Against the backdrop of the Paul Manafort indictment, Fox News host Tucker Carlson expanded on his exclusive source insight (from a former employee) into the Podesta Group and the lobbying activity on behalf of Russian interests.
Additionally, Mr. Carlson shares the legal threats he and his broadcast have recently received from lawyers representing Tony and John Podesta and the DC Lobbying Group they founded.

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Tucker Carlson and Jonathan Turley (George Washington University Law School) discuss Special Counsel Robert Mueller, his ongoing investigation, the indictments from earlier today, and both ultimately come to the same conclusion CTH shared earlier,
Being intellectually honest it appears that Mueller is focused on the bigger, and more dangerous, dynamic surrounding foreign lobbying efforts and payments to DC politicians therein to shape U.S. policy.  Toward eliminating those lobbyist payments, the legal cases against Paul Manafort and Tony Podesta are tools to send the Swamp a message to stop.
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As the Special Counsel Robert Mueller indictment documents show with increasing clarity, the entire enterprise surrounding the Washington DC Russian Investigation is not about law, it’s about creating and controlling leverage.
If you review anything within the ongoing political fiasco from the perspective of laws broken or unbroken and the application of the judiciary toward the endeavor of stopping such activity we will remain oblivious to the bigger picture. EXPLAINED HERE
It’s not about the law; it’s not about the judiciary; it’s not about what’s legal, or the illegality of behavior; only politics. These are not legal issues; the entities involved are not connected to legal or illegal application of laws as they relate to the rest of American society.

You cannot view the current action through the transactional prism of modern judicial proceedings as they relate to you and me. These are political struggles taking place inside the venue of the legal system. The players use the legal system to game out the optics and narrative of political battles for ideological wins and losses.
In essence, this is about leverage for political use.
The 2016 election caused the balance of power to shift favorably toward political forces that are external to the DC machine, ie. President Trump and the deplorables.
The subsequent action by Robert Mueller, Democrats, the Media (writ large), and President Trump is a confrontation over political goals and objectives. The DC machine, the “swamp” per se’, is attempting to frame leverage against actions adverse to their political interest.
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Jay Sekulow, an attorney for President Donald Trump, appears on CNN outlining no relation between the indictment of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Richard Gates to the administration; and no connection between George Papadopolous and President Trump.

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Well, well, well…. Long-time Clinton insider and the epicenter of all Clinton connected power in Washington DC, Tony Podesta, is stepping down from the super-lobbying group that bears his name.
According to a report in politico, Tony Podesta has discovered he is also in the cross hairs of the Special Prosecutor investigation by Robert Mueller.  Additionally, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort worked for the Podesta lobbying group to advance the interests of Ukraine and Russia in Washington DC.

There is some strong DC speculation that Manafort’s earlier indictment may lead to, or have been intended to, leverage cooperation with special counsel Mueller regarding the Podesta firm investigation.
Federal records show two firms doing work on behalf of Paul Manafort’s Ukraine front group beginning in April of 2012: The Podesta Group and Mercury Group.
Despite the lobbying activity neither group was disclosed as legally required under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) until April of 2017. Documents: SEE HERE and SEE HERE

(Via Politico) Democratic power lobbyist Tony Podesta, founder of the Podesta Group, is stepping down from the firm that bears his name after coming under investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Podesta announced his decision during a firm-wide meeting Monday morning and is alerting clients of his impending departure.

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Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his business associate, Rick Gates, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy against the United States and other felony charges. The indictments unsealed Monday in Washington contain 12 counts, including conspiracy to launder money, failing to register as a foreign agent, false statements, and multiple counts of failing to file reports for foreign bank accounts.
The DOJ indictment charges that former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his business associate Rick Gates generated tens of millions of dollars in income as a result of their Ukraine lobbying work.
According to the indictment (pdf below): “In order to hide Ukraine payments from United States authorities, from approximately 2006 through at least 2016, Manafort and Gates laundered the money through scores of United States and foreign corporations, partnerships and bank accounts.”
Special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s probe focused on wire transfers Paul Manafort made from Ukraine to private accounts and whether he paid taxes on that income. Indictment:
[scribd id=363023679 key=key-tdVt4beet4y9WixlyJur mode=scroll]
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Stop me when you see the parallels:

The time was November and December 2009, right about this time of year in the larger political calendar of things…. One party was completely locked out from influence in Washington DC, as the opposing party held the White House, and majorities in both houses of congress…
The 2009 political opposition groups didn’t like what was happening.  There was very large and significant legislation being debated.  Frustrated common sense citizens stopped looking to ineffective congressional representatives to stop the daily usurpation.
Loosely connected but engaged grassroots political types were looking for routes to stop the White House and congress.
There was also a Senate seat up for grabs, and a necessary special election.  The former seat-holder was considered a stalwart by the party in power; and the seat was considered a “gimme” by the state party apparatus.  No-one was contemplating the possibility of the majority party in power ever losing that seat….. EVER.
The candidate appointed to hold the seat for the party in power was arrogant, condescending, and generally didn’t feel they needed to work for the seat.  After all, the seat was held by one party for decades and generally no-one could fathom losing it.
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Victoria Toensing is the lawyer for the confidential FBI informant who exposed Russian nuclear officials engaging in bribery, extortion, and money laundering during their attempts to corner the U.S. uranium market under the Obama administration.
In 2010 the Obama administration rushed through a Uranium One purchase of U.S. uranium rights through CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.) approval during a review period lasting only 90-days.
It is now reported, during the CFIUS review the FBI (Director Robert Mueller) was investigating Russia’s government involvement in the deal. Normal a CFIUS review takes more than six months, often years, for approval.
During an interview with WMAL “Mornings on the Mall” Victorial Toensing states her client, the primary FBI informant, was forced to sign a non disclosure agreement (NDA) and threatened with legal action if he shared the content of the FBI investigation with congress.
Attorney Toensing also states during the 2012 election, lawyers from the Eric Holder Justice Department threatened her client, and later Loretta Lynch’s DOJ coerced him into dropping a lawsuit. “He was told that if he didn’t dismiss the case his reputation and liberty were in jeopardy.” Listen Below:

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“When he tried to bring some of the allegations to light in the lawsuit last year, the Obama Justice Department threatened him with loss of freedom. They said they would bring a criminal case against him for violating an NDA.”

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In a very rare national broadcast the chairman of the NCNEC (National Coordinated Never Ending Committees to nowhere), Trey Gowdy, sits down for a public discussion with the national spokesperson for the DC-UIC (DC UniParty Investment Committee) to discuss wide ranging options for how they can sell swamp linguistics to the gullible public.
Roosterhead’s best advice is to keep up appearances by talking-up the honor and character of Praetorian Mueller. However, Wallace is getting twitchy about the same-old-same-old still being possible, and shares his growing concern the proles might be catching on.

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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie discusses reports from CNN that charges have been filed within special counsel’s Robert Mueller’s investigation with Jake Tapper.

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Governor Christie also appeared on This Week with George Stephanopoulos and fielded many of the same questions (below).  However, in the ABC interview Governor Christie discusses the aspects of the grand jury story from his own experience as a federal prosecutor. Stephanopoulos always backs down from his talking points when he recognizes he’s over his head with a SME (subject matter expert):
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Against the backdrop of the insufferable, and ever apoplectic, DC political gamesmanship, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are enjoying a nice evening dinner tonight at Trump International Hotel in DC.   A fitting, and contrasting optic considering current events.

NBC propagandist, Kelly O’Donnell, dons her ghillie suit and hides amid the hotel plants to capture the possible culinary scandal.

Meanwhile President Trump’s lawyer Ty Cobb tells the New York Times the MAGA president has no worries.

WASHINGTON – […] Ty Cobb told the New York Times Trump is confident neither Manafort nor Flynn has incriminating information about the president.  “The president has no concerns in terms of any impact, as to what happens to them, on his campaign or on the White House,” Cobb said.

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