The Manafort Indictment: Not Much There, and a Boon for Trump
Do not be fooled by the “Conspiracy against the United States” heading.
The Paul Manafort indictment is much ado about nothing . . . except as a vehicle to squeeze Manafort, which is special counsel Robert Mueller’s objective — as we have been arguing for three months (see here, here, and here). Do not be fooled by the “Conspiracy against the United States” heading on Count One (page 23 of the indictment). This case has nothing to do with what Democrats and the media call “the attack on our democracy” (i.e., the Kremlin’s meddling in the 2016 election, supposedly in “collusion” with the Trump campaign). Essentially, Manafort and his associate, Richard W. Gates, are charged with (a) conspiring to conceal from the U.S. government about $75 million they made as unregistered foreign agents for Ukraine, years before the 2016 election (mainly, from 2006 through 2014), and (b) a money-laundering conspiracy.
There are twelve counts in all, but those are the two major allegations. The so-called conspiracy against the United States mainly involves Manafort’s and Gates’s alleged failure to file Treasury Department forms required by the Bank Secrecy Act. Specifically, Americans who hold a stake in foreign bank accounts must file what’s known as an “FBAR” (foreign bank account report) in any year in which, at any point, the balance in the account exceeds $10,000. Federal law also requires disclosure of foreign accounts on annual income-tax returns. Manafort and Gates are said to have controlled foreign accounts through which their Ukrainian political-consulting income sluiced, and to have failed to file accurate FBARs and tax returns. In addition, they allegedly failed to register as foreign agents from 2008 through 2014 and made false statements when they belatedly registered.
In the money-laundering conspiracy, they are alleged to have moved money in and out of the United States with the intent to promote “specified unlawful activity.” That activity is said to have been their acting as unregistered foreign agents. On first glance, Mueller’s case, at least in part, seems shaky and overcharged. Even though the Ukrainian money goes back to 2006, the counts involving failure to file FBARs (Counts Three through Nine) go back only to 2012. This is likely because the five-year statute of limitations bars prosecution for anything before then. Obviously, one purpose of the conspiracy count (Count One) is to enable prosecutors, under the guise of establishing the full scope of the scheme, to prove law violations that would otherwise be time-barred.
The offense of failing to register as a foreign agent (Count Ten) may be a slam-dunk, but it is a violation that the Justice Department rarely prosecutes criminally. There is often ambiguity about whether the person’s actions trigger the registration requirement, so the Justice Department’s practice is to encourage people to register, not indict them for failing to do so.
It may well be that Manafort and Gates made false statements when they belatedly registered as foreign agents, but it appears that Mueller’s office has turned one offense into two, an abusive prosecutorial tactic that flouts congressional intent. Specifically, Congress considers false statements in the specific context of foreign-agent registration to be a misdemeanor calling for zero to six months’ imprisonment. (See Section 622(a)(2) of Title 22, U.S. Code.) That is the offense Mueller charges in Count Eleven. But then, for good measure, Mueller adds a second false-statement count (Count Twelve) for the same conduct — charged under the penal-code section (Section 1001 of Title 18, U.S. Code) that makes any falsity or material omission in a statement to government officials a felony punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment.
Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/453244/manafort-indictment-no-signs-trump-russia-collusion?platform=hootsuite
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Stay tuned, The goat rodeo is just beginning.
Interesting that when you go to the article, the "(See Section 622(a)(2) of Title 22, U.S. Code.)" link actually takes you to Title 22, Section 618 which states:
The six months penalty is ONLY for violations of Section 614. Manafort is charged with violations of 612.
Oh and BTFW, the statute doesn't include a 'misdemeanor' penalty, it merely cites the lessor penalty for a lessor charge of spreading 'propaganda' and contrary to the claim in the seeded article, there is NO Section 622 of Title 22...
Now as to 'double-jeopardy principles', if you READ the indictment, Manafort lied MORE THAN ONCE about MORE THAN ONE thing. In Count 11, it alleges that he lied on his FARA form AND he lied in answer to a requests for documentation. In Count 12 it alleges that he 'caused another' to lie.
So contrary to the claim in the seeded article, they are NOT the 'same exact offense' ARE THEY?
Perhaps poor Andrew [the author of your seed] didn't READ the freaking indictment either. Judging from his previous writing, I think it's more likely that he decided to intentionally misrepresent it's content, hoping that gullible readers wouldn't do their due diligence to fact check him.
None of this matters,.
RIP Paul Manafort !
March 2016 to August 2016.
It's quite humorous to see the RWNJs speak as if they are in the inner circle of the Mueller investigation. You guys are setting yourself up for a humiliating fall.
I am worried about Trump cracking up as the walls close in around him. He is not well.
I don't think so...read this article. Scroll down to where it says "Robert Mueller".
An no, the source is not relevant to the truth of it.
Muller will get nothing from Manafort. At best he might get a misdemeanor perjury and Trump will commute the sentence.
Muller botched it with the no knock raid.
I am so fed up with the whole collusion stuff. Make it go away. Call Mueller before congress and ask him if he has any evidence of illegal Trump election activity that is more serious than Bill getting a bj. If not then let the president govern. Let Hillary fade into obscurity with her millions. The country has real issues to be dealt with.
There will never be a day in the Trump presidency when it is not in "crisis". That is the nature of it. Trump himself will ensure that.
Then how about the letting him make his own instead of the left creating them for him?
Commuting Manafort's sentence STILL leaves him prosecutable by the NY AG. I hear Rikers Island has a great view of the Hudson.
Mueller got documents that Manafort withheld that prove criminal conspiracy in that raid.
Then perhaps you should refrain from reading and posting in seeds about it.
Congress has NO authority over Mueller. If they want to ask questions about the investigation, they can ask the Assistant AG.
He and his party control the legislature and the Presidency, other than their incompetence, WTF is stopping him?
Tell that to Trump. He brings her up almost every day.
One of which is being investigated by Mueller.
>>-.---.-
That is the most intellectually poignant reply I have ever seen from you.
BTFW, I note that you didn't comment on my #4 post. Nothing to say about my refutation of your source?
I think it speaks volumes!
When a Federal Prosecutor indites they have a strong certainty of a conviction unlike most other courts and the charges leveled have a high conviction rate. Lets be honest tRump could be doing a perp walk in chains and the loyal deniers would still be saying he was framed.