Seems like a whole lot of gate, and very little RussiaMueller’s prosecutors stunned the courtroom when they told the judge they may not put their "star witness" Rick Gates on the stand to testify against Manafort, his former business partner.Manafort case judge warns Mueller team they 'can't prove conspiracy' without star witness
While prosecutor Uzo Asonye was questioning an FBI agent about a financial document authored by Gates, Judge Ellis interrupted the testimony to ask why the agent was being asked about the document and not its apparent author.
“He may testify in this case, your honor, he may not,” Mr. Asonye answered.
This revelation reportedly set off a stampede of reporters out of the courtroom to report the stunning news.
“That’s news to me and about 25 others who scurried out of here like rats on a sinking ship,” Judge Ellis told Asonye.
The prosecutor told the judge that the evidence presented would "determine which witnesses testify," prompting a sharp rebuke from the judge.
“You know who you are going to call,” he said. “If you are going to call Mr. Gates, this is a waste of time.”
It turns out, the defense was looking forward to cross-examining purported liar/ crook/ embezzler/ snitch Gates, who is suspected of being willing to say whatever Mueller's team wants in exchange for leniency.
U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III issued the warning after prosecutors suggested Wednesday that Rick Gates – who is cooperating with prosecutors and had been considered a potential star witness – might not be called to the stand after all.Not the only thing that got the judges dander up. Fox News, Mueller team lectured by judge in Manafort case
Referencing Gates, Ellis told prosecutors in court they “can’t prove conspiracy without him.”
“Not necessarily,” Mueller prosecutor Greg Andres responded, before saying they still have “every intention” to call Gates to the stand.
Ellis, a 78-year-old Reagan-appointed judge known for colorful comments, also quipped that his “wife wasn’t fooled” by the prosecution’s comments on Wednesday leaving open the option of not calling Gates — suggesting he did not believe the prosecution was being serious about the possibility.
U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III specifically told prosecutors to stop using the word “oligarch” to describe wealthy Ukrainians, whose dealings with Manafort are at the heart of the fraud charges he faces in northern Virginia federal court. The judge said the term has a “pejorative” meaning and is not relevant in this case. Further, he cautioned that using it could suggest Manafort is associated with bad people – and guilty by association. “It’s not the American way,” the judge said. He noted that wealthy donors like George Soros or the Koch brothers also could be considered oligarchs.
The Mueller team was later rebuffed again by Ellis when they tried to introduce photos that eventually would become public of Manafort’s closets filled with suits and high-end clothing. While it’s part of their effort to paint Manafort as a tax scofflaw who spent big on luxury items, Ellis would not allow the photos for now.
“Enough is enough. We don’t convict people because they have a lot of money and throw it around,” he said. The judge said the photos would seem “unnecessary, irrelevant” and potentially “prejudicial.” Further, he reminded the lawyers that Manafort “is not on trial for having a lavish lifestyle, but for not reporting income on his taxes.”
FBI special agent Matthew Mikuska, an 11-year veteran of the bureau, testified in court in Alexandria, Va., saying he was the seizing agent for the government’s search last year.Guilty of being a rich Republican? Why Hasn’t the Press Reported That Paul Manafort Was Exonerated 8 Years Ago? Federal Prosecutors Led by ROD ROSENSTEIN Declined to Charge Him.
Mikuska told the jury agents knocked three times on Manafort’s door, but used a key to gain access after receiving no answer. Once inside, agents saw Manafort.
Their warrant to search the apartment, Mikuska said, was not a “no-knock” warrant.
. . .
Documents the government obtained include loan agreements, loan applications, and invoices for work on several properties along the East Coast that Manafort owns.
One draft invoice was for $115,000 in upgrades for a property in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., while another was for $49,000 from a home improvement company for work to be done on a house in Bridgehampton, N.Y.
Judge T. S. Ellis III challenged prosecutors over how the draft invoices and documents tied to the charges against Manafort.
Well, declining to prosecution for lack of evidence is not quite the same as exoneration, but it does explain why Rosenstein added a special secret "get Manafort" task to Mueller charter. He wanted a second bite at that apple. Diana Stancy Correll at WaEx: Mueller seeking to press Trump about obstruction of justice. That's a bullshit charge, and since Rosenstein actually fired Comey, maybe he should be charged with it as well. Jordan Schachtel at the Conservative Review: Is Mueller turning a blind eye on Russia-tied democratic operatives? He sloughed off the "Podesta investigation" and at least two others to SDNY, why not Manafort? Newsmax: Mueller's Weaponized Justice System Should Scare All Americans. So far, I'm angry, not scared.
What some people fail to notice or understand, is that some of the plotters don’t reside inside the DOJ or the State Department. They’re inside the U.S. Congress. They are Senators, members of the House Representatives, or key Congressional staff, such as the recently indicted James Wolfe, longtime director of security at the Senate intelligence committee.
This means a lot of what you’ve been seeing on the surface for the past year-and-a-half is not real. Such as Trump railing at Sessions on his Twitter, or demanding Rosenstein “do something!” It’s disinformation crafted to hide what’s actually been going on. Because the people now running the DOJ can’t hand over material evidence until the investigations are completed. They especially can’t hand over this evidence to the very people who are being investigated.
Maybe, but I ain't convinced.
Coats, Nielsen, Wray: Of Course We’re Taking Election Interference Seriously
“The president has specifically directed us to make the matter of election meddling and securing our election process a top priority. And we have done that,” Dan Coats, director of National Intelligence said. pic.twitter.com/2kDrEIQ1bT— POLITICO (@politico) August 2, 2018
Scumbag FBI agent Peter Strzok agent fought to keep FBI powers, privileges before joining Mueller team, emails show Fox News: Strzok demanded declassification, other FBI powers before joining Mueller team, emails showThe emails, acquired by the conservative watchdog Judicial Watch, reveal that Strzok’s supervisor agreed to make him a “floating” deputy who would be able to approve national security letters and declassify documents – all while working on the Mueller team investigating the Trump campaign’s alleged collusion with the Russian government.
“Broadly, I need to be able to act at least in the capacity of my old CD [counterintelligence division] DAD [deputy assistant director] job – approve NSLs [national security letters], conduct [redacted] declassify information, [redacted] agent travel, requisitions, etc. Of those, the most problematic and one of the most essential is declassification authority,” Strzok wrote in an email to Bill Priestap, FBI counterintelligence chief, dated July 13, 2017.
Priestap wrote back a few days later, saying his request was approved: “In answer to your initial question, while assigned to the special counsel’s office, you will retain your CD DAD authorities to include declassification authority.
Lee Smith has IC sources. They seem to trust him. He doesn't out their names.
So if anyone on a website is an IC professional, they can pass their news to Lee Smith.
Anyway: Another good report from Smith.
President Trump has been criticized for politicizing the intelligence community by threatening to strip the security clearances of former top officials including John Brennan and James Clapper. But numerous past and present senior intelligence officials say that the Obama administration started the politicization -- and that revoking the clearances of those who abuse the privilege for partisan purposes may help right the ship.Read the whole thing. Lee Smith quotes an intelligence pro noting that the Flynn unmasking leak could only have come from a few people -- he mentions three who would have that information to leak.
"As is often the case with the Trump administration, the rollout of the policy is bad, but the idea driving the policy is sound," said one senior intelligence official who, like others interviewed for this article, spoke to RealClearInvestigations only on condition of anonymity. "Under some Obama-era intelligence chiefs, intelligence was used as a political weapon. We need to root that out, not reward it.". . .
Can you guess who those three might be?
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