Make America Great Again wrote:
It is a sad day ...
^ Selfish Trumpkin Snowflake
Make America Great Again wrote:
It is a sad day ...
^ Selfish Trumpkin Snowflake
Hey, Lying Gary! Nice to see you again.
You are soooo CUTE, Lying Gary! So incredibly CUTE!
///
1) Mueller's team was charged with investigating:
"(i) any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of Donald Trump
(ii) any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation
. . . "
2) Manafort is an individual associated with the campaign
3) Matters involving serious financial crime (at the very least) involving Manafort arose directly from the investigation
///
Hmmm . . . seems like Mueller is following the law. And Manafort, not so much.
So, yeah, if Manafort had chosen to remain a more obscure criminal rather than associating himself with the criminal in chief then perhaps his crimes would have remained hidden.
I guess the law really sucks when you are a criminal.
///
Lying Gary
So you're saying there are TONS of corrupt businessman (like, I don't know, Donald Trump?) getting away with committing crimes who don't have to face justice? Sounds about right.
And you're also saying that because these scoundrels don't get enough scrutiny and get away with all sorts of fraud and tax evasion, Manafort should too? Yeah, poooooor Paulie.
No. THESE are the crimes Manafort committed (please do try and keep up. But no, while working for Trump isn't actually a crime, it does likely mean you are a criminal with no morals ) -
FALSE TAX RETURNS - FIVE COUNTS
Manafort is charged with five counts of signing off on and aiding in the production of false tax returns, one count each for 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. Prosecutors say Manafort intentionally indicated on the returns that he did not have bank accounts in foreign countries even though he controlled a series of accounts in Cyprus and elsewhere, and underreported his earnings in order to limit his taxable income.
FAILURE TO REPORT FOREIGN BANK ACCOUNTS - FOUR COUNTS
Prosecutors charged Manafort with four counts of failing to report so-called Foreign Bank Account Reports, or FBARs - one count for each year from 2011 to 2014. Generally, U.S. citizens are required to submit an FBAR report annually if the aggregate value of their foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 during the 12-month period. Prosecutors say Manafort did not submit FBARs even though he had funneled millions of dollars through overseas accounts in Cyprus, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the Seychelles.
LOANS FROM CITIZENS BANK - THREE COUNTS
Prosecutors charged Manafort with bank fraud and bank fraud conspiracy related to a $3.4 million loan in March 2016 from Citizens Bank, a Rhode Island-based lender, secured by a condominium in the Soho neighborhood of Manhattan. Prosecutors say Manafort was not truthful in his application for the loan, falsely claiming that it was not held as a rental property in order to maximize the amount he could borrow from the bank. Manafort was also charged with one count of bank fraud conspiracy related to an attempt to get a separate $5.5 million loan from the bank on a brownstone in Brooklyn, which did not materialize.
LOAN FROM BANC OF CALIFORNIA - TWO COUNTS
Prosecutors charged Manafort with bank fraud and bank fraud conspiracy for submitting a false statement of assets and liabilities, among other misleading information, to secure a $1 million business loan from Banc of California in 2016.
LOANS FROM THE FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK - FOUR COUNTS
Manafort's case heads to the jury
Prosecutors charged Manafort with two counts of bank fraud and two counts of bank fraud conspiracy related to two loans worth $16 million from the Federal Savings Bank, a small Chicago-based lender, in late 2016 and early 2017. Prosecutors say Manafort, along with his then associate Rick Gates, provided the bank with doctored profit and loss statements in order to secure the loans, among other misleading information. Federal lent Manafort $9.5 million against his estate in the Hamptons, an enclave for the rich on the eastern tip of Long Island, and $6.5 million against the Brooklyn brownstone.
This is not a witch hunt, so I guess you are correct that you "don't know what is ( a witch hunt.) "
What a load.
1) Once the investigation started (due to many things, and while the largely verified Steele Dossier was one of them, it wasn't the only thing or even the initial thing), they started to look at Manafort because of his position in the Trump campaign and his deep ties to Ukraine and Russia including to leaders of those countries.
2) He wasn't a target just because he worked on the Trump campaign. Kellyanne Conway worked on Trump's campaign, and they haven't gone after her. The Trump campaign was being looked at for possible infiltration by Russia (you can thank Carter Page and George Papadopolous for that). So, when doing so, are they NOT supposed to look at the Campaign Manager who has big ties to Russia? Get serious.
3) It IS true that had he not been part of Trump's campaign that he likely would never have been found out as a money launderer/tax evader, but there is always a mistake a criminal makes that gets them caught. Criminals who have gotten away with their crimes for years but then get caught, always make one mistake that gets them. I already said his most stupid decision was probably to get involved with Trump. So, he's caught as a criminal, not because he was a member or the Trump campaign, but because he is a criminal! Being a member of the Trump campaign was just him going a tad too far with his criminality, and it got him caught.
4) All these other people who will be charged or have been charged also made the mistake to get involved with Trump. Trump is a criminal and doesn't mind and likely encourages criminal behavior. Well, that's risky, and in this case, they are getting caught.
Manafort will be found guilty of several counts.
Mueller is coming.
The clown is done.
Make America Great Again wrote:
It is a sad day for the country, because the Deep State is willing to single you out for not capitulating to their agenda. None of the banks reported "fraud" to FBI or any other law enforcement authority. Mueller's angry Democrats scrutinized Manafort's financial records with intent to find any discrepancy that they could potentially exploit. And why did he become their target? Because he was the chairman of Trump campaign. If he were another businessman with no ties to major political candidates, this would have never gone to a trial. So Manafort's "crime" was to have worked as the Trump campaign chair. If this is not a witch hunt, I don't know what it is...
There are no witches. A witch hunt is a search for something that doesn't exist--and it can only "succeed" by labeling someone as a witch when s/he actually is not.
For each of the charges the jury will ultimately decide whether Manafort is guilty or not--and, having been picked for four juries myself, I will never second-guess the decisions that they make: They had access to all the evidence presented and we do not. But there is at least a prima facie case for his guilt on each charge--so even if he is found not guilty on all of them, I'm not sure that this qualifies as a true witch hunt. And certainly if he is found guilty then this would be no witch hunt, because his commission of fraud, etc., *would* have existed...beyond a reasonable doubt.
You say that Mueller's team "scrutinized Manafort's financial records with intent to find any discrepancy that they could potentially exploit." Is it likely that they performed that scrutiny, and he was charged with these alleged crimes, only because he was part of the Trump campaign? I think so. You have to wonder how many people who commit similar offenses, but keep a lower profile, are never charged. (My guess: a lot.) But if he is found guilty, it will be because he broke the law and committed real crimes...not simply because he "worked as the Trump campaign chair."
_________________________________________
On a completely other note: If a jury comes back fairly fast, you can pretty much count on "not guilty" verdicts. (Think O.J. Simpson's criminal trial for murder.) If they take a long time, which wouldn't surprise me with the number of charges involved, then they still could find him not guilty on all charges; or guilty on all; or a mix.
present, esq. wrote:]
There are no witches. A witch hunt is a search for something that doesn't exist--and it can only "succeed" by labeling someone as a witch when s/he actually is not.
Just for the record, witches are a real thing. There are thousands of people in this country (USA) who consider themselves to be witches. They ascribe to the religion of Wicca (which is also a real thing).
Flagpole, I hear you, if we have any criminal activity then I’m all for convictions. But it’s hard to take any of this seriously. It is clear and obvious that the FBI/DOJ are putting all of their eggs in one basket with Trump while they had a lackluster effort with Hilary Clinton. It works both ways, Hilary/Democrats are no angels. Here is what she/they have done.
1. Email issue which putting sensitive emails into a personal account creates a huge national security issue. They changed the verbiage to extremely careless over gross negligence all so she wouldn’t be charged.
2. Her shady work with the Clinton Foundation.
3. Benghazi investigation
4. DNC rigging the primaries all so Hilary wouldn’t lose. That’s in your own party.
5. Plus you can go back years on shady work that was done in Arkansas in the early 90’s.
All in all it’s hard to take any of Trump and Manaforts cases seriously when the priorities of the FBI/DOJ don’t investigate fairly.
Thisthreadisridiculous wrote:
Flagpole, I hear you, if we have any criminal activity then I’m all for convictions. But it’s hard to take any of this seriously. ...
^ Nothingburger
Same old attempt to deflect to Clinton. YAWN!!!
So, you don't believe in the rule of law and our justice system?
1) The e-mail thing was a bad decision on Hillary's part, one that she has admitted. She has been investigated and it was determined that she didn't do anything that required prosecution.
2) LOTS of look into the Clinton Foundation too, and never anything found to be illegal.
3) Benghazi investigation? Really? Trey Gowdy went after her for 2 years and they found absolutely nothing. Big old goose egg. Went through the process and she was not found guilty of anything.
4) DNC DID rig it against Bernie. I don't like that they did that, BUT there are reasons to justify it. Bernie is NOT a Democrat. He's an independent, and the DNC has a right to work to get it toward a candidate they want to put forward as a Democrat. Still a bit shady though, I agree, and I don't like that they did that, but this really has NOTHING to do with Trump. We don't excuse Trump or Manafort or anyone else just because someone else might also have broken a law or did something unethical.
5) If anyone should be pissed about what the FBI has done, it should be Hillary. Comey, while I believe he is a good person and not trying to swing anything politically one way or the other, made a mistake by mentioning he re-opened the investigation into her e-mails just 11 days before the election, going against FBI policy. That definitely did not help her.
6) Whatever shady work in Arkansas you are talking about also has nothing to do with Trump or Manafort. Just whataboutism. I am for punishing any criminal, regardless of party. Ample effort and and money has been spent going after Hillary, and nothing criminal has ever been found. Nothing. This will not be the case with Manafort and Trump.
You and many others seem to believe there has to be equal prosecutions on each side. There doesn't. I know there are corrupt people on both sides of the aisle, but of late, there are just WAY more corrupt Republicans. That's because those are the ones who wanted to work for Trump. Birds of a feather flock together. I'm not one to say that Democrats are morally superior to Republicans, because I think that's more on a personal level than a political level, but the fact is in modern times, the two worst and most corrupt US Presidents are Republicans (Nixon and Trump). Bill Clinton is third in this race of the worst, but two Republicans at the top doesn't bode well for Republicans. Trump will go down as the very worst and most corrupt President ever, and Nixon is arguably the second worst ever. Nice.
Mueller is coming.
The clown is done.
Amazing stuff. The judge in the Manafort trial is now being protected by US Marshals. Media outlets (Fox News, Briertbart) are attempting to get the names and addresses of jurors for the purpose of . . . take a guess.
The judge in the trial of U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort said on Friday that he would not release the names and addresses of jurors sought by media outlets because he was worried about their “peace and safety.”
Judge T.S. Ellis, speaking in court while jurors deliberated for a second day, said he had received threats over the case and is being protected by U.S. marshals. “I had no idea this case would excite these emotions. … I don’t feel right if I release their names,” he said.
FBI didn’t recommend any charges to Hilary which is against policy. You are supposed to send your findings to the U.S. Attorneys office and they determine if charges are warranted. Also, Lynch who was DOJ Attorney General at the time asked Comey to call it a matter not an investigation.
Stuff like this leads me to believe that everything done to President Trump is agenda driven which is why this whole thing is not serious at all. It’s just democrats trying to justify losing to Trump in the election.
FBI/DOJ need to get back to their core while democrats need to move on and try to win down the road. LET IT GO!!!
Thisthreadisridiculous wrote:
FBI didn’t recommend any charges to Hilary which is against policy. You are supposed to send your findings to the U.S. Attorneys office and they determine if charges are warranted. Also, Lynch who was DOJ Attorney General at the time asked Comey to call it a matter not an investigation.
Stuff like this leads me to believe that everything done to President Trump is agenda driven which is why this whole thing is not serious at all. It’s just democrats trying to justify losing to Trump in the election.
FBI/DOJ need to get back to their core while democrats need to move on and try to win down the road. LET IT GO!!!
0/10
The FBI did not recommend any charges. They did not make the final determination.
FYI. Stop posting Hillary Nothing-burgers, Disco/Rigged/Jamin/Loper.
You don't believe that poll but you believed the following crap. How convenient.https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/upshot/presidential-polls-forecast.html
Thisthreadisridiculous wrote:
FBI didn’t recommend any charges to Hilary which is against policy. You are supposed to send your findings to the U.S. Attorneys office and they determine if charges are warranted. Also, Lynch who was DOJ Attorney General at the time asked Comey to call it a matter not an investigation.
Stuff like this leads me to believe that everything done to President Trump is agenda driven which is why this whole thing is not serious at all. It’s just democrats trying to justify losing to Trump in the election.
FBI/DOJ need to get back to their core while democrats need to move on and try to win down the road. LET IT GO!!!
The IG report determined that Comey was wrong to inform Congress in late October (publicly too) that they had re-opened Hillary's case.
Here is what Comey said about the IG report:
"The report concludes that I was wrong to announce the F.B.I.'s completion of the investigation without coordinating with the attorney general and that I was wrong to inform Congress in late October that we had reopened the investigation," Comey wrote.
"In both situations, the inspector general's team concludes, I should have adhered to established norms, which they see as mandating both deference to the attorney general on the public announcement and silence about an investigation so close to an election."
The stated norm is within 60 days of an election, there should be no public announcement on ongoing investigations that may affect a candidate.
You are just wrong about this. I will let it go when you stop making false statements.
Even if you don't want to agree with me on the above (you should because it's not an opinion, it is fact), you SHOULD get yourself to a place where you understand that even IF you believe some Democrat somewhere is guilty of horrible crimes, that that doesn't absolve Manafort of his crimes or Trump of his. THIS point is just being intellectually honest. Strive for that.
_its_baddude wrote:
You don't believe that poll but you believed the following crap. How convenient.
Real polls did not take into account collusion between Russia and Trump to steal the election.
I always know when it is not going well for the libs. The level of nonsense and posting goes up a notch.
I always know when it is not going well for us trumpers. Our level of nonsense and posting goes up a notch.
That is your “over thinking, I’m trying to do the right thing” Comey screwing that up. If that is what you believe lost Clinton the election you are terribly mistaken. That is one of many many reasons on why she lost.
I think we are more on the same page. If Manafort and Trump are found guilty then I’m behind it. I just want fairness down the line. It seems some (Hilary) are above approach and the law doesn’t apply to her.
It is me “over thinking, I’m trying to do the right thing” Comey screwing up. It is what part of how believe how Trump won the election and I am terribly mistaken. That is one of many many reasons on trump won - add collusion with Russia and hush money payouts.
I think we are not on the same trumping page. When Manafort and Trump are found guilty I’ll be behind it. I just want fairness down the line. It seems some (Trump) is above approach and the law doesn’t apply to him.