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Freeloading Rusty

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
Jan 11, 2016
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Mueller: Paul Manafort lied about contacts with Trump administration this year
Special counsel Robert Mueller said Friday that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort lied about five major issues after agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors, including his "contact with administration officials."

In a heavily redacted document, Mueller also said Manafort lied about his interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik. Mueller has said Kilimnik has ties to the Russian military intelligence unit accused of hacking the Democrats, and they've previously outlined how the two men may have worked together to tamper with witnesses following Manafort's arrest last year.

The accusations by Mueller add to growing signs that the special counsel's team has a wealth of evidence about contacts between people close to Trump -- even in the White House -- and Russians during the 2016 campaign.

The document also contains the stunning disclosure that Mueller can show, including with text messages, that Manafort was in contact with Trump administration officials early this year -- even after he was indicted in late 2017.

The new and damaging information for the White House comes at a time when every move by Mueller appears to bring his investigation deeper into the White House and Trump's inner circle, and shows it has expanded well beyond what may or may not have happened in the 2016 campaign.

Mueller last week accused Manafort of lying during his interviews, saying that his actions during his cooperation were criminal and breached his plea agreement.

The investigators also say they have evidence about electronic communications related to Kilimnik and travel records, and they make clear in the document they have investigated "meetings" between Manafort and Kilimnik.

The special counsel believes Manafort also lied about a wire transfer made to a firm he had working for him in 2017 and "information pertinent to another Department of Justice investigation."
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Mueller: Michael Cohen in contact with Russian seeking 'political synergy'
Federal prosecutors in New York said in a court filing Friday that President Donald Trump's former longtime personal attorney and fixer, Michael Cohen, should receive a "substantial" prison sentence of roughly four years for tax fraud and campaign finance crimes, and prosecutors from special counsel Robert Mueller's office accused him in a separate filing of lying to them about his contacts with Russia.

Mueller also revealed that a Russian national who claimed to be well-connected in Moscow spoke with Cohen in 2015 and offered "political synergy" with the Trump campaign.

The pair of memos from two sets of prosecutors reflect their views of Cohen's criminality and utility to the federal investigations ahead of his scheduled sentencing on December 12.

In their filing, prosecutors from the Manhattan US Attorney's office knocked Cohen's "rose-colored view of the seriousness of his crimes," noting his years-long willingness to break the law. "He was motivated to do so by personal greed, and repeatedly used his power and influence for deceptive ends," the filing said.

In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to eight federal crimes after being charged by Manhattan federal prosecutors. Those include tax fraud, making false statements to a bank and campaign finance violations tied to his work for Trump, including payments Cohen made or helped orchestrate that were designed to silence women who claimed affairs with the then-presidential candidate. Trump has denied those claims.

Cohen was subsequently charged last week by Mueller's office with one count of lying to Congress.
"After cheating the IRS for years, lying to banks and to Congress, and seeking to criminally influence the Presidential election, Cohen's decision to plead guilty -- rather than seek a pardon for his manifold crimes -- does not make him a hero," prosecutors for the southern district wrote.
The filings on Cohen, and a submission from Mueller about Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort, appear to further tighten the net that Mueller is gathering around the President and his inner circle.
They come at a time when Trump appears to be increasingly worried and furious about the investigation, following a searing tweet storm aimed at the special counsel on Friday.

Mueller's sentencing memo lays out how the Trump Tower Moscow project is relevant to Russia's election meddling during the 2016 campaign.

The special counsel memo states that Cohen's false statements to investigators about the Trump Tower Moscow project "obscured the fact that the Moscow Project was a lucrative business opportunity that sought, and likely required, the assistance of the Russian government."

Mueller's office said the fact that Cohen continued to work on the Trump Tower Moscow project -- and discuss it with Trump -- was material to both the ongoing congressional and special counsel investigations, noting in particular that "it occurred at a time of sustained efforts by the Russian government to interfere with the U.S. presidential election."

Mueller argues that the false timeline that Cohen laid out publicly and in his testimony — that the Trump Tower Moscow discussions ended in January 2016 — was a deliberate effort to limit the investigations into Russia's election interference.

Proposed Trump Tower Moscow project
In pleading guilty, Cohen disclosed that talks about the proposed Trump Tower project in Moscow had extended through June 2016, after Trump had become the presumptive Republican nominee for president, and that both Trump and his family members had been briefed on the discussions. Cohen also acknowledged pursuing plans to send Trump and himself to Russia in service of the project and discussing the proposed development directly with a representative of the Kremlin.

In the special counsel case, Cohen was given a cooperation agreement, with prosecutors agreeing to alert US District Court Judge William Pauley III to "the nature and extent of the defendant's cooperation with this office."
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The Department of Justice Calls Donald Trump a Felon
Federal prosecutors released sentencing recommendations for two alleged criminals who worked closely with Donald Trump: his lawyer Michael Cohen, and campaign manager Paul Manafort. They are filled with damning details. But the most important passage by far is this, about Trump’s fixer: “Cohen himself has now admitted, with respect to both payments, he acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1.”

The payments in question, as the document explains, concern a payoff to two women who claimed to have affairs with Trump. The payments, according to prosecutors, were intended to influence the campaign, and thereby constituted violations of campaign finance law. They have not formally charged Trump with this crime — it is a sentencing report for Cohen, not Trump — but this is the U.S. Department of Justice calling Trump a criminal.

There is more. Under normal circumstances, the long list of charges federal prosecutors cited against Michael Cohen would be a political catastrophe for President Trump. One of the president’s closest associates turns out to have allegedly committed a long string of crimes, from tax evasion to making false statements to a financial institution, that would besmirch the good name of the man who worked at his side for years.

Of course Trump has no good name. But the fact that he is being called a felon by the United States government is a historic step. And it is likely the first of more to come.

Just as a recent sentencing report indicated that Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn is cooperating substantially, prosecutors wrote today that Cohen is providing helpful information on other crimes. Cohen reportedly gave the special counsel “useful information concerning certain discrete Russia-related matters core to its investigation that he obtained by virtue of his regular contact with Company executives during them.” And this contact continued into 2018. Cohen was not locked out and probably has access to some secrets.

The sentencing recommendation for Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager, contains very little detail that isn’t redacted. It describes Manafort as having lied repeatedly about his interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, his business partner and Russian intelligence asset, and with the Trump administration. Trump has dismissed Manafort as a distant underling who worked for him only briefly, but the filing states Manafort’s contact with the administration continued into 2018. This does not prove anything, but it suggests Manafort’s guilt implicated people other than Manafort himself.
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Freeloading Rusty

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
Jan 11, 2016
26,916
26,589



Tillerson: Trump would ask me to do things I couldn't legally do
Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says he often had to push back on President Trump, telling him that some of his requests would violate the law.

“So often, the president would say here's what I want to do and here's how I want to do it and I would have to say to him, 'Mr. President, I understand what you want to do but you can't do it that way. It violates the law,' ” Tillerson said in rare public remarks in Thursday night in Houston at a fundraiser for the MD Anderson Cancer Center.

“I'd say here's what we can do. We can go back to Congress and get this law changed. And if that's what you want to do, there's nothing wrong with that. I told him I'm ready to go up there and fight the fight, if that's what you want to do,” he added.

Tillerson said Trump would show frustration during those conversations.

Trump and Tillerson, a former Exxon Mobil CEO, were known to have a contentious relationship. Tillerson was dismissed from his post in March and replaced by then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo.

The former secretary of State also said he believed Trump was able to win the presidency because the public is disengaged on many important issues.

“I will be honest with you, it troubles me that the American people seem to want to know so little about issues that they are satisfied with a 128 characters,” Tillerson said, referring to Trump's use of Twitter.

“I don't want that to come across as a criticism of him,” he added. “It's really a concern that I have about us as Americans and us as a society and us as citizens.”

Tillerson also said at the Houston event that “there’s no question” Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.

“What Russia wants to do is undermine our confidence and undermine the world’s confidence in us,” Tillerson said according to the Houston Chronicle.

“Many people talk about playing chess. He plays three-dimensional chess,” Tillerson added about Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump has repeatedly dismissed the conclusion of the intelligence community and said he accepts Putin's denials that he interfered in U.S. elections.
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View: https://twitter.com/MollyMcKew/status/1071066025473515521
 
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Freeloading Rusty

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
Jan 11, 2016
26,916
26,589
Federal Prosecutors ‘Concluded that President of the United States Committed a Felony’
One of the details that immediately jumped off the pages of Southern District of New York (SDNY) prosecutors’ Friday sentencing memo for Michael Cohen has to do with “Individual-1,” also known as President Donald Trump.

Prosecutors were pretty open about who Individual-1 was from the start and how he came to “direct” Cohen to commit felonies:

On approximately June 16, 2015, Individual-1, for whom Cohen worked at the time, began an ultimately successful campaign for President of the United States. Cohen had no formal title with the campaign, but had a campaign email address, and, at various times advised the campaign, including on matters of interest to the press. Cohen also made media appearances as a surrogate and supporter of Individual-1. During the campaign, Cohen played a central role in two similar schemes to purchase the rights to stories – each from women who claimed to have had an affair with Individual-1 – so as to suppress the stories and thereby prevent them from influencing the election. With respect to both payments, Cohen acted with the intent to influence the 2016 presidential election. Cohen coordinated his actions with one or more members of the campaign, including through meetings and phone calls, about the fact, nature, and timing of the payments.

Then came to key line: “In particular, and as Cohen himself has now admitted, with respect to both payments, he acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1.”

We already knew that when Cohen entered a guilty plea in the SDNY he admitted that Individual-1 “directed” him to commit campaign finance violations by arranging hush payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.

But now we’re seeing that in a court filing for the first time, which, as some legal observers have said with varying emphasis on the fact, means federal prosecutors have concluded that Trump directed someone to commit a crime, which could be a crime. Put another way, SDNY prosecutors believe the president directed and coordinated felonies.

Some have been “crystal clear” about their thoughts on this development.

“Just to make it crystal clear, New York federal prosecutors concluded that the President of the United States committed a felony,” said former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti.

“I think my reading here is correct. If so, it is the first time federal prosecutors have said they believe Donald Trump committed a felony,” former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal added.
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Freeloading Rusty

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
Jan 11, 2016
26,916
26,589
Former Nixon WH lawyer: Congress will have 'little choice' but to begin impeachment proceedings
Former Nixon White House lawyer John Dean said he thinks Congress will have "little choice" but to begin impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump following a Friday evening court filing involving Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen.
"I think what this totality of today's filings show that the House is going to have little choice, the way this is going, other than to start impeachment proceedings," Dean, a CNN contributor, said Friday on CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront."

Dean, who served time in prison for his involvement in the Watergate scandal, was discussing a sentencing memo from the Manhattan US attorney's office, which was the first time prosecutors have said Cohen acted at the direction of Trump when the former fixer made payments to silence women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump prior to his time running for office.

Trump has denied the affairs and has not been accused of any crimes related to the payments

But when Cohen pleaded guilty in August to campaign finance violations connected to the payments as well as other charges, he stated in court that he had been directed by Trump.

"In his allocution, he implicated Trump directly," Dean said of Cohen. "And he was doing it, his instructions, that's why the payments were made and they were for his benefit."

In the sentencing memo on Friday, prosecutors wrote, "In particular, and as Cohen himself has now admitted, with respect to both payments, he acted in coordination with and at the direction of Individual-1." Individual-1 is the term prosecutors have been using to refer to the President.
Cohen pleaded guilty in August to eight federal crimes, including tax fraud, making false statements to a bank and campaign-finance violations tied to his work for Trump, including hush payments Cohen made or helped orchestrate.
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Kushner advised Saudi crown prince after Khashoggi killing: report
President Trump's adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, reportedly offered advice to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about how to “weather the storm” after the death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The New York Times reported Saturday that Kushner and the crown prince, who have long been known to have an informal relationship, continued to chat after Khashoggi’s killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, despite formal White House procedures for contacts with foreign leaders.

American officials and a Saudi briefed on the conversations told the newspaper that the two men were on a first-name basis in their texts and calls.

One Saudi said that Kushner offered “advice about how to weather the storm, urging him to resolve his conflicts around the region and avoid further embarrassments,” according to the Times.

Kushner’s relationship with the crown prince has raised eyebrows, with some worried that Kushner could be easily manipulated by the Saudis.

Others familiar with the White House and Kushner told the Times that the adviser has urged Trump to stand by the crown prince and maintain the Saudi relationship in the wake of Khashoggi’s killing.

"Jared has always meticulously followed protocols and guidelines regarding the relationship with [the crown prince] and all of the other foreign officials with whom he interacts," a White House spokesman told the Times.

Khashoggi, a U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist, was killed inside the consulate in October.

Despite pressure from lawmakers and reported intelligence community findings that the crown prince ordered the murder, Trump has refused to condemn him directly for any involvement.

Defense Secretary James Mattis said last week that the investigation into the journalist’s death is ongoing.
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Schiff: Trump may face ‘real prospect of jail time’
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Sunday said that President Trump might "face the real prospect of jail time" after prosecutors indicated last week that he directed illegal payments during his 2016 presidential campaign.

"There’s a very real prospect that on the day Donald Trump leaves office, the Justice Department may indict him. That he may be the first president in quite some time to face the real prospect of jail time," he said on CBS's "Face the Nation."

Schiff's comments come after federal prosecutors said in a legal filing Friday that referred to Trump as "Individual-1" that Trump during the 2016 campaign directed his former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, to make illegal payments to two women claiming they had affairs with Trump. It was the first time prosecutors made those accusations against Trump.
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Freeloading Rusty

Freeloading Rusty

Here comes Rover, sniffin’ at your ass
Jan 11, 2016
26,916
26,589
Ayers not taking job as White House chief of staff
Nick Ayers, the leading candidate to replace John Kelly as President Donald Trump's chief of staff, announced Sunday he will not be taking the job, reviving discussions about who will succeed the retired Marine general when he leaves at the end of the month.Ayers, who has served as Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff for more than a year, turned down the position because he could not agree to terms with the President
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Trump claims Cohen hush money payment was 'simple private transaction'
President Donald Trump on Monday sought to downplay the felony his former personal attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to this month, arguing that Cohen’s hush money payments on behalf of Trump were a “simple private transaction” rather than a breach of campaign finance law.

Apparently citing a Fox News segment, Trump insisted on Twitter that there is “no smocking (sic) gun” pointing to coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia that emerged from the closed door congressional testimony of former FBI Director James Comey last week.
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