to leverage damaging testimony against Trump, Manafort may walk.
8/2/18 PJMedia:
Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team appeared to struggle in front of federal judge T.S. Ellis on day two of the fraud trial of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort in Alexandria, VA, Wednesday.
The 78-year-old Reagan-appointed judge rebuked Mueller's prosecutors repeatedly, casting doubt on the strength of their arguments.
It is looking increasingly possible that Manafort, who is facing charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering, making false statements, and working as an unregistered agent of the government of Ukraine, may end up prevailing in court, making the special counsel look foolish.
Mueller’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....
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.
In his opening statement on Tuesday, defense attorney Thomas Zehnle blasted Gates, calling him a liar who embezzled millions from Manafort’s company and then committed financial fraud to cover it up.
Without some way to force Manafort to testify (truthfully or falsely) against Trump, Mueller has what? Nothing. This might end soon enough for the soy latte drinkers to attempt a coup d'etat using compostable straws against the Secret Service. The media meltdown would make 2016 Election Night seem joyful. This
8/1/18 Bloomberg News report gives much the same coverage.
I'm waiting for Act III in which Mueller ties this all back to Trump, despite it all happening before Manafort hired on with him.
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