Law & Order · Russia Investigation · Russian Scandal

Master Manipulator Of The Watergate Cover-Up Says Gates’ Testimony Could End Trump Presidency

February 27, 2018 by Samuel Warde No Comments

Donald J. Trump at Marriott Marquis NYC September 7th 2016 09.jpg

John Dean’s surmised that Rick Gates’ testimony could mark the end of Trump’s reign as president, and Gates’ cooperation with Team Mueller is confirmed on Tuesday. 

Background:

CNN reported last week that: “Former Donald Trump campaign official Rick Gates pleaded guilty Friday to two criminal charges in special counsel Robert Mueller’s wide-ranging investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign and related activities.”

As part of Gates’ plea agreement:

Gates will have to cooperate with the special counsel by turning over all documents relevant to the investigation, speak with investigators as they wish and possibly testify in other court cases, including Manafort’s. Gates may also even be asked to go undercover.

Gates, 45, was Manafort’s right-hand man for a decade, was privy to most, if not all, of Manafort’s activities during the campaign and stayed in the Trump orbit after Manafort’s exit.

In a separate article, CNN discussed the fact that Gates’ guilty plea raises questions:

Mueller’s willingness to cut a plea deal with Gates — coming less than 24 hours after the special counsel’s office charged Gates and one-time Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort with a bevy of money laundering and bank fraud violations — suggests that Mueller believes that Gates has information critical to his broader investigation into Russian meddling and any possible collusion between the foreign power and the Trump campaign.

The big question is: What does Mueller believe Gates knows — and about whom?

Continuing, CNN explained that there are three possible options regarding what Gates might know:

  1. Gates knows about all of Manafort’s activities
  2. Gates can help flip Manafort
  3. Gates has information on other people in Trumpworld

CNN concluded by noting that: “Obviously, these 3 options are not mutually exclusive. Option 1 could lead directly to Option 2. Option 3 could be tied to either Option 1 or 2 (or both).”

John Dean Weighs In

Ken Dilanian, an intelligence and national security reporter for the NBC News Investigative Unit, weighed in on Friday tweeting: “While the charges to which Gates pleaded guilty carry a prison term of up to 71 months under federal guidelines, his agreement could result in probation if he cooperates substantially.”

Former Nixon attorney John Dean responded, tweeting: “Mueller is throwing everything he can against Manafort, including Gates who can nail him. Increasingly it appears Manafort is the link to Russian collusion. If Gates can testify that Manafort was acting with Trump’s blessings, it’s the end of his presidency. That’s substantial.”

Dean also addressed concerns raised by many in the media and elsewhere that Trump could simply pardon Manafort.

“A number of folks have expressed concern in this Manafort thread that Trump will pardon him. Many of the counts in both the VA and DC indictments have state law counterparts that can be charged in NY and VA, where Trump had no pardon power. Checkmate is coming for Paul Manafort,” he tweeted.

For those unfamiliar with John Dean, Huffington Post reported that “Dean served as White House counsel to Nixon and was dubbed the “master manipulator” of the Watergate cover-up by the FBI. However, he ultimately cooperated with prosecutors. He has been highly critical of Trump and his administration.”

In a January interview with The Telegraph, Dean stated that he thought Trump was more dangerous than Nixon.

Mueller Dismisses Charges Against Rick Gates

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that:

The special counsel investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 election has moved to drop 22 tax and bank fraud charges against Rick Gates, a former top official in President Trump’s campaign.

The move was part of Gates’ agreement to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and lying to the FBI.

“Under the terms of the plea agreement, the government agreed that it would ‘move promptly to dismiss without prejudice the charges brought against [Gates] in the Eastern District of Virginia and [Gates] waives venue as to such charges in the event he breaches this Agreement,’” attorneys for the special counsel wrote in a court filing Tuesday.

What Does This All Mean

There’s no need for a lengthy epiphany here: Millennial Politics put it best when they tweeted: “BREAKING: Robert Mueller officially dismissed 22 charges against Rick Gates. What’s it mean? The man delivered the goods.”

Scott Dworkin, co-founder of the Democratic Coalition and MSNBC contributor, tweeted: “Robert Mueller just made a move to dismiss some of the charges against Rick Gates. It’s a clear signal that whatever info Gates gave Mueller-it must have been good. Gates still faces 57-71 months in prison. Now it’s VERY likely Manafort will flip on Trump in March. #TrumpColluded”

Dr. Dena Grayson, wife of Rep. Alan Grayson (D-NY), tweeted: “Team Mueller officially proposes to *DROP 17 charges* against Gates from the superseding indictment they issued last week. Tricky Ricky Gates must be delivering the goods on Manafort and Trump for Mueller to do that so quickly!!”

Featured Image: Von Michael Vadon – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

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