Robert Mueller May Indict Paul Manafort Again

[edpc]

From its inception, two things about special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation were clear: first, the White House’s biggest concern was that Mueller would follow the money; and second, Mueller is following the money.

It’s been seven months since Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein ordered Bob Mueller to take over the FBI’s counterintelligence probe into possible links between the Kremlin and people associated with the Trump campaign. Trump’s lawyers have long said they expected the probe to stay focused and end quickly. Instead, Mueller has assembled a team of prosecutors with expertise in handling financial investigations and white-collar crime, and obtained guilty pleas for crimes that weren’t committed during the election year.

And, most importantly, he’s sent a thinly veiled warning to the White House: No one’s finances are off limits. If 2017 had the president’s inner circle sweating, 2018 could feel like a sauna.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/robert-mueller-may-indict-paul-manafort-again

[Oceander]

The quoted bit is a little silly.

[corbe]

    I want the ba$tard to burn.

    Him and Jim Baker denied Reagan the nomination in 1976, opting for Ford instead, not unlike 2016.

Manafort, in coordination with Republican National Committee officials including chief Reince Priebus, who went on to be Trump's first White House chief of staff, rallied their own troops, spending the week before the convention putting down efforts on the Rules Committee to open up the floor proceedings for a vote.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/30/politics/paul-manafort-trump-convention-delegate-guru/index.html

    Gotta give Trump credit here, since character matters less than results, he hired the best delegate hunter in GOP history.

[edpc]

The more important section......

A superseding indictment would essentially replace the current indictment of Manafort. And in that current indictment, Mueller’s team hinted there was more to come. In particular, they hinted at potential tax charges for Manafort’s foreign financial transactions. Federal prosecutors can bring charges against any American who has money in a foreign bank account and doesn’t check a box on their tax forms disclosing it. The Manafort/Gates indictment describes financial behavior that may be liable for that kind of prosecution. And that’s an indicator that Mueller’s team may be preparing to formally charge both men with violating tax laws.

[Free Vulcan]

It seems that nothing that Mueller is investigating has anything to do with the 2016 election and Russia's influence on it, and any connection to the Trump campaign, which I thought was the mission statement.

[edpc]

It seems that nothing that Mueller is investigating has anything to do with the 2016 election and Russia's influence on it, and any connection to the Trump campaign, which I thought was the mission statement.

That’s often the case with special investigations.  Initially, the Starr appointment was for looking into Whitewater.

[truth_seeker]

Something is severely wrong, which allows open ended fishing expeditions to go on and on, with no boundaries, no timeframes, etc.

[corbe]

   This time it's Different, For $75 million, so far, we will get to pick the color of the victim's dress. Orange Wins!

[DB]

Virtually no one in DC could take an extreme legal enema without detecting some law being broken somewhere, especially when it included one's taxes for decades.

So where is the evidence that initiated this intense legal inquisition to begin with? Legal fishing expeditions are not constitutional in this country.

[ConservativeGranny]

You always follow the money. Manafort isn't the only one with money in foreign countries.

Mueller seems to be starting with the littler fish probably to get to the bigger ones. I believe he will. IMO Kushner will be one of the bigger fish.

I have always suspected that Russian money ended up in the Trump campaign and that the investigation would delve into Russian money laundering. We know that the Russians were involved in trying to manipulate our politicians and elections. It's vital that we get to the bottom of this. Mueller is taking his time to lay out a strong case.

I also believe this has been going on for quite awhile and not just during the last election. The past few months have shown that there are way too many of our representatives in Congress who are corrupt and compromised. This makes them extremely vulnerable to blackmail and manipulation by a foreign power.

A special investigator has the power to pursue charges for any criminal activity he comes across during an investigation. I wouldn't want him to just ignore it for any reason. In fact, it is one way to get information on other crimes that may have been committed. From all of the squealing coming from Trump I do believe that Mueller is on the right track. These investigations take time and this one needs to play out. If there is nothing there it will come to its natural conclusion soon enough.

I know some people don't like the light that has been shown into some of the dark corners of the Trump campaign but you can't have it both ways. You can't believe that Trump is some kind of genius and mastermind and on the other hand believe that he was entirely clueless as to what was going on in his own campaign. He is either brilliant or a stupid fool. It can't be both.

[edpc]

Mueller seems to be starting with the littler fish probably to get to the bigger ones. I believe he will. IMO Kushner will be one of the bigger fish.

I guess he’d be following his father’s footsteps with illegal campaign contributions and tax evasion.

[DB]

You always follow the money. Manafort isn't the only one with money in foreign countries.

Mueller seems to be starting with the littler fish probably to get to the bigger ones. I believe he will. IMO Kushner will be one of the bigger fish.

I have always suspected that Russian money ended up in the Trump campaign and that the investigation would delve into Russian money laundering. We know that the Russians were involved in trying to manipulate our politicians and elections. It's vital that we get to the bottom of this. Mueller is taking his time to lay out a strong case.

I also believe this has been going on for quite awhile and not just during the last election. The past few months have shown that there are way too many of our representatives in Congress who are corrupt and compromised. This makes them extremely vulnerable to blackmail and manipulation by a foreign power.

A special investigator has the power to pursue charges for any criminal activity he comes across during an investigation. I wouldn't want him to just ignore it for any reason. In fact, it is one way to get information on other crimes that may have been committed. From all of the squealing coming from Trump I do believe that Mueller is on the right track. These investigations take time and this one needs to play out. If there is nothing there it will come to its natural conclusion soon enough.

I know some people don't like the light that has been shown into some of the dark corners of the Trump campaign but you can't have it both ways. You can't believe that Trump is some kind of genius and mastermind and on the other hand believe that he was entirely clueless as to what was going on in his own campaign. He is either brilliant or a stupid fool. It can't be both.

Except that doing that is holding Trump to a far different standard than Obama, Hillary, etc. Trump is a two bit player compared to the Clintons for example.

Are we now going to let the political opposition fabricate stories and then use those stories as evidence to start unrestrained investigations fishing for any possible wrong doing by anyone connected to the target over decades?

That is fundamentally wrong and is unconstitutional on several fronts.

[Concerned]

Except that doing that is holding Trump to a far different standard than Obama, Hillary, etc. Trump is a two bit player compared to the Clintons for example.

Are we now going to let the political opposition fabricate stories and then use those stories as evidence to start unrestrained investigations fishing for any possible wrong doing by anyone connected to the target over decades?

That is fundamentally wrong and is unconstitutional on several fronts.

If that's truly what's happening here and it's indeed "unconstitutional on several fronts", I wonder why Trump's attorney's don't sue over these supposed violations of Trump's Constitutional rights?    

[IsailedawayfromFR]

It seems to me that a prosecutor cannot indict anyone.

He proposes it, but a judge or jury must be the one who indicts.

[skeeter]

In other words Mueller issued a vague general indictment, probably to show something for his work immediately, which was intended to be reissued with more detail later.

Still has nothing to do with the administration and Russian collusion.

[Oceander]

In other words Mueller issued a vague general indictment, probably to show something for his work immediately, which was intended to be reissued with more detail later.

Still has nothing to do with the administration and Russian collusion.

Not necessarily.  The initial indictment appears to have been racially sufficient.  A superseding indictment would generally mean they’ve got more evidence that supports more charges. 

[skeeter]

Not necessarily.  The initial indictment appears to have been racially sufficient.  A superseding indictment would generally mean they’ve got more evidence that supports more charges.

Thats what I said.

[endicom]

...I wonder why Trump's attorney's don't sue over these supposed violations of Trump's Constitutional rights?   

Trump hasn't yet been accused of any malfeasance.

[Cripplecreek]

From all of the squealing coming from Trump I do believe that Mueller is on the right track. These investigations take time and this one needs to play out. If there is nothing there it will come to its natural conclusion soon enough.

I know some people don't like the light that has been shown into some of the dark corners of the Trump campaign but you can't have it both ways. You can't believe that Trump is some kind of genius and mastermind and on the other hand believe that he was entirely clueless as to what was going on in his own campaign. He is either brilliant or a stupid fool. It can't be both.

Agreed that the squealing about the FBI coming from republicans is pretty unseemly and suspicious. The cries of bias in the FBI aren't fooling anybody. What they really want is an FBI loyal to Trump and that disgusts me.

The death wail of a dying party at the hands of a political suicide bomber they invited into the tent. Screw em.

[Concerned]

Trump hasn't yet been accused of any malfeasance.

The assertion was that the "unrestrained investigations fishing for any possible wrong doing" based on "fabricate(d) stories" was in itself unconstitutional.  If true, attorneys for anyone under investigation could bring suit.

[aligncare]

Except that doing that is holding Trump to a far different standard than Obama, Hillary, etc. Trump is a two bit player compared to the Clintons for example.

Are we now going to let the political opposition fabricate stories and then use those stories as evidence to start unrestrained investigations fishing for any possible wrong doing by anyone connected to the target over decades?

That is fundamentally wrong and is unconstitutional on several fronts.

...it’s more than that. On the world stage it makes us look foolish. It’s embarrassing, third world-ish conduct.

Indeed I would lay money down no one here liked that Obama was elected twice. The difference between the right and left is we don’t act out, take to the streets, or use the government to go after political opponents. For instance, it’s been a year and no one from this administration has gone after Comey, Hillary or Obama, even though there probably was some collusion and law breaking goin’ on there with the prior administration.

[edpc]

The idea of the FBI being corrupt is really nothing new. During the Hoover days, he refused to even acknowledge the existence of organize crime and used the organization to gather blackmail material for his own personal use. I will give them credit, however, for developing modern forensic and profiling techniques.

[skeeter]

The assertion was that the "unrestrained investigations fishing for any possible wrong doing" based on "fabricate(d) stories" was in itself unconstitutional.  If true, attorneys for anyone under investigation could bring suit.

Flynn's perjury case has to have been severely compromised by recent revelations regarding Mueller staffers. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he ends up not being as cooperative as Mueller and the left had hoped.

[jpsb]

Something is severely wrong, which allows open ended fishing expeditions to go on and on, with no boundaries, no timeframes, etc.

Thank you Jeff Sessions.

[jpsb]

If that's truly what's happening here and it's indeed "unconstitutional on several fronts", I wonder why Trump's attorney's don't sue over these supposed violations of Trump's Constitutional rights?   

Once it is proven that the Steele dosser was used to obtain the FISA warrants all hell will break
loose.