Tag: Trump campaign

Paul Manafort ordered to jail after witness-tampering charges

The following article by Spencer S. Hsu, Ellen Nakashima and Devlin Barrett was posted on the Washington Post website June 15, 2018:

A federal judge ordered Paul Manafort to jail Friday over charges he tampered with witnesses while out on bail — a major blow for President Trump’s former campaign chairman as he awaits trial on federal conspiracy and money-laundering charges next month.

“You have abused the trust placed in you six months ago,” U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson told Manafort. “The government motion will be granted, and the defendant will be detained.” Continue reading “Paul Manafort ordered to jail after witness-tampering charges”

EXCLUSIVE: Former Fox News reporter says Russians colluded with Trump campaign through Roger Stone

The following article by Joe Romm was posted on the ThinkProgress website June 5, 2018:

New book details Russians’ decisive role in making Trump’s campaign messages go viral.

Roger Stone, a longtime political adviser and friend to President Donald Trump, speaks before signing copies of his book at the Boca Raton Marriott on March 21, 2017 in Boca Raton, Florida. Credit: Joe Raedle, Getty Images

In a series of exclusive interviews, former Fox News Channel chief political correspondent Carl Cameron explained to ThinkProgress how the Russians coordinated their cyber attack on the 2016 election with the Trump campaign.

“Trump confidant Roger Stone’s success was having the connections and creating the opportunities for [Russian intelligence officer] Guccifer2.0 and other Russian groups to really start taking advantage of social media and pounding these negative memes that Hillary’s a crook, et cetera,” Cameron explained to ThinkProgress’ Joe Romm — as related in the new book, How to Go Viral and Reach Millions. Continue reading “EXCLUSIVE: Former Fox News reporter says Russians colluded with Trump campaign through Roger Stone”

Mueller Accuses Paul Manafort of Attempted Witness Tampering

The following article by Matt Apuzzo was posted in the New York Times website June 4, 2018:

Paul Manafort, Pres. Trump’s former campaign chairman, tried to contact witnesses in the case against him by phone and through an encrypted messaging program, prosecutors said. Credit: Shawn Thew, EPA, via Shutterstock

WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors on Monday accused President Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, of attempting to tamper with witnesses in his federal tax and money laundering case.

In court documents, prosecutors working for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, said that violated the terms of Mr. Manafort’s release while he awaits trial. They asked a federal judge to revise those terms or send him to jail until trial. Continue reading “Mueller Accuses Paul Manafort of Attempted Witness Tampering”

Democratic senator: Trump Jr. meeting with Gulf emissary ‘absolutely crazy’

The following article by Max Greenwood was posted on the Hill website May 19, 2018:

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) dubbed the Trump campaign “absolutely crazy” after The New York Times reported on Saturday that President Trump‘s eldest son met with a Gulf emissary in 2016 who offered to help the real estate mogul win the presidency.

“To be fair this is pretty standard for a Presidential campaign,” Schatz tweeted, referencing a Vox article about the Times’s reporting. “I’m kidding. It’s absolutely crazy.”The tweet came hours after the Times reported that Donald Trump Jr. met in August 2016 with Joel Zamel, an Israeli political strategist specializing in social media manipulation, and George Nader, a Lebanese-American businessman and a self-styled emissary to the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.  Continue reading “Democratic senator: Trump Jr. meeting with Gulf emissary ‘absolutely crazy’”

Code Name Crossfire Hurricane: The Secret Origins of the Trump Investigation

The following article by Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman and Nicholas Fandos was posted on the New York Times website May 16, 2018:

F.B.I Building Credit: Al Drago for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Within hours of opening an investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia in the summer of 2016, the F.B.I. dispatched a pair of agents to London on a mission so secretive that all but a handful of officials were kept in the dark.

Their assignment, which has not been previously reported, was to meet the Australian ambassador, who had evidence that one of Donald J. Trump’s advisers knew in advance about Russian election meddling. After tense deliberations between Washington and Canberra, top Australian officials broke with diplomatic protocol and allowed the ambassador, Alexander Downer, to sit for an F.B.I. interview to describe his meeting with the campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos. Continue reading “Code Name Crossfire Hurricane: The Secret Origins of the Trump Investigation”

Trump voters warn him not to fire Mueller: ‘People would be suspicious’

The following article by Philip Rucker was posted on the Washington Post website May 16, 2018:

Senate Republicans don’t want President Trump to fire special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. They just won’t protect Mueller if Trump decides to fire him. (JM Rieger/The Washington Post)

BROOKFIELD, WI — They see the Russia investigation as President Trump does, as a witch hunt that has expanded far beyond its initial mandate with the explicit aim of delegitimizing or perhaps even overturning his 2016 election victory.

Yet these most steadfast of Trump supporters, who were among those gathered here Tuesday night as part of a focus group evaluating public opinion, said the president should not fire special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, a view shared by the Trump critics around the table. Continue reading “Trump voters warn him not to fire Mueller: ‘People would be suspicious’”

The unsupported claim that James Clapper tipped Jake Tapper about the dossier

The following article by Glenn Kessler was posted on the Washington Post website May 3, 2018:

Conservative news outlets have theorized that former director of national intelligence James Clapper lied to Congress about his communications with Tapper. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

“It’s an incredible development. Now, the Intel Committee’s report found that Clapper, quote, admitted to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in private testimony that he briefed CNN’s Jake Tapper in early January of 2017. This was shortly before Trump’s inauguration. Tapper along with two other journalists, so-called journalists from CNN, published a report detailing how Trump was briefed about the Steele dossier. And then a short time later, James Clapper, oh, he’s hired by fake news CNN as an analyst. You connect the dots.”
— Sean Hannity, on his Fox News television show, April 30, 2018

Reporters often try to connect the dots. But sometimes, dots can’t really be connected – or they are misplaced.

Continue reading “The unsupported claim that James Clapper tipped Jake Tapper about the dossier”

U.S. judge tosses Paul Manafort suit seeking to bar special counsel Mueller from bringing future charges

The following article by Spencer S. Hsu was posted on the Washington Post website April 27, 2018:

© Camille Fine

A federal judge Friday dismissed a challenge brought by Paul Manafort to special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s criminal probe of Russian interference in 2016 U.S. elections, ruling that Manafort may not use a lawsuit to thwart his prosecution.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson tossed out the attempt by Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, to bar the special counsel from bringing future charges against him. The judge cited the “sound and well-established principle” that potential defendants cannot “circumvent federal criminal procedure” that already permits individuals to challenge charges within criminal proceedings. Continue reading “U.S. judge tosses Paul Manafort suit seeking to bar special counsel Mueller from bringing future charges”

Turns out Don Jr.’s meeting at Trump Tower was with a Russian agent

The following article by Ryan Koronowski was posted on the ThinkProgress website April 27, 2018:

The Russian lawyer Donald Trump Jr. hosted at Trump Tower just admitted she’s an informant.

Credit: Time Magazine

The Russian lawyer whom Donald Trump Jr. hosted during his infamous meeting at Trump Tower on June 9, 2016 — Natalia Veselnitskaya — has insisted she is not Kremlin spy. The Trump campaign’s allies bought this assertion hook, line, and sinker.

But according to newly-released emails from a Russian watchdog group, as well as Veselnitskaya’s own admission in a forthcoming television interview, she has been an informant for the Russian government for years.

“I am a lawyer, and I am an informant,” she said in an interview with NBC News to be broadcast on Friday, according to the New York Times. “Since 2013, I have been actively communicating with the office of the Russian prosecutor general.” Continue reading “Turns out Don Jr.’s meeting at Trump Tower was with a Russian agent”

Paul Manafort Was Under FBI Scrutiny Before He Joined the Trump Campaign, Documents Show

The following article by Cody Fenwick was posted on the AlterNet website April 24, 2018:

The revelation shows that the FBI’s investigation into Trump’s connections with Russia is not a political operation.

President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort was interviewed by the FBI long before the 2016 presidential race, new court documents show. This revelation shows that the FBI’s interests in the ties between Trump and Russia were not manufactured as an attempt to challenge his political legitimacy, but they instead stemmed from long-standing concerns about the very people he chose to surround himself with.

The Washington Post first reported on the new revelations contained in a court filing from the FBI, which came in response to Manafort’s efforts to suppress evidence investigators obtained in searches of his properties. Manafort had been indicted with a host of money laundering crimes and for working as an unregistered foreign agent for a Ukrainian politician who is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Continue reading “Paul Manafort Was Under FBI Scrutiny Before He Joined the Trump Campaign, Documents Show”