Papadopoulos Colluded with Russia

Check out the "Statement of the Offense" on the Papadopoulos guilty plea.  It spells out the REASON he lied ---- it was to DISGUISE the fact that he was working for the Trump campaign AT THE TIME he was working to "arrange a meeting between the Campaign and the Russian government, and took steps to advise the Campaign of his progress."





https://www.justice.gov/sco

Papadopoulos Charges

 

https://www.justice.gov/file/1007346/download

Starr vs Mueller: How Do They Compare?

Well, let's look at the time line.



Starr got his FIRST conviction in May of 1996. He'd been on the job since August of 1994 (See Washington Post - https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/whitewater/timeline.htm ). That's 21 months.





May 17, 2017 :  Mueller appointed as special counsel.



July 27, 2017 : Papadopoulos arrested.



October 5, 2017: Papadopoulos enters guilty plea in federal court ( https://www.justice.gov/file/1007346/download )



Note, that's LESS than FIVE months from Mueller's appointment until he bagged his first conviction, a felony! The crime Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to was lying about his meeting with one agent he believed to have  "substantial connections to Russian government officials" and met with yet another agent he ALSO believed to have connections with the Russian government.  ( https://www.justice.gov/file/1007346/download )



Now let's look at Kenneth Starr's record.



August 5, 1994: Starr is appointed special Whitewater Prosecutor ( https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/whitewater/timeline.htm )



May 26, 1996: Starr gets his FIRST conviction, and it has NOTHING to do with Whitewater

( https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/whitewater/timeline2.htm )



That's over TWENTY ONE MONTHS from the time Starr was appointed until he bagged his first conviction of ANY SORT; and it had NOTHING to do with Whitewater!



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It took Mueller less than five months to nail a felon for lying about his meetings with agents he believed to be connected to the Russian government (Russian collusion).



It took Starr TWENTY ONE months to nail someone on charges that had absolutely NOTHING to do with the Clintons or with the Whitewater land deal.



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One lead investigator nails his first felony conviction in less than 6 months of being on the job.

Another lead investigator takes TWENTY-ONE months to get his first conviction of ANY SORT.

Riddle: Guess which one the right wingers say should hurry up?  



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Here's another scenario: 



One investigator, looking into a real estate transaction, busts someone for a cable television deal.



Another investigator looking into collusion with a foreign adversary busts a suspect (and gets a felony conviction)  for lying to the feds about his collusion with someone the suspect believes to be an operative representing that foreign government.



Riddle:  Guess which one the right wingers accuse of going "outside his scope"?

“As far as we can tell, Papadopoulos never even had met with the president.” - Congressman Devin Nunes (R-CA)

https://dr35ey0x3otoq.cloudfront.net/uploads/default/optimized/3X/b/a/bad18947e1be0d5bbfc5dea7e7452a6b03523df7_1_455x500.jpg

Why Did Papadopoulos and Flynn Lie?

Stop and think about it this way.



Why does ANYBODY lie?



The simple answer is --- ''Because they want to conceal the truth.''



OK?



Then what truth were Flynn and Papadopoulos concealing?



Trump team illicit contacts with Russians?



Exactly.



Every time Trump claims ''No Collusion,'' he is committing an impeachable offense, according to right wing HERO, Kenny Starr --- ''absolutely,'' says Starr. From The Hill:

"Former special counsel Ken Starr said on Sunday that there could be grounds for impeachment if President Trump was lying when he denied reports that he tried to fire special counsel Robert Mueller.



"I think lying to the American people is a serious issue that has to be explored. I take lying to the American people very, very seriously, so absolutely," Starr told ABC's "This Week," when asked if Trump lying about the report would be grounds for impeachment."

http://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/371095-starr-grounds-for-impeachment-if-trump-lied-about-trying-to-fire

Statements of Offense

Papadopoulos Statement of the Offense



"Defendant PAPADOPOULOS claimed he met a certain female Russian national before he joined the Campaign and that their communications consisted of emails such as, '" Hi , how are you?"'



In truth and in fact, however, defendant PAPADOPOULOS met the female Russian national on or about March 24 , 2016 , after he had become an adviser to the Campaign; he believed that she had connections to Russian government officials; and he sought to use her Russian connections over a period of months in an effort to arrange a meeting between the Campaign and Russian government officials."



https://www.justice.gov/file/1007346/download



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Flynn Statement of the Offense 



"On or about January 24, 2017, FLYNN agreed to be interviewed by agent from the FBI ("January 24 voluntary interview"). During the interview,FLYNN falsely stated that he did not ask Russia's Ambassador to the United States ("Russian Ambassador") to refrain from escalating the situation in response to sanctions that the United States had imposed against Russia. FLYNN also falsely stated that he did not remember a follow-up conversation in which the Russian Ambassador stated that Russia had chosen to moderate its response to those sanctions as a result of FLYNN's request."



https://www.justice.gov/file/1015126/download

Papadopoulos Lies

"Defendant PAPADOPOULOS further told the investigating agents that the professor was " a nothing " and "just a guy talk[ing] up connections or something." In truth and in fact, however, defendant PAPADOPOULOS understood that the professor had substantial connection s to Russian government officials (and had met with some of those officials in Moscow immediately prior to telling defendant PAPADOPOULOS about the "thousands of emails") and, over a period of months, defendant PAPADOPOULOS repeatedly sought to use the professor's Russian connections in an effort to arrange a meeting between the Campaign and Russian government officials." [Emphasis added]