Trump Changes Campaign Managers Weeks Before the Election

15 weeks before the 2020 election, Donald Trump demoted Brad Parscale, the campaign manager who won him the 2016 election, and replaced him with former Chris Christie campaign operative Bill Stepien, an unindicted Bridgegate conspirator. Brad Parscale was blamed for the poor turnout at the Tulsa Trump rally and the president’s two-digit tumble in the polls, and was essentially sent down to run the campaign’s Tech Support office.

More:

“Bridgegate triggered Bill Stepien’s fall from grace. Now he’s running Trump’s campaign,” Charles Stile and Dustin Racioppi, NorthJersey.com

“Bill Stepien: aide humbled over ‘Bridgegate’ takes charge for Trump,” Adam Gabbatt, The Guardian

“Bill Stepien Takes Helm of Trump Campaign as a Data-Obsessed Political Fighter,” Nick Corasaniti and Stephanie Saul, New York Times

“Trump’s campaign team tries to steady operation after messy shakeup,” Alex Isenstadt, Politico

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Manafort: Guilty. Now for the next trial. Oh, and Michael Cohen.

Paul Manafort’s new LinkedIn photo.

Former Trump Campaign Manager Paul Manafort has been found guilty of filing false income tax returns, failing to report his foreign bank accounts, and bank fraud, 8 counts in all, carrying a combined maximum penalty of 80 years in prison. The jury could not reach unanimity on the remaining 10 counts, and Judge T.S. Ellis declared mistrials on those, meaning prosecutors may ask for a new trial on those counts. Mr. Manafort’s next federal trial begins on September 17th in Washington DC on charges alleging he acted as an unregistered foreign agent and additional fraud charges. Paul Manafort is the fourth former Trump aide to be convicted of crimes charged by special counsel Robert Mueller.

In unrelated GOP crime news, Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s longtime personal lawyer, pleaded guilty today to income tax evasion, making an unlawful corporate campaign contribution, bank fraud, and making an excessive campaign contribution, 8 counts in all. While combined penalties could  total as much as 65 years imprisonment, this plea deal means Mr. Cohen probably faces up to 5 years in prison. The plea agreement does not preclude him from providing information to special counsel Mueller, a deal that would involve sentence reduction. In his plea, Mr. Cohen said he made the illegal campaign payments – hush money – at the direction of a presidential candidate. Sentencing is scheduled for December 12th.

More:

“Michael Cohen says he worked to silence two women ‘in coordination’ with Trump to influence 2016 election,” Devlin Barrett, Carol D. Leonnig, and Renae Merle, Washington Post

“Why Donald Trump can’t distance himself from Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen, in one tweet,” Dara Lind, Vox

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Manafort Trial Begins

Paul Manafort’s new LinkedIn photo.

The first federal trial of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort begins today. This is his trial for money laundering, bank fraud, and related charges resulting from Mr. Manafort’s unregistered lobbying and consulting for Russia-backed candidate Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine’s 2010 presidential election.

In this trial, with one exception, we don’t expect to hear any references to the defendant’s role in Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign, or his presence at the now-infamous Trump Tower meeting with Russian operatives, but there are certain to be juicy details about the lavish lifestyle funded by Paul Manafort’s questionable gains.

Paul Manafort Is In the Gray Bar Hotel

Paul Manafort’s new LinkedIn photo.

Paul Manafort has homes in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Hamptons, Florida, and Virginia, but he’ll spend the summer in federal jail. His bail was revoked after he was caught tampering with witnesses in one of his two federal trials, resulting in new charges of Obstruction of Justice and Conspiracy. He’s due in federal court in Virginia on July 25th. His second trial in DC is slated for September 17th.

More:

“Paul Manafort is in the klink. It’s OK to be pleased,” Virginia Heffernan, Los Angeles Times

“Judge Orders Paul Manafort Jailed Before Trial, Citing New Obstruction Charges,” Sharon LaFraniere, New York Times

“From ‘the Count’ to inmate: The fall of former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort,” Tom Hamburger, Washington Post

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