President Donald Trump talks as First Lady Melania Trump and surgeon Dr. John Fildes listens at the University Medical Center after Trump met with survivors of the mass shooting on Wednesday, October 4, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Photo: AP)
President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to respond to the media coverage of the indictments as a result of the investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. On Monday, Paul Manafort and his former business associate and protégé Rick Gates were told to surrender to federal authorities.
George Papadopolous, a 29-year-old volunteer who worked on a policy committee for the campaign, plead guilty to lying to a federal agent. Mr. Papadopolous, who was arrested on July 27 and signed a deal with the feds on October 5, is rumored to have worn a wire. He lied about the dates of contacts with a Russian professor.
The unsealed documents specifically state that the campaign volunteer’s requests to meet with Russians who claimed to have “dirt” on Hillary Clinton were repeatedly rebuffed by the Trump campaign. The record also shows the White House provided the special counsel with the emails proving Mr. Papadopolous lied to federal agents.
President Trump slammed the media coverage before stating the investigation is a distraction from helping working Americans.
The Fake News is working overtime. As Paul Manaforts lawyer said, there was “no collusion” and events mentioned took place long before he…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2017
….came to the campaign. Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named George, who has already proven to be a liar. Check the DEMS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2017
I hope people will start to focus on our Massive Tax Cuts for Business (jobs) and the Middle Class (in addition to Democrat corruption)!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 31, 2017
As far as Mr. Manafort and Mr. Gates, none the counts in the indictments had anything to do with President Trump and were in fact years before he joined the campaign. The indictments were a result of alleged violations to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) stemming from lobbying work on behalf of Ukrainian and Russian interests, as well as tax fraud.
Democrats have been holding out hope Mr. Mueller’s investigation politically or legally damages President Trump, and have defended the former FBI director against growing calls for him to resign due to conflicts of interest. But with his focus turning to Mr. Manafort’s pre-Trump campaign activities and The Podesta Group, they may have made a grave miscalculation.
As Peoples’s Pundit Daily (PPD) first reported, prosecutors for Special Counsel Mueller probed witnesses about the role The Podesta Group played in advancing Russian interests at the State Department under Hillary Clinton when working for Mr. Manafort. Tony Podesta, the brother of former Clinton campaign chair John Podesta, resigned from the group he co-founded after the indictments were announced.
The Podesta Group also failed to register under FARA until last April, which is an admission they lobbied on behalf of foreign governments, as well.
