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Paul Manafort, 69, is reportedly discussing a plea deal with prosecutors in DC
Former Donald Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort pleaded guilty to two federal criminal charges in a Washington D.C. courthouse Friday – and is now cooperating with federal prosecutors, according to the latest high-stakes turn in the case.
The stunning development that Manafort will assist prosecutors who went after him on a raft of money laundering and tax charges follows a series of earlier indications that Manafort would not cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller.
His cooperation, depending on the extent of it, could provide prosecutors with a valuable tool as they forge ahead with the Russia probe.
The existence of a cooperation was stated in court by a member of Mueller's team, Andrew Weissmann, CNN reported Friday.
President Donald Trump has railed against the Robert Mueller probe as a 'witch hunt' and has hailed Manafort as 'brave' for refusing to make a deal.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders issued a statement following the bombshell development in court.
'This had absolutely nothing to do with the President or his victorious 2016 Presidential campaign. It is totally unrelated,' Sanders said.
A cooperation agreement would bind Manafort to answering questions from prosecutors about the gamut of questions about what he knows as they pursue their probe of Russian election interference in the elections and connections between President Donald Trump's team and Russians.
Manafort attended the infamous Trump Tower meeting with Russian in June of 2016 that got set up after a British music publicist reached out to Donald Trump Jr. after getting an offer of dirt on Hillary Clinton.
Manafort also will be required to forfeit assets as part of the plea. Prosecutors say he deprived taxpayers of $15 million and laundered $30 million in assets. Manafort used overseas income to purchase homes in the U.S., then took out millions in bank loans to fund purchases here without declaring the money as income.
The feds will seize four of Manafort's homes and some of his funds, the New York Times reported.
Manafort has homes in Brooklyn, SoHo, Chinatown, a Trump Tower condo, a place in the Hamptons on Long island, a home in Alexandria Virginia, and a home in Florida.
COURT DATE: Kathleen Manafort (L), wife of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, arrives prior to a pre-trial hearing for Paul Manafort ahead of his upcoming trial on a range of charges stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., September 14, 2018

Kathleen Manafort arrives at court as her husband prepares to plead guilty to federal charges
'Once again an investigation is concluded with a plea having nothing to do with President Trump or the Trump campaign. The reason: the president did nothing wrong,' Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said in a statement, CNN reported.
Even as Hurricane Florence battered the East Coast, Trump was briefed by his legal team on the bombshell developments Friday.
Under the terms of the agreement revealed by Judge Amy Berman Jackson, Manafort has agreed to submit to further interviews with the special counsel, share documents in his possession, testify in other court proceedings, and waive his right to have a lawyer present during interviews, CNN reported.
Charges where a Virginia jury deadlocked would go away, but only following 'successful cooperation,' according to Judge Jackson. He would serve no more than 10 years in jail, and he will remain incarcerated.
The deal not only spares Manafort the expense of a second trial – it spares Trump the spectacle of another court proceeding of his former campaign chair in the weeks before the November elections.
“Is what the prosecutor just said a true and accurate description of what you did in this case?” Judge Jackson asked him, according to Politico.
“I did. It is,' he replied.
The cooperation deal comes after Manafort has already been convicted of federal crimes in a Virginia courthouse, and faces sentencing. It follows speculation that Manafort was following a different path, potentially pursuing a simple guilty plea or even seeking a pardon from Trump.
Prosecutors filed a new superseding indictment against Paul Manafort Friday, as the former Donald Trump campaign chair agreed to plead guilty to federal crimes.
Manafort appeared in court Friday morning in what Special Robert Mueller's office announced was an arraignment and plea agreement hearing that began around 11:00 am.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office sent out the new superseding criminal information laying out a series of charges against Manafort Friday morning.
New exhibits contained in the indictment show Manafort pushing an 'action plan' to go on 'offense' and show 'what Ukraine is doing' – actions that would appear to indicate a U.S. lobbying effort.
Also included is a 2010 memo Manafort wrote to pro-Russian Ukrainian president Victor Yanukovich touting a 'Public and Government Relations program' Manafort said he created.
The specific details of his plea were not immediately known. The New York Times reported that prosecutors charged Manafort with one count of conspiracy and another of conspiracy to obstruct justice – a charge related to witness tampering in the case. The times reported they were dropping five charges dealing with money laundering and lobby disclosure violations.

President Donald Trump lauded Manafort following his conviction by a jury in Virginia
However the superseding indictment stated Manafort failed to register as a foreign agent, laundered funds, and hid Ukrainian payments that reached $60 million.
Typically in such cases the defendant must admit to all of the charges against him, even if he does not plead guilty to all the charges.
A plea allows Manafort to avoid a trial in Washington, D.C. Manafort has already been convicted in a federal court in Virginia.
A hearing set for Friday morning was pushed back to 11:00 am, signaling last minute maneuverings in the case.
Manafort's criminal indictment was changed to a plea agreement, special counsel Peter Carr told the Post Friday morning.
The Special Counsel's office released an official statement Friday that did not yet confirm the guilty plea.
'A superseding criminal information against Paul J. Manafort, Jr., 69, of Alexandria, Va., has been filed today in the District of Columbia, which alleges a conspiracy against the United States (money laundering, tax fraud, failing to file Foreign Bank Account Reports, violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and lying and misrepresenting to the Department of Justice) and a conspiracy to obstruct justice (witness tampering),' according to Mueller's office.
'Additional information will be provided in the near future.'
On Thursday night, ABC News reported Manafort had made a 'tentative' plea deal to avoid a second criminal trial.
The latest indictment states that Manafort laundered more than $30 million to buy property, goods, and services in the U.S., and 'cheated the United States out of over $15 million in taxes.'
The deal comes just days before a Washington, D.C. jury was to be empaneled, in a venue where Manafort would face an uphill climb.
The disgraced former Trump campaign chair and his attorneys had four hours Thursday in talks with Robert Mueller's special counsel probe prosecutors to try to stop his second trial going ahead.
An SUV carrying Manafort was spotted at the offices used by Mueller on Thursday afternoon.
But it is not clear if the deal means he will flip and co-operate with Mueller.
The deal is expected to be announced in court in Washington D.C. Friday.
Manafort could simply plead guilty to some or all charges without co-operating and still reach a deal. Such a move could spare him some of the vast expense of paying to defend himself during a second trial, while potentially mitigating the amount of time the 69-year-old would spend in jail.
Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani had earlier told Politico the president isn't worried about Manafort possibly accepting a plea.
Manafort was scheduled to go on trial in D.C. on September 17, on charges including money laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent. Jury selection begins that day with opening arguments to follow a week later.
Before the deal emerged, Giuliani said: 'We can see a reason why he might want to do that. What's the need for another trial?
'They've got enough to put him in jail. His lawyer is going to argue they shouldn't. The judge should decide this. Not Mueller. I think it's pretty clear if they were going to get anything from him, they'd have gotten it already.
'What's the point of further harassing him?'

Manafort was convicted on eight counts in his first trial last month, and was said to be discussing a plea deal ahead of the second trial - which he has now made

President Trump has expressed sympathy for what his former campaign manager is going through
Key to Manafort's strategy is whether he believes he can count on a pardon from President Trump, who has already made use of his pardon power on prominent conservatives including Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Trump took the unusual step of publicly praising Manafort immediately after his conviction on eight counts by a Virginia jury.
'I feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family,' Trump tweeted.
Then he took a shot at his own Justice Department, which prosecuted his former campaign chair, and compared Manafort favorably with longtime lawyer Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty to campaign finance charges and indicated in court that Trump 'directed' him to make violations.
'Justice' took a 12 year old tax case, among other things, applied tremendous pressure on him and, unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to 'break' - make up stories in order to get a 'deal.' Such respect for a brave man!' Trump wrote.
Another potential factor in the possible plea is how many of Manafort's assets he would be forced to forfeit, and whether he is able to preserve more assets for his family by making a deal.
Manafort is already in jail as he awaits his second trial, after prosecutors charged he engaged in witness tampering in advance of his Virginia trial.
'Manafort's leverage in trying to extract any kind of beneficial treatment from the prosecutors will all but disappear if he doesn't jump at the opportunity to reach a deal before the next trial begins,' former federal prosecutor Robert Mintz told the Washington Post.
Manafort was found guilty on eight counts of tax and bank fraud at an August trial in Virginia court. He has yet to be sentenced.
Trump and his team are unconcerned about a possible plea deal, Giuliani said, because they're convinced Manafort has no damaging info on the president.
'From our perspective, we want him to do the right thing for himself,' Giuliani said. 'There's no fear that Paul Manafort would cooperate against the president because there's nothing to cooperate about and we long ago evaluated him as an honorable man.'
A plea deal could benefit Trump in that it would keep Manafort and the Russia investigation out of the news ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
And, given the nature of the charges he was convicted on in Virginia, at 69 Manafort could be facing life in prison simply from those convictions.
Even though Manafort's charges stem from his lobbying business and not his campaign work for Trump, the prosecution came from the Mueller probe of Russia's election meddling.
And Manafort was part of the infamous June 2016 Trump Tower meeting where he, Donald Trump Jr., and Jared Kushner met with a Kremlin-connected lawyer who claimed to have dirt on Hillary Clinton.
Plea deals typically require the person to share useful information with prosecutors, but prosecutors will sometimes give concessions to someone who won't cooperate but is willing to plead guilty to some charges.
Giuliani confirmed that Trump's legal team and Manafort's are in regular contact and that they are part of a joint defense agreement that allows confidential information sharing.
Such an agreement would allow frequent communication between the two men's lawyers. Those contacts could inform Manafort's decision-making as he weights whether to make a deal, whether to cooperate, and whether he believes he is likely to secure a presidential pardon.
Last year, Trump's lawyer at the time, John Dowd, floated the idea of a presidential pardon to attorneys for fired national security advisor Michael Flynn and Manafort, the New York Times reported in March.
The report raised questions about whether Mueller could in turn probe whether pardon offers were extended as a way to influence testimony, which could feature in an obstruction of justice case.
Dowd denied discussing pardons at the time. 'There were no discussions. Period,' he said. 'As far as I know, no discussions.'

Trump personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said the president isn't worried about Paul Manafort possibly flipping
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The president has expressed sympathy for Manafort, unlike his reaction to his former personal attorney Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty to eight counts the same day Manafort was convicted.
'I feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family,' Trump tweeted after the Virginia trial's verdict. 'Justice' took a 12 year old tax case, among other things, applied tremendous pressure on him and, unlike Michael Cohen, he refused to 'break' - make up stories in order to get a 'deal.' Such respect for a brave man!'
There has been speculation the president could pardon Manafort, which the president has not tamped down.
He has praised his former campaign chairman for not flipping.
'One of the reasons I respect Paul Manafort so much is he went through that trial — you know they make up stories. People make up stories. This whole thing about flipping, they call it, I know all about flipping,' Trump told 'Fox & Friends' last month.
'It's called flipping, and it almost ought to be illegal. ... For 30, 40 years I've been watching flippers. Everything's wonderful and then they get 10 years in jail and they — they flip on whoever the next highest one is, or as high as you can go.'
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/14/ex-campaign-chair-manafort-turns-rat-on-trump-in-dramatic-deal-with-robert-muellers-prosecutors/
Main photo article
Paul Manafort, 69, is reportedly discussing a plea deal with prosecutors in DC
Former Donald Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort pleaded guilty to two federal criminal charges in a Washington D.C. courthouse Friday – and is now cooperating with federal prosecutors, according to the latest h...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/09/13/22/500E43C900000578-0-Paul_Manafort_69_is_reportedly_discussing_a_plea_deal_with_prose-a-74_1536872446617.jpg
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