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Judd Legum @JuddLegum
, 10 tweets, 4 min read Read on Twitter
1. The company line from Trump and the White House is the Manafort trail has nothing to do with the campaign or the broader Russia investigation.

This has been largely accepted by the media.

It's also not true.

Let's review.

popular.info/p/why-manafort…
2. First the basics.

The core of the trial is how Manafort laundered millions in consulting fees from pro-Russian Ukranian leader Viktor Yanukovych.

Yanukovych was ousted in 2014 in part because he was seen as too close to Russia

This seems relevant.

popular.info/p/why-manafort…
3. The details are even more damning.

Gates, Manafort's deputy, testified that after Yanukovych was ousted, Manafort's cash flow dried up

He was DESPERATE for money

So he volunteers to be Trump's campaign manager for zero salary?

Hmmmm

popular.info/p/why-manafort…
4. Once installed, Manafort tried to use his position as Trump's campaign manager to settle debts

He owed one Russian oligarch $18.9 million

He asked an associate connected Russian intelligence how he could leverage is new power to settle the debt

popular.info/p/why-manafort…
5. While Manafort was campaign manager, Trump campaign staffers muscled through an obscure change to the RNC platform, stripping a clause that supported providing arms to Ukraine to defend themselves from Russian aggression

popular.info/p/why-manafort…
6. After Manafort's ouster in August 2016, he continued to leverage his connection with the campaign through Gates.

He asked Gates to install a banker who loaned him $16 million on the campaign's economic advisory board

That worked

popular.info/p/why-manafort…
7. Later, Manafort asked Gates to make sure the same banker was considered for Secretary of the Army and got an invite to the inauguration.

popular.info/p/why-manafort…
8. All this time, Gates was in constant contact with Konstantin Kilimnik, who Mueller alleges is tied to Russian intelligence

Kiliminik was later charged by Mueller for helping Manafort try to tamper with witnesses following his indictment

popular.info/p/why-manafort…
10. The idea that the Manafort trial is unconnected to the campaign or the larger Russia investigation is a myth

Many of the facts that are emerging involve Manafort's actions during the campaign could prove central to the broader investigation

popular.info/p/why-manafort…
11. If you value this kind of analysis, subscribe to my newsletter, Popular Information and get it straight to your inbox first thing in the morning

Sign up at popular.info
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TRUMP: "At the request of Democrats it will be a steel barrier rather than a concrete wall."

What Democrat has requested a border wall made of steel?
TRUMP: "The border wall would very quickly pay for itself."

Absolutely no evidence of this. Trump cites the cost of illegal drugs, most of which come through official ports of entry.
TRUMP: "The wall will also be paid for indirectly by the great new trade deal we have made with Mexico."

This is not true. And the deal hasn't even been approved by Congress.
Read 4 tweets
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A total and humiliating capitation to a president with no interest in the truth.

The news media is supposed to inform the public.

They are now being used to disseminate government propaganda.
REMEMBER: When Obama wanted to address the nation on immigration, the networks refused to air it because they believe it would be "overtly political."

What a joke.

goo.gl/a8SSgT
The idea that a Democratic rebuttal or fact-checking will make this better is insulting.

If I break my arm and a doctor gives me a cast, I'm thankful.

If a doctor breaks my arm and hands me a band-aid, it's not a favor.
Read 3 tweets
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Any network that airs this live is knowingly participating in a disinformation campaign
Some conflicting info, but @JenniferJJacobs of Bloomberg says the networks will air this live

This show just how deeply the mainstream media misunderstands Trump and his tactics

@JenniferJJacobs This is what happened when Obama gave a primetime address on immigration in 2014
Read 4 tweets

Related threads

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COMING SOON #NarativLive. So, I am going to do a THREAD here about mine and @ZevShalev’s journey together. He was on the #TrumpRussia story way ahead of me. But, here is where we joined forces. I hope you will retweet this thread and our reporting at Narativ.org. 1)
August 17, 2017 MIKE PENCE @VP : New details of how the Trump campaign and Vladimir Putin forged a deal during the 2016 Campaign and the mysterious role of a pro-Russian mercenary who has close ties to Mike Pence. 2) #NarativLive narativ.org/2017/08/17/tro…
August 18, 2017 ERIK PRINCE President Trump’s plan to privatize the war in Afghanistan would enrich three of Trump’s key financial donors and plays into Russia’s military objectives. 3) narativ.org/2017/08/18/a-p…
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Russia’s arrest of American Paul Whelan on spy charges seems a convenient lever to end admitted agent Maria Butina’s cooperation. Just last week Putin hinted w/ this denial: “we will not arrest innocent people simply to exchange them for someone else later”nyti.ms/2CIEbzD
CNN reports more on Paul #Whelan, American arrested in #Russia for allegedly "carrying out an act of espionage"
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Russia's FSB arrested former Marine Paul Whelan Dec 28. State Dept? Crickets. Pompeo's in Brazil praising an authoritarian while the world's most aggressive authoritarian VV Putin has essentially kidnapped a US citizen. Putin's dream was to emasculate GosDep. Mission Accomplished
Read 17 tweets
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💣BombsAway!💣

📌FBI Declassification Underway in 9/11 Saudi Suit

📌Time to obtain & declassify the CIA findings on Jamal Khashoggi’s death

📌In Spite of Gruesome Audio Intel, Trump Stands w/ Saudis re Khashoggi Murder

Are Saudi’s Blackmailing Trump Over DonJr & Kush?
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📌DeclassifyKhoshoggi
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“It is now up to members of Congress to obtain & declassify the CIA findings on Jamal Khashoggi’s death.

No one in Saudi Arabia—most especially the Crown Prince—should escape accountability for such a heinous act.”
Read 80 tweets
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#Manafort charging document for today's guilty plea includes details of his planting disinformation in US press to smear political rivals of his pro-Russia clients in Ukraine. Eg "Plant some stink on Tymo"—painting a female rival as a criminal who paid for murder. Sound familiar?
Manafort had used the same propaganda smear tactics in Ukraine that Trump rolled out in his campaign for president in 2016. Manafort not only had Tymo soliciting murder. He pushed tribal divisions, using "Obama Jews" & anti-Semitism to tarnish her. assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4883…
#Manafort manipulated the media with disinformation and then used those planted news stories to manipulate US govt: "I have someone pushing it on the NY Post. Bada bing bada boom…The Jewish community will take this out on Obama on election day if he does nothing.”
Read 13 tweets
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Trump’s threat to pardon Manafort must be taken seriously. Trump wouldn't pardon Manafort for anything Manafort did in connection with the campaign #manafort
1/ (that would strip Manafort of his Fifth Amendment protection for those matters): only for the financial crimes involved in the two court cases. #manafort
2/ This pardon would thereby remove all the pressure Manafort is under to be a cooperating witness against Trump for collusion, and would still leave Manafort with Fifth Amendment protection over the collusion/conspiracy matter.
Read 5 tweets
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A timeline of "Russian" (non) Collusion in a tweet thread:

1. In June of 2016, Crowdstrike announced that the DNC servers had been hacked by the Russians, and submits a malware report “proving” this is the case: washingtonpost.com/world/national…
2. Some points to note: In the months before this report, Papadopolous had already been emailing Manafort about “Russians” wanting to meet with the Trump team, which I speculate may have been to lay the groundwork for what was to come. Or, stupidity. abcnews.go.com/US/documents-d…
3. Comey was also already hard at work exonerating Hillary Clinton for her crimes, and FusionGPS was in the heat of their “dossier” building campaign, hiring Nelly Ohr, who had formerly worked with the CIA, as an “independent contractor” foxnews.com/politics/2017/…
Read 141 tweets

Trending hashtags

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