Looks like Trump really might be a Russian Obligate, where there's smoke there's often fire.

Amazing, absolutely amazing but will it bother Mitch Mc one bit?

The ever-changing Russia stories of the two Donald Trumps CNN Analysis by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large July 10, 2017 http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/10/politics/donald-trump-russia/index.html
Check out the emails
Donald Trump Jr. releases email chain on his Russian meeting By Jeremy Diamond, CNN July 11, 2017 http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/11/politics/trump-jr-russia-lawyer-emails/index.html “The Crown prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father. …"


O dear how the time flies.
I was looking for a place to park this and Russian Obligate President seems as good as any.

During the campaign, Paul Manafort was talking to a man tied to Russian spying. By Zachary Fryer-BiggsZach@Vox.com Mar 29, 2018, https://www.vox.com/2018/3/29/17177948/konstantin-kilimnik-manafort-mueller-trump-russia-intelligence Kilimnik and Manafort also exchanged a series of emails during the 2016 presidential campaign about helping a Russian billionaire. The two used code words, but investigators believe Manafort was offering to provide “private briefings" to Oleg Deripaska. Deripaska is reportedly very close with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Kilimnik, born in Ukraine, previously served in the Russian Army as a linguist. According to Politico he had told a “previous employer of a background with Russian intelligence." The Mueller link between Kilimnik and Russian intelligence comes from court documents filed in the case of a lawyer who worked with Manafort and Rick Gates. The lawyer, Alex Van der Zwaan, pleaded guilty to lying to investigators in February. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team had interviewed Van der Zwaan about his work in the early 2010’s with Manafort and Gates, Manafort’s long-time right hand man. ...
Here’s what we know about Donald Trump’s ties to Russia BY DENIS SLATTERY AND JASON SILVERSTEIN first published July 12th - last update March 5th http://interactive.nydailynews.com/project/donald-trump-ties-russia-key-players/ This one is fascinating, it's reminiscent of the decks of cards with most wanted faces, But, this is who we handed our government over to. :roll: :down:
¶ O dear how the time flies. I was looking for a place to park this and Russian Obligate President seems as good as any.
What do you make of this disclosure from Mueller? He has been awfully tight with his information. Is he trying to signal that he is getting close? Or is he tired of hearing Trump say "no collusion"?
¶ O dear how the time flies. I was looking for a place to park this and Russian Obligate President seems as good as any.
What do you make of this disclosure from Mueller? He has been awfully tight with his information. Is he trying to signal that he is getting close? Or is he tired of hearing Trump say "no collusion"?Mueller is probably wondering how he can get out of this nonsensical investigation without looking like the FBI has wasted tons of taxpayer money. Much like last month's useless indictment of 13 Russians--this meeting between Manafort and a former Russian intel officer is a legal dead end--a cosmetic move. Damage control is necessary for the bureau right now.

Seems to me, you wouldn’t have the first clue of how Mueller’s legal mind works.
(Robert Mueller - Education, Special Counsel & Life - Biography)
Any better than you know how serious scientists’ minds work.
Stick to parroting FOX faux news quotes.

¶ O dear how the time flies. I was looking for a place to park this and Russian Obligate President seems as good as any.
What do you make of this disclosure from Mueller? He has been awfully tight with his information. Is he trying to signal that he is getting close? Or is he tired of hearing Trump say "no collusion"?Mueller is probably wondering how he can get out of this nonsensical investigation without looking like the FBI has wasted tons of taxpayer money. Much like last month's useless indictment of 13 Russians--this meeting between Manafort and a former Russian intel officer is a legal dead end--a cosmetic move. Damage control is necessary for the bureau right now. I'm making notes on a website that parodies conspiracy theorists and trolls. It would read as if it is teaching how to be a troll. I might use this one. You take the fact that the officer is currently "former" and ignore that he was working with Russia at the time he was working with Manafort. You might as well say, "well that person is dead now, so it doesn't matter that I shot them".
¶ O dear how the time flies. I was looking for a place to park this and Russian Obligate President seems as good as any.
What do you make of this disclosure from Mueller? He has been awfully tight with his information. Is he trying to signal that he is getting close? Or is he tired of hearing Trump say "no collusion"?Mueller is probably wondering how he can get out of this nonsensical investigation without looking like the FBI has wasted tons of taxpayer money. Much like last month's useless indictment of 13 Russians--this meeting between Manafort and a former Russian intel officer is a legal dead end--a cosmetic move. Damage control is necessary for the bureau right now. I'm making notes on a website that parodies conspiracy theorists and trolls. It would read as if it is teaching how to be a troll. I might use this one. You take the fact that the officer is currently "former" and ignore that he was working with Russia at the time he was working with Manafort. You might as well say, "well that person is dead now, so it doesn't matter that I shot them".Use it if you want Lausten, just be aware that it is not illegal to do business with Russians, and what’s more is Manafort’s business activities have nothing to do with Trump anyway (nor would that be an impeachable offense). That is the crux of this discussion — Mueller is investigating something which is not illegal in hope that he will find something in the mix that will at the very least justify the damn thing. I would advise studying United States Code because the media clearly hasn’t. http://uscode.house.gov/
That is the crux of this discussion — Mueller is investigating something which is not illegal in hope that he will find something in the mix that will at the very least justify the damn thing. I would advise studying United States Code because the media clearly hasn’t. http://uscode.house.gov/
It was legal, but they hid that they were doing it. Okay. I'll believe you. https://www.vox.com/2018/2/22/17042594/paul-manafort-gates-mueller-indictment
That is the crux of this discussion — Mueller is investigating something which is not illegal in hope that he will find something in the mix that will at the very least justify the damn thing. I would advise studying United States Code because the media clearly hasn’t. http://uscode.house.gov/
It was legal, but they hid that they were doing it. Okay. I'll believe you. https://www.vox.com/2018/2/22/17042594/paul-manafort-gates-mueller-indictmentDude pay attention:
On Thursday, a Virginia grand jury indicted Manafort and Gates on a combined 32 counts, alleging a dizzying array of tax, financial, and bank fraud crimes, some of which took place as recently as last year. Mueller alleges that Manafort laundered more than $30 million with Gates’s help. These new charges will be considered in a separate venue from the combined 12 counts of conspiracy, money laundering, financial, and false statements charges Mueller filed against the two men through a Washington, DC, grand jury last October. A spokesperson for the special counsel’s office confirmed to me Thursday evening that the DC case will still proceed as well, saying, “Both cases will move forward." Now, like the first set of charges against the pair, the new charges don’t have anything to do with the topic of Russian interference with the 2016 campaign, which is Mueller’s central concern.
This means Paul Manafort is in trouble. Trump wasn't involved, so he walks.

Dude pay attention:
On Thursday, a Virginia grand jury indicted Manafort and Gates on a combined 32 counts, alleging a dizzying array of tax, financial, and bank fraud crimes, some of which took place as recently as last year. Mueller alleges that Manafort laundered more than $30 million with Gates’s help. These new charges will be considered in a separate venue from the combined 12 counts of conspiracy, money laundering, financial, and false statements charges Mueller filed against the two men through a Washington, DC, grand jury last October. A spokesperson for the special counsel’s office confirmed to me Thursday evening that the DC case will still proceed as well, saying, “Both cases will move forward." Now, like the first set of charges against the pair, the new charges don’t have anything to do with the topic of Russian interference with the 2016 campaign, which is Mueller’s central concern.
This means Paul Manafort is in trouble. Trump wasn't involved, so he walks.
Beltane, be careful with your assessments and assertions, your bias may well be leading you astray, as they say, it's a very fluid situation.
March 28, 2018 Mueller Filing Casually Implies That Trump’s Campaign Chairman Was in Touch With Active Russian Operative By BEN MATHIS-LILLEY https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/03/manafort-gates-in-touch-with-russian-operative-in-2016-mueller-filing-says.html Previous filings have seemed to suggest that Person A is an individual named Konstantin Kilimnik. It’s been previously reported that Kilimnik worked closely with Paul Manafort in Ukraine, that he had past connections to the world of Russian intelligence, and that he and Manafort corresponded during the 2016 election. Now we’ve apparently learned that Kilimnik still had “ties" to “a Russian intelligence service" in 2016. The small-potatoes explanation of Manafort and Gates’ behavior in 2016 is that they used their fortuitous connection to the surprisingly successful Trump campaign to squeeze some extra money out of past Ukrainian and Russian clients by dangling hyped-up promises of insight into the mind of a potential future president. (The 2016 correspondence between Manafort and Kilimnik that’s been publicly reported on involves a dispute Manafort had with a former client over money.) The, uh, big-potatoes possibility is that Manafort and Gates’ connections to Russia were the channel by which the Trump campaign promised sanctions relief in exchange for Russia’s distribution of hacked emails that were embarrassing to Hillary Clinton. While far from conclusive, Mueller’s filing keeps the more dramatic explanation in play.
March 28, 2018 Lawyer Who Lied to Bob Mueller May Have Blown Paul Manafort’s Russia Cover By Cristian Farias - Daily Intelligencer Of all the characters targeted by Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election, Alex van der Zwaan, minor though he may seem, will make history. A well-moneyed former associate at Skadden Arps, the powerful New York law firm, the attorney had the gall to lie time and again to Mueller’s team during an interview with federal investigators. Van der Zwaan got caught, faced charges for it, pleaded guilty, and is now awaiting sentencing in federal court in Washington. Next month, when he goes before a judge, he’ll be the first defendant in Mueller’s sights who may land behind bars. His lawyers have asked for leniency. But it’s not the prospect of jail time for van der Zwaan that matters. In a sentencing memorandum federal prosecutors filed late Tuesday, they even told the judge that the Department of Justice “does not take a position with respect to a particular sentence to be imposed." Instead, Mueller’s team wanted to make it very clear to the court that van der Zwaan, for all his sophistication and legal experience, is a big liar with a thing for destroying evidence. And that no matter the warnings he received from the special counsel’s office about the legal perils of being untruthful, he nonetheless “deliberately and repeatedly lied" about matters that are critical to Mueller’s probe. All this, while his lawyer was in the interview room with him. Lied about what matters? That van der Zwaan had had communications, in the heat of the presidential election, with Rick Gates, a longtime business partner of Paul Manafort and Donald Trump’s campaign deputy who is now facing criminal charges of his own. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/03/has-paul-manaforts-russia-cover-just-been-blown.html
Interactive Timeline: Everything We Know About Russia and President Trump Explore our updated, comprehensive Trump-Russia Timeline — or select one of the central players in the Trump-Russia saga to see what we know about them. BY STEVEN HARPER | MARCH 27, 2018 http://billmoyers.com/story/trump-russia-timeline/
I heard an interesting thing on some talking heads show: Character builds Destiny.
Dude pay attention:
On Thursday, a Virginia grand jury indicted Manafort and Gates on a combined 32 counts, alleging a dizzying array of tax, financial, and bank fraud crimes, some of which took place as recently as last year. Mueller alleges that Manafort laundered more than $30 million with Gates’s help. These new charges will be considered in a separate venue from the combined 12 counts of conspiracy, money laundering, financial, and false statements charges Mueller filed against the two men through a Washington, DC, grand jury last October. A spokesperson for the special counsel’s office confirmed to me Thursday evening that the DC case will still proceed as well, saying, “Both cases will move forward." Now, like the first set of charges against the pair, the new charges don’t have anything to do with the topic of Russian interference with the 2016 campaign, which is Mueller’s central concern.
This means Paul Manafort is in trouble. Trump wasn't involved, so he walks.
Beltane, be careful with your assessments and assertions, your bias may well be leading you astray, as they say, it's a very fluid situation.
March 28, 2018 Mueller Filing Casually Implies That Trump’s Campaign Chairman Was in Touch With Active Russian Operative By BEN MATHIS-LILLEY https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/03/manafort-gates-in-touch-with-russian-operative-in-2016-mueller-filing-says.html Previous filings have seemed to suggest that Person A is an individual named Konstantin Kilimnik. It’s been previously reported that Kilimnik worked closely with Paul Manafort in Ukraine, that he had past connections to the world of Russian intelligence, and that he and Manafort corresponded during the 2016 election. Now we’ve apparently learned that Kilimnik still had “ties" to “a Russian intelligence service" in 2016. The small-potatoes explanation of Manafort and Gates’ behavior in 2016 is that they used their fortuitous connection to the surprisingly successful Trump campaign to squeeze some extra money out of past Ukrainian and Russian clients by dangling hyped-up promises of insight into the mind of a potential future president. (The 2016 correspondence between Manafort and Kilimnik that’s been publicly reported on involves a dispute Manafort had with a former client over money.) The, uh, big-potatoes possibility is that Manafort and Gates’ connections to Russia were the channel by which the Trump campaign promised sanctions relief in exchange for Russia’s distribution of hacked emails that were embarrassing to Hillary Clinton. While far from conclusive, Mueller’s filing keeps the more dramatic explanation in play.
March 28, 2018 Lawyer Who Lied to Bob Mueller May Have Blown Paul Manafort’s Russia Cover By Cristian Farias - Daily Intelligencer Of all the characters targeted by Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election, Alex van der Zwaan, minor though he may seem, will make history. A well-moneyed former associate at Skadden Arps, the powerful New York law firm, the attorney had the gall to lie time and again to Mueller’s team during an interview with federal investigators. Van der Zwaan got caught, faced charges for it, pleaded guilty, and is now awaiting sentencing in federal court in Washington. Next month, when he goes before a judge, he’ll be the first defendant in Mueller’s sights who may land behind bars. His lawyers have asked for leniency. But it’s not the prospect of jail time for van der Zwaan that matters. In a sentencing memorandum federal prosecutors filed late Tuesday, they even told the judge that the Department of Justice “does not take a position with respect to a particular sentence to be imposed." Instead, Mueller’s team wanted to make it very clear to the court that van der Zwaan, for all his sophistication and legal experience, is a big liar with a thing for destroying evidence. And that no matter the warnings he received from the special counsel’s office about the legal perils of being untruthful, he nonetheless “deliberately and repeatedly lied" about matters that are critical to Mueller’s probe. All this, while his lawyer was in the interview room with him. Lied about what matters? That van der Zwaan had had communications, in the heat of the presidential election, with Rick Gates, a longtime business partner of Paul Manafort and Donald Trump’s campaign deputy who is now facing criminal charges of his own. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/03/has-paul-manaforts-russia-cover-just-been-blown.html
Interactive Timeline: Everything We Know About Russia and President Trump Explore our updated, comprehensive Trump-Russia Timeline — or select one of the central players in the Trump-Russia saga to see what we know about them. BY STEVEN HARPER | MARCH 27, 2018 http://billmoyers.com/story/trump-russia-timeline/
I heard an interesting thing on some talking heads show: Character builds Destiny.
SMH at your constant retardation. I guess the next step is waiting for the Supreme court to rule that media speculation is the same as evidence.
This means Paul Manafort is in trouble. Trump wasn't involved, so he walks.
Amazing how you know the outcome of these trials before they happen.
SMH at your constant retardation. OMG :ahhh: I guess the next step is waiting for the Supreme court to rule that media speculation is the same as evidence. (hmmm, evading the issues with distractions yet again. Why can't we try an actual discussion? Rather than empty zingers, why not explain something, simply rejecting everything you don't like is like .....................)
Funny that. There's an article that I think you need to read
In a footnote, Mueller sends a warning shot to Trump By Philip Bump April 3 at 11:41 AM https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/04/03/in-a-footnote-mueller-sends-a-warning-shot-to-trump/ Paul Manafort’s legal strategy for evading the charges filed against him by special counsel Robert Mueller was fairly straightforward. His attorneys argued, among other things, that many of the charges Manafort faces — which include fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy — are largely outside the scope of Mueller’s authority. After all, Mueller was appointed to investigate collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign during the 2016 race. What does Manafort’s allegedly having laundered money by buying real estate in Brooklyn have to do with any of that? Late Monday night, Mueller’s team answered, in the form of a 53-page response ( https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4429626/4-2-18-US-Oppo-Manafort-Motion-to-Dismiss.pdf ) to Manafort’s motion to dismiss the charges. Not only did Mueller explain why he had the authority to prosecute Manafort for alleged financial crimes, but, in a footnote, he explained why he also has the authority to investigate any attempts to obstruct his probe — including, presumably, by the president of the United States. ...
Nah Beltane, before you ask, I admit, I have not read Mueller's 53 page response, but I'll tell you the highlights as reported in the Washington Post are still pretty damned interesting.
... The broad argument made by Mueller’s team in its response memo goes something like this. When he was appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in May (after Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s recusal from any investigations involving the 2016 presidential campaign), Rosenstein issued a public outline of the scope of Mueller’s authority. We’ve walked through this before; it includes three main things:
“Any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump." “Any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation." “Any other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a)."
That section of the Code of Federal Regulations — 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a) — allows Mueller to investigate “federal crimes committed in the course of, and with intent to interfere with, the Special Counsel’s investigation," including lying to authorities. ... Mueller’s response to Manafort notes that his having financial ties to Russian interests alone falls under the purview of the first point above. ...
This means Paul Manafort is in trouble. Trump wasn't involved, so he walks.
Amazing how you know the outcome of these trials before they happen.Well, it is the only possible conclusion.
SMH at your constant retardation. OMG :ahhh: I guess the next step is waiting for the Supreme court to rule that media speculation is the same as evidence. (hmmm, evading the issues with distractions yet again. Why can't we try an actual discussion? Rather than empty zingers, why not explain something, simply rejecting everything you don't like is like .....................)
Funny that. There's an article that I think you need to read
In a footnote, Mueller sends a warning shot to Trump By Philip Bump April 3 at 11:41 AM https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/04/03/in-a-footnote-mueller-sends-a-warning-shot-to-trump/ Paul Manafort’s legal strategy for evading the charges filed against him by special counsel Robert Mueller was fairly straightforward. His attorneys argued, among other things, that many of the charges Manafort faces — which include fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy — are largely outside the scope of Mueller’s authority. After all, Mueller was appointed to investigate collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign during the 2016 race. What does Manafort’s allegedly having laundered money by buying real estate in Brooklyn have to do with any of that? Late Monday night, Mueller’s team answered, in the form of a 53-page response ( https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4429626/4-2-18-US-Oppo-Manafort-Motion-to-Dismiss.pdf ) to Manafort’s motion to dismiss the charges. Not only did Mueller explain why he had the authority to prosecute Manafort for alleged financial crimes, but, in a footnote, he explained why he also has the authority to investigate any attempts to obstruct his probe — including, presumably, by the president of the United States. ...
Nah Beltane, before you ask, I admit, I have not read Mueller's 53 page response, but I'll tell you the highlights as reported in the Washington Post are still pretty damned interesting.
... The broad argument made by Mueller’s team in its response memo goes something like this. When he was appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in May (after Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s recusal from any investigations involving the 2016 presidential campaign), Rosenstein issued a public outline of the scope of Mueller’s authority. We’ve walked through this before; it includes three main things:
“Any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump." “Any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation." “Any other matters within the scope of 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a)."
That section of the Code of Federal Regulations — 28 C.F.R. § 600.4(a) — allows Mueller to investigate “federal crimes committed in the course of, and with intent to interfere with, the Special Counsel’s investigation," including lying to authorities. ... Mueller’s response to Manafort notes that his having financial ties to Russian interests alone falls under the purview of the first point above. ...
As usual you don’t know which end is up. Mueller’s response spells out what I posted upthread — Manafort is in trouble, Trump is not.
Mueller’s response spells out what I posted upthread — Manafort is in trouble, Trump is not.
You haven't spelled out anything. Then every time I do some more looking, there's only more smoke and insinuating heat.
The many paths from Trump to Russia By Marshall Cohen and Tal Yellin - Updated December 1, 2017, 2:30 p.m. est https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/politics/trump-russia-connections/ Special Counsel Robert Mueller and committees in both chambers of Congress are investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election and whether there were any links or coordination between the Trump orbit and the Russian government. Here is a summary of known connections between Trump associates and Russia.
All of Trump’s Russia Ties, in 7 Charts By MICHAEL CROWLEY March/April 2017 https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/03/connections-trump-putin-russia-ties-chart-flynn-page-manafort-sessions-214868
Seems they don't go away, instead evidence seems to keep accumulating.
The web of connections between Trump and Putin, visualized By Philip Bump March 28, 2018 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/03/28/the-web-of-connections-between-trump-and-putin-visualized/ A court filing from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s team on Tuesday made explicit what had previously only been suggested: A longtime business partner of former Trump campaign staffers Paul Manafort and Rick Gates had direct links to Russian intelligence. While the filing doesn’t name the business partner, it’s widely interpreted to refer to Konstantin Kilimnik, who ran Manafort’s office in Kiev, Ukraine, when Manafort was supporting the political efforts of that country’s Russia-allied Party of Regions. When the FBI interviewed lawyer Alex van der Zwaan in the fall, he said that Gates had informed him that the unnamed individual was a former officer with Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate, or GRU. When Manafort was serving as Trump’s campaign chairman (and Gates as Trump’s deputy campaign chairman), he met on more than one occasion with Kilimnik. ...

§
Beltane, cat got your tongue?

Justice Department authorized Robert Mueller to investigate Paul Manafort's work for Ukraine by Kelly Cohen | April 03, 2018 09:00 AM https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/justice-department-authorized-mueller-to-investigate-manaforts-work-for-ukraine The top Department of Justice official overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation authorized the investigation of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort’s work for the Ukrainian government and possible collusion with Russia, according to new court filings. The filings late Monday night included a classified Aug. 2 memo from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that allowed Mueller to probe whether Manafort "committed a crime or crimes by colluding with Russian government officials with respect to the Russian government's effort to interfere with the 2016 election." The Rosenstein memo also specifically authorized Mueller to look into payments Manafort received for his work in Ukraine, and any crimes “arising out of payments he received from the Ukrainian government before and during the tenure of President Viktor Yanukovych." Manafort, who was on Trump’s campaign team from March to August 2016, has alleged in both a civil suit and motion to dismiss that the charges brought against him are outside the special counsel’s authorization. But the memo shows Rosenstein allowed that line of inquiry.
“An investigation of possible ‘links and/or coordination’ between the Russian government in its political-interference campaign and ‘individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump ’ would naturally cover ties that a former Trump campaign manager had to Russian associated political operatives, Russian-backed politicians, and Russian oligarchs," the Monday court filing read, citing Rosenstein’s original public order. Mueller’s prosecutors added, "Every key step in this case — including the investigative path and the Indictment itself — has been authorized by the Acting Attorney General through ongoing consultation."
POLITICS Mueller Was Authorized to Investigate Paul Manafort’s Work for Ukraine Court filings show that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein gave the special counsel authority to probe Ukraine-government dealings By Del Quentin Wilber and Aruna Viswanatha Updated April 3, 2018 9:54 a.m. ET WASHINGTON—Special counsel Robert Mueller was authorized in a secret memo to investigate former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort’s work for the Ukrainian government, in addition to alleged collusion with Russian officials to interfere in the 2016 elections, according to court filings. The classified August memo from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was disclosed in a court filing by Mr. Mueller’s prosecutors. It seeks to counter arguments by Mr. Manafort’s lawyers that his indictment should be thrown out. Mr. Manafort...
If a long term strategy was to entrap trump, who's long broadcasted his crush on Putin the Russian dictator, than even working for the Ukrainian government, created and nurtured plenty of opportunities for ties with Russian operatives, which provided further moments of opportunities for further subterfuge. Opportunism creates strange bedfellows. Just as character creates destiny. :smirk:

W.T.F.J.H.T. :grrr:

Day 477: Big mistake.] 05/11/2018 Updated: 05/11/2018 03:00:12 PM PDT 1/ In 2014, the FBI warned that Viktor Vekselberg might be acting on behalf of Russia's intelligence services, saying a foundation he controlled "may be a means for the Russian government to access our nation's sensitive or classified research, development facilities and dual-use technologies with military and commercial applications." Earlier this week Michael Avenatti released a dossier that claims Columbus Nova, a Vekselberg company, made more than eight payments to Essential Consultants, totaling more than $1 million in payments between 2016 and 2017. Essential Consultants is owned by Michael Cohen, who is Trump's personal lawyer. Avenatti suggested that the Columbus Nova funds could have been used to reimburse Cohen for the $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about her alleged affair with Trump. (NPR)

While the beat goes on . . .

Judge: Special counsel had authority to prosecute Manafort CHAD DAY, ASSOCIATED PRESS May 15, 2018 Updated: May 16, 2018 https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/politics/article/Judge-Special-counsel-had-authority-to-prosecute-12916974.php WASHINGTON (AP) — ... ... a setback for Manafort in his defense against charges of money-laundering conspiracy, false statements and acting as an unregistered foreign agent related to his Ukrainian political work. Manafort had argued that Mueller had exceeded his authority because the case was unrelated to Russian election interference. But U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson disagreed. Citing Manafort's years of work in Ukraine, his prominent role on the Trump campaign and his publicized connections to Russian figures, Jackson said it was "logical and appropriate" for Mueller's team to scrutinize him as part of their investigation into Russian election meddling and possible coordination with Trump associates. ... In her 37-page ruling, Jackson went through a point-by-point rejection of Manafort's arguments, including his contention that Mueller had been given a "blank check" to investigate anything "he may stumble across." Jackson said Justice Department regulations allow for a "broad grant of authority" for special counsels. And regardless, she wrote, it was clear that Mueller had been specifically authorized to investigate not only Manafort's possible links to Russia but also his Ukrainian business. ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FfwUMzopdA at about 5:15

The document itself:
DocumentCloud