Anyone who writes that Manafort lying to Mueller about Kilimnick means the lies had nothing to do with collusion needs to stop writing on Trump-Russia altogether until they've read a book on the topic.
This is a *stunning* misstatement of essential facts. wsj.com/articles/muell…
This is a *stunning* misstatement of essential facts. wsj.com/articles/muell…
2/ Konstantin Kilimnick, a Kremlin agent, *took credit* for convincing Paul Manafort to (in turn) work with Trump and his team to change the GOP platform in July '16 to benefit the Kremlin. *Every meeting* Manafort had with Kilimnick is potentially *deeply* relevant to collusion.
3/ Paul Manafort raised the money to buy a place at Trump Tower by successfully pitching to a Putin ally a plan in which he (Manafort) would shill for the Kremlin around the world. At the time, Trump was already deeply in Putin's pocket financially. *And this was the mid-aughts*.
4/ So from the 2000s on, there *are* no exclusively "personal" meetings between Kremlin shill Manafort and Kremlin agent Kilimnick, as Manafort was living in the home (Trump Tower) of a man the Kremlin wanted groomed for the Oval Office. If you don't get that, that's a problem.
5/ Manafort never works for "free." But he took a job with Trump for "free." And then immediately contacted Kilimnick and said (in paraphrase) help me monetize this position by using it to please the Kremlin. This began a new "business" connection to Kilimnick that was collusive.
6/ But even the *pre-campaign* "business" relationship Manafort had with Kilimnick centered on promoting Kremlin interests worldwide, and it was quite possibly *that* "business" entanglement that made Manafort tell Trump pal Barrack in mid-February 2016, "I have to get to Trump."
7/ And *this* sort of Summer 2016 question is Collusion 101: "Mueller has....questioned witnesses about a boat trip Manafort took with Barrack after Manafort was ousted from Trump's campaign in August 2016...investigators [want to know if] Manafort met Kilimnik on that trip."
8/ Also—to note the obvious—if *all* Manafort's legal troubles have *nothing* to do with Trump, (a) there's *no* need for Trump to be in a Joint Defense Agreement with Manafort, (b) *no* reason for Trump to tell friends Manafort could hurt him, (c) *no* reason to float a pardon.
