Tag: paul manafort

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, says he does not believe critical comments from a federal judge will ultimately stop special counsel Robert Mueller's case against Paul Manafort.

(CNN)A federal judge expressed deep skepticism Friday of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation in the bank fraud case against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, at one point saying he believes that Mueller's motivation is to oust President Donald Trump from office. Although Mueller's authority has been tested in court before, Friday's hearing was notable for District Judge T.S. "That's what you're really interested in," Ellis said, citing how prosecutors regularly turn cooperators in drug cases. Manafort has asked the judge to review Mueller's authority to bring charges in an investigation that began well before the special counsel's appointment and focused on actions years before the campaign. Though he faces another criminal case in DC federal court, Manafort refused the prosecutors' earlier request to move these charges out of Ellis' district and combine them with the DC case. Though Ellis largely skewered the special counsel's office on Friday, he also acknowledged to Manafort's lawyer the Justice Department's internal oversight and the detailed August 2 memo commissioning Mueller to investigate Manafort for his Ukrainian ties, which the special counsel's office allege connect him to Russians. Manafort's charges in Virginia relate to bank fraud and other financial allegations from years ago. Mueller's prosecutors will have to turn over a full, unredacted version of the August 2 memo that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein used to describe the criminal allegations Mueller's team could investigate, Ellis ordered. The judge said he would like to see the full memo, which prosecutors submitted to the court in Virginia and in Washington with more than a page of redactions. Manafort is charged in Virginia with financial violations related to his lobbying work in Ukraine prior to joining Trump's 2016 campaign.

Barrack was interviewed as part of the federal investigation of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 election, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. The specific topics covered in questions from Mueller’s team were not immediately clear. Barrack’s spokeswoman, Lisa Baker, declined comment. Barrack played an integral role in the 2016 campaign as a top fundraiser at a time when many other Republicans were shunning the upstart candidate. Barrack later directed Trump’s inauguration. Barrack, a wealthy real estate investor with close ties to several Mideast leaders, met Trump in 1988 when he negotiated the sale of The Plaza Hotel in New York to Trump. Barrack’s publicist in 2016 described the men as having since “solidified a lifelong friendship between themselves and their families.” Barrack employed Gates last year, wrapping up operations on the Presidential Inaugural Committee, before Gates was charged by Mueller. “He’s one of the kindest, and actually most humble, friends that I’ve had,” Barrack said. “I have so much respect for him because at this point in his career, wandering into the milieu was not easy, and he’s changed the dialogue of the debate.” Barrack also was among the featured speakers at the Republican convention where Trump formally received the nomination. Days after Trump’s victory in November 2016, Barrack told CBS’ “This Morning” that Trump was like an ultimate fighter during the campaign who used “whatever tools necessary to convey a really disruptive message.” Barrack said America would see “a softer, kinder” Trump now that Trump had won the presidency Mueller’s investigators have interviewed dozens of witnesses in the probe into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.

Investigators working for special counsel Robert Mueller have interviewed one of Donald Trump’s closest friends and confidants, California real estate investor Tom Barrack, the Associated Press has learned. 'We're not changing any stories': Trump's week of contradiction Read more Barrack was interviewed as part of the federal investigation of possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia in the 2016 election, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. This person said Barrack was interviewed “months ago” and was asked a few questions about Gates’ work on Trump’s inaugural committee, which Barrack chaired, and but there were no questions about money raised by that committee. A second person with knowledge of the Barrack interview said the questioning was broader and did include financial matters about the campaign, the transition and Trump’s inauguration in January 2017. Mueller’s team has asked several other witnesses about the flow of money related to the campaign. The four people familiar with the investigation spoke on condition of anonymity. The investigators’ questions about the campaign’s finances have come up in interviews dating to early fall while prosecutors were preparing the first indictment against Manafort and Gates. Barrack employed Gates last year, wrapping up operations on the Presidential Inaugural Committee, before Gates was charged by Mueller. Mueller’s investigators have interviewed dozens of witnesses. But few witnesses have as much insight into the president’s lengthy business career and all facets of his campaign and administration as Barrack.

Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the US election, wants to ask Donald Trump about contact between his former election campaign manager Paul Manafort and Russia, the New York Times reported on Monday. Benjamin Wittes, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution thinktank in Washington, tweeted: “This is very interesting – strong evidence that there are still collusion threads that are not yet public.” Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, pleaded not guilty last October to a 12-count indictment accusing them of conspiring to defraud the US by laundering $30m from their work for a Russia-friendly political party in Ukraine. He helped Yanukovych win the country’s 2010 presidential vote and approved a secret media operation to discredit Yanukovych’s rival Yulia Tymoshenko. Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating alleged Trump-Russia collusion, has indicted Manafort on multiple counts. It is not yet known whether the president will agree to be interviewed. Russian banks have bailed out failing Trump projects and financed other projects. Trump tweeted after he was elected, “Russia has never tried to use leverage over me. "We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia” to the Trump Organization, Donald Trump Jr told a real estate conference in 2008. In 2010, a Russian-Canadian developer used funds from a Russian state-run bank to save a Trump hotel and tower project in Toronto. James Comey dismisses House Russia report as 'political document' Read more Mueller also wants to ask: “What did you know about communication between Roger Stone, his associates, Julian Assange or WikiLeaks?” And: “What did you know during the transition about an attempt to establish back-channel communication to Russia, and Jared Kushner’s efforts?” Most questions relate to obstruction of justice before and during Trump’s presidency, diving into Trump’s litany of contradictory statements and tweets.

How President Trump feels about due process appears to depend on whether he or his associates are the ones being investigated. As a candidate in 2016, Trump declared that “an attack on law enforcement is an attack on all Americans." Much of the president’s rhetoric assumes that the arms of the state are infallible, and that its targets are assumed guilty. He called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States; he has called for killing the families of suspected terrorists; he insisted that Muslims accused of terrorism should be tortured. The president is happy to characterize entire groups of people, such as black Americans, Latinos, and Muslims, as potential criminals. When it comes to racial or religious discrimination, no amount of empirical evidence seems sufficient, but no proof is necessary for the president to be absolutely certain of the innocence of his supporters. When it comes to Trump's associates, the president becomes a self-styled expert in due process, and a devotee of the idea that one is innocent until proven guilty—or in some cases, even after. Trump has called Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation into Russian interference, which has already led to multiple guilty pleas of former Trump associates, a "witch hunt;" described the prosecution of his former National-Security Adviser Michael Flynn "very unfair;" described his former campaign manager Paul Manafort, charged with financial crimes by the special counsel as "a good man;" and he pardoned Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio after the sheriff was held in contempt of court in a case involving racial profiling of Latinos. After a number of women went public with accusations that the Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore sought sexual relationships with them when he was an adult and they were teenagers, Trump supported Moore, saying, “Look, he denies it. For Trump and those he considers his allies, no scrupulous adherence to due process is sufficient, and no crime can justify prosecution.

Washington (CNN)Paul Manafort could face the rest of his life -- and almost 300 years or more -- in prison, a federal judge said Tuesday. Ellis last week placed Manafort under home incarceration while wearing a GPS monitor and set a $10 million unsecured bail. Manafort, 68, has been under similar home arrest and bail conditions for a separate case in Washington, DC, federal court that was filed in late October. If Manafort were to choose to avoid trial and change his plea to guilty, like his co-defendant Rick Gates has already done, he could be forced by special counsel Robert Mueller's prosecutors to share details he knows about Trump campaign officials' contact with Russians and other foreign nationals. Manafort for decades had conducted business built upon his relationships with Russian-sympathetic Ukrainians and other powerful European former politicians, and had been in contact with them while leading the Trump campaign. Ellis said Manafort has the financial resources and international connections to help himself flee before his trial and stay at large, "as well as every incentive to do so." Manafort is currently wearing two GPS monitors -- one from the federal court in Virginia and one from the federal court in DC. On tax charges he faces in Virginia alone, his likely sentence would be eight years, prosecutors said in a previous court filing. In the DC case, Manafort faces a likely sentence of 15 years to 20 years in prison if convicted there on five total conspiracy charges and foreign lobbying violations. The allegations in his criminal indictments, brought by Mueller's office this fall and winter, describe a scheme of shell companies and offshore bank accounts Manafort used to hide his earnings from lobbying for Ukrainian politicians.

Today in 5 Lines Rick Gates, a former Trump campaign aide, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making false statements, and agreed to cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the election. Mueller also issued new charges against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, alleging he secretly paid former European politicians to lobby on behalf of Ukraine. During a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, President Trump criticized the armed officer who failed to stop the gunman in last week’s mass shooting at a Florida high school, and doubled down on his suggestion to arm teachers. The Trump administration imposed its largest package of sanctions ever against North Korea. Today on The Atlantic Bring Back Asylums? : This week, President Trump proposed reopening mental asylums as a solution to America’s gun-violence problem. It’s not the worst idea. (Jennifer Rubin, The Washington Post) ‘I’m Completely Disgusted’: The Broward County Sheriff’s Office revealed a series of failures by the department in preventing the fatal shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida. In the wake of the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, some have argued for a reinstatement of the nationwide ban on assault weapons, while others have suggested that the solution lies in improving access to mental-health care. This week, we asked whether you want to see specific reforms to address mass shootings in the U.S. An overwhelming majority of you wrote in support of reinstating a ban on semi-automatic weapons, strengthening background checks, and raising the minimum age of firearm purchase.

Today in 5 Lines Special Counsel Robert Mueller filed new fraud and money-laundering charges against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his associate Rick Gates. In a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said “opportunists” exploited last week’s mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, “for political gain.” The Pentagon is reportedly considering options that would allow Trump to replace National-Security Adviser H.R. McMaster. And a St. Louis grand jury indicted Missouri Governor Eric Greitens on one count of invasion of privacy. : Over time, mass shootings have become increasingly normalized, but the CNN town hall on Wednesday may have been a sign of real change. (Vann R. Newkirk II) The Potency of the AR-15: Heather Sher, a Florida radiologist, treated victims of the Parkland shooting, and noticed their injuries were different from other shooting victims': “How could a gunshot wound have caused this much damage?” Can the ATF Ban Bump Stocks? : President Trump’s suggestion that the agency ban the firearm accessories is more performative than meaningful. (Elaine Godfrey) A Weak Cri de Coeur: While Freedom Caucus members were successful in pushing John Boehner out of the speakership in 2015, a coup against House leadership would likely fail today. (New York) A Fact of the Matter: In the wake of the Parkland shooting, President Trump suggested arming teachers. Do you want to see specific reforms from lawmakers to address mass shootings in the U.S.?

The special counsel investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin has stepped up pressure on the former campaign manager Paul Manafort by filing new sealed court charges against him. It was not clear if the charges involved alleged bank frauds the special counsel’s office referred to in a court dispute over Manafort’s bail on Friday, in which he is said to have doctored profit and loss statements from his firm, in order to get a mortgage on a property in Virginia. NBC News reported on Wednesday that Manafort was being investigated for having allegedly promised the president of the Chicago-based Federal Savings Bank that loaned him his mortgage a job in the Trump White House in return for $16m in home loans on his properties in Virginia, New City and the Hamptons. The bank president, Stephen Calk, served as a Trump adviser during the campaign but did not get a cabinet post. They face charges including conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to defraud the United States and failure to file as foreign agents for lobbying work they did on behalf of the pro-Russian Ukrainian Party of Regions. Both have pleaded not guilty. The new charges and the leaked details of an investigation into Manafort home loans come a day after Alex van der Zwaan, a Dutch lawyer who worked with Manafort and Gates in representing pro-Russian interests in Ukraine, admitted lying to investigators as part of a plea deal with Mueller’s office. Gates is also reported to be negotiating a plea deal, increasing the pressure on Manafort to cooperate with the Russia investigation. The special counsel’s office declined to comment on the new court filing, lawyers and representatives for Manafort and Gates could not be immediately reached for comment. Mueller was appointed in May 2017 to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election campaign, possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Moscow with Russia and whether Trump tried to obstruct the investigation.