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[brianmcdoogle]

I did a quick search and couldn't find this story.

via foreignpolicy.com

The civil forfeiture case was filed in 2013 by Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York — who was fired by Trump in March. The case alleged that 11 companies were involved in a tax fraud in Russia and then laundered a portion of the $230 million they got into Manhattan real estate.

The forfeiture case was heralded at the time as “a significant step towards uncovering and unwinding a complex money laundering scheme arising from a notorious foreign fraud,” Bharara said. “As alleged, a Russian criminal enterprise sought to launder some of its billions in ill-gotten rubles through the purchase of pricey Manhattan real estate.”

Also the attorney representing the Russian companies in the DOJ case, Veselnitskaya, is the same one who organized a meeting with Donald Trump, Jr. and top Trump campaign officials in June 2016 to offer material that could “incriminate” Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. “Love it,” responded Trump, Jr. to an intermediary.

Edit: sorry. Forgot to put the name of the source first (I hate when people post articles without first naming the source so you can tell if it is a legitimate source that deserves a click or not.)

 

[datbapple]

Love it.

 

[Ketch]

Love it.

In the summer

 

[Shauni]

Plot thickens

 

[Linkura]

 

[Maxim726X]

Jesus so many dots are being connected already...

If we know this, how much does Mueller know?

 

[Daria]

settled is a weird way to say it was dismissed

 

[Malvolio]

How strange!

 

[liquidtmd]

Plot thickens

The Plot is currently as thick as a Twinkie 35 feet long, weighing approximately 600 pounds.

 

[super-heated plasma]

The Plot is currently as thick as a Twinkie 35 feet long, weighing approximately 600 pounds.

That's a big Twinkie.

 

[Trouble]

settled is a weird way to say it was dismissed

It was settled for $6 million, not dismissed. Still suspect as hell, though.

 

[NullPointer]

Fox News wants to spread the narrative that this Russian lawyer was part of some kind of Democrat setup.

Well OK, if they want to shine a spotlight on her activities here in the states, go right ahead.

 

[Guy.brush]

 

[Shauni]

The Plot is currently as thick as a Twinkie 35 feet long, weighing approximately 600 pounds.

Oh, it can get thicker, believe me

 

[NullPointer]

Perfection.

 

[zethren]

Holy shit, Russia laundering money in the States with real estate is a decent tie to the Trump organization. Especially since it's right there in fucking NY City.

 

[RoboPlato]

Jesus so many dots are being connected already...

If we know this, how much does Mueller know?

I can't even imagine the amount of dirt Mueller could be digging up. Combine that with his prosecution team versus Trump's clown lawyers and it'll sure be something to see.

 

[FunkyMunkey]

wait, if i'm reading this properly, this is actually a big deal? i know we're on the 40th "big deal" but i'm pretty sure this is significant.

 

[Jmille99]

Man, one thing is for sure, if Hillary was elected, things would not be this exciting.

Granted, that would be a good thing. But its enjoyable to see all this information come out.

Be even better to see some jail time for many people to come from it.

 

[Pop-O-Matic]

Oh, it can get thicker, believe me

It's gonna be DeviantArt thicc by the time it's all over.

 

[Random Human]

wait, if i'm reading this properly, this is actually a big deal? i know we're on the 40th "big deal" but i'm pretty sure this is significant.

What is the implication of this?

 

[GoldenEye 007]

Man, one thing is for sure, if Hillary was elected, things would not be this exciting.

Granted, that would be a good thing. But its enjoyable to see all this information come out.

Be even better to see some jail time for many people to come from it.

Nah, the House was prepping to go into overdrive with more investigations, etc. They would have done their hardest to tear her down even further. And the media would be eating it up just the same.

 

[NullPointer]

What is the implication of this?

A possible quid-pro-quo in exchange for her involvement in providing Clinton dirt to the Trump campaign. The case wasn't going well for the Russian company (Prevezon), but then Preet Bharara gets dismissed by Trump out of the blue, and soon afterwards the DOJ settles for pennies on the dollar they were originally seeking.

Just a theory going around and nothing more at this point.

But with the timing of the Don Jr/Kushner/Manafort meeting and what came afterwards a hell of a lot of theories are being spun right now.

 

[Random Human]

A possible quid-pro-quo in exchange for her involvement in providing Clinton dirt to the Trump campaign.

Just a theory going around and nothing more at this point.

But with the timing of the Don Jr/Kushner/Manafort meeting and what came afterwards a hell of a lot of theories are being spun right now.

Oh...

Oh shit.

 

[Chris R]

Watch RICO be the thing that takes Trump down.

 

[III-V]

Very interesting revelation. What will happen to this case, I wonder.

 

[Mr.Shrugglesツ]

In May, the Justice Department settled the case for $6 million instead of $230 million and did not demand any admission of wrongdoing. According to the lawmakers’ letter to Sessions, Veslnitskaya was surprised by how generous the settlement was, telling one Russian news outlet the penalty appeared like “an apology from the government.”

¬_¬

 

[Dubbedinenglish]

Godspeed Bobby

 

[Puppet Shadow]

A possible quid-pro-quo in exchange for her involvement in providing Clinton dirt to the Trump campaign. The case wasn't going well for the Russian company (Prevezon), but then Preet Bharara gets dismissed by Trump out of the blue, and soon afterwards the DOJ settles for pennies on the dollar they were originally seeking.

Just a theory going around and nothing more at this point.

But with the timing of the Don Jr/Kushner/Manafort meeting and what came afterwards a hell of a lot of theories are being spun right now.

Wasn't his position one that gets replaced when a new administration comes in? I thought they were all expected to resign, he didn't, so that's why he was fired.

Assuming I'm remembering correctly.

Edit:

While it's standard procedure for presidents to pick their own U.S. attorneys, Trump had previously asked Bharara to stay on.
So when news came last month that Trump had apparently changed his mind and was asking for Bharara's resignation, he refused to step down. Trump fired Bharara the next day.

Huh, ya maybe that's why Trump changed his mind.

 

[NullPointer]

Wasn't his position one that gets replaced when a new administration comes in? I thought they were all expected to resign, he didn't, so that's why he was fired.

Assuming I'm remembering correctly.

Trump had promised to specifically keep him on, and then reneged on that deal without explanation. A theory at the time was that it was to get back at Schumer, who Trump felt had betrayed him.

But the eventual settlement of the Prevezon case under those terms came as a surprise to everyone involved so it looks even more suspicious now.

 

[Mr.Shrugglesツ]

Wasn't his position one that gets replaced when a new administration comes in? I thought they were all expected to resign, he didn't, so that's why he was fired.

Assuming I'm remembering correctly.

Mr. Bharara, 48, speaking to reporters after the meeting, said Mr. Trump had asked to see him to discuss “whether or not I’d be prepared to stay on as the United States attorney to do the work as we have done it, independently, without fear or favor for the last seven years.”

“We had a good meeting,” Mr. Bharara continued. “I said I would absolutely consider staying on. I agreed to stay on.”

Continue reading the main story
Mr. Bharara said that he had already talked to Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama, who is Mr. Trump’s choice for attorney general. “He also asked that I stay on, and so I expect that I will be continuing,” Mr. Bharara said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/30/...-will-stay-on-as-us-attorney-under-trump.html

 

[chadskin]

It was an intriguing development then and it's become even more intriguing with what we know now. One expert raised concerns at the time in this CNN story:

The abrupt conclusion has some involved in the trial wondering why this Russian investigation had been cut short.

"What most concerns me is: Has there been any political pressure applied in this?" asked Louise Shelley, an illicit finance expert who was set to testify in support of the US government on Tuesday.

Shelley — who founded George Mason University's Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center — said the alleged money launderers got off easy.

"I think they won something. There's no recognition of wrongdoing," she said.

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/05/13/world/prevezon-settlement/index.html

 

[Mr. X]

Favor for a favor.

 

[sc0la]

I kind of wish Preet had taken the (President's) call. It would have been interesting if he had mentioned this case on the phone...

Edit: i wonder how similar trumps language would have been to what he told Comey about Flynn.

 

[RumblingRosco]

Jesus so many dots are being connected already...

If we know this, how much does Mueller know?

Mueller must be laughing himself to sleep every night at the thunder he's going to bring down in the coming months and years.

 

[jelly]

I like to imagine Mueller got truckloads of case files on this delivered first day in his new job.

 

[Saint Gregory]

Wait, this case was settled in May? This whole affair has been crazier than a Hollywood script and it just keeps going. The eventual movie about all this is going to end up being longer than the Godfather Saga.

Spoiler

The Trumpster Saga will have way more oranges though.

 

[m3k]

Wait, this case was settled in May? This whole affair has been crazier than a Hollywood script and it just keeps going. The eventual movie about all this is going to end up being longer than the Godfather Saga.

Spoiler

The Trumpster Saga will have way more oranges though.

A NY orchard

 

[Brandson]

The Manhattan real estate involved in the laundering isn't connected to Trump too, is it? Even if not, this kind of looks like a benefit to the foreign individuals providing Trump's team with support during the election. You have to believe in an awful lot of coincidences at this point to not see a Trump/Russia connection. Trump could easily distance himself from Russia at any point to show there is no connection, but he continues to do the complete opposite at every opportunity.

Trump's apparent connections to Russian businessmen and potentially Russian organized crime could have been a significant factor in the survival of some of his businesses in the years leading up to the election. While the relationships likely existed for years in business, he is now in a position to grow those mutually beneficial relationships further. It would not surprise me at all if both sides are making just ridiculous money behind the scenes now that he's President.