Posted on 11/01/2017 7:00:40 AM PDT by Jagermonster
PUTTING IT IN PERSPECTIVE Monday's indictment of Paul Manafort, to which he and an associate have pleaded not guilty, has reverberated throughout the specialized world of US political consultants working in foreign countries.
WASHINGTON—The indictment of Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign manager, has sent shock waves through Washington – and through the world of American political consultants who work in foreign elections.
It is a world of talented political operatives from both parties who demonstrate skill in the American arena, and then parlay that into at-times lucrative opportunities abroad. Some work primarily to help ideological brethren and, in countries with less-developed democratic systems, spread American ideals of governance. For others, it’s a way to cash in big-time on a well-polished reputation. Some manage to do both.
Viewed broadly, the field of American political consulting abroad represents an ever-shrinking planet, where global markets beckon. And in some ways, the case of Mr. Manafort – charged Monday in federal court with money-laundering, tax fraud, conspiracy, and illegal lobbying – is a cautionary tale. Manafort and associate Richard Gates, charged in the same indictment, pleaded not guilty.
“Where Manafort goes off the rails, is that he became this consigliere to this Russian puppet in Ukraine,” says Adam Sheingate, author of the book “Building a Business of Politics: The Rise of Political Consulting and the Transformation of American Democracy.” “I can’t think of any other political consultant doing that.”
Not only did Manafort advise Viktor Yanukovych, a Russian-backed politician in Ukraine who is now in exile in Russia, he also got involved in investment projects with Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs. According to published reports, Manafort was also hired by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska to promote Russian interests in Europe and the United States.
The Manafort indictment ...
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
“Where Manafort goes off the rails, is that he became this consigliere to this Russian puppet in Ukraine,” says Adam Sheingate, author of the book “Building a Business of Politics: The Rise of Political Consulting and the Transformation of American Democracy.” “I can’t think of any other political consultant doing that.”
LOL. Do these tantruming Democrats think we were born yesterday? They loved The Kremlin for nearly 100 years. Of course these “political consultants” worked in the Russian swamps where corruption is expected.
Me thinks Mr. Manafort is an alpha male operating in a realm where alpha male behavior is expected. That in itself makes American laws regarding registration of and reporting on foreign entanglements minor details to be overlooked. When in Ukraine do as the Ukrainians do.
“is that he became this consigliere to this Russian puppet in Ukraine”
And at the time the United States were entirely on the side of Yanukovitch as the elected president of Ukraine.
Ex post facto disdain for Yanukovitch in the wake of the Maidan riots is not a reason to vilify Manafort with guilt by association.
Mueller simply went into the records of Manafort’s investment business and cherry picked a few points - like not registering in one or another instance - and magnified them.
Most of the charges won’t stand up in court, and the few that remain will end being plead down or dismissed, or viewed as administrative violations that normally involve a civil fine.
I hope Mueller is going where the facts lead him. But I have no reason to believe he will.
There is no precedent for what that man is doing.
The losing party in a Presidential election concocts an excuse for a) their loss and b) the exposure of their own misbehavior, and then uses their agents within the government to convene an extra judicial panel of their own activists to use the power of the justice system in an attempt to overthrow the lawfully elected winner?
That is what Mueller is doing.
His current charges mean nothing and could result from a similar investigation of just about any international business in the United States. Or the government itself, and he damn well knows it.
The man has taken us the rest of the way that Hillary Clinton took us halfway to: Banana Republic status.
The idea that the irrelevant wife of the impeached former President could be the party choice for the Presidency and then stage an attempted judicial coup used to be reserved for South American thugocracies.
But now that is what we live in, as a bunch of power mad irrelevancies themselves abuse the system set up to play games on the world stage.
Mueller should be investigated himself and his interests and tactics subjected to the same distortions and abuses he’s visiting on everyone who ever shook Don Trump’s hand.
And it’s not that the Republicans are afraid. They’re guilty, too. That’s why they’re so against Trump the outsider. And their plan is to stall until they can get one of their own back in the white house.
Yeah. That’s the ultimate point.
He’s not part of the gang and won’t play. He fired Comey which goes against gang rules: you don’t fire them, they don’t investigate you.
Trump is the first American civilian to get inside the gates in a century.
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