UPDATED 2/27: Richard Gates Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy Against the United States
240 replies, posted
[url]http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-rick-gates-plea-deal-20180218-story.html[/url]
[quote][B]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 Manafort, the lawyer-lobbyist who once managed the campaign.[/B]
The change of heart by Trump's former deputy campaign manager Richard Gates, 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.
Gates' defense lawyer, Thomas C. Green, did not respond to messages left by phone and email. Peter Carr, a spokesman for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, declined on Saturday to comment.
Mueller is heading the prosecutions of Gates and Manafort as part of the wide-ranging investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and whether Trump or his aides committed crimes before, during or since the campaign.[/quote]
This is pretty significant. Gates flipping on Manafort seriously dials up the heat for him. If Mueller can bury Manafort so deeply that a plea deal is [U]his[/U] only escape, he could get a key witness against Trump.
Also: count 'em. Three guilty pleas from key Trump campaign personnel.
[B][U]Update: 02-23-2018[/U][/B]
[url]https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/us/politics/rick-gates-guilty-plea-mueller-investigation.html[/url]
[quote]WASHINGTON — A former top adviser to Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign indicted by the special counsel was expected to plead guilty as soon as Friday afternoon, according to two people familiar with his plea agreement, a move that signals he is cooperating with the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
The adviser, Rick Gates, is a longtime political consultant who once served as Mr. Trump’s deputy campaign chairman. The plea deal could be a significant development in the investigation — a sign that Mr. Gates plans to offer incriminating information against his longtime associate and the former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, or other members of the Trump campaign in exchange for a lighter punishment.
The deal comes as the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has been raising pressure on Mr. Gates and Mr. Manafort with dozens of new charges of money laundering and bank fraud that were unsealed on Thursday. Mr. Mueller first indicted both men in October, and both pleaded not guilty.
Mr. Gates’s primary concern has been protecting his family, both emotionally and financially, from the prospect of a drawn-out trial, according to a person familiar with his defense strategy who was not authorized to publicly discuss the case and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
If Mr. Manafort continues to fight the charges in a trial, testimony from Mr. Gates could give Mr. Mueller’s team a first-person account of the criminal conduct that is claimed in the indictments — a potential blow to Mr. Manafort’s defense strategy.
It was unclear exactly what Mr. Gates might have to offer the special counsel’s team, whether about Mr. Manafort or about other members of the Trump campaign. Neither indictment indicated that either Mr. Gates or Mr. Manafort had information about the central question of Mr. Mueller’s investigation — whether President Trump or his aides coordinated with the Russian government’s efforts to disrupt the 2016 election.
But Mr. Gates was present for the most significant periods of activity of the campaign, as Mr. Trump began developing policy positions and his digital operation engaged with millions of voters on platforms such as Facebook. Even after Mr. Manafort was fired by Mr. Trump in August 2016, Mr. Gates remained on in a different role, as a liaison between the campaign and the Republican National Committee. He traveled aboard the Trump plane through Election Day.[/quote]
[editline]/[/editline]
[url]https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia/former-trump-campaign-aide-pleads-guilty-in-russia-probe-idUSKCN1G71TB[/url]
HE PLEAD GUILTY
[quote]WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former senior official in Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, Rick Gates, pleaded guilty on Friday to conspiracy against the United States and lying to investigators, and is cooperating with a federal probe into Russia’s role in the election.
Gates, who was a deputy campaign manager for Trump, is being investigated by the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, which is probing alleged Russian meddling in the U.S. election.
He had been facing decades in prison on much more serious charges, including bank fraud and conspiracy to launder money, but under the charges he pleaded guilty to, he faces a maximum sentence of nearly six years.
Prosecutors said Gates could win a reduction in his sentence based on the extent of his cooperation with Mueller’s probe.
The plea increases pressure on Paul Manafort, who was Trump’s campaign manager for five months in 2016, to also seek a plea deal. However, Manafort said in a statement issued after Gates’ plea deal that he maintained his innocence.
Cooperation by Gates, and potentially by Manafort at a later stage, could provide a rich vein of information for Mueller, whose Russia probe includes looking into whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Moscow to interfere in the election.
Gates’ plea deal appeared to be motivated by his concern over legal costs and the strain on his family. The sentencing guidelines for the charges he pleaded guilty to call for a prison term of between 57 and 71 months.[/quote]
[editline]/[/editline]
Manafort responds by maintaining his innocence:
[quote]President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman is maintaining his innocence after his longtime business associate pleaded guilty to federal charges.
[B]Paul Manafort says in a statement that the plea by Rick Gates on Friday does not change his commitment to defend himself against what he calls “untrue piled up charges.” Manafort says he had “hoped and expected” that Gates would have “the strength” to continue to trial. He says Gates chose to plead guilty for “reasons yet to surface.”[/B]
Gates has pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy and false statements charges in the special counsel’s Russia investigation.
The plea is a strong indication that Gates is planning to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation as it continues to probe the Trump campaign, Russian election interference and Manafort.[/quote]
[url]https://apnews.com/6ebdbd65b9744284aa304bb1f0c67548?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP&__twitter_impression=true[/url]
[editline]BDA SUCKS[/editline]
[QUOTE=Sir Whoopsalot;53164289]So uh...
[media]https://twitter.com/kyledcheney/status/968516999545573377[/media][/QUOTE]
*clack* One more domino closer to the big orange.
Hahaha, holy shit. This is gold.
Holy shit, it costs millions of dollars for a defense?
[QUOTE=Conscript;53142666]Holy shit, it costs millions of dollars for a defense?[/QUOTE]
When you're being charged with these kinds of high crimes you're going to need more than your bog standard defense attorney. You're going to need specialized experts and they don't come cheap.
[QUOTE=Omali;53142754]When you're being charged with these kinds of high crimes you're going to need more than your bog standard defense attorney. You're going to need specialized experts and they don't come cheap.[/QUOTE]
fortunately his good friend and work partner Donald Trump will have that sorted for him
:thatwasfunnyright:
It looks like it was really premature of Mueller to issue that total and complete exoneration of Donald J Trump in last week's indictments. Oh well, too late now
[QUOTE=Bob The Knob;53142960]It looks like it was really premature of Mueller to issue that total and complete exoneration of Donald J Trump in last week's indictments. Oh well, too late now[/QUOTE]
Except that Mueller never issued a "total exoneration" of Trump in said indictments. That's just the old stupid cheeseburger's narcissistic wishful thinking.
Mueller's indictments against 13 Russians is precisely the opposite of exonerating the President: [URL="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-russia-hoax-turns-out-to-be-real/2018/02/16/be3d174a-1346-11e8-9065-e55346f6de81_story.html"]it proves the "hoax" he's been yelling about for a year, and fired Comey over, is as real as his terrible balding combover.[/URL]
The old bumbling former reality TV star validated Mueller's investigation by accepting his findings and claiming the findings prove his innocence -- in fact, not only do the indictments [I]not[/I] clear Trump, they draw a sharper outline around the broad strokes of what we do know about Mueller's investigation. If he fires Mueller now, it's [I]definitely[/I] obstruction of justice, because Trump is now accepting that Russians interfered with the election. He's unable to see two steps ahead so he can't see that Mueller is playing him against himself.
[QUOTE=elixwhitetail;53143015]Except that Mueller never issued a "total exoneration" of Trump in said indictments. That's just the old stupid cheeseburger's narcissistic wishful thinking.
Mueller's indictments against 13 Russians is precisely the opposite of exonerating the President: [URL="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-russia-hoax-turns-out-to-be-real/2018/02/16/be3d174a-1346-11e8-9065-e55346f6de81_story.html"]it proves the "hoax" he's been yelling about for a year, and fired Comey over, is as real as his terrible balding combover.[/URL]
The old bumbling former reality TV star validated Mueller's investigation by accepting his findings and claiming the findings prove his innocence -- in fact, not only do the indictments [I]not[/I] clear Trump, they draw a sharper outline around the broad strokes of what we do know about Mueller's investigation. If he fires Mueller now, it's [I]definitely[/I] obstruction of justice, because Trump is now accepting that Russians interfered with the election. He's unable to see two steps ahead so he can't see that Mueller is playing him against himself.[/QUOTE]
All true, but I think he was just kidding :v:
This is entirely speculative and doesn’t mean anything about the investigation, just curious.
If a lawyer finds out about the guilt of a capital offense and doesn’t make their client plead guilty, can they be removed from their position or even charged? Or do lawyers receive some form of immunity in these cases?
I know that, iirc, lawyers have to recuse themselves or change their defense if their client admits guilt to them
[QUOTE=Zillamaster55;53143266]This is entirely speculative and doesn’t mean anything about the investigation, just curious.
If a lawyer finds out about the guilt of a capital offense and doesn’t make their client plead guilty, can they be removed from their position or even charged? Or do lawyers receive some form of immunity in these cases?
I know that, iirc, lawyers have to recuse themselves or change their defense if their client admits guilt to them[/QUOTE]
Dunno on that point, but I do know that lawyers can be compelled to testify against their clients if they are a [U]witness[/U] to the crime, which I believe actually happened with Manafort's lawyer when they were first indicted.
[QUOTE=Zillamaster55;53143266]This is entirely speculative and doesn’t mean anything about the investigation, just curious.
If a lawyer finds out about the guilt of a capital offense and doesn’t make their client plead guilty, can they be removed from their position or even charged? Or do lawyers receive some form of immunity in these cases?
I know that, iirc, lawyers have to recuse themselves or change their defense if their client admits guilt to them[/QUOTE]
Technically, a lawyer cannot knowingly allow their client to lie in court / under oath. In reality though, what goes on behind the closed doors of attorney-client privilege in criminal cases is a kind of code-talk wherein the lawyer gets the jist of their client's lies without being explicitly told, and advises them in roundabout ways to avoid taking actions that would expose themselves. That's really the best a lawyer can do, otherwise they expose themselves to prosecution.
A good criminal defense lawyer also knows how to force their client's hand if they suspect their client isn't being truthful with them. (Not being honest with your own defense attorney is a great way to maximize your chances of going to jail, because without the full picture a lawyer's ability to provide sound legal counsel is compromised, and the defense is at risk for being blindsided.) Say your client maintains he is 100% innocent (as Donald Trump says he is) but you suspect otherwise. You can then advise your client *as if* he really IS completely innocent ("As your legal counsel, I would/wouldn't recommend an innocent client to do X"). Because your client knows he's guilty, he will then decline to follow whatever course of action you have prescribed. Some suspect that Ty Cobb, Trump's WH counsel, has used this method with Trump.
[url]https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/us/politics/rick-gates-guilty-plea-mueller-investigation.html[/url]
[quote]WASHINGTON — A former top adviser to Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign indicted by the special counsel was expected to plead guilty as soon as Friday afternoon, according to two people familiar with his plea agreement, a move that signals he is cooperating with the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.
The adviser, Rick Gates, is a longtime political consultant who once served as Mr. Trump’s deputy campaign chairman. The plea deal could be a significant development in the investigation — a sign that Mr. Gates plans to offer incriminating information against his longtime associate and the former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, or other members of the Trump campaign in exchange for a lighter punishment.
The deal comes as the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has been raising pressure on Mr. Gates and Mr. Manafort with dozens of new charges of money laundering and bank fraud that were unsealed on Thursday. Mr. Mueller first indicted both men in October, and both pleaded not guilty.
Mr. Gates’s primary concern has been protecting his family, both emotionally and financially, from the prospect of a drawn-out trial, according to a person familiar with his defense strategy who was not authorized to publicly discuss the case and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
If Mr. Manafort continues to fight the charges in a trial, testimony from Mr. Gates could give Mr. Mueller’s team a first-person account of the criminal conduct that is claimed in the indictments — a potential blow to Mr. Manafort’s defense strategy.
It was unclear exactly what Mr. Gates might have to offer the special counsel’s team, whether about Mr. Manafort or about other members of the Trump campaign. Neither indictment indicated that either Mr. Gates or Mr. Manafort had information about the central question of Mr. Mueller’s investigation — whether President Trump or his aides coordinated with the Russian government’s efforts to disrupt the 2016 election.
But Mr. Gates was present for the most significant periods of activity of the campaign, as Mr. Trump began developing policy positions and his digital operation engaged with millions of voters on platforms such as Facebook. Even after Mr. Manafort was fired by Mr. Trump in August 2016, Mr. Gates remained on in a different role, as a liaison between the campaign and the Republican National Committee. He traveled aboard the Trump plane through Election Day.[/quote]
Another big update. After the massive wave of new indictments, Gates fired the lawyer that many people suspected was negotiating a plea deal. This led to the rumor that Gates was no longer considering cooperation. Today's report indicates that he [B][U]is[/U][/B] still planning to plead guilty and cooperate with Mueller's investigation, and he might be doing it [B][U]TODAY.[/U][/B]
The increased pressure of sworn testimony from his co-conspirator is going to force Manafort to make a choice: life in prison, or a plea deal to testify against Trump himself.
May the end come soon, or at least soon enough that there's no escape for any of the jokers involved in selling out their country for money.
No matter what, Manafort's never going to see the light of day again. If he flips, and avoids jailtime, he'll have to live in isolation and secrecy to avoid Russian retaliation. If he doesn't flip, he'll be locked in federal prison for the rest of his life. If Trump pardons him, they'll just extradite him to Ukraine, where he faces the death penalty.
Manafort has to realize that he's entirely fucked. Gates throwing him under the bus for a plea deal might be what it takes for him to spill the beans on this secret guerrilla war.
[QUOTE=.Isak.;53153927]No matter what, Manafort's never going to see the light of day again. If he flips, and avoids jailtime, he'll have to live in isolation and secrecy to avoid Russian retaliation. If he doesn't flip, he'll be locked in federal prison for the rest of his life. If Trump pardons him, they'll just extradite him to Ukraine, where he faces the death penalty.
Manafort has to realize that he's entirely fucked. Gates throwing him under the bus for a plea deal might be what it takes for him to spill the beans on this secret guerrilla war.[/QUOTE]
I guess the beauty of narcissists is that birds of a feather flock together, and they're willing to throw anyone under the bus to save face. Hell, look at Trump, who was once friends with/had people in important positions in his cabinet who are suddenly either the worst people or people he never interacted with. I halfway wonder if this makes Paul Ryan nervous, because his "this is how we know we're family" quote may indicate some level of cooperation, but with a group of presumably tighter-lipped people than in the more central annex of the Trump administration.
Related: [url=https://slate.com/technology/2018/02/paul-manafort-couldnt-convert-pdfs-to-word-documents.html]Manafort left a paper-trail via email of him falsifying his finances because he was too fucking stupid to figure out how to convert a .PDF to a Word document[/url]
Manafort wanted to edit his finances document, which was a .pdf, in order to secure a fraudulent bank loan. He couldn't figure out how to convert the .pdf to a Word doc, so he emailed it to Gates, who converted it to a Word doc and sent it back to Manafort. Manafort edited the Word doc, then sent the falsified document back to Gates, who converted to a .pdf and returned it via email to Manafort. Every step of his bank fraud was captured over email because these people don't understand computers.
[QUOTE=srobins;53154399]Related: [url=https://slate.com/technology/2018/02/paul-manafort-couldnt-convert-pdfs-to-word-documents.html]Manafort left a paper-trail via email of him falsifying his finances because he was too fucking stupid to figure out how to convert a .PDF to a Word document[/url]
Manafort wanted to edit his finances document, which was a .pdf, in order to secure a fraudulent bank loan. He couldn't figure out how to convert the .pdf to a Word doc, so he emailed it to Gates, who converted it to a Word doc and sent it back to Manafort. Manafort edited the Word doc, then sent the falsified document back to Gates, who converted to a .pdf and returned it via email to Manafort. Every step of his bank fraud was captured over email because these people don't understand computers.[/QUOTE]
Every day I think, boy, how much shit would we be in if these people were smart?
UPDATE:
He [B][U]did[/U][/B] plead guilty:
[url]https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia/former-trump-campaign-aide-pleads-guilty-in-russia-probe-idUSKCN1G71TB[/url]
[url]https://apnews.com/6ebdbd65b9744284aa304bb1f0c67548?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP&__twitter_impression=true[/url]
[quote]A former top adviser to President Donald Trump’s election campaign has formally pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy and false statements charges in the special counsel’s Russia investigation.
The plea by Rick Gates is a strong indication that he is planning to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation as it continues to probe the Trump campaign, Russian election interference and Gates’ longtime business associate, Paul Manafort.
The 45-year-old Gates made the plea at the federal courthouse in Washington. It comes a day after Gates and Manafort were indicted in Virginia on new charges of tax evasion and bank fraud. Manafort, who is Trump’s former campaign chairman, has said he is innocent.[/quote]
We live in very interesting times. This is big.
I love that shit like this just keeps happening and we still have these braindead fucks claiming the collusion shit is a hoax
[QUOTE=srobins;53154399]Related: [url=https://slate.com/technology/2018/02/paul-manafort-couldnt-convert-pdfs-to-word-documents.html]Manafort left a paper-trail via email of him falsifying his finances because he was too fucking stupid to figure out how to convert a .PDF to a Word document[/url]
Manafort wanted to edit his finances document, which was a .pdf, in order to secure a fraudulent bank loan. He couldn't figure out how to convert the .pdf to a Word doc, so he emailed it to Gates, who converted it to a Word doc and sent it back to Manafort. Manafort edited the Word doc, then sent the falsified document back to Gates, who converted to a .pdf and returned it via email to Manafort. Every step of his bank fraud was captured over email because these people don't understand computers.[/QUOTE]
'Watergate except everyone is an idiot' remains true but no less clumsy a name.
Manafort continues to maintain his innocence:
[url]https://apnews.com/6ebdbd65b9744284aa304bb1f0c67548?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP&__twitter_impression=true[/url]
[quote]President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman is maintaining his innocence after his longtime business associate pleaded guilty to federal charges.
Paul Manafort says in a statement that the plea by Rick Gates on Friday does not change his commitment to defend himself against what he calls “untrue piled up charges.” Manafort says he had “hoped and expected” that Gates would have “the strength” to continue to trial. He says Gates chose to plead guilty for “reasons yet to surface.”
Gates has pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy and false statements charges in the special counsel’s Russia investigation.
The plea is a strong indication that Gates is planning to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation as it continues to probe the Trump campaign, Russian election interference and Manafort.[/quote]
He is facing life in prison, and there is an [B]overwhelming[/B] preponderance of evidence against him, now including damning testimony from his co-conspirator. If he doesn't flip, he will die in prison. It will be very interesting to see how or if his tune changes as the enormity of his situation sets in. His only lifeline currently is the hope of a presidential pardon, and I should hope that not even [I]Trump[/I] would be so colossally fucking stupid as to think he would be able to do that without his entire administration collapsing overnight.
Quick, what's the Donald saying?
"We didn't know Rick, he was just a middleman. Remember, NO COLLUSION!"
[QUOTE=Big Dumb American;53154459] [...] and I should hope that not even [I]Trump[/I] would be so colossally fucking stupid as to think he would be able to do that without his entire administration collapsing overnight.[/QUOTE]
Maybe that would happen under a [I]normal[/I] Presidency, but this is 2018 baby! I wouldn't count on the GOP caring at all as long as they continue to benefit from Trump's corruption.
[QUOTE=Kylel999;53154452]I love that shit like this just keeps happening and we still have these braindead fucks claiming the collusion shit is a hoax[/QUOTE]
A major, but somewhat overlooked, revelation of the new charges piled on yesterday is that they establish that the crimes committed by Gates and Manafort continued up through 2017 -- encompassing not only their time working on Trump's campaign, but also during his transition team, and in the White House itself. Furthermore, additional unnamed co-conspirators are referred to within the new indictments, which establish a pattern of illegal real estate loans and business deals, including many in (wait for it) New York City.
Starting to see where this is going?
[editline]23rd February 2018[/editline]
[QUOTE=Instant Mix;53154470]Quick, what's the Donald saying?
"We didn't know Rick, he was just a middleman. Remember, NO COLLUSION!"[/QUOTE]
If he follows his usual pattern, it will be complete silence until about 3:00 tomorrow morning, at which point he will rapidly tweet out dozens of furious attacks on the FBI, the DOJ, Obama, Hillary Clinton, Mueller, and the Media, among other people, while repeatedly asserting that there was NO COLLUSION and that Russia is a hoax. He will also, of course, attempt to diminish Gates' role in his campaign and transition team, and likely attack Gates personally, calling him a liar and a coward and so on.
What's his catchphrase gonna be?
Snivelling Gates? Cryin' Gates? Somehow don't think he'll go for the obvious Guilty Gates though
[QUOTE=Itsjustguy;53154556]And now imagine him pardoning them both.[/QUOTE]
And then they get the book thrown at them in state court because a) POTUS pardons only count for federal crimes, can't pardon state crimes and b) accepting a pardon is considered an admission of guilt (yes there is a pile of case law built on this).
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