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© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Judge jails ex-Trump campaign chair Manafort ahead of trial
By CHAD DAY WASHINGTON©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
92 Comments
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SuperLib
Another lovely human being surrounding Trump.
Black Sabbath
Good.
PTownsend
Add this to the long and growing list of lies told by Trump. Facts and truth have zero meaning in the Trump post-truth era.
Aly Rustom
Black Sabbath
simple and to the point
stocktrader
No surprise here. Very damning IG report just released which clearly states how corrupted the top of the democratic party used the FBI like a gestpo, and "by convenient chance" Manafort is jailed without due process.
Wolfpack
Still no collusion - so what is Mueller up to?
SuperLib
Just some bank fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, lying to the FBI, obstruction of justice, porn star payments, stealing from charities, treason, lying about firing the head of the FBI, etc.
The usual witch hunt.
u_s__reamer
Good to see that slippery eel safely stashed in a basket. We can expect another good catch soon. How long will the sleazy fish, Cohen, continue to wriggle on the hook?
dbsaiya
I'm sure Cohen is sweating bullets now. Manafort flip, Cohen Flip. Better than watching gymnastics at the Olympics Donnie boy!
CrazyJoe
The wheels of justice turn slowly, but thankfully in America, they are still turning, despite the best efforts of the president, his henchmen, and his party to throw a wrench into the works, and obstruct justice.
Laguna
Gee, I dunno. When a guy with two ankle cuffs who is closely connected to Trump contacts Russian sources in an attempt to influence their testimony, does that not ring any bells?
bass4funk
How so?
What justice? This is not Japan, you’re innocent until proven guilty, so uhhhh, why is he in jail? If you go by strictly the alleged charges of what he is accused of doing, then that means a big chunk of the Democrats should be in the can. Who did he kill? Are there any bodies? Was there a hit? Here we go again, it’s 1998 all over again. Anyway, Manafort should sit tight and wait for Trump to pardon him.
plasticmonkey
In Trump World, there are no longer rights and wrongs, just whatever benefits Trump and his personality cult.
SuperLib
For witness tampering. Are they not reporting that in the bubble?
Laguna
Ha ha! Thank you for my greatest morning laugh. Under the American justice system, one may be remanded to prison pending trial, though this may be pended if due bail is paid and if no further offenses occur while on bail. Manafort violated his bail terms. That is why he is in jail. Any other questions?
FizzBit
Perfect example of a lefty who conveniently forgets how many whistle blowers Obama threw in jail.
Pukey2
Locked him up! Locked him up! Locked him up!
Several more to go soon.
plasticmonkey
For those who need a reminder, here's an excellently researched overview of Manafort's career in shadiness:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/03/paul-manafort-american-hustler/550925/
Blacklabel
Still don’t see what manafort lobbying Ukraine with the Podesta Group years ago has to do with Trump.
But the Obama judge says he broke some condition of his house arrest so off to jail until trial. Doesn’t mean they can prove him guilty and if they do then others who did it with him will be investigated too.
Blacklabel
He wasn’t convicted of “witness tampering”. The judge decided that what he did was against his house arrest agreement. Totally different things and levels of proof required.
i don’t mind if he stays in jail until trial. The only chance they had to get him to make up stories on Trump was if he couid stay out of jail by doing so. Now that’s off the table.
SuperLib
Mueller’s team is tying to get Manafort to make up stories about Trump?
Blacklabel
Of course they are. Why else would he be prosecuted by the Russia special counsel for actions unrelated to Russia? For things that were already looked at once before years ago and prosecutors declined to bring charges.
are any of these charges related to something he did in the weeks he was in the campaign?
Blacklabel
The judge in his other trial even agrees. He said they don’t care anything about manafort and these old charges, just using him to get Trump. It’s pretty obvious.
SuperLib
Well the special council will investigate any crimes it finds along the way, Typical policy, just look at Bill Clinton.
You are saying they are applying pressure so he will make up stories about Trump? What kind of stories could he make up?
Blacklabel
Any story that meets whatever criteria the special counsel decides fits their narrative well enough to get set free.
Silvafan
@Blacklabel
Trump says his misleading statement to reporters about the Trump Tower meeting with Russians is 'irrelevant' because it's 'not a statement to a high tribunal of judges'
http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-misleading-statement-to-nyt-trump-tower-russia-meeting-irrelevant-2018-6
stormcrow
Every time they shake this tree, another crook falls out of if.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
wtfjapan
Still no collusion - so what is Mueller up to? hes doing the job congress asked him too, unless you have a secret direct access to Mueller investigation your comment is just insinuations innuendo with no proof to back you claims, when Mueller releases his report then youll know if your statement is fact or fiction.
Slickdrifter
He walked a fine line in the lobbying business. He took a risk and went off U.S. soil for cash and information.
He was unregistered with FARA. Big big no no.
His charges are pretty severe.
a. Tax evasion,-Under the federal law of the United States of America, tax evasion or tax fraud, is the purposeful illegal attempt of a taxpayer to evade assessment or payment of a tax imposed by Federal law. Conviction of tax evasion may result in fines and imprisonment.
b. Bank fraud,-Bank fraud is the use of potentially illegal means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently posing as a bank or other financial institution. In many instances, bank fraud is a criminal offence.
c. Money-laundering-The concealment of the origins of illegally obtained money, typically by means of transfers involving foreign banks or legitimate businesses.
d. Conspiracy and acting as an unregistered foreign agent-An agent must register within ten days of agreeing to become an agent and before performing any activities for the foreign principal. No person shall act as an agent of a foreign principal unless he/she has filed with the Attorney General a true and complete registration statement and supplements. Unless he/she is exempt from registration under the provisions of this Act.
Now really. Does not matter what side of the isle your on. These charges stem over a long period of time. As someone with knowledge of law. This is going to be a very technical trial. Many experts will be called in to interpret litigation both sides. The big question is. Does it go to a jury? Does it get that far? Now Manafort has hired Alan Dershowitz.
Dershowitz decision to effectively force some — but not all — of special counsel Robert Mueller’s case against him to northern Virginia baffled many lawyers, since it puts Manafort at risk of two separate trials rather than one. To some, it’s akin to choosing to play Russian Roulette with two bullets in the gun instead of one.
This is very risky defense approach. Especially when going up against U.S. government prosecutors.
IRS/FARA.
There’s no question the jury pool will be better for him in Virginia. Foe the obvious reasons.
Trump won Virginia. There’s no question the jury pool will be better for him in Virginia There’s no question the jury pool will be better for him in Virginia Trump won V.A.
plasticmonkey
What does that have to do with special counsel supposedly trying to get Manafort to make up stories about Trump? Conspiracy theories built on blind allegiance to one's hero get more and more difficult to rationalize, until the theory ends up as an incoherent pile of non-sequiturs and empty platitudes.
My suggestion is you go back and read the text of the counsel's authorization:
"any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump,"
PLUS: "any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation"
Two things there. Note that the word "collusion" is not mentioned, because that's a faux-legalese red herring thrown out by Trump supporters to distract from the facts. And how is Manafort unrelated to anything in Rosenstein's text?
Simon Foston
bass4funkToday 09:08 am JST
So you're saying Manafort is not guilty?
nishikat
Anyone who says this doesn't understand basic criminal procedures that even an American child knows. OJ was found not guilty but he had to stay in jail the whole time.
mukashiyokatta
19 indictments, 5 guilty pleas, 1 hurled into the pen ... yet it's all a witch hunt, apparently ... NOT!
nishikat
Trump followers see Trump the way Scientologists see L. Ron Hubbard
I was watching Hannity and Friends today and Hannity said that he suspects that Hillary is behind all this. What do you think? Remember that Hannity has his FBI bulletin board with Hillary's picture at the top like out of a Sopranos episode. You can see it on the Hannity and Friends show.
Goodlucktoyou
Can’t imagine him in an American prison. He has to probably join the Aryian Brotherhood as he is white. Do the Freemasons have a gang in prison?
wtfjapan
I was watching Hannity and Friends today and Hannity said that he suspects that Hillary is behind all this. lol Hannity is a delusional conspiracy theorist with all his proof based on whataboutism. Even stated on his show that if he has shown proof he still wouldnt believe it. LMFAO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOVPStnVgvU&t=243s
Silvafan
@Blacklabel
Trump's Lawyers are Worried About Him Talking to Mueller—He Has a History of Making False Statements
http://www.newsweek.com/trumps-lawyers-are-worried-about-him-talking-mueller-he-has-history-making-800122
This is also why Dump's lawyers don't want Dump to talk to Mueller because they are afraid that he will lie to him.
commanteer
Salem Witch Trials, roughly 50 indictments, 22 guilty pleas and 19 executions. I guess that wasn't a witch hunt either.... You would be right there screaming "burn the witch," I bet.
Blacklabel
Guy is 69 years old. Not a flight risk. No violent crime. Not a danger to society. They won’t give him the witness list so that he can know who not to talk to. No trial yet and no presentation of even the basic evidence to the defense lawyers that led to the charges.
So what happens at trial if he is found innocent of witness tampering or innocent of the whole thing? The prosecutor who attended Hillary’s “victory party” who pushed for this just says “oh my bad” about the jail time?
Thats why you don’t jail people except for killers and flight risks.
Silvafan
@Blacklabel
The guys has 3 passports under different numbers. That is a serious flight risk! In ten years, Manafort has applied for 10 different passports.
http://www.newsweek.com/paul-manafort-had-3-passports-considered-serious-flight-risk-698255
nishikat
I understand that Trump followers think this is an unfair world in that regard. Especially since according to them Hillary ran a pedophilia porno ring out of a pizza shop. Shouldn't Hillary be in jail over her child porno ring at the pizza shop?
That's right. We don't do it. The judge does!
Blacklabel
So he wasn’t a flight risk yesterday but today he is?
the AP news story waits until all the way at the very end to say “the charges do not relate to his work on the Trump campaign or involve allegations of Russian election interference”. So why is the media connecting this to “Trump Russia?”
I just don’t think it’s just to put a guy in jail before his trial for these types of lobbying and tax charges. Sure gives at least the impression someone is angry he didn’t say what he was supposed to.
Silvafan
@Blacklabel
Your logic doesn't make sense! If you actually read the article then you know it was from last year. It explained why he was also on house arrest all this time before putting him in jail until the trial starts.
Silvafan
@Blacklabel
No flight? Sure.....
nishikat
That was considered with the high bond. But he blew it when he decided to tamper with witnesses.
bass4funk
Did he kill someone?
I never said that, but when you look at what he did compared to Hillary, I’m just taken back at the continues hypocrisy that the left are screaming that this guy is some sort of major threat to National Security.
I think it has everything to do with the special counsel making up stuff.
Conspiracy and empty platitudes?
Agent 5: "i'm trying to think of a 'would i rather' instead of spending time with those people"
Agent 1: "stick your tongue in a fan??"
Agent 5: "i would rather have brunch with trump"
Agent 1: "ha"
Agent 1: "french toast with drumpf"
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Agent 5: "i would rather have brunch with trump and a bunch of his supporters like the ones from ohio that are retarded"
Agent 5: ":)"
or this...
August 8, 2016: In a text message on August 8, 2016, Page stated, “[Trump’s] not ever going to become president, right? Right?!” Strzok responded, “No. No he’s not. We’ll stop it.
Not bias, eh? Now anyone with a simple functioning cerebral cortex can see that the report was totally bias. How can it not be? But as I always say, if this had happened to Obama every single FBI agent would be sitting in the unemployment line or worse.
Silvafan
@bass4funk
You lost your argument right there. What did she do? You mean the pedophilia ring at the pizza shop? Republican ran committees could not prove she committed any crimes.(Bengahazi or emails)
I believe you mean: I never said that, but when you look at what he did compared to Trump. I’m just taken back at the continues hypocrisy that the left are screaming that this guy is some sort of major threat to National Security.
Blacklabel
Why would he belong there?
Silvafan
More specifically, he is being jailed for witness tampering with a Russian business partner. A Russian business partner with close connections with Russian intelligence. The partner has refused to come to the States.
CrazyJoe
From "The Count" to "12-count indictment." Works for me.
bass4funk
Check the Podesta mails, but actually I didn’t lose the argument, because where is she right now? Have you seen her? Is she in the White House? Complete and utterly humiliated and ousted.
Well, when you have a corrupt government as we do run by a liberal deep state squad, then justice is hard to come by, but there was a giant Hope of justice when she didn’t win the presidency, so I’m very happy. :D
No, I meant: I never said that, but when you look at what he did compared to Hillary. I’m just taken back at the continues hypocrisy that the left are screaming that this guy is some sort of major threat to National Security.
Yeah, the funny thing is liberals think by saying that, it’s supposed to have some sort of hypnotic effect on everyone to believe that, but those crooked FBI agents did say that Trump voters are stupid, uneducated, Walmart shoppers, worthless, trash, they haven’t learned anything from Hillary’s defeat, the more you put people down, the more you’re creating a possible red wave and it’s showing, the midterm gaps are getting tighter and that’s very bad for Democrats, very bad. That blue wave is turning out to be a lite splash.
Silvafan
@Bass4funk
Because she lost an election, it proves that she broke the law. That's your logic? Yeah, you lost that argument.
@Fizzbit
There is an expression that says, "Irony is wasted on the stupid."
nishikat
Where is the evidence she made child porn? And how come Trump didn't have her arrested? Broken promise like no wall.
SuperLib
OK, but you do understand that this is all made up speculation on your part with no supporting evidence, right? You’re free to speculate all you want but at the very minimum you should be able to distinguish between fantasy and reality. Until you have evidence, this is nothing more than you sitting down and imagining a criminal scenario in your head, and any other scenario could be substituted in its place since it’s just imagination.
Manafort? Not that I know of. The judge was shown evidence that he was tampering with witnesses so they changed his house arrest to a jail cell. If you don’t like it, talk to the judge.
nishikat
I just got updated by Hannity on FOX News and according to Hannity President Hillary was directly responsible for Manafort getting sent back to jail. What say you Trump supporters? Check the latest on Hannity and Friends.
According to Trump people President Hillary did. Lots of people and she got away with it. Ha ha ha. Can't touch President Hillary.
That means that Trump is so weak that he can't control the liberal deep state squad President Hillary. That's how weak Trump is. This was confirmed by Hannity.
bass4funk
Uh, let’s make this simple, is she or is she not President of the US? It’s a simple yes or no. If she is, I’ll concede, if she isn’t....then I get to have the last laugh.
Huh? I’m sorry, we have the text messages from Strozk, Page and the other FBI agents, there’s more than enough evidence, the same goes for Hillary and the Podesta Wikileaks cables. What are you talking about? Super, stay with me now!
I don’t need to speculate, no reason to, I only speculate when it comes to wondering if liberals will be more forthcoming or not, the tangible evidence is right there for everyone to see.
That’s exactly what I want to say to you guys!!!! I know you guys want to so desperately change the reality, the ocean is pink and the sky is purple with cats, but that’s not going to help the left. I don’t care what the left is trying to desperately spoon feed the public. I go by NOT what libs want me to believe but what the tangible evidence is showing me.
bass4funk
So what’s the crime? What do you know that millions of us don’t? What exact crimes were committed? Good luck defending that argument.
I didn’t ignore anything, so what evidence? Even the most prominent law professor Turley and former constitutional judge Napolitano said, there was no crime committed. So between both of them, they have 60 years of legal experience between them and you’ll never get on TV if you don’t know what you’re talking about, so I’ll take their legal facts over any left wing opinionated theory.
Wolfpack
Mueller’s job isn’t to prove collusion. It is to find any activity that can be linked to Trump in order to impeach him. It’s why Mueller refuses to wrap up his investigation before the mid-term election in hopes of a Democrat takeover of the House (an all but sure thing). Unless Mueller has Trump on tape offering something to Putin for his help in winning the election there is no way to prove anything - especially considering the “intent” argument that was used to get Hillary off the hook. Keep in mind that the IG stated in his report that the mishandled information was in fact obtained by hostile foreign governments. Hillary lied publicly time and again yet in the end she got off scott free.
I am fully aware that the investigation of Trump has been a lot more intense than it was for Hillary. The FBI agents investigating her supported her election and considered that they needed to stay on her good side because they believed she would be the next president. Trumps lawyers house was raided by the FBI with guns drawn. So much for attorney client privilege for non-Democrats. Hillary got to bring her lawyer in with her when she had her pro forma “interview” with those friendly FBI agents.
The IG even made excuses for the FBI’s biased investigation. I bet the FBI has a way different standard of bias for a “hate” crime where only one comment could greatly increase a prison sentence. However multiple FBI agents expressed biased opinions in both the Clinton and Trump investigation. No bias - move along people nothing to see here.
The FBI is a partisan joke.
SuperLib
sigh
Got any evidence of that? I mean real evidence, not "I sat at my computer and scanned some right wing headlines and figured it out myself."
Strangerland
Someone hasn't bothered to actually read what Mueller's job is. It's actually very clearly laid out, and there for literally anyone to see - even hacks on the internet. Someone also doesn't mind looking stupid for claiming Mueller's job is something it isn't, particularly when it's REALLY easy to fact check one's self on this.
If anything, it's a right-wing partisan joke.
Silvafan
@Bass4funk
The laugh is you trying to defend a president who has been called a liar by his own lawyers. Something that has never happened in the history of the US.
The laugh is you using an unrelated fact as evidence for an illogical argument that has been proven false by legal experts far more knowledgeable than you.
Simon Foston
bass4funkJune 16 03:57 pm JST
What did Hillary do that she was tried and convicted for? Weren't you saying something about innocent until proven guilty? Or does that not apply to people you don't like?
Strangerland
Allow me to answer for Bass:
But liberals.
nishikat
Is he even correct? Because he was wrong about President Hillary since she was never busted.
Yes
That's all on Trump for not implementing a director to serve his policies. And look how Trump ignore having President Hillary arrested for her pedophilia and murders. Proof Trump is weak.
Then how come President Hillary was never arrested for her pedophilia ring?
commanteer
Or option number 3, which everyone conveniently ignores: Are these laws being applied fairly, or are people selectively targeted? The trend in the US, as in all police states, is to create so many laws that anyone can be charged with a crime if they become a target. A law that is not applied equally across the population is not a just law, but just a tool to threaten political rivals and dissidents.
Manafort's actions are mostly common behaviors practiced by many in the political sphere. Yet only he has been selected for punishment, mainly because they have targeted Trump, and they will go for those around him until the Manaforts of the world can be "persuaded" to cooperate. It's the very definition of a witch hunt.
FizzBit
LOL
Please don't expose the totalitarianism of the system. Too many "important" people are involved.
On a side note, since Robert De Niro has been in the news; loved his Brazil character.
nishikat
And Trump is so weak because he can't get President Hillary arrested for her pedophilia porn ring she had at the pizza shop. It's Trump's fault.
nishikat
Trump has been screaming this about President Hillary forever. In fact according to Hannity Trump believes President Hillary to be a real witch who targets children for her pedophile porn ring in the pizza shop. He's been trying to burn that witch for how long? And no Hillary arrest and she used her powers to put the allies of Trump in jail like Manafort while President Hillary continues with her crimes. Trump is too weak to stop her. Republicans! You should have elected a different conservative to lead the country because Trump cannot lead. You are all caught in his cult like Scientologists. He is failing at everything including no wall.
bass4funk
A whole litany of things....
https://medium.com/@willpflaum/cheat-sheet-of-hillary-scandals-618883c5d8e9
Compared to Manafort, she should be under the jail.
nishikat
And it's Trump's fault she isn't. He is so weak and such a bad president that he hasn't done anything about it. I just got off the TV watching FOX news. And Hannity said that President Hillary rules the deep state that Hannity talks about so much. She also has a child porn ring at a pizza shop that Trump refuses to shut down and arrest people, including President Hillary.
'Proof Trump is a failure and NO WALL.
commanteer
Do you have an actual logical rebuttal, or is the best you can do is throw mindless cliches at me?
nishikat
Hannity has constructed a detailed chart of the Clinton crime family for everyone to see (check Hannity and Friends on FOX news). President Hillary is a running a pedophilia porno ring in a pizza shop, yet. Trump does nothing to stop it. Yes, Trump is a cult leader and his followers are the cult followers. Very similar to how Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard who was some drunk that his followers worshiped. And Trump is some orange freak with a dead ferret on his head that his followers worship.
Blacklabel
manafort hasn’t been convincted of any crimes either. If we are putting people in jail for allegations, Hillary should be right there with him.
Was cosby in jail pretrial? Weiner? Weinstein? Hey where’s Imran Awan, certainly he isn’t out on bail is he? (He is)
nishikat
According to Hannity it is President Clinton and the deep state doing all this. And Trump is too weak to do anything about this...and Clinton's pedophile porn ring at the pizza restaurant. You need to point the blame to Trump for this failure and many others (like the 2,000 mile x 50 ft concrete Trump wall). It's not Hillary's fault for not stopping Hillary. It's Trump's fault.
Simon Foston
bass4funkToday 03:48 pm JST
No. What has Hillary Clinton been accused of, tried by a judge and jury for, convicted of and sentenced for in an actual court of law? That's what I asked, not for some link to a site run by crypto-fascist whackjobs or whoever. Not being able to answer such a simple question implies either extreme evasiveness or just outright stupidity.
Simon Foston
BlacklabelToday 05:03 pm JST
Over-simplified things there a bit, haven't you. Manafort is in jail until his trial. If he is found not guilty he will be released. Whatever Hillary Clinton might or might not have done she is similarly innocent until proven guilty in court. Sorry if the facts don't might match up with the argument you want to make, but there it is.
SuperLib
Did they tamper with witnesses?
I’m not sure what the angle is for you here. Apparently someone in the bubble has convinced you that putting someone in jail for tampering with a witness before a trial is some kind of shocking injustice.
Have you been trained to believe even those most logical legal conclusion is evidence of conspiracy? It’s a road you don’t want to go down.
Well the fact that only your people being indicted and going to jail should serve as some evidence to our claims of corruption.
So what’s the next bombshell (that we have to wait for) that will finally prove you right? You struck out with Benghazi, the email investigation, the memo, Spygate, the IG report. So many claims with no arrests or indictments.
You still have the investigation into the Trump investigation, and you can certainly investigate the IG’s investigation into the FBI’s email investigation which was a result of the Benghazi investigation. Black has pinned his hopes on the IT guy, so you can go that route.
Just tell us to “wait for it” once again.
nishikat
You can't put people in jail for simply hating someone
starpunk
Jail him! Jail Trump for a whole spectrum of crimes, including treason!