Showing posts with label Rick Gates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rick Gates. Show all posts

Sunday, November 5, 2017

Another Mueller Leak Suggests Charges Loom For Mike Flynn & Son

It appears Special Counsel Robert Mueller has a serial leaker. Following last weekend"s well-timed leak of Manafort"s looming arrest - which dominated the weekend media"s speculation - NBC News reports sources familiar confirming federal investigators have gathered enough evidence to bring charges in their investigation of President Donald Trump"s former national security adviser and his son.


As a reminder, Flynn was fired in February following public revelations that he had lied to Vice President Pence about his dealings with the Russian ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak.



Michael Flynn, who was fired after just 24 days on the job, was one of the first Trump associates to come under scrutiny in the federal probe into possible collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign.


A week after the Manafort, Gates, Papadopoulos "smoking guns" hit the headlines, "multiple sources familiar with the investigation" that Mueller is set to apply pre pressure to Mike Flynn (and his son). As NBC News reports,the investigators are speaking to multiple witnesses in coming days to gain more information surrounding Flynn"s lobbying work, including whether he laundered money or lied to federal agents about his overseas contacts, according to three sources familiar with the investigation.


Mueller"s team is also examining whether Flynn attempted to orchestrate the removal of a chief rival of Turkish President Recep Erdogan from the U.S. to Turkey in exchange for millions of dollars, two officials said.


 


Flynn"s son, Michael G. Flynn, who worked closely with his father, accompanied him during the campaign and briefly worked on the presidential transition, could be indicted separately or at the same time as his father, according to three sources familiar with the investigation.


 



 


If the elder Flynn is willing to cooperate with investigators in order to help his son, two of the sources said, it could also change his own fate, potentially limiting any legal consequences.



NBC concludes that the pressure on Flynn is the latest signal that Mueller is moving at a rapid, and steady, pace in his investigation. Last week, investigators unsealed indictments of Manafort and Manafort"s business partner Rick Gates. They pleaded not guilty.


It"s also notable that nothing that hit last week ties Trump directly to collusion with Russia, just as the charges for Flynn do not; but just as is the case with Manafort and Gates, Mueller appears to believe applying pressure to these "bad actors" will force them to release details about President Trump (which a year-long investigation has failed to find).


Both Flynns have for months been subjects of the Mueller investigation...


The elder Flynn, an Army lieutenant general, was pushed out as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014 and retired from the military. He then founded a lobbying firm, Flynn Intel Group, where his son worked closely with him.


 


The younger Flynn was involved in the daily operations of his father"s firm and functioned as his chief of staff. He often attended meetings with his father and would communicate with prospective clients.


 


The elder Flynn was paid $530,000 last year for work the Justice Department says benefited the government of Turkey.


 


The elder Flynn did not register as a foreign lobbyist at the time, but did so retroactively this year. The issue has been part of Mueller"s probe.


 


His lawyer later said Flynn didn"t need to register because his client was a Turkish businessman and not a government official, but had opted to do so retroactively.



One wonders, given the above "sources" reporting, how long before charges are brought against Tony Podesta with regard his Foreign Agent Registration status?


We leave it to Flynn"s son to conclude...








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Monday, October 30, 2017

5 Things You’re Missing While the Media Obsesses Over Paul Manafort

(ANTIMEDIA) — Though according to a recent poll a majority of the American public believes the Russia investigations are hurting the country, another media feeding frenzy began over the weekend when it was revealed that an indictment would be issued Monday. Sure enough, on Monday, Paul Manafort and Rick Gates were charged with a slew of different offenses, and corporate media heads have been spinning.


Considering the FBI is corrupt, the Trump administration is corrupt, and the whole of the federal government has failed to contain this corruption, the Russia story amounts to more of the same distractions. Here are five other relevant developments the media is failing to adequately cover:


1) Congress moves forward with Trump’s military-industrial appointments to the Pentagon:

At this point, it is well-known that Trump has done little to drain the swamp, instead filling it with a variety of special interests. This week, Congress will move to approve more swamp appointments, including Mark Esper, a Raytheon lobbyist, for Army Secretary, John Rood, a senior executive at Lockheed Martin, for undersecretary of defense policy, Joseph Kernan, who works as senior vice president of corporate development for SAP National Security Services, which spent over $2 million on lobbying in 2017 and has also been awarded multi-million dollar contracts from the Department of Defense in recent years. Another appointee, Robert Wilkie, made a name for himself during the Bush administration while working as an attorney for the Pentagon, where he drafted guidelines to broadly restrict testimony to congressional committees. Trump has chosen him to for the position of undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.


2) Your Halloween candy is probably made by child laborers subject to “slave-like” conditions:

For years, candy giants Nestle, Mars, and Hershey have relied on the labor of children in West Africa to source their cocoa beans. Victims have filed lawsuits in the heavily documented abuse, but despite pledges from the candy companies to reduce their reliance on the harsh practices, the number of child laborers had actually increased by 2014, according to a report from Tulane University. Americans will spend roughly $2.7 billion on candy this year, yet few are aware much of it was produced under brutal conditions.


3) Tony Podesta resigns from lobbying firm amid Mueller investigation: 

Though Manafort is dominating the headlines, Tony Podesta, brother of Clinton campaign manager John Podesta, stepped down from his own firm. Politico reported that that the “investigation into Podesta and his firm grew out of investigators’ examination of Manafort’s finances. Manafort organized a PR campaign on behalf of a nonprofit called the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine. Podesta Group was one of several firms that were paid to do work on the PR campaign to promote Ukraine in the U.S.” In April, the Podesta Group filed paperwork with the Department of Justice admitting it had worked for the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine that “had also benefitted the same Ukrainian political party that Manafort had once advised,” Politico noted.


4) Once again, authorities find Iran is complying with nuclear deal:

Despite President Trump’s saber-rattling against Iran and his threats to pull the United States out of the Obama-era nuclear agreement, his own administration has acknowledged the Iranian government is adhering to the terms. This week, the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency also verified the Middle Eastern nation’s compliance. Iran has indicated its intent to honor the deal and the other participating governments — Britain, Germany, France, Russia, China, and the E.U. — continue to support it despite Trump’s ongoing condemnations.


5) Sexual harassment allegations continue to surface across industries:

Since the Harvey Weinstein story broke earlier this month, a wave of assault allegations have surfaced, and not just in Hollywood. On Monday, Democratic candidate for Miami-Dade city commission Rafael Velasquez lost support from his party over two separate allegations of harassment, including exposing himself to one woman and groping another. Also this week, 500 female members of the art community, including writers, artists, curators, and directors, issued a letter condemning sexual harassment in response to the resignation of ArtForum magazine publisher Knight Landesman. The women said in the letter that they “have been groped, undermined, harassed, infantilized, scorned, threatened, and intimidated by those in positions of power who control access to resources and opportunities,” adding that they “have held our tongues, threatened by power wielded over us and promises of institutional access and career advancement.” A fresh batch of sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein also surfaced this week, detailing incidents all the way back to the 1970s.


Though the media will almost certainly continue to focus on the Russia scandal, far more important developments will certainly continue to unfold.


Creative Commons / Anti-Media / Report a typo

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Live: Paul Manafort Indicted on 12 Charges, Including Conspiracy Against US

(ZHE) — 



Update: President Trump has responded directly to the charges filed against his former campaign manager Manafort by special counsel Mueller…






Update: Sources close to the White House have released what appears to be an unofficial statement: “This has nothing to do with the White House.”


The statement alludes to the fact that Manafort’s alleged misdeeds took place before he joined the Trump campaign.




Update: Messages of support from Republican Congressmen for the Mueller probe are beginning to trickle in…






Update: In an apparent attempt to pre-empt criticism of the Mueller probe from President Trump, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer have both released statements defending the investigation…






Update: The Justice Department has released the Manafort/Gates indictment. The indictment contains 12 counts total, and the big one appears to be conspiracy against the US. They are also facing charges of tax fraud, money laundering and giving false statements.


The two men are expected to appear in court at 1:30 am ET.


In total more than $75,000,000 flowed through Manafort’s offshore accounts, according to the Mueller indictment. Manafort allegedly laundered more than $18 million which was used by him to buy property, goods and services in the US, income that he concealed from the US Treasury, the DOJ and others. Gates was instrumental in helping Manafort move the money form his illict foreign accounts into the US, and eventually transferred more than $3 million to accounts he controlled.


According to the indictment, between at least 2006 and 2015, Gates and Manafort acted as unregistered agents of the Government of Ukraine, the Party of Regions (a Ukrainian political party whose leader Victor Yanukovych was President from 2010 to 2014), Yanukovych, and the Opposition Bloc (a successor to the Party of Regions that formed in 2014 when Yanukovych fled to Russia). The two men generated tens of millions of dollars in income as a result of their Ukraine work. In order to hide Ukraine payments from United States authorities, from approximately 2006 through at least 2016, they laundered the money through scores of United States and foreign corporations, partnerships, and bank accounts.


Manafort and Gates used money from their Cyprus accounts to finance lavish lifestyles. Manafort spent more than half a million dollars of it on clothes from stores in Beverly Hills, and $20,000 on housekeeping. Gates spent the money on his mortgage, personal expenses, tuition payments and  an interior decorator for his Virginia home.




Read the indictment in its entirety below:


* * *


Update: The Washington Post reports that Manafort was seen entering the FBI’s Washington field office Monday.


* * *


Update: Manafort has been hit with several charges, including tax fraud, WSJ reported. He’s expected in federal court in Washington later Monday, a person familiar with the matter said. Meanwhile, Rick Gates is also reportedly turning himself in.


* * *


Update: CBS News confirms a photojournalist has captured images of Manafort leaving his home this morning with his lawyer.



*  *  *


Surprise, surprise. The New York Times is reporting that the first indictment in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia has been unsealed.


And the target is none other than Paul Manafort, who briefly served as chief executive of the Trump campaign last summer before reports about his work for Ukraine’s former leader Viktor Yanukovich forced him out. Manafort has reportedly been asked to surrender by the FBI, sparing him an embarassing perp walk.


Manafort’s former deputy Rick Gates has also been asked to surrender.


The charges against the pair weren’t immediately clear. But they do represent an escalation in the probe that has loomed over President Trump’s first year in office.


Gates is a longtime protege and junior partner at Manafort’s firm. His involvment in the probe was revealed in the spring. His name appeared in documents linked to a Cypriot firm Manafort set up to receive payments from Eastern European politicians like Yanukovich, who purportedly paid Manafort with money looted from the Ukraine state.



Manafort had been udner investigaiton for violations of federal tax law, money laundering and whether he failed to properly disclose his foreign lobbying.


As we’ve noted, since these charges mostly stem from Manafort’s work before he became involved with the campaign, they leave ample room for Trump to declare victory.


As far as impact to the market – so far nothing – and as KBW’s Brian Gardner explains, none is expected, despite expectations for much sound and fury and told-you-so’s from the left.


Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s indicting former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort or former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn over activities separate from Trump campaign/administration would be “mostly political noise,” and would not significantly affect markets.


However, Gardner notes that any unsealing of indictments may dominate the week’s entire news cycle, drowning out coverage of tax legislation and monetary policy.


Now, we watch for the administration’s response.


Here’s the indictment:



By Tyler Durden / Republished with permission / Zero Hedge / Report a typo


This article was chosen for republication based on the interest of our readers. Anti-Media republishes stories from a number of other independent news sources. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect Anti-Media editorial policy.

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