New signs Mueller is about to flip another in Russia probe: Rick Gates quietly added prominent white-collar attorney Tom Green [from Watergate] to his defense team. Green met with Mueller team twice last week, which suggests ongoing negotiations.
#Maddow cnn.it/2GbDsXe
#Maddow cnn.it/2GbDsXe
Rick Gates is no coffee boy. After his boss Manafort left the campaign, "Gates remained entrenched in Trump operation"– on the transition, the inaugural & running Trump's super PAC.
Oh, and his RU oligarch/mafia pal Deripaska is is suing him again.
#Maddow
Oh, and his RU oligarch/mafia pal Deripaska is is suing him again.
#Maddow
Here's the thing: Trump hated Rick Gates; threatened to fire him MANY times – even after Gates took the fall for Melania's plagiarized speech. Trump aides talked about Gates like a dog, referring to him as Trump's whipping boy.
Think he'll flip? 😆
#Maddow
Think he'll flip? 😆
#Maddow
3 of Rick Gates lawyers withdrew as counsel for the ex Trump campaign aide. Reasons for their departure were filed under seal today.
=> A team of lawyers recently linked to Gates spent the day in Mueller's office building. via @kpolantz
@Lazertrade #Maddow politi.co/2nxIZQz
=> A team of lawyers recently linked to Gates spent the day in Mueller's office building. via @kpolantz
@Lazertrade #Maddow politi.co/2nxIZQz
^
Rick Gates' lawyers are in a sealed hearing on their motion to withdraw as his counsel. The exhibit that explains the reasons for that request to withdraw remains under seal.
As noted upthread, Gates already has a new attorney - his 3rd so far.
#Maddow
As noted upthread, Gates already has a new attorney - his 3rd so far.
#Maddow
👀
Via @ZoeTillman: As of now, there has been NO change to Rick Gates' legal representation. The judge did not rule from the bench during today's sealed hearing on the motion filed by Rick Gates' lawyers to withdraw.
#Maddow
#Maddow
"Irreconcilable differences" ? Rick Gates and his soon-to-be-former lawyers couldn't agree on whether he should flip? Disagreements over money?
#Maddow
#Maddow
BOOM BOOM BOOM: Former Trump campaign adviser Rick Gates is finalizing a plea deal w/ special counsel Robert Mueller's office – has been in negotiations for a month. Once a deal is place, Gates will be the 3rd known cooperator in the Russia probe.
#Maddow cnn.it/2stZEZY
#Maddow cnn.it/2stZEZY
Recall: Rachel Brand's husband, Jonathan Cohn, is an attorney at Sidley Austin, the firm Rick Gates just hired to represent him in the Mueller indictment and negotiate his plea deal. Still wonder why she stepped down from the DOJ?
#Maddow
#Maddow
Rick Gates is no coffee boy. Gates flipping places enormous pressure on Manafort: "Trump Has Told Friends and Aides that Paul Manafort Can Incriminate Him." emptywheel.net/?p=63006
via @rgoodlaw
#Maddow
via @rgoodlaw
#Maddow
ICYMI: On Jan 10, Russian oligarch Deripaska re-upped his lawsuit against ex-Trump campaign officials Manafort & Rick Gates. Deripaska named Lindsey Graham's 2016 campaign mgr Christian Ferry as a key Manafort assoc in the 2014 filing of this suit.
#Maddow
#Maddow
Lindsey Graham's 2016 campaign manager, Christian Ferry, was part of the Davis, Manafort, Rick Gates team who advised Ukraine's then-PM Yanukovych back in 2008.
Hi @LindseyGrahamSC!
#Maddow
Hi @LindseyGrahamSC!
#Maddow
Former NY federal prosecutor, Oct 31, *2016*: At the time of Manafort's resignation from the Trump Campaign, the FBI knew that he, Rick Gates & Brad Zackson [former Trump Org manager] had been laundering money for Russian mobster Dimitri Firtash.
#Maddow
#Maddow
Recall: Rick Gates was not only Deputy Chair of the Trump campaign, he was also Deputy Chair of the Trump's Inaugural Committee [Tom Barrack's chief deputy], managing the murky $107M inauguration fund.
#Maddow
#Maddow
Looks like Rick Gates is producing for Mueller: New bank fraud claim against Manafort re $9.5M mortgage from Federal Savings Bank of Chicago – but no charges yet. @AGSchneiderman is investigating the same mortgage.
State charges = no pardon. #Flip
#Maddow
State charges = no pardon. #Flip
#Maddow
