Almost lost in all the news yesterday, largely because it was filed very, very late last night, and despite the best efforts of his handler, George Papadopoulos’s attorneys submitted their Defendant’s Sentencing Memorandum to Judge Moss of the US District Court for the District of Columbia. In the memo, Papadopoulos, speaking through his attorneys, implicated both the President and Attorney General Sessions in approving his proposal to set up a meeting between the President and Putin during the election in 2016. Moreover, this same statement provides another assertion that Attorney General Sessions committed perjury during his testimony to Congress. Here’s the relevant passage (emphasis mine):
Returning to Washington D.C., twenty-eight-year-old George witnessed his career skyrocketing to unimaginable heights. On March 31, 2016, he joined Mr. Trump, Senator Jeff Sessions, and other campaign officials for a “National Security Meeting” at the Trump Hotel. George’s photograph at this meeting flashed around the world via Twitter. Eager to show his value to the campaign, George announced at the meeting that he had connections that could facilitate a foreign policy meeting between Mr. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. While some in the room rebuffed George’s offer, Mr. Trump nodded with approval and deferred to Mr. Sessions who appeared to like the idea and stated that the campaign should look into it.
In their conclusion, Papadopoulos’s attorneys leave the following tantalizing statement (emphasis mine):
George Papadopoulos is now a convicted felon. When it came time to make a good decision he made a bad one. His arrest and prosecution served as notice to all involved that this was a serious investigation. He was the first domino, and many have fallen in behind. Despite the gravity of his offense, it is important to remember what Special Counsel said at George’s plea of guilty: he was just a small part of a large-scale investigation.
It is also important to remember that Papadopolous’s attorneys are struggling to dig their client out of a hole of his and his handler’s own making. Papadopolous didn’t really help the Special Counsel’s investigation. Rather, he lied to the FBI about the whereabouts of Joseph Misfud, which prevented the FBI from taking him into custody when he was in the US. As a result, Mifsud was able to successfully leave the US, was never questioned by the FBI or the Special Counsel’s investigators, and is now missing.
Open thread!
Baud
Tick tock motherfuckers.
Cermet
So the chickens are starting to come home to roost; of course, chicken and republicans have a long history – they, the thugs, being spineless and chicken. No wonder the orange fart cloud is their newest leader and loved by the deplorables.
Amir Khalid
In view of this new information, at what point in these proceeding does the Special Counsel ask a judge to issue an arrest warrant for the US Attorney General?
Der Müller Gottes mahlt langsam, aber mahlt außerordentlich klein.
RandomMonster
I suppose Misfud being “missing” could be anything from hiding from Interpol, escaped to Russia, or planted in the ground.
Adam L Silverman
Also, this is what the Patten sentencing and cooperation agreement is really about:
Amir Khalid
@Amir Khalid:
Darn, that was supposed to be italics, not a blockquote box.
Adam L Silverman
@Amir Khalid: I have a theory, which I purposefully didn’t put on the front page. Earlier this week, Senator Graham told the Today show hosts that Sessions needed to be replaced for two reasons. He indicated he wouldn’t elaborate on the second one, but that it was a deep, significant personal breach by Sessions regarding the President. I think that Graham is alluding to the suspicion that Sessions cut a quick deal with the Special Counsel. He came clean, is cooperating, and as such gets to stay where he is.
Adam L Silverman
@Amir Khalid: Fixed it for you.
Adam L Silverman
@RandomMonster: The prevailing theory is he’s 1) made himself missing, basically gone to ground, so neither the US nor Putin can have him scarfed up or 2) Putin already scarfed him up and after being interrogated, he’s now dead and buried where he’ll never be found.
Yutsano
$5 says he’ll never be found. Sounds like Russia tied up a loose end to me.
BD of MN
So the latest squid-inking from my RWNJ family members on facebook is that Hillary is somehow responsible for dozens of our spies in China being rounded up. Seems to stem from Louie Gohmert questioning Peter Strozk about emails, and then the crazy just extrapolates from there…
Amir Khalid
@Adam L Silverman:
@Adam L Silverman:
Thank you. So you think Sessions could be throwing Trump under Mueller’s bus? That would be delicious to see.
The Dangerman
Guilty, guilty, guilty.
/slackmeyer
I so look forward to the day when Trump’s carcass is nailed to the wall so well and hard that even Hannity shuts the fuck up.
The Dangerman
@Adam L Silverman:
Not doubting you, but how the fuck would that work?
Adam L Silverman
@BD of MN: Actually, what has happened is the US has officially accused the PRC of using LinkedIn to recruit Americans to spy for them. There is no recent news reporting at all of the PRC rounding up American spies. There was reporting back in January that Jerry Chun Shing Lee, the CIA case officer accused of working for the PRC, may have given up 20 Chinese sources/informants that the CIA was running in the PRC.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/china/cia-china-turncoat-lee-may-have-compromised-u-s-spies-n839316
Ken
@Adam L Silverman: If that’s the case, idoesn’t that mean Graham’s saying that we need an Attorney General who will support the President’s efforts to obstruct justice?
Fair Economist
Sessions gets to stay because he’s not indicted. If Mueller indicted him, he’d be gone in a trice.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the deal were unspoken, given the risk of Russian spying. As long as Sessions lets Mueller continue and any replacement would stop him, Mueller has every reason to leave Sessions unindicted. Both men know that so there’s no need to make it explicit.
Adam L Silverman
@Amir Khalid: I think that’s what they’re worried about. I have no reason to believe he did or did not cut a deal, but if I was the President and his rag tag band of attorneys, I’d be very, very, very worried.
I do think that the selective leaks about Sessions early on where the IC warning him not to interfere. And the message seems to have been received.
Mandalay
IANAL but that Sentencing Memorandum seems disastrous; it reads like it was written by the prosecution. It’s giving the judge umpteen written reasons to lock up Papadopolous and throw the key.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Papadopolous is still grifiting for “financial support for lawyers and living”on gofundme.
Uncle Cosmo
Qwik qweschun for the leagle egals amongst us: Once a sealed indictment is delivered to the appropriate court, can it be withdrawn by the indicting agency? Can it be left there never to be unsealed?
I could envision a scenario in which Mueller has shown Sessions the first page (or maybe just the header) of a draft indictment featuring his name – & then dropping one or more sealed indictments in such a way that the KKKeebler Elf has no clue if it’s his. As a way of ramping up the pressure.
Suzanne
@Fair Economist: I wonder what happens to Sessions if he’s fired, then.
patrick II
Cole was right, it’s gong to be a good day.
JPL
@Adam L Silverman: Early on wasn’t there an indictment filed, but not executed yet?
Of course, that could have been just one of the crazies rumor. I can’t remember where I saw it
Adam L Silverman
@The Dangerman: If the deal/cooperation agreement was done secretly and sealed in order to provide cover for the investigation, they can’t very well do anything that would raise public questions. So if he’s been granted immunity of some sort and it is sealed, then he stays where he is. Basically they’re hiding him in plain sight.
Again, I have no specific information that this is the case. There was RUMINT about this early on once the Special Counsel was appointed.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Suzanne: I keep wondering the same thing about Rosenstein, who I think knows everything Mueller knows. How restricted is an ex-deputy AG, or whatever his title is, in what he can say to the public, or a House committee?
Adam L Silverman
@Ken: Yep.
YetAnotherJay formerly (Jay S)
@Ken: Here’s the Today Show clip. https://www.today.com/video/sen-lindsey-graham-trump-sessions-relationship-is-beyond-repair-1307952707795?v=raila Sessions states whoever replaces Sessions must pledge to support the completion of Mueller’s investigation. He may mean something different, but that is what he says.
Major Major Major Major
@Fair Economist: This has basically been my read on the situation, especially since Sessions set it up so that even he can’t fire Mueller.
YetAnotherJay formerly (Jay S)
I am not sure that fits with the claim that it us something [email protected]Adam L Silverman: My uninformed guess would be a failure to defend/obstruct on finance or payoff grounds
Adam L Silverman
@JPL: If I’m recalling correctly there were a number of sealed indictments placed on the docket in the Eastern District of Virginia last year.
Mandalay
Only partially O/T, Roger Stone tells gofundme to gofuckyourself: in the spirit of free enterprise Stone has realized that he can grift without their pesky interference:
– No icky middleman commission fees!
– No need to post how much money has been raised.
– No need or incentive to ever end the appeal.
I am guessing that http://www.stonedefensefund.com will remain up and running as long as Stone is still breathing.
MagdaInBlack
@Adam L Silverman:
I’ve sometimes wondered if there wasn’t more to Sessions putting up with all the abuse.
More than ” Yay, I get to be full metal racist.”
Cheryl Rofer
@Adam L Silverman: I think this may be the story that is being garbled in blaming Hillary for a Chinese spy screwup.
MattF
I know nothing about any of this… but some of the theories being tossed around here are wild. I do agree that Graham and Sessions are behaving very oddly these days. Strange times.
Adam L Silverman
@MagdaInBlack: I’m pretty sure the
accounts for most of his high tolerance for public humiliation.
Adam L Silverman
@Cheryl Rofer: Geez, who was Director of Central Intelligence when this happened? Leon Pannetta for the use of the less than secure system and then David Petraeus when the PRC acted on the information.
Anyone ever notice that somehow HRC, the Secretary of State, always seems to get blamed for screwups that occurred at the CIA when Petraeus was in charge?
Adam L Silverman
@MattF: In Graham’s case all you have to understand is he is scared to death of what might have been in David Pecker’s safe, of whether Pecker shared it with the President, and the reality that Putin had far greater capabilities to collect whatever he’s afraid Pecker may have purchased about him.
MagdaInBlack
@Adam L Silverman:
You’re undoubtedly right. It’s hard for me to crawl into the head of someone wed to that mindset.
Aleta
In other words, Curious George Has an International Adventure
Mandalay
@YetAnotherJay formerly (Jay S): I thought a more noteworthy quote from Graham on your link was “I’ve seen no evidence of collusion“.
My wild theory is that Trump wants to get rid of Mattis, and he’s told Graham that he can have the job, but first he has to show complete loyalty for a few months. Graham’s on that like white on rice, and figures that willful blindness over Trump’s cooperation with Russia can only help his cause.
The Dangerman
@Adam L Silverman:
Oh. my bad; probably decaf this morning (an evil product if there ever was one). They don’t announce the deal. OK, that makes sense.
I heard a rumor that Mueller was set to drop the hammer this week but deferred for McCain. Damn, no more delays, Dude.
Tilda Swintons Bald Cap
@Adam L Silverman: Benghazi.
YetAnotherJay formerly (Jay S)
@Adam L Silverman: That woman thou gavest me is always in good form.
Baud
@Adam L Silverman:
You fail to appreciate the evil power of the personal server.
Matt McIrvin
@Adam L Silverman: Hell, from a lot of the rhetoric you’d guess Hillary Clinton was the President who invaded Iraq.
YetAnotherJay formerly (Jay S)
@Baud: Don’t forget the Clinton Foundation. Another Illuminati outpost if ever I saw one.
Baud
@YetAnotherJay formerly (Jay S): Except in the modern story, Eve doesn’t even have to give Adam the apple. Hell, it would be Eve’s fault if she wasn’t persuasive enough in warning Adam against eating the apple.
BD of MN
@Adam L Silverman: C’mon Adam, how are they supposed to keep the level of anger ratcheted up by basing their news in actual facts? It’s all very simple, actually, Killary had an email server, our spies in China died, ergo it’s all her fault…
https://twitter.com/JackPosobiec/status/1034552075508744203
James E Powell
@Matt McIrvin:
But it’s common knowledge that it was Bill Clinton in this third term.
YetAnotherJay formerly (Jay S)
@Baud: That’s the role the server played, isn’t it? A modern day Apple?
Adam L Silverman
@Matt McIrvin: Guatemala. She had to make it safe for United Fruit.
J R in WV
I reported Little George Papadopolous’s GoFundMe campaign, which has raised $8K of his sought $75,000 for legal fees and living costs to GoFundMe, I have not understood that they make their fundraising platform available to convicted felons.
And how is anything the government has done in the past 6 years got anything to do with Hillary Clinton, who hasn’t been a government official in at least 6 years now? These people are truly deranged with hate for a powerful woman, which is a good thing as deranged people do not think well, nor plan ahead at all.
MagdaInBlack
I think we need to give some credit here to Eris, Goddess of Discord and Stife.
Baud
@Adam L Silverman: Hmm. You didn’t use your signature snark slashes. What do you know, Adam?
Mandalay
@J R in WV:
You have a problem with that?
Quinerly
@Mandalay: and all those people listed who have donated a $100 a piece. Don’t you love Mrs. P’s post a month ago…. “Thanks to all the generous donors. All the hate’s messages are based on huge misunderstanding and soul’s poverty . As a christian i implement a rule in life:”why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye”?”
NotMax
George Papadopoulos. Please fix in headline and several places within the body.
Also too,
attorneys
Adam L Silverman
@NotMax: Start you’re owen blog.
Doug R
@Amir Khalid:
This would explain Sessions digging in even with all the abuse heaped upon him by trump.
NotMax
@Adam L. Silverman
Bin their, dun that.
:)
Yarrow
@Amir Khalid:
This has been the case for ages. Adam has it right that Sessions is there to protect the Mueller investigation. They have so much dirt on lil’ traitor Jeffy and he knows it.
J R in WV
@Mandalay:
I can’t tell what you mean, by “Do you have a problem with that?” With what? With George trying to grift people? I hope GoFundMe stops the felon’s grift right now, and sends everyone’s money back to them is what I want to see.
Convicted felons and people awaiting trial who claim to be innocent are two different populations. No one who pleads guilty should still be begging for money for their legal costs. Plus, screw him for working for the traitor!
Jay
@J R in WV:
Go Fund Me exists to make a profit.
If 80 Gullibillies want to donate $100 each to George’s bills, it’s fine by me.
Bobby Thomson
@Ken:
That’s what he’s always been saying.
schrodingers_cat
Who is Emily Peck and why is she still hating on Bill Clinton? Apparently, he never paid the price, has never had to stage a comeback.
Ruckus
@Baud:
I understood it to be:
Tick Fucking Tock Motherfuckers
Jay
Emptywheel points out Papadope is still lying his ass off.
sukabi
The Ukrainian money man also got nabbed the other day. He’s the connection between foreign $$ Manafort and Trump. And he’s cooperating with Mueller.
MomSense
@Adam L Silverman:
I did happen to notice.
Jonny Scrum-half
Can someone help me understand how it’s incriminating for candidate Trump to express an interest in meeting with Putin?
Platonailedit
@Jonny Scrum-half:
Why don’t you ask Mueller?
Adam L Silverman
@Jonny Scrum-half: Well he denied that this happened at the 17 FEB 2017 press conference he held:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/02/us/politics/trump-jeff-sessions-russia.html
This doesn’t count as perjury or anything – lying to everyone in the US through misleading answers at a press conference isn’t a crime. However, it goes to a pattern with the President of denying things that others have been able to confirm happened and that he was present for happening. Hence implicates. He’s implicated in the cover up.
Jonny Scrum-half
@Adam L Silverman: Thanks. I figured that was the sort of thing you meant. I’m just anticipating “conservative” push-back at the next step, and I really want there to be more than this. If we’re going to have any chance to move forward as a country after this, Trump’s downfall has to be undeniable and obvious. That will still mean at least 27% of the populace will continue to support him, but we really need for the non-hard-core Trumpists to be persuaded that they f’d up.