financial fines on the state level. Manafort's gamble is huge if he thought this through.
He would need Trump's pardon in order to avoid the federal charges. However, he would then need to also litigate and defeat state charges in order to avoid more prison time. Either way, he's going to spend the rest of his life buried in the legal process. Even if Manafort somehow manages to get out of prison, he's going to die in relative poverty. Once that happens, he has Russian investors to worry about.
Occum's Razor: He was trying to get away with something and failed miserably.
46
Aside from the hardcore Trumpistas, is there anyone in America that doesn't know that Manafort has cut a pardon deal. The only jail he will see is awaiting trial, after that our felon-in-chief will let him out and the brainwashing network-Fox will explain how a lifelong Republican (Mueller) all of a sudden became a witch-hunting Democrat. Pathetic
11
Separate and apart from all the psychoanalyses ... they are all simply guilty of hiding something. Or, many things. Big things. For their own and others' self-protection.
We must get to The Truth, however long it takes, and at a price that we must bear -- for our own democratic future.
284
@Marcia -- My bet is that when DJT45 issues pardons, (not "if"), there will be one for every individual involved in, or indicted by the Mueller operation. That is the way of the despot, and in itself would be grounds for impeachment. I doubt that the Senate would support such a move, though many of the cowardly Republican Senators would express shock and dismay, but would not back it up with a historic vote to remove the empor, eh, sitting President.
36
@Marcia Indeed, and we might consider things won't be neat and tidy for a spell. Let's hope it's worth it in the end.
15
@kamikrazee He will end up in a Virginia state prison on state charges, and trump won't be able to do a thing. ...And, since Virginia is now a true blue state, it wouldn't allow trump or his minions to interfer.
22
If Manafort met with Assange as is being claimed in other news, it's interesting that Assange's proclaimed insistence on revealing truth to the public isn't coming through in this instance.
11
Mr. Manafort lied.
Are we supprised?
No.
Why not?
Because Mr. Manafort is of Mr. Trump's world.
Of a world where people lie when the truth sounds better.
A world where this behavior is expected, roundly accepted, even emulated.
A world where this behavior is, much of the time, extremely profitable and can get you elected as The President Of The United States Of America and to many other positions of power.
So Mr. Manafort lied as he could think of no other way forward.
MB
11
Didn't we go thru this with President Nixon? At that time, he said the Washington Post was lying and he would not allow anyone from the Post to come near the White House. When there is something to hide, belittle the Free Press. If our President has something to hide, he can do no better than to tell all that the "Press is the enemy of the people".
11
He learned well from his boss!
4
They could both teach a Master Class in lying.
Manafort's reasons to withhold the truth may never be known to the public. But I have always suspected he has concluded that a Presidential pardon is of no value to him because he would be in the free world.
In prison, he is untouchable by Russian "oligarchs"; i.e., members of organized crime. In the free world, he would be vulnerable to retribution. In prison, he will live a longer life.
He failed to make himself square with those Russian mobsters. His failure, in part, lead to the Mueller investigation that ruined the Russian mobsters' ability to continue to create havoc in the US. In the end, the mobsters were put on a sanction list, and will have greater difficulty in moving laundered money.
Manafort is to the Russian mobsters as a mule is to Pablo Escobar for losing a load of cocaine.
11
@Ben
You don’t think Russians can’t get to him in prison? Easy peasy. Look at all the criminals who continue to run their businesses while in jail.
1
Re: a possible pardon for this bare-faced liar. If he believes that Trump will stick to his word and issue a pardon, he is living in Cloud Cuckoo Land. Were Trump to issue a oardon, it would be 100% proof that everything about this obstruction, election interference, money-laundering etc etc was true. There will be no pardon, there might be a prison visit from someone called Ivan however. Such greed and corruption, such soul-rotting badness, is bound to have repercussions and we’re about to find out what they are.
16
An important fact, left out by most of the journalists covering these related stories, is the looming federal pardon versus potential state charges as a response. This is going to be a chess match and as a NYT reader, I'd appreciate any insight that explains all potential moves that the Special Prosecutor and state attorney generals might have up their sleeves. And that includes indicting Trump while he's in office or after.
6
Manafort’s daughters Andrea and Jessica discussed how their father makes money and it's very dark. 300,000 texts were hacked and stolen from the mobile phone of Andrea Manafort.
"Don’t fool yourself,” Andrea wrote to her sister, according to the texts. “That money we have is blood money.” “You know he has killed people in Ukraine? Knowingly,” she continued, according to the reviewed texts. “As a tactic to outrage the world & get focus on Ukraine. Remember when there were all those deaths taking place. A while back. About a year ago. Revolts and what not. Do you know whose *strategy that was to cause that, to send those people out and get them slaughtered."
Manafort , like Trump is not human. Will Mueller crack open the Trump-Kushner crime family or will they escape to slither under a rock to hide with their tax cuts that they got themselves at the expense of the 98% ?
12
Will Mueller's team withdraw their agreements with Manafort? Any agreements in financial matters or any agreements to preferential billeting in the prisons intended to protect Manafort and his family, not exposing any of them to hardship should end.
90
@MWG Mueller's team would only remove them if manafort didn't cooperate as he agreed to in the agreement.
3
The writers of the Constitution did not intend for pardons to be used by a president to cover his own criminal actions and obstruct justice.
They'd had enough of that with British monarchs.
Trump could try, but I don't see it holding up in court.
267
@Panthiest To be fair, the Framers didn't intend the population of voters to elect an obviously corrupt businessman with no knowledge of government to be king.
58
@Panthiest Doesn't Manafort have state charges pending against him too.
20
@Panthiest
The also didn't intend for the President of the Senate to shirk his constitutional duties because a black man happened to President. Not that they intended for a black man to ever be President, obviously that fantasy was never entertained, but when the Senate President is complicit in the corruption of the Chief Executive, well, what was their intention then?
42
Is Manafort Trump's Admiral Poindexter?
I raise this question only because it seems Trump learned how to derail a government investigation using the Reagan strategy of appointing lackeys into positions of authority.
Specifically, in yesterdays' second installment of Showtime's series on presidential scandals, they focused on the Iran/Contra fiasco under Reagan.
Based on the information presented during the episode it appears Reagan was fully aware that we were trading military weapons with Iran for the release of American hostages, and may actually have devised the plan.
However, the evidence that Reagan was aware that funds from the sale of weapons to Iran were diverted to the Contras is less apparent, especially since his Chief adviser National Security adviser, Admiral Poindexter basically fell on his sword for Reagan by testifying that the "buck stopped" at his desk(Poindexter), thus providing Reagan with plausible deniability.
And that is why I asked the original question; "Is Manafort, Trump's Poindexter?"
5
@Jim Kirk Exactly why charges are also brought in a state court, where the federal government can't interfer.
2
IF there is a pardon in the future, I sure hope that prosecutors have saved some charges for either the state cours or after Trump is gone. Manafort should not be able to get away from this.
And speaking of saving cases for later prosecution with all the mischief Trump has done, I would love it if they only start the indictment after he leaves, when Trump is just a citizen.
10
Paul Manafort and most of the Trump Administration do not honor the truth.
In fact, many of Donald Trump's inner circle have a significant difficulty speaking the truth.
7
@Steven of the Rockies
'In fact, many of Donald Trump's inner circle have a significant difficulty speaking the truth'...'ALL of them!'
3
this go around - with a promised djt pardon in his back pocket - did pauli conspire to obstruct justice with the sitting president of the U.S.?
if so - does that guarantee the first action of the new congress will be an impeachment vote?
3
A brilliant news commentator pointed out yesterday that Manafort probably went along with Mueller to find out what OUR intelligence services and Mueller knew so he could pass it along to The Con Don and their International Mafia brethren.
They are trying to make a laughing stock of OUR U.S. Justice system and OUR U.S. government. They are a tiny minority of the population but, since they've gotten control of nearly evey form of communication, they think they can get away with it.
Boy, do WE THE PEOPLE - average people around the world - have news for them. WE are not going to get sucked into the WW3 they want to start. WE are not going to let them destroy OUR U.S. governments witht their demented insatiable greed.
Not now. Not ever.
Perhaps they will escape "formal" justice because they have stacked OUR U.S. Supreme Court with their boys but they cannot escape the wrath of WE THE PEOPLE. They will pay for their treason one way or the other.
15
@njglea Mueller and his team are WAY to smart and have been around WAY to long to be played by Manafort. He might have passed on info to Trump, but if so, it was exactly what the Mueller team wanted him to do.
9
I do hope you are right, Panthiest. There was no election in 2016. It was a financial hostile take over by domestic and foreign traitors.
My fervent hope is that Mr. Mueller will have enough ammunition to find the entire "election" invalid and jail The Con Don and his appointees.
Let us pray.
3
Good news...Mueller knows something more than we know-or that Manafort was unaware that Mueller knew..as we hoped and as we will learn about more fully.
Also good news, this predator won't be given any accomodation
rewarding malfeasance.
17
Did this come after the Trump team answers were received by Mueller? What if Manafort's answers are now interpreted as lies by the prosecutors because they contradict what Trump has given them? Yet what if Manafort didn't lie? Who are you going to believe, the President or Manafort?
2
@Thistime Well I guess a judge will decide that won't they?
1
Clearly counting on a pardon. Why else?
3
"Manafort Breached Plea Deal by Repeatedly Lying, Mueller Says"
Why would Manafort lie? Perhaps it's as in the Aesop fable, "The Scorpion and the Frog." It's in his nature.
5
I would like to see Manafort given a harsher penalty, something that sends a message to all of those associated with Trump and the investigation. A message that says, if you're caught lying, you'll be given the harshest penalties that can be dished out no one can pardon you! The entire circle of Trump cronies (including his family) have no concept of what is right. They are all narcissists who believe they are untouchable. They are all the lowest of human life. And yet, they will villainize immigrants. I'd trust an immigrant before Trump and his cult.
15
Given his shady dealings with the Russians, Manafort is probably safer in jail.
16
the hens are in the fox house
4
PARDON ME, the whole world knows why Manafort is breaching his plea deal.
5
He just cannot help himself. Even being 100x more intelligent and sophisticated than trump - ok that´s not so hard to achieve - he just exists in a world of thievery and deception. Like a corrupt CIA or KGB type of 30-40 yrs ago who cannot come in from the cold. He is not salvageable. He is a virtual industry for attorneys, black web accountants and financiers. He is what religious people in medieval Christianity would have called the devil, satan. A dweller in the depths of depravity.
In "The Divine Comedy" the Inferno section check out Bolgias 5 thru 10 thinking of djt and paul m:
Bolgia Five: Grafters (speculators, extortionists, blackmailers and unscrupulous businessmen: sinners who used their positions in life to gain personal wealth or other advantages for themselves) are punished by being thrown into a river of boiling pitch and tar.
Bolgia Six: Hypocrites are punished in this circle.
Bolgia Seven: This bolgia houses the souls of thieves.
Bolgia Eight: In this trench, the souls of Deceivers who gave false or corrupted advice to others for personal benefit are punished.
Bolgia Nine: Sinners who, in life, promoted scandals, schism, and discord are punished here; particularly those who caused schism within the church or within politics.
Bolgia Ten: Falsifiers, those who attempted to alter things through lies or alchemy, or those who tried to pass off false things as real things are punished here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malebolge
7
I say this not just for myself, but on behalf of Hillary as well:
LOCK HIM UP!!
Bub-bye, Paul....
7
I see an end game to Mr. Manafort's shenanigans. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/27/manafort-held-secret-talks-with-assange-in-ecuadorian-embassy
1
I would like to know who is paying legal fees for Manafort, Corsi, Papadapoulos, et. al. This seems to encourage arrogance and mendacity; it is a waste of taxpayer dollars, and I would also like to know what the IRS rules are:
Is legal aid over $12,500 considered income?
6
I hope Trump - for all his unhealthy ways - is staying well long enough to be handed a prison term. After that, I really don't care what happens to him.
9
I remember a few years back when actor Charlie Sheen went on his 'Winning Tour". The president reminds me of an older version but who doesn't drink or use drugs.
2
@Walter McCarthy I am not so sure that Trump neither drinks nor use drugs.
2
Wait a minute, Rudy Giulani has already weighed in on this subject. The truth is not the truth, so lies are now the actual truth.
2
Apparently Paul Manafort met Julian Assange several times. One took place in March 2016, which lasted 40 minutes. In the run-up to summer 2016 WikiLeaks released tens of thousands of emails stolen from the DNC and Hillary Clinton by Russian hackers linked to the military intelligence unit, GRU.
A separate internal document written by Ecuador’s SENAIN intelligence agency and seen by the Guardian lists “Paul Manaford [sic]” as one of several well-known guests. It also mentions “Russians”.
11
@J. von Hettlingen
"I love Wikileaks!" comes to mind.....
3
The Trump years have taught me that the American experience is one big lie. Everything is smoke screens and mirrors. Problem is if the average guy tries to scam the system there is a jail cell waiting for him, in record time. I guess that’s why we have revolutions periodically. We are long overdue and at this point I think would be healthy.
3
@Joe Smith The electoral college system is the biggest flaw. In this day and age, it is no longer a fair hand for the less populated states, but an undemocratic tool that favors losers.
https://www.emptywheel.net/2018/11/26/manafort-tests-the-theory-of-an-unpardonable-plea/
Marcy Wheeler always worth a read - today she analyzes Manaforts mistake, and what it means for Trump.
5
It's interesting that an allegation from Mueller is Gospel and the denial by Defense is an accepted falsehood. There isn't a single fact stated for anyone to know whether a lie occurred other than a conclusory statement that a falsehood or many falsehoods were told. I have no idea if Manafort lied because I don't have any facts to support whether or not he lied to Mueller's team.
4
When I look at Robert Mueller's life history of honorable public service and compare that to Donald Trump's life history of lying, fraud, self dealing, and greed, I provisionally believe nothing from Team Trump and anything from the Mueller investigation team.
11
This surprise you? Manadort has been prosecuted through a trial to show he’s a liar and a cheat and has a lot of skin in the game. Mueller has known details from other documentation from such a long investigation to know where Manafoet is definitely lying in some cases. And he has zero skin in the game and by all measures has had an exemplary career of integrity.
2
You don't, but I'll bet Mueller does.
2
Trump certainly has the authority to pardon Manofort pardon Manafort, but the political ramifications for doing so would be extensive. At the very least, it would endanger Trump's nomination and re-election chances for a second term.
In any case, the Democrat-controlled House ofRepresentatives can resume the Mueller investigation on the Congressional level. It may even have the power to incarcerate \uncooperative witnesses.
5
@Giskander If he is tried in Virginia on state charges, he can not be pardoned by trump.
1
Manafort entered into this plea agreement in order to get a more favorable sentencing situation in exchange for cooperating, but it also avoided the second trial scheduled for D.C. Does this new development mean that they could now start that second trial again. That would be a way for the Mueller team to shed some more light - to the public - on the true nature of the ways the campaign was selling out the best interests of the country. And I wonder whether it could also be a way to circumvent Trump's new stooge at the DOJ.
8
This really brings out the cynic in me.
Looks like the pardon is a lock. However, as part of the plea deal he relinquished all his assets and all the pardons in the world aren't about to return those. And all that under-reporting of income is bad for one's SSN calculation. Too bad about that.
Can't have Paul wandering the streets pushing a shopping cart muttering to himself he was once a king maker. Actual charity work for the Trump Foundation?
5
Everyone understands that Trump will pardon Manafort, eventually, right? That the ones who showed themselves loyal to The Leader will be freed; others will remain imprisoned, all at the Leader's whim. You get that, right?
And, nothing will happen. There will be some journalistic outrage for a few days -- but nothing will happen to The Leader. There will be no 'accountability under law', etc., etc. You do understand that?
3
The theatre of the criminal is just that: smoke and mirrors. The plan, all along, has been to string out the drama until after the elections, so trump can pardon manafort in the lull between mid-terms and 2020 elections. This way, trump would not rile the electorate so much that they would turn the Senate blue, too.
corsi "coming out" within days of manafort's revelation, may have the same plan. String Mueller along, letting Mueller's team reveal some data, to learn exactly what Mueller knows in order to inform the trump team.
Let's hope Mueller et. al. have steamer trunks full of solid evidence in order to secure convictions against this whole cadre of criminals.
It amazes me that trump's backfield is filled with so many men who have dark histories that amount to mob boss gangs living under the radar for years.
12
A fact still missing from all N Y Times reportage on this subject is, that what Mueller was tasked to do has not yet been accomplished.
So far, there have been zero prosecutions related to persons active in Trump's campaign engaged in any conspiracy with Russian state actors.
Zero.
The rest, while modestly interesting, is stuff that any federal prosecutor could have - and should have - handled without any input from the special prosecutors office.
3
Well, golly, somehow you objectively overlooked the objective fact that Manafort was convicted of eight counts of financial fraud involving Ukranian money he took from guys directly connected to Vlad the Putin. And pled out to others, which is what this article’s about. Then there’s Mike Flynn, and the other perjurers who lied about their involvements with Russian state actors.
And gee, you tried to twist the fact that 19 Russians working for Putin’s government were indicted but can’t be gotten at right now into, “nobody was convicted, so nothing happened,” in very much the same way that Trump tries to twist the fact that the crime’s called, “conspiracy,” into proof that there was no collusion.
So, like wow, does, “objectivist,” actually objectively mean that you sing the song they taught you and swear you’re being objective?
5
That was one of the objectives, not the only objective.
2
@YFJ
One, of the objectives ?
Are you serious ?
The lemmings of the left were all howling that Trump was in the Russian's pocket and that he conspired with them to win the election.
That was the premise upon which the whole thing began.
And it was baloney, then and now.
A hack job, promulgated by a conspiracy of DNC officials and the leftists in the media, who all knew there was no eviddence to support such assertions from the beginning.
This from The Guardian right now. Manafort met Assange before the Wikileaks dump of Clinton emails.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/27/manafort-held-secret-talks-with-assange-in-ecuadorian-embassy
5
Here is an idea, go ahead and let the Ukrainians have Manafort if he proves to be too difficult to work with. He assumes Trump will pardon him, so lets take that off the table. I am sure the Ukrainians would love to get him back there and try him for his crimes against their country. Trump cant pardon him from those criminal activities. He can rot in some dark desolate Ukrainian prison cell so we never have to see his smug face ever again.
15
LYING is the modus operandi of the entire Trump administration. The President lies every day. He has lied so often that even he no longer knows when he is telling the Truth. Pathologic liars have existed throughout history, but Trump is the first one to make it all the way to the White House. Even the notorious lies of Richard Nixon to cover his involvement in the Watergate break-in were nothing compared to Trump's daily delusional droppings. Just wait until someone at the IRS or in Trump's 'loyal' financial organization finally sends his real financial information to Wiki-Leaks or some other wiki-outlet and we find that the self-aggrandizing orange clown in the White House isn't a billionaire and probably owes more than he owns (at the expense of the American treasury). SAD! SAD! SAD!
We are all on the edges of our seats. Won't someone please drop the next shoe?
12
That’s right keep spending time and tax payers dollars on trying to prove why Hillary lost the election and ranting on about the nefarious conduct of Russia in the Ukraine, Oh, I forgot it was us who overthrew the duly elected President of Ukraine and inserted American/ Israeli Puppet Poroschenko. No worries, Niki Haley and Bolton will probably have us in a shooting war with Russia in short order and there will be high fives around the Adelson/Cheney/Nuland/Kagan/Avigdor Liebman households. Seriously, if Democrats want to ever regain credibility they should concentrate on the big issues of inequality, healthcare, education, bringing back decent jobs, breaking up big Democracy killing monopolies and homelessness rather than conducting , yes, witch-hunts, usually a Republican tactic to divert attention while they are fleecing the taxpayer.
2
If you’re happy with the foundation of everything decent and trustworthy in your government being destroyed and you’re happy to excuse a lying demagogue then your country is doomed.
8
Um, in reverse order, Nikki Haley quit, nice try on repeating a KGB colonel’s propaganda about Ukraine, and nobody’s arguing that Hillary didn’t lose.
This also just in: might wanna look up what Democrats ran on, which is why they took the House, took seven governorships and several state legislatures, and took back about 300 state seats. Not to mention itsy things like, oh, the three states that voted to expand Medicaid, Florida’s restoring voting rights to felons, stuff like that.
While you were comfy on the couch, of course.
3
@Dorothy Graham: With all due respect. Not sure where you’ve been Dorothy but what exactly has been trustworthy and decent in our government since FDR. We have been slowly devolving to an oligarchy for seventy years as we have squandered taxpayer dollars funding and dying for special interests around the world from a Central America, to Vietnam to Iran in the sixties and seventies to the pivot to the Middle East and Afghanistan with the occasional lobbing of financial grenades at Venezuela or whatever country is not following the course that internal bankers want. I don’t condone many of the actions of Trump but I certainly don’t believe for one moment that the Democrats have acted with concern for the working class since the Carter days. We pay lip service to working men and women as we have allowed China to take our manufacturing base and big business has consolidated while destroying small merchants with the full approval of Democrats, an example being Hillary was on the board of Walmart in case you needed reminding. I’m not happy with any of it Dorothy that’s why Im furious that Bernie Sanders was denied and we find ourselves in the shape we are in and going down fast, Thank Wasserman Schultz and the DNC for that.
1
Let me guess the govt goons didn’t like that he wouldn’t tow the party line and now they claim he is being dishonest because he wouldn’t cooperate and say as he was told.
1
He met with Assange and joined the Trump Campaign. Before the wikileaks email dump. That’s what he lied about.
Pathological liars believe what they say will be believed. They truly believe the truth is harder to believe than lies. trump is a prime example. He lies because he thinks it sounds better & he sounds smarter by lying. trump may pardon Manafort but I think that would end any political future in 2020.
My question is "What did he lie about that Mr. Mueller already knew?" I hope Mr. Mueller can use trump's answers against him & end this charade of a presidency. You know trump's lawyers had to rewrite trump's answers to protect him & for them to even make sense. How many times did he incriminate himself that they had to write out?
9
These people lie so often they are often unaware of it or believe their own lies. He deserves jail time so no tears here
9
Why would he lie when he was seeking leniency by "cooperating"? We'll never really know, but one suspects "once a con artist, always a con artist" is the most plausible explanation. Clearly, Mueller knows a lot more than this foolish con artist thought he could get away with. And now you know why Donald Trump is doing everything in his power to avoid talking to Robert Mueller.
11
Goodness gracious. Perhaps Mr. Mueller, after he has completed this task as Special Counsel, should consider a book...might I suggest a working title...
"The Art of the Deal."
1
I wonder if Manafort intentionally lied and misdirected in order to delay the Mueller Investigation so that Trump could stack the deck in his favor. It makes me think that it really is still a jump ball on whether justice will be served, or if Trump prevails and our democracy ends.
8
How much is Mueller making on this 2 year 'project' where he just adds to his scope and goes after people for any and everything they may have done in their lives that doesn't meet with his approval? Mueller is proving himself to be dishonest - he is grandstanding. He is attacking anyone and believes he is all powerful. " What did you have for lunch to years ago Tuesday? Wrong! You've lied, now I own you." The Democrats would not tolerate this nonsense had it been Hillary or Obama; and trust me, both could easily be caught in various lies. Why is no one making him stick with the scope - or did we forget the scope?
1
@Ma I would show you all the facts that completely disprove your lame excuse but you are clearly a trump diehard so I will not waste your time or mine. Live a happy life in your world.
13
Mueller’s mandate is to go after Russian meddling in our election, and related crimes. You can look it up. Every federal and state prosecutor must pursue crimes uncovered in the course of such actions. You can look that up, too.
Please explain how Mueller’s investigating, indicting and prosecuting Manafort for Federal crimes involving money laundering and tax evasion for what he got from Ukranians directly linked to Vlad Putin, as well as perjury and witness tampering, goes outside that mandate.
Or is this just something you guys have been taught to say?
8
@Ma Guilty verdicts by a federal jury and guilty pleas by many disprove your rant.
8
Looking at the bigger picture, we have a presidency that is financially compromised by its ties to a Saudi prince who recently ordered a journalist's murder and to the Russian oligarchy which probably guaranteed its election. And we have a leader of Congress who fiddles while our democracy burns. In the meantime, the White House sends out its female shock troops (Kellyanne and Sarah) to spin why all of this is either okay, blown out of proportion, or just imagined.
I am deeply worried about my country, and wish Robert Mueller godspeed with the investigation.
22
The consigliere and the boss - two birds with the same feather With the same proclivity to falsify their world view. One is the in the cross hairs of the special counsel and now it is a open question whether the second will join him there.
5
What the story and the Trump presidency illuminates is the extent to which the wealthy can enrich themselves by ignoring laws with little or no consequence. A confluence of events has allowed us all see the unbridled corruption at the center of capitalism and the correspondingly weak enforcement of white collar crime. Even with the reputed investigative excellence and esteemed moral compass of Robert Mueller, it appears the President man pardon them all of federal crimes after sentencing. It doesn’t take a crystal ball to suspect that President Trump would have no compunction about doing that as the charges originated with ”Mueller and his gang of Angry Dems”. It's ironic that the Special Prosecutor is investigating whether the President attempted to obstruct justice, given his almost daily tantrums. Alas, the ugly underbelly of capitalism is on full display.
6
A microscopic analysis of the corruption of Trump and his cronies who helped in all his nefarious ways is, in understatement, overwhelming not because one cannot do it but because there is so much of it. Where does one start? One wonders if even Muller can see the light at this endless tunnel of lies and fraudulence. I suspect Trump is hoping that sheer exhaustion of his so called "enemies" will work in his favor. I hope not as his and his administration's corruption is in full view for all the nation and even the world to see. How can we right this sinking ship of state, bring the mountain of guilty to justice and restore the rule of law? I hope Mueller has an inkling of how to do that because I surely do not. Onward, Mr. Mueller. Save the nation. Our lives and our nation's life depend upon you!
10
Two thoughts. One: Manafort is, once again, being foolish in expecting a pardon. Apparently he has forgotten Trump's false story, stated repeatedly, that he didn't really know Manafort and that Manafort only worked a short time for his campaign. Two: The breakdown of the Manafort cooperation deal is a setback for Mueller. He wants the inside information that Manafort is holding back or distorting. He loses that information if Manafort clams up and heads to prison in hopes of a pardon that will never come. This news will send Trump and his children into spasms of laughter. I'm not laughing.
4
@Are we clear_yes_crystal; You overlooked option 3: Manafort is more worried about what a foreign government will do to him or his family.
5
Anyone would want Mueller on their team. You have to be pretty lame and stupid to think you can work Mueller to your own advantage. Thanks Mr Mueller for obtaining the truth for the American public. Thanks
12
Manafort was a lobbyist for Putin's man in the Ukraine. With a shooting war now in progress on that border, Trump's upcoming pardon of Manafort is doubly problematic. Trump _has_ to 'pardon' the Russophile Manafort; yet he once again puts on the sign: The Moscow Candidate (and pardoner of felons). Of course, Fox-Breitbart loves it, but 70% of the country doesn't.
3
PAUL MANAFORT? LYING? What? Again? You gotta be kidding! I say, let him rot. Keep him in solitary for the rest of his life. Since Manafort was probably involved with financial crime, he may have broken state laws in, let's say, New York. Trump cannot pardon Manafort or anyone else for violations of state laws.
5
Given that Trump himself has always been a pathological liar, it is no surprise that Manafort and the rest of Trump's crew put ambition and self-preservation over truth, not that they even know what truth is. This morning, the Liar-in-Chief called the Mueller probe a "fake witch hunt." Almost sounds like an oxymoron. I'll leave it at that.
2
"Manafort often lobbied on behalf of foreign leaders such as former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, former dictator of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos, former dictator of Zaire Mobutu Sese Seko, and Angolan guerrilla leader Jonas Savimbi."
Anybody serving such dictators/killers just to make a fortune should be locked up. Why did it take the US so long to figure this out.
12
He and Stone should have got the wall decades ago. That they both made millions for decades is indicative of the perverse incentives that drive the US government
5
What a cast of characters! Trumpworld is made of up a curious assortment of greedy knaves, liars and thieves who long ago sold their souls for money and power.
I hope they throw the book at all of them. I'm waiting for the day I can write the word President in front of someone's name. I will not do it with Trump, that epitome of evil; that accidental president.
How could we?
6
The smallness of these people, Manafort, Trump, Pence, Corsi, Stone, etc., ad nauseam, is directly proportionate to the size of their toxic egos. They are legends in their own minds. Corruption, greed, lying, and double dealing is all they have known and all they ever will know till their last breath.
8
Manafort is afraid of a Russian hit. He is signaling Putin not Trump. He doesn't want to go out like Whitey Bulger.
By further lying Manafort has emptied his well of credibility. Completely. He is useless as a witness so a pardon would be counter-productive. Mueller is also boldly announcing that his case can afford to jettison a witness like Manafort: he's got plenty of back-up.
And as many have noted, Mueller must know everything if he knows Manafort is lying. He knows Trump, Trump Jr and Kushner lied too.
The Mueller Report will blow our minds with its evidence, corroborating evidence, facts and details. Trump knows this too which is why his defense has always been ad hominem attacks.
9
It looks like it's reached the point at which Manafort finds himself confronted with the classic prisoner's dilemma - either tell the entire truth and risk being freed to endure the wrath of numerous ruthless former associates, or continue to lie and spend the rest of his life in a cell. But, as others have commented, it is clear that Mueller and his team have the evidence. Man, the screws are tightening now.
5
Interesting strategy
Manafort has committed legal suicide and now will be pardoned
What else can happen?
3
Trump, Manafort and his cast of greedy grifters, con men, and.... ....... (fill in the blank with Nine Inch Nails song title) never believed Trump would become president. Trump's sidekicks and opportunists merely thought they could ladder climb their way to more money, power, and position themselves to take advantage of the next money grab. Trump however, only cares about two things, winning or getting his way or what he wants, and getting revenge on anyone who gets in his way or makes him look bad. Since Trump never thought he would win, he figured he could parlay his run for the presidency into new money opportunities. After that, there was only one other thing to do after he would lose the election...get revenge on Hillary Clinton and try and destroy her personally just like he does every day with the people he routinely trashes.
14
@Magan,
thank you ! It's an alarming thought but now it seems quite possible that Hillary Clinton could suffer some physical harm in the course of Trump's public unraveling.
Clearly this crook is betting that his master crook will pardon him if he continues to lie on his behalf.
The funny thing to me is that Trump has been lying all along and there is nothing in the Constitution that could be evoked immediately and throw him out. This is a serious flaw in any formal logical system. You have a constitution to ensure justice. Lying is unjust. The President of the country lies constantly and blatantly. Connect the dots, what am I missing ?
15
@Blunt,
it's the money!Republicans in congress need their jobs and are too afraid of Fox news to start impeachment proceedings. the Cabinet is so deep in debt to Trump that they can't bring themselves to invoke the 25th amendment. our political system is not the problem. Our leaders are. what could McConnell do if he weren't in public office ? sell cars ?
1
Manafort does not elicit much sympathy from Trump acolytes. If Trump wants to pardon his old pal, Manafort, then he has to start the campaign to do so now by painting his former campaign chair as a good, decent guy wronged by the deep state DOJ and Mueller. Watch for it. Lying and playing the victim card seems to work well for these con men. Even Corsi, a low-level conspiracy theorist, is out there screaming "set up" right now.
9
he's either hoping for a pardon, or he's afraid of the Russians. Or both. He's hiding something neither wants to get out.
11
Look at their backgrounds, these con men, Manafort, Trump et al, and it is not weird at all that they came together. That's the way groups/associations, etc. work. Manafort's father was in trouble with the law from his own political activities as I believe mayor of some small RI or other small state's town, or a higher level office. Kushner's pa went to jail at the hands of Christie. Trump's father and the organization were always in trouble for their racial policies (as were the Kusners as well), and all know Donald Trump's casinos failed, but before that Trump stiffed all as in many other buildings: contractors, workers, etc. Stone and Corsi were more in the lying for political gain as far as I know. What a merry bunch of knaves, thieves. Still, solitary confinement seems a bit too far for Manafort. I do not have any symptathy for him, per se, only human decency it seems should apply. Maybe this is for his safety.
2
I am amused at the idea that Manafort, a man who lied and cheated for a living would somehow become a credible witness.
People like this simply cannot find the truth.
Truth in the world of Manafort, Trump, Ailes, et al is saying whatever benefits them at any one moment in time.
8
The Mueller investigation was never of the blind-pig-finds-acorn variety. They were never, and are not now, groping around in the dark, trying to see what they can find. They have always known, as we all do, that the Trump campaign was up to its neck in collusion with the Russians, that Trump's business dealings have included vast amounts of laundered Russian money, and that everything Trump has done since the first whiff of stench from his administration hit the public airways has been to obstruct justice.
What the Mueller investigation is doing is lining up witnesses and participants to all this, corroboration that will hold up in court. They already know what has happened --- they're just putting Manafort et al in a checkmate position. No lawyer or investigator worth his salt asks a potential witness questions he doesn't already know the answer to. The question is never "Did you rob that bank?", it's always "Isn't this you in the video footage, robbing that bank?" When the witness lies, they know it immediately.
All of which means Manafort has either been promised a pardon under the table, or he is more scared of the Russians he will expose than he is of 10+ years in prison. Either way, the very fact that he would lie to Mueller speaks volumes about Trump's culpability. The tell will be Christopher Whittaker's next move.
10
Surely, you mean Matthew Whitaker.
@Lona... have no idea where Christopher came from...
He knows he'll get a pardon from Trump....so he's betting that's a better alternative than telling he truth and still going to jail. Telling the truth = no pardon.
3
Does a promised pardon indicate collusion?
8
This will definitely provide fodder for the "Mueller has nothing" and "Russiagate is a Deep State hoax" crowd.
2
Manafort knows he is safest in solitary confinement in a fed prison. If he were to do time in a state prison for other crimes, and be placed in a standard jail cell, the Russian mob could readily get to him in retribution for his debts to them, and he'd end up just like Whitey Bulger, without question.
7
If Manafort had deals with the Russians of course he will lie. He has no way out.
10
Manafort lied to prosecutors even after reaching a cooperation deal, so what? Whatever happens to him, he will be pardoned by the liar-in-chief. We have come to the point that some people can get away with murder in this country, and this is one of those cases in which there will be no consequences at all... just like there were no consequences at all about Tump defrauding the IRS with hundreds of millions of dollars.
6
If Mueller knows Manafort is lying then he doesn’t necessarily need Manafort’s corroborating testimony. What a bunch of liara and crooks surrounding this presidency!
9
I doubt Mueller would take this step unless he had the evidence to back his actions. We’ll know soon and if he does A number of others involved must be nervous.
11
The most intriguing paragraph in Mueller’s court filing is the one that reads: “After signing the plea agreement, Manafort committed federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Counsel’s Office on a variety of subject matters, which constitute breaches of the agreement. The government will file a detailed sentencing submission to the Probation Department and the Court in advance of sentencing that sets forth the nature of the defendant’s crimes and lies, including those after signing the plea agreement herein.” Once the detailed sentencing submission is filed, we may at last learn what Manafort said when asked if there was unlawful collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign. Mueller would also have to present evidence that Manafort’s answers were untrue. This means Muller will at last have to precent proof that unlawful collusion occurred. Of course there is always a chance Muller didn’t ask Manafort about collusion.
3
What me worry?
Me read mad!
Eventually,Trump will pardon this low life.
2
Would a young black thief get this many opportunities to avoid a tough sentence in those states where Mr. Trump gets the most votes? This is wealth privilege being determined here. The value of what was taken far exceeds a stolen car, but will Manafort do the time for his crime? Is there justice?
18
Another example of the occupant of 1600 having no experience of human nature. Since every interaction he has ever had was always heavily weighted to his advantage, he never acquired a healthy dose of cynicism.
Mueller has corroborating evidence that Manafort lied. That evidence is more than one email or evidence of meetings. He has at least three items to backstop every assertion. But 1600 thinks this is a win because the Dealer has no ability to see hidden motives.
In my dreams I am at a table playing five card draw with this mook.
5
In the mob life the gang members always take the fall for "the boss" and he takes care of their families for the rest of their lives. What really should happen is that the "Boss" should join him in spending time behind bars for malfeasance of all kinds and ruining life in the good ole USofA.
16
The question might be what is Manafort hiding. However, another possibility is what is more fearful to Manafort than going to jail for the rest of his life. I think one could safely say that some of Manafort’s past associations and associates have little reservation about doing whatever it takes to protect their interests!
9
By threatening his family and in hopes of Trump getting him off.
A classic example of using convicted liars as prosecutorial witnesses. In many ways, plea bargaining can become another form of 'Witness Tampering'.
3
@Enarco
Maybe, but this is the system used against poor defendants every day. The president's campaign manager is not above the law, and the same procedures used against other defendants should be used against him.
Republicans are always gung ho about using paid informants, flipping, no knock warrants, and other questionable practices against the poor or brown. Giuliani now calls them "Gestapo tactics," but he spent decades using, and demanding more flexibility for, these tactics when he was a prosecutor.
Sorry Party of Trump, but if you want to give your lying cheating president the full protections of the Bill of Rights, then you should have not blocked implementation of the full Bill of rights into law for those millions of defendants you declared guilty before their trial.
While you cry "lock her up," I cry, Investigate him, arrest him, and give him a fair trial."
If you think investigators and prosecutors have to much discretion to ignore basic rights, get behind the social justice movement that wants to reform the criminal justice system for all defendants, not just lying billionaires.
3
@McGloin
Even individuals whom some liberal hyenas decry put their money with their mouths are regarding our criminal justice system.
One example is the Charles Koch Institute. Their position on criminal justice is summarized are follows: Alhough we may have arrived at our current criminal justice system through the actions of many well-meaning individuals, far too many of its features run counter to the basic principles of a free society.
It seems that any American who disagrees with either the hysterical -left or the hysterical-right are immediately considered bad people. In my case, because I prefer the rule of law to rule over , I am immediately branded as a member of The Party of Trump, against social justice & don’t support organizations that support social justice. Perhaps I should ask for a refund from my generoust gifts to the ACLU and Amnesty Int’l . . . and cancel my legacy-give to one of those organizations.
One problem with America is that our politics swings from left to right and back to left again. It never stops in or towards the middle. So be it. This country is as much the hyena’s as it is mine.
Oh what a tangled web we weave....once your start lying, it is hard to stop and hard to know the difference between truth and fiction. Building ones life around lies is tenuous at best.
10
Tick, tick, tick. Slow clock, but it's still got 85% of a full winding by Mueller.
6
Without more details it is impossible to tell who is being truthful, Mueller or Manafort in this instance.
1
@James Really? You have trouble deciding if a life long law man or a life long grifter is being truthful?
13
@James this is true. I suspect we'll be getting some of those details soon enough.
@James
Do you usually give equal credibility to prosecutors and criminal defendants, or only when Trump's allies are accused of crimes?
5
If our President were a bit more reflective he would re word his sentiment , "I am a disgrace to our nation and don't care how many lives I ruin"
14
Well said, and true. Sadly.
1
I think he's lying believing (or knowing) that Trump will pardon him. The truth allegedly would be devastating to Trump so it's an easy call for Trump.
And once Trump pardons him, the country will know they've been conned.
The question becomes "do the vast majority of American's care?" Or have we sold out our values as a country founded on character...and just become another caricature like Donald.
9
@Tim B. 60% of America doesn't like Trump. That's a majority.
7
Oh, my. When things get this crazy, I consult the past to recast the likely outcomes.
Do you know of William J. Burns, FBI director and witness tampering specialist for the oily barons of the 1920s? He sent agents on the orders of Attorney General Daugherty to dig up dirt on a Wyoming Senator investigating Tea Pot Dome's no bid leases. Then, Burns and the AG refused to give Congress any of the evidence Justice had on the participants in Tea Pot thus creating his own, the Daugherty-Burns Scandal.
Burns sent agents to harass papers that shed unfavorable light on the participants in Tea Pot, and got caught doing that, too. He was a terrible FBI director and also a really lousy fixer.
Later, he hired himself out to dig dirt on jurists for oil man Sinclair's trial. Got him caught too. Sinclair and his attorney spent six months in the DC Pokey. But they had scripts for medicinal alcohol.
5
@Abby
The Tea Pot Dome scandal was a Republican administration taking bribes, and the FBI was protecting the Republicans and those that bribed them.
Likewise, Hooover was attacking the left with his unconstitutional behavior.
If Mueller can be accused of any bad behavior, it was also aimed against the left.
So, according to the past you consult, Mueller is more likely to be protecting Trump them attacking him.
2
@McGloin
Ah, that's you casting agency, sir. I see we are going to have a field day as the press and the public went off on Burns and his cronies like a flock of seagulls. Goodbye to bad coppers.
By the way, Mueller is a Republican, just not a fan of Trump. But I appreciate your observance of that scandal. My StepMom's great uncle had a hand in that major correction of the Republican Party. He was a Class B NY Fed who also passed Lenin a million dollar check.
I give Burn's character to Whitacker. A sort of Burns/Daugherty hybrid.
Nothing surprises me anymore about anyone associated with Donald Trump. They are all liars. If Trump plans on pardoning Manafort here's hope that the SDNY will be waiting in the wings to keep Manafort in prison.
14
The best people are winning, bigly.
Manafort is signaling Trump. Period.
9
@traveling wilbury
Without McGahn to stop him, will Trump be dumb enough to pardon Manafort? He was dumb enough to argue about prosecuting Comey and Clinton! No one to argue with him, now. Expect a purple cow, just a smidge east of a black swan.
He's gonna impeach himself if it's his last act as president.
Trump will pardon him
4
Manafort's actions appear to be stupid but I don't think he is a stupid person. There is something that we don't know about. A promised pardon by Trump is about the only thing that I can think of that might explain Manafort's actions. I wonder if Trump could skate on that one.
6
@Clark Landrum
would you count on a promise from Trump?
3
@JL, Trump always lies. Maybe one could count on the opposite of whatever he says.
1
The vast majority of the comments to this article seem to assume a priori that the prosecutors are completely on the square and that Manafort did, in fact, lie to them repeatedly. That’s certainly possible, but I would caution people not to get too far out on that branch, lest it get sawed off. We’ve seen many expensive, time and attention consuming federal investigations which produced essentially nothing, like the Whitewater investigation, the Benghazi investigation and the Hillary’s e-mails farce.
6
@EJS
Notice they were all supported by GOP investigating democrats. Right? This one is the opposite, and so different!
6
@JZ Or maybe not so different.
I bet he's hoping for Dear Leader to grant him his freedom. In other words "Amerika First".
8
Good for the Muller team! Defendants that make deals will ultimately try and tell as little as possible. I imagine that Cohen has given serious consideration in providing information and he most likely came to the conclusion that Trump cannot possibly save him.
Perhaps Manafort thought differently. Or perhaps Manafort figures jail is better than a Russian hit job.
Either way, this news is a clear expression that if you intend to lie to Muller, then don't bother baiting his team with a plea deal. Manafort might have provided or been able to provide good background information, but he would have not been an ideal witness. So why not just take what you can get and then make and example of him.
5
If Manafort thinks his "loyalty" to Trump will gain him a pardon, he clearly doesn't understand his situation. Trump demands loyalty from those who serve him, but has never returned that loyalty when it would cost him anything of value.
14
As we all know Trump i9s a purported billionaire. At what price would you be willing to spend time in jail for not cooperating with the FBI. I know this may be far fetched, but on the other hand, consider who is in the White House.
2
Manafort's transfiguration of the plea deal might mean that his lawyers have reached a pardon agreement with the White House.
4
@Olyian
Manafort has only been convicted of financial crimes bleated to the 201 election. how would Trump explain the pardon? : Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich .
Manafort knows that Trump will pardon him, which proves that Trump is guilty of collusion with the Russians, & obstruction of Justice.Trump & the Republicans will pay in 2020 when they are soundly defeated.
9
It seems that Mannafort may be waiting for a pardon, but there is a new dimension to this investigation. Who should Trump pardon first? His family or his associates?
5
There are more than a few people in CT who won't even look up from their newspaper and breakfast hearing this news any more than if told the sun rose this morning. This man needs legal consequences like a smoldering fire needs water.
3
10 to 1 odds that Manafort faked the injury so that he would appear a more sympathetic character before the judge. Remember how they wouldn’t let him wear a suit? So he shows up in a wheelchair. These men, like Trump, Stone, and Manafort, base their entire lives on one ongoing calculation of deceit and the application of leverage over people. I almost feel sorry for them. Obviously, no amount of wealth can fill their empty husks with a soul and they can’t even have a real relationship. But I said almost. I hope Mueller finds the right lever to get him to tell the truth so we can get on with this. Trump is so obviously compromised and he’s out there every day, doing great damage to the world, when he should’ve been in jail a long time ago for all the fraud he’s committed.
13
Does any of this really matter? All the Republican base cares about is that they finally have a President who is an open racist.
13
@Sterling I don't think the real core of the Republican party cares so much about openly racist as being totally on board with deregulation, tax breaks for the rich, etc.
1
Looks like Mueller's heavy handed, legal bludgeoning of witnesses to support his Deep State, phony frame-up job against the president isn't working.
Manafort and Corsi won't lie for government thugs like Mueller, Strzok, Page and McCabe, whose aim was and is to overthrow an election and destroy the Constitution. They won't even lie for them at the risk of great personal sacrifice and danger.
2
@Micoz So any chance you are a defense lawyer or a civil or criminal defendant? If not, we need to chalk this one up to pure fanatical partisanship. I suppose the bright spot in this is that you're willing to acknowledge that thugs come in many colors - it's a leap many Trump supporters miss. Well done.
10
Oh boy...you are really trying to make Manafort and crew out to be heroes? Good luck with that!
8
@Micoz Did Sean Hannity provide you an advance copy of his talking points last night?
"Manafort won't lie.." that may be the most priceless sentence of all time. The man's entire life was built on lying. That you attached the modifier , for the Feds to the sentence, presumes the man has a conscience or a moral compass. There is nothing in his well documented history that would provide even a straw man argument for you. Why don't we try the following: " Manafort continued lying to the Feds because he had to protect someone else. He already knows through his lawyers sub rosa conversations with Team Trump, that he is getting a pardon. So lying is a sign of fealty".
We will all know soon.
7
Did we expect anything less? Trump is a soulless, shady and corrupt narcissist surrounded by soulless, shady, corrupt narcissists. This man is clearly a thug and is expecting a pardon which Trump will surely give.
10
I smell a pardon
5
I am adamantly opposed to Trump and I’m withholding judgment on the Mueller investigation, but actions like this are making me wonder if these prosecutors are acting with rage simply because they’re not getting the answers they want. It may be that what we’ve seen is what we’ll get, that Trump’s minions flirted with the Russians but nothing more. If that’s the case, then get the report out and let’s all move on.
7
Interesting. Mueller's filing comes a week after Trump's written submission. Trump's lawyers applauded written answers as a great victory for the President. They submitted carefully-crafted perjury-proof answers. Trump's lawyers shouldn't feel quite so confident now. There's a strong possibility Mueller has Trump on the hook without Manafort's testimony.
If Manafort didn't even know he was perjuring himself, or worse he knew and he did it anyway, how much faith do Trump's lawyers have in their current knowledge of events? The answer is a lot less than Robert Mueller.
They haven't seen most of the documents submitted to the Mueller investigation. They haven't heard any of the private questioning. Most importantly, they are defending a client incapable of stringing coherent sentences together, much less telling the truth.
Mueller dumping Manafort is a healthy sign for the investigation. Mueller doesn't need to rely on quasi-reliable witnesses. He has the freedom to take a hard stand on dishonest. Now everyone knows it.
15
@Andy if it’s that opaque then there is no there there , Mueller’s just fishing
@Zion
I think Andy is right.
I also think we will look back and realize that Flynn was the key. Flynn knew everything and carried a gravitas in the campaign that none of the other other grifters or amateurs could muster or manufacture. Mueller has been rolling them up every since he nailed Flynn. Manafort is a conman , and expendable with all sides.
I suspect that Roger Stone, ever mindful of his sartorial image, brought a change of underwear to the office today upon hearing about Manafort.
2
@Andy I think that's right. Nobody outside the special counsel's office knows what information they have. It may be little or nothing, but it may be they have ample to determine exactly what Manafort is lying about, and what Trump is lying about. Hopefully it will come out soon.
This makes me think that Rick Gates, Manafort's long-time associate, must be singing arias to the Mueller team.
6
Just a couple of thoughts/reactions here. Perhaps Manafort has been promised a presidential pardon so he's not worried about lying to Mueller and the FBI. Or, he's pretty sure if he tells Mueller and the FBI the truth that Putin will take his revenge on Manafort--and it will cost him his life. Maybe, he's just a pathological liar who sees Trump get away with his dishonesty 24/7 for several years now and feels he can do the same. I can only hope he's going to spend the rest of his days in prison--regardless of the reason.
12
Since Paul Manafort was convicted of Federal Tax fraud, it only goes to believe he also committed State Tax fraud. Trump may be able to pardon Manafort for Federal crimes, but not States. And Paul had residences in a few states. I think he wasn't brought up on charges of State Tax fraud yet, so that there was something there should trump pardon him. Smart Mueller!!!
7
Given the recent attack (real shooting, boarding, and confiscation of ships under a flag) on Ukrainian naval ships by Russia in the Black Sea, I have to wonder if Trump would extend a pardon in the context of what is an act of war by Russia.
1
I'd be interested in knowing if you think they will get away with this and bring down our country completely? Seems at every turn they manage to win. They lie, deny, cheat, murder (I'm sure of that), commit every crime you can think of and always thwarts it. They have money and power behind them. Will they win?
3
He has to be hoping for a pardon. Or fear of death by Russians.
He should get the maximum sentence, 30 years or whatever it is, not 14 days like Papadapolous or 30 days like van der Zealand. Absurd.
Mueller should push for maximums on all these lying, un-American crooks. As should sentences be for the various state crimes, which apparently are not pardonable.
Enough already. Stone, Corsi, et al should be cast into the trash bin of history as the rogues they are.
11
On Twitter Trump said "[Mueller's team] have found no collusion and have gone absolutely nuts. They are screaming and shouting at people, horribly threatening them to come up with the answers they want. They are a disgrace to our Nation and don’t care how many lives” Sounds an awful lot like a description of Brett Kavannagh's roll in the Ken Starr investigation. My, my.
7
Nice thing about habitual liars, anything they say going forward, you can totally disregard. This malady seems to affect the President also. No wonder they believe everything is fake.
7
He is afraid of Putin. I am sure his family is afraid of Putin. Putin murders people anywhere and everywhere in horrible ways. That's what is worse than prison for the rest of your life.
12
The sleaze that this guy has been involved with for years are much more scary than any prison cell. Slavic organized/institutional crime doesn't play nice and no one he cares about (if he cares for anyone other than himself) will be safe if he spills the true beans. I wouldn't be surprised if we soon find out that our dear leader is beholden to the same masters. It would really explain a lot.
9
@Charles K.: and again I say - that scenario you describe - simply delicious.
This administration is full of trumps grifter's....everywhere you look. Trump himself is a big time grifter and loser in the ways of being human as a result. Grifter's hurt many people badly. Time for payback. Manafort's type might easily have death threat's against his family if he squeal's. I hope they throw the book at him, and make an example out of him to all the other cooperating witnesses. Russia's interference was no joke. Look at Brexit. A small time crook in an expensive suit. Goodbye.
How many think he'll get a pardon? I do.
4
I keep hearing that Manafort might be expecting a pardon for his, in this case for his lying/silence, to protect trump and others. If this were to happen for any of those currently (or maybe in the future) under investigation, to include those who have pled guilty in court or agreed to a plea deal, how could this not be what it really would be, a reward for obstructing justice. Americans understand that this isn't how our justice system works, especially when the obstructionist lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Even if this power is available to them, it certainly wasn't meant to be used so as to undermine our rule of laws and courts. Congress and our Courts would need to step forward to denounce such behavior. If not, then why have laws or courts.
7
He is either unable to distinguish to the truth or he has been advised that he will be pardoned. The two are not mutually exclusive and I fear the latter.
6
@Me
I welcome it. Slam dunk case for impeachment handed to us on a stupid plated platter by the fraud in chief.
3
When someone makes the choice not to lie, one discovers the true power of integrity, of personal character, and of valuing oneself, from self esteem to self respect and beyond. Unless one repeatedly makes this choice to value the truth, despite opportunities for expedience and of avoiding discomfort, one will never know the immense power of having personal character.
5
@Blackmamba
"Whether or not Donald Trump is lying is what truly and really matters."
Is this a question? A person would have to be living on Mars not to know that Donald Trump is an inveterate liar. Nothing he says can be believed.
26
Mannafort is an accomplished con man.He has played all sides against each other particularly in the Ukraine and with Russian oligarchs.He likely had the delusion that he could slip a few lies by Mueller.He really has no experience with a smart prosecutor who cannot be bought off.He has invented a persona to appeal to all kinds of opportunists.He slipped up when he thought he could play the chastened plaintiff with Mueller and give up some information but keep back a little in case it would come in handy at a later time.
10
If Manafort tallks the Russian government will have him assassinated. If he is convicted, Trump will pardon him. He's got nothing to lose by lying. More evidence that the Russian and Trump are colluding.
20
Vance says “what could be more important to lie about knowing if caught you may spend the rest of your life in jail”. Yet, like Trump, Manafort has been lying for decades and has gotten away with it, so as my son pointed out, habits like that don’t change overnight. He, more than likely, thought he would get away with it, just like Trump. They both have been lying so long, they don’t even tell the truth when it would better meet their goals. Then, of course, you may have the Russians to worry about too. The Russians don’t attempt to cover up murder, they just throw people off roofs in broad daylight or possibly shoot ‘someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose any fans’. Justice will be served. The day of reckoning is coming.
12
I can only surmise that he's counting on a pardon from Trump. I doubt that he would go to jail for the rest of his life strictly for political reasons.
7
Manafort obstructed both justice and truth.
Trump’s pardon power obliterates both and should be curtailed.
Someday this presidential power will be amended to disclude pardons that relate to a presidents status as a possible litigant in related criminal activity. Better yet. Trump's legacy should be the elimination of the presidential pardon altogether. Do we really need this extralegal mechanism in our system of jurisprudence?
10
The Constitution acknowledges that democratic government (in a republic or otherwise) is ultimately about the will of the people. At some level, it ignores appeals to objective truth and relies on politics to find the desired path. The Presidential pardon is about politics. It relies on the fact that we elect a President every four years. That is when the people speak. Much that transpires in between elections is political jockeying. When Trump claims the Mueller investigation is a “witch hunt” he is really saying it is political — and it is. Indicting Manafort for actions well before the campaign. and others for lying to the FBI, are effectively political acts. They do not come close to answering the question of whether the Trump campaign collided with the Russians to win the election. Keep the Constitution as is. The founders were brilliant. The document and the system that grew from it works brilliantly as a mechanism to maintain this extremely large union of diverse people and regions in some form of functioning, if not harmony.
2
@Andrew Grossman Unfortunately for your argument, perception is *tantamount to* reality. Otherwise, Nixon would have served two full terms. Underlying the political system is the faith that people will ultimately do the right thing. In this case, it will take three years to do so, and another ten to repair the damage. Your assumption to know the mind of Mueller and his road map of Russian-influence-adjacent actions on the part of Trump advisors, confidants and employees is fascinating.
2
no person is above the law is a principle more fundamental than any trolling you have managed to fabricate; a Presidential pardon in these cases is a perversion of what pardoning prerogative was meant to be and could only be motivated bt a desire to obstruct justice. yes the framers were brilliant; they understood rule of law, checks and balances and -- sorry-- no one is above the law.
1
Mueller’s big mistake was taking on this investigation in the first place. He should have known it was just a political game which like all the other attempts of the Democrats to undo the election results was doomed to fail. The Democrat partisans who started this whole thing will come out alright because everyone understands that it’s all just politics. It’s far different for a lawyer who puts his reputation on the line and then discovers he’s been had.
3
“Political games” happen when an investigation drags on forever without anyone ever getting charged for anything. The Benghazi hearings and the Clinton email hearings were both political games. Number of charges: zero. Sure, there are plenty of people who will still swear that Hillary Clinton was guilty, but of what, exactly? A political game.
The Russia investigation has resulted in indictments and convictions. That a sign that it’s not some political game.
Further, despite the President’s continual drumbeat that he’s being harassed by Democrats, which you’ve echoed, Robert S. Mueller III was appointed to positions of power by Republican presidents. Further, all the indictments in the world won’t change the election results. They might, however, prevent a future candidate from accepting the help of foreign agents.
8
The fundamental assumption behind all criminal activity is "I'm smart enough to get away with this."
In this age of advanced forensics and cameras everywhere, good luck with that.
11
The fact that Manafort lied seems to indicate he had no idea the depth of information that Mueller has obtained.
18
Can prosecutors go after Manafort's daughters? Didn't they admit to complicity when they communicated to one another that their lifestyles were funded by "blood money?"
8
The timing is interesting. I wonder if Manafort’s answers contradict Trump’s written answers to Mueller. By pretending that Trump’s written answers are “truth” and Manafort’s answers are thus “lies” against those answers, perhaps it’s a move to flush out something further from Trump.
7
Assured of a pardon, Manafort has been deliberately manipulating and derailing Mueller's investigation with bogus plea agreements, and delaying any damaging revelations until past the mid-terms. Now with a GOP Senate majority locked in, and Manafort's testimony against Trump rendered utterly worthless in a court of law, this can only be viewed as a victory for Donald Trump.
4
Pardon in his pocket?
4
I am guessing that Mueller likely had a wiretap on Manafort earlier in the investigation so Mueller now has non-circumstantial, direct-source evidence of the new lies.
What a dope. Like Mueller doesn't know what he is doing ?
Now the deal he got is good for nothing. If it was a contract, he would be in breach.
But he and his pal Donald have spent their whole careers breaching contracts and violating deals.
Their word is worth nothing. Liars.
Con men, Grifters. Crooks.
19
Add "double crosser" to the list of Trump's character flaws.
But, to be fair, Manafort is another weasel.
8
Seems like Manafort is very much like Trump, both being pathological liars.
11
The state courts should move fast and convict Manafort and lock him up for the rest of his natural life. It will be a shame to leave this traitor's fate at the hands of his boss and another traitor Donald J Trump. We should leave no room for Trump's pardon to give this dirty corrupt treasonous criminal another free life. Virginia and DC courts should convict Manafort to lock him up for life.
12
Its rare to read about the veritable pathological liar.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mr. Paul Manafort.
3
Trump says “the inner workings of the Mueller investigation are a total mess,” and “they ... have gone absolutely nuts. They are screaming and shouting at people, horribly threatening them to come up with the answers they want. They are a disgrace to our Nation and don’t care how many lives” they ruin.
What a transparent projection! He repeatedly accuses others of precisely what he is doing. It's almost psychotic in its distortion.
44
Lying to prosecutors cannot be allowed to stand. Our entire system of justice is at stake.
If Trump allows Manafort to get away with this with a pardon, the American experiment of democracy is effectively over.
20
I guess trump now has to decide between pardoning manafort and arranging for his prison-based, whitey bulger-style 'exit.'
14
@Thomas Murray
Like we all don't know that was a long term contract put out by the Genovese family to get even for Whitey and the FBI taking over their territory in Boston? They don't call that old family Lucky's for nothing. Costello. If we had to have a gangster for president, why not a Prime Minister like Frank. All we got in this president is a Gotti wannabe fulfilling Columbo's life story. Stay away from circles, Trump!
1
@Abby
Dear Abby!
I grew up in a Brooklyn, NY neighborhood that was 3/4's Irish Catholic, 1/4 Italian Catholic (my own, personal combination!) -- and 100% Mafia-protected. (Names w/held to protect … Who? Certainly not "the innocent.")
But I digress from this point I really wished to make: Vile and reprehensible as John was, I would rather … if heaven and hell await (neither does) … argue for entrance as John Gotti than Donald Trump.
If Manafort lied on spec, hoping Trump will be so appreciative that he will pardon Manafort, he is taking a very stupid gamble. Trump is out for himself. Even if he gave Manafort a rock solid guarantee of a pardon, the only way Manafort can have any confidence that Trump will keep his promise is if he issues the pardon now. Finally,anyone who would contact Manafort on Trump's behalf would be taking a gigantic gamble with their own liberty. Witness tampering with a person who is presumably cooperating is a really foolish thing to do.
9
Does anyone else think it is odd that Manafort and Corsi and Papadopoulos all have decided not to cooperate? It's like someone told them that Mueller needs their testimony to nail the lier in chief and if they're no longer creditable, their testimony is worthless.
16
Manafort has been playing with a rough crowd for a very long time. I would equate this to someone that is in the mafia. Manafort's actions while seeming to be bazaar may just be a matter of self preservation as at least you are alive in jail with some home of future release rather than dying in a hotel room from nerve gas poisoning.
15
@VMG
Joe Valachi comes to mind. Turns out Vito Genovese and he shared a prison, and since Vito was losing his mind Junior Soprano style, Joe thought Vito had put out a hit on him. So Joe folded to the FBI rather than die like a rat for nothing.
My fave mobster diss was Sinatra pretending he didn't know The Weasel, but couldn't help characterizing Jimmy Fratianno asa dirty fink right in front of Harry Reed and the Commission. Frank stunk at poker face.
There's nothing like being an accomplished liar. In the photo accompanying this story, Mr. Manafort exudes confidence and positivity. In order to be a good liar, one has to believe and live the truth of one's lie.
Effective lying is another off-shoot of social media. Nothing that we engage in on social media is the whole truth or even part of the truth. Social media encourages us to be someone completely other than who, or whom, we really are. The construct of social media is that nothing true about oneself is given away. That is part of our safety and security on social media. The concept of the "username" spurs the construction of personalities that are not who we really are in real life. Facebook and other social media venues have birthed the "big lie" about who we truly are in and to the world. The last thing we show and divulge on Facebook or any other social medium is our real face.
Zuckerberg himself looks like a synthetic humanoid, not a flesh and blood human being.
13
Would he be so bold if he didn’t have or think he has a pardon in his back pocket.
6
Readers have commented here about the seemingly low odds that liars -- let's broaden it to sociopaths/psychopaths/morbid narcissists -- could find each other the way Trump, Manafort, Stone, Corsi, et. al. have done. Actually we've seen this process play out before our eyes. Who are the most sociopathic leaders in the world today? MBS, Kim Jong-Un, and Putin, all murderers. Not coincidentally, Trump is a big fan of all. The least sociopathic leaders like Macron, Merkel, Trudeau, May? Trump holds them in stark and inexplicable contempt. If sociopaths only respect sociopaths, and if sociopaths have no regard for truth, I think we have an explanation.
20
Trump says: ‘they don’t care how many lives they ruin” as he separates 5,000 or more children from their families as a political stunt.
30
Lock. Him. Up.
20
Manafort won't talk because he has been taking Russian mob money for so long that he is a member of Putin's gang and he knows what Putin will do to him and his family will be worse than jail.
Putin has already instructed his sock puppet Trump to pardon him.
20
This is what is referred to as “Delusionally Created Reality.”
3
Am I understanding this well: what manaford deposed and Trump's replies to the questionnaires are not to be consistent. Are they sure who's lying? Or the prosecutors are exerting pressure where they can?
1
"...investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential race and whether anyone in the Trump campaign knew about or assisted Moscow’s effort."
It's funny because several of 'them' have already admitted they knew several times to various public venues with various degrees of "what's the big deal?" attached... and we still debate it.
2
"In August we examined the greed, deception and ego behind Mr. Manafort's rise and fall".
Too bad he didn't. He might have been in a better position today.
5
Calls have been made, all of them are backing off, for Flynn, it's too late. He's slow.
4
Of course he lies to protect Trump.
5
Big realization for me in this Trump era, and from the top, is that these people may not even know when they are lying they are so used to their "alternative facts". They will go to prison fighting for their "truth". Then one day, when their maker comes they want to hedge their bet, and get through those pearly gates.
2
With all the talk about inner government clandestine cabals and the "deep state", it's interesting to see how much lying and corruption emerges so transparently out of the Trump swamp. A career grifter becomes president and gravitates towards and tasks a group of similarly opportunistic and immoral liars and hucksters to get his ends met. In the case of Trump and his associates such as Manafort, the banality of the evil is right here for everyone to witness.
14
Only the best people.
12
Manafort is making the calculation that if he lies to protect you know who, then he will most likely get a pardon. He will be in for a rude awakening.
5
"At a recent court hearing in Alexandria, Mr. Manafort came into the courtroom in a wheelchair, his foot wrapped in a white bandage, possibly from an attack of gout."
Oh, the drama of a bandaged foot and the wheelchair! These days there are excellent drugs for stopping the pain and reducing the swelling of gout to normal. It is a condition whose historical horrors have been reduced in these modern times to the level of a headache. I've taken colchicine as a diagnostic for what was thought to be gout. It works fast and efficiently. Was Mr. Mueller's office withholding standard medical treatment from Mr. Manafort or was this a bit of Trumpian theater for the press?
Stop the drama from the Manafort defense team. Some of us know a LOT better. Just more lies?
5
Manafort is despicable. But no one deserves solitary confinement. It’s psychological torture and I’m disappointed that Mueller, a man I admire, is countenancing it.
3
I think you have to consider what could happen to him in the general population. It might be uncomfortable for him, but he'll stay alive, and an added bonus of not being able to obstruct justice.
Malachite-he may be in solitary for his own protection
@Malachite
Manafort won't stop trying to tamper with witnesses and communicating with co-conspirators. At least Mueller is trying to put a stop to it, but who knows how much Putin knows Trump doesn't?
Birds of a feather.
2
A weekend with the biggest, meanest guy in the joint as his celly will loosen his tongue, amongst other things.
4
A. The acting AG, Mr. Whitaker, now has unfettered access to the findings thus far by Mr. Mueller and his team.
B. Mr. Whitaker is the President's "eyes and ears" and has been for some time.
C. Mr. Whitaker is most assuredly filling in the Trump team on investigative details previously unknown to them.
D. Armed with new and up-to-date info, and pardon power, it's no wonder Trump and his cast of criminal con-men feel freshly emboldened.
5
@Mike7
Maybe. Whitaker may also realize that Mueller has him in his crosshairs. Would Whitaker want to risk obstruction of justice and his law license in the service of Donald Trump? I hope he has read up on the fate of Nixon's AG John Mitchell. Of course, Whitaker is also a grifter like Trump and may see this as the opportunity of a lifetime.
@JLYes. And he has The Pardon as his ace in the hole
Is there a 12 step program for congenital liars? Each meeting you would tell attendees some of the real whoppers you told and how many days you went without telling a lie. As Trump becomes more "comfortable" with his job, he now lies with abandon--just makes stuff up on the fly---it would be almost comical to watch him, if in the back of your mind you didn't know he was the President of the United States.
4
Just like his former boss lies are the truth and truth are lies.
5
What’s relationship between this development and submission of Trump’s written responses? Manafort’s information does not align with Trump’s?
1
Well Mr. Manafort is showing the Country that he is a twin to Mr. Trump. When you think of how many people have been indicted because of lying to the FBI, it should not be surprising that a pathological liar, like Mr. Manafort, would continue to do so.
Is there anyone that has been associated with Trump who isn't a liar. That is the real question.
4
There are things far worse than prison.
Manafort tried to have it both ways, but had to choose in the end.
Prison won out.
3
Like a drawbridge that eventually comes down, so is the truth!.. prepare for act two!
2
Trump Lies.
Manafort Lies ... and countless others in the personal Trump swamp of family and administration.
Yes, the US voted for evil people and now we are letting them pack the courts. Dire times for the US. It will take another Blue Wave to rid our government and congress of such corruption. OR, the GOP could do it on their own but they seem to favor evil. Consider Mississippi today...there is a choice and what will the people of Mississippi decide??
5
Perhaps the "enhanced interrogation techniques" Trump has praised would be effective in getting this guy Manafort to spill his guts.
3
"Lock her up, lock her up, chant the Trump fans at the rallies. But it appears that the only ones who are going to get locked up are those who worked with Trump.
6
I think it's safe to say that every single person connected to the so called president is a liar and or a crook. I doubt that he has any true friends.
6
After all, like Manafort said when questioned in 2016 “if that’s what he (Trump) says, then that’s what I say.”
There you go!
2
Yet Trump calls this a witch hunt!
1
Mueller stellar career as a prosecutor includes leading prosecutions of Manuel Noriega, the Gambino crime family, etc., and the white collar crime. Mueller has seen a lot and knows exactly how a "protection racket" works. If I were Trump or any of his cronies, I'd be very very afraid. Circling the wagons... to protect Trump (ugh)...must now seem to the smarter of this creepy crew like an idiotic path to have pursued.
5
"But their filing on Monday ... suggested that they thought Mr. Manafort was withholding details that could be pertinent to the Russia inquiry or other cases."
Yes, Manafort is probably looking for a pardon, or possibly doing what the White House secretly asked of him were they to give him a pardon. Yes, he is probably afraid of Russian intelligence and Putin's oligarchs, particularly the oligarch whom he shafted. But the most important point might be this: Manafort is lying in order to hide information pertinent to the Russia inquiry. I mention only the Russia inquiry and not the other cases, as stated here, because only the president can grant a pardon. Because only the president can grant a pardon, it is more likely that Manafort is lying in order to protect wrongdoing by the president and which directly implicates the president.
Once again, the likelihood continues to steadily increase that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia to steal the election, and that Trump and his associates are under the control of Kremlin.
5
His failure to honor his plea deal suggests that someone has gotten to him during that time to guarantee a Presidential pardon, if he keeps his mouth shut.
3
“The inner workings of the Mueller investigation are a total mess,” he wrote on Twitter recently.
“They have found no collusion and have gone absolutely nuts. They are screaming and shouting at people, horribly threatening them to come up with the answers they want,” he declared. “They are a disgrace to our Nation and don’t care how many lives” they ruin."
If this were true, which is unlikely, Mr Trump should be happy. He wanted a "Roy Cohn" and he would finally have one!
1
The sad truth is that the highest office in the US is setting the bar so low for any aspiring youth. Politicians are expected to twist the truth on the campaign trail but from both the White House press room and oval office youth today are learning by example that it's ok to lie. Sad!
1
Every president has a few associates/former associates that are crooks that end up in jail.
Trump only has a few honest people working for him, the rest are crooks.
2
The Presidential pardon needs to be completely removed from the office of President. There is absolutely no need for this kind of executive power in a democracy. The idea that Trump could pardon Manafort at this point makes the power of the courts, the FBI, and the special prosecutor seem. at best. theoretical.
11
@kglen
It is a clear conflict of interest.
Nixon tried to dangle pardons too....only to find out that his Congress had a spine and said TO FAR, Sir. Now we see trump doing (apparently) the same thing; albeit with his sycophants running the Senate.
The feckless McConnell will doubtless fight tooth and nail to cover trump's lying hide....to the shame of all Americans.
4
Mr. Mueller must be aware of an important distinction.
These are not called "Lies"
They are called "Trump Truths".
6
This is why we need public, sworn testimony. Guessing at activity from watching shadows is not helpful.
3
A variety of theories have been put forward to explain Mr. Corsi's sudden refusal to complete his plea negotiation, but I haven't heard this one yet:
Corsi got a call from Whittaker's office saying that the acting AG will not allow Mueller to seek an indictment, and therefore, that Corsi need not cooperate.
7
Maybe this was Manafort's strategy all along. By contradicting himself through lies that directly affect Trump's liability, he insulated Trump. Mueller would have to find new witnesses or evidence that clearly contradict Manafort's lies. In 2020, if Trump isn't reelected, he'll definitely be pardoned soon.
On the other hand, it seriously raises the constitutional question about whether the pardon power was used to unlawfully interfere in a prosecution. Trump's statements regarding the complete lack of any limits on the pardon power may be getting tested in the new Kavanaugh court. At the very least, a Manafort pardon will become a major campaign issue in 2020.
3
Allegations; denials; rebuttals; accusations; speculation; lies; plea deals; and on and on and on and on. When will we we ever learn what the heck is going on with this mysterious investigation that will seemingly never end? I tire of reports about an investigation and news reports that effectively say little. For me the question is whether something of substance occurred that harmed the country or is this simply all about politics, taking down a president and advancing the power and wealth of politicians?
2
All those indictments mean anything? The Russians interfered in the elections. Now we are trying to discern to what extent. Relax. Were you this impatient for the Benghazi investigation?
4
@Confused Your opinion that this will "never end" is irrelevant. This investigation has yielded may indictments and seems to be setting the table for a proper conclusion. The constant regurgitation that this is taking too long is just laughable. Compare it to other much smaller investigations and you'll realize that it's best if you just stay quiet and watch.
5
@Confused
You are "confused" simply because YOU choose to be.
It is not a "mysterious investigation" sir. If you don't understand the law, and the facts at hand by now, you *choose* to be a willing sycophant of trump.
4
Paul Manafort’s breach of his plea deal is part of an emerging pattern that has the signs of the promise of a presidential “pardon” written all over it. In this regard, it is similar to the post plea conduct of former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, who made statements inconsistent with his plea, as well as the most recent bizarre, schizophrenic behavior of Roger Stone associate, Jerome Corsi, who announced that he was likely to be indicted soon and was in plea discussions with special counsel Robert Mueller but quickly did an about-face and declared that he would never agree to a deal with Mueller. If, indeed, Donald Trump is using the presidential pardon power to interfere with an ongoing justice department investigation into his own ties to Russia, this would amount to a clear abuse of power and a separate and independent basis for charging him with obstruction of justice in an impeachment case or criminal prosecution.
14
I hear you, but I don’t believe what you’re saying could ever be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Then again, Mueller May have a rabbit up his sleeve to remove that doubt. We shall see.
2
@Andrew. Understood. Maybe not. And most probably, none of those affected will speak out. Why would they? But the circumstantial evidence is mounting, much of it from Donald Trump's own mouth, starting with the Lester Holt interview and Trump's admissions regarding the firing of Comey. I will be looking for the rabbit in Robert Mueller's report!
1
What's the difference in expenditures on external versus internal threats to our Democracy? The rot is from within!
2
Imagine being homesick for Richard Nixon. I am. Much as I resented Nixon back then, it was nothing compared to the present liars in the White House.
Imagine just one of Trump's minions morphing into a John Dean, who at least came forward at the eleventh hour and told the truth. I can't. There is no one. Even when forced to do a deal, Manafort can't or won't tell the truth.
Nixon was another lying egomaniac, but the level of his assault on democracy was low compared to this administration. And he has some credit for his achievements in foreign affairs.
This administration is a destructive dead loss on all fronts. Paul Manafort should spend the rest of his life in prison for crimes against his country, the world and humanity.
10
If you count Amarosa as a minion, she came out. Is she minion worthy?
1
Trump should take this as a sign to be very concerned. If Mueller knows Manafort is lying, he knows a lot more than folks are giving him credit for. Trump, whose intelligence is at baseline feral, will start to act even more like a cornered animal. Let's hope what few guardrails there are hold; for these are dangerous times indeed.
32
“‘They are a disgrace to our Nation and don’t care how many lives’ they ruin.“
Trump’s tendency to project his epic flaws onto people far better than him never ceases to amaze me. The fact that it goes unrecognized by so many does not, though it is extraordinarily disheartening.
25
Manafort is deeply in debt to a Russian oligarch. He may feel federal prison is preferable to oligarch revenge. Or maybe he just can’t stop lying. Old habits are hard to break.
14
Mamafort’s boundless hubris, the idea that he can do as he pleases with impunity, and that no one is smart enough to catch on to his manipulations, has finally caught up with him.
By rescinding Manafort’s plea agreement, Mr. Mueller shows that he has no patience with liars, and that he is implacable in his pursuit of truth and justice. The den of thieves currently inhabiting the White House has been put on notice that its strategy of habitual lying will not save them from the long arm of the law.
10
I thought he'd finally gotten a wake-up call - some appeal to his better graces - after his daughter filed to change her last name. But it appears some people may be beyond change.
7
According to NYT, Manafort made $60 million consulting for Ukrainian politicians. I keep looking at this number and asking myself what kind of work for a politician is worth $60 million and what kind of politician has the money to pay this for a consultant. Manafort was clearly working in an alternative moral universe long before he joined Trump, which may be what the initial attraction was. Mueller, who has worked for the government for decades, and his staff are all getting by on a government salary, so the crimes aside, it is easy to imagine that they see Manafort and possibly Trump as a uniquely low for of life. NYT also has reported that Manafort is not particularly popular with Trump. I have a hard time imagining he is angling for a pardon.
5
@ACA
Have you reviewed "government" salaries lately?
it is a mistake to ignore what is known about genetic and epigenetic social pathologies and how they effect government...
@iamhe Go on...
The only explanation why Manafort lied to me Federal investigators despite guilty plea deal with the Robert Mueller panel could be:either Paul Manafort is a compulsive lier like his former employer Trump or, he was certain to get presidential pardon for any violation of the law.
4
It's been sporadically evident attorneys for those connected to the Trussia investigation have been sharing information with the WH and THAT two-way street means pardons are being offered. Otherwise, why would Manafort risk dying in prison? We might even infer from news reports the WH slavish devotion to Putin is money-based and Manafort has been offered a pardon and riches untold to keep his yap shut on core issues and to boldly lie on the periphery.
At the end of the day we are likely to discover a years-in-the-making international financial and political conspiracy that will astound the world...but once revealed...will explain not only how the GOP keeps stealing the presidency but how they've sold out our country to do so.
11
What is the reason we care about Manafort? Why a plea deal of any kind? Why does Mueller care about him? We see him used as some sort to connection to Trump - to create some Trump guilt by innuendo. But what guilt is even that? There is nothing in Manafort's tax dealings that point to any Russian collusion. I am more disgusted with Mueller. Either you have something on Trump - or go away. Hitting on Manafort does nothing to complete the task of examining Russian collusion or the lack of collusion.
2
@Ken Bradshaw
There is nothing in Manafort's tax dealings that point to any Russian collusion
And you know this, how?
It's called an investigation for a reason, and it's not over, so stop suggesting that since YOU see nothing (yet) it's time to close shop.
5
It’s premature to come to that conclusion.
3
The definition of pathological liar
4
When someone lies repeatedly, that becomes their reality. It’s like a disease. Many years ago, as a child, I had taken some quarters from my parents drawer. When confronted about it, I lied and said I didn’t take it, but then pretty much got caught in my own lie. My Mother then said something about lying that I never forgot. She said “For every lie you tell, you have to tell 12 additional lies, just to cover the first one.” For me, that was sound advise from very wise parents.
Donald Trump is like Paul Manafort and so many other unsound souls on this planet. Lying becomes a way of life. Not being a Psychologist or Psychiatrist, I don’t know if this kind of personality can ever become an honest soul again, but it would be extremely difficult for me to EVER trust them again.
10
Unless they had Manafort locked up in a bubble he has been given the wink and a nod. When he let it be known he was willing to cooperate that was just an act to put pressure on Trump. It does not take a rocket scientist to know Manafort's ploy has worked. If Trump has effectively pardoned MSB for the murder of the journalist do we really think he would not pardon Manafort to save a Trump or Trump? We are witnessing organized crime at the highest level. Have we forgotten Trump made his bones in the New York construction industry?
15
So the one name that i have not herd mentioned through this ordeal is Kieth Schiller. What has Mr. Mueller done with him? This is the $64,000.00 question.
4
Mueller has been corroborating Manafort’s “evidence” and likely discovered a pattern of deception. Mueller will pursue the source of Manafort’s misdirection.
7
On Manafort: "It's terrible what they're doing to him." Yes. Poor Paul. What a true victim looks like. I'm crying crocodile tears.
5
Anyone who is innocent should never have to rely on a pardon from a president.
Regardless of party.
If innocent - tell the truth and walk away.
Paul manafort will never do either!
7
Joyce Vance, last paragraph, is a steady daily contributor on msnbc. She speaks fluently, intelligently and fairly and is a great counter to some of the more biased guests.
Her question, '' What was he hiding that is worse than going to jail for the rest of your life?'' really is the heart of the whole matter; what has Putin on Trump? and what does Manafort know about it? And thus, what does Mueller know about it?
29
I see it as no coincidence that this comes shortly after Trump’s questioning. Clearly things didn’t add up and Trump contradicted Manafort. Or the other way around. I’m speculating here, but one thing that the Joyce Vance appears to have overlooked is a third option that manafort has in mind.
“What was he hiding that is worse than going to jail for the rest of your life?” said Joyce Vance, a professor of law at the University of Alabama law school and former federal prosecutor.”
He can lead them on a goose chase and buy time and in the end, Trump can pardon him. In that respect he’s got nothing to lose by lying.
4
Sadly , I agree . Nothing is below Trump and he is the one fighting the onslaught of truth and justice .
Anyone who thinks Manafort is getting a raw deal really should review his history and his role in supporting a dictator in the Ukraine. This guy should be breaking rocks in the hot sun for life, never mind ten years in a federal prison. And after you’re done reading about his dealings in Russia and the Ukraine, consider that he remains a man our president loves. That should tell you all you need to know about the character of our president.
35
The " character " of Trump is showcased in the Azerbaijan money laundering deal . I am surprised we have not heard more about it . But then , the criminal activity is vast with The Trump Organization .
Cautionary tale for any one who might agree to plead guilty in front of Mueller: Mueller decides you're not telling enough, Mueller ups your punishment without a chance for a trial.
4
Not “ telling enough “ and lying are not the same thing . What on earth are you thinking ?
1
Paul Manafort's rightful place is behind bars for a very long time.
11
Can he be released from solitary confinement and placed with the general prison population? The great equalizer of time amongst fellow prisoners may foster a more cooperative felon.
Cellblock societies have a way to mete out justice. Let the natural law of the jungle take its course.
5
NO ONE deserves to be subjected to “the law of the jungle” while in prison. Your willingness to subject a human being to violence to get the results you want is despicable.
7
@ERT Not Frontier Justice, this is Party of Regions justice with Old Testament bedding.
I read elsewhere speculation that this was all a trap by Mueller to get all of his evidence into the public record. Set Manafort up to lie (believing a pardon is imminent), and then lay out their case in the sentencing hearing. A slightly devious plan to avoid the final report getting buried.
12
Put Trump aside for a moment. Do you have any idea about the history of Manafort and what was done - with his guidance - to the Ukraine? This guy should be breaking rocks for life, never mind serving 10 for lying to the Feds. And this is a guy Trump loves. That alone shipyard tell you lots about the character of our president.
5
Being able to lie 24x7 must be a requirement to work for Trump. But it makes me wonder if Russia somehow dictated to Trump that Manafort be involved in his campaign, that Manafort was their guy. We absolutely need Mueller to get to the bottom of this sordid mess.
11
“Prosecutors working for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, said Mr. Manafort’s “crimes and lies” about “a variety of subject matters”..
That still doesn’t sound like proof of Trump colluding with Russia, or they would say that directly. Manafort is clearly a shady character and deserves all the prison time coming to him. This investigation needs to gain some traction or wind down. We’d all be found guilty of something if 20 prosecutors got unlimited resources to dig into our lives.
3
@Midwest Josh Where in the world do you come up with the conclusion that "if there was proof of Trump colluding with Russia they would say it directly"? You also have no idea as to the traction gained. It is wishful thinking on your part. As to 20 prosecutors digging into my life, they would be very bored.
5
Gain traction? He’s indicted about 40 people already! Hmmm, let’s see.... how many people did Ken Starr indict, over HOW many years??? No comparison.
3
@Midwest Josh
Didn't you make the same remarks above under a different name?
This INVESTIGATION had revealed things way beyond "collusion." It's neck deep, apparently, into the filthy world of money laundering and tax evasion and fraud, etc..........
1
Whatever Trump and Manafort and Whitacker are up to will happen soon while they have a 100% complicit Republican Congress
I suspect all this was being planned to happen after the election so it wouldn't hurt Republicans election chances.
7
I can only hope that Team Mueller is on top of all this, because the impact on the NYTimes-Reading public is layer upon layer of complexity (read "Mess") and confusion.
I have long since lost track of the plot and the characters.
7
It is clear that Mueller's investigation will be over during the Presidential Election in 2020--hopefully with enough facts to derail a second term for President Trump.
7
Interesting that Manafort's lawyers said he didn't deliberately lie. Is there another way to lie?
31
This is all about Manfort counting on a Trump pardon. Arrogance in the first degree. And if Trump complies, he will be toast. The 2020 election will be a blue tsunami.
If there is any justice in the World, both Manafort and Trump will spend the rest of their pathetic lives behind bars.
44
Too bad Manafort isn't keeping up with the NYT - especially the comments section. He might have seen this coming. Seriously, though - he appears to deserve everything he has coming to him, and then some. His children are innocent, and will do much better without him around to corrupt them. Too bad Ivanka et al weren't protected. I wonder - will Ivanka visit them in prison? What a People cover that would make!
11
Mr. Mueller is desperate to get anything of substance against President Trump - and looks more and more ridiculous and vindictive in so doing.
4
@Gmason: If anything, Mueller is methodical and focused. Certainly not ridiculous and vindictive, since he has done or said nothing to support those labels. Trump, on the other hand....
14
Manafort is confident of Trump’s pardon.
7
Either that or he wants to go to prison.
2
The arrogance of this person is astounding! And he is a lawyer to boot! He is probably counting on a pardon!
5
"Don't implicate the President and he will pardon you".
How many times has Manafort heard this and from whom?
15
More evidence that Trump has surrounded himself from Day 1 almost exclusively with amateurs and incompetents.
10
Trump wrote on Twitter: “The inner workings of the Mueller investigation are a total mess”
and
“They have ... gone absolutely nuts. They are screaming and shouting at people, horribly threatening them to come up with the answers they want.” “They are a disgrace to our Nation and don’t care how many lives” they ruin."
Hmmm... sure sounds to me as if Trump is talking about himself and his own WH instead of Mueller.
25
Apparently a Georgetown law degree is not all it’s cracked up to be...
7
@Neil Austrian
One person is not the reflection of an entire institution.
GU class of 2015.
If Mueller has any sense and self-respect he would throw Manafort so far into the prison that it would set an example for Trump and all his two bit criminals.
5
Mueller is not mad because Manafort is telling lies. He is angry because Manafort is refusing to tell the *right* lies.
Mueller's taxpayer-financed jihad against a sitting President really is a disgrace. Mueller had no probable cause in the first place. He has been desperately trying to dig up any politically damaging dirt he can by targeting everyone around Trump, and trying to extort them into saying what he wants. If they refuse, they are ruined with charges of process crimes, like failure to cooperate or allegedly lying to Mueller.
It is a horrible precedent to have a permanent inquisition seeking to destroy the President.
Trump-haters who are rejoicing at Mueller's persecutions, will eventually have these vicious tactics turned on them and their side (which always happens sooner or later once the precedent is established.)
7
@Ana Hedonia, you appear to be projecting your own feelings on Mueller. Mueller isn't the sort of person who gets angry. He's just doing his job as best he can. Does he have a sense of right and wrong and that somewhere in this mess caused by Trump, injustice has been done, injustice that needs to be rectified? You bet! But at the end of the day if Trump is vindicated or impeached, or jailed or whatever, Mueller will walk away satisfied the he and his team did everything possible to uncover the truth about Russia's attack on this country. And amid all the ballyhoo over Manafort let's not forget what this is all about. Russia attacked the United States.
You also seem to forget about all the lying that has been exposed, by Mueller and the press. Do you remember the initial statements about the Trump Tower meeting. All fiction now. Do you remember Trump's initial statements about Stormy Daniels? Fiction once again.
We're not Trump haters, but we are tired of being lied to again and again and again. We're tired of vicious tactics, yes, but not from Mueller, but from Donald Trump, who, from the very beginning, has used lies to sow discord among all Americans.
Trump cold end this inquisition today. All he has to do is call Mueller into Oval Office and tell the truth, but you and I know that's not going happen because like Manafort, Trump doesn't know how to tell the truth, Trump can't tell the truth because it makes him afraid.
26
Muller is in place because Sessions lied during his confirmation about contact with the Russians during the campaign and had to recuse, then Trump fired Comey and admitted on national TV that it was the "Russia thing" that influenced his decision. Trump is the reason there is a special council, he could have cooperated from the start. Please don't be confused.
I think it gets lost that Manafort was trying to sell access to the president to relieve his debt to Russian oligarchs. He is a traitor to this country and he got involved with a morally corrupt Presidential candidate. Who knows if Trump knew anything, but if Trump was a patriot he would be demanding Manafort be imprisoned for attempting to sell access, not defending him. Think about it, if the president is innocent, why wouldn't he be appalled at Manaforts actions and why wouldnt he be furious that Manafort has jeopardized his legitimacy as president? Instead, Trump is attacking his own REPUBLICAN, justice department to defend criminals and traitors.
23
@Ana Hedonia It is amazing how many armchair experts there are in this country. You speak as if you actually know of what you say. But you don't. You want it to be true, or you believe it because Sean Hannity tells you so. Just wait and see the facts like we all must.
5
If he lied then that’s that. There’s no wiggly truth. Sentence time. Plea begone. Paul Manafort a Trump family conspiracy playmate.
12
Is Donald Trump similarly afraid of the oligarchs? Could their reach penetrate the White House?
12
@felixfelix
Yes, it could be. The disinformatsiya experts are usually one step ahead of everyone with their traps of "active measures."
1
Trump could go “Ho, Ho, Ho” in a totally different way this year if he decides to hand out pardons.
3
“to which he did not plead guilty to in the District of Columbia”
“Mr. Trump has suggested that prosecutors are frustrated because they can’t not produce any evidence against his campaign.”
The Times had better rehire some of those copy editors they released last year.
4
A lot of interesting theories, but one thing is certain - the people associated with this administration are the most depraved bunch of low-lifes in US history.
I tend toward the simplest explanation: this is an individual who lies by nature. He isn't capable of telling the truth even when it might be in his interest. Or the truth is inextricable from lies in his mind - he can't tell the difference.
Either that, or he knows Russian hit men can get to him in prison.
Personally I don't think he's counting on a pardon from Trump. He knows Trump is going down too. I am sure he never trusted Trump. For one thing, though Manafort is a sociopath, he seems a bit more intelligent than Trump and he knows Trump is too mentally addled to strategize to help himself, let alone anyone else.
14
@DW That’s not the simplest explanation. The simplest explanation is that the Mueller investigation doesn’t really have anything so the best they can do is to defame people as much as possible.
1
Guilty in Virginia by a jury of his peers on multiple counts sure seems like something to me. But then again, I’m one of those old fashioned rule of law supporters.
3
"He's a good man."
The midterms are behind us.
He did what needed to be done.
Pardon Express has launched.
10
Mr. Manafort should be considered a hero, since despite the risk of ending up in jail for many years, he refused to slander President Trump. I find it decidedly scandalous, the political use of justice, where he was given too much power to the President's political enemies, who try in every way to do it outside
4
@Cristina Loyalty to individuals rather than principles is the way of dictatorships and kingdoms, not democracies.
@Cristina His tax fraud convictions and failure to comply with the law for dealing with foreign governments have nothing to do with Trump. He committed crimes, is serving his time and is no hero.
Well, that was bad luck when he was found out.
Some people just don't get it and believe they can get away with everything.
Still, there is more to the Manafort issue than just Trump.
Manafort also ran the Hapsburg Group which included a number of European politicians, Gusenbauer, Yanukovich or Prodi, who Manafort introduced to work in the US without proper authorization.
When will these conspirators be charged in a US court of law?
Aren't they too part of the criminal organizations Manafort established and ran?
3
If Manafort is willing to risk a lengthy sentence then it is without a doubt because Trump got to him with a promise of a pardon. It will happen just before the next election. Manafort only has to hold tight for a couple of years.
2
Repeatedly lying - isn’t that the only “skill” that matters for Trump and those who work for Trump?
13
Manafort and Mr. T are caught in a little trap.
sorry- not sorry.
6
Do the prisoners in Club Fed get superior medical care?
4
Manafort must be more afraid of ratting out Russian oligarchs, Putin, Trump and his crooked business partners. A nice long stretch in state prison must seem like the safer option.
6
I believe a wise man once said, "Truth isn't truth."
Anyway, that's what my grandchildren will mutter, as they absentmindedly kick garbage, thirsty and jobless, in the ruined streets of America later this century.
6
Trump told us that the new acting AG had shared the Manafort refusal to cooperate with him. Yes, read his tweet on interviewing others on his campaign, from this past weekend!!
The rumor is that Manafort suddenly started denying collusion, after he said he had information about it in his initial cooperation discussions and agreement. Is it true, the new AG, has added another 'co-mole' to the Mueller investigation.
The corruption in this administration, especially with this horrible acting AG, is unimaginable.
How low will he sink our Justice system. Dreadful!
9
The horror, the horror.
Honestly, who can be surprised Manafort lied? Again? Before? Whenever?
Has he ever told the truth about anything?
I am sure the legitimate Ukrainian government would like their stolen funds back. They will need them to shore up their defences against Putin's thugs - again. Thugs who were emboldened not only by Manafort but also by Trump.
And lest we forget, Manafort was the campaign manager to elect Trump. Both beyond the scenes, on stage and after.
Apocalypse America.
7
Clearly Trump will pardon him if he is convicted. Would it not be possible for the prosecutors to withhold some of the multiple charges until after the President pardons him and then rearrest him on the previously undisclosed charges? President Trump would face ridicule if he pardoned him twice!
1
These rapscallions and deviants are not about to give any front row seats to justice. The dollar is their prism for seeing how the world works. Which makes any oaths about god being their witness about as good as Trump taking the oath(s?) to be president, well at least to about 90% of the GOP. Oh, the convenience of putting truth and god into the lock box even when it puts the interests of Russian oligarchs and their laundered dollars in the front row seats.
2
I suspect that the Mueller team is simply trying to paint the Trump campaign in the worst light possible at all times, regardless of what the actual truth is.
They used Manafort to do it, and once they were done questioning him they ratcheted down once again.
It’s all about controlling the public discourse and depicting the Trump campaign team as corrupt as possible. This way, future impeachment proceedings will be more enticing.
3
Get your popcorn ready. There is literally nothing Trump won't do to hold on to the Presidency, since he now knows the moment he is out of office, the indictments against him and his companies will be unsealed and his life will effectively be over. Mueller moves in subtle but devastating ways, like the ocean.
11
Manafort must have been told Trump
will bail him out!
3
Mr. Manafort has obviously has been promised a pardon, if he does not cooperate. What say you America?
8
Has Donald Trump already declared that, "This just proves I'm innocent!"?
When up is down, why not go all the way?
3
It was naïve of Mueller to ever think that Manafort had any intention of being truthful.
Obviously, what Manafort knows, & could share with Mueller if he had any scruples, would provide proof of collusion between Russia & the Trump campaign. The oligarchs funding Trump, Manafort, & their cronies do not wish to have their misdeeds exposed; if Manafort rats them out, these people would readily do to Manafort & his family what the Saudis did to Khashoggi. So, what do you think Manafort fears most? It isn't the prospect of spending the rest of his life in jail.
9
It seems strange that a criminal can pardon his accomplice.
14
People who have built their whole life on lying (heretofore successfully) think they can somehow weasel out of paying the bill when it comes due.
6
So long as Mueller is unable to charge Trump he will pardon
Manafort. He won't do it right away-probably in the waning days in office. But he will do it and that is what Manafort is banking on.
1
This whole business, I mean all of it, given the cast of characters and the surreal nature and wobbly orbit of planet Trump, can only end (if it ever does) in uncharted weirdness. Maybe Trump, one step ahead of the hounds, dressed as an old woman, escapes to share Julias Assange's crib or finds refuge in Putin's garage or perhaps a few final hours in a bunker ending with a poison cheeseburger.
This can't possibly end in any normal way. Even 'normal' is gone.
11
What is the chance Manafort is lying on purpose to damage the investigation? He knows Trump will pardon him anyway. Trump doesn't care what anyone things, he'll do anything to get himself out of trouble.
4
Wonder what was in Trump's written statements to Mueller's questions that might have contradicted Manafort.
8
There has got to be something with international implications of great import going on here, something far beyond election rigging and cyber crime alone.
What if Cohen follows suit with Manafort. Mueller has no useful witnesses, and Trump simply pardons them all. They have all seemed a bit too unconcerned of late.
Trump is far too comfortable putting forth the most obvious lies in front of the whole world and then just walking away with a wave. Teargassing kids in Mexico? We didn't do that. Bye. Talk to the hand.
The talk of starting his own news outlet sounds like post-impeachment plans to me. Now that even Fox fails the sycophant test by reporting unflattering poll numbers, private life will allow him to exercise even more free speech. Just gather up the usual suspects like Bannon, Limbaugh, and Jones, and I'm sure the rest will just fall in place.
Another scenario would have the New World Order encroaching with lightning speed. Despotism is enjoying a resurgence, and Trump does cash business with the biggest and baddest, protected from the crime he's committing by the office that make what he's doing a crime in the first place. Why compete when you can "cooperate"? A journalist here, a few starving refugees there . . . after a while, the great unwashed with adjust to it.
Trump has lived his entire life without ever feeling an obligation to make sense when he talks. Why should he? It 's working.
I just hope Gen. Mattis knows when to stop listening.
10
Why isn’t Manaford’s written offer to brief Putin on the inner workings of the Trump campaign in exchange for “being made whole” on his debts to a Russian oligarch evidence of collusion? Why isn’t Manaford’s changing of the Republican party platform so that we would not provide arms to Ukraine evidence of collusion with Russia? I don’t understand why there is such a focus on hacks emails when this evidence is much clearer. He was the campaign CEO at the time!
8
Tough thing, breaking the habit of a lifetime.
5
Manafort knows what happens to people who turn on Putin. He's had months to think about it, and his vulnerability in jail. He would rather take his chances for a pardon than risk Putin's Revenge.
6
I wonder if Manafort may have miscalculated. Looks like Manafort now has no leverage to obtain a pardon. That is, if he has lost his ability to incriminate Trump et al (because of blown credibility), why should Trump take the political hit of pardoning him? Trump can let Manafort twist in the wind/spend the rest of his days in jail.
2
"Something material and significant and intentional" - like a pardon. Manafort wants this over with and onto sentencing after which Trump can, and will, pardon him. Manafort has lied to protect the only person who can spring him from jail: Trump.
2
Well, the gentleman has certainly made himself worthless as a witness against Mr. Trump. One wonders if Mr. Manafort is fishing for a Presidential pardon.
2
Hmm. Scooter Libby was convicted of lying to a special prosecutor based on testimony of a reporter who later recanted, asserting she had been tricked into giving false timeline testimony by the special prosecutor.
Mueller is now being unsuccessful at getting useful testimony against Trump from Manafort. Perhaps he has been unable to suborn perjury. He's probably using tricked individuals as "proof" that Manafort is lying.
Mueller is going to issue a scathing report criticizing Trump, but will have no evidence of criminal or impeachable offenses by Trump. He's positioning himself by saying Manafort has evidence but is lying about it.
Anti-democracy forces will be rioting in the streets.
1
is Manafort preferring the "safety" of prison for fear of a fatal Russian nerve agent, or because he's been "assured" of a trump pardon?
whatever the case, I surely hope the Mueller team has something else up its sleeve. a lot more. for it would be yet another cruel irony if trump and his criminal minions got off the hook not by defeating our legal eagles in a court of law, but by doing an end run around them.
5
Manafort chose a deal with Trump over a deal with Mueller.
Just watch- Manafort will be pardoned by Trump. Manafort's tax fraud against the American taxpayer matters little to Trump, nor apparently to Trump's supporters. It is all about personal gain and not about keeping the country from going bankrupt.
2
At some point I have to stop shaking my head, just so my head won't get injured from shaking. This is a hard administration to survive.
6
If this is the case then Trump will probably pardon him. Lied for his boss. Meanwhile, we do not know whether Muellers evidence of lies helps or hinders Trump in and of itself.
When we lived in tribes, scratching out survival, counting every calorie we gathered or killed, we valued sharing as the only path to survive the winter. We cast out those that didn't protect the collective, leaving them to their struggle in the wilderness. Greed and corruption was an abomination when every man, woman and child's life was at stake.
Today without starvation to focus us, the tracks of those willing to jeopardize society for their benefit abound. Many even speak of their envy for hoarding and so we end up with what would have been castoffs like Trump, Manafort, Flynn, and Kushner in positions of power.
6
What Manafort knows about Trump is nothing compared to what he knows about Putin. Makes one wonder what Trump and Putin discussed last summer in Helsinki? This latest development may be the result of those discussions.
3
It is interesting that this filing comes immediately after trump turned in his answers to Mueller's question. Perhaps this is a message to trump and others that Mueller's team already know the facts.
trump thought that the questions from Mueller's team were "easy". However, trump and his lawyers did/do not know what Mueller knew/knows. So trump team did not know how to shape their lies and when to tell the truth....
I hope to see the Mueller's indictments unsealed someday.
6
So the question is, what was he hiding that Mr. Trump found so damaging he would pass along the word (perhaps via Matthew Whitaker) that a pardon is guaranteed if it is not disclosed?
4
Manafort is the kind of guy Trump chooses to hang with. l am not talking about that form of execution. I am using an expression in vogue among people decades younger than I.
10
Liar, liar, pants on fire, or is it his snake skin jacket? Time for him to be charged for the other ten crimes that he committed including obstruction of justice. Let him slither out of this one.
14
@Ichabod Aikem
I think it’s the ostrich jacket ($15K) that’s on fire!
1
Defense lawyers said Mr. Manafort had met repeatedly with the special counsel’s office and “believes he has provided truthful information.” Sure: tidbits of truth in a sea of lies? A performance intended to shoot holes through credibility so that Manafort wouldn't be called to testify against Trump Jr., Kushner, Trump himself? Even the mafia would have trouble trusting this guy. Because Manafort has no honor. What a slime ball!
29
Don't worry, Paul. Just keep your mouth shut and Trump will pardon you, and probably give you a piece of the action. Such is loyalty.
8
@William O. Beeman I wouldn't bank on that Trump's insistence on loyalty is more likely to only go one way.
Trump thinks Mueller is an incompetent fool because Mueller keeps referring to one of the pieces on the board as a King, but the piece hasn't even made it across the board or jumped any of the other pieces yet . . .
. . . if the dirt is there, my money is on the guy capable of playing the long game.
15
That Manafort is a liar and a crook leaves little doubt, and jail seems the rightful place for his graft. Insofar Trump is concerned, he is an inveterate liar and a crook as well, so no wonder he is afraid to meet with Mr. Mueller, as perjury would be the most likely outcome. Let's hope that Trump's impunity ends sooner than later, now that the House is in democrats' hands, and the wings of abuse of power are trimmed.
24
Come on, Mr. Mueller, the suspense is close to killing me.
Drop your bombs.
30
@SCZ
No, no, no... do not open until Xmas. Oh, I can't wait for January to roll around. Looking forward to the next 2 years of the proverbial "payback."
2
Maybe Manafort thinks he'll be safer in federal prison instead of out in public where he might meet a couple of "nutritionists" from Russia who got lost on their way to Salisbury Cathedral.
68
Exactly what I’m thinking (although you stated it much better than I could have).
19
I guess there are things that terrify him more than a prison for life sentence.
29
Does Mueller know more than Manafort thinks he knows? Is Manafort just unable to parse the truth out after so many years of deceitful life? Has Trump made promises of a horribly self-incriminating pardon at the eleventh hour?
19
" Mr. Manafort had met repeatedly with the special counsel’s office and “believes he has provided truthful information.”"
And...that is when he "repeatedly" lied.
12
@Candlewick
I enjoy the strongly worded affirmation of his ownveracity: He "believes he has provided truthful information." he probably did provide some - - -
Mueller is using some twisted, illogical logic to claim that Manafort is "lying". What Manafort did was to break the terms of the plea bargain.....which is not lying. If Mueller has evidence of any wrong doing, then breaking the plea deal ... or even actual "Lying" does nothing except to make Mueller's case stronger....instead, now...in the eyes of any legal expert......Mueller looks weak..very weak.
2
He breached the plea deal *by* lying. This legal expert has spoken.
1
No wonder Trump hired Manafort, who appears to lie as compulsively as Trump. Good to see Mueller holding Manafort's feet to the fire.
For Trump, Manafort's being caught lying again after a plea deal is like a visit from Marley's ghost showing the future if he stays the course.
16
Once more, this seems to remain pertinent:
Death of a Salesman
A conman who lived in a tower,
Mortgaged his soul for more power;
Contempt, lies and hate,
Were all that he ate,
So his heart shriveled more by the hour.
Near the end of his life, he got famous,
Threw his weight around trying to tame us,
But by bloating himself,
He choked on his wealth,
While trying his hardest to blame us.
At last he, alone in his room,
Knowing death would be beckoning soon,
Looked back on his life,
Seeing nothing but strife—
No time left to alter his tune.
So he entered eternity trembling,
Wishing for some other ending.
His last breath was slow,
He did not want to go,
His money no longer remembering.
The world watched him go without grief,
Free, at last, of the poor shameless thief.
The name on the tower,
Came down the same hour,
Repossessed to the bank's great relief!
His legacy could be a clue,
To those who take care what they do:
The values we nourish,
Are the ones that will flourish—
True wealth is reserved for the few.
24
@Newt Baker
I don't think I've ever posted anything before,although I don't lack for opinions,but I wanted to tell you that I appreciated your rap (!).Thank you for your generosity of spirit. Cheers
3
The cynic in me says Manafort was delaying so Trump can pardon him after the midterms without causing (too much) political trouble for the midterms.
12
One way to consider Mueller plea deal cancellation is to look at the timing. Doesn't it seem likely that new hard evidence, or the testimony of someone deemed more credible, with access to even more insider information than Trump's campaign manager, has recently come into Mueller's possession?
And who might that be?
When did Trump ("I wrote them myself") submit his answers to the special counsel's questions?
Sorry Paul. So sad.
13
I have not yet heard the term "suborning a witness": to induce (a witness) to commit perjury. An attorney talking to a witness about an offer of a pardon is guilty of this, as is the person who "suggested" that the attorney speak to the witness. These are such blatant crimes; its difficult to see how an elected (or appointed) official could escape impeachment.
9
@Kenarmy
A prosecutor who attempts to coerce a witness into lying by threatening him with abrogation of a plea agreement is suborning perjury.
1
@ebmem
And a prosecutor who “coerces” a witness to be truthful is doing his job.
3
One next question, of course, will be about a possible pardon of Manifold. However, that will not really help Trump in the end. All that will do is switch possible testimony about Trump's collusion with the Russians to complete proof of his obstruction of justice.
9
“Proof” of obstruction of justice?
To the Democrats maybe; legally it is of no consequence whatsoever & as long as he waits until after he’s re-elected (especially if the Senate doesn’t massively filp), likely to have no significant political consequences for him personally.
Doubt Trump cares if he’s impeached by Dems in the house as long as he isn’t convicted in the Senate......in fact he’d probably love it.
No doubt Trump has promised this criminal Manafort a pardon.
Every day Trump is in office he debases the presidency, the government, the rule of law, our society and our traditions and norms just as he has debased every other thing he has touched in his vile life.
Trump can parade his corruption without fear thanks to the amorality, hypocrisy and phony values of conservatives and Republicans. They enable him. He would be nothing without them. Americans need to remember that fact.
28
Perhaps the delay in Mueller's report is not that there is no evidence of wrongdoing, but that there is so much. How do you finally file charges when the whole Trump Gang is lying and covering for each other, and when the whole Trump family adds to the list of illegal bumbling on a daily basis? You'd need ten Robert Muellers to keep up with this crooked bunch.
22
Hmm. Makes me wonder if Trump interests have gotten to him. Seriously. Whitaker is in position. Russia has the other side. So what if he reneges? Trump will pardon him and he avoids an untimely death by Putin's hand.
9
The majority of people lie, unfortunately, that is the nature of the human animal. Let's see, we have all these people in this administration before, during, and after, who have lied, or are continuing to lie, including some members of DT's own family. Most of those that lie, get off because they find favor with a jury, so Manafort might find favor from the President. Justice for the victims, not so much, for the rich, and famous in society, easy.
4
Paul Manafort to the Meuller investigation, "Pardon me, did you say you had a question about Trump?"
Manafort anticipates a pardon from Trump, so he would view lying to the Meuller team as having zero consequences.
7
Any of Trump’s cronies who are likely to be prosecuted and convicted are requested to form an orderly queue in front of the White House to secure their Presidential pardons...
7
Every time I read an article about Trump or one of his team, I get the funny feeling that he is very guilty. The way he is trying to influence Meuller, and snaps at anyone who disagrees with him these days, trying to put the blame back on them, just means he is hiding things. I will be surprised if he makes it through his first term. In any case, the die is cast and he would loose the next election if he runs.
3
Trump didn’t pardoned Manafort up to this point, believing the special council fell for his lies and he is serving his sentences without implicating Trump. But now, this is a whole different story. Can he pardon Manafort before his next trial?
1
This indeed is a witch hunt. I guess election results have no value in Mueller's view. If you have evidence that proves collusion, charge Trump and have a trial in the senate. If you don't have such evidence, then pack the bags and go home.
1
Sorry my friend, I know many GOPers are pretty slow on the uptake, but election results don’t determine whether someone has committed a crime or not.
22
Perhaps it is so simple as Trump’s written answers to the Special Counsel’s questions differing with Manafort’s plea-dealed answers to the same questions. If so, well ... Check and mate.
7
He should mount a defense that after exposure to Trump he became chronically unable to stop lying.
8
I love these swamp-replacements. They are bottomless as far as tomfoolery goes. If it wasn't so disheartening it would be funny.
2
All trump supporters (all Republican Senators and Representatives), all of his campaign officials, and all cabinet members need to be in prison. All Trump voters need to lose the right to vote until 2036. That is the only solution that will prevent the possible end of humanity.
14
I felt a long missed shiver of hope when I opened the plea agreement and read, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. Paul Manafort.
4
All this dissembling and dishonesty in the name of what? Money, that's what. How has it come to the point that these are the people in power in our society? Are there really people in the world who are thinking that they want to be like Donald Trump or Paul Manafort? Difficult to believe.
8
It seemed to me that Trump was looking overly revived today after his slump of the last couple of weeks. It could be possible that Whitaker conveyed the contents of Manafort's interviews with Mueller to the White House, White House lawyers then coordinating Trump's responses accordingly. Something is rotten here.
14
He obviously still thinks trump is going to pardon him.
If Trump does pardon him, it will cost him dearly. Trump's base may be unfazed, but most middle of the road people would seen the pardon as corruption at the highest levels of government.
10
@S B
Cost to Trump depends on when the pardon comes. Pre 2020 - perhaps a cost, post 2020-zippo cost.
1
@S B
No one held it against Hillary that her husband granted pardons for money and votes.
1
This was the Manafort/Trump plan all along--and my fear all along. Trump couldn't pardon Manafort before the midterms--electoral disaster. But Trump couldn't afford for Manafort to go to trial before the midterms either--electoral disaster if there was a trial involving the Ukraine/Russia issues. So, Manafort made a plea deal (which at the time appeared equally bad, if not worse, for Trump). But I believe Mueller was played. Now Trump will in fact pardon Manafort. It's true that Manafort may face state level prosecutions after the pardon (and it's also true that this indicates Mueller has some good intel) but in the end, Manor goes free on federal charges, Trump pays no electoral price and Manafort will also have some semi-defensible double-jeopardy claims and may at least be able to stay out of state prison for a time. Mueller may be (and hopefully is) a prosecutorial genius. But I see this as being out-gamed by the con.
6
@CharacterIsDestiny I agree. State prosecution will proceed at the discretion of state politicians. Even if Trump is impeached for the pardon, and that is a very long short, he'll simply go back to doing what he was doing before. And maybe hook up with Paul again....
@CharacterIsDestiny. My worry also, especially if Mueller was counting on Manafort to expose Trump directly. Manafort didn't deliver, expecting T's pardon.