First charges filed in U.S. special counsel's Russia investigation

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-charges/first-charges-filed-in-u-s-special-counsels-russia-investigation-source-idUSKBN1CX00V

 

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal grand jury on Friday approved the first charges in the investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, a source briefed matter told Reuters.

 

 

The indictment was sealed under orders from a federal judge so it was not clear what the charges were or who the target was, the source said, adding that it could be unsealed as early as Monday.

The filing of charges by the grand jury in Washington was first reported on Friday by CNN, which said the target could be taken into custody as soon as Monday.

 

U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in January that Russia interfered in the election to try to help President Donald Trump defeat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton through a campaign of hacking and releasing embarrassing emails, and disseminating propaganda via social media to discredit her campaign.

Special counsel Robert Mueller, a former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is investigating whether Trump campaign officials colluded with those Russian efforts.

“If the Special Counsel finds it necessary and appropriate, the Special Counsel is authorized to prosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation of these matters,” Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in a May 17 letter appointing Mueller.

Sources familiar with Mueller’s investigation said he has used that broad authority to investigate links between Trump aides and foreign governments as well as possible money laundering, tax evasion and other financial crimes.

Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, declined to comment on Friday.

Trump, a Republican who was elected president last November, has denied allegations that his campaign colluded with Russians and condemned investigations into the matter as “a witch hunt”.

 

 

 

[Jacque67 7,328]

Possible arrests to follow Monday. Hillary won't be one of them.

gorka, hannity and Stone have been melting down. Fox in denial.

 

Best Monday ever!

[Jacque67 7,328]

This has been a HORRIBLE week for Mueller, Special Counsel’s office. THIS IS ALL A DISTRACTION. Monday I’ll have the details. TICK TOCK....!

 

(Hannity) Twitter.

poor old Hannity NEVER has an exclusive.

[Jacque67 7,328]

Wonder what Paul Manafort got up to last night? Is he still the US??

[Jacque67 7,328]

From an article in an old thread that I started, but was not pasted...

 

Paul Manafort: Money
Anyone who has lobbied on behalf of leaders ranging from Zaire’s Mobutu Sese Seko to the Philippines’ Ferdinand Marcos to Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang likely has no set ideology or moral compass and is motivated primarily by making money. People like this make very good targets. There is no emotion involved. Getting the person to do something is a fairly straightforward transaction. For example, getting someone to buy real estate to help launder Russian funds, in return for a handsome fee, would be a pretty simple transaction. As soon as the person has done it one time, it is much easier to get them to do something else for you.

A real opportunity came when Manafort went to work on the campaign of Viktor Yanukovych for president of Ukraine. Yanukovych was close to Russian leader Vladimir Putin and was corrupt. By being willing to play in these circles, Manafort signaled his willingness to look the other way as long as the payoff was right. A ledger found in Yanukovych’s abandoned palace showed he was paid $12 million (Manafort denied taking such payments, but the AP has confirmed that two of his companies did indeed receive part of this money). Putin pal Oleg Deripaska reportedly paid him $10 million a year to push Putin’s agenda. Press reports also state he received loans of up to $60 million from Deripaska.

Was he in debt, which made him vulnerable to coercion? Or were these loans not actually loans, but payments that Manafort was never expected to pay back? Either way, money was clearly Manafort’s weakness, and Russian intelligence would have known that, given his demonstrated willingness to work for just about anyone with deep pockets.

[Jacque67 7,328]

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/26/trump-team-prey-putin-215743

[jg121783 3,915]

Haven't you heard you can get a federal grand jury to indite a ham sandwich? This means nothing. Wonder when the uranium one deal is going to catch up with Mueller and Clinton.

[JimandChristy 1,689]

1 hour ago, jg121783 said:

Haven't you heard you can get a federal grand jury to indite a ham sandwich? This means nothing. Wonder when the uranium one deal is going to catch up with Mueller and Clinton.

I see Republicans and fixed news are desperately jumping on this story that came out SEVEN years ago. Why weren't you complaining then? Trump obviously brought out this narrative because he knew something was coming from Mueller. Desperate ploy from a desperate man.

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

2 hours ago, jg121783 said:

Haven't you heard you can get a federal grand jury to indite a ham sandwich? This means nothing. Wonder when the uranium one deal is going to catch up with Mueller and Clinton.

Mueller is in on the Uranium deal?

[jg121783 3,915]

I am starting to wonder if this is even true as every publication reporting on this cites CNN as their source.

[JimandChristy 1,689]

6 minutes ago, jg121783 said:

I am starting to wonder if this is even true as every publication reporting on this cites CNN as their source.

No, NBC have confirmed it from someone with close ties to the Mueller Investigation.

 

I hope it's Kushner but its more likely to be Manafort.

Edited October 28, 2017 by JimandChristy

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

4 hours ago, jg121783 said:

Haven't you heard you can get a federal grand jury to indite a ham sandwich? This means nothing. Wonder when the uranium one deal is going to catch up with Mueller and Clinton.

Fun fact that I learned today  Indite is a word

 

in·dite

inˈdīt/

verb

archaic

 

1. write; compose.

   "he indites the wondrous tale of Our Lord"

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

Politico

Trump legal team scrambles to prepare for new stage of Russia probe

The president’s lawyers and political aides are bracing for the first charges just five months into the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.

 

By DARREN SAMUELSOHN

 

10/28/2017 12:31 PM EDT

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President Donald Trump’s White House and personal lawyers scrambled Saturday to learn where the knife might fall in the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, triggering a guessing game among aides after days of trying to turn attention away from allegations of collusion with Russia during the election.

Attorneys involved in the case said their cellphones have been ringing nonstop as they connected with each other, and with reporters, trying to gather more concrete details after a CNN report Friday night that a federal grand jury had approved the first charges in the Russia investigation.

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/28/trump-russia-probe-legal-244270

While the report did not cite names, attorneys close to the case said they were discussing whether the indictment was for two known Mueller targets: former campaign chairman Paul Manafort or former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Several attorneys who said they were in touch with the Manafort and Flynn lawyers said they had not been notified of any matter related to an indictment — which is customary in a white-collar criminal investigation — leading them to believe it wasn’t either of those two former high-ranking Trump aides. An attorney for Manafort did not respond to a request for comment. Michael Flynn’s attorney, Robert Kelner, declined to comment.

The attorneys close to the case also said they wouldn’t be surprised if the charges were targeting Flynn or Manafort family members, or a longtime accountant or lawyer.

 

[JimandChristy 1,689]

Donnie's sweating! He'll just blame Hillary.

Edited October 28, 2017 by JimandChristy

[JimandChristy 1,689]

6 hours ago, Jacque67 said:

Possible arrests to follow Monday. Hillary won't be one of them.

gorka, hannity and Stone have been melting down. Fox in denial.

 

Best Monday ever!

The Five, Carlson, Ingram and Hannity will all be melting down. How dare you say anything against Dear Leader.