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Added on the 26/01/2018 16:57:14 - Copyright : Wochit
Business Insider is reporting that President Donald Trump has pardoned his former campaign manager, Paul Manafort. Manafort was investigated by Robert Mueller during his probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 US election. Manafort was convicted of eight counts of tax and bank fraud. Manafort also later pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and another count of obstruction. A federal judge voided the plea deal after finding that he lied to prosecutors after agreeing to cooperate. Manafort was sentenced last year to 7 1/2 years in prison for his crimes. The Republican-led Senate Intelligence Committee concluded that he represents a "grave counterintelligence threat" to the US.
At a rally in Florida Friday night, President Donald Trump mixed up the names of a Florida representative and a former campaign aide. Specifically, Trump confused Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz with Rick Gates, who was convicted for crimes related to Russian interference in the 2016 election. According to Business Insider, Gaetz has been one of Trump's most vocal supporters. The president repeatedly pointed at Rep. Gaetz during the rally, all the while addressing him as 'Rick Gates' or 'Rick.' Rick Gates was not present at the rally.
Former deputy Trump campaign chairman Rick Gates served as a cooperating witness in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. President Donald Trump and his campaign were investigated for possible collusion with Russia in the 2016 presidential campaign. Now, Gates is about to publish his upcoming book, 'Wicked Game: An Insider's Story on How Trump Won, Mueller Failed, and America Lost.' According to Business Insider, Gates now says he felt he was manipulated, and that cooperating in the probe was like 'political waterboarding.' Despite pleading guilty in 2018 to lying to the FBI and conspiracy against the US, he now says the charges were illegitimate and amounted to political persecution.
Rather unsurprisingly, President Donald Trump announced Monday that Attorney General William Barr is to depart the Justice Department before Christmas. According to Business Insider, the AG fell out of Trump's good graces when he failed to produce quality opposition research to use before the election. Things got even worse when Barr publicly made comments flying in the face of Trump's conspiracy theory about the election having been 'stolen' from him. During his tenure, Barr was described by some legal scholars as acting more like the president's personal defense lawyer than the US's chief law enforcement officer. Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen will become Acting Attorney General. Richard Donoghue will be taking over the duties of Deputy Attorney General.
Once William Barr stated the DOJ had found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the general election, he fell from President Donald Trump's grace. According to Business Insider, Trump is itching to fire Attorney General Barr and reportedly held a meeting to discuss firing him. However, a source says Barr 'cannot be intimidated' by Trump and thinks the president's attacks are a 'deposed king ranting.' Trump has called a 'big disappointment' in a retweet of a message that suggested Barr should be fired immediately. The source says the public feud between Barr and Trump is like a 'cold war,' and that Barr is 'not someone who takes bullying and turns the other cheek.'
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