[anna]

Well, not one of the charges mentions Russia as a principal or even seems to fall chronologically within the time Manafort worked for Trump except for the foreign agent stuff and the foreign agent things refer to the anti-Russian western Ukranian government. So if they do pertain to the Russian collusion theory, it's in a way that is not immediately apparent from reading the indictment, correct?

We don't know that there aren't more charges forthcoming, which I said already, and we don't know the details behind these charges we know. I've been waiting a long time for this, I can wait a little longer, Mueller knows what he's doing.

Also, an issue overshadowing all this is if Trump tries to fire Mueller.

[The Immortal Goon]

Trump's pardon pen is warming up in the bullpen.

Trump would just look longingly at his pen since I believe that this is all indicted by the state of New York specifically to avoid that. Mueller was head g-man, he knows how this works.

Not that anything would or will necessarily come from this (banksters, after all, are immune to crime 99% of the time), but I added a special bonus:

[Decky]

Nonsense it started before Stalin died. You have evidently never heard of the Doctor's Plot.

[Rich]

The Gobalists succeeded in bringing down Nixon, America's greatest president, so its certainly possible, they could bring down Trump. Trump needs to remember that W Bush was on the downhill slope till he got involved in war.

[Hong Wu]

It would apparently take more charges before this can be connected to Trump or Russia... it doesn't take much to keep the media going though.

[anna]

Trump would just look longingly at his pen since I believe that this is all indicted by the state of New York specifically to avoid that. Mueller was head g-man, he knows how this works.

That's what I've been hearing also.

Not that anything would or will necessarily come from this (banksters, after all, are immune to crime 99% of the time), but I added a special bonus:

Thank you. You just made my Manafort Monday all that much sweeter.

(Love the WP hanging from the rear view mirror and the Oh Lordy street art)

[Beren]

You're simply the best @The Immortal Goon, better than all the rest!

[Suntzu]

Trump would just look longingly at his pen since I believe that this is all indicted by the state of New York specifically to avoid that. Mueller was head g-man, he knows how this works.

Not that anything would or will necessarily come from this (banksters, after all, are immune to crime 99% of the time), but I added a special bonus:

Sorry! No cigar. Federal indictment in federal court. Maybe next time!

[4cal]

Something else to keep in mind: Manafort was at the meeting with Kushner, Trump Jr. and the Russians in 2016, which meeting is alleged to have been seeking dirt on Hillary.


Charges: "The indictment contains 12 counts: conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading FARA statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts..."


Meanwhile, back at the DO SOMETHING Corral, Trump is meeting with Sessions tomorrow.

He does seem to be where a lot of intersections are made between the Trump crime family (I think we can legitimately call his clan a crime family now) with the Don, Kushner, and Trump’s son….the campaign with Stone, the hackers, the oligarchs who were in the Russian banking sphere, Sessions, etc… and the administration with the firing of Comey, the investigations by Mueller and within the halls of Congress.

I would love to get a peek at Mueller’s evidence board and see the connections between the groups.

Just remember, the fish rots from the head down. When the leader of the group is so blatantly and inherently dishonest and dirty as Trump, everyone below takes their cues from him to be just as dishonest and dirty. Persons of integrity such as Obama have administrations born of integrity.

[anna]

Sorry! No cigar. Federal indictment in federal court. Maybe next time!

Trump can only pardon Federal charges.

Mueller has been working with New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman since at least August, so it'll be interesting what comes from the NY AG.

[Suntzu]

I'm certainly glad the Klinton Klan ain't crooked!

[Suntzu]

Trump can only pardon Federal charges.

Mueller has been working with New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman since at least August, so it'll be interesting what comes from the NY AG.

Very true, unfortunately these are federal indictments. I would guess there are very few New York laws that apply to international subterfuge. Perhaps money laundering.

[4cal]

Just saw this on Twitter:



#MAGA

MEN
ARE
GETTING
ARRESTED

[anna]

He does seem to be where a lot of intersections are made between the Trump crime family (I think we can legitimately call his clan a crime family now) with the Don, Kushner, and Trump’s son….the campaign with Stone, the hackers, the oligarchs who were in the Russian banking sphere, Sessions, etc… and the administration with the firing of Comey, the investigations by Mueller and within the halls of Congress.

I would love to get a peek at Mueller’s evidence board and see the connections between the groups.

Just remember, the fish rots from the head down. When the leader of the group is so blatantly and inherently dishonest and dirty as Trump, everyone below takes their cues from him to be just as dishonest and dirty. Persons of integrity such as Obama have administrations born of integrity.

I think this is only the beginning, and I too wish I could have seen this whole thing in process. Gotta hand it to Mueller, he's running a tight, efficient ship.

The White House must be in extreme panic mode right now. Have to wonder why Kushner decided to take an unannounced trip to Saudi Arabia...

And significant is Papadopoulos' guilty plea. His arrest was back in July, since which time he's been cooperating.

[anna]

Very true, unfortunately these are federal indictments.

Do you think I don't know that?

I would guess there are very few New York laws that apply to international subterfuge. Perhaps money laundering.

More might be riding on how much time he could avoid serving under a state conviction by cooperating with Mueller.

[Beren]

Have to wonder why Kushner decided to take an unannounced trip to Saudi Arabia...

Why not Russia? They'd refuse to extradite him perhaps.

[Rancid]

This is a witch hunt against my president!

[Beren]

Only an hour after former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was indicted on conspiracy against the U.S., money laundering and other charges on Monday morning, President Donald Trump’s son sent out a campaign fundraising email asking for contributions. The mass email from Eric Trump makes no reference to charges against Manafort and his former business associate Richard Gates, but the subject line reads “Still standing,” and the timing speaks volumes.

“There’s new opposition against my father and this Administration every day. The mainstream media continues to play politics, creating division and turning the American people against one another,” the email starts off, then states in italics, “But as a loyal supporter of our movement, I know you know the truth.”

Eric is my favourite Trump of all.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and Manafort's business associate Rick Gates face decades in federal prison and millions of dollars in potential fines if convicted on all counts in a sprawling federal indictment unsealed Monday.

Manafort potentially faces up to 80 years in prison, according to a review of the federal charges and the relevant statutes by The Associated Press. Gates, who also worked for the Trump campaign, faces up to 70 years.

Prosecutors could still file additional charges against the pair. If convicted at trial, the law gives federal judges wide latitude in imposing prison sentences and fines.

I really wonder whether they'll tell something about the Trump campaign.

[Stormsmith]

Trump can only pardon Federal charges.

Mueller has been working with New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman since at least August, so it'll be interesting what comes from the NY AG.

Money laundering can be both fed and state charges. I think you know this, but others might not.

[The Immortal Goon]

The reporting about this says something about American politics at the moment.

This morning saw indictments handed down to Paul Manafort, the former campaign chairman of the squatting U.S. president, on—among other things—conspiracy against the nation. Manafort, alongside his aide Robert Gates, surrendering to federal authorities represents a significant escalation in Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s probe into the campaign’s Russian ties—as is the somewhat less grabby, but potentially even more damning news that Trump’s campaign foreign policy advisor George Papadopolous, who tried to arrange meetings with Kremlin officials to secure “dirt” on Hillary Clinton, has now admitted to lying about that to FBI. By any objective journalistic standard, this is today’s biggest story, meriting wall-to-wall discussion on most serious networks. Which is why Fox News spent the morning talking about the Clintons and cartoon cheeseburgers.

“The breaking news, according to the New York Times: Paul Manafort and a former business associate by the name of Rick Gates were told to surrender to federal authorities, and apparently they will sometime this morning,” co-host Steve Doocy said, making sure to caution that this is just what The New York Times is saying.

Later, the show welcomed attorney Alan Dershowitz for an exhaustive, seven-minute segment devoted to reassuring its target demographic of irritable world leaders that this all “has nothing to do with Trump,” and that it’s all just an attempt to squeeze Manafort for other information he may or may not have—and in fact, he may be pressured into “making something up against somebody.”

All right, Alan, good to know. On to the real news then: People can’t stop talking about Google’s new cheeseburger emoji!

This big, somethingburger controversy that’s threatening to consume America today, Fox News reports, all stems from Google’s placement of the cartoon cheese on this cartoon burger—which some say should always be on top of the patty, not beneath it. Of course, we know this is just a witch hunt, pure and simple: We should all be focused on the real criminals over at Samsung, who insist that the cheese goes between the lettuce and tomato, and who should be set on fire.

What sick, twisted degenerates even bothered voting for Boston Baked Beans anyway, and how soon can they be deported? Our brave troops did not sacrifice their lives so you can pretend to enjoy sucking a shriveled peanut out of a quarter-inch of gloppy sucrose wax.

Anyway, while all those other channels were busy looking into these clearly partisan charges based on tenuous political connections over things that happened years ago, Fox & Friends was getting right to the bottom of Hillary Clinton and Obama selling uranium to the Russians.

Other breaking Fox News on this momentous morning included segments on GOP tax reform, another National Anthem protest by the Houston Texans, and a pair of recent op-eds in The Economist and Newsweek that suggested, respectively, that American soldiers aren’t all that patriotic and that all “conservative loudmouths” are Irish-American.

Along with decrying both of those things as just more glaring examples of the mainstream media operating as the unabashed propaganda arm for powerful people desperately trying to deflect from their own criminal misdeeds through whatever pathetic distractions they can muster, Fox & Friends brought in Kellyanne Conway to redirect attention back to Hillary Clinton. This line of coverage was later picked up by Fox News’ most-watched show:

Fortunately, Google CEO Sundar Pichai has already announced the company will “drop everything” to fix its cheeseburger emoji, so Fox News can now move on to covering the story everyone really wants to talk about today: Are sad millennials ruining Halloween? And how long can they really expect to get away with it?