October 30, 2017
By Matt Apuzzo
Washington — Paul Manafort and his former business associate Rick Gates (click here) were told to surrender to federal authorities Monday morning, the first charges in a special counsel investigation, according to a person involved in the case.
The charges against Mr. Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, and Mr. Gates, a business associate of Mr. Manafort, were not immediately clear but represent a significant escalation in a special counsel investigation that has cast a shadow over the president’s first year in office....
This is the game Paul Manafort carried forward that made him a lot of money. It is one thing to be a consultant to parties within Ukraine and it is quite something else to provide services to Russia to undermine an American election.
What really concerns me was the direction Paul Manafort's consulting business took with the Post Soviet States and Russia. Considering he was the consultant to Yanukovych, Manafort's consulting was aligning these countries to reassemble the Soviet Union.
To carry that idea forward, if the Post Soviet States reassembled under Putin what then would be the next domino to fall? The USA?
This is huge. This is troubling. This involves Europe and NATO. The importance of the Mueller investigation and now the criminal case is vital to understand and go forward. The USA needs this trial and it's outcomes to realize the extent enemies of the USA seek to control the underlying principles of democracy.
Vladimir Putin recently pointed to the events in Spain with Catalonia stating it was a primary example of the failure of democracy. In other words, democracy doesn't establish permanent and stable countries. One has to realize Russia and the former Soviet Union value stable states as a method to control citizens and ensure their standard of internal peace.
This outcome to the Mueller investigation is troubling and I am sure the depth of the charges extend beyond this simple assessment. I had confidence in Former Director Mueller. He is dedicated to the USA. If there was an underlying danger to the country's sovereignty, he would find it and it appears he has.
The men charged have every right to a fair trial and I expect transparency in that trial. This is a case about the country, every citizen has a right to know and witness their country's sovereignty in danger.
