Thread by @SethAbramson

(THREAD) The White House line on the Paul Manafort indictment—it has nothing to do with Trump—is a lie. Here's why.

1/ Paul Manafort is alleged by the FBI to have LAUNDERED UKRAINIAN MONEY *while* he was running Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

2/ Paul Manafort is alleged to have MADE FALSE STATEMENTS (a felony) *after* he ran Trump's campaign but *while* he was in contact with him.

3/ Because Manafort was always an *unpaid* Trump advisor, there's no difference between him being unpaid Campaign Manager or unpaid advisor.

4/ If Trump wanted to disassociate himself from the unpaid Manafort, he needed to not only fire him but *no longer seek his unpaid advice*.

5/ The reason Manafort was able and willing to work for "free" for Trump is because he was being paid by pro-Putin Ukrainians and Russians.

6/ Trump has known Manafort for decades—and well knew how much money Manafort made from pro-Putin elements and why he could work "for free."

7/ But MUCH more importantly, the MONEY Manafort laundered and the LIES he told were *directly* related to his unpaid work for Donald Trump.

8/ On March 31, 2016, we now know—via a J.D. Gordon CNN interview—that Trump *ordered* his campaign team to change the GOP platform in July.

9/ Paul Manafort, who Trump had hired to *run* his RNC operation, was likewise tasked with *running* the GOP platform change in July 2016.

10/ Trump knew the GOP platform change was a HUGE benefit to pro-Putin elements in Ukraine—a promise *not* to provide arms to their enemies.

11/ Trump knew Manafort had WORKED FOR the pro-Putin Ukrainian elements for YEARS. He may've known Manafort was still laundering that money.

12/ So Trump put in charge of changing the platform to benefit pro-Putin elements in Ukraine a man he knew had *worked* for those elements.

13/ Either Trump asked Manafort if he was still working for them or he allowed his Campaign Manager to have an illegal conflict of interest.

14/ We already know Trump *deliberately* hired people (see Mike Flynn) after learning they were unregistered agents of foreign governments.

15/ There is every reason to think Trump hired Manafort either knowing he was a Ukrainian agent or deliberately failing to inquire about it.

16/ Trump very well *knew* that by hiring Manafort and putting him in CHARGE of getting Putin various policy goodies he was pleasing Putin.

17/ Trump continued to keep Manafort on—and allowed him to change the GOP platform to benefit Putin—long AFTER he knew hacking had occurred.

18/ We know this because Team Trump learned that Russia had stolen HRC emails in April 2016. Trump had Manafort change the platform in July.

19/ Manafort's work for pro-Putin forces was known to or should have been known to Trump, and it colored or should have colored his actions.

20/ Trump aided/abetted Manafort by knowingly (or in a position he legally should have known) giving him opportunities to please his bosses.

21/ And Trump knowingly *benefited* from Manafort's ongoing connections to his "former" bosses—"former" as he was still laundering his pay.

22/ The claim Manafort's crimes *all preceded* his time with Trump's campaign is FALSE—the claim Trump had no inkling of any of it is FALSE.

23/ In a prosecution of Manafort, Trump would be a material witness regarding the period Manafort was lying to the FBI and laundering money.

24/ And he'd be a key witness because he ORDERED Manafort—maybe in conspiracy with Manafort—to do work pro-Putin Ukrainians may've paid for.

25/ And Trump's knowledge of Manafort's activities and lies could lead to him having culpability as an accomplice to those federal crimes.

26/ So when Senators say, "the Manafort indictment is no surprise" (Burr) or "it has nothing to do with Russia" (Risch), they're dead wrong.

27/ Moreover, I can assure you that there's no attorney connected to the Senate who is *advising* those Senators that what they say is true.

28/ All this is separate from the fact that any criminal investigator will tell you Manafort was charged to get him to cooperate on Russia.

29/ If Congress *actually* wanted to get to the bottom of the Russia question they'd be *intensely* interested in these charges on Manafort.

30/ Instead, they're running interference for Trump. And attorneys in the media are letting them do it—pretending these cases are unrelated.

31/ A simple test: Mueller knows more than anyone about Trump-Russia ties. *He* clearly sees a relation between the cases—why doesn't media?

32/ On Monday there were *3* ground-breaking Trump-Russia developments—the Manafort indictment, the Gates indictment, the Papadopoulos plea.

33/ Don't let anyone tell you Trump, the GOP, Mueller, or criminal defense attorneys see the Manafort or Gates news as unconnected to Trump.

34/ And don't believe lies to the effect that Papadopoulos being directed by top Trump aides to get HRC dirt from the Kremlin is unrelated.

35/ The Trump-Russia story continues to be *under-*—not *over-*—reported because reporters *aren't reading one another's work closely*. /end