Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Sarah Sanders's Statement on the Manafort Plea Deal Sounds Like It Was Dictated by Donald Trump Himself

Sarah Sanders's Statement on the Manafort Plea Deal Sounds Like It Was Dictated by Donald Trump Himself
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 10: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders calls on reporters during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House September 10, 2018 in Washington, DC. Sanders was joined by White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett, who talked about the economic progress made by Trump Administration policies. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

One tell-tale word.

The news that Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, had decided to accept a plea deal and cooperate with Special Counsel Robert Mueller rather than proceed with a second federal trial, prompted White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to issue a statement which sounds as if it was dictated by the president himself.

"This had absolutely nothing to do with the president or his victorious 2016 presidential campaign,” Sanders said. “It is totally unrelated.”

Not only does it reflect Trump's repeated talking points about those who have been caught up in the Mueller probe so far, but also the addition of the unnecessary descriptor "victorious" in reference to his 2016 election win, seems to betray Trump's well-reported insecurity about having lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton, and his constant need to remind people that he won.


The word "victorious" is also rife with a certain irony: We know that Manafort has agreed to cooperate with Mueller, but we don't know what he will reveal. Whatever he does reveal, though, would further cast the legitimacy of Trump's presidency––which the U.S. intelligence community unanimously agrees was orchestrated under the direction of Russian leader Vladimir Putin––further into doubt.

Sanders's statement was widely criticized.

The president's attorney, Rudy Giuliani, also insisted that Manafort's plea deal had nothing to do with Trump.

“Once again, an investigation has concluded with a plea having nothing to do with President Trump or the Trump campaign,” Giuliani said in a statement. “The reason: the President did nothing wrong and Paul Manafort will tell the truth.”

Then, he, as Second Nexus pointed out earlier today, changed his tune, omitting his earlier assertion that Manafort would "tell the truth": “The president did nothing wrong."

That statement opened Giuliani to criticism as well:

A legal source who is supportive of the president and spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity said Trump's team does not believe Manafort has anything significant to share about the President with Mueller.

Manafort agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department, pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy against the United States and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice due to attempts to tamper with witnesses.

Prosecutor Andrew Weissmann called Manafort's plea agreement a "cooperation agreement," noting that other charges will be dropped at sentencing at "or at the agreement of successful cooperation."

Manafort's attorney, Richard Westling, agreed that the mistried accounts in Virginia from Manafort's trial last month––Manafort was found guilty on eight criminal counts, including bank fraud and tax evasion––will be dropped with Manafort's admission of guilt to all his allegations.

Manafort also had seven criminal counts in Washington, D.C., but prosecutors have agreed to rewrite them as two. They will drop the five remaining charges, which include money laundering, tax fraud, failing to disclose foreign bank accounts, violating federal foreign lobbying law and lying to the Department of Justice.

He faces another 10 possible charges in Virginia which had been declared in mistrial and it's not yet clear what will happen to those charges in Virginia federal court.

More from People/donald-trump

Screenshot of Stephen Colbert
CBS

Stephen Colbert Makes Somber Plea To Americans In Wake Of Charlie Kirk's Death

Late-night host Stephen Colbert had a somber message for Americans as he addressed the assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk, stressing that "political violence only leads to more political violence."

Kirk died after an unidentified gunman shot him in the neck as he—ironically enough—mocked victims of gun violence at an event in Utah Valley State University. Kirk's murder has galvanized the far-right, with President Donald Trump and his surrogates claiming without evidence that rhetoric from Democrats is responsible for Kirk's death.

Keep ReadingShow less
a woman sunbathing on rocks.
a person sitting on a towel on a beach
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

People Share The Weirdest Flexes They Heard Someone Say With A Straight Face

It is never attractive to gloat.

Even so, some people can't help but brag, or "flex" as it is sometimes known, about certain accomplishments or attributes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @thedowntheredoc's TikTok video
@thedowntheredoc/TikTok

TikToker Hilariously Calls Out Target After Champion Pants Feature Awkwardly-Placed Front Pleat

Sometimes you can just tell when something was designed *for* women, but was not actually designed *by* women.

Take, for instance, the new pleated pants available at Target from the Champion clothing line. While there's nothing wrong with pleated pants and they certainly have a suitable spot in the workplace, the latest rendition of Champion pleated pants are, shall we say, NSFW.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @kaicutch's Instagram video
@kaicutch/Instagram

Woman Flips Her Car After Belting Out Ironic Britney Spears Lyric In Wild Viral Video

Whether we want to admit it or not, we've all had our fair share of carpool karaoke and maybe even imagined our car as our own personal recording studio.

But TikToker and Instagrammer Kaitlynn McCutcheon may have gotten too into her performance of Britney Spears' classic, "Hit Me Baby, One More Time," when the road and her car both said, "Bet."

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from ​@lynnshazeen's TikTok video
@lynnshazeen/TikTok

Woman Goes Viral After Revealing How Her Obsession With Matcha Landed Her In The Hospital

Let's be honest: Too much of anything isn't good for us. It's all about the balance!

But the media and social media trends have taught us that certain things are really good for us, encouraging us to be like the "very mindful and very demure" girls and take care of ourselves. One such example is drinking more matcha, especially if you really like coffee or think you have a caffeine addiction.

Keep ReadingShow less