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Another prosecutor joins Trump-Russia probe

Shard

XBLAnnoyance
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/15/another-prosecutor-joins-trump-russia-investigation-242794

An attorney working on the Justice Department's highest-profile money laundering case recently transferred off that assignment in order to join the staff of the special prosecutor investigating the Trump campaign's potential ties to Russia, POLITICO has learned.

Attorney Kyle Freeny was among the prosecutors on hand Friday as a spokesman for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, Jason Maloni, testified before a grand jury at federal court in Washington.

Freeny, whose assignment to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's staff has not been previously reported, is the 17th lawyer known to be working with the former FBI chief on the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. She departed from the courthouse Friday with two other members of Mueller's squad: former Criminal Division chief and Enron prosecutor Andrew Weissman and Civil Division appellate attorney Adam Jed, a former clerk to Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens.

Before being detailed to Mueller's team, Freeny was shepherding the Justice Department's headline-grabbing effort to seize the profits from the film "The Wolf of Wall Street" on grounds that the film was financed with assets looted from the Malaysian government.
 
More indications they're following the money. Business Insider speculates that the goal is building a case against Manafort that Trump can't pardon him for.

“It is apparent in our data that essentially criminals are parking dirty money, criminal proceeds, in luxury real estate, as a place to hide it, as well as place to invest it, as well as a place to enjoy it,” Jennifer Shasky Calvery, the former director of Fincen, told Quartz.

Manafort bought four properties in New York City between 2006 and 2013 using shell companies and paid the full amount due for each property. Later, between 2012 and 2017, NBC News reported that Manafort borrowed $13 million against those properties. $6.5 million out of that amount came this year from a bank run by a Trump campaign economic adviser.

Though the purchases were initially made by shell companies, a WNYC investigation found that they were later transferred into Manafort’s name without any payment.

Given that the majority of Manafort’s real estate transactions reported thus far took place in New York, they could fall within Schneiderman’s jurisdiction and may constitute the basis for criminal proceedings against Manafort in the state.

Although Trump could theoretically pardon close associates indicted on federal charges, his executive authority does not extend to state crimes, and legal analysts have speculated that Mueller is turning up the heat on Manafort to coerce his cooperation in the Russia investigation.

They're probably doing the same thing with Flynn. It's an insane game of legal chess against a suspect with pardoning power.
 
I will be disappointed if it takes 17 top prosecutors, a year of work, and a huge budget to bring down a has-been like manafort and a few other second rate grifters.
 
I will be disappointed if it takes 17 top prosecutors, a year of work, and a huge budget to bring down a has-been like manafort and a few other second rate grifters.

Presumably the goal is to flip them on the bigger targets. Jared Kushner looks particularly vulnerable right now.
 
I will be disappointed if it takes 17 top prosecutors, a year of work, and a huge budget to bring down a has-been like manafort and a few other second rate grifters.

I understand completely but all this work is leading up to bigger people. It has to be Kushner and Trump Jr. I still believe they are after the Trump organization.
 

Vagabundo

Member
Trump's whole family in ruins will be a fitting end to his dream of vengeance against Obama.

We're in God's fanfic.
 
I will be disappointed if it takes 17 top prosecutors, a year of work, and a huge budget to bring down a has-been like manafort and a few other second rate grifters.

Well...

More indications they're following the money. Business Insider speculates that the goal is building a case against Manafort that Trump can't pardon him for.



They're probably doing the same thing with Flynn. It's an insane game of legal chess against a suspect with pardoning power.

All good things take time.
 

TAJ

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Presumably the goal is to flip them on the bigger targets. Jared Kushner looks particularly vulnerable right now.

Didn't Manafort offer to take a deal and get turned down months ago?
 

Oriel

Member
I'm worried this will come to nothing and the Orange Turd remains in the WH for the full term.....and possibly a second term.
 
Didn't Manafort offer to take a deal and get turned down months ago?

It's hard to keep track of this monster investigation but I can't recall this. There has been some fuckery with the Senate Select Committee on Judiciary interrogating Manafort (cutting a deal that lets him avoid a public hearing) and then refusing to share their findings with Mueller (because of GOP stooges I presume.)

Shortly after that skirmish, Mueller went all in with the raids on Manafort's holdings and looking into the business of his son-in-law.

These parallel investigations (House inquiry, Senate inquiry and Special prosecutor Mueller) make it even harder to decipher what's going on from the outside looking in... but as far as we can tell, Manafort has not cut a deal with anyone and is still denying all charges, including pre-existing legal problems he had going before the Trump campaign.
 

CD'S BAR

Member
I'm worried this will come to nothing and the Orange Turd remains in the WH for the full term.....and possibly a second term.

I would bet on this. Even if the case were air tight and impeachment somehow made it through the house, there's no way he wouldn't be acquitted in the senate.
 

Zolo

Member
Didn't Manafort offer to take a deal and get turned down months ago?

I think that was Flynn.

I would bet on this. Even if the case were air tight and impeachment somehow made it through the house, there's no way he wouldn't be acquitted in the senate.

Yeah. Unfortunately, the people that can impeach Trump have severe conflicts of interest.

In a more ideal scenario. a president would be answerable for crimes by the judiciary branch.
 
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