Friday, September 14, 2018
THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATION
MANAFORT FLIPPED!!!!!!!!!!
- Ex-Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort cuts ‘cooperation agreement’ ahead of 2nd trial, prosecutor says
- Ex-Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort agrees to plead guilty in deal with special counsel Robert Mueller
- Former Trump Campaign Chair Paul Manafort Is Pleading Guilty And Cooperating With Mueller’s Office
- Mueller Team Arrives In Court For Manafort Plea Hearing
- Manafort Expected To Plead Guilty In D.C.
- Manafort plans to plead guilty to second set of charges
- Manafort Plea Deal Includes Cooperation With Prosecutors
- Paul Manafort becomes the fifth Trump campaign team member to plead guilty to criminal charges
- Paul Manafort is the first Trump Tower meeting attendee to flip
- Paul Manafort pleads guilty in Mueller probe, will cooperate with prosecutors
- Paul Manafort strikes plea deal with Robert Mueller – live updates
- Paul Manafort Will Give Robert Mueller “Complete Cooperation,” His Attorney Says
Paul Manfort, Campaign Chairman for President Donald J. Trump’s election campaign in 2016, pleaded guilty to Witness Tampering Conspiracy and Conspiracy Against the United States in DC District Court. In addition to this, he also agreed to plead guilty to the leftover charges from his EDVA case that resulted in a hung jury. As part of this deal, Manafort agrees to cooperate completely with any and all investigations going forward.
Paul Manafort, the go-between for the Trump team and the Russian Mafia, lobbyist for the Party of Regions and Opposition Bloc in Ukraine, advocate for tyrants, criminals, and the most despicable humans of the late 20th and early 21st century, has turned state’s witness.
Paulie Walnuts has flipped on Trump.
This is big, possibly “Game Over” big. Manafort was involved multiple aspects of the campaign, and directly ties Trump to the Russians. Manafort was at the June 9th meeting, and also was supposedly at the pre-meeting a couple days earlier with Michael Cohen and Donnie Jr. (Daily Check-In 07/26/2018). Manafort also organized the change in language at the RNC that softened their stance on Ukraine to favor Russia.
Penalties
- Paul Manafort will plead guilty, forfeit many assets in special counsel probe
- Manafort Surrenders Homes, Trump Tower Condo
- Manafort Will Lose Four Homes As Part of Guilty Plea
Manafort’s not getting off with a slap on the wrist. He’s forfeiting $46 million in assets and cash, including a life insurance policy and 4 homes. One of those homes is his an apartment in Trump Tower.
The Federal Government now owns property in Trump Tower, and can do with it whatever the fuck they want. Normally, they would sell this property in an auction, but I’m really hoping they do something else with it, like turn it into a soup kitchen or homeless shelter. Maybe the John S. McCain III Memorial Veterans Affairs Office?
Co-Conspirators
- The Hapsburg Group: Paul Manafort’s shadowy European network, explained
- Federal prosecutors weigh charges against Democratic powerbroker in Manafort-linked probe – CNNPolitics
It’s not just Trump who’s shitting bricks right now, but every lobbyist, banker, politician, criminal, tailor, judge, donor, and anyone else who’s ever done anything even slightly shady in the last 30 years is panicking. Remember how Bob Dole joined the board of AUB? (Daily Check-In 08/28/2018) The playmakers who made that happen are the same people in this mess.
The first up on the shit list are the Hapsburg Group and Greg Craig. They were specified directly in Manafort’s plea deal. Craig was a former member of Obama’s White House Counsel’s Office in his first year. I’m looking forward to the mental gymnastics that will take place to explain Manafort was framed into lying about this, but the Democrat was obviously guilty.
Documents
- READ: Paul Manafort’s plea
- Manafort Plea Agreement
- Manafort Statement of the Offense
- Manafort DC Superseding Criminal Information
These are definitely worth a read.
Pardon
- Opinion | Trump cannot use a pardon to stop Manafort’s cooperation
- Checkmate: The Manafort Cooperation Is Pardon Proof – emptywheel
- THREAD: What does Manafort’s cooperation tell us?
Before anyone says Trump will just pardon him out of this, I think the window’s closed on that option. Not only was it a horribly bad idea to begin with (GTKYG-Pardon Limitations), but now the government has what they want from Manafort, and it likely has even more on Trump.
If Trump tried to pardon Manafort now, not only would it screw over Manafort it would obviously be a corrupt and criminal action meant to cover up crimes he’s connected to.
There’s a rumor about a delay that I’ll cover in the Rumor Mill section.
Response from the White House
- Eamon Javers: The president’s legal team put out an initial statement that said: “the President did nothing wrong and Paul Manafort will tell the truth.” Minutes later, they put out a new statement that said simply: “the President did nothing wrong.”
- ‘Paul Manafort will tell the truth,’ Trump’s legal team said. Minutes later, they took it back
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
- Robert Mueller Is Winning
- Robert Mueller just snagged his Golden Goose
- Teacher, Firefighter, Police and Other Retirement Funds Flow Into Sanctioned Russian Companies
COHEN, NEW YORK, AND THE OTHER LAWSUITS
- Avenatti in NYT op-ed makes case for indicting Trump
- Report: Michael Cohen Is Talking With Mueller Too
WOODWARD AND THE ANONYMOUS OP-ED
- Woodward: I’ll release tapes of book interviews if source asks me to
- A West Virginia library won’t carry ‘Fear’: ‘We have other Trump books’ – The Washington Post
TRUMP THE RUSSIAN ASSET
TRAITOR TOTS
- The ‘adults’ in the White House trying to save America from Trump are just as dangerous as he is
- Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, Democrat Harley Rouda virtually tied in crucial California race
FIGHTING BACK
- Michael Moore Warns Trump Could Fake ‘National Emergency’ to Win 2020
- The Onion – Mike Pence Condemns Female Senators For Wantonly Sharing Senate Floor With Male Colleagues After Dark
- Nike shares hit all-time high after Kaepernick ad
IMMIGRATION
- More immigrant kids than ever are in US custody. The Trump administration is likely keeping them there
- 12,800 immigrant children detained in American internment camps
- Sen. Jeff Merkley: Trump Shorting Disaster Funding To Pay For Immigrant Detention . News
COLD WAR 2.0
- bellingcat – Skripal Poisoning Suspect’s Passport Data Shows Link to Security Services – bellingcat
- Bill Browder: The best analysis yet on the alleged Russian Skripal assassins. @bellingcat has tracked down the passport data of the two Russians which shows that they had “Top Secret” status and rubbishes Putin’s lies about them being normal civilians
- Russia raises rates for first time since 2014, extends FX buying pause | Article [AMP] | Reuters
- Russia reportedly warned Mattis it could use nuclear weapons in Europe, and it made him see Moscow as an ‘existential threat’ to the US
- Julia Davis: #Russia’s state media: In response to the negative Western reaction to RT’s “interview” of the suspected #Skripal poisoners, the head of the Russian State Duma’s Foreign Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky calls for a full-scale re-activation/resurrection of Soviet-style propaganda.
- Bill Browder: The one thing that’s becoming increasingly clear is that Russia’s spies are not slick, professional and James Bond-like. They’re C students from D universities that are constantly making mistakes and getting caught
- Twee Russische spionnen op weg naar Zwitsers gifgaslab gepakt in Den Haag – NRC
- Eric Garland: 1. Kerry was Secretary of State, and you’ve got the IQ of a springtime temperature. 2. You and Ivanka laundered Iran’s money through your Trump Baku project to finance the murder of Syrian children. So you need to be eaten by wolves and pooped over a cliff. Or prison. Choose.
#NEVERAGAIN
- The NRA’s Star Lawyer Gets Kicked Off Case for Misleading Judge
- Here’s Why an American Teenager Can Buy an AR-15 Rifle
THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE
- Avenatti Taunts Tucker Carlson On Live TV: ‘How Do You Have A Show?’
- Michael Avenatti asks Tucker Carlson on Fox News: “How do you have a show and you’re this ignorant?”
- Aaron Rupar: Thread on Tucker Carlson/Michael Avenatti interview
- Amazon hired an army of employees to say nice things about it on Twitter, and it shows how big its reputation problem has gotten
SCOTUS
On Thursday, Senate Democrats disclosed that they had referred a complaint regarding President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, to the F.B.I. for investigation. The complaint came from a woman who accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct when they were both in high school, more than thirty years ago.
The woman, who has asked not to be identified, first approached Democratic lawmakers in July, shortly after Trump nominated Kavanaugh. The allegation dates back to the early nineteen-eighties, when Kavanaugh was a high-school student at Georgetown Preparatory School, in Bethesda, Maryland, and the woman attended a nearby high school. In the letter, the woman alleged that, during an encounter at a party, Kavanaugh held her down, and that he attempted to force himself on her. She claimed in the letter that Kavanaugh and a classmate of his, both of whom had been drinking, turned up music that was playing in the room to conceal the sound of her protests, and that Kavanaugh covered her mouth with his hand. She was able to free herself. Although the alleged incident took place decades ago and the three individuals involved were minors, the woman said that the memory had been a source of ongoing distress for her, and that she had sought psychological treatment as a result.
- GOP responds to assault allegation against Kavanaugh by pointing out there are women he didn’t rape
- Republicans’ gross responses to assault allegation against Brett Kavanaugh
- Students march outside Collins Maine office to protest Kavanaugh confirmation
- The Many Mysteries of Brett Kavanaugh’s Finances – Mother Jones
- ‘Totally Disqualifying’: Demands for Kavanaugh to Withdraw After Letter Details Alleged Sexual Assault
- Woman Alleges Brett Kavanaugh Attempted To Rape Her In High School
- New Yorker Reports Disturbing Details Of Woman’s Allegation Against Kavanaugh
WHITE HOUSE CHAOS
- Bin Laden raid commander resigns from Pentagon board after criticizing Trump
- From the Reddit discussion of McRaven
- From /u/rusticgorilla: Spreadsheet of everyone that has left the Trump Administration
- FOIA Lawsuit against Mulvaney
- Zoe Tillman: In non-Manafort legal news, interesting #FOIA opinion just came down in DC fed court: Judge ordered OMB to release info from Mick Mulvaney’s calendar entries, rejecting deliberative process privilege argument by the govt
- Nikki Haley’s View of New York Is Priceless. Her Curtains? $52,701. – The New York Times
TRADE WAR AND ECONOMY
- If Jeff Bezos wants to help low-income people why not just pay them better?
- Trump’s economic boom is only for the rich — and likely won’t help Republicans in midterms
GOP: THE PARTY OF LINCOLN IS DEAD
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
- Texas radio host admits sexually abusing kids, paying $45,000 to have prosecutor killed
- Bear attacks off-duty NYPD detective in Orange County home – NY Daily News
- Dallas police accused of smearing man killed by cop in his own apartment
- Harvard Says Students and Alums Should Testify at Bias Trial
- A Georgia Charter School Wants to Beat Students and Bully Their Parents
- Off-Duty Cop Tasing an 11-Year-Old Should Provoke a Clear Wakeup Call for Police Reform
HURRICANES
- Hurricane Florence forecast: What to expect beyond landfall
- Hurricane Florence makes landfall in North Carolina, slamming state with ‘life-threatening’ rainfall
- Hurricane Florence: ‘Powerful, slow and relentless’ storm pummels North Carolina
- The Carolinas Ignored Warnings That Rising Sea Levels Would Make Hurricanes Stronger
- As Florence Threatens ‘Catastrophic’ Destruction, A Reminder That North Carolina Passed Law Mandating Climate Warnings Be Ignored
- Scientists warned of rising sea levels in North Carolina. Republican lawmakers shelved their recommendations.
- Telling the stories of Puerto Rican victims of Maria
- Seth Meyers on Trump’s Puerto Rico tweet: ‘That’s the official death toll, you lunatic’
ENVIRONMENT AND SCIENCE
- Bear attacks off-duty NYPD detective in Orange County home – NY Daily News
- Guy who says dinosaurs were on Noah’s Ark tapped to review Arizona’s evolution standards
ELECTION 2018
- Ron DeSantis Embraces Right-Wing Plan to Re-Write U.S. Constitution
- Florida Governor: Gillum (D) 48%, DeSantis (R) 42%
- Sanders allies expect him to make second White House bid | TheHill
- Willie Nelson is playing his first-ever political concert, for Beto O’Rourke. Some fans are abandoning him.
- A slew of down-ballot progressive victories will hold Andrew Cuomo’s feet to the fire
- Bernie Sanders calls for a new international left to fight Steve Bannon’s right-wing “Movement”
- Christian Group Takes Aim at a Republican Stronghold: Evangelicals
- Democrats are angry, and tired of compromise
- It’s on: First of three Senate debates between Ted Cruz and Beto O’Rourke set for Dallas on Sept. 21
- Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, Democrat Harley Rouda virtually tied in crucial California race
PROGRESS IS PROGRESS
RUMOR MILL
- Pace: With Manafort agreeing to give up so much money, instead of fighting it, shows that he is turning against Trump. Why else would he just not fight it, take another guilty and ask for a Pardon? He knows he won’t get it now for some reason. Something is going on. something..
- Tea Pain: FUN FACT: Mueller’s investigation has cost 16 million. Today, Mueller seized 46 million in assets. The Special Council is servin’ justice while makin’ money for the American people!
- Spicy Mic: I have never deviated from my original assertion. Why? Because I took the time to research and read dozens of documents Mrs Manafort and their daughters had significant legal exposure. To wit Twitter said I was crazy NOPE. Thread
- Tea Pain: One possible Manafort scenario. 1) Mueller accepts a guilty plea from Manafort with NO cooperation agreement. 2) Trump can’t help himself and pardons Manafort 3) New York indicts Manafort on state tax/fraud charges In essence, Mueller uses Manafort as bait in a “pardon trap.”
- Andrew Laufer: This attack by Russia and China are coming from both the right and left of the political spectrum. Thread
- Rogue Senior White House Advisor: Trump has his own hurricane headed his direction. It’s name is Mueller, it’s a category 99 and it’s about to make landfall.
- Eric Garland: BREAKING: The whole operation to have the Mob take over America. It’s broken. Over. And done. Clean up is all that’s left. Thread
That’s it for Friday. This was one hell of a day. Like I said earlier, there’s a rumor going around about a delay showing up at the courthouse.
According to some reports, Paul Manafort’s team and the Special Counselor’s team arrived at the courthouse earlier in the morning, around 9:00 to 9:30, but didn’t appear before Judge Berman until an hour an a half later, around 11:00AM. While this delay isn’t completely unheard of, one rumor going around is that Manafort was led into the Grand Jury convened for the Russian Investigation and was asked some questions, specifically about the June 9 meeting and whether or not Trump knew about it ahead of time. That way, in case Trump tried a pardon, they would already have Manafort’s information on record.
Thank you, and have a good one.
“Without Journalists, it’s just propaganda.”
– Katy Tur
None of this is Normal 
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