President Donald Trump responded Monday to the indictment of Paul Manafort, his former campaign chairman, saying the allegations occurred before his involvement in the Trump campaign.
“Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign. But why aren’t Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????” Trump tweeted, adding minutes later, “Also, there is NO COLLUSION!”
Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign. But why aren't Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2017
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….Also, there is NO COLLUSION!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2017
Manafort turned himself in to the FBI on Monday after he and his longtime associate Rick Gates were indicted on 12 counts, including “conspiracy against the United States,” “conspiracy to launder money” and “false statements.”
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Manafort-Gates Indictment Filed and Redacted by WJ Editorial Staff on Scribd
Manafort joined the Trump campaign on March 29, 2016, as the campaign convention manager for the July 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio.
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He was promoted to campaign chairman and chief strategist on May 19, 2016.
Manafort’s stint with the Trump campaign ended on Aug. 19, 2016, after The New York Times reported that Manafort had received millions of dollars in return for lobbying for former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and The Associated Press reported Manafort had failed to properly report his foreign lobbying income.
The indictment states Manafort and Gates laundered unreported lobbying income through offshore accounts to “pay for his personal expenses, including his mortgage, children’s tuition, and interior decorating of his Virginia residence.”
“In total, more than $75,000,000 flowed through the offshore accounts,” the indictment reads.
“Manafort laundered more than $18,000,000, which was used by him to buy property, goods, and services in the United States, income that he concealed from the United States Treasury, the Department of Justice, and others.”
While Trump insists that Manafort’s alleged offenses occurred “years” before his involvement in the Trump campaign, the indictment states Manafort and his associate Gates engaged in illegal activities “between in or around 2008 and 2017, both dates being approximate and inclusive.”
The dates imply Manafort’s alleged offenses could have occurred before, during and after his time with the Trump campaign.
However, the indictment doesn’t make any reference to the Trump campaign or Russia.
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Some, such as Judge Andrew Napolitano, believe special counsel Robert Mueller plans to pry information from Manafort about whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election.
“This is the first of many dominoes to fall,” Napolitano said Monday morning on Fox News.
“Bob Mueller is following the standard MO of federal prosecutors,” Napolitano said. “You’ve got somebody at the top of the totem pole, that’s your big prize. No surprise it’s the president of the United States. You’re going to indict people up the totem pole to see if you can squeeze them, threaten their ruination by loss of liberty by loss of property, to get them to turn evidence against the top guy.”
“This is the first of many steps, and Bob Mueller is putting together an enormous puzzle,” he explained.
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