Tag: Trump campaign

Want to Know More About … the Manafort Trial

Jonathan Karl: “In A Dramatic Moment, David, Gates Told The Court, ‘I’m Here To Tell The Truth, I’m Here To Take Responsibility.’, And Then, He Added That Paul Manafort Had The Same Opportunity, The Implication Is Of Course, That He Did Not Take It.”

[World News Tonight, ABC, 8/7/18; VIDEO]

David Wright: “It Was A Grueling Day On The Stand For Rick Gates. He Is The Government’s Star Witness In This Case But The Defense Did Its Best To Pummel His Credibility.”

[Good Morning America, ABC, 8/8/18; VIDEO]

Trump acknowledges, defends 2016 meeting between son, Kremlin-aligned lawyer

The following aricle by Ashley Parker and Rosalind S. Helderman was posted on the Washington Post website August 5, 2018:

President Trump’s lawyers now say he dictated Donald Trump Jr.’s response to the 2016 Trump Tower meeting, contradicting months of previous assertions. (JM Rieger/The Washington Post)

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — President Trump on Sunday offered his most definitive and clear public acknowledgment that his oldest son met with a Kremlin-aligned lawyer at Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign to “get information on an opponent,” defending the meeting as “totally legal and done all the time in politics.”

It is, however, against the law for U.S. campaigns to receive ­donations or items of value from foreigners, and that June 2016 meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and Natalia Veselnitskaya is now a subject of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s Russia investigation.

While “collusion” is not mentioned in U.S. criminal statutes, Mueller is investigating whether anyone associated with Trump coordinated with the Russians, which could result in criminal charges if they entered into a conspiracy to break the law, including through cyberhacking or interfering with the election.

View the complete article here.

Alleged Russian Agent Maria Butina Had Ties to Trump Campaign National Security Staffer: Report

The following article by Cody Fenwick was posted on the AlterNet website August 3, 2018:

The new report reveals closer connections with the campaign than had previously been disclosed.

Credit: Pavel Starikov

Maria Butina, a Russian national who has been arrested on charges of working secretly as an agent of the Kremlin, interacted with one-time Trump campaign staffer J.D. Gordon in the final months of the 2016 campaign, according to a new report from the Washington Post. 

Gordon reportedly served as the director of national security on Trump’s campaign until he left in 2016 to work on the transition team.

According to emails obtained by the Post, Gordon and Butina corresponded socially over email in the waning days of the campaign. Gordon reportedly invited her to attend a concert and his birthday party in October. While the interactions seem innocuous enough on their face, prosecutors allege that Butina used ostensibly social interactions as part of her intelligence work.

View the complete article here.

Trump associate socialized with alleged Russian agent Maria Butina in final weeks of 2016 campaign

The following article by Rosalind S. Helderman was posted on the Washington Post website AUgust 3, 2018:

Maria Butina, 29, founded a Russian group called the Right to Bear Arms. On July 16 she was charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of Russia. (Patrick Martin/The Washington Post)

Maria Butina, the Russian gun-rights activist who was charged last month with working as an unregistered agent of the Kremlin, socialized in the weeks before the 2016 election with a former Trump campaign aide who anticipated joining the presidential transition team, emails show, putting her in closer contact with President Trump’s orbit than was previously known.

Butina sought out interactions with J.D. Gordon, who served for six months as the Trump campaign’s director of national security before leaving in August 2016 and being offered a role in the nascent Trump transition effort, according to documents and testimony provided to the Senate Intelligence Committee and described to The Washington Post.

The two exchanged several emails in September and October 2016, culminating in an invitation from Gordon to attend a concert by the rock band Styx in Washington. Gordon also invited Butina to attend his birthday party in late October of that year.

View the complete article here.

3 Takeaways After First Week of Manafort Trial

The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website August 3, 2018:

Explosive testimony from accountants caps tough Day 4 for ex-Trump campaign chairman

President Donald Trump pauses during a rally, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes Barre, Pa.. Credit: Carolyn Kaster/AP

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The first week of the tax evasion and bank fraud trial of Paul Manafort is in the books after a tough Friday for the former Trump campaign chairman.

Day Four featured explosive testimony from two witnesses: Manafort’s former accountants, Cindy Laporta and Philip Ayliff. Laporta was the first witness to testify under immunity from the prosecution, an indication she would otherwise have been opening herself up to legal trouble.

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

View the complete article here.

Trump to Jeff Sessions: End the Mueller investigation “right now”

The following article by Zachary Basu was posted on the Axios website August 1, 2018:

President Trump called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to put a stop to the Mueller investigation in a tweet Wednesday morning.

‘This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further. Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!”

Between the lines, from Axios’ Jonathan Swan: This isn’t a directive to Sessions, based on my last conversation with Rudy Giuliani. If Trump wanted to end the Mueller investigation, he could. He knows Congress would rise up against him.

View the complete article here.

Paul Manafort’s Trial Starts Tuesday. Here Are the Charges and the Stakes.

The following article by Sharon LaFraniere and Emily Baumgaertner was posted on the New York Times website July 29, 2018:

Paul Manafort after his arraignment hearing in March at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va. Credit: Al Drago, The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Paul Manafort, the veteran Republican political operative and lobbyist who helped run President Trump’s 2016 campaign, is scheduled to go to trial on financial fraud charges starting on Tuesday in United States District Court in Alexandria, Va.

The main points to be aware of:

  • It is the first trial stemming from charges brought by Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating Russia’s interference in the campaign.

View the complete post here.

Paul Manafort and Donald Trump

Donald Trump, Paul Manafort and Ivanka Trump check the podium at the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, July 21, 2016. Credit: Bill Clark, CQ Roll Call, Getty Images

Here are some things to remember as we watch the Manfort trial unfold and Donald Trump vent his rage on Twitter:

  • Paul Manafort, Trump’s ex-campaign chairman and friend of nearly four decades, is on trial for charges related to his work for the former pro-Kremlin regime in Ukraine.
  • Contrary to what the president claims, Trump has a long history with Manafort, and he played an intricate role in the Trump campaign.
  • Manafort was the chairman of the Trump campaign and worked on the campaign for nearly five months.
  • Manafort continued to be a part of Trump’s inner circle after Election Day.
  • Manafort and Trump have known each other for nearly FOUR decades and have a business relationship dating back nearly that long.
  • The charges in the Manafort trial fall under the purview of the special counsel and are relevant to the Russia investigation.
    • Manafort’s work for the pro-Kremlin regime in Ukraine was bankrolled by a Putin-tied Russian oligarch.
    • Manafort’s right-hand man in Ukraine was suspected former GRU agent Konstantin Kilimnik. The FBI believes Kilimnik maintained his ties to Russian intelligence during the 2016 presidential campaign, when he was in regular contact with Manafort.

Mueller Is Seeking Immunity for 5 Mystery Witnesses Against Trump’s Ex-Campaign Chair

The following article by Cody Fenwick was posted on the AlterNet.org website July 17, 2018:

Paul Manafort’s former business associate Rick Gates has already agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

Credit: FBI

Special counsel Robert Mueller filed court documents Tuesday requesting immunity for five potential witnesses in the case against President Donald Trump’s former campaign chair Paul Manafort.

The immunity would allow witnesses to testify with the assurance that they cannot be prosecuted for self-incriminating admissions they may make.

“The motions indicate that the named individuals will not testify or provide other information on the basis of their privilege against self-incrimination, and that the government is requesting that the Court compel them to testify at the upcoming trial,” the request says.

View the complete article on the AlterNet.org website here.

Carter Page, Trump Foreign Policy Adviser, FISA Documents

Moscow, Russia – Dec 12, 2016: Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to President-Elect Trump, makes a presentation titled ” Departing from Hypocrisy: Potential Strategies in the Era of Global Economic Stagnation, Security Threats and Fake News”. Credit: Artyom Korotayev, ASS, Getty Images

The Carter Page FISA documents show that serious and significant evidence was used by the FBI to obtain the warrant to monitor Carter Page. Here are the key points to remember

  • The FISA warrant was renewed three times.

    • It was originally approved and then renewed each time by judges who were appointed by Republican presidents.

    • Each of these judges found probable cause that Page had been “collaborating and conspiring with the Russian government.”

  • The FBI did not file the initial FISA application until October 2016, a month after the Trump campaign says he stopped working for them.
  • These documents dismantle the memo put forth by Devin Nunes to discredit the FBI and the DOJ and to undermine the Mueller investigation. Continue reading “Carter Page, Trump Foreign Policy Adviser, FISA Documents”