BY PRIYANKA ARIBINDI, BRIAN BEUTLER

& CROOKED MEDIA

Friday, September 14, 2018

—Donald Trump re: Paul Manafort, less than one month ago

HAPPY FRIDAY! EVERYONE'S GUILTY.

After holding out for nearly a year, President Trump’s former campaign chairman/convicted felon Paul Manafort struck a plea agreement with the government, requiring him to cooperate fully with federal prosecutors, including Special Counsel Robert Mueller. He has reportedly already begun sharing information with the Justice Department. Looks like snitches get stitches (beautifully sewn into an ostrich jacket).

Trump has done a poor job hiding the fact that he believes Manafort can implicate him in crimes and has publicly encouraged Manafort not to cooperate with Mueller’s team, clearly implying he’d eventually reward Manafort with a pardon.

Manafort apparently concluded he could not depend on Trump, and agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States, and to obstruct justice. He said he did so to protect his family. Even when he does the less-wrong thing, Manafort still sounds like a mobster.

The plea agreement leaves Manafort’s alleged financial crimes uncharged, which means he may still face criminal exposure at the state level. This is notable because Trump can only pardon him for his federal crimes. The agreement also requires Manafort to surrender his significant, ill-gotten fortune, which will more than cover the cost of Mueller’s entire investigation. Maybe now the government can finally turn the garage into a rumpus room like they always wanted!!

President Trump’s lawyers issued a statement after the agreement became public, which read, “the President did nothing wrong and Paul Manafort will tell the truth.” They quickly amended the statement to simply claim, “the President did nothing wrong,” suggesting they believe Manafort will incriminate Trump, and they will respond by calling him a liar. It’s sometimes baffling just how bad they are at crimes.

From Brian: Manafort joined Trump’s campaign after his gravy train, consulting on behalf of a pro-Russian party in Ukraine, dried up. He was in league with Russian intelligence and deeply in debt to a Russian oligarch, yet eagerly pursued a leadership role in Trump’s campaign and agreed to work for free. The case that he was a Russian agent of influence planted in Trump’s campaign is easy to make. A big unanswered question is why, having nabbed Manafort on serious crimes, Mueller worked so hard to flip him. One simple answer is that Mueller believes Trump knew that Manafort was a conduit for Russian election assistance, and that Manafort can substantiate it.

RONAN IS WATCHING YOU

A woman who knew Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when the two attended rival high schools says he tried to force himself on her at a party and covered her mouth to prevent her from screaming, while a classmate of his turned up the music playing in the room to drown out her protests, according to Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer of the New Yorker.

The allegation first appeared in a letter the accuser wrote to members of Congress, which eventually reached Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein. Feinstein alerted the FBI, which is responsible for running background checks on the president's nominees, but decided to conceal the allegation from her colleagues because the accuser has asked for privacy.

Kavanaugh has “categorically and unequivocally den[ied] this allegation,” and insists he “did not do this back in high school or at any time.” The classmate who allegedly abetted the incident only said, “I have no recollection of that.” Sounds convincing.

As the allegations surfaced, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley released a letter signed by 65 women who claim to have known Kavanaugh in high school attesting to his character, suggesting many Republicans are inclined to press ahead with the nomination, despite the accusation. (This is like 65 friends of OJ Simpson releasing a letter saying “Well, OJ never murdered me.”)

From Brian: The organizers of the Kavanaugh-support letter claim they began gathering signatures this week, when news of the assault allegation broke. Their efforts are self-undermining, insofar as none of them were Kavanaugh’s classmates (he attended an all-boys school), and they are trying to get him confirmed.

Also from Brian: Only in Trump’s America is an allegation that a Supreme Court nominee sexually assaulted a classmate not the leading news story of the day, week, and month.

Hurricane Florence has made landfall in North Carolina, and five people have already died as a result of the storm. It’s been downgraded to a category one hurricane.  Meanwhile, thousands in the Philippines have been evacuated ahead of Super Typhoon Mangkhut, a category five-equivalent storm that is expected to make landfall on Saturday, with four million people in its path.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo defeated his primary opponent, Cynthia Nixon, yesterday, but a surge of activism across New York paid off in other races. Six incumbent “Independent Democrats,” who partnered with Republicans to flip control of the state Senate lost their primaries to progressive candidates, and Letitia James made history by becoming the first black woman to win a major-party statewide nomination in New York in her bid to become attorney general.

Earlier today, the New York Times published a story insinuating that U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley spent $52,701 in taxpayer money on curtains for her government-provided residence in New York, burying the fact that the purchase was planned by the Obama administration’s State Department in 2016, and Haley had no say in the matter. In response to backlash, the Times issued a statement admitting and correcting their mistake.

A string of gas explosions in the Boston suburbs killed one and left 20 people injured on Thursday. The blasts, which officials attribute to gas leaks, resulted in large fires, damaging dozens of homes and forcing thousands to evacuate.

FEMA will reportedly test the Emergency Alert System next week, which will allow the president to reach us all by text message in the event of a national emergency. From Priyanka: I think I speak for us all when I say that Donald Trump’s unfettered ability to reach us via text message is emergency enough.

Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin are reportedly legally married now, but it’s fine because there’s a new thirst trap in town.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) and Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) have both been indicted by federal prosecutors recently, and it has apparently helped them forge a bond. A real tearjerker.

On Pod Save America: Live from the El Rey theater in LA, Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Tommy Vietor, Dan Pfeiffer, and Erin Ryan discuss Trump’s Hurricane Florence prep technique of denying the deaths caused by Hurricane Maria, and how Democrats are spending the last months before the midterms. Then, Mike Levin, the Democratic candidate in CA-49 stops by.

Listen →

On Crooked.com: Sally Smith breaks down the lessons we can learn from the Rohingya genocide, including from actors like Facebook, and international organizations, which enabled or ignored the catastrophe, but will likely play a role in the push for justice.

Read →

A run down of police misconduct nationwide:  

Police in Dallas face yet more backlash after leaking the “news” that they found marijuana in the apartment of Botham Jean, the black man who was killed in his own home by a cop who mistakenly thought his apartment was hers. True story: Murdering someone isn't retroactively justified by the discovery of marijuana on or near the body.

For something far more worthy of your time, read Adam Serwer’s piece on the NRA’s Catch-22 for black men shot by the police: “If innocent unarmed black men like Jean are shot, it’s because they lack firearms; if innocent black men who are armed like Castile or Sterling are shot, it’s because they had a gun. Heads, you’re dead; tails, you’re also dead.”

Seven NYPD members were arrested earlier this week after a three-year investigation of their roles within a local prostitution and gambling ring run by a retired detective. They stand accused of providing protection and services, sometimes in exchange for sex. The former cop kingpin used his knowledge and training to avoid being caught. Among those arrested were two detectives, two police officers, and three sergeants.

In Florida, a former police chief has been found guilty of framing three innocent black men for a series of unsolved home and vehicle break-ins in order to maintain his department’s 100 percent clearance rate on burglaries.

Julie Chen, the host of Big Brother and The Talk, and wife of ousted executive Les Moonves, appeared on-air for the first time since her husband’s departure last night, signing off as “Julie Chen Moonves," which she had never done before. Chen spoke out about her support for Moonves after the first sexual assault allegations against him were made public in July, and has not commented on the allegations or his firing since.

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