"Toontime: Watergate Redux

credit:Joep Betrams
BC Idonwanna sez: John Brennan knows!*

Former campaign manager Paul Manafort was convicted of eight felonies; he could potentially serve 80 years in prison, but he will not live that long.  George Pappadopolus was sentenced to 14 days, plus one year of supervised probation,  200 hours of community service, and a $9,500 fine for making false statements to federal officials, in this case the FBI. Besides the obvious difference in the number of charges against him, his lenient sentence demonstrates the value of cooperating with federal prosecutors when they "have you over barrel".

According to the factual basis for his plea deal, Pappadopolous began meeting with persons believed to have connections to the Russian government after he got the job of unpaid foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign in early March, 2016.  He was told a major emphasis of the Trump regime would be to improve relations with Russia. Those meeting with Pappadopolous were:

• Joseph Mifsud, a Maltese professor then based in London. He met Papadopoulos in Italy shortly after Papadopoulos agreed to join the Trump campaign, and (per the plea) said he had substantial connections with top Russian government officials.  

• Olga, a Russian national who Mifsud claimed was a relative of Vladimir Putin’s with ties to top Russian officials. Mifsud brought her to meet Papadopoulos in London.

• Ivan Timofeev, a Russian academic who Mifsud said had connections to Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Much of his contacts with these individuals was part of his effort to set up a meeting between Trump and Putin.  Pappadopolous had told campaign executives he could accomplish this before he was hired. He failed to set up such a meeting, but Mifsud returned from Russia with a bombshell he delivered to Pappadopolous in April, 2016: the Russians had "dirt" on Democrat presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton. Whether the "excellent guy" told the campaign about this information is a disputed point, but it is clear his loose lips told an Australian diplomat in a London bar about it. After leaks from the Democratic National Committee began two months later, the Australian government tipped the US that Pappadopolous seemed to know something about it. That is when the FBI began its counterintelligence investigation. The Steele Dossier, contrary to the White House's propaganda campaign to discredit the Special Counsel, was not the precipitating reason for the so-called "witch hunt".

Mueller's team denies Pappadopolous was that helpful to them, saying they developed most of the information he had to offer from independent sources Indeed, Pappadopolous or his wife, spent a lot of time talking to the press. After the government learned he had "participated in a media interview with a national publication concerning his case, the government canceled that [December 2017] meeting. They never questioned him again.  The pregnant question is: will Paul Manafort give up the 'yuge' and possibly deranged, unindicted co-conspirator? If US Person were his attorney, he certainly would tell "the stiff" to think seriously about it, otherwise he will be doing a lot of his thinking behind bars.

credit: Nate Beeler, Columbus Dispatch
Wackydoodle sez:  Keep his finger off the button, too!

*Mr. Yuge followed through on his threat to remove former CIA director John Brennan's security clearance. This revenge is clearly out of bounds in revolving-door Washington, and puts him in direct conflict with the Deep State, one less powerful ally in the fight to stave off his impeachment, an essentially political process.  Removal from office under the 25th Amendment is equally political, and fraught with unprecedented constitutional ramifications.  The country married to a president who is essentially a crime boss is no fun.