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RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE IN 2016 US ELECTION & SPIN-OFF INVESTIGATIONS
(04-09-2018, 11:12 PM)Tammy75 Wrote:
(04-09-2018, 05:22 PM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: President Trump's self-proclaimed 'Ray Donovan'

Please don't degrade Ray Donovan with this man!

It wasn't me! That's how Cohen describes himself.

I remember you posting that you really like 'Ray Donovan'. I haven't seen the show yet, but have heard it's a good one from a few people.

Anyway, in light of yesterday's developments, I'm not sure if Cohen is going to be able to continue fixing for Trump. Depending on the probable cause, there may now be conflict of interest.
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(04-10-2018, 05:10 AM)Duchess Wrote:
"the deep state is deep" hah

Smiley_emoticons_wink

Judging by his public statements (via tweet) this morning........I don't think President Trump understands 'attorney-client privilege'. He said, "attorney-client privilege is dead!"

Of course, it's actually alive and well.

Unless an attorney is advising or representing the client on legal matters, it's not privileged. Cohen's relationship and work with Trump goes far beyond legal consultation and representation, by both Cohen's and Trump's own previous public accounts.

And, if a client and attorney engage in illegal activity together, those communications are not covered by privilege either.
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(04-10-2018, 10:58 AM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: Judging by his public statements (via tweet) this morning........I don't think President Trump understands 'attorney-client privilege'. He said, "attorney-client privilege is dead!"

Of course, it's actually alive and well.

Unless an attorney is advising or representing the client on legal matters, it's not privileged. Cohen's relationship and work with Trump goes far beyond legal consultation and representation, by both Cohen's and Trump's own previous public accounts.

And, if a client and attorney engage in illegal activity together, those communications are not covered by privilege either.


This is so exciting! hah Everyday is a brand new shit show and I'm enjoying the hell out of it. I saw it mentioned that Cohen could be facing up to 30 years, I didn't have time early this morning to delve into that but if that's a fact I don't see him doing time for trump and it's my hope he rolls over like a dog.

Yesterday afternoon, without being prodded trump started talking about the search warrants. He sounded deranged. It was so great. Muahahahaha!
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(04-10-2018, 11:23 AM)Duchess Wrote: Yesterday afternoon, without being prodded trump started talking about the search warrants. He sounded deranged. It was so great. Muahahahaha!

In this case, I believe President Trump should take the advice of Republican Rep Trey Gowdy. Namely, if he's not guilty of any crimes, he should stop acting so guilty.

The President's continuous attacks on the Justice Department aren't helping him with anyone but highly biased fans in his core base and the right wing media.

For the many millions of U.S. citizens who understand separation of powers, the Constitution, and the fact that the U.S. is built on a premise of law and order where no one is above the law.......no rhetoric will change these truths:

--An investigation into Russian intervention and possible campaign collusion is not an "attack on the country". Just the opposite.

--A warranted search of the President's personal attorney is not a "break-in" or an "attack on the country".

--Jeff Sessions' recusal was legally appropriate considering his misstatements regarding his interactions with Russians during the campaign.

It is not the Attorney General's job to loyally and inappropriately shield the president. The Attorney General works for the people of the United States under clear guidelines and mandates.

It's amazing how closely Trump seems to be headed down the Nixon path. If he fires Mueller and fires (or forces the resignations of) Sessions and Rosenstein, he should be prepared for history to repeat itself with the same end result.
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Here's an excerpt of a news article from October 1973.

Nixon Forces Firing of Cox; Richardson, Ruckelshaus Quit
President Abolishes Prosecutor's Office; FBI Seals Records


By Carroll Kilpatrick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, October 21, 1973; Page A01


In the most traumatic government upheaval of the Watergate crisis, President Nixon yesterday discharged Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox and accepted the resignations of Attorney General Elliot L. Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William D. Ruckelshaus.

The President also abolished the office of the special prosecutor and turned over to the Justice Department the entire responsibility for further investigation and prosecution of suspects and defendants in Watergate and related cases.

Full article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/na...2173-2.htm
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(04-10-2018, 11:47 AM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: It is not the Attorney General's job to loyally and inappropriately shield the president. The Attorney General works for the people of the United States under clear guidelines and mandates.


I see a lot of chatter about this today. I don't know if people didn't know that or if they simply don't care or if they think the prez should be protected. I know the prez thinks he should be, he has said so. I've reminded a couple people that all those who signed off on the warrants are people that trump appointed. They are HIS people, not part of the deep, deep state. I can't even say that without laughing.
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(04-10-2018, 11:53 AM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: In the most traumatic government upheaval of the Watergate crisis, President Nixon yesterday discharged Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox and accepted the resignations of Attorney General Elliot L. Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William D. Ruckelshaus.

The President also abolished the office of the special prosecutor and turned over to the Justice Department the entire responsibility for further investigation and prosecution of suspects and defendants in Watergate and related cases.


Wowzers. Whatta tool. How could he not know that those actions screamed GUILTY?
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(04-10-2018, 12:16 PM)Duchess Wrote: Wowzers. Whatta tool. How could he not know that those actions screamed GUILTY?

Nixon said, "if the president does it, it's not illegal" after his impeachment and resignation.

I believe he really believed that. He thought he was above the law and thus wasn't guilty of anything.

He was an extremely smart man and pushed forth some good policies, in my opinion.

But, Nixon was also paranoid and viewed as enemies the Democrats, the media, those in the Justice Department who were doing their jobs rather than violating their oaths to loyally cover his ass...
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If yesterday's Washington Post story about Michael Cohen taping his phone conversations is true.........Cohen is an even bigger dipshit than I thought.

If the FBI raid resulted in such tapes being confiscated, anything that is covered by attorney-client privilege won't be used as evidence or released publicly.

But, just because Cohen is an attorney, doesn't mean every communication he engages in is subject to privilege -- not by a long shot.

I imagine there are plenty of people shitting their pants about the possibility that he recorded them without permission (which he reportedly bragged about doing, as is legal by New York statute).

Story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/...2d1b0d7098
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I find it hard to believe that Comey at 6'7" was given a wedgie in H.S. and shoved in a locker.
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
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I dont know that Cohen did that stuff because he's an idiot, or if he knew eventually it would come down to his survival or Trump. No honor among thieves.
Thank god I am oblivious to the opinions of others while caught in the blinding splendor of my own cleverness.
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(04-14-2018, 08:25 PM)Donovan Wrote: I dont know that Cohen did that stuff because he's an idiot, or if he knew eventually it would come down to his survival or Trump. No honor among thieves.

That's a good point; he very well might have recorded communications as potential leverage.

It's still stupid and short-sighted to me if any such recordings include Cohen engaging in criminal activity, though he appears to me to be another one who considers himself above the law.

Based on the opinions I've read from legal experts........NY prosecutors would have had to present a whole lot of probable cause to get the judge to issue a no-knock warrant on the President's attorney.

Federal prosecutors said in a court filing Friday that the criminal probe that led them to raid Cohen's offices is focused on his "personal business dealings" and has been going on for months.

In the filing with a court in New York, prosecutors blacked out a section describing what laws they believe Trump's attorney has broken, but they said the "crimes being investigated involve acts of concealment and suspected fraud."

Cohen has proclaimed that he'd take a bullet for Donald Trump. I wonder if he'd willingly leave his wife and kids to serve up to 30 years behind bars for Trump, if it came down to it.

In any case, Cohen's known to love the limelight. He's sure in it now, for all the wrong reasons.
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I just hope that everyone involved in having anything to do with Russian collusion gets prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. 17
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
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I recognize that tone. You think it's going to be people other than trump, his family and his cronies. You've been reading those far right rags again, aintcha? 39

If you had read about Democrats trying to create a back channel to the Kremlin you would have lost your mind and expressed outrage and yet...*crickets*

...or how about the time trump shared classified info with the Russians in the Oval office? I could fill this page with bullshit trump has done and his supporters didn't care a wit about, but yet, had a Democrat done the very same thing Republican heads across America would have been exploding. It's because of crap like that, that I can no longer take any Republican seriously.
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The investigation continues the truth is out there.........................Blowing-kisses
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
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(04-28-2018, 03:53 AM)Duchess Wrote:

I recognize that tone. You think it's going to be people other than trump, his family and his cronies. You've been reading those far right rags again, aintcha? 39

If you had read about Democrats trying to create a back channel to the Kremlin you would have lost your mind and expressed outrage and yet...*crickets*

...or how about the time trump shared classified info with the Russians in the Oval office? I could fill this page with bullshit trump has done and his supporters didn't care a wit about, but yet, had a Democrat done the very same thing Republican heads across America would have been exploding. It's because of crap like that, that I can no longer take any Republican seriously.



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Court Case Updates

Mueller's prosecutors faced challenges from Federal judges in two of their cases this week.

1. Manafort Case

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The judge in the tax fraud and money laundering case against former Trump Campaign Chief Paul Manafort expressed his opinion that Mueller's federal prosecutors were levying the charges in U.S. Federal court because the prosecutors are attempting to squeeze Manfort into flipping on Trump.

The judge didn't suggest that there wasn't plenty of evidence to justify the charges. However, he did say that he hasn't seen evidence to indicate that the alleged crimes are connected to Russian interference and wondered aloud why Trump attorney Michael Cohen's criminal case was referred to NY state courts and Manfort's was not referred to state court.

Judge Ellis also complained that the bulk of that August scope authorization memo he received was highly redacted. He told Mueller’s office to take two weeks to consult with U.S. intelligence agencies to see whether they would sign off so that he can personally review a sealed, unredacted version of the memo.

So, we should know later this month whether Manafort will be prosecuted by Mueller's team or instead will be prosecuted in state court.

Ref: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-t...cle_inline

(continued)
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2. Concord, Russian-oligarch controlled company

The 13 Russian individuals charged with U.S. election fraud in the high-profile indictment in February are considered unlikely to ever appear in a U.S. court. The three businesses accused of facilitating the alleged Russian troll farm operation — the Internet Research Agency, Concord Management, and Concord Catering — were also expected to simply ignore the American criminal proceedings.

Last month, however, a pair of Washington-area lawyers suddenly surfaced in the case, notifying the court that they represent Concord Management, in an apparent bid to force Mueller’s team to turn over relevant evidence to the Russian firm and perhaps even to bait prosecutors into an embarrassing dismissal in order to avoid disclosing sensitive information.

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The three companies named in the indictment are all reported to be controlled by a Russian businessman known as Russian President Vladimir Putin's "chef," Yevgeny Prigozhin (pictured above). He's also one of the 13 individuals criminally charged in the case.

In their request on Friday to put off the arraignment, prosecutors included the extensive demands for information that the lawyers for Concord Management have set forth since they stepped forward last month.

“Until the Court has an opportunity to determine if Concord was properly served, it would be inadvisable to conduct an initial appearance and arraignment at which important rights will be communicated and a plea entertained,” U.S. federal attorneys Jeannie Rhee, Rush Atkinson and Ryan Dickey wrote. “That is especially true in the context of this case, which involves a foreign corporate defendant, controlled by another, individual foreign defendant, that has already demanded production of sensitive intelligence gathering, national security, and foreign affairs information.”

The Mueller team proposed that both sides file briefs in the coming weeks on the issues of whether Concord has been properly served.

In a brief order yesterday evening, U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich, a Trump appointee based in Washington, offered no explanation for her decision to deny the prosecutions request for a delay of the scheduled Wednesday arraignment for Concord Management and Consulting.

It will be interesting to see what goes down at Wednesday's proceeding.

Ref: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/0...lay-570627
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Manafort loses bid to have charges dropped in Washington

In a blow to Manafort’s defense, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled that Mueller’s prosecution of the longtime political consultant on charges of money laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent for Ukraine was “squarely” within the authority that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein granted to Mueller last May.

“The indictment falls squarely within that portion of the authority granted to the Special Counsel that Manafort finds unobjectionable: the order to investigate ‘any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign,’” Jackson wrote.

“Manafort was, at one time, not merely ‘associated with,’ but the chairman of, the Presidential campaign, and his work on behalf of the Russia-backed Ukrainian political party and connections to other Russian figures are matters of public record,” the judge added in her 37-page ruling. “It was logical and appropriate for investigators tasked with the investigation of ‘any links’ between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign to direct their attention to him.”

Citing press reports that Manafort filed with the court discussing his activities abroad, Jackson suggested it would have been malpractice for Mueller not to have investigated him.

Judge Jackson's decision in Washington court may or may not impact Judge Ellis's forthcoming decision in Virginia court regarding a similar Manafort claim that Mueller's special prosecutors have overreached their authority. Judge Ellis has requested an unredacted version of the scope memo from Deputy AG Rosenstein to Mueller. The parties will be back in Virginia court on Friday.

Refs:
http://abc7.com/judge-throws-out-manafor...r/3479074/
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/1...ent-590215
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I feel confident that Judge Ellis will rule similarly. I don't see any way that he can't.
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