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| Home Front: Politix |
| The Manafort Indictment: Not Much There, and a Boon for Trump |
| 2017-10-31 |
| [National Review] The Paul Manafort indictment is much ado about nothing . . . except as a vehicle to squeeze Manafort, which is special counsel Robert Mueller’s objective ‐ as we have been arguing for three months (see here, here, and here). Do not be fooled by the "Conspiracy against the United States" heading on Count One (page 23 of the indictment). This case has nothing to do with what Democrats and the media call "the attack on our democracy" (i.e., the Kremlin’s meddling in the 2016 election, supposedly in "collusion" with the Trump campaign). Essentially, Manafort and his associate, Richard W. Gates, are charged with (a) conspiring to conceal from the U.S. government about $75 million they made as unregistered foreign agents for Ukraine, years before the 2016 election (mainly, from 2006 through 2014), and (b) a money-laundering conspiracy. There are twelve counts in all, but those are the two major allegations. The so-called conspiracy against the United States mainly involves Manafort’s and Gates’s alleged failure to file Treasury Department forms required by the Bank Secrecy Act. Specifically, Americans who hold a stake in foreign bank accounts must file what’s known as an "FBAR" (foreign bank account report) in any year in which, at any point, the balance in the account exceeds $10,000. Federal law also requires disclosure of foreign accounts on annual income-tax returns. Manafort and Gates are said to have controlled foreign accounts through which their Ukrainian political-consulting income sluiced, and to have failed to file accurate FBARs and tax returns. In addition, they allegedly failed to register as foreign agents from 2008 through 2014 and made false statements when they belatedly registered. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #9 What did Ukraine get for that 75 million dollars? |
| Posted by: Pheque Groluter8273 2017-10-31 15:28 |
| #8 Reading the tea leaves, Glenmore? But I wouldn't be surprised. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2017-10-31 15:24 |
| #7 the Podesta Group financial records, where might they be now ? They're on Hillarey's computer server - but it had a catastrophic hard drive failure and they were lost. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2017-10-31 15:14 |
| #6 http://archive.is/VeEpI Dems are scared as Mueller is coming for them. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2017-10-31 11:37 |
| #5 The Podesta Group was hired by Paul Manafort on behalf of foreign clients because the company was perceived to have a direct line to powerful politicians, like Hillary Clinton. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB-QfLOScjM The chairman of one major presidential campaign colluded with a brother of the *other* major presidential campaign to enrich themselves by secretly advancing the interests of a foreign adversary. That happened. That's "the swamp" everyone is saying needs to be drained. The Mueller investigation is no longer a search for Russian collusion with Trump in the 2016 race. It is now a much more far-reaching inquiry into corrupt lobbying practices all across Washington DC, the so-called "swamp". An investigation that is very likely to ensnare figures close to Hillary Clinton. In press accounts, Mueller's investigation is still framed as a hunt for collusion between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and the government of Russia, but that description is mostly bogus. The investigation has broadened now to determine which people and which organizations in Washington DC have spent years working *secretly* as de facto operatives on behalf of Russian government and business interests. The Podesta Group is chief among these. They are more focused on facilitators of Russian influence in America than they are on election collusion. |
| Posted by: Herb McCoy7309 2017-10-31 07:26 |
| #4 And the Podesta Group financial records, where might they be now ? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2017-10-31 05:49 |
| #3 It's Happening: Clinton Bundler Tony Podesta Steps Down, Dissolves the Podesta Group |
| Posted by: Black Bart Omeasing1539 2017-10-31 03:35 |
| #2 Still a win for our side. Meuller may have hooked little fish Manafort but he also inadvertently snagged big fish Tony Podesta. The Podesta group is being dissolved at this minute and a run on Bleach Bit is being made. Manfafort should spill his guts about his dealings with the Podestas and any other Dems. |
| Posted by: Black Bart Omeasing1539 2017-10-31 03:26 |
| #1 There's enough there to put Manafort away for the rest of his life, which might motivate him into generating a narrative implicating Trump. All Congress wants or needs is an excuse to rid themselves of the threat to the Deep State. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2017-10-31 00:46 |