Donald Trump’s continued insistence that Robert Mueller’s investigation into the alleged collusion between the Trump 2016 presidential campaign and Russian government operatives in a cyberattack meant to help Trump win the election is a “witch hunt” has been proven false many times. One of the most obvious instances of this is the guilty plea by Trump’s own campaign manager, Paul Manafort.
One of Manafort’s closest associates, Rick Gates, has also pleaded guilty to federal crimes. As he faces sentencing, both Mueller and Gates’ own attorneys have asked for a delay in sentencing since Gates is continuing to cooperate with investigators in the investigation.
CNBC reports that the legal documents filed states that:
‘To date, the status of this matter has not changed substantially since the November report, as defendant Gates continues to cooperate with respect to several ongoing investigations, and accordingly the parties do not believe it is appropriate to commence the sentencing process at this time.’
JUST IN: Mueller has requested another delay in Rick Gates' sentencing. "Defendant Gates continues to cooperate with respect to several ongoing investigations, and accordingly the parties do not believe it is appropriate to commence the sentencing process at this time." pic.twitter.com/zVWeTws6Zn
— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) January 15, 2019
Manafort’s first trial included eyewitness testimony to numerous crimes, none of which seemed to concern Trump when he chose him as a campaign official, despite the fact that Manafort has a long history of criminal behavior. Trump insists that those crimes happened far before he chose him and shouldn’t be weighed in this investigation, but it isn’t as if Trump didn’t know they had occurred. Gates testified that he and many other Manafort associates were well aware of them.
‘Gates was a longtime business associate of former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort, and testified against him last summer at Manafort’s first federal criminal trial in Virginia. That trial ended in Manafort’s conviction on a variety of crimes, which were unrelated to his work on the Trump campaign.
#FLAG: I'm convinced, Rick Gates is a critical witness to #Collusion/Conspiracy.
He was involved in handing over Trump campaign polling data to Konstantin Kilimnik, along w/ Manafort.
But late in the campaign when data would be most critical, Manafort wasn't around.
Gates was. https://t.co/r2Imj1ScIr
— Cyrus Toulabi (@CyrusToulabi) January 15, 2019
The crime to which Gates has pleaded guilty is directly related to the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee as a whole. Changes to the RNC platform, once Manafort and Gates came aboard Trump’s campaign on Ukraine, indicates that the platform was being directly manipulated in order to reflect Russian priorities over the United States’.
‘Gates had been charged with Manafort in a case related to their consulting work in Ukraine for pro-Russia politicians. Gates pleaded guilty in early 2018 to lying to Mueller’s investigators.’
Special counsel Robert Mueller says former Trump campaign official Rick Gates' cooperation continues, a possible sign the investigation isn't done yet https://t.co/aWPz6LMNrR pic.twitter.com/i7PS9S17K9
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) January 15, 2019
Recent revelations about Manafort working with Russian government officials in order to provide insider information also involve Gates. Specific information that was passed along to Russian spies involved Gates, as well.
‘Manafort’s own lawyers have said in a court filing last week that Mueller accused the Manafort of lying about sharing Trump campaign polling data with an alleged Russian spy, and about his conversations with that accused agent, Konstantin Kilimnik, regarding a possible peace plan for Ukraine.’
Please. No one should wonder why Manafort gave polling data to Russians. The only reason Russians wanted this info was to use it against H. Clinton in support of Trump. Why do you think Manafort w/ all his ties to Russia & Ukraine was in the campaign to begin with? Stay woke!
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) January 14, 2019
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
