Report:
Paul Manafort surrenders to federal authorities
Sources say the former Trump campaign manager and his
former business associate Rick Gates have been instructed to turn themselves in
as part of the Russia investigation.
Much of the political
left is cheering about the indictment of Donald Trump’s former campaign
manager, Paul Manafort. They think it will undermine President
Trump. The problem, though, is that it appears increasingly likely that
Manfort’s indictment has nothing to do with the Trump campaign.
It is true that Robert
Mueller began investigating Paul Manafort based on Manafort’s dealings with the
Trump campaign and Russia. But the special prosecutor, like most
prosecutors, can go in the direction an investigation takes him. If the
investigation goes off the trail of the campaign into a new direction, the
special prosecutor can go in that new direction. That appears to be the case
here.
The federal investigators
have been curious about various wire transfers during the 2012 period. Manafort
has close ties to both Russian operatives and various other unsavory figures
tied into Moscow’s political apparatus.
It appears he may have
transferred money and accepted payments that he should not have and that he
possibly failed to accurate report them on taxes. This is all based on the
initial reports that are leaking out.
If that is the case,
Manafort and his associate Rick Gates are getting indicted for things far
removed from the Trump campaign.
A talking point already
shaping up on the left related to this is that Manafort must have been forced
to work for Trump by the Russians.
The thinking goes that
there is no way Manafort would have wanted to work on so high profile a
campaign given his baggage. Someone must have forced him and that someone
is the Russians.
This seems to be wishful
thinking by members of the so-called Resistance who are lost in their fever
dreams of Trump hatred.
Manafort worked on a number
of high profile campaigns and just because you never heard of him before now
does not mean he was an unknown or minor figure.
Manafort’s indictment in
a matter unrelated to the Trump campaign gives the Trump team a new talking
point. They had already made a few unflattering statements about Manafort
and can now claim that this clears them.
The Mueller team looked
into the campaign, went down various rabbit holes, and wound up in Manafort’s
tax returns circa 2012, well before Trump considered running for
office. Therefore, they can claim, there is nothing there with the
campaign.
It is a believable
talking point except for the fact that the investigation continues. Still,
this will be a distraction from that investigation as media sharks circle
Manafort.
One last point to
consider here is that the press probably hopes, as some TV pundits are
speculating, that Manafort’s indictment is designed to make him squeal about
the Trump campaign. That all sounds well and good, but if Vladimir Putin
really were involved the chances of Manafort squealing on anybody are really
low — and there is no evidence that there is anything to squeal about. But
the left’s fever dreams against Trump continue and Russia stealing the election
is a necessary component to those dreams.
As long as Robert
Mueller fails to turn up evidence to show Russia stole the election, the
American left will continue to believe in an elaborate conspiracy. It is
far easier to believe that than to believe Hillary Clinton ran a terrible
campaign.
Erick Erickson is a Fox
News contributor. He is host of "Atlanta's Evening News" and
founder/editor of The
Resurgent. He is the founder of RedState.com.
Follow him on Twitter @EWErickson.
