sundance:
Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn releases a statement following his plea agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller:
It would appear, as CTH has predicted for well over a year, that Flynn brokered a deal with Robert Mueller to admit to misleading statements to the FBI in exchange for Mueller agreeing not to prosecute Flynn for his FARA (lobbying) violations.As CTH warned in November of 2016 Flynn was involved in lobbying efforts on behalf of the Turkish government. The financial constructs surrounding the payments to Flynn were sketchy, very sketchy. CTH anticipated this sketchy behavior would come back to bite Flynn and -by extension- could be an issue for the White House if he took a high level position. None of that had anything whatsoever to do with the fictitious vast Russian conspiracy story.
It is increasingly clear that Mueller used the sketchy financial arrangement between Turkey and Flynn -specifically how Flynn maneuvered the money- as the leverage in the unrelated Russian conspiracy investigation.
Giving Flynn a pass on his failure to register the arrangement under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and the banking issues (possibly IRS trouble), gets Robert Mueller a dual benefit.
Benefit #1 – Robert Mueller gets Flynn as a notch on his political belt and; Benefit #2 simultaneously sets up a scenario where he can allow Tony Podesta et al, to skate prosecution for similar illegal and sketchy lobbying activity.
This dual benefit approach would, essentially, be an escape valve for Muller to comply with the leverage the Clinton Crime Syndicate have over him (Uranium One etc.) and protect John and Tony Podesta from criminal investigation over their illegal lobbying constructs.
No doubt Mueller would like to shake his way out from under the Clinton controlled Sword of Damocles.
Conversely, the failure of Mueller to indict the Podesta brothers becomes favorable leverage for Paul Manafort who is criminally accused of the same conduct Tony Podesta has thus far avoided.
No doubt Manafort’s legal team would contrast the politics of Mueller charging Manafort for almost identical activity Mueller is unwilling to charge Podesta of.
As we have shared from the beginning – this is all about DC politics, not judicial crimes in the same vein as everyone else would be charged.
You cannot view the current action through the transactional prism of modern judicial proceedings as they relate to you and me. These are political struggles taking place inside the venue of the legal system. The players use the legal system to game out the optics and narrative of political battles for ideological wins and losses.
In essence, this is about leverage for political use.
The 2016 election caused the balance of power to shift favorably toward political forces that are external to the DC machine, ie. President Trump and the deplorables.
The subsequent action by Robert Mueller, Democrats, the Media (writ large), and President Trump is a confrontation over political goals and objectives. The DC machine, the “swamp” per se’, is attempting to frame leverage against actions adverse to their political interest.
The Sword of Damocles is swinging, President Trump is fanning the candle flame and Robert Mueller is attempting to reinforce the horsehair.
The charging documents unsealed in the Manafort indictment are a case study in leverage and narrative exploitation. To save time, and rather than go through the entire indictment, Andrew McCarthy has a good deconstruction OUTLINED HERE. The charging documents today against Michael Flynn represent a similar leveraged construct. Again, Andrew McCarthy has a solid outline on the issues SEE HERE.
Paul Manafort is being leveraged toward a political objective; his legal jeopardy is negligible. The documents, and the underlying charges, are intended to make life miserable for Mr. Manafort – not to end with some traditionally framed criminal consequence, ie. prison.
Likewise Michael Flynn was being leveraged toward a similar political objective; his legal jeopardy is just as minimal, but Flynn is not as well-off as Manafort, thus the plea agreement was likely driven as much by money as it was the underlying unfounded and inconsequential nature of the entire accusation to the larger issue of ‘Muh Russia‘.
Both Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort’s wealth were/are being held as leverage, compliance, toward acquiescence within the game; nothing more. Both likely end up with some charge, a financial fine good enough for media optics and perhaps -at worst- some probation for not following the FARA rules (Manafort). That’s it.
Conversely, on the other side of the political continuum, Tony and John Podesta are within the leverage process yet hold the larger political clout of the Clinton Crime Syndicate. Like Manafort and Flynn, Tony Podesta most likely will not face legal jeopardy, if any at all, beyond a similar outcome; thanks in part to Podesta’s connection to the deeper part of the swamp where the Clinton Crime Syndicate previously held court.
In the bigger picture of the Clinton dynamic you have Robert Mueller putting that deeper part of the Deep Swamp and remaining black hat intelligence community, on notice to knock-it-off with the selling of U.S. policy toward gaining their own financial indulgences. Mueller is generally positioning himself to exhaust all of the player’s political leverage.
why is he still working? he should be indicted for treason.
The MSM is under the impression that we do not want every member of Trumps admin, both current and former, to cooperate with this farce of an investigation. Not true we are not afraid of truth and exposure as the former President and dem candidate are.
Its the Obama admin running around with non-disclosure forms.
I see lots of celebration throughout the left wing precincts… I think they are in for another let-down.
@Bill… Deplorable Me: They are setting the table with their finest linens and china, Mueller will come out and announce a grand meal, NOTHING BURGERS, with a side of lies….again.
@kitt: Where are the calls for charging Obama with the Logan Act? He needs to keep is stupid, disruptive face out of US foreign affairs. He’s screwed it up enough.