Daily Mail: Furious Trump tweets 'NO COLLUSION' and washes his hands of campaign chairman Paul Manafort after Mueller indicts lobbyist on $75 million money-laundering charge and accuses him of conspiring against the U.S.
* The first charges from the probe of possible Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election were unsealed Monday morning
* Paul Manafort and Rick Gates surrendered to face charges including conspiracy against the United States and conspiracy to launder money
* Other charges are being an unregistered agent of a foreign principal, making false and misleading Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) statements and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts
* Manafort left his home shortly after 8:00 a.m. to turn himself in; he and Gates were processed at FBI HQ and released
* Indictment says Manafort and Gates controlled $75 million in slush funds, buying tailored suits, cars, rugs and antiques
* A federal grand jury approved the indictment on Friday and a judge ordered it sealed then
* Mueller also revealed Monday that a former Trump foreign policy aid pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about contact with the Russians
* Trump has denied the allegations of collusion with the Russians and called the probe 'a witch hunt'
* He tweeted Monday that Manafort's alleged crimes happened 'years ago' and the special counsel's focus should be on 'Crooked Hillary & the Dems'
* An Obama-appointed judge who was confirmed unanimously in the U.S. Senate has been assigned the case
An angry Donald Trump washed his hands of his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort on Monday morning, hours after the veteran lobbyist was dramatically charged with money laundering and conspiring against the United States.
'Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign,' Trump tweeted after the charges were unsealed. 'But why aren't Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????'
'Also, there is NO COLLUSION!' he insisted.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: The Paul Manafort and Richard Gates indictment can be read here.
As to what is my take on today's arrests .... I personally expected more. After a year of investigations this is all they have? And even this Manafort indictment is not new .... this has been expected by many (including this blog) for months. It also looks like (to me) that Robert Mueller is going to focus on financial crimes, and we already know that he has (and is) checking everyone's business dealings going back 10 years (for Manafort he went back to 2006). But should this be the purview of a Special Prosecutor? And where is the Russian collusion?
I did expect Michael Flynn to be arrested today .... but they choose not to. I guess what stopped them was that in the past year Michael Flynn has gone about declaring what his earnings were abroad, and refiling his taxes. I do not know about the laws in the U.S. on being a foreign agent .... but I think he has finally declared that .... if not officially, at least publicly. I also suspect that he has been truthful to the FBI when he was questioned ... but if not .... expect charges in the near future.
I am also interested in knowing what was Paul Manafort's relationship with the Podesta Group. The indictment focuses on a time period when Manafort was working with the Podesta Group .... and it is known (from what I am reading) that Manafort was operating in the same way that the Podesta Group has operating in their foreign dealings. The media is ignoring this part of the story, and I can only hope that more details will come out from that relationship.
The leak to CNN on Friday that this was going to happen today is also disturbing. This is a federal crime, and it is obvious that there is a problem in Mueller's office.
Today's news is also a deflection from last week's bombshell report that the Clinton campaign and the DNC financed the Russian dossier that brought about this Special Counsel in the first place. There is also now reports (today) that President Obama's campaign also gave money to Fusion GPS .... the firm behind this dossier. But I think this deflection is only temporary. This dossier was handled by everyone in the FBI and the intelligence community after the election, and many now want to know if this was used to unmask individuals in intelligence operations, and if so how was it used in getting warrants to conduct surveillance operations. The current media and political narrative is that it makes no difference on who paid for this dossier .... that it is the content that counts. Of course no one has been able to verify the contents of this dossier .... and how can it be verified when one realizes the dossier is nothing more but a political document paid for by a political party and its leaders. But the media narrative on this story has changed (it had to) .... and I am sensing that many people are not buying it.
So how long will this entire investigation last? It appears that the Mueller Commission is focusing on financial and process crimes in its investigation. If President Trump is the ultimate target (and he is), Robert Mueller will need to look at all of his business and financial dealings going back 10 years .... if not more. Considering the thousands upon thousands of transactions that businessman Trump has done in his life .... I am willing to wager that this investigation is going to end long after we are all dead from old age.
Update: Talk about playing hardball .... Manafort and Gates face decades in prison, millions in fines (AP).
Update #2: No reporting today on the Uranium deal, and no coverage on those behind the Uranium deal paying former President Bill Clinton $500,000 for a one hour speech in Moscow, and donating $145 million to the Clinton Foundation. Just imagine if Melania Trump got a $500,000 speaking fee in Moscow and Trump's businesses got a $145 million cash infusion. Sighhh .... another day where we .... the little people .... can look and be witness to American politics and the media at work.
Update #3: Is this a coincidence .... or is there something more behind this story? This has the potential of becoming a big story .... Tony Podesta stepping down from lobbying giant amid Mueller probe (Politico).
The Manafort & Associate Indictment -- News Updates October 30, 2017
Manafort, Gates indicted in first charges from Russia probe -- AP
Trump ex-campaign Manafort charged with conspiracy -- AFP
Paul Manafort, Once of Trump Campaign, Indicted as an Adviser Admits to Lying About Ties to Russia -- New York Times
Manafort indicted on 12 counts, surrenders to FBI -- The Hill
Manafort, associate indicted on 12 charges in Russia election probe -- UPI
Trump ex-campaign Manafort reports to FBI in in Russia probe -- AFP
Ex-Trump aide Manafort charged with US tax fraud over Ukraine work -- BBC
Paul Manafort turns himself in as Trump-Russia inquiry heats up -- The Guardian
Russia probe: Trump aide Paul Manafort charged with 12 counts -- DW
Paul Manafort: Donald Trump's ex-campaign manager indicted in FBI Russia probe -- ABC News Online
Rick Gates Was a Protégé of Paul Manafort's Before Being Indicted Alongside Him -- New York Times
Mueller's Russia investigation: What to know -- FOX News
How Paul Manafort Spent His Laundered Millions -- US News and World Report