Tag: Trump campaign

3 Takeaways as Second Week of Manafort Trial Ends

The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website August 10, 2018:

Procedural hiccup pushed Friday’s start to middle of afternoon

The entrance to the US District Court in Alexandria, Va., where President Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, is standing trial is seen in a puddle on July 31. Credit: Sarah Silbiger, CQ Roll Call

The second week of the tax evasion and bank fraud trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is in the books with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s team expecting to call its final witness to the stand Monday afternoon. After that, the prosecution will rest its case.

After a procedural hiccup Friday morning that pushed the start of the day’s testimony to the middle of the afternoon, three of the prosecution’s witnesses took the stand to discuss the bank fraud charges against Manafort. Two employees from The Federal Savings Bank testified about a pair of loans Manafort secured from the bank in 2016. A ticket sales executive for the New York Yankees also testified.

Manafort is facing 18 counts of tax evasion and bank fraud and a maximum 305-year prison sentence if the Eastern Virginia jury finds him guilty.

View the complete article here.

Judge holds Roger Stone associate in contempt for refusing to testify in Russia investigation

The following article by Spencer S. Hsu and Bevlin Barrett was posted on the Washington Post website August 10, 2018:

Roger Stone and Andrew Miller Credit: Facebook

A federal judge has found a witness in contempt for refusing to testify before the grand jury hearing evidence in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

U.S. District Chief Judge Beryl Howell made the ruling Friday after a sealed hearing to discuss Andrew Miller’s refusal to appear before the grand jury. Miller is a former aide to longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone.

Miller’s lawyer Paul Kamenar said after the hearing that Miller was “held in contempt, which we asked him to be in order for us to appeal the judge’s decision to the court of appeals.”

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Giuliani flat-out admits Trump will commit perjury if put under oath

The following article by Tommy Christopher was posted on the ShareBlue.com website August 9, 2018:

Rudy Giuliani accused Robert Mueller of setting a ‘perjury trap’ for Trump because he knows Trump will lie under oath.

Credit: Fox News

Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani has actually admitted that Trump will commit perjury if special counsel Robert Mueller gets him under oath.

On Wednesday night’s edition of “Hannity,” host Sean Hannity asked Giuliani about the Trump legal team’s response to Mueller’s request to interview Trump.

Giuliani’s response proved that he just might be the worst legal spokesman in history.

View the complete article here.

3 Takeaways from Day 7 of the Manafort Trial

The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website August 8, 2018:

Damaging evidence is piling up, while prosecutors annoy the judge

Day 6 of Paul Manafort’s tax evasion and bank fraud trial featured testimony from longtime Manafort deputy Rick Gates. Credit: Zach Gibson, Getty Images

Day seven of the Paul Manafort trial took a technical turn Wednesday, an indication that prosecutors could be wrapping up their case against the former Trump campaign chairman.

Rick Gates, Manafort’s longtime deputy and the prosecution’s star witness, walked out of the courtroom late Wednesday morning after more than 10 hours of testimony that spanned three days.

FBI forensic accountant Morgan Magionos walked jurors through her special counsel-ordained investigation that revealed how Manafort purchased luxury goods back in the U.S. through foreign bank accounts.

View the complete article here.

3 Takeaways from Day 6 of the Manafort Trial

The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website August 7, 2018:

Day 6 of Paul Manafort’s tax evasion and bank fraud trial featured testimony from longtime Manafort deputy Rick Gates. Credit: Zach Gibson, Getty Images

Day Six of the Paul Manafort trial is in the books.

It’s a day that featured testimony from just one witness, Rick Gates, Manafort’s longtime deputy, who finished his direct questioning from prosecutors and underwent a grueling cross-examination from lead defense attorney Kevin Downing.

Gates pleaded guilty in February to one count of conspiracy against the United States and one count of lying to an FBI agent in exchange for testifying against his former boss.

View the complete article here.

3 Takeaways from Day 6 of the Manafort Trial

The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website August 7, 2018:

Credibility of longtime deputy could be critical to prosecution

Day Six of the Paul Manafort trial is in the books.

It’s a day that featured testimony from just one witness, Rick Gates, Manafort’s longtime deputy, who finished his direct questioning from prosecutors and underwent a grueling cross-examination from lead defense attorney Kevin Downing.

Gates pleaded guilty in February to one count of conspiracy against the United States and one count of lying to an FBI agent in exchange for testifying against his former boss.

View the complete article here.

Want to Know More About … the Mueller Investigation

John Berman: “This May Be The Last Best Chance For President Trump To Get Face To Face With Robert Muller, At Least According To Rudy Giuliani.”

JOHN BERMAN: “This may be the last best chance for President Trump to get face to face with Robert Muller, at least according to Rudy Giuliani. The Trump legal team has submitted this new offer of terms to the special counsel on just how the president would be willing to answer questions in the Russian investigation. “ [New Day, CNN, 8/9/18;Video]

John Berman: “For A Man That Is No Stranger To High Profile Interviews, This Really Could Be The Highest Stakes Yet For The President If It Ever Happens Which Is Honestly A Major Doubt. What His Team Is Mostly Concerned About Is The President Could Get Caught Lying.”

JOHN BERMAN: “For a man that is no stranger to high profile interviews, this really could be the highest stakes yet for the president if it ever happens which is honestly a major doubt. What his team is mostly concerned about is the president could get caught lying. They want to limit the scope of questions as much as humanly possible to avoid what they call a perjury trap. Giuliani says the investigation he wants it to end in the next three weeks, that Mueller has all the information he needs but if the probe drags on till November, Giuliani they says that Republicans will be the ones to benefit politically that’s his claim.” [New Day, CNN, 8/9/18; Video] Continue reading “Want to Know More About … the Mueller Investigation”

3 Takeaways From Day 5 of the Manafort Trial

The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website August 6 2018:

Manafort’s former deputy, Rick Gates, takes the stand

Rick Gates, here in November 2017. Credit: Bill Clark, CQ Roll Call file photo

The second week of the tax evasion and bank fraud trial of Paul Manafort kicked off Monday.

The day featured the defense’s cross-examination of Cindy Laporta, the onetime Trump campaign chairman’s former accountant and tax preparer; testimony from a Treasury Department employee who researched whether Manafort had filed reports of foreign bank and financial accounts, or FBARs; and Manafort’s former deputy, Rick Gates.

The high-powered political consultant is facing 18 counts and a maximum 305-year prison sentence if the Eastern Virginia jury finds him guilty.

Why Manafort matters

The following article by Judd Legum was posted on the Popular.info website August 8, 2018:

This week, the man who was in charge of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, Paul Manafort, is on trial in Virginia for bank fraud and filing false tax returns, among other charges. Next month in DC, Manafort will face trial for more charges, including conspiracy against the United States.

The official line from Donald Trump and the White House is that this trial has nothing to do with them or Robert Mueller’s investigation into the potential conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump

Paul Manafort worked for Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole and many other highly prominent and respected political leaders. He worked for me for a very short time. Why didn’t government tell me that he was under investigation. These old charges have nothing to do with Collusion – a Hoax!

August 1, 2018

It’s true that the conduct being directly prosecuted does not encompass Manafort’s official work as campaign manager. But the idea that the conduct is “old” and unconnected to the Trump campaign is false.

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‘Plenty of evidence of collusion’: Top intel congressman fights Trump lie

The following article by Tommy Christopher was posted on the ShareBlue.com website August 5, 2018:

‘I think there’s plenty of evidence of collusion or conspiracy in plain sight,’ said Rep. Adam Schiff.

© Greg Nash/em>

Trump has been lying about evidence of his presidential campaign’s collusion with Russia for so long that some journalists are beginning to believe it. But the House Intelligence Committee’s ranking member, Adam Schiff (D-CA), totally destroyed that false narrative on Sunday.

On this weekend’s edition of CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” host Margaret Brennan tried to get Schiff to agree to the lie that Trump has been telling for over a year now — that there is “no evidence of collusion” between his campaign and Russia.

“Can you agree that there has been no evidence of collusion, coordination, or conspiracy that has been presented thus far between the Trump campaign and Russia?” Brennan asked Schiff.

View the complete article here.