On Tuesday morning, President Trump posted a series of tweets attacking the investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The posts were not unusual for the president, as he has previously questioned its integrity and scope, but he added one comment in that is interestingly new.
“The Phony Witch Hunt continues, but Mueller and his gang of Angry Dems are only looking at one side, not the other,” Trump wrote. “Wait until it comes out how horribly & viciously they are treating people, ruining lives for them refusing to lie.”
“Mueller is a conflicted prosecutor gone rogue,” the president added, inferring the scope of Mueller’s investigation has long passed his initially designated focus on Russia collusion.
“The Fake News Media builds Bob Mueller up as a Saint,” Trump said before questioning whether the Special Counsel investigation would ever look into the Clinton campaign and their alleged backroom dealings (Fusion GPS, the Trump dossier, etc). “When in actuality he is the exact opposite. He is doing TREMENDOUS damage to our Criminal Justice System, where he is only looking at one side and not the other.”
The president added: “Heroes will come of this, and it won’t be Mueller and his terrible Gang of Angry Democrats.”
“Look at their past, and look where they come from. The now $30,000,000 Witch Hunt continues and they’ve got nothing but ruined lives. Where is the Server? Let these terrible people go back to the Clinton Foundation and ‘Justice’ Department!”
The series of tweets come amid a new accusation from Mueller who now claims former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has violated his plea deal.
Politico reports the special counsel claims Manafort “committed federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Counsel’s Office on a variety of subject matters.”
Manafort’s defense team responded with a brief statement where they denied any wrongdoing, saying: “[Manafort] believes he has provided truthful information.”
They also said Manafort is abiding by his “cooperation obligations.”
Here’s even more, from Politico:
While prosecutors claim in the new filing Monday that Manafort committed new crimes by lying to the FBI, Mueller’s team stopped short of saying that it intended to actually seek new charges. Instead, prosecutors appear intent on urging the judges to impose stiffer sentences than they might have otherwise.
The falling-out also appears to scuttle the possibility that Mueller’s office might file special motions that could dramatically reduce Manafort’s prison time, even after the sentences are imposed. Prosecutors have the option to submit such requests when defendants provide “substantial assistance” to an ongoing investigation or prosecution.
The disagreement also presents another opportunity for Mueller’s prosecutors to air some of the evidence in their possession, including details about alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Demonstrating to the judges that Manafort lied may entail laying out more of that case than has surfaced thus far.
And:
While Manafort faces the theoretical possibility of up to 80 years in the Alexandria case and 10 years in the D.C. one, federal judges typically sentence defendants in accordance with sentencing guidelines that usually call for terms well short of the maximum. Prosecutors warned in Monday’s filing that they would no longer agree to a provision in the plea deal that credited Manafort for “acceptance of responsibility.”