Mega-Thread: Mueller investigation

[Shadowmelded]

What are they going to say when most of the Trump campaign is in jail? It'll be fun to see.

I don't think Mueller gives a fuck about them moving the goalposts or making shit up.

"This is a coup, pardon everyone".

They can try, but they'll need to lie to do such. The Russians indicted took out zero ads for Clinton, one for Stein, the rest for Trump. Also, WikiLeaks. Claiming Clinton colluded is objectively against all evidence from Russia's actions so far.

When has intellectual honesty stopped them before?

[Masark]

Indeed, pleading guilty to two charges only?

Mueller's tactic :

*throws a snowball labelled "small charges" at criminal's face*
"That's just me getting started. Plead out and cooperate or I'm going to bury you under a fucking avalanche."

Gates, etc. took the hint, Manafort didn't.

[Shadowferal]

Mueller's tactic : *throws a snowball labelled "small charges" at criminal's face* "That's just me getting started. Plead out and cooperate or I'm going to bury you under a fucking avalanche." Gates, etc. took the hint, Manafort didn't.

As I understand it, Gates is getting hit with the more serious charges...as a tactic to get him to cop to lesser charges to implicate bigger fish. If he refused he'd likely get jail time for life.

[Shalcker]

Wow. Actually bribing government officials. On behalf of Russia.

Well, your politicians are bought and sold, duh.

Were those Republican or Democrat, btw? Or was it bi-partisan?


How does current Ukrainian President money-wiring center gets named?

Ah, right, it's now "The National Reforms Council with the assistance of the Ukrainian Foundation for Support of Reform in Ukraine", hiring BGR Group.

You might want to check who they paid too.

[shimerra]

Well, your politicians are bought and sold, duh.

Were those Republican or Democrat, btw? Or was it bi-partisan?

Not exactly a stinging attempt at an insult given that you're a Putin-Apologist.

[Felya]

Group has Podesta links, buckle up for "Hillary was the real colluder" making a return.

The link is that they lied to the lobbying group to retain their services. Podesta Group would be in trouble, if Manafort told them the truth.

[Shalcker]

Not exactly a stinging attempt at an insult given that you're a Putin-Apologist.

Insult? It is simple fact.

Which has nothing to do with Putin; it wasn't Putin buying them, after all, but Manafort.

[Ripster42]

I'm surprised no one has brought up how inept manafort was in leaving his paper trail for all of his fraud charges.

[Rukh]

So the latest is new charges against Manafort. These are separate from the other new charges.

https://apnews.com/6ebdbd65b9744284a...-guilty%20plea

Special counsel Robert Mueller is accusing President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman of secretly paying former European politicians to lobby on behalf of Ukraine.

The new allegation against Paul Manafort comes in a newly unsealed indictment made public Friday. The indictment followed a guilty plea by Manafort’s longtime business associate, Rick Gates.

The indictment accuses Manafort of paying the former politicians, informally known as the “Hapsburg group,” to appear to be “independent” analysts when in fact they were paid lobbyists. Some of the covert lobbying took place in the U.S.

The indictment says the group was managed by a former European chancellor. Court papers accuse Manafort of using offshore accounts to pay the group more than 2 million euros.

So people are suspecting this is former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder who was replaced by Merkel. He was recently given the chair of Rosnoft and he was at odds with Merkel over his defense of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The other suggestion is Austria's former chancellor Alfred Gusenbaur who worked at a thinktank concerned with Ukraine policy.

I don't know, but this seems like a really big deal. Like investigations starting in other countries.

[Poopymonster]

The IRS is going to be insufferable if they get another scalp.

They just will cut their staff, quadruple their work load, and bury them in bullshit.

I'm not sure if anyone is the head, not just acting head. I don't want to step on Breccia's brilliant "I don't exist" quotes from department heads.

[Breccia]

I'm not sure if anyone is the head, not just acting head.

Rettig hasn't been confirmed yet.

And whoever it is has their work cut out for them. A brand new tax code and also budget cuts for helping people figure them out.

- - - Updated - - -

More details emerge.

Gates also admitted that he helped Manafort mislead Manafort's tax preparer and did not disclose the accounts overseas, which had more than $10,000. He classified overseas payments as "loans," so that Manafort didn't have to pay taxes on them. Gates also did not report their existence on either tax or Foreign Bank and Financial Account Reports (FBAR). Gates admitted that he knew that it was illegal for a U.S. citizen to have an overseas bank account without reporting it to the IRS.

"More than $10,000" refers to the customs limit for the amount of cash you can bring in without declaration. There is no upper limit past that $10,000 and Manafort is accused of harboring millions.

[Wyrt]

This nothingburger keeps on giving. We're going to have to upgrade it to a 5 course meal at some point.

[Mormolyce]

Well, your politicians are bought and sold, duh.

Lame comeback even by your standards.

Come on, what does Putin pay you for?

[Shalcker]

Lame comeback even by your standards.

Come on, what does Putin pay you for?

Yeah, yeah, deflect to Putin, clearly politicians would stop being corrupt if Putin would not exist.

[Mormolyce]

Yeah, yeah, deflect to Putin, clearly politicians would stop being corrupt if Putin would not exist.

Deflects, accuses me of deflecting. Ahahaha, come on buddy this is 101 shit.

[Cthulhu 2020]

Yeah, yeah, deflect to Putin, clearly politicians would stop being corrupt if Putin would not exist.

Can't wait for 2019.

"Trump is not cooperating with Russian!"

Trump confirmed cooperating with Russians.

"Well all your politicians are corrupt so it was kind of obvious, duh. Now please accept this stupid deflection as if nothing happened."

I think the goalposts just his mach 3.

[Shalcker]

Can't wait for 2019.

"Trump is not cooperating with Russian!"
Trump confirmed cooperating with Russians.
"Well all your politicians are corrupt so it was kind of obvious, duh. Now please accept this stupid deflection as if nothing happened."
I think the goalposts just his mach 3.

I don't understand why people can't say "yeah, politicians are corrupt, screw them", and instead need to invent some scenario where they are wrong in different situation.

[Poopymonster]

Can't wait for 2019.

"Trump is not cooperating with Russian!"

Trump confirmed cooperating with Russians.

"Well all your politicians are corrupt so it was kind of obvious, duh. Now please accept this stupid deflection as if nothing happened."

I think the goalposts just his mach 3.

"I'm sure there are corrupt people on both sides, for instance we have a russian dictator, which is bad. They have Soros, and he'a a filthy j-"*mic cut off*

[Bodakane]

I don't understand why people can't say "yeah, politicians are corrupt, screw them", and instead need to invent some scenario where they are wrong in different situation.

Who is saying politicians aren't corrupt?

There's a big difference between selling your vote on a piece of legislation to a business and selling secrets to a hostile foreign government, however.

We are complaining about cancer and you're trying to talk about a broken leg to minimize the scare of cancer. It is fucking stupid.

[Adam Jensen]

5) And Politico reminds everyone that a grand jury, such as the grand jury Mueller has been presenting facts and evidence to, cannot be ended by either Trump or Congress. Once ordered by a judge, it can only be dismissed by one. Even if Trump fires Mueller, the grand jury is still in session, and Trump firing Mueller would itself be evidence for a grand jury interested in obstruction charges.

See, while Trump is playing one dimensional checkers, Mueller is actually playing chess.