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In an alternate timeline, not so very far away, a story-line trace of events unfolded …
One where Paul Manafort got the scrutiny he deserved — in the immediate News-cycles he deserved — and not the kid-gloves treatment that his ‘boyish claims’ of innocence, convinced a rule-based constrained Media that, that much, he also deserved.
Funny how, the previous Trump Campaign manager felt, that he owed Manafort no such dignity, no such benefit of the doubt. And co-incidentally he choose to use Twitter to Et-Tu him in (to his audience of followers, whomever they might be)
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Report: Documents show millions in payments to Trump campaign manager from pro-Russian group
by Kale Williams, The Oregonian/OregonLive — August 15, 2016
[...]
The allegations made by the New York Times took an odd turn on Sunday when Trump's former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, tweeted a link to the story.
Lewandowski, who was ousted from the campaign in July and replaced by Manafort, has since taken on a role as a contributor with CNN, but many saw his tweet as a backhanded attempt to smear his successor.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau, which discovered the documents linking Manafort with the payments, does not have the power to indict suspects on criminal charges, but does have an agreement to share evidence with the FBI, the New York Times reported. If the case is passed on to prosecutors, which has yet to happen, only then could Manafort find himself involved in criminal proceedings.
This bomb-shell of a story had all the intrigue, all the back-room dealings that should have “undone” a normal Candidate, in a flood of innuendo … and “guilt by association” stories (ala the Huma and Anthony email troves).
But no such luck. No such a parallel “shark-pack” destiny for Trump. This time-line was not to be — even with Manafort name buried multiple times, in the little black book of Russian secrets
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Secret Ledger in Ukraine Lists Cash for Donald Trump’s Campaign Chief
by Andrew E. Kramer, Mike McIntire and Barry Meier, NYTimes — Aug. 14, 2016
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The papers, known in Ukraine as the “black ledger,” are a chicken-scratch of Cyrillic covering about 400 pages taken from books once kept in a third-floor room in the former Party of Regions headquarters on Lipskaya Street in Kiev. The room held two safes stuffed with $100 bills, said Taras V. Chornovil, a former party leader who was also a recipient of the money at times. He said in an interview that he had once received $10,000 in a “wad of cash” for a trip to Europe.
A page from the “black ledger,” released by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau. This page does not include Mr. Manafort’s name.
“This was our cash,” he said, adding that he had left the party in part over concerns about off-the-books activity. “They had it on the table, stacks of money, and they had lists of who to pay.”
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau, which obtained the ledger, said in a statement that Mr. Manafort’s name appeared 22 times in the documents over five years, with payments totaling $12.7 million. The purpose of the payments is not clear. Nor is the outcome, since the handwritten entries cannot be cross-referenced against banking records, and the signatures for receipt have not yet been verified.
Manafort claimed innocence, straining all credulity at the time. And the ever-sympathetic Trump Media bought it. Afterall ratings were ratings — and even cameras trained on Trump’s empty podium, were hauling them in. Hook, line, sinker.
The Media-casters settled for Paul quietly stepping aside. Afterall Ukraine was so far away, so foreign. And the American Show must go on. These were Mega sweep-weeks, in terms of rivers of Ad-Revenues — Why rock that boat?
Little did they know at the time — they choose the wrong time-line — they choose to take at face-value Manafort denials; they choose patently accepted them as (what passes for) the truth. Afterall he was leaving — so what difference does it make?
Ultimately if were lucky, occasionally the real truth sometimes comes to the fore, however many Days-late, it might be
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Records show ex-Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort's firm received payout from Ukraine ledger under investigation
Associated Press — April 12, 2017; reposted by LATimes
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Previously, Manafort and his spokesman, Jason Maloni, have maintained that the ledger was fabricated and said no public evidence existed that Manafort or others received payments recorded in it.
The AP, however, identified in the records two payments received by Manafort that aligned with the ledger: one for $750,000 that a Ukrainian lawmaker said last month was part of a money-laundering effort that should be investigated by U.S. authorities. The other was $455,249 and also matched a ledger entry.
The newly obtained records also expand the global scope of Manafort's financial activities related to his Ukrainian political consulting, because both payments came from companies once registered in the Central American country of Belize. Last month, the AP reported that the U.S. government has examined Manafort's financial transactions in the Mediterranean country of Cyprus as part of its probe.
Federal prosecutors have been looking into Manafort's work for years as part of an effort to recover Ukrainian assets stolen after the 2014 ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, who fled to Russia. No charges have been filed as part of the investigation.
Afterall — how could anyone have known? The “black ledger” was only so much chicken scratch. As were too, the soon-to-be President’s own words, respecting all-things Putin ... (The Donald apparently still following Paul’s lead, the game plan already in motion)
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Ledgers Show Trump’s Campaign Manager Received $12mil in Possibly Illegal Payments
by Alan Jude Ryland, secondnexus.com — August 15, 2016
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The papers, known in Ukraine as the “black ledger,” cover roughly 400 pages taken from books once kept in a room in the former Party of Regions headquarters on Lipskaya Street in Kiev. Investigators found two safes in the room packed with $100 bills. Taras V. Chornovil, a former party leader who claims he left the party over concerns of off-the-books activity, said he once received $10,000 for a trip to Europe. “This was our cash,” he said. “They had it on the table, stacks of money, and they had lists of who to pay.” [...]
Manafort wielded significant influence in the country, according to Ukranian politicians and officials who worked alongside him. Oleg Voloshyn, a former spokesman for Ukraine’s foreign ministry who ran as a candidate in a new bloc Manafort helped form, said Manafort also had a voice in decisions about major American investments. Manafort convinced the Ukranian government to lower grain export tariffs, a change which benefited agribusiness investor Cargill. He was also a key figure in negotiations with Chevron and Exxon to allow oil and natural gas exploration in the country.
This is not the first time Manafort’s dealings with Ukraine have come under scrutiny, as Putin’s interference in Ukraine has become a focus of the United States presidential election. Trump has praised Putin’s justifications for the annexation of Crimea, suggesting that the majority of those living in the region want to become part of Russia, and his comments raised suspicions about his and his campaign manager’s oddly sympathetic views on Putin’s policies toward Ukraine. Recently, American intelligence officials connected a breach of the Democratic National Committee’s emails to Russian spies. With many already worried about Trump’s ties to Russia, this discovery lends added concern.
Not enough “concern” apparently — as Trump went on to his upset Win, despite these explicit and implicit pro-Russian sentiments and discoveries, tainting nearly every Trump Campaign stop.
I sure remember hearing a lot about the Hillary Emails “scandal” in the ensuing months before the Election — but these eyebrow-raising (and Manager-firing) revelations — our piranha-schooled Media, could barely find the time for, nor the even rarer words.
Afterall there's only so many column-inches in a page, so many discussion blocks in a cable news show — only so much time in an entertainment-driven day.
You pick your battles … sadly sometimes, you pick wrong. If only these Manafort connections had gotten the scrutiny as the DNC Wikileaks did — we probably be living in an alternate a different world today.
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PS. To put a not so fine exclamation point on the story of the former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, courts in Ukraine just ruled to confiscate the “black ledger” funds and return them to the nation.
NSDC: $1.5 billion is to be confiscated from Yanukovych
ukrinform.net — 28.04.2017
The court has ruled today that $1.5 billion is to be confiscated from the funds of ousted former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych and his team, according to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC).
“Today the court’s ruling on special confiscation of funds from the entourage of Yanukovych has come into force. A total of $1.5 billion must be transferred to the national budget,” NSDC Spokesperson Hanna Vakhotska told Ukrinform.
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If only there were enough time in the day, to follow every lead to its ultimate source ….
And as Paul Harvey used to say, “Now you know the rest of the story ...”
At least one story, out of the millions to be told — or never told — as the winds of Fate determine.
Good Day!