Manafort, Gates, Papadopoulos Charges

By Jeralyn, Section Corruption Cases
Posted on Mon Oct 30, 2017 at 11:51:08 AM EST
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The Office of Special Counsel has the charges for Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, and George Papadopoulos here.

Donald Trump needs some reading comprehension skills. Manafort's and Gate's activity was not years ago before Manafort joined the campaign. See Count 12 -- both allegedly made false statements in letters in November, 2016 and February, 2017.

In September 2016, after numerous recent press reports concerning MANAFORT, the Department of Justice informed MANAFORT, GATES, and DMI that it sought to determine whether they had acted as agents of a foreign principal under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), without registering. In November 2016 and February 2017, MANAFORT, GATES, and DMI caused false and misleading letters to be submitted to the Department of Justice, which mirrored the false cover story set out above.

Papadopoulus was arrested in July, 2017 at Dulles. But he was first interviewed in Chicago, voluntarily with counsel present, in January, 2017, and lied. (This was the day of Trump's dinner with Comey.) The FBI recorded Papadopoulus' interview.

He was interviewed again in February and reiterated his desire to cooperate. Then he destroyed messages to and from some of his Russian contacts by deleting his entire Facebook account and creating a new one without the messages. Now he's cooperating again, and was allowed to plead to a false statement count where his guideline range is 0 to 6 months, meaning he's unlikely to go to prison. (No grand jury, an Information with a waiver of the right to an Indictment. But there were two original charges, false statements and obstruction of justice in the original complaint, so he's getting off easy.) More information, including the Affidavit in Support of the Complaint (rather than just the statement of facts in support of his guilty plea and the actual Complaint which are all on the Special Counsel's webpage) is available on the court's docket in 17-mj-00536. One of the things he lied about was whether he was working for Trump's campaign when he had the contacts. He was, but at first he claimed he wasn't.

Manafort and Gates' cases will be unsealed right after their first court appearance today. The case number is 17-cr-201.

There are three case numbers for Papadopolous: District of Columbia: 17-mj-00536 and 17-cr-182.
Eastern District of Virginia: 17-mj-00358.

I think Mueller is just getting warmed up.

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Manafort, Gates, Papadopoulos Charges | 44 comments (44 topical)

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Thank you for your analysis Jeralyn (5.00 / 1) (#1)
by Militarytracy on Mon Oct 30, 2017 at 01:02:13 PM EST

The Plot Against America, (5.00 / 2) (#23)
by KeysDan on Tue Oct 31, 2017 at 01:11:32 PM EST

by Michelle Goldberg, a new columnist for the NYTimes (formerly of Slate), opines, essentially, that the indictments of Manafort/Gates and the guilty plea of Papadopoulos, are documenting what we knew for almost a year----that Trump clawed out a victory only with the aid of a foreign government intelligence service. We got indictments and a guilty plea, but it has been obvious that this presidency is a crime.

My worry is that the risks to Trump and his family are so great as to outweigh trying to tough it out with lies/diversions spewed by the likes of Miss Huckabee Sanders, Mr. Kelly, or state TV (ie Fox News). Trump is all too likely to fire Mueller (by revoking the DOJ rules for special counsel or moving down the line at DOJ until some careerist does the firing, as Bork did for Nixon).

The propaganda will be that Mueller has gone rogue, moving away from Russia to your everyday Trump associate's failings such as tax evasion/money laundering/conspiracy against the US. And, Papadopoulos is already just a "get me some coffee" guy.

There may be a public uproar, but what would come of it. The Republican party is now the party of Trump and Roy Moore. Even Flake and Corker have not warmed to legislation that would protect Mueller. Lindsey says there would be holy hell to pay, in words.

Impeachment would imperil their number one goal: tax cuts for the rich donors...Paul Ryan likes his job, and, after all, this was new for Trump.

A gloomy Halloween worry, but seems more tricks in store from Republicans with every treat from Mueller. Hope I am as wrong as Trump is for the presidency.

Interesting (5.00 / 3) (#27)
by FlJoe on Wed Nov 01, 2017 at 05:25:41 AM EST

factoids in this new filing

Onetime Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort keeps three U.S. passports with different identification numbers and submitted 10 passport applications in as many years, the office of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III disclosed in a new court filing

...

"Manafort's financial holdings are substantial, if difficult to quantify precisely because of his varying representations. . . . The full extent of [his assets] is unclear," they said. Manafort, for instance, reported $42 million in assets in March 2016; $136 million that May; and $28 million and $63 million that August, in two separate financial applications, the government said.

Prosecutors also said that Manafort registered a phone and an email account under an alias in May and traveled with it to Mexico in June, to China on May 23 and to Ecuador on May 9.

Manafort and Gates plead not guilty (none / 0) (#2)
by Militarytracy on Mon Oct 30, 2017 at 01:03:43 PM EST

A plea of not guilty at arraignment (5.00 / 2) (#9)
by Peter G on Mon Oct 30, 2017 at 07:12:38 PM EST

is purely a formality. It is no indication of how the case will go. By far most of the 90+% of federal defendants who (eventually) plead guilty had pleaded not guilty at first.


So did Charles Manson, (none / 0) (#3)
by NYShooter on Mon Oct 30, 2017 at 02:33:19 PM EST

by reason of insanity.

Hey, it's worth a try.


: It's going to streeetch this out (none / 0) (#4)
by Militarytracy on Mon Oct 30, 2017 at 02:54:16 PM EST

I Think (none / 0) (#5)
by FlJoe on Mon Oct 30, 2017 at 03:42:13 PM EST

Mueller pulled a brilliant move with Papadopoulos. He laid the much telegraphed body blow on Manafort, carefully bringing charges unrelated to tRump. Then he sticks in the shiv with his first small fish card and it was a killer.

IMO, the timing and substance of the Papadopoulos revelations is a sure sign that Mueller is on the trail of actual collusion. Not to mention, once again, Sessions has been proven to be a bald faced liar. FSM I beseech you, give Franken one more shot at him.

I think the 90-minute gap (5.00 / 1) (#12)
by Repack Rider on Tue Oct 31, 2017 at 12:43:01 AM EST

...between the Manafort and Gates news and the Papadopoulos reveal was calculated by Mueller to see what kind of reaction might get on the record before the other shoe dropped.

"Oh, by the way..."


I hope he got something useful (none / 0) (#13)
by Militarytracy on Tue Oct 31, 2017 at 06:11:57 AM EST

No tweets from a certain someone since Papadop broke. Is it possible he's finally listening to his attorneys?


Is it possible (5.00 / 2) (#26)
by JanaM on Wed Nov 01, 2017 at 01:11:45 AM EST

he's finally listening to his attorneys?

No. ;)


Too busy rage-eating, perhaps. (none / 0) (#14)
by Anne on Tue Oct 31, 2017 at 07:33:55 AM EST

Or huddling with lawyers to figure out how to get Mueller out without making things worse.


: Yeah, Donnie 'two scoops' probably asked (none / 0) (#15)
by vml68 on Tue Oct 31, 2017 at 08:03:45 AM EST

for a third scoop yesterday:-)!
Trump 'seething' as Mueller probe reaches former aides

The West Wing suddenly was back in full combat mode, with an internal tug-of-war emerging over how aggressively Trump should seek to discredit Mueller and his investigation. Even as White House lawyers urged the President to avoid directly criticizing Mueller, other advisers -- including his former chief strategist Steve Bannon -- suggested he aggressively push back.
My money is on Bannon prevailing.

Jeffrey Toobin now (none / 0) (#6)
by Militarytracy on Mon Oct 30, 2017 at 04:10:58 PM EST

Says Papadopoulos was wearing a wire.


So I guess he's inviting the traitors (5.00 / 1) (#7)
by Militarytracy on Mon Oct 30, 2017 at 04:12:32 PM EST

Who spoke to Papadopoulos after he was arrested at Dulles to flip, beat each other to his door


Not (5.00 / 1) (#8)
by FlJoe on Mon Oct 30, 2017 at 06:27:33 PM EST

only that, Mueller's team did an excellent job keeping this under wraps and everyone has to now wonder how many more flippers he already has up his sleeve. There may be several wires wandering the WH halls as we speak, all spooked up for Halloween. Boo!


Yeah, nothing on Flynn yet (none / 0) (#10)
by Militarytracy on Mon Oct 30, 2017 at 09:20:27 PM EST

Did he flip? What does that entail?


"Cooperating" with the prosecution (5.00 / 2) (#11)
by Peter G on Mon Oct 30, 2017 at 09:49:34 PM EST

(i.e., "flipping") involves the suspect's lawyer making a deal with Mueller that is conditioned on truthful and (typically) unqualified cooperation to the gov't's satisfaction. The rest of the deal can be literally anything, from a full pass (no charges) to a weighty guilty plea. Ordinarily it involves a govt pledge to "go to bat" for the defendant at the time of sentencing. Under existing law, a govt motion reporting cooperation can by itself justify a sentence lower than the standard Sentencing Guidelines, and indeed lower than any otherwise-applicable mandatory minimum. Cooperation may entail debriefing about who did what and how, and turning over documents, bank accounts, etc. Or it may be "pro-active," that is, acting as a confidential informant, engaging other suspects in recorded conversations, etc.


Speaking (5.00 / 1) (#16)
by FlJoe on Tue Oct 31, 2017 at 08:05:44 AM EST

of spooky characters, how does Carter Page fit into all this? He was in the same first tranche of tRump's security team and had a similar resume as Papadopoulos. Page actually went to Russia during this time frame, I believe with the knowledge of someone in the campaign. He claimed he only met with academics(the professor again?).


Maybe Page (none / 0) (#17)
by Ga6thDem on Tue Oct 31, 2017 at 08:09:34 AM EST

is actually the person they were talking about sending to Russia? He would just be stupid enough to do something like that.


: He actually went to Russia (none / 0) (#19)
by Yman on Tue Oct 31, 2017 at 10:54:33 AM EST

Here's now claiming the trip was personal and had nothing to do with the campaign. I wouldn't believe a word from any of them.

I (none / 0) (#18)
by FlJoe on Tue Oct 31, 2017 at 08:27:43 AM EST

guess I should have googled first

In an interview on MSNBC, Page, who's scheduled to testify behind closed doors before a House intelligence committee panel Thursday, said he "might have been" on email threads with Papadopoulos where Russia "may have come up from time to time," but clarified that "nothing major" was discussed.

Stay tuned.


He said he was getting (none / 0) (#20)
by ruffian on Tue Oct 31, 2017 at 11:25:47 AM EST

"man on the street" opinion of Trump. HA!

He really needs to just get a lawyer, shut up and stay off TV. He was quite literally frothing at the mouth.


: I just... (none / 0) (#22)
by Militarytracy on Tue Oct 31, 2017 at 12:27:50 PM EST

How is he giving interviews?
I'm not his friend, but I've never wanted to watch someone put their head in the alligators mouth.

Whoever (none / 0) (#21)
by Ga6thDem on Tue Oct 31, 2017 at 11:29:14 AM EST

thought stupid couldn't rise to the top never saw Carter Page in an interview.


Carter Page (none / 0) (#24)
by smott on Tue Oct 31, 2017 at 03:27:05 PM EST

Is staggeringly stupid. He'd never be allowed on Hayes' show if he was actually cooperating w Mueller.

A great Twitter TL to check out with good sober recaps of the legal stuff is Renato Mariotti.

But seriously, Page is not going to do well in prison. He'll be very popular on the cell block I fear. But he seems too narcissistically dense to realize how much he's endangering himself. Not just legally.

: Page (none / 0) (#25)
by FlJoe on Tue Oct 31, 2017 at 03:53:36 PM EST

is nuttier than a fruit cake, or else he is doing a bang up job setting up an insanity defense. He looks and acts as guilty as sin. But he is such a "curveball" Mueller would rather let him sweat, the feds have had him tapped since last year, they probably know most of his story anyway.

: Carter Page (none / 0) (#28)
by Ga6thDem on Wed Nov 01, 2017 at 07:19:13 AM EST

is proof that stupid people can rise to the top.

Paul Manafort has 3 different passports (none / 0) (#29)
by Militarytracy on Wed Nov 01, 2017 at 12:32:48 PM EST

How is that possible?

It's legal (5.00 / 1) (#34)
by jmacWA on Wed Nov 01, 2017 at 01:35:04 PM EST

According to what I read, it is acceptable to have multiple passports for several reasons, the one which seems most reasonable to me is that if you are going to a country that is going to refuse you admission based on some place you have already been.


also (none / 0) (#35)
by CST on Wed Nov 01, 2017 at 01:41:17 PM EST

If you travel a lot for work, you may need to send one passport in for visa processing somewhere but still use a passport to go elsewhere.

I know at least one person who has two passports for that reason. Still, 2 <<<< 10.


My spouse has a military passport for (none / 0) (#36)
by Militarytracy on Wed Nov 01, 2017 at 03:45:11 PM EST

Deployments, he must turn it back in when he's not deployed and obtain a new standard passport like you and I have until the military sends him somewhere else. But he isn't allowed to have two passports. I thought it was that way for everyone.


apparently (5.00 / 1) (#38)
by CST on Thu Nov 02, 2017 at 08:59:49 AM EST

You can have two, but there are only two valid reasons to have it:

"If you are a frequent traveler who doesn't have time to get visas before you leave for your next trip, or if you need to travel to a country that won't allow you to enter if you have Israel visa stamps in your passport, you can get a second passport. These are also called "second valid passports" and issued for four years validity."


: Good reason to never visit Israel. (none / 0) (#39)
by Chuck0 on Thu Nov 02, 2017 at 09:06:44 AM EST

: When I lived in the middle-east, I had a stamp (none / 0) (#40)
by vml68 on Thu Nov 02, 2017 at 10:27:41 AM EST

in my passport banning me from re-entry into the country, if the passport was used for visits to Israel.

3 different numbers (none / 0) (#30)
by Militarytracy on Wed Nov 01, 2017 at 12:33:19 PM EST

There is something very strange about (none / 0) (#31)
by vml68 on Wed Nov 01, 2017 at 12:58:57 PM EST

the whole passport issue. He submitted 10 different applications in 10 years and it wasn't flagged? I have heard of passport applications being rejected for minor discrepancies. I am very curious to know how he got away with this.


How? Obama, of course! (5.00 / 2) (#32)
by Anne on Wed Nov 01, 2017 at 01:05:09 PM EST

Or maybe it was Obama AND Hillary.

Take your pick, you know that's where they will go with this.


: LOL! I should have known the two of them (none / 0) (#33)
by vml68 on Wed Nov 01, 2017 at 01:33:51 PM EST

were behind it!
The other day I was reading comments on another site and one poster was going on and on about Hillary Clinton and Uranium One, emails, Benghazi, Clinton Foundation, etc. Then, someone else piped up about Vince Foster and the original poster was shocked that anyone would buy into that conspiracy theory.
I found it hilarious that he had no trouble believing Hillary was responsible for all the ills of the world but Vince Foster was a bridge too far!

Doesn't make any sense to me (none / 0) (#37)
by Militarytracy on Wed Nov 01, 2017 at 03:46:15 PM EST

My spouse can't possess a military and a civilian passport at the same time.


These people are endearingly (none / 0) (#41)
by CaptHowdy on Thu Nov 02, 2017 at 08:33:29 PM EST

Incompetent.

Today Manaforts lawyer repeatedly misspelled Cyprus in court filings as Cypress. Which is a tree.

Interesting (none / 0) (#42)
by FlJoe on Fri Nov 03, 2017 at 09:47:49 AM EST

dots to be connected.

JD Gordon verifies Papadopoulos' account of the March meeting.

former Trump campaign adviser says Donald Trump listened to George Papadopoulos when he presented the idea of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"He heard him out," JD Gordon, a campaign national security adviser who attended the March 31, 2016 meeting, told CNN Thursday.

The same JD Gordon that along with Sessions met Kislyak at the RNC and the other "coffee fetchers"

Another national security adviser to the Trump campaign, J.D. Gordon, also disclosed Thursday that he had met with Kislyak, this time during the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July. That meeting was first reported by USA Today.
Gordon told CNN that along with national security advisers Carter Page and Walid Phares, Gordon stressed to the Russian envoy that he would like to improve relations with Russia. Gordon added that at no time did any inappropriate chatter come up about colluding with the Russians to aid the Trump campaign.

The same JD Gordon who was instrumental in the Ukrainian platform change,

The Trump campaign's national-security policy representative for the Republican National Convention, J.D. Gordon, told CNN on Thursday that he pushed to alter an amendment to the GOP's draft policy on Ukraine at the Republican National Convention last year to further align it with President Donald Trump's views.

and to bring it full circle those "views" were apparently developed at that March meeting,

According to CNN's Jim Acosta, however, Gordon said that at the RNC he and others "advocated for the GOP platform to include language against arming Ukrainians against pro-Russian rebels" because "this was in line with Trump's views, expressed at a March national security meeting at the unfinished Trump hotel" in Washington, DC.
"Gordon says Trump said at the meeting ... that he didn't want to go to 'World War Three' over Ukraine," Acosta said.

Hmmmm...

Where's the problem? (none / 0) (#43)
by NYShooter on Fri Nov 03, 2017 at 01:27:38 PM EST

(Trump)........"didn't want to go to 'World War Three' over Ukraine,"

: That's (none / 0) (#44)
by FlJoe on Fri Nov 03, 2017 at 03:28:01 PM EST

not my point and you know it.
There is an unmistakable pattern here, a large and growing cast of characters associated with tRump, all involved with Russians or things Russian. Each new revelation is first met with denials and lies then eventually "ok it happened but no big deal". Each new revelation only tightens the web.