New developments on the money laundering front?

[cosmickid]

Saw 2 different possibly significant news blurbs on the money laundering front this am.Politico just reported about a new addition to Mueller's task force...

"An attorney working on the Justice Department's highest-profile money laundering case recently transferred off that assignment in order to join the staff of the special prosecutor investigating the Trump campaign's potential ties to Russia, POLITICO has learned. Attorney Kyle Freeny was among the prosecutors on hand Friday as a spokesman for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, Jason Maloni, testified before a grand jury at federal court in Washington."

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/15/another-prosecutor-joins-trump-russia-investigation-242794


Now on the surface that might not seem too interesting.But here's another piece of news reported from different news sources about 9 hrs earlier...

"The Russian lawyer who met with President Donald Trump's son, son-in-law, and campaign manager in June 2016 was representing a client under scrutiny in an ongoing criminal investigation related to a money-laundering case opened in 2013 by former US Attorney Preet Bharara." (coincidence that Bharara was let go by Trump after initially being told he would be retained?)


"Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian prosecutor with ties to the Kremlin, was representing the real-estate company Prevezon Holdings in a civil suit filed by the US government in the Southern District of New York when she visited Trump Tower on June 9, 2016.

Prevezon, which is owned by the son of a powerful Russian government official, was part of a parallel criminal investigation, according to court documents filed late last year. A person familiar with the matter told Business Insider that the criminal case was ongoing, corroborating a Bloomberg report published earlier Friday.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/details-major-russian-money-laundering-181200129.html

Could just be my imagination,but I see a ton of "coincidences" in these latest developments.Looks to me like things are ratcheting up...

 

[SuperHoosierFan]

Saw 2 different possibly significant news blurbs on the money laundering front this am.Politico just reported about a new addition to Mueller's task force...

"An attorney working on the Justice Department's highest-profile money laundering case recently transferred off that assignment in order to join the staff of the special prosecutor investigating the Trump campaign's potential ties to Russia, POLITICO has learned. Attorney Kyle Freeny was among the prosecutors on hand Friday as a spokesman for former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, Jason Maloni, testified before a grand jury at federal court in Washington."

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/15/another-prosecutor-joins-trump-russia-investigation-242794


Now on the surface that might not seem too interesting.But here's another piece of news reported from different news sources about 9 hrs earlier...

"The Russian lawyer who met with President Donald Trump's son, son-in-law, and campaign manager in June 2016 was representing a client under scrutiny in an ongoing criminal investigation related to a money-laundering case opened in 2013 by former US Attorney Preet Bharara." (coincidence that Bharara was let go by Trump after initially being told he would be retained?)


"Natalia Veselnitskaya, a Russian prosecutor with ties to the Kremlin, was representing the real-estate company Prevezon Holdings in a civil suit filed by the US government in the Southern District of New York when she visited Trump Tower on June 9, 2016.

Prevezon, which is owned by the son of a powerful Russian government official, was part of a parallel criminal investigation, according to court documents filed late last year. A person familiar with the matter told Business Insider that the criminal case was ongoing, corroborating a Bloomberg report published earlier Friday.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/details-major-russian-money-laundering-181200129.html

Could just be my imagination,but I see a ton of "coincidences" in these latest developments.Looks to me like things are ratcheting up...

Hmm, is Mueller looking for crimes on an international scale? Maybe he already knows Trump is dirty as shit and is looking for stuff Trump can't pardon. Who knows...

 

[Fro]

Hmm, is Mueller looking for crimes on an international scale? Maybe he already knows Trump is dirty as shit and is looking for stuff Trump can't pardon. Who knows...

Between Flynn/Flynn Jr, Manafort, Stone, Trump Jr, and Kushner alone there's basically separate potential international crimes directly related to the campaign. Think I'm even missing a couple.

That's not even digging into Manafort/Trump Corp/Kushner's past shady real estate dealings which may have been the reasons why Trump was aided by the Russians or decided to aid the Russians.

There's always been a hell of a lot of smoke here since day one and nothing that's been reported has ever diminished that.

 

[SuperHoosierFan]

Between Flynn/Flynn Jr, Manafort, Stone, Trump Jr, and Kushner alone there's basically separate potential international crimes directly related to the campaign. Think I'm even missing a couple.

That's not even digging into Manafort/Trump Corp/Kushner's past shady real estate dealings which may have been the reasons why Trump was aided by the Russians or decided to aid the Russians.

There's always been a hell of a lot of smoke here since day one and nothing that's been reported has ever diminished that.

I'm all about a constitutional amendment that makes it clear that the president cannot pardon himself/herself, nor can the president pardon anyone who's implicated in federal crimes while working directly with/for the president. I'm not exactly sure how it would need to be worded, but if we find out all these guys worked directly with a hostile foreign government to help Trump's campaign, they'll all get off free and clear with a stroke of Trump's pen.

 

[wiede]

I'm all about a constitutional amendment that makes it clear that the president cannot pardon himself/herself, nor can the president pardon anyone who's implicated in federal crimes while working directly with/for the president. I'm not exactly sure how it would need to be worded, but if we find out all these guys worked directly with a hostile foreign government to help Trump's campaign, they'll all get off free and clear with a stroke of Trump's pen.

Yeah, but if they are pardoned, remember that they lose their fifth amendment privileges. They can be compelled to testify, in other words.

And, the news of Mueller teaming up with the NY state AG boxed Trump's crew in even further.

 

[TheOriginalHappyGoat]

I'm all about a constitutional amendment that makes it clear that the president cannot pardon himself/herself, nor can the president pardon anyone who's implicated in federal crimes while working directly with/for the president. I'm not exactly sure how it would need to be worded, but if we find out all these guys worked directly with a hostile foreign government to help Trump's campaign, they'll all get off free and clear with a stroke of Trump's pen.

I'm okay with making sure the President doesn't pardon himself, although, to be honest, I'm not sure an amendment is necessary. I think the very nature of the pardon power precludes using it to pardon oneself, and any attempt would be thrown out by the courts.

As to your other point, I can't agree, simply because I can't imagine how it would be objectively implemented. The pardon is exclusively a power of the executive, and any limitation that isn't a complete bright line distinction (like a self-pardon) will result in courts trying to parse what does and does not exactly fit within an exemption. I'm not comfortable with the courts filling that role.

Let's not forget that, in the modern world, Presidents are limited in their power to protect people from the consequences of their misdeeds, especially when it comes to large, complex criminal conspiracies. For example, if it turns out that members of the Trump organization engaged in widespread money laundering, then they not only violated federal law, but also the laws of New York, and likely other states, as well. Trump can't do anything to protect anyone from punishments arising from violations of state law.

 

[UncleMark]

For example, if it turns out that members of the Trump organization engaged in widespread money laundering, then they not only violated federal law, but also the laws of New York, and likely other states, as well. Trump can't do anything to protect anyone from punishments arising from violations of state law.

And then there's civil liability...

 

[cosmickid]

I'm okay with making sure the President doesn't pardon himself, although, to be honest, I'm not sure an amendment is necessary. I think the very nature of the pardon power precludes using it to pardon oneself, and any attempt would be thrown out by the courts.

As to your other point, I can't agree, simply because I can't imagine how it would be objectively implemented. The pardon is exclusively a power of the executive, and any limitation that isn't a complete bright line distinction (like a self-pardon) will result in courts trying to parse what does and does not exactly fit within an exemption. I'm not comfortable with the courts filling that role.

Let's not forget that, in the modern world, Presidents are limited in their power to protect people from the consequences of their misdeeds, especially when it comes to large, complex criminal conspiracies. For example, if it turns out that members of the Trump organization engaged in widespread money laundering, then they not only violated federal law, but also the laws of New York, and likely other states, as well. Trump can't do anything to protect anyone from punishments arising from violations of state law.

This is slightly OT to the thread topic,but another indicator (imho) that Mueller smells blood...Just reported a few hours ago...

• "Robert Mueller obtained a search warrant for records of "inauthentic" Facebook accounts
• It's bad news for Russian election interference "deniers"
• Mueller may be looking to charge specific foreign entities with a crime

FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller reportedly obtained a search warrant for records of the "inauthentic" accounts Facebook shut down earlier this month and the targeted ads these accounts purchased during the 2016 election.

The warrant was first disclosed by the Wall Street Journal on Friday night and the news was later confirmed by CNN."

Since the issuance of a search warrant (presumably) relies on evidence of a CRIME,I'd view this as another escalation in the investigation into "Russiagate".Is there a link to these pro-Russian,disinformation spreading fake facebook accounts and the Trump campaign?

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/mueller-just-obtained-warrant-could-153200191.html

 

[wiede]

This is slightly OT to the thread topic,but another indicator (imho) that Mueller smells blood...Just reported a few hours ago...

• "Robert Mueller obtained a search warrant for records of "inauthentic" Facebook accounts
• It's bad news for Russian election interference "deniers"
• Mueller may be looking to charge specific foreign entities with a crime

FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller reportedly obtained a search warrant for records of the "inauthentic" accounts Facebook shut down earlier this month and the targeted ads these accounts purchased during the 2016 election.

The warrant was first disclosed by the Wall Street Journal on Friday night and the news was later confirmed by CNN."

Since the issuance of a search warrant (presumably) relies on evidence of a CRIME,I'd view this as another escalation in the investigation into "Russiagate".Is there a link to these pro-Russian,disinformation spreading fake facebook accounts and the Trump campaign?

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/mueller-just-obtained-warrant-could-153200191.html

Given that specific voters in specific "swing" states we're heavily targeted, there simply HAS to be some form of coordination. Remember, Russian bot activity was heavy everywhere, but was especially heavy in the states where data suggested the race was close.

Put another way, it's one thing to have the ability to unleash large swaths of bots to alter reality. It's quite another to know where to send those bots.

All that being said, it'll probably be tough to find a "smoking gun" linking the two. I'd bet whoever coordinated was very careful at covering their digital tracks.

So, not only does Trump have to worry about Mueller uncovering his shady financial practices/ties to Russia, but he also has to worry about Mueller finding links to the sharing of data. Oh, and obstruction of Justice. That seems like a slam dunk at this point.

There's provably multiple paths to charges & impeachment. The question is, how many will Mueller be able to prove?