INSIDER
Manafort, US government settle civil case for $3.15 million
Read full article: Manafort, US government settle civil case for $3.15 millionThe former chairman of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, Paul Manafort, has agreed to pay $3.15 million to settle a civil case filed by the Justice Department over undeclared foreign bank accounts.
Feds seek nearly $3M from Manafort over undisclosed accounts
Read full article: Feds seek nearly $3M from Manafort over undisclosed accountsThe Justice Department is suing Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, seeking to recover nearly $3 million from undeclared foreign bank accounts.
Banker gets gets 1 year in prison in Manafort loan scheme
Read full article: Banker gets gets 1 year in prison in Manafort loan schemeA Chicago banker has been sentenced to a year in prison for his conviction in a scheme to make $16 million in loans to Paul Manafort to gain influence in the Trump administration.
Lawyers deny spy suspect discussed fleeing to evade arrest
Read full article: Lawyers deny spy suspect discussed fleeing to evade arrestLawyers for a Maryland woman charged along with her husband in a scheme to sell Navy submarine secrets to a foreign government are pushing back on prosecutors’ arguments that she was motivated to leave the United States because she was afraid of getting caught.
EXPLAINER: What to know about the Giuliani investigation
Read full article: EXPLAINER: What to know about the Giuliani investigationA long-running federal investigation into Rudy Giuliani’s dealings in Ukraine has moved back into public view after federal agents seized electronic devices from the former New York mayor.
US says Russia was given Trump campaign polling data in 2016
Read full article: US says Russia was given Trump campaign polling data in 2016The Treasury Department says Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian and Ukrainian political consultant, shared sensitive information from Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign with Russian intelligence services.
New York Assembly hires top law firm for Cuomo investigation
Read full article: New York Assembly hires top law firm for Cuomo investigationNew York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks before getting vaccinated at a church in the Harlem section of New York, Wednesday, March 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)ALBANY, N.Y. – New York’s Assembly has hired a top Manhattan law firm to assist in its impeachment investigation of Gov. The Manhattan firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, which has more than 900 attorneys and offices around the world, will lead the probe, said Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Judiciary Committee Chair Charles Lavine. “Since Thursday, Chairman Lavine led a vigorous search for a top-flight firm to assist with the investigation. AdAttorney General Letitia James is also investigating claims that the governor sexually harassed or inappropriately touched female aides.
Trump pardons ex-strategist Steve Bannon, dozens of others
Read full article: Trump pardons ex-strategist Steve Bannon, dozens of othersTrump is expected to pardon Bannon, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, as part of a flurry of last-minute clemency action that appears to be still in flux in the last hours of his presidency. Trump did not pardon himself, despite speculation that he would, in the face of potential federal investigations. Another was Ken Kurson, a friend of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner who was charged last October with cyberstalking during a heated divorce. Bannon was charged in August with duping thousands of donors who believed their money would be used to fulfill Trump’s chief campaign promise to build a wall along the southern border. “Steve Bannon is getting a pardon from Trump after defrauding Trump’s own supporters into paying for a wall that Trump promised Mexico would pay for,” Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said on Twitter.
Trump wishes Biden luck without naming him in farewell video
Read full article: Trump wishes Biden luck without naming him in farewell videoPresident Trump is seen on a network monitor after his pre-recorded farewell speech was released, inside the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, in Washington. “This week we inaugurate a new administration and pray for its success in keeping America safe and prosperous," Trump said in the video “farewell address," released by the White House Tuesday afternoon. Trump spent much of the address trumpeting what he sees as his top achievements, including efforts to normalize relations in the Middle East, the development of coronavirus vaccinations and the creation of a new Space Force. Trump is set to leave Washington early Wednesday morning and has been planning a grand farewell event at nearby Joint Base Andrews. That threw an already paralyzed White House into even further chaos.
Lingering questions about how Trump will finish out his term
Read full article: Lingering questions about how Trump will finish out his termA U.S. Secret Service guard stands post at the North Portico of the White House, after the U.S. House impeached President Donald Trump in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021. Trump did not make a concession phone call or invite Biden to the White House after his victory. But last week the White House invited Biden to spend the night of Jan. 19 at Blair House. Officials do not expect Trump to invite Biden to the White House for the traditional pre-inauguration tea on Wednesday, but they said it is still a remote possibility. With Trump skipping the event, White House officials say Trump has not decided yet how and when he will leave the White House for his residence in Palm Beach, Florida.
After pardon, Blackwater guard defiant: ‘I acted correctly’
Read full article: After pardon, Blackwater guard defiant: ‘I acted correctly’In this Dec. 31, 2020, file photo pardoned Blackwater contractor Evan Liberty poses for a photo in Washington. The Blackwater contractors meet none of that criteria. They were convicted in the killings of unarmed Iraqi women and children and have long been defiant in their assertions of innocence. “I feel like I acted correctly,” he said of his conduct in 2007. He says he's grateful to his supporters and to Trump for what he calls a “second chance at life."
New round of Trump clemency benefits Manafort, other allies
Read full article: New round of Trump clemency benefits Manafort, other alliesFILE - In this Thursday, June 27, 2019 file photo, Paul Manafort arrives in court in New York. President Trump's former campaign manager is to be arraigned on state mortgage fraud charges. Manafort, who led Trump's campaign during a pivotal period in 2016 before being ousted over his ties to Ukraine, was among the first people charged as part of Mueller’s investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Though the charges against Manafort did not concern the central thrust of Mueller's mandate — whether the Trump campaign and Russia colluded to tip the election — he was nonetheless a pivotal figure in the investigation. Trump and the elder Kushner knew each other from real estate circles and their children were married in 2009.
A look at the 29 people Trump pardoned or gave commutations
Read full article: A look at the 29 people Trump pardoned or gave commutationsTrump commuted his sentence in July just days before he was scheduled to report to federal prison. The president commuted her sentence; the White House said the commutation was supported by several former U.S. attorneys general. A White House news release praised the men as “model prisoners,” who had earned support and praise from other inmates. She was in the White House when Trump signed the overhaul measure, known as the First Step Act, into law. Black was a co-defendant in the case and was also convicted; Trump previously pardoned him.
Trump pardons former campaign chairman Paul Manafort
Read full article: Trump pardons former campaign chairman Paul ManafortPresident Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Wednesday pardoned former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law, in the latest wave of clemency to benefit longtime associates and supporters. Manafort, who led Trump’s campaign during a pivotal 2016 period before being ousted over his ties to Ukraine, had been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for financial crimes related to his work in Ukraine. He was among the first people charged as part of Mueller’s investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Though the charges against Manafort did not concern the central thrust of Mueller’s mandate — whether the Trump campaign and Russia colluded to tip the election — he was nonetheless a pivotal figure in the investigation.
New round of Trump clemency benefits Manafort, other allies
Read full article: New round of Trump clemency benefits Manafort, other alliesFILE - In this Thursday, June 27, 2019 file photo, Paul Manafort arrives in court in New York. President Trump's former campaign manager is to be arraigned on state mortgage fraud charges. Manafort, who led Trump's campaign during a pivotal period in 2016 before being ousted over his ties to Ukraine, was among the first people charged as part of Mueller’s investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Though the charges against Manafort did not concern the central thrust of Mueller's mandate — whether the Trump campaign and Russia colluded to tip the election — he was nonetheless a pivotal figure in the investigation. Trump and the elder Kushner knew each other from real estate circles and their children were married in 2009.
Trump expected to flex pardon powers on way out door
Read full article: Trump expected to flex pardon powers on way out doorWASHINGTON – Advocates and lawyers anticipate a flurry of clemency action from President Donald Trump in the coming weeks that could test the limits of presidential pardon power. No, Mr. President, that would be a gross abuse of the presidential pardon authority,” Schumer said. Trump then featured Johnson's story in a Super Bowl ad and pardoned her during this year's Republican National Convention. He has participated in several meetings at the White House during Trump's term as officials brainstormed potential changes to the formal clemency process. “For those people that should be free," he said, Trump's friends-and-family approach to pardons is "a deep and real tragedy."
Court won't revive state fraud charges against Manafort
Read full article: Court won't revive state fraud charges against ManafortNEW YORK – A New York court on Thursday upheld a decision dismissing state mortgage fraud charges against Paul Manafort on double jeopardy grounds, affirming a lower court judge's finding that they mirrored the federal charges that landed President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman behind bars. A four-judge panel in the state's intermediate appeals court ruled that Manhattan prosecutors failed to show that the state charges they brought against Manafort last year warranted an exception to state double jeopardy protections. Manhattan Judge Maxwell Wiley had reached the same conclusion in December, explaining at the time that "the law of double jeopardy in New York state provides a very narrow window for prosecution." Manafort was convicted in federal court on charges alleging he misled the U.S. government about lucrative foreign lobbying work, hid millions of dollars from tax authorities and encouraged witnesses to lie on his behalf. Manafort was convicted of eight counts of tax and bank fraud, and a jury was hung on 10 other counts.
How a probe of Trump-Russia ties turned into a GOP rally cry
Read full article: How a probe of Trump-Russia ties turned into a GOP rally cryYet in the 2020 campaign, Democrats are largely ignoring the Russia probe. While some of the revelations from the steady drip of newly declassified documents are serious, they do not undercut the reasons the Russia probe was launched or its principal findings. Meanwhile, Attorney General William Barr has appointed a prosecutor to investigate the origins of the Russia probe. Meanwhile, attacking the Russia probe is a core part of Trump's campaign. Those attacks on the Russia probe may not win over many undecided voters.
Bank shares slide on report of rampant money laundering
Read full article: Bank shares slide on report of rampant money launderingShares of Deutsche Bank dropped 8.3%. Deutsche Bank has been under scrutiny for years. Deutsche Bank neither admitted nor denied the allegations in the settlement. The London bank HSBC, Europe's largest acknowledged in 2012 that it had laundered at least $881 million for Latin American drug cartels. However, according to the report, HSBC continued to manage money for shady clients, including suspected Russian money launderers and a Ponzi scheme under investigation in multiple countries.
Appeals court keeps Flynn case alive, won't order dismissal
Read full article: Appeals court keeps Flynn case alive, won't order dismissalFILE - In this Sept. 10, 2019 file photo, Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, leaves the federal court following a status conference in Washington. The arrest of President Donald Trumps former chief strategist Steve Bannon adds to a growing list of Trump associates ensnared in legal trouble. They include the president's former campaign chair, Paul Manafort, whom Bannon replaced, his longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, and his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)WASHINGTON A federal appeals court won't order the dismissal of the Michael Flynn prosecution, ruling Monday that a judge is entitled to scrutinize the Justice Department's request to dismiss its case against the former Trump administration national security adviser. In May, the Justice Department moved to dismiss the prosecution even though Flynn himself had pleaded guilty and admitted lying to the FBI during the Russia investigation.
Greg Craig found not guilty on foreign lobbying charge
Read full article: Greg Craig found not guilty on foreign lobbying charge(The Mueller team initially had handed the Craig case to federal prosecutors in Manhattan, before the US attorney in Washington took it on.) Spokespeople for the Justice Department and District of Columbia US Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The case was a high-profile one for a Justice Department unit that is cracking down on unregistered foreign lobbying. Craig was charged with making a false statement to the Justice Department in describing and hiding that effort. But Craig and his defense lawyers maintained that he would not have thrown away his sterling reputation in Washington by lying to the Justice Department.
Rick Gates back in court to testify against former WH counsel
Read full article: Rick Gates back in court to testify against former WH counsel(CNN) - Top Mueller cooperator and star trial witness Rick Gates had it easier his second time around. Manafort and Gates, who in the summer of 2016 directed Donald Trump's presidential campaign, were two of the highest-profile defendants in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Though Gates has finished helping prosecutors in the Craig case, he could be called to testify again in November against former Trump adviser Roger Stone. That question had been unresolved at the Manafort trial when Gates testified there. Gates' last two yearsGates laughed quickly when asked about the extent of his cooperation with federal prosecutors.
Manafort pleads not guilty in NY to fraud charges
Read full article: Manafort pleads not guilty in NY to fraud chargesThe former chairman of President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, Manafort is charged by state prosecutors with 16 felony counts, including residential mortgage fraud and falsifying business records. He is currently serving a seven-and-a-half year prison sentence for federal tax fraud, bank fraud and foreign lobbying violations. Manafort will remain in federal custody while the New York state case against him proceeds, a prosecutor from the Manhattan district attorney's office said Thursday. The state charges relate to mortgages Manafort received on properties in the New York area between 2015 and 2017, a time when his foreign lobbying business was drying up. Manafort's lawyer, Todd Blanche, has said he will fight the charges, saying they amount to double jeopardy.
Manafort to be arraigned Thursday in NYC
Read full article: Manafort to be arraigned Thursday in NYC(CNN) - Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort will be arraigned Thursday afternoon in New York City on state fraud charges, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN. Manafort is currently in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan, a federal prison. The state charges involve some of the same bank loans that led to his conviction by the federal jury last summer. If convicted in New York state, Manafort would be out of reach of a federal pardon. The President's pardon power applies only to federal crimes, such as the ones Manafort is currently in prison for.