The ruling Friday afternoon from Judge Randolph Moss in Washington, D.C., federal court will mark Papadopoulos as the first member of the Trump campaign to be sentenced in Mueller's probe of Russian meddling during the 2016 presidential election.
George Papadopoulos gets 14 days in jail – first Trump campaign aide sentenced in Mueller probe
George Papadopoulos, a former campaign advisor on Donald Trump's presidential campaign, was sentenced Friday to 14 days in prison for lying to investigators during their probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Judge Randolph Moss' ruling in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. marks Papadopoulos, 31, as the first member of the Trump campaign to be sentenced in Mueller's probe of Russian meddling during the 2016 presidential election.
Papadopoulos' lawyers had asked Moss for a sentence of probation, which his lawyers argued he had already effectively served
“George Papadopoulos, he’s an energy and oil consultant, excellent guy,” boasted Donald Trump on March 21, 2016. But as frequently happens to the great, excellent, very, very top guys Trump surrounds himself with, Papadopoulos is now turning out to be a total loser who nobody has ever heard of. One Trump mouthpiece calls him a “coffee boy.” “Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named George, who has already proven to be a liar,” Trump now tweets.
Donald J. Trump
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@realDonaldTrump
I feel very badly for Paul Manafort and his wonderful family. “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!
Assuming that Michael Cohen didn’t just lie while accepting a set of criminal charges that could put him in prison for years, we now have proof that Trump was right in 2014. President Donald Trump determined the team he assembled. He set the example, and became a magnet for the right — or, perhaps, criminally wrong — people.
Trump eager to woo back advisers who have moved on
Dina Powell could show that the revolving door of Trump’s West Wing doesn’t work in just one direction.
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former deputy national security adviser Dina Powell may be the first senior former administration official who could actually follow that playbook — showing that the fast-moving revolving door of the Trump administration doesn’t work in just one direction.
Powell has emerged as the lead contender to replace Haley, according to three current and former White House officials familiar with the process. Trump said he is considering four other unnamed candidates, and it’s far from a done deal that Powell would return to the West Wing. But Powell, who the president once considered as a potential chief of staff to replace Reince Priebus, comes with a good rapport with the president and buy-in from some of the top officials in the administration, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.
“We’re looking at some people who are already with us,” Trump said Wednesday, noting that many people are interested in the job. But for Trump, elevating someone internally wouldn’t be as exciting as what Powell could offer him: the ineffable bonus of wooing her twice from a lucrative post at Goldman Sachs.
Powell has stayed in Trump’s good graces since she left, and the president for months has consistently mentioned her for various positions he wants filled — or filled better — according to White House officials. As one person put it: “her name is always out there.”
Powell left the administration at the end of last year, after having quickly risen from an adviser to Ivanka Trump on women’s issues to a deputy national security adviser with a heavy hand in Middle East issues. Back then, her name was floated as a potential Haley replacement in a game of musical chairs, if Haley had succeeded Rex Tillerson at the State Department.
A federal judge on Wednesday rejected Paul Manafort’s request to wear a professional suit during a hearing later this week about his sentence, noting the former Trump campaign chairman is now a convicted felon who has lost the right to wear street clothing in all his court proceedings.
“This defendant should be treated no differently from other defendants who are in custody post conviction,” U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III wrote in a sharply worded order. The decision and its tone signal Manafort may be facing a very different environment when he returns Friday to the same Alexandria, Va., courtroom for a hearing to discuss his ongoing cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller and to begin the process of setting a sentencing date.
Ellis oversaw Manafort’s trial in August and has summoned the longtime GOP operative, his lawyers and Mueller's prosecutors back to the courthouse to resolve a series of questions surrounding the special counsel’s plan to dismiss deadlocked charges against Manafort only after he’s finished cooperating in the Russia probe.
Ahead of the hearing, Manafort attorney Kevin Downing had asked Ellis for permission that his client be allowed to dress in street clothing on Friday and at all subsequent court appearances, rather than a dark-green prison jumpsuit.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions has resigned as the country’s chief law enforcement officer at President Donald Trump’s request.
Sessions announced his plan to resign in a letter to the White House on Wednesday.
Trump announced in a tweet that Sessions’ chief of staff Matt Whitaker would become the new acting attorney general.
The attorney general had endured more than a year of stinging and personal criticism from Trump over his recusal from the investigation into potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.
Trump blamed the decision for opening the door to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller, who took over the Russia investigation and began examining whether Trump’s hectoring of Sessions was part of a broader effort to obstruct justice.
In a 23-minute ring-kissing ceremony, each member of Trump’s cabinet gave the various reasons in which they are thankful to be members of Trump’s team and the good deeds the administration had done to date on their watch.
Sessions said it was great to be there to attest to the support Trump has from law enforcement “all over America. “They have been very frustrated…They are so thrilled we have a new idea that we are going to support them and work together to properly, lawfully fight the rising crime we have seen.” Sessions voted to “serve you in that regard” and commended Trump for “sending the exact right message and response that has been fabulous around the country.”
Kelly expected to resign soon, no longer on speaking terms with Trump
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Washington (CNN)John Kelly is expected to resign as White House chief of staff in the coming days, two sources familiar with the situation unfolding in the West Wing tell CNN.
Seventeen months in, Kelly and President Donald Trump have reached a stalemate in their relationship and it is no longer seen as tenable by either party. Though Trump asked Kelly over the summer to stay on as chief of staff for two more years, the two have stopped speaking in recent days.
Trump is actively discussing a replacement plan, though a person involved in the process said nothing is final right now and ultimately nothing is final until Trump announces it. Potential replacements include Nick Ayers, Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff, who is still seen as a leading contender.
Kelly has been on the verge of resigning or being fired before, only to bounce back every time. But aides feel the relationship can't be salvaged this time.
Trump is becoming increasingly concerned about Democrats taking over the House in January, and has privately said he needs someone else to help shape the last two years of his first term, which he predicts will be politically focused. He has complained repeatedly that Kelly is not politically savvy.
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ehBeth
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Fri 7 Dec, 2018 03:48 pm
@ehBeth,
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Yashar Ali 🐘
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1. The sentencing memo for Michael Cohen has been filed.
