Ex-Trump aide Manafort tentatively agrees to plea deal: ABC News

[webfact]

Ex-Trump aide Manafort tentatively agrees to plea deal: ABC News

 

FILE PHOTO: Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort departs from U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., February 28, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort has tentatively agreed to a plea deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller that would avoid his going on trial next week, ABC News reported on Thursday.

 

The deal is expected to be announced in a Washington courtroom on Friday, but it remains unclear whether Manafort has also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, ABC said, citing three unnamed sources with knowledge of the discussions.

 

Manafort lawyer Kevin Downing and Mueller spokesman Peter Carr declined to comment on the ABC report.

 

Jury selection is scheduled to begin on Monday in Manafort's second trial in federal court in Washington on charges including conspiring to launder money, conspiring to defraud the United States, failing to register as a foreign agent and witness tampering.

 

Manafort was convicted last month at trial in Alexandria, Virginia, of charges including bank and tax fraud. The prosecutions of Manafort arose from Mueller's investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. election and whether Trump's campaign colluded with Moscow to help him win. Trump has denied colluding with the Russians and the Russians have denied interfering.

 

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Grant McCool)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-09-14

[dcutman]

53 minutes ago, webfact said:

Trump has denied colluding with the Russians and the Russians have denied interfering.

A year and half or two to into this Witch hunt still nothing. When are we gonna see something to lead to indictments about Russia collusion?

Surely by the end of Trumps second term there should be something nailed down, right?

[Somtamnication]

Can't wait for Trump's.

[wayned]

I can't believe that Mueller would accept any plea deal without an agreement that Manafort cooperate with him and at least have a list of the topics that he is prepared to discuss.  Manafort tried this before the Virginia trail without any commitment to cooperation and Mueller rejected it and Manafort is looking at up to 10 years in the slammer.  I guess that we might see romorrow..

[pegman]

24 minutes ago, dcutman said:

A year and half or two to into this Witch hunt still nothing. When are we gonna see something to lead to indictments about Russia collusion?

Surely by the end of Trumps second term there should be something nailed down, right?

When Mueller has flipped every last co-conspirator. He will then submit his report to the Democrat majority House of Representatives. Impeachment charges will then be drawn up. It will be the responsibility of 16-20 Republican never Trumpers  in the Senate to show their true colours and toss Trump from office. This process has been like watching an old master painting a masterpiece brush stroke by brush stroke. The man is a genius.

[dcutman]

5 minutes ago, pegman said:

When Mueller has flipped every last co-conspirator. He will then submit his report to the Democrat majority House of Representatives. Impeachment charges will then be drawn up.

Ok,  so you think this will done before the end of Trumps second term, or do you think they will have to exhume him from the grave to press charges?

Just asking because there is evidence out there according to the most left wing nut cases. Most of these people are representatives from the US Govt. so they must be making stuff up, just because they hate Trump.

[55Jay]

40 minutes ago, dcutman said:

Ok,  so you think this will done before the end of Trumps second term, or do you think they will have to exhume him from the grave to press charges?

Just asking because there is evidence out there according to the most left wing nut cases. Most of these people are representatives from the US Govt. so they must be making stuff up, just because they hate Trump.

The G-Man Mueller will find something, eventually.

Former FBI Director Comey will bring the Zippo lighter.

Hillary and Bill will light the fire and watch with great satisfaction as their old friend burns. 

 

 

 

[HuaHinHim]

1 hour ago, dcutman said:

A year and half or two to into this Witch hunt still nothing. When are we gonna see something to lead to indictments about Russia collusion?

Surely by the end of Trumps second term there should be something nailed down, right?

Yes I think it’s coming

[Morch]

1 hour ago, dcutman said:

A year and half or two to into this Witch hunt still nothing. When are we gonna see something to lead to indictments about Russia collusion?

Surely by the end of Trumps second term there should be something nailed down, right?

 

Comparable past investigations took longer and didn't necessarily result in more "beef" with regard to the current time span. Doubt many of Trump supporters had quite as many complaints about them.

[dcutman]

1 minute ago, Morch said:

 

Comparable past investigations took longer and didn't necessarily result in more "beef" with regard to the current time span. Doubt many of Trump supporters had quite as many complaints about them.

According to many senior democrat officials there is and has been strong evidence since the get go. So Is Mueller just soaking the taxpayers of millions of dollars to keep himself and his team employed?

The only evidence I have seen for the last six months of us citizen's and officials from many govt agencies colluding with foreign agents  has been on behalf of the Clinton campaign. How do we reconcile this?

[stevenl]

3 minutes ago, dcutman said:

According to many senior democrat officials there is and has been strong evidence since the get go. So Is Mueller just soaking the taxpayers of millions of dollars to keep himself and his team employed?

The only evidence I have seen for the last six months of us citizen's and officials from many govt agencies colluding with foreign agents  has been on behalf of the Clinton campaign. How do we reconcile this?

In which reality are you living?

[Morch]

5 minutes ago, dcutman said:

According to many senior democrat officials there is and has been strong evidence since the get go. So Is Mueller just soaking the taxpayers of millions of dollars to keep himself and his team employed?

The only evidence I have seen for the last six months of us citizen's and officials from many govt agencies colluding with foreign agents  has been on behalf of the Clinton campaign. How do we reconcile this?

 

I don't feel the need "reconcile" anything, but then I'm not given to adopting extreme partisan narratives, hence less of an issues for me. As for how you seem to "reconcile" - seems like a combo of denial, deflection, and loaded assertions, with an added twist of whataboutery.

 

Investigations take time. Full public disclosure during investigations is not the norm.

[dcutman]

5 minutes ago, stevenl said:

In which reality are you living?

I guess you would not know about anything thing else but Trump hate, only getting your information from never Trump media sources.

 

 

[Becker]

12 minutes ago, dcutman said:

According to many senior democrat officials there is and has been strong evidence since the get go. So Is Mueller just soaking the taxpayers of millions of dollars to keep himself and his team employed?

The only evidence I have seen for the last six months of us citizen's and officials from many govt agencies colluding with foreign agents  has been on behalf of the Clinton campaign. How do we reconcile this?

 

8 minutes ago, stevenl said:

In which reality are you living?

Here, let me fix that for you:

 

In which "reality" are you living?

[Chomper Higgot]

To get a plea deal Manafort and his lawyers will have first had to make a ‘proffer’ in which Manafort lays out the scope and depth of information he has to trade.

 

Mueller will only offer a plea deal if the proffer is of value.

 

Manafort already tried to get a plea deal but was rejected by Mueller, this latest news suggests Manafort has offered an ‘improved’ proffer.

 

Manafort qas Trump’s campaign chairman, so right near the top of the tree, Mueller will not be offering Manafort a deal on the basis of giving evidence against ‘smaller fish’.

 

It is reasonable to assume this deal will ensnare Trump and/or members of Trump’s family.

 

Time for son in law Kushner to do some math.

[Chomper Higgot]

It is also clear that Manafort has figured out that there’s no ‘Presidential Pardon’ coming over the hill.

 

Illiberals Get your denial glasses on, the truth will (despite Trump’s best efforts) out!

[wayned]

24 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Time for son in law Kushner to do some math.

All that he has to do is go online to convert al of his dollars to shekels!

[Tug]

It’s getting closer muller might not need Manafort might have all he needs allready the way I see it playing out the republicans hate trump they think he is a clown like the rest of us they are making the best of a bad suation they have been advancing their agandia ie buisness tax breaks destroy health care conservative judges after the midterms they will turn on him and support impeachment claiming they saved the country from this dangerous buffoon anyway that’s my 2 cents worth 

[janclaes47]

10 minutes ago, Tug said:

It’s getting closer muller might not need Manafort might have all he needs allready

Oh really, then why does the already all knowing Mueller agrees to a plea he doesn't need?

 

As for the rest of your post, please save these, as they may be of good use in the future.

 

.............. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ?????????????? """""""" ;;;;;;;;;;;

[stevenl]

1 hour ago, dcutman said:

I guess you would not know about anything thing else but Trump hate, only getting your information from never Trump media sources.

 

 

No hate at all, just think he is a very bad president for many reasons.

 

But your posts to me just don't make sense, when you can see for yourself what is happening, and you can read and watch the media. And please don';t come again with that deep state nonsense.

[Thaidream]

Slowly but surely Mr Muelleer and his team are coming for Donald Trump because they see evidence that there is collusion with the Russians not only pre election but decades ago that set the stage for Russia attempting to subvert the election.

 

At some point- when Mueller makes his report and the Dems have taken the House- impeachment will be imminent.  In addition- conviction will be assured because the evidence of wrongdoing will be so great that the Repubs cannot hide it any longer.

 

Trump will have already been aware that Mueller could indict Trump's son; Son in Law and possibly  Ivanka.  Trump will be visited by the high ranking Repubs from both the House and Senate who will give him 2 choices-   Resign and then Pence will issue pardons all around  and move back to New York and run your business or be Impeached and Convicted and leave Washington in disgrace as the first President ever convicted and impeached.  

 

Trump will be boxed in and take the 'deal'.  Mr  Art of the Deal' will know it's time to  leave while the gettin' is good. He will slither back to his New York Penthouse thinking he has won.  Then the World and the USA can get back to some form of normalcy.

[Jingthing]

In which reality are you living?

Clearly Foxworld.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Scott]

Off-topic posts removed.  

[Credo]

1 hour ago, janclaes47 said:

Oh really, then why does the already all knowing Mueller agrees to a plea he doesn't need?

 

As for the rest of your post, please save these, as they may be of good use in the future.

 

.............. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ?????????????? """""""" ;;;;;;;;;;;

Mueller may not need Manafort's testimony or information, but when investigating he may need to have corroborating testimony.   Manafort is already guilty and facing serious prison time.   Mueller has nothing to lose, but he will want real cooperation.   

 

And, as already mentioned, he isn't going to want any more info on small fish.   He wants what was known at the top of the campaign.   

 

 

[mtls2005]

5 hours ago, dcutman said:

A year and half or two to into this Witch hunt still nothing. When are we gonna see something to lead to indictments about Russia collusion?

 

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
 

Did you sleep in on July 13, 2018?

 

https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2018/07/Muellerindictment.pdf

 

 

[johnnybangkok]

6 hours ago, dcutman said:

A year and half or two to into this Witch hunt still nothing. When are we gonna see something to lead to indictments about Russia collusion?

Surely by the end of Trumps second term there should be something nailed down, right?

Many of you Trump fans have been following the narrative of Trump's solicitors and cronies (backed up by Fox news) to try and deflect this actual investigation to be about only one thing i.e. Trump's collusion with the Russians but the truth of the matter is the Mueller investigation is not just about 'collusion' and in fact the word 'collusion' isn't even on Mueller's special council appointment letter. The investigation is about investigating links or co-ordination between the Russian government and the Trump campaign and covers 5 very specific topics:

Financial dealings

Prosecutors are scrutinizing the financial dealings of President Trump's associates, including Mannafort's previous consulting work in Ukraine and the business practices of his personal lawyer (Cohen).

Russian interference

Mueller is examining how Russia intervened in the 2016 presidential campaign, including through the circulation of fake news and divisive Internet memes and the hacking of Democratic emails.

Campaign coordination

Investigating contacts between Trump's associates and people working on behalf of Russians to determine whether there is evidence that Trump's campaign conspired with Russia to interfere in the campaign (this is the collusion part).

Transition contacts

Looking into communications between the Russians and Trump officials during the transition period after Trump was elected but before his inauguration.

Obstruction of justice

Prosecutors are focusing on whether actions by Trump and his associates after he took office indicate an effort to obstruct the Russia investigation.

 

When you say 'A year and half or two to into this Witch hunt still nothing' is perhaps relevant as far as actual charges against Trump regarding collusion but with 100 criminal charges against 32 people to include 5 convictions and 27 indictment involving four former Trump advisers (all American), 26 Russian nationals, three Russian companies, one California man (American), and one London-based lawyer, you can hardly call that nothing 

Collusion is not the primary objective of the investigation but you can be damned sure it is just a matter of time before one of them rolls over (Manafort now being top of the list)  and points the finger at Trump himself.

 

But hey, this is all just facts. Something I know from experience that Trump fans doesn't usually like as it doesn't fit in with their absolute conviction that this is all some deep state apparatus witch-hunt after their Beloved Leader. 

It isn't and it will get to Trump in the end.   

[zaphod reborn]

6 hours ago, dcutman said:

A year and half or two to into this Witch hunt still nothing. When are we gonna see something to lead to indictments about Russia collusion?

Surely by the end of Trumps second term there should be something nailed down, right?

First, Mueller won't release his full report until Stone has been indicted and set for trial.  That won't happen until after the midterms.  As Mueller will likely not indict Trump and allow impeachment to proceed, he knows that impeachment is not possible until 2019 when the Dems take the House.  He will conclude there was money laundering, violation of election financing laws, obstruction of justice and abuse of power.  These charges are tremendous and tremendously more serious than any charges ever made against a US President.  Expect state indictments against Trump and his family to follow, and certainly from the new NY State AG next year.

 

Second, you obviously don't follow the news closely about the release of the SAR's (suspicious activity reports) concerning Aras Agalarov who attended the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Manafort, Trump Jr., and Kushner.  Agalarov, a Russian oligarch tied to Putin, made unusually large money transfers to his son and two other unidentified attendees at the meeting, just after the meeting, and then again immediately after Trump won the election in November.  The transfers ran through numerous offshore banks and LLCs which had been dormant for years.  The total amount transferred to New York and New Jersey banks exceeded US$20 million.  Game, set, match - smoking guns found about conspiracy to defraud an election and bribery.  https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/anthonycormier/trump-tower-meeting-suspicious-transactions-agalarov

 

With respect to Manafort, he is heavily in debt and is looking for a way to avoid the expense of having attorneys represent him in 3 more criminal trials.  By pleading guilty, he will perhaps get a sentence of under 15 years, so that he can get released before he dies or get his pardon from Trump.  He has stated that he won't cooperate with respect to nailing Trump for his knowledge about the conspiracy to defraud the election and bribery (for the money transfers above).  Instead, expect him to cop to receipt of laundered money from Agalarov which means the Chairman of Trump's presidential campaign took a bribe with respect to defrauding the election (pretty damning, leaving Trump's only defense - that he didn't know about it). 

[Chomper Higgot]

34 minutes ago, johnnybangkok said:

Many of you Trump fans have been following the narrative of Trump's solicitors and cronies (backed up by Fox news) to try and deflect this actual investigation to be about only one thing i.e. Trump's collusion with the Russians but the truth of the matter is the Mueller investigation is not just about 'collusion' and in fact the word 'collusion' isn't even on Mueller's special council appointment letter. The investigation is about investigating links or co-ordination between the Russian government and the Trump campaign and covers 5 very specific topics:

Financial dealings

Prosecutors are scrutinizing the financial dealings of President Trump's associates, including Mannafort's previous consulting work in Ukraine and the business practices of his personal lawyer (Cohen).

Russian interference

Mueller is examining how Russia intervened in the 2016 presidential campaign, including through the circulation of fake news and divisive Internet memes and the hacking of Democratic emails.

Campaign coordination

Investigating contacts between Trump's associates and people working on behalf of Russians to determine whether there is evidence that Trump's campaign conspired with Russia to interfere in the campaign (this is the collusion part).

Transition contacts

Looking into communications between the Russians and Trump officials during the transition period after Trump was elected but before his inauguration.

Obstruction of justice

Prosecutors are focusing on whether actions by Trump and his associates after he took office indicate an effort to obstruct the Russia investigation.

 

When you say 'A year and half or two to into this Witch hunt still nothing' is perhaps relevant as far as actual charges against Trump regarding collusion but with 100 criminal charges against 32 people to include 5 convictions and 27 indictment involving four former Trump advisers (all American), 26 Russian nationals, three Russian companies, one California man (American), and one London-based lawyer, you can hardly call that nothing 

Collusion is not the primary objective of the investigation but you can be damned sure it is just a matter of time before one of them rolls over (Manafort now being top of the list)  and points the finger at Trump himself.

 

But hey, this is all just facts. Something I know from experience that Trump fans doesn't usually like as it doesn't fit in with their absolute conviction that this is all some deep state apparatus witch-hunt after their Beloved Leader. 

It isn't and it will get to Trump in the end.   

And this is just the start of it.

 

There are also matters relating to trading US foreign policy for private gain, stock market manipulation, breaches of national security wrt releasing state secrets, persons without national security clearance being given access to state secrets, breaches of the foreign corrupt practices act, conspiracy to kidnap a person in the US and remove him to another country, breaches of campaign finance law, selling access to the President and his Administration, threatening a witness with violence, breaches of the Annulments Acts and of course tax evasion.

 

And that's without Avenatti dragging Trump in the depose him on matters of extra marital affairs, abortions and violence towards women.

 

#BeBest

[Thaidream]

As I have been saying- step by step. inch by inch- the Mueller investigation comes closer and closer to Donald Trump. When finished - there will be no way out for Mr Trump- resign or be impeached and convicted.  The Repubs will abandon him like rats running from a sinking ship.

 

They will let him resign. Pence will pardon him and his minions.  He will head back to  Trump Tower and tell the World he was a winner.  The laughter will be deafening and the World will sigh a sense of relief.  Then- the books will come out and we will know just how serious it all was.

[Chomper Higgot]

5 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

As I have been saying- step by step. inch by inch- the Mueller investigation comes closer and closer to Donald Trump. When finished - there will be no way out for Mr Trump- resign or be impeached and convicted.  The Repubs will abandon him like rats running from a sinking ship.

 

They will let him resign. Pence will pardon him and his minions.  He will head back to  Trump Tower and tell the World he was a winner.  The laughter will be deafening and the World will sigh a sense of relief.  Then- the books will come out and we will know just how serious it all was.

The investigation is not going to stop with Trump.

 

 

Paul Ryan, Rand Paul, Devin Nunes, Jill Stein, the leaders of the NRA, Sean Hannity, Julian Assange, Nigel Farage and whole lot of others have a lot of questions to answer.