Mueller indictment and its implications for America's friends

Why Mueller Indictment Should Scare America’s Friends: FT

The allegations contained in special counsel Robert Mueller’s indictment of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort “are enough to frighten any friend of America,” The Financial Times argues.

“If they are true, Donald Trump’s campaign manager from March to August 2016 -- a period encompassing his nomination by the Republican party -- was a criminal. Not a criminal in some abstract or technical sense: Mr Manafort is accused of laundering millions of dollars, evading taxes, and concealing his role as a lobbyist for a foreign government,” the FT editorializes.

“The latter point is the most alarming. It raises the possibility that a foreign power, without knowledge of the electorate, influenced the policy of the party that ultimately won the presidency. During last year’s Republican convention in Cleveland, Mr Trump’s aides pushed to scrub the party platform of language supporting arming Ukraine against Russian-backed separatists. Whether or not this would have been sound policy, it would certainly have pleased former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich and his pro-Russian Party of Regions -- Mr Manafort’s alleged clients.”
The Papadopolous angle. The indictment of Manafort will get the headlines, but former foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos pleading guilty to lying to the FBI could be a bigger problem for the president, argues Chris Cillizza for CNN.
“[W]hat Papadopolous has already admitted to doing -- lying to the FBI about his conversations with Russian operatives regarding ‘dirt’ on Trump's general election opponent -- is a very big deal. A bigger deal -- in terms of the investigation into Russia’s attempted meddling in the election and allegations of collusion -- than the dozen counts laid out in the Manafort indictment.”
Collateral damage for Dems? Prominent Democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta is stepping down, CNN reports, after his firm appeared in the Manafort indictment as “Company B.”
“This year, it came to light that Podesta Group had not fully disclosed the extent of its work lobbying for a Ukrainian group also tied to Manafort, CNN reported. It subsequently amended its required filings…When asked about Monday's developments, the company referred to an earlier statement saying it ‘fully disclosed’ its work with the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine and met its disclosure filing requirements.”

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