Charges in the Mueller Investigation Do Not Bode Well for Trump
Today was a pivotal day for the players in the ever evolving Trump collusion with Russia saga. Paul Manafort and Rick Gates pleaded guilty to acting as unregistered foreign agents against the United States. Also, George Papadopoulos, a campaign advisor, pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI. Papadopoulos has been cooperating with the FBI since July and is the second member of Trump's team to admit trying to find dirt on Hillary Clinton during the bruising presidential race.
President Trump made a statement recently that he created the term 'fake news'. I would surmise that if a Google search was done it would reveal that he has said this term more than one thousand times. Literally. The problem is that the people who are being charged now were members of his team. Paul Manafort was his campaign manager for about four months. His previous life included representing the interests of a Putin backed strong man in the volatile region of the Ukraine. He made millions on behalf of Viktor Yanukovich. It is now being revealed that he laundered millions of dollars in fees to live a tax free lavish lifestyle as a result. The FBI completed a no knock raid on his house a few months ago.
George Papadopoulos was an up and coming young member of the Trump team. He is a political science graduate of DePaul University. He has a Master's Degree from University College London. He was mentioned by candidate Trump in a recorded interview last year as an Energy expert. He was actively trying to obtain dirt on Hillary Clinton and was willing to meet with a foreign national to obtain it. He is facing no more than six months in prison based on his continued cooperation with the FBI. He thought he was in contact with a woman portraying herself to be Vladimir Putin's niece. He was communicating regularly with Paul Manafort. He was never told to stand down in his efforts.
I had been a little wary about the efforts of Bob Mueller's team. His silence is deafening. He assembled a Dream Team of lawyers and investigators based on the preponderance of evidence that the Russians were involved in trying to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. Seventeen American agencies all agree that this was the case. The Trump Team, enamored of the power of Vladimir Putin, criticized anyone that did not believe his election was based on the brilliance of his political strategy alone. The 'failing' New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC were all targets of his ire. His prolonged attacks on the free press of the United States and willingness to suspend licenses of news outlets showed his desperation. The President's firing of Former FBI Director James Comey is going to come back to haunt him. He actually had Russian operatives in the White House days after this pivotal decision.
The Democrats were not all innocent in this continuing saga. It was revealed that the Democratic National Committee paid for opposition research in the form of a Trump dossier supposedly outlining his untoward activities in Russia. He is already on tape admitting to groping women. It was not revealed that the Democrats paid Russians or tried to collude with Russians to obtain information on candidate Trump. Mr. Trump has admitted that he 'has no business in Russia' numerous times. This week should be interesting with Russia related developments. Mr. Manafort and Mr. Gates are now on house arrest. Mr, Papadopulous has to be breathing a little easier now that he has admitted his efforts and willingness to lie about them. We will be waiting to see where the investigation goes from here.
President Trump made a statement recently that he created the term 'fake news'. I would surmise that if a Google search was done it would reveal that he has said this term more than one thousand times. Literally. The problem is that the people who are being charged now were members of his team. Paul Manafort was his campaign manager for about four months. His previous life included representing the interests of a Putin backed strong man in the volatile region of the Ukraine. He made millions on behalf of Viktor Yanukovich. It is now being revealed that he laundered millions of dollars in fees to live a tax free lavish lifestyle as a result. The FBI completed a no knock raid on his house a few months ago.
George Papadopoulos was an up and coming young member of the Trump team. He is a political science graduate of DePaul University. He has a Master's Degree from University College London. He was mentioned by candidate Trump in a recorded interview last year as an Energy expert. He was actively trying to obtain dirt on Hillary Clinton and was willing to meet with a foreign national to obtain it. He is facing no more than six months in prison based on his continued cooperation with the FBI. He thought he was in contact with a woman portraying herself to be Vladimir Putin's niece. He was communicating regularly with Paul Manafort. He was never told to stand down in his efforts.
I had been a little wary about the efforts of Bob Mueller's team. His silence is deafening. He assembled a Dream Team of lawyers and investigators based on the preponderance of evidence that the Russians were involved in trying to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. Seventeen American agencies all agree that this was the case. The Trump Team, enamored of the power of Vladimir Putin, criticized anyone that did not believe his election was based on the brilliance of his political strategy alone. The 'failing' New York Times, Washington Post, CNN and MSNBC were all targets of his ire. His prolonged attacks on the free press of the United States and willingness to suspend licenses of news outlets showed his desperation. The President's firing of Former FBI Director James Comey is going to come back to haunt him. He actually had Russian operatives in the White House days after this pivotal decision.
The Democrats were not all innocent in this continuing saga. It was revealed that the Democratic National Committee paid for opposition research in the form of a Trump dossier supposedly outlining his untoward activities in Russia. He is already on tape admitting to groping women. It was not revealed that the Democrats paid Russians or tried to collude with Russians to obtain information on candidate Trump. Mr. Trump has admitted that he 'has no business in Russia' numerous times. This week should be interesting with Russia related developments. Mr. Manafort and Mr. Gates are now on house arrest. Mr, Papadopulous has to be breathing a little easier now that he has admitted his efforts and willingness to lie about them. We will be waiting to see where the investigation goes from here.
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