DonViejo
DonViejo's JournalIran Says Its President Turned Down a Meeting With Trump
By Zaid Sabah
October 29, 2017, 5:54 PM EDT
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani rebuffed a request from U.S. President Donald Trump to meet at the United Nations in New York in September, a day after the Trump made a speech highly critical of the Islamic republic, the state-run Fars News Agency said.
“A request indeed was made by the U.S. side but it wasn’t accepted by President Rouhani,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghassemi said at a press conference on Sunday, according to Fars. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Ghassemi, though, denied earlier reports that French president Emmanuel Macron had been prepared to mediate a meeting between the two leaders, Fars reported.
Trump lashed out at Iran in remarks to the United Nations on Sept. 19, saying the trappings of democracy there masked a “corrupt dictatorship.”
Iran must be forced to “end its pursuit of death and destruction,” Trump said in his first speech to the UN General Assembly. “Above all, Iran’s government must stop supporting terrorists, begin serving its own people and respect the sovereign rights of its neighbors.”
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-29/iran-s-rouhani-said-to-reject-trump-s-request-to-meet-at-un
Trump's meltdown in anticipation of indictments is telling
By Jennifer Rubin October 30 at 10:45 AM
President Trump and his surrogates — most especially the Fox News lineup (which includes a fleet of conservative pundits who disgrace themselves by facilitating a political distraction game for Trump), obsequious Republicans in Congress, old allies such as Roger Stone (who wound up getting banned by Twitter) and the talk radio crowd — have been frantically fanning Hillary Clinton non-scandals about Uranium One (it was baseless before and baseless now) and the dossier’s funder. (Fusion GPS initially was hired by the conservative Free Beacon, which at one time claimed not to know the identity of the Republican outfit that first hired Fusion.) The unhinged rants from Trump’s defenders demanding Clinton be locked up for one or both of these reveal how tightly Trump and the right-wing ecosystem that supports him rely on Clinton as an all-purpose distraction.
Upon a moment’s reflection, the non-scandals make no sense (Clinton was colluding with Russia to beat herself in the election?), have been debunked before and in no way affect the liability, if any, of current or ex-Trump administration figures. This is “whataboutism” run amok. It does expose the degree to which Fox News has given up the pretense of a real news organization, preferring the role of state propagandist. (And it’s not just the evening hosts; the non-scandals now monopolize the rest of the schedule.)
The intensity of Trump’s frenzy underscores the peril in which the president now finds himself. Beyond the indictments unsealed this morning, Trump does not know what special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has uncovered; which witnesses are flippable; what financial documents have revealed about the Trump business empire; and whether, for example, Mueller finds support for an obstruction of justice charge from Trump’s own public dissembling (e.g., hinting at non-existent tapes of former FBI director James B. Comey). For someone who insists on holding all the cards and intimidating others, Trump finds himself in a uniquely powerless position.
As I have argued, Republicans should be saying publicly that efforts to fire Mueller and/or pardon indicted figures will commence impeachment proceedings. Those moves would set off a constitutional crisis in which the president is using his powers to protect himself from the Justice Department. Even former senator Rick Santorum concedes that it would be “very perilous” for Trump to fire Mueller.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2017/10/30/trumps-meltdown-in-anticipation-of-indictments-is-telling
After First Mueller Charges, Senators Warn Of Trump Interference And Pardons
Source: Talking Points Memo
By ALICE OLLSTEIN Published OCTOBER 30, 2017 11:47 AM
When news broke Monday morning that at least three former Trump campaign associates have been criminally charged as a result of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation, President Trump sounded off angrily on Twitter, leaving many nervous that Trump may attempt to fire Mueller or somehow meddle in the investigation going forward.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is currently investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and potential collusion with the Trump campaign, released a statement Monday morning calling on the Senate to act swiftly to protect the federal investigations from the President’s interference.
“It is imperative that Congress take action now to protect the independence of the Special Counsel, wherever or however high his investigation may lead,” Warner said. “Members of Congress, Republican and Democrat, must also make clear to the President that issuing pardons to any of his associates or to himself would be unacceptable, and result in immediate, bipartisan action by Congress.”
In his own statement Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer echoed Warner’s concerned and called for lawmakers to be on high alert and ready to act.
Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/trump-warner-investigation-mueller-indictment-special-counsel
Trump, Allies Brushed Off The Manafort Charges. Then A New Case Dropped.
Source: Talking Points Memo
By NICOLE LAFOND Published OCTOBER 30, 2017 12:20 PM
President Donald Trump and members of his inner circle on Monday were quick to distance the President from news that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort had surrendered to the FBI for charges related to money laundering, among other alleged offenses.
Those efforts to disassociate the President from the first arrests of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe quickly proved futile.
Just minutes after the President sounded off on Twitter to say the Manafort charges had nothing to do with him, and Trump’s former campaign manager defended him on television, court documents from a separate case were unsealed. Those documents revealed that a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser had pleaded guilty earlier this month to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia.
Just before 10:30 a.m. ET, Trump tweeted that the charges against Manafort stem from alleged bad deeds that occurred “years ago” and were therefore not the President’s problem. The indictment against Manafort indicates the alleged misconduct spanned from 2006 to 2017.
Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-allies-brush-manafort-new-case-drops
Thoughts On the Papadopolous Plea - Josh Marshall
By JOSH MARSHALL Published OCTOBER 30, 2017 12:06 PM
We can’t know these things for sure. But it certainly seems like Mueller was sending a message and sending a shock to the Trump White House by releasing the Papadopolous charges mid-morning. The Manafort/Gates charges are very serious as crimes and bring heavy punishments. They’re a big deal. But they do not connect directly to the campaign’s ties with Russia or even the campaign itself. The White House can accurately say that these are crimes that do not relate to them, as they have. (Set aside for the moment that they are serious crimes undertaken by the campaign chairman while the campaign was underway and that they provide Mueller with immense leverage to extract more information from Manafort.) The Papadopolous plea is quite different.
It shows a Trump foreign policy advisor in active communication with what appear to be Russian government officials or spies trying to get dirt on Hillary Clinton, arrange meetings with Russian government officials (even Vladimir Putin, rather ludicrously) and solicit Russian support. That an active foreign policy advisor was taking these actions while in active communication with the campaign about those actions is quite damning. An unnamed campaign official sent back word that a meeting with Trump himself was not happening.
Papadopolous was arrested in July and has apparently been cooperating since. I see no purely legal reason why the news of his arrest in July and guilty plea in early October had to be revealed today, other than keeping the news from Manafort. One other potential reason is that one of the ‘campaign officials’ referenced in the Papadopolous plea appears to be Manafort. It sends two clear messages. First, we’re not at all done with collusion and we’re making progress. Second, we arrested Papadopolous in July and he pled out in October and no one knew. So don’t think you have any idea what we have.
This may be projecting too much. But in revealing the Manafort news early, giving time for the White House to respond as you’d expect (nothing to do with us or Russia or the campaign) and then following up by revealing this Papadopolous indictment certainly has the feel of sucker punching the White House.
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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/thoughts-on-the-papadopolous-plea
Lewandowski Says FBI Should Have Warned Trump Camp About Manafort
By MATT SHUHAM Published OCTOBER 30, 2017 11:25 AM
Former Donald Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski blamed the FBI on Monday for not warning the Trump campaign about one-time campaign chairman Paul Manafort. A 12-count indictment against Manafort was unsealed Monday.
“If the public reports are true, and there was a time where Paul Manafort was under a FISA warrant before coming to the Trump campaign, why is it the FBI never reached out to me as the campaign manager, never reached out to Donald Trump, and said: ‘Look, you might want to pause for a second and take a look before you bring this guy on board as a volunteer to hunt delegates to you,’” Lewandowski told Fox Business Network’s Charles Payne.
CNN first reported in September that investigators wiretapped Manafort before and after the campaign, citing unnamed sources.
Another former Trump campaign official, Rick Gates, was also indicted on Friday, according to unsealed records released Monday. The felony charges against Gates and Manafort include money laundering and violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/lewandowski-says-fbi-should-have-warned-trump-about-manafort
Ryan: Mueller Indictments Won't 'Derail What Were Doing In Congress'
Source: Talking Points Memo
By ESME CRIBB Published OCTOBER 30, 2017 11:36 AM
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) on Monday said charges brought against members of President Donald Trump’s campaign are not going to have any effect on Congress.
“I really don’t have anything to add, other than: Nothing is going to derail what we’re doing in Congress,” Ryan said on conservative Wisconsin talk radio station WTAQ.
Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and his business associate Rick Gates, on Monday surrendered to the FBI and were charged with 12 counts, including conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy against the U.S. and making false statements.
Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty earlier in October to making false statements to FBI agents. The case against Papadopoulos was unsealed Monday.
Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/paul-ryan-trump-campaign-indictments-will-not-derail-congress
Trump Campaign Adviser Met With Russian to Discuss 'Dirt' on Clinton
Source: New York Times
By MATT APUZZO and MICHAEL S. SCHMIDTOCT. 30, 2017
WASHINGTON — A professor with close ties to the Russian government told an adviser to Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign in April 2016 that Moscow had “dirt” on Hillary Clinton in the form of “thousands of emails,” according to court documents unsealed Monday.
The adviser, George Papadopoulos, has pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I. about that conversation. The plea represents the most explicit evidence connecting the Trump campaign to the Russian government’s meddling in last year’s election.
“They have dirt on her,” the professor told him, according to the documents. “They have thousands of emails.”
Mr. Papadopoulos was quietly arrested in July and has since been cooperating with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, records show. Mr. Papadopoulos’s conversation in April raises more questions about a meeting in June at Trump Tower, where Mr. Trump’s eldest son and senior advisers met with Russians who were similarly promising damaging information on Mrs. Clinton.
Read the Statement of Offense Against George Papadopoulos
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/30/us/politics/george-papadopoulos-russia.html
Preet Bharara: More charges likely coming in Mueller-Russia probe
BY REBECCA SAVRANSKY - 10/30/17 11:44 AM EDT
Former U.S. attorney Preet Bharara, who was fired by President Trump earlier this year, predicted there are more charges to come in special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into Russian election interference.
"Special Counsel Mueller already has one criminal conviction. And this plea portends more charges to come," Bharara tweeted.
He shared a photo of a portion of a court filing on former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, which said: "Through his false statements and omissions, defendant PAPADOPOULOS impeded the FBI's ongoing investigation into the existence of any links or coordination between individuals associated with the Campaign and the Russian government's efforts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election."
https://twitter.com/PreetBharara/status/925016372974891008
Papadopoulos earlier this month pleaded guilty to lying to FBI agents investigating allegations of collusion between the Trump presidential campaign and the Russian government. The Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed the court filings shortly after it announced charges against two other high-ranking Trump campaign officials: Paul Manafort and Rick Gates.
more
http://thehill.com/homenews/news/357804-preet-bharara-more-charges-coming-in-mueller-russia-probe
Dershowitz: Mueller will pressure Manafort to squeal on Trump
BY BRETT SAMUELS - 10/30/17 10:41 AM EDT
Paul Manafort’s 12-count indictment is the "first domino” that could lead to other, larger revelations about Russian involvement in the 2016 election, Harvard scholar and attorney Alan Dershowitz said Monday.
“Manafort now is the first domino, and what Mueller wants to do is see him as the first domino, the second domino, the third domino, ultimately trying to get to the big domino, which is President Trump,” Dershowitz said on "Fox & Friends." If Manafort has nothing to offer to assist Mueller’s larger investigation, then “he’s going to twist in the wind,” Dershowitz said.
Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, turned himself in to the FBI on Monday morning. He was indicted on 12 counts, including conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, false statements and more. Rick Gates, Manafort’s business associate, was also advised to surrender.
“What they’re saying to him is, ‘we got you now, and we don’t care about that, but if you can tell us something about Trump and the campaign and collusion, we’ll give you a get out of jail card free,’” Dershowitz said. “So it’s all about leverage. That’s the way prosecutors work.”
Dershowitz called the prosecution strategy a “win-win” for special counsel Robert Mueller. If Mueller is unable to use Manafort to lead to larger indictments, “at least he’s earned some of his money,” Dershowitz said.
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http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/357794-dershowitz-mueller-will-pressure-manafort-to-squeal-on-trump
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