Mueller investigation: Manafort, Gates indicted.

[The Romulan Republic]

Former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, along with his business associate Rick Gates, have been indicted on twelve counts including conspiracy against the United States (for failure to report foreign income, accounts, and lobbying work), money laundering, tax evasion, and "failing to register as agents of foreign interests".

Former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopolous has also just pled guilty to lying to the FBI about Russian contacts.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... ia-inquiry

So, nothing as dramatic as Treason or espionage charges, but definitely indications of some serious corruption and conflicts of interest in the Trump campaign.

The question is, will more indictments follow? One possibility, of course, would be Manafort and Gates testifying against others as part of a plea deal. The article notes that experts expected that the first charges would be financial crimes, and that more indictments are expected.

It also, interestingly, notes Manafort's key role in picking Pence for VP, as well as his lengthy history working with both allies of Vladimir Putin and the Republican Party.

[Antiboyscout]

First, your link is dead. The story is on the home page right now but may not be tomorrow, so you may want to fix that.

Second, not only does this not link to Trump, but Manafort is charged with colluding with Ukraine years ago not Russia today. It's like saying someone is definitely working for Iran because we think he was working for Saudi Arabia at one point.

For Papadopolous, his only crime appears to be not disclosing all of his foreign contacts. That almost seems necessary for someone in the position of foreign policy advisor.

[Rocketboy1313]

Here is a twitter thread from Seth Abramson, a professor and attorney who has been following things for a while and has constructed a timeline of events and a probable outcome based on how investigations tend to unravel in a white collar crime investigation.
https://twitter.com/SethAbramson/status ... D=ref_fark

He at one point says, "if President Trump weren't such a narcissist he would have resigned already."

[TGLS]

He at one point says, "if President Trump weren't such a narcissist he would have resigned already."

That's the killer combination Nixon had, no?

[Madner Kami]

He at one point says, "if President Trump weren't such a narcissist he would have resigned already."

That's the killer combination Nixon had, no?

Hmno. Nixon was also an evil but smart motherfucker. He could be a stand-in for a Bond-villain. Trump is, at best, a goon for an Austin Powers villain.

[Rocketboy1313]

Nixon was fiendishly intelligent.
There is a reason why the US was a closer ally to China than the Soviet Union was, and vice versa.
He knew international politics.

[TGLS]

I was thinking "Narcissist" and "Scandal Dogged President", perhaps with a dash of "Racist".

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

I was thinking "Narcissist" and "Scandal Dogged President", perhaps with a dash of "Racist".

More than a dash. He specifically invented the War On Drugs to go after urban black people and hippies likely to vote against him.

[Admiral X]

An interesting read on this topic.

[The Romulan Republic]

The more I follow this in the news, the more I realize that, despite all the build-up to the indictments, the Papadopolous story is the more significant one here.

First, because while Manafort and Gates have as yet only been indicted, Papadopolous has pled guilty (this was kept quiet until the other indictments came out by the investigation, probably because Papdopolous had been "flipped", and was acting as an informant).

Secondly, because while the Manafort/Gates indictments do not directly related to election collusion with Russia, Papadopolous pled guilty to lying to the FBI about Kremlin-linked Russian contacts.

Moreover, his contacts with Russia included trying to get emails that would damage Hillary Clinton, and discussing arranging a meeting between Russia and Trump himself.

The White House, of course, has tried to portray him as a minor figure in the campaign, but this is belied by the same email records showing him in communication with other campaign members including Paul Manafort, who was campaign chair.

This more or less proves that collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the election occurred. Case closed.

Thirdly, there is the reports that Papadopolous is now cooperating with the investigation. I wonder what other information he might have given Mueller?

The big questions now: Did Trump know? Can a criminal case be made against Trump? And did the collusion actually have a significant effect on the result of the election?