Paul Manafort found guilty on eight counts as Michael Cohen pleads guilty

[Zippyjuan]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...-federal-court

Jury said it could not reach consensus on the other 10 charges against him, but verdicts represent resounding victory for special counsel Robert Mueller

Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort has been found guilty on tax fraud charges in Virginia federal court, in a resounding victory for special counsel Robert Mueller and his team in the first trial arising from their investigation.

Manafort, 69, was convicted on five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failure to report a foreign bank account. The charges carry a maximum sentence of decades in prison. He avoided conviction on some charges however, with the jury saying it could not reach a consensus on 10 out of 18 total counts.

Manafort faces additional charges in a separate case, to convene in Washington DC in September.

He had been charged with bank fraud, tax fraud, failure to report foreign bank accounts and conspiracy. Some of the fraud activity overlapped with his time atop the Trump campaign. The jury returned the verdict on its fourth day of deliberation.

The Virginia trial did not delve into the nature of Trump campaign contacts with Russia, which is the focus of the Mueller investigation. But the conviction of a figure as prominent as Manafort, who ran the Trump campaign for a crucial five-month period in 2016, was a blow to the White House and a boost for the special counsel, which continues to investigate the Trump campaign.

The White House did not immediately comment on the verdict. Trump earlier suggested that Manafort was being “treated worse” than legendary gangster Al Capone while seeking to downplay Manafort’s role in his campaign. The president regularly calls the Mueller investigation a “witch hunt”.

Manafort’s conviction brought the tally of former Trump advisers who have pleaded to or been found guilty of crimes in the Mueller investigation to four. Mueller also has secured guilty pleas from a California man and a London-based lawyer, and his team has indicted 26 Russian nationals and three Russian companies.

More at link. The jury had to all agree in order to find him guilty on any of the counts. If even one disagreed, then he would not be found guilty of that count.

[spudea]

Great he got his day in court and violations of the law should be punished. However..... why was a special council needed for this that has nothing to do with Russia or the 2016 campaign? And the special council was based on lies perpetrated by the DNC. Send a special council to raid the friends of John Podesta and you'll find just as much criminality.

[oyarde]

Failure to report overseas banking . When did that become a crime and who cares .

[Zippyjuan]

Great he got his day in court and violations of the law should be punished. However..... why was a special council needed for this that has nothing to do with Russia or the 2016 campaign? And the special council was based on lies perpetrated by the DNC. Send a special council to raid the friends of John Podesta and you'll find just as much criminality.

That will be the subject of his September trial. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/...charges-430621

This trial came from things discovered during that investigation.

[spudea]

That will be the subject of his September trial. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/...charges-430621

This trial came from things discovered during that investigation.

His FARA work for Ukraine was 2012-2014. Only 3 prior people have been charged under FARA laws, no convictions. Tony Podesta also failed to register as a foreign agent and worked with Manafort but doesn't face charges. This is a political sham to punish the President and take revenge.

[Krugminator2]

Failure to report overseas banking . When did that become a crime and who cares .

It is weird to see "libertarians" on the internet happy with this. This kind of sentence is an insane civil liberties abuse.

[Zippyjuan]

His FARA work for Ukraine was 2012-2014. Only 3 prior people have been charged under FARA laws, no convictions. Tony Podesta also failed to register as a foreign agent and worked with Manafort but doesn't face charges. This is a political sham to punish the President and take revenge.

Podesta IS being investigated on that issue by Mueller.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investi...s-over-n896396

Former lobbyist Tony Podesta, others under investigation by federal prosecutors over alleged foreign work

Sources say this investigation follows a referral from the special counsel’s office and is said to involve registration of work as foreign agents.

Jul.31.2018

Former lobbyist Tony Podesta, Mercury Public Affairs partner and former Minnesota Republican Rep. Vin Weber and former Obama White House Counsel Greg Craig are all under federal investigation by prosecutors for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, multiple sources with knowledge of the matter told NBC News on Tuesday.

Those sources say this months-long investigation in New York follows a referral from the special counsel’s office.

The existence of this particular probe was first reported by CNN, which characterized the investigation as looking into whether lobbyists and operatives failed to register their work as foreign agents. None of the people identified as being under investigation have been charged with a crime.

In October, NBC News was the first to report that Democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta and the Podesta Group were being investigated by Mueller’s office.

Tony Podesta is the chairman of the Podesta Group and the brother of John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's former presidential campaign chairman. John Podesta is not currently affiliated with the Podesta Group and is not part of the investigation.

The probe of Tony Podesta and his Democratic-leaning lobbying firm grew out of Mueller's inquiry into the finances of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, according to the sources.

As special counsel, Mueller has been tasked with investigating any possible a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia. Trump has repeatedly denied any "collusion" took place.

[RonZeplin]

Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer, pleads guilty in New York court

As part of the deal, Cohen agreed not to challenge any prison sentence from 46 to 63 months.

Will Cohen escape doing any jail time, if he sings like Songbird McCain?

[r3volution 3.0]

Convicted, looking at 80+ years, with the prosecutor's sentencing recommendation yet to be delivered, and another trial (or two) upcoming...

...I wonder which "option" he's looking at right now?

[Zippyjuan]

Convicted, looking at 80+ years, with the prosecutor's sentencing recommendation yet to be delivered, and another trial (or two) upcoming...

..."looking at all his options," says his lawyer.

Gee, I wonder which option he might be focusing on...

There is the possibility of a Trump pardon. But Manafort would only be protected from Federal cases in that event. Muller is reserving the possibility of also charging him in the State of New York. Also if pardoned he could no longer "plead the Fifth" on anything and would have to testify in any other trials/ cases.

He can also still be retried (unless pardoned) on the other charges the jury deadlocked on. He already faces another trial next month on different charges.

[dannno]

There is the possibility of a Trump pardon. But Manafort would only be protected from Federal cases in that event. Muller is reserving the possibility of also charging him in the State of New York. Also if pardoned he could no longer "plead the Fifth" on anything and would have to testify in any other trials/ cases.

He can also still be retried (unless pardoned) on the other charges the jury deadlocked on. He already faces another trial next month on different charges.

Does any of this have to do with Russia and the 2016 election?

[timosman]

Does any of this have to do with Russia and the 2016 election?

Don't be such a party pooper. Score for the the team blue.

[r3volution 3.0]

There is the possibility of a Trump pardon. But Manafort would only be protected from Federal cases in that event.

I don't think Trump would pardon him anyway.

That would likely be as politically damaging to Trump as the revelation of anything Manafort knows.

[r3volution 3.0]

Does any of this have to do with Russia and the 2016 election?

As I'm sure you know, Manafort's offenses relate to his work for the Russian government, helping a pro-Russian politician in Ukraine.

Cohen's offenses relate his to work for Trump 2016.

They may or may not find anything on Trump personally, but it certainly doesn't help him politically.

Hence, I'm a big fan of the whole enterprise.

[Zippyjuan]

Does any of this have to do with Russia and the 2016 election?

Cohen's plea did. And the next Manafort tril does look at that.

[AuH20]

His FARA work for Ukraine was 2012-2014. Only 3 prior people have been charged under FARA laws, no convictions. Tony Podesta also failed to register as a foreign agent and worked with Manafort but doesn't face charges. This is a political sham to punish the President and take revenge.

[dannno]

Cohen's plea did. And the next Manafort tril does look at that.

What does Trump having sex with a whore who wanted to be on his TV show 10 years ago have to do with the 2016 election??

[Zippyjuan]

What does Trump having sex with a whore who wanted to be on his TV show 10 years ago have to do with the 2016 election??

Cohen admits to illegal use of campaign funds under the direction of a candidate for President with the intent of influencing the outcome of the election. The only one he works for is Trump.

He admitted that his pre-election payment to bury the story of Trump’s alleged affair with former Playboy model Karen McDougal was made “at direction of the candidate,” as was the $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. Trump has said previously that he had no knowledge of the payment. Cohen also admitted that the payments were made with the intention of influencing the election. He was released on $500,000 bond, and is set to be sentenced on December 12th.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politic...a-deal-714146/

[spudea]

What does Trump having sex with a whore who wanted to be on his TV show 10 years ago have to do with the 2016 election??

Cohen paid her Attorney for the NDA by wire transfer, Cohen was reimbursed by the Trump friendly media company to kill the story. The charge is the he induced by conspiracy to cause the media company to exceed contribution limits to a political campaign. It goes back to a prior back and forth we've had here, does killing the story represent a thing of value, a contribution to the campaign. How convenient his guilty plea will never get this question answered by a court.

[enhanced_deficit]

Going by Drudge/MSM headlines, it seems like MAGA regime is in serious trouble... but is it really as long as many right wing GOP/Dems, GOP base rosck star Steve Bannon, GOP-Jarvanka wings etc got its back?

Media and Trump: Has Drudge switched sides/ no longer pro-MAGA?

COHEN SAYS HE VIOLATED CAMPAIGN LAW AT DIRECTION OF 'CANDIDATE'...
CROWD CHANTS 'LOCK HIM UP!'
MANAFORT EVALUATING 'ALL OPTIONS'...



**TRUMP HELL HOUR**
MANAFORT: GUILTY
COHEN: I'M GUILTY

[spudea]

Cohen admits to illegal use of campaign funds under the direction of a candidate for President with the intent of influencing the outcome of the election. The only one he works for is Trump.

Cohen is a lawyer and should know the law. If Trump was following Cohen's advice, there is legal precedent that Trump cannot be held accountable because Lawyers should know the law and never advise their clients to break the law. Additionally no campaign funds were involved. The complaint details released today indicate Cohen was reimbursed by a media company, and the charge is he induced the media company to by proxy exceed campaign contribution limits, if killing the story represents a campaign contribution.

[milgram]

Still waiting for the big Russia payoff, Zippy. You've probably started 100 threads on it by now.

[Marenco]

Still waiting for the big Russia payoff, Zippy. You've probably started 100 threads on it by now.

He's waiting for the CNN analyst gig he's been promised

[Aratus]

ABC's nightly national news spent the first ten to fifteen minutes purely on this story.

[Jamesiv1]

There is a disturbance in the MAGA today.

[r3volution 3.0]

There is a disturbance in the MAGA today.

It was lucky for team MAGA that the Iowa girl murderer ended up being an illegal immigrant; that will please/distract the base for a while.

[enhanced_deficit]

There is a disturbance in the MAGA today.

Reading comments elsewhere that a big tariffs war escalation expected imminently now.

Even if such conspiracy theories turned out to be true, wagging the dog by bombing other countries as Clinton did during Monica scandal has got to be much worse.

[Jamesiv1]

Reading comments elsewhere that a big tariffs war escalation expected imminently now.

Even if such conspiracy theories turned out to be true, wagging the dog by bombing other countries as Clinton did during Monica scandal has got to be much worse.

Throw some fat tariffs on Canada... Pull some security clearances... Give everybody in ICE a raise... Done. Manafort and Cohen go to page 10 below the fold.

[EBounding]

Don't do what Donny Don't does.

[Schifference]

Geithner's 'common' tax error
By Robert Farley on Friday, January 16th, 2009 at 3:21 p.m.

In the efforts to dismiss Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner's tax problems as a little more than an embarrassing speed bump on the way to confirmation, supporters have repeatedly characterized his tax error as a common one.

Barack Obama made a just such an argument in Geithner's defense on Jan. 14.

"Look, is this an embarrassment for him? Yes," Obama told reporters. "He said so himself. But it was an innocent mistake. It is a mistake that is commonly made for people who are working internationally or for international institutions. It has been corrected. He paid the penalties.”

Here’s the quickie background: The IRS audited Geithner in 2006 and found that he failed to pay self-employment taxes on compensation he received as an employee of the International Monetary Fund for tax years the IRS was looking at, 2003 and 2004 (by law, the IRS could not audit him for years before 2003). So Geithner paid $16,732 in back self-employment tax, plus interest. The IRS waived penalties for those years.

Then in late 2008, when Obama made known his intention to nominate Geithner to his Cabinet, the presidential transition team vetted Geithner and discovered a few more problems in Geithner's tax returns, including the fact that in addition to not paying self-employment taxes in 2003 and 2004, he also didn't pay them for 2001 and 2002. So in December 2008, Geithner voluntarily amended his tax returns for those years and wrote a check to the IRS for another $25,970. His nomination followed immediately after.

The question here is whether Geithner's failure to pay self-employment taxes related to his employment at the IMF was a common problem.

By some accounts, it can be confusing for IMF employees to figure out their tax obligation. As an international organization, the IMF is exempt from the FICA and Social Security taxes that most Americans get deducted from their paychecks automatically. U.S. nationals who work for the IMF in the United States are required to pay them on their own, and do so by filing as self-employed taxpayers.

"It is a strange situation," said the Tax Policy Center's Eric Toder, who admitted that he has struggled trying to figure out his own tax obligation when he did some consulting work for the IMF. "You wouldn't know from looking at the tax forms what you are supposed to do."

Some Republicans note, however, that the IMF gave ample documentation to its workers about what they should do. The Senate Finance Committee overseeing Geithner's confirmation hearing posted several documents given to Geithner by the IMF designed to help employees understand their tax obligations.

For one, there's the IMF Employee Tax Manual given to new hires, which describes how to pay self-employment taxes. The IMF pays additional money to U.S. employees, on top of their regular salary, to offset self-employment taxes, and quarterly and year-end wage statements include the amount of self-employment taxes added to wage income. Lastly, IMF employees are required to annually file a form requesting the self-employment "gross ups" to wages.

Still, said Len Burman, director of the Tax Policy Center, "the rules are just really complicated. I suspect this really was just an honest mistake."

The Obama campaign hangs its argument that Geithner's was a "common mistake" on a Nov. 17, 2006, document in which the IRS estimates that as many as half the employees of foreign embassies, foreign consular offices and international organizations who are subject to U.S. tax "either fail to report their wages, claim deductions they are not entitled to, incorrectly establish SEP/IRA retirement plans, fail to pay self-employment tax or fail to file tax returns at all."

The IRS offered a one-time settlement to these employees to pay up, with interest. No penalties would be levied, and the IRS said the employees would not be required to pay beyond three years back.

Geithner's audit came before that settlement, but since the deal specifically includes employees of international organizations (like the IMF) failing to pay self-employment taxes (as was the case with Geithner), Obama would seem to be on firm footing.

But does that 50 percent estimate apply to IMF employees specifically?

William Murray, a spokesman for the IMF, doubts it.

"There has been no indication of widespread noncompliance by IMF employees," Murray said.

There's no question the tax obligations for IMF employees can be confusing, particularly for new hires, Murray said.

"Mistakes happen," he said "But not paying taxes? That is not common."

It's extremely rare for the IRS to garnish an IMF employee's wages due to failure to pay taxes, Murray said. But other than those being garnished, the IMF has no way of knowing how many others are misreporting their taxes. Geithner's audit, for example, would not have triggered any notification to the IMF, he said.

Bottom line: It's impossible to know exactly how many, or what percentage, of the IMF's employees fail to pay their self-employment taxes. You might argue that even if half of the employees at international organizations (IMF or any other) failed to pay self-employment taxes, you would hope the guy heading up the U.S. Treasury would be among the 50 percent to get it right.

Nonetheless, the IRS did generally flag employees of international organizations failing to pay self-employment taxes as a problem area. So we think Obama was on pretty firm gound when he called it common. And so we rate his statement Mostly True.


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https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-m...ner-tax-error/