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© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Prosecution rests in Manafort tax evasion and fraud trial
By CHAD DAY and STEPHEN BRAUN ALEXANDRIA, Va.©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
20 Comments
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SuperLib
Sure, it was all Gates. Little angel Manafort had no idea.
Blacklabel
I’m not convinced that Manafort shouldn’t have been testifying against Gates.
Take Trump hate out of it and generally the boss isn’t convicted by the verbal accusations of an employee who admitted lying, stealing and cheating.
Manafort knew everything! Well, he didn’t know you were stealing money from him, Mr. Gates.
No corroborating evidence to prove Gates was ordered to do any of this. But Manafort will surely be found guilty of something this trial or the next.
Strangerland
So you're confused about which one is more guilty than the other?
That doesn't really surprise me.
Blacklabel
Has nothing to do with Trump or Russia, which is the only reason liberals even care. You badly need a “win” on Team Mueller right now.
Wolfpack
Mueller wasting his efforts prosecuting a case completely unrelated to Russia. Meanwhile yet another high official at the FBI fired for corruption related to the Russia investigation. The Deep State in action - Bizarre.
Strangerland
The right: The only crimes worth prosecuting are those related to Russia.
Is that their new way they are going to argue Trump should go free for everything? Because he's not Russia?
Laguna
My income is a pittance compared to what Manafort's was, yet I duly and honestly file my tax returns with the US government yearly. Are the above Manafort apologists suggesting I should be able to avoid this without repercussion? And, if so, what other obligations can I avoid?
Inquiring minds want to know.
SuperLib
That’s 100% correct. It makes Trump look bad for having a criminal run his campaign, but if Manafort is convicted or if he walks, it doesn’t mean Trump is any more or less guilty of anything.
plasticmonkey
How do you know?
CrazyJoe
The good news. Today marks the 4th consecutive judge who has rejected the argument that the “appointment of a Special Counsel” is unconstitutional. These include:
EDVA Judge Ellis
DDC Judge Berman-Jackson
DDC Judge Howell
DDC Judge Friedrich - today Rejected the Russians trying to make this argument
starpunk
Trump, Manafort and Gates are all guilty of collaboration, stealing and treason.
dmacleod
Nope. First, he is not doing the prosecuting. He is doing the investigation, which happens to include anything related to Russia as spelled out quite clearly in Rosenstein's letter:
b) The Special Counsel is authorized to conduct the investigation confirmed by then-FBI Director James B. Comey in testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on March 20, 2017, including:
(i) any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump; and
(ii) any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation; and
(iii) any other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a).
(c) If the Special Counsel believes it is necessary and appropriate, the Special Counsel is authorized to prosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation of these matters. . . . .
Manafort was Trump's campaign manager, and since some of the things he is charged with happened during his time as campaign manager and was related to Russia, Mueller is not "wasting his time." However, you and others are by continually denying this. Go ahead and keep doing it though. It's not going to change anything. The investigation and trials will go on--like it or not.
The only thing that is bizarre here is your belief in the "Deep State." Nothing says, "I don't want to be taken seriously" whenever you bring up this nonsense. Funny how this "Deep State" came about just after Trump took office. Nobody seemed to talk about it before Sean Hannity invented it. "Deep State"--the only thing you Trump supporters should worry about regarding Trump is the "Deep Fryer."
katsu78
No one has been fired for corruption.
mukashiyokatta
"Guilty or not guilty?"
"G---U---I---L---T---Y!!!"
"What should we do with him?"
"LOCK HIM UP! L---O---C---K H---I---M U---P!!!"
"Oh, Mr. Flynn, I have someone here who is going to share your cell -- Mr. Flynn, Mr. Manafort."
Blacklabel
Oh is Flynn in jail now? I didn’t realize that. Last I heard the FBI agent in charge of investigating Flynn (and many others) just got fired.
Strangerland
UNSWAMP THE DRAIN!!
Strangerland
Fake news.
Wolfpack
It’s a public trial. Trump was barely been mentioned in the prosecutions case. This case was all about an attempt to make Manafort lie about Trump. Mueller dug up some stuff from his past and was holding it over Manaforts head to get him to testify against Trump. Manafort has nothing to give him so Mueller is just playing out the string in this dead end portion of his investigation. Gates is taking advantage of Muellers zeal to get Manafort by cutting a deal to get a light sentence. Maybe Gates has something on Trump but if so, it isn’t a part of this trial.
The biggest take away I have from this trial is why it was necessary for there to be a special counsel in order to catch the sort of criminality Manafort and Gates were apparently involved in? Several more people including the brother of Clinton’s right hand man John Podesta have also been caught doing something illegal. But for some reason his case was handed off to a federal prosecutor. How much criminality is out there if it takes a dedicated special prosecutor to find all this illegality would not have been found? The system is rotten.
Wolfpack
So they were fired for doing their job? Sorry but it doesn’t work that way.