Prosecutors:Mueller Witness (Gates)was Offered Money Not to Cooperate

[malaise]

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/prosecutors-mueller-witness-whose-testimony-doomed-manafort-was-offered-money-not-to-cooperate/
<snip>

Former Trump campaign deputy chairman Rick Gates, the former Paul Manafort associate who flipped and cooperated with the Mueller investigation, was offered “monetary assistance” not to cooperate with the government, federal prosecutors said on Tuesday.

From the government’s motion for downward departure and memo in aid of sentencing (you can read the rest of the filing below):

Finally, is important to note that the public nature of this case has made Gates and Gates’ family the subject of intense media scrutiny. Gates’ cooperation has been steadfast despite the fact that the government has asked for his assistance in high profile matters, against powerful individuals, in the midst of a particularly turbulent environment. Gates received pressure not to cooperate with the government, including assurances of monetary assistance. He should be commended for standing up to provide information and public testimony against individuals such as Manafort, Craig, and Stone, knowing well that they enjoy support from the upper echelons of American politics and society. Based on his substantial assistance, the government recommends a downward departure and does not oppose Gates’ request for a probationary sentence.

Note that while the government did not say who was applying the pressure and making these monetary “assurances,” it did praise Gates for testifying against Manafort, Greg Craig, and Roger Stone, despite the fact that these individuals had friends in high places.

Holy crap. According to federal prosecutors, Gates was promised “monetary assistance” if he did not cooperate? By who?? That’s a lay-down-your-hand obstruction case.

[bluestarone]

1. And the senate RETHUGS will

Turn their fucking heads away!

[Still In Wisconsin]

3. 'Course they will. Because judges and tax cuts . Oh, and the fact that those fucking snowflakes

are sooooo terrified of Trump's base.

[Mike 03]

2. Could this be one of the cases Mueller handed off? I mean, isn't this flatly illegal?

Why aren't we being told who offered Gates money? Will we find out at some point? We could probably narrow it down to a President and a handful of crooked lawyers.

ON EDIT: I wonder of John Dowd could be this sleazy? Or Manafort's attorney?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. It seems to fall under the category of witness tampering.

The federal witness tampering statute, 18 U.S. Code § 1512, says:

...(b) Whoever knowingly uses intimidation, threatens, or corruptly persuades another person, or attempts to do so, or engages in misleading conduct toward another person, with intent to—

(1)influence, delay, or prevent the testimony of any person in an official proceeding;

(2)cause or induce any person to—

(A)withhold testimony, or withhold a record, document, or other object, from an official proceeding;

(B)alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal an object with intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding;

(C)evade legal process summoning that person to appear as a witness, or to produce a record, document, or other object, in an official proceeding; or

(D)be absent from an official proceeding to which such person has been summoned by legal process; or

(3)hinder, delay, or prevent the communication to a law enforcement officer or judge of the United States of information relating to the commission or possible commission of a Federal offense or a violation of conditions of probation, supervised release, parole, or release pending judicial proceedings;

shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.

[thecrow]

36. Why wasn't this in the impeachment?

The Orange did a lot of these witness tampering items
Pretty much all of them !

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

37. It could be something that's still being investigated.

[spanone]

4. K&R...

well, we know donald wouldn't spend his own money, but his donors would be proud to lend a hand

[guillaumeb]

5. Malaise, the term bribery is so harsh.

So very harsh.

The GOP knows and accepts no limits.

[DENVERPOPS]

33. The end justifies the means.......

The United States citizens are dealing with the most thoroughly corrupt political party in the history of our nation.....

The Republicans are quite literally millimeters away from overthrowing Democracy and installing a truly Dictator/Fascist government.......

They have been working on this for decades, and now they are so close, they will do anything and everything to finally accomplish their ultimate goal........Katie Bar The Door......

On November 3rd & 4th, no matter who wins, this nation will see "acting out" that is un-imagineable........

If you were fearful of Y2K, you should be very very afraid of what is coming during/after the election......

[C_U_L8R]

6. Now that's bribery

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. Yes, and it's also witness tampering.

[malaise]

12. This

Bribery and witness tampering

[uponit7771]

9. DAMN !! Please have tapes, documents or something provable ... just please

[dem4decades]

10. Where's the indictment? Republican Senators better be ready for the future.

[triron]

18. Yes what is it with the FBI?

[mobeau69]

11. If dotard steals another term he'll pardon all these fuckers and more.

What a nightmereish thought that is. GOTV

[triron]

17. That's the least of it. Our constitutional government is dead.

[SayItLoud]

13. The Dream, well my dream;

Dems make a clean sweep. WH,S,H. Cases are opened again or started (the back 200+ pages of the Mueller Report), tRUMP is out of power and can't pardon anyone. SDNY goes after tRUMP Organization, Kushner Cos. and NOT for white collar crimes that end in fines but jail time. Barr is disbarred, and investigated for corruption (Think Epstein)....on and on. I did say it was my dream. Just sayin..

[dchill]

27. ...Gorsuch & Kavanaugh are impeached...

[bucolic_frolic]

14. Does it all begin to make sense now?

A private network of spies and informants with money to burn. This is an old game, probably examples in ancient Rome, and Shakespeare, as well as one of the 20th centuries most famous, Sidney Reilly, "Ace of Spies" for government, oil tycoons, and his own business interests.

[erronis]

21. Yes, it does make sense in that history does repeat itself. It doesn't in that humanity keeps

showing that it doesn't deserve to be in its self-exalted place.

As always, male chauvinism, greed, lust for power (and sex), fear of failure, personal inadequacies... I could go on ... These are our main failings.

And some people think we are an improvement on the prior 10,000,000 years? Nature will show us.

[ancianita]

38. Amen to that.

[triron]

15. Sounds like bribery again. And I'm sure by someone close to Trump

Trump figures (perhaps correctly) he can get away with anything.
He is now effectively a monarch.

[Glimmer of Hope]

16. Hmmm. I wonder who tampered and bribed Gates.

And when will we know?

[gab13by13]

19. Barr will shut down any investigation

I've said this many times here, Barr is more dangerous than Trump because he protects him. Trump could not get away with shit if we had an honest AG.

[getagrip_already]

20. give him 50 years unless he discloses the name in open court.....

The judge should be pissed. He needs to know who tampered with his witness.

[Duppers]

22. "Friends in high places"

Trump & associates via the Kremlin.

[Karadeniz]

23. Would Gate's lawyer be aware of this bribery? If this can be verifief, I'd like to see it added

To the impeachment list. I think the impeachment offenses are way too short. The GOP can easily plead not bad enough to a short list.

[SonofDonald]

35. The prosecutors know who it is

Otherwise they wouldn't have stated that, gates is still on the hook for further testimony so it may come out in public later but like many other truths we'll never be allowed to know.

But somebody out there should be sweating heavily about now.

[chowder66]

24. I wonder if it was to pay his legal fees or if it was something else. nt

[FakeNoose]

25. Is Rick Gates testifying to this?

I hope they have outside corroboration. The prosecutors need to have something other than the word of a convicted person, even though he turned states' evidence.

[gademocrat7]

26. K&R

The occupant and his cabal are oozing corruption.

[Botany]

28. Sure but what about Hillary's emails?

Make the Texas Panhandle one big federal prison and ship 'em all there.

[Joinfortmill]

29. More to come

You just slow walk that impeachment trial, Moscow Mitch, as the crimes continue to rain down. I'm loving this.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

30. Now this is a story that needs more investigation. Who, when, where, how?

[malaise]

32. But Hillary's emails n/t

[B Stieg]

31. Sounds like ATTEMPTED BRIBERY...AGAIN

Lock tRump Up (after all due process, of course!)

[Kid Berwyn]

34. "Nice family you got there, Rick."

“Shame if anything were to happen to ‘em.”

[ancianita]

39. Cool drawing, but incorrect. Vory, pure mafia, pride themselves as free from state control.

Vory are not muscle men, security or vigilante police on salary.

Vory are an assassin network who never let anyone with KGB or KGB background into their ranks; they tend to do wet work for bankers, oligarchs and other shady wealth.

Just sayin'.

[Kid Berwyn]

40. I wondered about the times he forgets his shirt outside.

In all seriousness, thank you for the heads-up. Hollywood has created the images in my head re the Mafiya. Former CIA Director William Colby:

“The Latin American drug cartels have stretched their tentacles much deeper into our lives than most people believe. It's possible they are calling the shots at all levels of government.”

Toss in oil and war, the monies involved become so great, states and their intelligence agencies today not only resemble global crime syndicates, they likely are just as corrupt to their cores.