Free Republic

Why is the swamp's hate towards Donald Trump so intense? Do you believe that “the truth shall make you free? Well, nowadays you’ll be “damned “if you do and “dumbed” if you don’t. Let’s start by: How d’ya like your truth in the morning? The politically correct answer should be “Crooked or snide. I’m satisfied”. Then the mainstream media goes: “Upside-down, I never frown, news can almost be bliss. Just as long, as I get my twist.”

Anti-Trumpers are claiming in unison that the President’s past “hoax” comments were about the Russian troll farm’s existence, not collusion. Ballsy and unethical persuasion, but will work on their base. https://t.co/tyl7yPlOxS— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) February 17, 2018

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election continues to hang over Washington, D.C. like a dark cloud. The investigation, which has already produced two indictments, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and business partner Rick Gates, may very soon engulf even more political figures. A lot of them. LawNewz.com verified that there are currently 34 cases that have been filed under seal in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia between the dates of October 27th (when Manafort was indicted) and today’s date. While the sealed cases are certainly interesting to note,...

RUSH: In leading into all of this today, I want to focus on what the media is focusing on. The media is slowly and reluctantly — not all of them — but slowly and reluctantly realizing that the indictment of Manafort doesn’t even get them close to where they want to be, and certainly it doesn’t get them close to where they thought they would be on Friday when it was leaked that there had been sealed indictments. Over the weekend they all had convinced themselves that whatever this indictment, ’cause prosecutors come out with the big gun first. And...

Experts are debating what to make of several sealed cases on the D.C. federal court docket between ex-Trump adviser George Papadopoulos’ guilty plea and the indictment weeks later of former campaign manager Paul Manafort and his assistant Rick Gates. Papadopoulos pleaded guilty Oct. 5 to lying to the FBI, and there appear to be at least four currently sealed cases on the docket between then and the Oct. 27 indictment of Manafort and Gates for money laundering and related crimes involving pre-2016 Ukrainian political work. National security journalist Marcy Wheeler tweeted that the docket suggests “maybe [former national security advisor...

On Monday morning, Special Counsel Robert Mueller officially issued the first charges in his ongoing investigation into the 2016 presidential election. Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and his longtime business partner Rick Gates were charged with 12 felonies ranging from lying to federal agents, tax fraud and money laundering. But Mueller's probe isn't simply about Republicans. During an interview with CNN Monday night, former CIA Director Leon Panetta said Mueller is just getting started and that Democrats should also be nervous.

President Donald Trump ridiculed the “fake news” reaction to the indictment of Paul Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates. “The Fake News is working overtime. As Paul Manaforts lawyer said, there was “no collusion” and events mentioned took place long before he came to the campaign,” Trump said. Trump also reacted to the news that former adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty after giving the FBI misleading statements about his communications with the Russians. Most media outlets focused on Papadopoulos’ story, especially after he claimed that a high-ranking campaign official encouraged him to seek out closer ties with Russia.

'A Laughingstock': Professor Rejects Claims by Ex-Trump Aide Arrested in Mueller Probe George Papadopolous, a former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, pleaded guilty to making false statements to FBI agents, special counsel Robert Mueller announced yesterday.

[SNIP] Joseph Mifsud, a former Maltese official who co-directs the London Academy of Diplomacy at the University of Stirling, was identified in media reports after details in the documents pointed to his attendance at a conference in Russia last year. He told the Daily Telegraph Tuesday that he is the professor in the documents, but said that the acquaintance in Moscow with government connections who he introduced Papadopoulos to was only an academic. Mifsud also told the paper that he did not know anything about Russian “dirt” on Clinton, and said that he was upset by the “incredible” claims. He...

A former adviser to President Trump’s campaign during an interview early Tuesday dismissed George Papadopoulos's role, saying he was “the coffee boy” and “had nothing to do with the campaign.” “I mean, you might have called him a foreign policy analyst,” Michael Caputo told CNN’s “New Day.” "But in fact, you know, if he was going to wear a wire, all we’d know now is whether he prefers a caramel macchiato over a regular American coffee in conversations with his barista." “He had nothing to do with the campaign," Caputo added on CNN. "And all this contact with alleged Russians...

Alan Dershowitz analyzed what he thinks is Special Counsel Robert Mueller's grand strategy in the Russia investigation, calling it the "criminalization of political differences." "He has to go after somebody," the Harvard law professor emeritus and lifelong Democrat explained. "He can't just spend all the money and do nothing." "If he can find little things that's going to be a victory for him," the lawyer told "Fox & Friends."

Paul Manafort and Rick Gates entered not guilty pleas Monday afternoon in a federal courtroom, telling a magistrate judge that they'll fight a laundry list of felony charges brought by a grand jury on Friday. Manafort, a former Donald Trump campaign chairman, is a veteran lobbyist now charged with conspiring against the United States and money-laundering on a gigantic scale, following an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. Along with Gates, his longtime business partner and protege, Manafort surrendered to federal authorities early on Monday as the first charges from the probe of possible Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S....

From the (formerly) sealed file: ******************** "Premature disclosure of the fact of the defendent's arrest and the nature of the charges against him is likely to substantially prejudice both the defendeant and the government. Defendant has indicated that he is willing to cooperate with the government in its ongoing investigation into Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. Public disclosure of the defendant's initial appearance, however, would significantly undermine his ability to serve as a proactive cooperator. In addition, public disclosure of defendant's arrest and the accompanying criminal charges may alert other subjects to the direction and status...

The Paul Manafort indictment is much ado about nothing . . . except as a vehicle to squeeze Manafort, which is special counsel Robert Mueller’s objective — as we have been arguing for three months (see here, here, and here). Do not be fooled by the “Conspiracy against the United States” heading on Count One (page 23 of the indictment). This case has nothing to do with what Democrats and the media call “the attack on our democracy” (i.e., the Kremlin’s meddling in the 2016 election, supposedly in “collusion” with the Trump campaign). Essentially, Manafort and his associate, Richard W....

The Paul Manafort indictment is much ado about nothing . . . except as a vehicle to squeeze Manafort, which is special counsel Robert Mueller’s objective — as we have been arguing for three months....Do not be fooled by the “Conspiracy against the United States” heading on Count One (page 23 of the indictment). This case has nothing to do with what Democrats and the media call “the attack on our democracy” (i.e., the Kremlin’s meddling in the 2016 election, supposedly in “collusion” with the Trump campaign). Essentially, Manafort and his associate, Richard W. Gates, are charged with (a) conspiring...

REPORT - Fox News is reporting that a White House source has informed John Roberts (Fox News White House Correspondent) that the indictment against George Papadopoulos is based on emails provided to the special counsel by the White House / Trump campaign. This includes a series of emails where Papadopoulos urged the campaign to take a meeting with Russian government agents. These request for a meeting were ignored by senior campaign officials. Papadopoulos was brought in to branch out relations to Greece, NOT Russia. His role in the campaign was minor and the evidence provided to the special counsel, again...