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I Absolutely Hate Liars

[center][b]Judge rules that Manafort deliberately lied to Mueller’s team during cooperation[/b][/center]

Evidence suggests that Paul Manafort deliberately lied to special counsel Robert Mueller’s team after he had agreed to cooperate, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.
After dueling filings and arguments from prosecutors and the defense over the past few months, Judge Amy Berman Jackson sided with Mueller’s team on three of the [b]five areas[/b] in which they’d accused Manafort of lying.

Manafort, Donald Trump’s former campaign chair, has already been convicted of financial crimes in Virginia and has pleaded guilty to other charges in Washington. He was not charged with new crimes related to these alleged false statements.
But now, Jackson will take these purported lies during cooperation into account when she sentences Manafort for the DC crimes on March 13 — and they may well spur her to give him a tougher sentence.

The wrangling between Mueller’s and Manafort’s teams about the alleged lies provided a fascinating glimpse into the investigation, [b]revealing both deeper Russian ties and more shady financial behavior from Manafort[/b]. We learned that Mueller is claiming:

- [b]That Manafort shared Trump campaign polling data with Konstantin Kilimnik, a longtime associate of his who the FBI thinks has “ties to Russian intelligence” (a Mueller prosecutor said this topic goes “very much to the heart of” their larger investigation)[/b]

[b]- That in 2017 and 2018, Manafort worked with Kilimnik to advance to promote a “Ukraine peace plan” (aimed, it seems, at settling the Russia-Ukraine conflict on terms favorable to Russia)

- That $125,000 paid out from a pro-Trump Super PAC to a political media firm during the campaign was later used to help pay Manafort’s legal fees

- That Manafort changed his story about a matter another Justice Department office is investigating — one that seems to involve the Trump campaign or administration
[/b]

(For more detailed information vox.com)

Any posts not relating to Manafort or Trump will be deleted.
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windinhishair · 61-69, M
The key phrase here is [quote]very much to the heart of their larger investigation[/quote]. This really speaks to the collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign and the deal making that was going on behind the scenes, even as Trump was denying it in public.

One thing that isn't being discussed at all is a possible reason for Manafort's continued lies. He may actually be more scared of Russia than he is US justice, given the way Putin has eliminated dissenters in foreign countries. He may be safer in prison than out in public given what he knows.
@windinhishair

Exactly! Can you imagine being him? I would be scared too. Ugh.
windinhishair · 61-69, M
@whippersnapper He's clearly counting on a Trump pardon. It will not be surprising if he gets one. But he'll have to watch his backside for the rest of his life.
@windinhishair Can Trump pardon Manafort on state crimes?
windinhishair · 61-69, M
@whippersnapper Only federal crimes. So if he's charged under Virginia or New York State law, he can't be pardoned. I suspect that more than a few of Trump's criminal associates will be convicted in state courts, particularly those in New York State.
@windinhishair Here's hoping 🤞
windinhishair · 61-69, M
@whippersnapper Agreed. If the Trump Syndicate gets away with treason, we no longer have a functioning democracy.
SevIsPamprinYouAlways · 56-60, F
Mueller’s crafted charges so that they will be prosecutable on the state level, should cooperation not be forthcoming. Flynn was charged with only one federal crime, when he could have been charged with many more. I’m sure that the situation was explained very thoroughly to him before he chose to proffer in exchange for a deal that keeps him out of the crosshairs of New York State.@windinhishair
windinhishair · 61-69, M
@SevIsPamprinYouAlways Flynn has been very quiet, and that is no accident. I think he's played his cards well.