This will no doubt bring on the daily Donald Trump Twitter meltdown. Another witness flipped, and this one knows a lot about the Russia connections.
Prosecutor Andrew Weissman told the Judge in the Mueller probe that President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort has agreed to plead guilty to two criminal counts as part of a deal with Special Counsel Robert Mueller but that he has agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department.
🚨🚨🚨 Paul Manafort has agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department. Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann told the judge his plea agreement is a “cooperation agreement,” and the other charges they will drop at sentencing at “or at the agreement of successful cooperation.â€
— erica orden (@eorden) September 14, 2018
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Manafort is pleading guilty to two criminal charges, one count of conspiracy against the United States and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.
Trump had great (misplaced, it turns out) confidence that Manafort would not flip.
I feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family. “Justice†took a 12 year old tax case, among other things, applied tremendous pressure on him and, unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to “break†– make up stories in order to get a “deal.†Such respect for a brave man!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 22, 2018
Donald Trump‘s deputy campaign manager Rick Gates also pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States and lying to prosecutors.
Here is a list of the under indictment, pleaded guilty, etc aides of Trump as of June 15th.
You can be sure that if Barack Obama‘s two campaign managers had pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States, even if that phrase in and of itself does not mean what it might sound like it means in the Russia probe, the Right would have branded him a traitor and he would not have gotten one scrap of legislation through, let alone a second Supreme Court Justice confirmed.
Update: 1:17 PM Yes, that’s for “any and all matter as to which the government deems the cooperation relevant” per NPR’s Carrie Johnson: “IMPORTANT NEW addition: plea agreement requires Manafort to cooperate “in any and all matter as to which the government deems the cooperation relevant” including full, complete testimony to the grand jury in DC”.
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