Trump's Crimes & Investigations

[LFC]

Another Russia affiliated witch found. I wonder if Jack Smith is investigating Trump's knowledge of this.

A Republican strategist was sentenced Friday to 18 months in prison for his role in helping funnel illegal foreign campaign contributions from a Russian national into former President Trump's 2016 campaign, per the Department of Justice.

Driving the news: Jessie Benton, a former senior aide to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), orchestrated a scheme to conceal the illegal foreign donation with another GOP political advisor.

• Benton, 45, was convicted in November of conspiring to solicit and cause an illegal campaign contribution by a foreign national, effecting a conduit contribution, and causing false records to be filed with the Federal Election Commission, per the DOJ.

Background: Benton arranged for the Russian national to attend a political campaign fundraising event and take a photo with Trump, federal prosecutors said.

• The Russian national wired $100,000 to Benton's political consulting firm to make an illegal foreign contribution. But Benton allegedly pocketed $75,000 and gave $25,000 to the campaign, falsely identifying himself as the donor.
• The campaign unknowingly filed reports with the FEC that inaccurately reported Benton as the source of the funds instead of the Russian national, per the Justice Department.

Of note: Neither Trump nor his campaign was aware of the Russian person's nationality, the DOJ said.

Flashback: Benton was previously convicted of filing false statements as part of a scheme to funnel money from Ron Paul's 2012 presidential campaign to an influential Iowa politician who backed Paul in the state's presidential caucus, Axios' Shawna Chen reports.

• Trump pardoned Benton shortly before leaving office.

[goldenvalley]

Feb 19, 2023 2:49:19 GMT LFC said:

• The Russian national wired $100,000 to Benton's political consulting firm to make an illegal foreign contribution. But Benton allegedly pocketed $75,000 and gave $25,000 to the campaign, falsely identifying himself as the donor.

Nice work if you can get it. Imagine making a career out of setting up illegal donations and skimming money off of them.  Who's going to turn you in? Not the donor, nor the candidate.

[LFC]

It looks like Trump is still desperately trying to hide classified documents from investigators. He should be immediately arrested, imprisoned, and only granted bail if he himself states he has no more documents under oath and/or in writing.

The Justice Department wants to know how a box containing a handful of classified records scattered among copies of presidential schedules turned up at Mar-a-Lago late last year, well after several rounds of searches of the property by federal agents and aides to former President Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the matter.

Investigators working for special counsel Jack Smith in recent weeks have interviewed a Trump aide who copied classified materials found in the box using her phone to put them onto a laptop. After a voluntary interview with the aide, prosecutors subpoenaed the password to the laptop, which she provided, according to one of the sources.

The classified documents contained in the box were discovered in December, after the Justice Department told Trump’s legal team to conduct yet another search for documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

People familiar with the Trump legal team’s efforts to locate documents describe a confusing chain of events that delayed discovery of the box, including having its contents uploaded to the cloud, emailed to a Trump employee, and moved to an offsite location before finally ending up back at a Mar-a-Lago bridal suite that is now Trump’s office – the very place that the FBI had searched just weeks earlier.

Trump’s legal team has acknowledged in recent weeks they turned over to the special counsel the box and a laptop containing its scanned contents. But prosecutors have continued asking why it wasn’t given to the Justice Department earlier, and what if any role or knowledge Trump may have had about its movements, sources said.

The odyssey of the box has been a recent focus of Smith’s investigation into the mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, according to people familiar with the line of questioning from federal prosecutors. The haphazard handling of documents that ended up online, on computers and moved around to multiple locations could further complicate Trump’s case in an investigation with criminal implications.

One person who described the box’s movements and the special counsel’s inquiry into it described federal investigators as suspecting a “shell game with classified documents.” The person said Trump’s daily movements and instructions to staff are a core part of prosecutors’ questions as well.

[goldenvalley]

Are we going to need a WTF has gone on with people in the FBI thread?  People have complained about Garland slow walking investigations. This WaPo investigative report shows another body fearful of taking on the ex president. (gift article so you can read the whole thing)

Months of disputes between Justice Department prosecutors and FBI agents over how best to try to recover classified documents from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club and residence led to a tense showdown near the end of July last year, according to four people familiar with the discussions.

Prosecutors argued that new evidence suggested Trump was knowingly concealing secret documents at his Palm Beach, Fla., home and urged the FBI to conduct a surprise raid at the property. But two senior FBI officials who would be in charge of leading the search resisted the plan as too combative and proposed instead to seek Trump’s permission to search his property, according to the four people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive investigation.

[LFC]

Trump Tries To Get Toothpaste Back In The Tube

This is a weird one. Apparently Trump is now asserting executive and attorney-client privileges to try to block Special Counsel Jack Smith from using the grand jury testimony of former White House lawyers Pat Cipollone, Patrick Philbin and Eric Herschmann, ABC reported.

The ABC report is a little hard to parse, but it suggests that Smith has taken this argument to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals to resolve and oral arguments may happen in secret this week.

[LFC]

Things are getting Stormy for Trump again.

Stormy!

A criminal indictment against former President Trump now seems almost inevitable, though not guaranteed. That it comes in the Stormy Daniels hush money case is almost surreal, especially given that Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg seemed to have abandoned the investigation upon taking office.

Trump has been invited to testify before the Manhattan grand jury investigating his hush money payment to Stormy Daniels in the waning days of the 2016 president campaign, a Trump lawyer confirmed to the AP.

The on-the-record confirmation followed the initial scoop by the NYT last evening, which characterized the move as “the strongest indication yet that prosecutors are nearing an indictment of the former president.”

“Such offers almost always indicate an indictment is close; it would be unusual for the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, to notify a potential defendant without ultimately seeking charges against him,” the NYT reported.

The defense offered to the AP by Trump attorney Joseph Tacopina was almost desultory: “It’s just another example of them weaponizing the justice system against him. And it’s sort of unfair.”

Trump would be insane to accept Bragg’s invitation to testify, but Trump’s lawyers will likely make a last-minute argument to Bragg not to indict.

[goldenvalley]

Been waiting for Trump to say something like this. I guess it took the reports of Pence's Gridiron speech to provoke him into it.

Donald Trump, whose coup attempt on Jan. 6, 2021, put his vice president’s life at risk as a mob of his supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol, on Monday blamed Mike Pence for the violence that day because he didn’t go along with the scheme.
“Had he sent the votes back to the legislators, they wouldn’t have had a problem with Jan. 6,” the former president told reporters on a flight to an Iowa campaign stop. “So in many ways, you can blame him for Jan. 6.”

[LFC]

Mar 13, 2023 23:33:10 GMT goldenvalley said:

Been waiting for Trump to say something like this. I guess it took the reports of Pence's Gridiron speech to provoke him into it.

Link was bad. This is the fixed link.

[LFC]

Trumps lead lawyer had his phone seized by the FBI. Hooooly shit.

What A Fantastic Situation For Trump

The fact that the person ostensibly coordinating all of the lawyers defending Donald Trump across multiple investigations has himself had his phone seized by the FBI remains almost unbelievable to me.

The NYT keeps shining a bright line on Boris Epshteyn’s complicated role in Trumpland:

Mr. Epshteyn speaks with Mr. Trump several times a day and makes it known that he does so, according to interviews with Trump associates and other Republicans. He has recommended, helped hire and negotiated pay for several lawyers working for Mr. Trump on civil litigation and the federal and local criminal investigations swirling around him.

The – shall we say “complicated”? – background of Epshteyn is unlike that of any other aide to a former president in recent memory:

A cryptocurrency with which he is involved has drawn scrutiny from federal prosecutors. And he has twice been arrested over personal altercations, leading in one case to an agreement to attend anger management classes and in another to a guilty plea for disorderly conduct.

For our purposes, it was the FBI’s seizure of Epshteyn’s phone back in September as part of the Jan. 6 investigation that makes him of most immediate interest. This is a fascinating bit of reporting:

After the search last summer of Mar-a-Lago by F.B.I. agents looking for classified documents still in Mr. Trump’s possession, Mr. Epshteyn retroactively changed his agreement with the political action committee. The agreement, which had been primarily for communications strategy, was updated to include legal work, and to say it covered legal work since the spring of last year, a campaign official said. His monthly retainer doubled to $30,000.

But he dropped a separate effort to have Mr. Trump sign a letter retroactively designating him as a lawyer for Mr. Trump personally, dating to March of last year, soon after Mr. Trump’s post-presidency handling of classified documents became an issue. The letter specifically stated that their communications would be covered by attorney-client privilege, multiple people familiar with the request said.

The internal backbiting in Trumpland over Epshteyn role is of less immediate interest. That being said, Steve Bannon had some touching words about him: “Boris is a pair of heavy hands — he’s not Louis Brandeis.”

[LFC]

The Russians ... again.

Federal prosecutors in New York involved in the criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s social media company last year started examining whether it violated money laundering statutes in connection with the acceptance of $8m with suspected Russian ties, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The company – Trump Media, which owns Trump’s Truth Social platform – initially came under criminal investigation over its preparations for a potential merger with a blank check company called Digital World (DWAC) that was also the subject of an earlier investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Towards the end of last year, federal prosecutors started examining two loans totaling $8m wired to Trump Media, through the Caribbean, from two obscure entities that both appear to be controlled in part by the relation of an ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin, the sources said.

The expanded nature of the criminal investigation, which has not been previously reported, threatens to delay the completion of the merger between Trump Media and DWAC, which would provide the company and Truth Social with up to $1.3bn in capital, in addition to a stock market listing.

Even if Trump Media and its officers face no criminal exposure for the transactions, the optics of borrowing money from potentially unsavory sources through opaque conduits could cloud Trump’s image as he seeks to recapture the White House in 2024.

[goldenvalley]

Mar 15, 2023 15:05:53 GMT LFC said:

Trumps lead lawyer had his phone seized by the FBI. Hooooly shit.

What A Fantastic Situation For Trump

The fact that the person ostensibly coordinating all of the lawyers defending Donald Trump across multiple investigations has himself had his phone seized by the FBI remains almost unbelievable to me.

The NYT keeps shining a bright line on Boris Epshteyn’s complicated role in Trumpland:


The – shall we say “complicated”? – background of Epshteyn is unlike that of any other aide to a former president in recent memory:


For our purposes, it was the FBI’s seizure of Epshteyn’s phone back in September as part of the Jan. 6 investigation that makes him of most immediate interest. This is a fascinating bit of reporting:


The internal backbiting in Trumpland over Epshteyn role is of less immediate interest. That being said, Steve Bannon had some touching words about him: “Boris is a pair of heavy hands — he’s not Louis Brandeis.”

A communicator, an advisor, a lawyer all rolled into one for $30,000 a month at least. Who knows what he actually billed.

[jackd]

Or what Trump actually paid.

[indy]

Mar 15, 2023 15:09:51 GMT LFC said:

The Russians ... again.

... Even if Trump Media and its officers face no criminal exposure for the transactions, the optics of borrowing money from potentially unsavory sources through opaque conduits could cloud Trump’s image as he seeks to recapture the White House in 2024.

They are kidding right? Could cloud Trump's image? If the litany of unsavory actions associated with Trump for the last...oh, gosh, forty?...years didn't do it, this won't even be noticed.

[pnwguy]

Mar 15, 2023 16:20:18 GMT indy said:

Mar 15, 2023 15:09:51 GMT LFC said:

The Russians ... again.

They are kidding right? Could cloud Trump's image? If the litany of unsavory actions associated with Trump for the last...oh, gosh, forty?...years didn't do it, this won't even be noticed.

There could be video tape of Trump meeting with Satan on a deal to surrender the country to the Russians, and the evangelicals would merely say 'As God's chosen one, he's fooling Satan and defeating him'.

Blind worship knows no limits.

[goldenvalley]

Mar 15, 2023 19:37:41 GMT pnwguy said:

Mar 15, 2023 16:20:18 GMT indy said:

They are kidding right? Could cloud Trump's image? If the litany of unsavory actions associated with Trump for the last...oh, gosh, forty?...years didn't do it, this won't even be noticed.

There could be video tape of Trump meeting with Satan on a deal to surrender the country to the Russians, and the evangelicals would merely say 'As God's chosen one, he's fooling Satan and defeating him'.

Blind worship knows no limits.

God uses imperfect vessels to accomplish his plan sometimes.

[goldenvalley]

Whine, whine, whine.  If Obama or Clinton were accused of much lesser things, these folks would be screaming for their heads.  Personally I wish the 1/6 prosecution or the Georgia case was first out of the box, but that's out of my hands.  

This from the guy who says at the Gridiron Club that Trump will be judged harshly "by history."

“The idea of indicting a former president of the United States is deeply troubling to me as it is to tens of millions of Americans,” said former Vice President Mike Pence, a likely Trump rival, during a visit to Iowa, an early-voting state. Tech investor Vivek Ramaswamy, campaigning in South Carolina, said he didn’t want to live in a country where “the party in power is able to use police force to arrest its political opposition.”

McCarthy, R-Calif., said he would direct relevant GOP-led House committees “to immediately investigate if federal funds are being used to subvert our democracy by interfering in elections with politically motivated prosecutions.”

Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, who won his race in 2022 with Trump’s endorsement, said he had been asked by multiple reporters if an indictment would lead him to rescind support for Trump’s campaign.
“The answer is: hell no. A politically motivated prosecution makes the argument for Trump stronger,” he tweeted. “We simply don’t have a real country if justice depends on politics.”

[LFC]

Pence continues to prove he's an immoral piece of shit who is only concerned for his political career.

[LFC]

Sounds about right.

[LFC]

Gym Jordan continues weaponizing the Republican House majority.

House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH) is demanding sworn testimony from the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg amid reports of a possible upcoming indictment of former President Donald Trump.

“In light of the serious consequences of your actions, we expect that you will testify about what plainly appears to be a politically motivated prosecutorial decision,” Jordan wrote in a letter, which was also signed by House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Y) and House Administration Committee Chair Brian Steil (R-WI).

In the letter Jordan also asked Bragg for documents related to any communications between the Justice Department and the DA’s office, a request rooted in conspiracy theories about the Biden Justice Department interfering in the investigation that Trump was hyping on his bootleg Twitter platform over the weekend.

In one of his all-caps posts, he called on Bragg to “BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE CRIME OF ‘INTERFERENCE IN A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.’”

He also claimed Biden influences the D.A.’s office by “stuffing” it with “Department of Injustice people.”

“Biden wants to pretend he has nothing to do with the Manhattan D.A.’s Assault on Democracy when, in fact, he has ‘stuffed’ the D.A.’s Office with Department of Injustice people, including one top DOJ operative from D.C,” Trump wrote.

The House Republicans’ letter to Bragg comes just two days after Trump claimed in a Truth Social post on Saturday that he would be arrested on Tuesday as a part of the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation into the $130,000 hush money payment he made to Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Following Trump’s post, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) argued the investigation was politicized and said he would direct relevant House committees to investigate the Manhattan DA’s office.

It seems Jordan and his MAGA allies wasted no time in following through.

“If these reports are accurate, your actions will erode confidence in the evenhanded application of justice and unalterably interfere in the course of the 2024 presidential election,” Jordan wrote in the letter, referencing some Fox News articles and opinion pieces criticizing the legal theories of the case that he cited in the document.

"Evenhanded application of justice." Gym sure is long on irony.

[indy]

Mar 21, 2023 15:04:52 GMT LFC said:

"Evenhanded application of justice." Gym sure is long on irony.

Demanding someone answer to congress from someone who refused to answer to congress? Can't make this shit up.

[goldenvalley]

Mar 21, 2023 15:15:45 GMT indy said:

Mar 21, 2023 15:04:52 GMT LFC said:

"Evenhanded application of justice." Gym sure is long on irony.

Demanding someone answer to congress from someone who refused to answer to congress? Can't make this shit up.

Gym just did.  One thing that is increasingly obvious is that Gym and his fellow investigators have no interest in actually investigating anything.  They make statements, send out their demands, and then get interviewed on Fox about doing that.  Their PACs and re-election money chests receive money and all are happy.  Well, not all, but the ones who just want to see their views aired on Fox are happy.

[LFC]

Al Franken has still got it.

“Daily Show” guest host Al Franken said each new development in the investigations of former President Donald Trump seem to spawn entirely new investigations and allegations.

Trump, for example, was already accused of mishandling classified documents. Now, Franken noted, investigators are looking into whether he tricked his own lawyers into lying about those documents to the government.

“Trump’s original crimes are now having their own baby crimes,” he cracked. “Y’know, they grow up and implicate you so fast.”

Franken, a former “Saturday Night Live” writer and cast member and a former Democratic senator from Minnesota, said all the legal developments around the ex-president can seem complicated.

“But there is a simple explanation,” he offered. “Trump is a criminal.”

[LFC]

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals clearly knew about and were prepared for Trump's time tested move of delay, delay, delay no matter how absurd the claim. This delay attempt was set aside in just 24 hours, not a month or two.

A federal appeals court took less than a day to bat away an attempt from President Trump to block an attorney of his from participating in Jack Smith’s investigation.

A three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling on Wednesday and ordered Trump attorney Evan Corcoran to hand over records to Smith’s investigation, per a docket entry. The order itself is sealed, as were the lower court’s rulings.

CNN reported that, per the ruling, Corcoran would also be required to testify before the grand jury. That is likely to take place on Friday.

[pnwguy]

Mar 23, 2023 20:47:55 GMT LFC said:

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals clearly knew about and were prepared for Trump's time tested move of delay, delay, delay no matter how absurd the claim. This delay attempt was set aside in just 24 hours, not a month or two.

"He is being railroaded, without due process!  The Deep State is all-in to get him on a witch hunt"  

[goldenvalley]

No indictment coming in New York City this week.  

The grand jury is not expected to meet on the hush money case for the rest of the week, meaning next week is the earliest the panel could be asked to take a vote on whether to indict the former president.

It seems the media jumped the gun 3 weeks ago in their prediction of imminent indictment...and Trump...he even picked a day of the week.  It makes me wonder if this was all a figment of the media imagination or if the NYC DA is just messin' with Trump's head.