The President responded to breaking news this morning that former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort has been indicted on charges of conspiracy and money laundering by noting that the indictment is in no way connected to the Trump campaign.
https://twitter.com/reuterspictures/status/924971030397014016
Rick Gates, the longtime business associate of Manafort, was also charged according to reports.
Trump also questioned why the investigation is not focusing on the recent revelations regarding corruption within the Democratic Party.
““Why aren’t Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????” Trump tweeted.
Sorry, but this is years ago, before Paul Manafort was part of the Trump campaign. But why aren't Crooked Hillary & the Dems the focus?????
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2017
The President followed up with a second tweet again denying any collusion between his campaign and the Russians:
….Also, there is NO COLLUSION!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2017
The President’s response was echoed by, of all people, CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin who noted that the Trump campaign is not mentioned at all in the federal indictment.
“The Trump campaign is not mentioned in this indictment … I think [that’s] a very important point, and it is certainly something you will hear from the president’s supporters, and I think it’s a very valid point,” Toobin said.
“It does not include any reference to his work on the Trump campaign.” the analyst added.
Other reporters noted the same:
The indictment of Manafort and Gates is damning on their financial dealings, but it makes no mention of Trump, collusion or the campaign
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) October 30, 2017
Toobin did add that this could be the first of many indictments to come, and that others could focus on the Trump campaign.
Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano noted that “this is the first of many dominoes to fall.”
“Bob Mueller is following the standard M.O. of federal prosecutors,” the judicial analyst continued. “You’ve got a totem pole, you’ve got somebody at the top of the totem pole, that’s your big prize: no surprise, it’s the president of the United States.”
“You’re going to indict people going up the totem pole to see if you can squeeze them. Threaten their ruination, by loss of liberty or loss of property to get them to turn evidence against the top guy.” Napolitano added.
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