Former Trump aide Rick Gates to plead guilty; agrees to testify against Manafort, sources say

[George II]

Source: Los Angeles Times

By DAVID WILLMAN FEB 18, 2018 | 11:25 AM | WASHINGTON

A former top aide to Donald Trump's presidential campaign will plead guilty to fraud-related charges within days – and has made clear to prosecutors that he would testify against Paul J. Manafort Jr., the lawyer-lobbyist who once managed the campaign.

The change of heart by Trump's former deputy campaign manager, Richard W. Gates III, who had pleaded not guilty after being indicted in October on charges similar to Manafort's, was described in interviews by people familiar with the case.

"Rick Gates is going to change his plea to guilty,'' said a person with direct knowledge of the new developments, adding that the revised plea will be presented in federal court in Washington "within the next few days.''

That individual and others who discussed the matter spoke on condition of anonymity, citing a judge's gag order restricting comments about the case to the news media or public.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-rick-gates-plea-deal-20180218-story.html

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This is why Gates' attorneys spent so much time this week talking to Mueller and his staff.

The investigation is accelerating, and heads will start falling all over the place. It may also be why Mueller has vehemently fought bail for Manafort and, in fact, hinted at additional charges against him.

The indictments on Friday serve as a vaccination against being fired by trump, he simply CAN'T be dismissed now.

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. Just try and imagine ONE Hillary or Barack team member remotely as dirty

as what we now know is the ENTIRE trump campaign and administration.

The rightwing would absolutely shut down the country.

[Sophia4]

24. You are right!

[flibbitygiblets]

25. Whatever one thinks of HRC, that private server is starting to seem pretty quaint

[WhiteTara]

29. especially since it was the only one NOT hacked.

[Yavin4]

2. And Manafort will roll over on Trump to save his ass

He aint going to jail over this.

[George II]

3. Gates will be the biggest domino yet, and we haven't even heard anything from Flynn or Popadop.

[getagrip_already]

5. my guess is...

mannafort, like trump, is more afraid of the russians than he is of jail. He won't flip.

[mobeau69]

15. Oh, he's going to jail. At this late date he'll never get a deal like Flynn did.

The early bird got the worm. All he can do now is stock up on soap on a rope.

[onetexan]

26. Hope he sings like a canary

[50 Shades Of Blue]

4. I don't think Friday's indictments will stop Trump from trying to fire Mueller.

He's an increasingly cornered rat.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

6. give the rat his tweeter

Let's hope his nursemaids do not take away his twitler machine. He'll be so busy ranting and raving on it he won't notice the men in the white coats with a net coming for him.

[getagrip_already]

7. agree.. never say never

at some point, vlad will tell him to do it. He might even tell him to suspend the constitution at some point.

[bitterross]

9. Agreed. I think he's MORE likely to do it now.

He showed such impetuousness on Comey I don't see what's to really stop him on Muller now.

[paleotn]

13. Doubtful.

Mueller is kryptonite after Friday's indictments. The evidence of Russian interference for shit gibbon and against Clinton now has the weight of a federal grand jury. Any move against him by the White House is obstruction of justice by definition and for all practical purposes an admission of guilt. If he were going to fire Mueller, he would have. Now it's too late.

[OhNo-Really]

8. So I'm thinking that Bannon's reported 20 hours with Mueller's team paid in spades.

And I wonder if Bannon let it be known he would sing to the public if Mueller didn't get on the wagon fastly.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-bannon-interview-mueller-investigation-20180215-story.html

Random thoughts

[George II]

10. They're falling over themselves to save their butts. If it wasn't so tragic and serious....

....this would almost be funny. They're jumping out of the clown car and into Mueller's lap.

Won't be long now!

[OhNo-Really]

14. McGahn has me confused

Does White House lawyer grant him some legal cover? How is he not deemed an accomplice?

I am wired to know

[sharedvalues]

17. No cover. John Dean was WH Counsel. He went to prison -- even AFTER flipping

McGahn faces deep legal risk.
Unlike John Dean, McGahn hasn't cooperated. He's at bigger risk than Dean. And dean went to prison.

[OhNo-Really]

18. He must know his risks

from wiki

....."After graduation from law school, McGahn worked in campaign finance law at the Washington, D.C. office of law firm Patton Boggs.[5] From 1999 to 2008, McGahn was chief counsel for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).[6]

George W. Bush nominated McGahn as a Republican-selected member of the Federal Election Commission in 2008. He was confirmed on June 24, 2008 by the United States Senate and was sworn in shortly thereafter. He is credited as having played a crucial role in loosening regulations on campaign spending.[7][8] McGahn resigned from the FEC in September 2013.[9]

After leaving the FEC, McGahn returned to the law firm Patton Boggs.[6] In 2014 he moved to the law firm of Jones Day in Washington, D.C.[7]..."

[sharedvalues]

19. McGahn is staying in place to pack courts with partisan GOP judges

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-nominees-humiliation-puts-spotlight-on-white-house-counsel-don-mcgahn

BAD BLOOD
GOP Pushes Back as Trump’s Lawyer Tries to Stack the Bench

More than anyone who has occupied the post before, McGahn has exerted an outsized influence over the nation’s judiciary. He has put loyal allies in key positions at the Department of Justice and he has taken the leading role in pushing nominees for the bench.

Petersen was his protege. The two served together at the FEC, during which time McGahn orchestrated and received a remarkable degree of ideological obedience. The three Republican members were lockstep on virtually all voting matters. When Trump won and plucked McGahn as his top lawyer (after having been the campaign’s counsel), the alliance continued. On page 40 of his questionnaire, Petersen admitted that he found out he was a candidate for the judicial vacancy after being “contacted by the White House Counsel’s Office.”

also see
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/26/us/politics/trump-white-house-counsel-mcgahn.html

[OhNo-Really]

20. Thank you! I missed that.

".....ideas sit in bins waiting for the right timing to ....." paraphrasing something I heard about politics years ago. Rumsfeldianesque?

I am sure the GOP court stacking plans have yellowed over the years. Rove sure used them.

So McGahn is an idealogue. All or nothing....down with the ship....and all that idealoguey stuff men like to spout when their "be right" has to shout

My way or the highway

[DeminPennswoods]

33. McGahn's been interviewed by Mueller

over a couple of days and, afaik, answered what he was asked.

[Julian Englis]

11. This may explain the Twitter storm, tRump knows the noose is tightening n/t

[Sam McGee]

12. That's three out of four . . .

. . . well, no actually, it's four out of five.

Of the four original indictments -- Flynn, PappaWhatsHisName, Manafort, and Gates, three have pleaded guilty and are singing like the Vienna Boys' Choir. Manafort is about to have his ass slapped in jail for forging financial documents. Then, there's the guy in California who was named in last week's indictment -- Flynn, the Greek, Gates, CA guy, Manafort -- four of five gone down.

Do you suppose Trump's necktie is feeling a little tight????

[OhNo-Really]

16. May I not like your pic? Trigger for some, albeit cleverish. Being sensitive

[lindysalsagal]

21. Ukraine wanted weapons to use against Russia, and Putin told 45 to stop it.

And these stooges never thought anyone would notice. Collusion! Voila!

[GreydeeThos]

22. What do you want to bet Gates is also testifying against Trump too

Mueller probably has not said publicly that Gates is testifying against Trump, but it will all come out when the really big indictments are laid down in the end game.

[George II]

23. Probably. Gates was in the campaign and the transition. And don't forget Pence led the transistion!

[Leghorn21]

27. And let us not forget that Manafort brought Pence on board, quite deliberately I hear. Does

that “mean” anything??

We shall stay tuned!!

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

28. Ohhhh yeaaahh... you can tell from his Tweets the Traitor-In-Chief is a cornered rat!

The trap is closing!! I love it!!

[SunSeeker]

30. Good. That will pressure Manafort to roll on Trump. nt

[sarcasmo]

31. If you thought Saturday's Trump tweet, freak out was bad, wait until Manafort flips.

[dalton99a]

32. Kick

[Nitram]

34. The dominoes are falling...

[Nitram]

35. Mueller may already have enough evidence to indict Trump and is holding back for more.

[LiberalFighter]

36. I hope after Manafort is released from prison

he leaves as a pauper and permanently loses his passport.

[George II]

37. One of the reasons Mueller is fighting his bail is that Manafort has three or four passports.

[bluescribbler]

38. Climbing the ladder

Eventually it reaches the top.

[Sam McGee]

39. Sarah Hickabee Sanders . . .

Press conference scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

I predict when Sarah Hickabee Sanders is asked about Gates, she'll ask "Who? Was he one of the volunteer covfefe boys?"

[George II]

40. Or she'll say "I'm not going to debate that here", or "I haven't talked to him about that", etc....

...or she'll just say "Thanks guys" and storm into the back room.

She makes me gag!