Manafort does deal

Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann says the dismissal of charges against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is dependent on him completing "successful cooperation" with special counsel Robert Mueller's office.

Weissmann did not immediately expand on what cooperation is required under the deal.

Read more: https://politi.co/2Mv9f7F

His Russian and Putin connections are unchallenged, and it is obvious he is one of the characters who were at Juniors meeting to conspire to get Russian help in defeating Hillary. Trump is a mobster. Mueller and his team have dealt with these slimeballs for years, and sadly I will not live long enough to see Trump in an orange jump suit, and the only question which remains will pence do a Jerry Ford.

I think Trump will fight this every inch of the way. He knows he can't get convicted in the Senate so he'll just fight everything until 2020 then find someone to blame for all of it--probably Hillary.

I believe he can be convicted in the Senate if it is clear he knew about his son's meeting. It was a conspiracy to commit a felony and compromise the American elections. The Republicans in the Senate only have to have ten members vote for the conviction......it depends on how bad Mueller smacks him.....if it goes to money laundering for the Russian mob and tax evasion, he is gone.

Gawd y'all are easy.

https://www.npr.org/2018/09/14/643073024/paul-manafort-to-plead-guilty-in-agreement-to-avert-a-second-federal-trial

The plea agreement says Manafort agrees to cooperate in any and all matters as to which the government deems the cooperation relevant. That includes testifying fully and completely before a grand jury in Washington D.C., or elsewhere.

But one person familiar with the case said the agreement does not include cooperation on matters involving the Trump campaign. The individual asked not to be identified.

It was not immediately clear what information Manafort might provide prosecutors. But he served as Trump's campaign chairman during the critical summer months 2016, and he attended the now-infamous meeting at Trump Tower that June with a Russian delegation offering dirt on Hillary Clinton.

The plea announced on Friday covered Manafort's work as a lobbyist for a now-deposed president of Ukraine, for which he did not register as required by law. Manafort also hid the millions of dollars he made from that work from the U.S. government and asked witnesses to lie to the jury in the trial he has now avoided.

2seaoat wrote: The Republicans in the Senate only have to have ten members vote for the conviction...

Considering the current state of political polarization, I don't think there's a chance in hell 10 Republicans would vote to convict.

https://crooksandliars.com/2018/09/checkmate-manafort-cooperation-pardon

But the fact that no media outlet was able to confirm whether or not the plea would include cooperation could only be possible if Mueller had made silence about that fact part of the deal. Otherwise, Manafort’s lawyers would have confirmed that it included no cooperation to placate the President. As it was, no one outside of the deal knew that the plea did include cooperation until Manafort was already pleading guilty.

And at this point, the deal is pardon proof. That was part of keeping the detail secret: to prevent a last minute pardon from Trump undercutting it.

Here’s why this deal is pardon proof:

Mueller spent the hour and a half delay in arraignment doing … something. It’s possible Manafort even presented the key parts of testimony Mueller needs from him to the grand jury this morning.

The forfeiture in this plea is both criminal and civil, meaning DOJ will be able to get Manafort’s $46 million even with a pardon.

As part of Paul Manafort's plea deal, he'll forfeit various bank accounts and properties worth about $46 million dollars.
Someone should let Trump know that the Mueller investigation just paid for itself. - Nick Jack Pappas


911, I HEAR LOUD SCREAMING COMING FROM THE WHITE HOUSE!! PLEASE SEND HELP IMMEDIATELY!!!!- Rex Huppke

Manafort’s pro-Ukraine lobbying campaign reached Obama, Biden

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/14/manafort-ukraine-obama-biden-824747

Paul Manafort’s pro-Ukraine campaign reached the top of the White House, with one of the members of his lobbying effort meeting President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in 2013, according to new court documents released Friday.

A member of the so-called Hapsburg Group, which comprised former European politicians Manafort convened as part of his lobbying effort in support of Ukraine’s then-President Viktor Yanukovych, came with a foreign prime minister on May 16, 2013, to meet with Obama and Biden, “as well as senior United States officials in the executive and legislative branches,” according to the court documents.

Paul Manafort was not a coffee boy.
He was not a low-level aide.
He was not some hanger-on.
He was the CHAIRMAN OF TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN.
... and he just pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States.

Take a moment to consider how profound and unprecedented this is.

Yet no charges have had anything to do with trump... consider that if you can beyond the tds fog.

polecat wrote:Paul Manafort was not a coffee boy.
He was not a low-level aide.
He was not some hanger-on.
He was the CHAIRMAN OF TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN.
... and he just pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States.

Take a moment to consider how profound and unprecedented this is.

I wonder if Trump is even able to grasp what a big deal this is.

Dream on Pkr. Manafort was at the famous meeting with Don Jr, and Manafort pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States Government today.
That pitiful argument that it doesn't involve the president will only be believed by total fools once this thing breaks open when Mueller presents his case.
You're writing this stuff down. It's still going to be printed here then.

You're going to feel pretty stupid when all of this is over. And Deus, I actually do believe that when Mueller opens his case and we can all see what really happened, the Republicans will have no choice but to vote to impeach. The truth is capable of changing even their minds when it's so obvious that everyone in the country except Pkr can see it.

Guess who that Russian lady met with prior to that meeting and reported back to after that meeting?

Which also never initiated any action by the trump campaign.

bigdog wrote: I actually do believe that when Mueller opens his case and we can all see what really happened, the Republicans will have no choice but to vote to impeach.  

Doubtless some will but I don't think there'll be enough to reach the 2/3 majority needed to convict. There'll be enough die-hard hold-outs who won't vote to convict under any circumstances. The trial of Andrew Johnson failed to convict by a single vote and that's all it will take--one vote.

Just think about all that's happened since Trump was inaugurated and still most Republicans won't oppose him on anything.

Of course, I never imagined Trump would be elected, so what do I know?

Pkr- and you KNOW that the meeting initiated no action by the Trump campaign?
How exactly would you know that? Have you personally questioned Don Jr or Jared or Paul Manafort?
Robert Mueller isn't trading something for nothing, you can bet on that.
This so called witch hunt has already gotten confessions from 5 members of Trumps campaign and a couple of them have some nice little jail sentences ahead of them.

You don't have to believe what the future holds for Trump, I always enjoy it more when Trump supporters are actually surprised by the truth when it comes out. It's more fun that way.

Just like the Harley gangs that are angry about the tariffs and the military people who couldn't believe Trump's rude and totally disrespectful attitude after John McCain died. Those shocked looks are priceless.

Mueller is not playing with this rat! Current estimates on the total value of what Manafort has forfeited is 46 Million and that will stand even if Trump was able to pardon him, real estate, cash and life insurance policies.

By Sharon LaFraniere and Kenneth P. Vogel
Sept. 14, 2018

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WASHINGTON — Paul Manafort agreed on Friday to tell all he knows to the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, as part of a plea deal that could shape the final stages of the inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The deal was a surrender by Mr. Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, who had vowed for months to prove his innocence in a case stemming from his work as a political consultant in Ukraine. And it was a decisive triumph for Mr. Mueller, who now has a cooperating witness who was at the center of the Trump campaign during a crucial period in 2016 and has detailed insight into another target of federal prosecutors, the network of lobbyists and influence brokers seeking to help foreign interests in Washington.

Mr. Manafort’s decision, announced at a federal court hearing in Washington in which he pleaded guilty to two conspiracy charges, was likely to unsettle Mr. Trump, who had praised Mr. Manafort for standing up to prosecutors’ pressure and had hinted that he might pardon him.

[Read the court documents.]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/14/us/politics/manafort-plea-deal.html

Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, is forfeiting an estimated $22 million worth of real estate in New York — including three Manhattan apartments, a Brooklyn townhouse and a home in the Hamptons — as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors announced on Friday.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/15/us/paul-manafort-plea-deal-property.html

Manafort, a high-rolling political consultant brought low, also agreed to forfeit big bank accounts, life insurance and more as part of his plea deal on Friday with special counsel Robert Mueller.

The forfeiture agreement is final and cannot be revoked, court documents say.

https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/09/15/us/politics/ap-us-manafort-lost-luxury.html