It's Manafort and his deputy Gates & now Papadopoulous

[Darren]

I'd rather see him wearing a wire...

That might happen. From reports Trump would have fired Sessions if he was a business employee. As a long term DC denizen, it's a different story. The investigation may give Trump a reason to dump Sessions. If so he needs to "reassign" Rosenstein and fill the vacancies with his own Holder/Lynch loyalists. My guess is Sessions will remain since the judicial appointment process is moving smoothly. A half a loaf is better than none.

[Darren]

Manfort, Gates and Podesta (Tony) need to be hung up by their balls. They furthered the death of Ukrainians and whitewashed the incarceration of Yulia Tymoshenko. Note that Tymoshenko is also an oligarch and prone to feathering her own nest.

"... he and Gates created a think tank in Brussels, Belgium called the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine (ECMU), which then solicited lobbying services from two companies that were only identified in the indictment documents as companies "A" and "B." The companies were later revealed to be the Podesta Group and Mercury Public Affairs, according to NBC News."

They definitely are guilty of covering their tracks. I'm glad Mueller nailed them.

http://www.businessinsider.com/tony-pod ... ia-2017-10

[BoSoxGal]

Just putting in a word for Preet Bharara’s new podcast: http://www.wnyc.org/shows/preetbharara

He did a short piece on Monday when the news first broke, and his regular Thursday episode will focus on the Mueller probe.

The only other episode I’ve listened to thus far was the one where he discussed his firing from his perspective, followed by a conversation with Leon Panetta about ethics in public service and the impact of the Trump presidency. He’s very, very smart and has a great ‘radio’ voice; I expect his podcast to become one of my new favorites as Russiagate unfolds.

[BoSoxGal]

[Darren]

Thanks for the cartoon. LMAO!

[Guinevere]

Speaking of Clovis, it appears he is a dead man walking:

https://www.leahy.senate.gov/press/leah ... riculture-

Leahy REAX On Withdrawal Of The Clovis Nom. To USDA’s Top Science Post; Leahy Is A Leading Member Of the Agriculture

“Sam Clovis was almost a comically bad nominee, even for this administration. He is inarguably unqualified, and he is wrong on almost every major issue relevant to the chief scientist post to which he was nominated. His nomination is all too typical of the anti-science agenda and the know-nothingism pushed by President Trump and his administration. But President Trump already knew that when he nominated Mr. Clovis, and that is not why his nomination was abruptly pulled today. Not because of his association with birtherism or as a climate change denier, or his other repugnant assertions.

“His nomination was withdrawn because we learned on Monday that last year Mr. Clovis, while serving as the co-chairman for the national Trump campaign, gave the green light to George Papadopolous’ attempts to collude with Russian operatives and obtain stolen emails from the Clinton campaign. Mr. Clovis’ nomination was only withdrawn because that would certainly have been a topic during his upcoming testimony, under oath, before the Senate Agriculture Committee. I know because I was going ask him all about it to get more facts on the record and before the American people.”

[Burning Petard]

Yep, just like Trump's beautiful wall and health care plan.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... 6aa2097962

snailgate

[Guinevere]

I have a concern about Manafort...

He knows quite well how Putin and Co. operate, so he may be more worried about getting whacked by Vlad then he is about going to prison...

I hope the FBI keeps good surveillance on him, so he doesn't commit "suicide" or meet with an unfortunate "accident"...

Seems to me Flynn has more to worry about on this score than Manafort.

[RayThom]

I feel it's Kushner that will need the most monitoring. I'm fairly sure he's the next in line for the coveted Mueller Prize, and the person most easy to crack wide open under a hot light. He appears to be the lynch-pin for the whole, sordid, operation.

Vlad definitely doesn't need more unwanted exposure, and Daddy-in-law already sees him as disposable and will soon be tossing him under the bus -- if he hasn't already done so. If Jared wasn't married to Lord Dampnut's objet d'affection he'd probably be gone by now. The worst case of suicide ever investigated by the FBI.

I so much want to view the "Pee-pee" tape... maybe that's next. Popcorn, anyone?

[Guinevere]

Manafort — still working with the Russians! What an idiot!!

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.busine ... ia-2017-12

Special counsel Robert Mueller has abruptly withdrawn support for a bail agreement he struck last week with Paul Manafort's legal team.
Manafort failed to tell the government that he was ghost-writing a draft op-ed about his work with Ukraine as late as November 30, Mueller's team said.
Mueller's team argued that the op-ed, if published, would have attempted to sway public opinion and undermined a fair trial.

Special counsel Robert Mueller has abruptly reversed course on a bail agreement his office struck with Paul Manafort's legal team last week that would have allowed him to be released from GPS monitoring.

Manafort evidently failed to tell the government that he was ghost-writing a draft op-ed about his work in Ukraine as late as November 30. He was working on it with "a longtime Russian colleague" who is "assessed to have ties to Russian intelligence," according to the special counsel's court filing.

That colleague was likely Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian-Ukrainian citizen and longtime protege of Manafort who he had used as a liaison to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska during the campaign.

What absolute arrogance. Not to mention stupidity, thinking Mueller wouldn’t find out.

Mueller’s court filing goes on to say:

"Even if the ghostwritten op-ed were entirely accurate, fair, and balanced, it would be a violation of this Court's November 8 Order if it had been publish," the government argued. "The editorial clearly was undertaken to influence the public's opinion of defendant Manafort, or else there would be no reason to seek its publication."

The filing continued: "Because Manafort has now taken actions that reflect an intention to violate or circumvent the court's existing orders ... the government submits that the proposed bail package is insufficiently reasonable to assure his appearance as required. The government's prior general consent to the bail package presupposed that Manafort was complying with the Court's existing orders."

I wonder if Manafort was setting himself up to try to flee to Russia. Or the Ukraine. I don’t believe we have an extradition treaty with either country.

[RayThom]

Never trust anyone born on April 1, 1949. Them people ain't hooked up right.

[ex-khobar Andy]

I suppose I understand maliciousness and even evil: it can at least be a consistent worldview. But the sheer stupidity of this move by Malafort makes me wonder why his advice and opinions on any subject under the sun can be worth anything to a client. When I write something for a client I like them to think that I am a reasonably intelligent person whose opinion, even if it does not align exactly with their thoughts, is of some value. I think that this display of monumental stupidity may have sabotaged his future as a political consultant. So that's OK then.

[Guinevere]

You left out hubris. I really think we are seeing the MOTU view of the world, now under a microscope.