Apparently Rick Gates is not being as cooperative as we thought. Either there has been some discussion of pardons or he is a very, very stupid man. I am not sure which, but whatever the case, Special Counsel Robert Mueller filed serious new charges against Paul Manafort and Rick Gates. This indictment alleges money laundering and…
We have a Manafort and Gates problem.
If Trump pardons these two criminals there is no remedy in the Virginia state courts.
Gates got that word from on high and so he’s backed out of his plea deal with Mueller.
So Mueller dropped a litany of new charges on him and Manafort to try and scare Trump off.
Will it work? Who knows.
It’s tax evasion. That means they will be prosecuted by states, and Trump can only pardon federal crimes.
Gates did plead guilty today, and is cooperating.
From NBC News:
“The agreement, which requires Gates to cooperate on “all matters” prosecutors deem relevant, turns up the pressure on Paul Manafort, a close business associate of Gates who was the chairman of the Trump campaign.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/former-trump-campaign-aide-rick-gates-set-plead-guilty-n849256
Isn’t tax evasion a federal crime?
Unless Manafort owed state taxes to Virginia?