Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Mueller's Office Says Manafort Lied To Investigators

Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, has repeatedly lied to federal investigators in breach of a plea agreement he signed two months ago, the Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office said in a joint status report filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, DC on Monday. Manafort was convicted of eight counts of tax evasion and bank fraud in February. In September, he agreed to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation when he pleaded guilty to two new counts and admitted his guilt to 10 counts outstanding from his earlier trial. In the court filing, Mueller’s office said that “after signing the plea agreement, Manafort committed federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Counsel’s Office on a variety of subject matters, which constitute breaches of the agreement.” The office did not specify the issues about which Manafort lied, but said it would file a detailed submission describing Manafort’s “crimes and lies” at a later date.

“A breach relieves the government of any obligations it has under the agreement, including its agreement to a reduction in the Sentencing Guidelines for acceptance of responsibility, but leaves intact all the obligations of the defendant as well as his guilty pleas,” Mueller’s office said. The consequences could be severe. In the case of a breach, Mueller’s office would have no obligation to inform the court about any cooperation Manafort may have provided that could have helped to lessen his sentence.

Manafort’s lawyers, in the joint filing, disputed Mueller’s characterization of his cooperation, saying he met with government investigators many times and answered their questions. Manafort “believes he has provided truthful information and does not agree with the government’s characterization or that he has breached the agreement,” his lawyers said. Given the impasse between the two sides, Manafort’s lawyers asked Judge Amy Berman Jackson to set a sentencing date for  Manafort. NBC News, New York Times, Wall Street Journal

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The only way to end the war in Yemen: “There is only one expeditious way for Saudi Arabia to end this counterproductive war, and that is to stop its military campaign unilaterally and challenge the Houthis to respond in kind. Doing so will not end all of the fighting inside Yemen. But it will create the conditions necessary for peace talks to gain traction and for Yemeni leaders,” Jeffrey Feltman writes in Foreign Affairs. “The United States should lead an alliance of powers in pushing Saudi Arabia to move first, rather than letting it drag out talks as the war rages on.”

In Azov Sea, Putin plays a deadly Ukraine game: “The clash was another demonstration of Moscow’s ever-mounting appetite to use unorthodox, partially nonmilitary and sometimes nonlethal techniques to redraw the geopolitical map,” Peter Apps writes in Reuters. “Ukraine and its Western allies must now decide how to respond. Not to do so, many argue, would strike Russia as weakness and invite yet more aggression. But no side wants a conflict they cannot control – this is much more like a game of chess, albeit with live ammunition, ships, aircraft and human beings in the balance.”

Peace is possible in Afghanistan—but it will take patience: “Afghans’ yearning for peace should not push us to settle for less than our changed country deserves. Peace talks also must not be driven by superficial deadlines urged by a U.S. administration anxious to be done with the conflict,” Nader Nadery writes in the Washington Post. “Rushing for a settlement with the Taliban instead of doing the arduous work of building peace could be disastrous.”

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TRUMP DEFENDS USE OF TEAR GAS AT BORDER
President Trump on Monday defended the use of tear gas by U.S. agents against Central American migrants at the San Ysidro border crossing, saying that authorities “had to use” the chemical agent in Sunday’s chaos and dismissing reports that children were among those affected. “They’re not, as you know,” Trump told reporters outside the White House when asked whether he was comfortable with the tear-gassing of children at the border. Border agents “had to use [tear gas] because they were being rushed by some very tough people,” he added.

U.S. authorities Sunday closed the Southern California border crossing, the busiest port of entry along the U.S.-Mexico border, as hundreds of migrants rushed the fencing hoping to cross onto U.S. soil from Tijuana. Images from the scene showed women and children among the dozens of migrants fleeing the tear gas, which was fired by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan on Monday praised agents’ response, including the use of tear gas, saying their actions avoided serious injuries on both sides and “effectively managed a potentially dangerous situation.” McAleenan said there were no serious injuries among immigrants or agents; four agents were hit with rocks but were wearing protective gear, he said during a Monday briefing. He said 69 immigrants managed to cross the border during the confrontation and were being processed and could face criminal charges related to illegal entry and assaults on agents. Washington Post, Los Angeles Times

Meanwhile, U.S. military officials said Monday that about 300 hundred U.S. service members on the southern border have been shifted within the last few days from assignments in Arizona and Texas to work in California. About 5,600 active-duty troops are supporting Customs and Border Protection on the border as of Monday, according to a statement released by U.S. Northern Command. Washington Post
Related:
CNN: Mexico Says 98 Migrants To Be Deported After U.S. Border Clash
New York Times: Mexico’s New Leader Faces Clash With Trump Over Migrant Caravan
Washington Post: How a Photographer Captured The Image of a Migrant Mother And Her Children Fleeing Tear Gas

Corsi says he is rejecting plea from Mueller: Conservative author Jerome Corsi said Monday that he has rejected a deal offered by Special Counsel Robert Mueller to plead guilty to one count of perjury, saying he would have been forced to say untruthfully that he intentionally lied to investigators. Corsi said he was merely forgetful in his initial answers to Mueller’s team about his interest in the activities of WikiLeaks, which released hacked Democratic emails during the 2016 campaign. His apparent rejection of a plea offer is the latest twist in a months-long effort by Mueller’s team to secure the cooperation of the author and conspiracy theorist. Corsi provided research during the 2016 White House race to Roger Stone, a longtime adviser to Donald Trump. For months, Mueller’s team has been scrutinizing Stone’s activities to determine whether he coordinated with WikiLeaks or its founder, Julian Assange, in the release of Democratic emails. Stone and WikiLeaks have repeatedly denied any such coordination. Washington Post

Judge accepts unusual plea deal in Chicago terrorism case: Adel Daoud pleaded guilty Monday to terrorism charges alleging he tried to detonate what he thought was a 1,000-pound car bomb in Chicago, but maintained his innocence in an unusual plea deal. Agents arrested Daoud in an FBI sting in 2012, and defense lawyers have criticized the FBI for what they say amounted to entrapment. Daoud, 25, was convicted under what is known as an Alford plea, a rarely used legal arrangement in which he acknowledged prosecutors have enough evidence to convict him but did not admit wrongdoing. “My understanding is that I am pleading guilty, but I am maintaining my innocence,” Daoud told U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman. He said he accepted the “factual basis” of the charges against him, but added, “I deny culpability and maintain my innocence.”

Daoud also entered a guilty plea to separate indictments accusing him of soliciting the murder of an FBI agent and attacking a fellow inmate with a jailhouse shank. In all, Daoud was convicted of 10 counts and faces up to life in prison. By accepting the unusual plea, Judge Coleman agreed to sentence Daoud simultaneously on the combined three cases at a hearing beginning April 29. Chicago Tribune, ABC News Chicago

Twin brothers plead guilty to Bronx bomb-making plot: A former schoolteacher and his twin brother pleaded guilty on Monday to federal conspiracy and bomb-making charges, admitting in court that they had stockpiled explosive material in their Bronx apartment. The former teacher, Christian Toro, paid at least two students about $50 an hour to break apart fireworks, extract the explosive powder, and store it in containers, the authorities had said. “We were going to use the black powder and other materials to make an explosive,” Christian Toro told a judge on Monday in Federal District Court in Manhattan. Yet even after the guilty pleas, the brothers’ motive for building a bomb and what their target might have been remained unclear. “I just want you to know that I had no intention of using it, let alone on anyone or anything,” Christian Toro told Judge Richard M. Berman. His brother, Tyler Toro, also said that he had never intended to harm anyone. The brothers did not appear to be inspired by international terrorist groups, but the government said on Monday after the men pleaded guilty that the device they sought to build “could have caused great damage.” New York Times

New York woman pleads guilty to laundering money for ISIS: A New York woman pleaded guilty Monday to supporting ISIS with a scam involving bank fraud, money laundering, bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies, authorities said. Zoobia Shahnaz, a 27-year-old resident of Brentwood, Long Island, admitted to wiring more than $150,000 to individuals and shell entities that were fronts for ISIS in Pakistan, China, and Turkey in 2017, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. Also in 2017, she was intercepted trying to leave the U.S. with the goal of traveling to Syria. Shahnaz, who has been in custody since her arrest last December, faces up to 20 years in prison. In addition to wiring money overseas, Shahnaz reportedly searched online for recruiters, financiers, and fighters associated with ISIS, including “those who have encouraged lone-wolf attacks against American targets,” a court filing said. CNBC


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UKRAINE DECLARES MARTIAL LAW AFTER RUSSIAN NAVAL ATTACK
Ukraine’s parliament voted on Monday to impose martial law in the country to fight what it called “growing aggression” from Moscow after a weekend naval confrontation off the disputed Crimean Peninsula in which Russia fired on and seized three Ukrainian vessels. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko asked lawmakers in Kiev to institute martial law, and after a five-hour debate, parliament overwhelmingly approved his proposal, voting to impose martial law for 30 days. Without elaborating, Poroshenko said it was necessary because of intelligence about “a highly serious threat of a ground operation against Ukraine.” Measures included a partial mobilization and strengthening of the country’s air defenses.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley on Monday accused Russia of taking “outlaw actions” against Ukrainian ships and vowed that sanctions currently imposed on Russia for its annexation of Crimea would continue. Speaking at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council called by both Russia and Ukraine, Haley said the U.S. would welcome a normal relationship with Russia, “but outlaw actions like this one continue to make that impossible.” President Trump, however, declined to criticize Moscow, instead offering a muted response about the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine. “We do not like what's happening either way. And hopefully it will get straightened out,” he said. NBC News, Washington Post, CNN
Related:
New York Times: Russia-Ukraine Fight Over Narrow Sea Passage Risks Wider War

CHARITIES CALL FOR U.S. TO HALT SUPPORT FOR SAUDIS IN YEMEN
Five international charities on Monday urged the U.S. to halt all military support for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi rebels in Yemen, saying it would save millions of lives. A joint statement by the International Rescue Committee, Oxfam America, CARE U.S., Save the Children, and the Norwegian Refugee Council said that 14 million people are at risk of starving to death in Yemen if the parties to the conflict don't change course immediately. The warring sides have undermined Yemen’s economy with policies and practices that have caused rampant inflation while the value of currency plummets, it added. “Starvation must not be used as a weapon of war against Yemeni civilians,” the statement said.

The charities called on the U.S. to back up its recent call for a cessation of hostilities in Yemen with genuine diplomatic pressure on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. “By providing such extensive military and diplomatic support for one side of the conflict, the United States is deepening and prolonging a crisis that has immediate and severe consequences for Yemen, and civilians are paying the price,” the statement said. CNN, Associated Press

Meanwhile, the U.S. has reportedly “slammed the brakes on” a UN Security Council resolution calling for a limited ceasefire and increased humanitarian aid to Yemen over concerns about angering Saudi Arabia, sources said. The sources said the move is at odds with support for the resolution that U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley had signaled to her counterparts at the UN. CNN

ISIS kills dozens of U.S.-backed fighters in Syria: ISIS killed dozens of U.S.-backed fighters in Syria over the weekend, a war monitor said, highlighting the complications for an American troop withdrawal from the country as the extremist group fiercely defends its last positions. At least 91 fighters belonging to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces died in the fight that started on Friday in eastern Deir Ezzor province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Monday. About 61 militants and 51 civilians, mostly family members of ISIS fighters, also were killed, the group said. U.S. air strikes helped to end the fighting. The U.S. military said the Observatory’s reported numbers appeared inflated, and that no civilians were killed as a result of its airstrikes. Wall Street Journal

U.S. and Czech troops investigated for death of Afghan prisoner: American and Czech forces are under investigation for the death of an Afghan commando who was beaten while in NATO custody in western Afghanistan, American and Afghan officials said. The commando, Wahidullah Khan, was accused of killing a Czech soldier last month in one of four deadly insider attacks this year by Afghan forces on NATO troops. One American official said a team from the Army’s 7th Special Forces Group, which helped transfer Khan to the custody of Czech soldiers, has been withdrawn from Afghanistan as the investigation continues. It is not clear, however, if any American soldiers participated in the beating of Khan. Col. Dave Butler, a spokesman for the American-led mission in Afghanistan, acknowledged the investigation but declined to provide details. New York Times


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Saudi agent discussed hiding Khashoggi’s remains, prosecutors say: A Saudi agent involved in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi discussed concealing Khashoggi’s dismembered remains during a telephone call the day before the killing, Turkish prosecutors said Monday.   According to Turkish prosecutors, the agent, Mansour Othman M. Abbahussain, and a Saudi businessman who owns a villa in Turkey discussed “what would be done to destroy/hide the body of the killed journalist” during a phone call on October 1. The phone discussion, if confirmed, would bolster Turkey’s repeated assertions that Khashoggi’s killing was premeditated. Saudi prosecutors say that the Saudi agents had orders only to persuade or force Khashoggi to return to Saudi Arabia and that the journalist was killed during a struggle inside the consulate.   Information about the phone call led Turkish investigators to search two villas in northwestern Turkey early Monday, including one owned by the Saudi businessman who is said to have spoken with the agent, according to Turkish media. Washington Post

France and Germany seek to circumvent Iran sanctions: France and Germany have joined together to rescue a European effort to create a payments channel to keep trade flowing with Iran, according to senior diplomats. The steps by France and Germany are part of their campaign to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear deal after President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the agreement in May. Their goal is to help European companies continue to conduct some business with Iran despite sweeping new U.S. sanctions against Iran and any company that does business with Tehran. Either France or Germany could host the corporation that would handle the payments channel, diplomats said. Both countries will help fund the corporation. The payments channel, known as a special purpose vehicle, would use a system of credits to facilitate compensation for goods traded between Iran and Europe—allowing some trade to proceed without the need for European commercial banks to make or receive payments to Iran. Wall Street Journal

France detains civil servant suspected of spying for North Korea: French security services have detained a civil servant suspected of trying to pass sensitive government information to a North Korean spy, a judicial source said on Monday. “An individual was held for questioning on Sunday evening in the context of an investigation opened by the Paris prosecutor’s office in March,” the source said. The person is suspected of gathering and delivering to a foreign power information likely to harm national interests, the source said. Various French media reported on Monday that the official worked at the Senate, the upper house of the French parliament. Sources close to Senate President Gerard Larcher confirmed that security officials had searched an office at the premises on Monday. Reuters




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Editor-in-Chief, Karen J. Greenberg, Center on National Security, Fordham Law School
 
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