BREAKING!!! Mueller asking judge to revoke PAUL MANAFORT’S bail for witness tampering.....

Yep. Just got this on my Reuters feed. What will it take Manafort to flip? Mueller's gonna take out Stone and Trump anyway. Manafort might as well get something for his troubles.

YES!

Haha!

tamper who? who is the witness?

Oooo!

Meanwhile, Paul Ryan and gang are just turning the other cheek.

"What? We're over here signing illegal contracts while no one's paying attention to us!"

Paul Manafort Update, Courtesy of Rick Wilson:

Upside: no more GPS ankle bracelets.

Downside: jailhouse showers, shivs, and terrible interior design.

Flip, Pavel, and you might not die in prison. Might.

Will Manafort be in the gray bar hotel by morning?

My guess is that the witness is either his son-in-law or is mistress. His son-in- law agreed to cooperate with Mueller's team a week or two ago. I could see Manafort trying to manipulate him through his daughter or with direct or indirect threats. Manafort knows lots of shady people. One person I've wondered if Mueller's team has interviewed is Manafort's mistress. How much might she know?

Getting my popcorn for this!

[quote]My guess is that the witness is either his son-in-law or is mistress.

It’s Rick Gates.

I guess Paul ran out of ankles for additional bracelets. Michael Cohen must be shitting bricks.

Sleep tight, IQ45.

YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!

From what I have been hearing on MSNBC, the witnesses are in Europe. He was supposedly in contact with more than one witness, trying to get them to lie under oath.

Something I read tonight said he was texting employees.

He'll be pardoned.

And Trump got caught in ANOTHER LIE

Legal pundits on msnbc saying most likely person A who was also trying to get the witnesses to lie, is Konstantin Kilimnik. As to the witnesses, speculation is:

[quote]Mueller’s team claimed in their February indictment that, as part of the Ukraine lobbying, Manafort paid a group of former senior European politicians that he called the “Hapsburg group” to advocate for Ukraine’s interests in the United States.

[quote]Manafort seemed to believe his strongest defense would be to claim that he did pay these politicians to advocate for Ukraine’s interests — but only in the European Union, not the United States. And he wanted to make sure that two unnamed people from a PR firm with whom he’d worked on the project would stick to that story.

Rick Gates is not Person A. I read the docs filed tonight on someone’s Twitter feed. Manafort reached out to these two unnamed people via encrypted text. One of them tried to avoid contact, then went to the Mueller team. Manafort was definitely trying to get them to spin what he was doing. Obviously, ManaFAT wasn’t taking Mueller very seriously — wonder if he’s at attention now, hmmm?

He obviously didn't know with whom he was dealing. You don't fuck around with Bob Mueller. Lesson learned -- a tad too late.

No one cares about the Russia investigation.

People who worked with Mueller in the past say Guiliani, GOP and Trump’s antics will just make him dig in and go after them that much harder. They say when Mueller drops the hammer, it will be HARD and irrefutable. They also said he doesn’t tell anyone about his plans - not even his employees, coworkers or family. (Which means Guiliani was full of shit when he said Mueller told him the investigation would be over by September and any other Mueller quotes (but we knew that).

Has Trump boxed himself in with his recent Tweets on ManaFAT? It would be harder to pardon him now, yes?

Hoping, but prepared for disappointment. After all, who would have believed it could get to this.

The criminality is limited only by the complicity of the GOP and their own arrogance!

[quote]His son-in- law agreed to cooperate with Mueller's team a week or two ago. I could see Manafort trying to manipulate him through his daughter or with direct or indirect threats.

The news stories about that clearly said the younger guy is no longer married to Manafort's daughter.

@kylegriffin1

[quote]Reuters: MANAFORT CALLED, TEXTED AND SENT ENCRYPTED MESSAGES TO TWO PEOPLE IN FEBRUARY TO "INFLUENCE THEIR TESTIMONY AND TO OTHERWISE CONCEAL EVIDENCE" - FBI STATEMENT FILED BY MUELLER

I think it was Chris Hayes tonight who said that even if trump pardoned some of the players the investigation would continue because of the many Russians who were indicted. To kill the investigation trump would have to pardon them too, and it isn't likely he could get away with that.

Apparently indicting all those Russians were part of a very clever long game.

There was a journalist on the WNYC Midday show, on Monday,who recently wrote an article about how Mueller's time in Viet Nam was very formative. He has incredible discipline and a real moral code (don't know what he now thinks about the war).

Hey Paully, did you ever catch "OZ"?

R29, does the President even have the ability to pardon Russian citizens?

I would assume the President's power only applies to American citizens.

R32--Putin, Trump, same thing.

If they ever make a movie about all this, (of course they will!), does anyone other than me think that Chris Noth is perfect casting for Manafort?

“All The President’s Mien”

I hope Manafort rots in prison until only his skeleton is left.

This incident definitively proves ManaFAT has not flipped. Yet.

[QUOTE]Getting my popcorn for this!

Oh r10, you'd be getting your popcorn regardless.

R36 If I was an insurance agent I would not be writing a policy on Manafort’s life.

I thought Manafort had already been charged at the state level, putting him out of reach of Trump’s pardon power?

I can’t believe his supporters think this is a witch hunt when everyone involved acts so guilty. A reckoning is coming.

Manafort was just on Team Trump for a short time, maybe aweek or two, he didn't do much, except go for lattes. The President never even met with him or talked to him.

Sorry, ignorant question: is witness tampering a crime in itself or does it merely affect your defense or bail conditions? Thanks much.

Witness tampering is a crime

[quote] R29: I think it was Chris Hayes tonight who said that even if trump pardoned some of the players the investigation would continue because of the many Russians who were indicted. To kill the investigation trump would have to pardon them too, and it isn't likely he could get away with that.

IIRC, President Carter pardoned all Vietnam draft dodgers, without naming them specifically. If Turnip did something similar, a blanket pardon for “all involved in this fake so-called investigation which is a witch hunt and no collusion, no collusion.”, he could effectively pardon the Russians without naming them.

Besides, Trump has a history of doing illegal or shady things and basically daring the Law to try to prosecute, and that's worked for him for the most part so far. And he owes the Russians. That’s why he’s President in the first place, to put out for them.

^JFC, I never thought about him making that particular move, Summer Storm.

R44, no one really challenged Carter's blanket pardon. There is very little caselaw on pardons because they don't get challenged much (usually out of deference to the position). One reason Carter's pardon wasn't challenged despite the controversy was because he (unfairly IMO) excluded deserters.

With Trump, all bets are off.

Here's an old law review article about the history of the power to pardon that includes some SCOTUS caselaw. The caselaw is mostly about technical issues: can a president issue a conditional pardon, can it include contempt, etc.

[quote]This incident definitively proves ManaFAT has not flipped. Yet.

Don't count on him flipping. As others have noted, it's likely not hyperbole to note that his life may genuinely be at stake.

[quote] [R29], does the President even have the ability to pardon Russian citizens? I would assume the President's power only applies to American citizens.

One's citizenship is irrelevant. The cases are before an American court which can try citizens and noncitizens alike.

nobody will stop him from issuing a blanket pardon.

If you think any Nazi rethug like mcturtle or sniveling Ryan will do it, I have a bridge to sell you.

No GOP politician will stop him, nor will they do anything more than express some weak "concern" after the fact.

BUT there are other forces that will mobilize. Including state AGs who will start their own rounds of investigations/indictments.

There was little to no political will left to go after Vietnam draft dodgers, even among those angered by Carter's pardon. Most people just wanted to move on from that war and put the issue to rest. Not so the case if Trump issues some kind of blanket pardon, or even just certain key pardons.

[quote]As others have noted, it's likely not hyperbole to note that his life may genuinely be at stake.

Is he more likely to fake his death like that Enron guy or get a radioactive cocktail from Vladdy?

Does anyone think he might commit suicide before going to jail? The article at R9 reports that he was hospitalized and "suicidal" in '15 after his family discovered his mistress and her expensive lifestyle. He was also in deep financial trouble around the time. Would he be the type to think that offing himself is preferable to living the rest of his life in Fed prison? Maybe he was malingering to get his wife back then and he doesn't have it in him.

Since pro-Trump Russian bots are bumping showbiz threads at this very moment, I’ll be bumping important Trump threads with the clarion call of, “Fuck Trump.”

Oh, and fuck Vladimir, too.

I think there's a strong chance Manafort will be murdered

A thought crossed my mind that Melania might have been poisoned.