I’m sure Meuller already knows everything - right down to the dates and times. Maybe Stone should start watching his own back… Putin seems to have a long reach.
“I forgot” and “it was a joke” seem to be the go-to excuses for this crowd. Don’t think Muller is going to fall for them.
Overnight, Robert Mueller’s office filed their opposition to Paul Manafort’s motion to dismiss his D.C. case, partly on the basis it was outside of Mueller’s authority.
Turns out … yeah, not so much. Mueller’s filing included - a heavily redacted version of - Rod Rosenstein’s Aug 17, 2017 memo outlining Mueller’s authority, specifically written since the original order forming the Special Counsel’s office had to be public and this memo didn’t have to be.
Yet another avenue for Manafort blocked off.
CNN Story: Mueller authorized by DOJ to investigate alleged Manafort collusion with Russian government - CNNPolitics
Stone could have had a meeting with Assange via Skype, would that have left an electronic trail for Mueller to pick up? It seems if Stone had actually visited the Ecuadoran embassy, British intelligence would have noticed. I’m not falling for the joke defense.
Regarding Manafort, I think this motion was a Hail Mary that didn’t connect. Pending a pardon, he’s going to be in prison for life, as it should be.
Why they always gotta black out the juiciest bits. 
I especially like this part, tho:
So it is clear, as I have stated in this thread, and which certain well-known trolls have repeatedly attempted to deny or ignore, that the scope of Mueller’s prosecutorial authority is limited only by what the DOJ (read: Rosenstein) chooses to assign to him. And that there may have been many such consultations with Rosenstein’s office about such additional matters. And these consultations would have resulted in further memos ordering Mueller to pursue those avenues, or otherwise those matters would be turned over to other investigators.
I think the true scope of the what the Special Counsel’s office is working on is far more broad and expansive than is generally known.
And started out with DOJ full knowledge of what the SC’s office would be chasing …
30 Days In The Hole.
"A London-based lawyer was ordered to serve 30 days in prison after a federal judge Tuesday handed down the first sentence in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. "
Nothing to it, nothing there, big ol’ nothingburger …
So let’s investigate Hillary some more.
It’s not like he’s the son-in-law of a Russian oligarch or anything.
Wait. What? He’s the son-in-law of a Russian oligarch? Wow.
It’s not like that oligarch is an owner of Alfa Bank, the bank connected to Trump Tower.
Wait. What? He is that same oligarch?
<deadpan>Mind. Blown. Pfoosh.</deadpan>
[Charlie Kelly]
Aw yeah, yeah, like in The Sixth Sense you find out that the dude in that hair piece the whole time, that’s Bruce Willis the whole movie.
[/Charlie Kelly]
Carol D. Leonnig and Robert Costa at WaPo is reporting tonight
"Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III informed President Trump’s attorneys last month that he is continuing to investigate the president but does not consider him a criminal target at this point, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
In private negotiations in early March about a possible presidential interview, Mueller described Trump as a subject of his investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. Prosecutors view someone as a subject when that person has engaged in conduct that is under investigation but there is not sufficient evidence to bring charges.
The special counsel also told Trump’s lawyers that he is preparing a report about the president’s actions while in office and potential obstruction of justice, according to two people with knowledge of the conversations.
Mueller reiterated the need to interview Trump — both to understand whether he had any corrupt intent to thwart the Russia investigation and to complete this portion of his probe, the people said."
More here:
What “subject” and “target” mean:
9-11.151 - Advice of “Rights” of Grand Jury Witnesses
It is the policy of the Department of Justice to advise a grand jury witness of his or her rights if such witness is a “target” or “subject” of a grand jury investigation. See the Criminal Resource Manual at 160 for a sample target letter.
A “target” is a person as to whom the prosecutor or the grand jury has substantial evidence linking him or her to the commission of a crime and who, in the judgment of the prosecutor, is a putative defendant. An officer or employee of an organization which is a target is not automatically considered a target even if such officer’s or employee’s conduct contributed to the commission of the crime by the target organization. The same lack of automatic target status holds true for organizations which employ, or employed, an officer or employee who is a target.
A “subject” of an investigation is a person whose conduct is within the scope of the grand jury’s investigation.
https://www.justice.gov/usam/usam-9-11000-grand-jury#9-11.151
I’m old enough to remember when Michael Flynn was not a target of the investigation.
'Zackly.
You can go from “subject” to “target” in a millisecond. Being a “subject” of a criminal investigation should provide comfort to no one.
We learned a very lot today.
The subject of whether or not Trump himself is being investigated is now entirely settled. (Duh.)
Mueller is rolling out his investigation in stages. (Remember that long, wet stenchy fart I mentioned that’s going to last up to and likely long beyond the mid-term elections? It’s starting to get stinky. Right on time, too.)
Mueller made known today that he has indeed safeguarded his investigation. Senior assistant special agents in the FBI are empowered to continue the various tracks of the investigation within the scope of their agency authority, with or without a special counsel. So even if Trump finds a way to fire Mueller, the investigations won’t stop.
By rolling out the investigation in stages, Mueller can “test” the current Congress and reserve other avenues of the investigation until after the mid-terms if the current Congress simply ignores egregious conduct by Trump.
Mueller is preparing a report to “answer the public’s questions,” scheduled for release sometime in June or July. By stating the fact in this way, he signals that he intends to make a recommendation to impeach based solely on the obstruction charges at this point, and he means for the public to see the full report. The public will learn all the evidence pertaining to obstruction and have the chance to observe what their Congress does with it before deciding how to vote in November. Pressure, pressure.
It’s worth noting that Mueller is at present pursuing potential crimes only for Trump’s conduct while in office – nothing during the campaign. Were I a betting girl, I’d wager Mueller is reserving the real shit show for when Trump is out of office – and subject to the full force and effect of criminal prosecution.
I understand that the position of the DOJ (of which Mueller is an employee, unlike Ken Starr) is that a sitting president cannot be indicted, so could Trump even be a target?
Some other points from the article: we now have speculation that “Person A” is “Konstantin Kilimnik, the Russian manager of Manafort’s lobbying office in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev”, Oleg Deripaska’s name pops up yet again, and WaPo helpfully remind their readers that the Thames is “the river in London”.
I appreciate Mueller’s thoroughness but I worry what new dirty tricks the Republicans will come up with to undermine the investigation.
London in England or London, Ontario?
Trick question. They both have a Thames river.
That’s Trump’s claim, obviously, but there is no law to support it.
So fire them too. Make Nixon’s Saturday Night Massacre look like a tea party. He’d do it, too.
Or he’s letting New York State handle that part.