I think Mitch is under the impression that this probe was all about Trump. It’s why he thinks it’s a waste of time even though it’s uncovered some dirt on others. He doesn’t get it.
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First charges filed in Mueller investigation
- Thread starter Baptist Believer
- Start date
I think Mitch is under the impression that this probe was all about Trump. It’s why he thinks it’s a waste of time even though it’s uncovered some dirt on others. He doesn’t get it.
he Paul Manafort indictment is much ado about nothing . . . except as a vehicle to squeeze Manafort, which is special counsel Robert Mueller’s objective — as we have been arguing for three months (see here, here, and here). Do not be fooled by the “Conspiracy against the United States” heading on Count One (page 23 of the indictment). This case has nothing to do with what Democrats and the media call “the attack on our democracy” (i.e., the Kremlin’s meddling in the 2016 election, supposedly in “collusion” with the Trump campaign). Essentially, Manafort and his associate, Richard W. Gates, are charged with (a) conspiring to conceal from the U.S. government about $75 million they made as unregistered foreign agents for Ukraine, years before the 2016 election (mainly, from 2006 through 2014), and (b) a money-laundering conspiracy. There are twelve counts in all, but those are the two major allegations. The so-called conspiracy against the United States mainly involves Manafort’s and Gates’s alleged failure to file Treasury Department forms required by the Bank Secrecy Act. Specifically, Americans who hold a stake in foreign bank accounts must file what’s known as an “FBAR” (foreign bank account report) in any year in which, at any point, the balance in the account exceeds $10,000. Federal law also requires disclosure of foreign accounts on annual income-tax returns. Manafort and Gates are said to have controlled foreign accounts through which their Ukrainian political-consulting income sluiced, and to have failed to file accurate FBARs and tax returns. In addition, they allegedly failed to register as foreign agents from 2008 through 2014 and made false statements when they belatedly registered.
In the money-laundering conspiracy, they are alleged to have moved money in and out of the United States with the intent to promote “specified unlawful activity.” That activity is said to have been their acting as unregistered foreign agents. On first glance, Mueller’s case, at least in part, seems shaky and overcharged. Even though the Ukrainian money goes back to 2006, the counts involving failure to file FBARs (Counts Three through Nine) go back only to 2012. This is likely because the five-year statute of limitations bars prosecution for anything before then. Obviously, one purpose of the conspiracy count (Count One) is to enable prosecutors, under the guise of establishing the full scope of the scheme, to prove law violations that would otherwise be time-barred. The offense of failing to register as a foreign agent (Count Ten) may be a slam-dunk, but it is a violation that the Justice Department rarely prosecutes criminally. There is often ambiguity about whether the person’s actions trigger the registration requirement, so the Justice Department’s practice is to encourage people to register, not indict them for failing to do so. It may well be that Manafort and Gates made false statements when they belatedly registered as foreign agents, but it appears that Mueller’s office has turned one offense into two, an abusive prosecutorial tactic that flouts congressional intent.
Read more at: The Manafort Indictment: Not Much There, and a Boon for Trump
In the money-laundering conspiracy, they are alleged to have moved money in and out of the United States with the intent to promote “specified unlawful activity.” That activity is said to have been their acting as unregistered foreign agents. On first glance, Mueller’s case, at least in part, seems shaky and overcharged. Even though the Ukrainian money goes back to 2006, the counts involving failure to file FBARs (Counts Three through Nine) go back only to 2012. This is likely because the five-year statute of limitations bars prosecution for anything before then. Obviously, one purpose of the conspiracy count (Count One) is to enable prosecutors, under the guise of establishing the full scope of the scheme, to prove law violations that would otherwise be time-barred. The offense of failing to register as a foreign agent (Count Ten) may be a slam-dunk, but it is a violation that the Justice Department rarely prosecutes criminally. There is often ambiguity about whether the person’s actions trigger the registration requirement, so the Justice Department’s practice is to encourage people to register, not indict them for failing to do so. It may well be that Manafort and Gates made false statements when they belatedly registered as foreign agents, but it appears that Mueller’s office has turned one offense into two, an abusive prosecutorial tactic that flouts congressional intent.
Read more at: The Manafort Indictment: Not Much There, and a Boon for Trump
Not he can't but he won't and thank the Lord that he is willing and able to circumvent the marxist fake news media via social media.
Also President Trump and the RNC presidential campaign is not mentioned in the indictment documents because Mueller knows by doing so he will give President Trump a REASON to come at him (Mueller) full force with an army of lawyers.
Reason: Uranium One is their (Mueller legal machine) Waterloo and they CANNOT risk letting it come into the legal light with the question "who colluded with the Russians"?
The LAST thing Mueller wants to happen.
HankD
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Agreed. Both sides of the aisle need to be DRAINED of the DO-NOTHING PUTTING-IN-MY-TIME-TIL I-RETIRE establishment sleepy heads.
HankD
Nothing to do with Trump or the campaign.
It is interesting that Papadopolous was arrested on July 27th and pled guilty on October 5th. Apparently Mueller and his team was able to keep all of this quiet. And what does the FBI do with witnesses that plead guilty to lesser charges? Use them to gather more evidence and/or testify against others in return for a lesser sentence.
Trump Adviser May Have Been Wearing A Wire In Conversations With Campaign Associates
The former Trump campaign adviser who accepted a plea deal for lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russians is a “proactive cooperator” with federal investigators, according to court documents unveiled on Monday.
The term, which refers to George Papadopoulos, generated speculation that the 30-year-old energy consultant has worn a wire to help prosecutors in the Office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the presidential campaign.
Sorry but you don’t know what Mueller is thinking...and with his record I would say that whatever he does is honorable and duty bound.
So maybe that guy was a mole after all? Even Papadopulos didn't actually commit a crime other than saying he told the fake Russian agents that he wasn't working with the Trump campaign when he was, so he "lied" to them. Any collusion line stays cold from there.
Mueller is turning his focus off Russian collusion and onto the Podesta Group, which is his right as a Special Counsel but if you are looking, you can find something wrong with just about anybody. Trump doesn't have to "shut up", being silent can give the impression of guilt. I have noticed many #neverTrumpers all of a sudden want Mueller to dissolve the investigation but even Comey stated repeatedly that Trump was never a focus of the investigation.
Mueller is turning his focus off Russian collusion and onto the Podesta Group, which is his right as a Special Counsel but if you are looking, you can find something wrong with just about anybody. Trump doesn't have to "shut up", being silent can give the impression of guilt. I have noticed many #neverTrumpers all of a sudden want Mueller to dissolve the investigation but even Comey stated repeatedly that Trump was never a focus of the investigation.
Sorry but you don't know where Mueller's "honor and duty" has been transported.
Repeat: the last thing Mueller wants is for the investigation to end up in Uranium One.
HankD
I sure do...to the citizens of the good ole USA
you have seen this mans credentials right.
hold them up to Mr 5 deferments & tell me what you think.
That’s right, you have enough already
Don't we all?
Do you have a link for that? Can't find anything of the sort:
Mueller's 1st Arrest in the Russia Probe Might Come Today. Trump Is Pushing Back
but I do believe Cobb told him that, you can get into big trouble talking to the FBI, especially without an attorney present and off tape. This is just another victim of lying to the FBI, Scooter Libby and Martha Stewart were, too.
Do you have a link for that? Can't find anything of the sort:
Mueller's 1st Arrest in the Russia Probe Might Come Today. Trump Is Pushing Back
but I do believe Cobb told him that, you can get into big trouble talking to the FBI, especially without an attorney present and off tape. This is just another victim of lying to the FBI, Scooter Libby and Martha Stewart were, too.
Yeah, there's NOTHING sketchy about Manafort. Everyone has three passports with different numbers. Everyone's net worth fluctuates by tens of millions in a matter of days. Nothing to see here.
Either you did not read past that statement or this is more dishonesty from you. I would suggest you go back and actually read the whole thing before commenting on it.