Kathianne
09-18-2017, 06:56 PM
Was watching Martha MacCallum and they had 'breaking news' on the following.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/18/politics/paul-manafort-government-wiretapped-fisa-russians/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/18/politics/paul-manafort-government-wiretapped-fisa-russians/index.html)
Exclusive: US government wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman
By Evan Perez (http://www.cnn.com/profiles/evan-perez-profile), Shimon Prokupecz (http://www.cnn.com/profiles/shimon-prokupecz-profile) and Pamela Brown (http://www.cnn.com/profiles/pamela-brown-profile), CNN
Updated 7:41 PM ET, Mon September 18, 2017
Washington (CNN)US investigators wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort under secret court orders before and after the election, sources tell CNN, an extraordinary step involving a high-ranking campaign official now at the center of the Russia meddling probe.
The government snooping continued into early this year, including a period when Manafort was known to talk to President Donald Trump.
Some of the intelligence collected includes communications that sparked concerns among investigators that Manafort had encouraged the Russians to help with the campaign, according to three sources familiar with the investigation. Two of these sources, however, cautioned that the evidence is not conclusive.
Special counsel Robert Mueller's team, which is leading the investigation into Russia's involvement in the election, has been provided details of these communications.
A secret order authorized by the court that handles the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) began after Manafort became the subject of an FBI investigation that began in 2014. It centered on work done by a group of Washington consulting firms for Ukraine's former ruling party, the sources told CNN.
The surveillance was discontinued at some point last year for lack of evidence, according to one of the sources.
The FBI then restarted the surveillance after obtaining a new FISA warrant that extended at least into early this year.
Sources say the second warrant was part of the FBI's efforts to investigate ties between Trump campaign associates and suspected Russian operatives. Such warrants require the approval of top Justice Department and FBI officials, and the FBI must provide the court with information showing suspicion that the subject of the warrant may be acting as an agent of a foreign power.
It is unclear when the new warrant started. The FBI interest deepened last fall because of intercepted communications between Manafort and suspected Russian operatives, and among the Russians themselves, that reignited their interest in Manafort, the sources told CNN. As part of the FISA warrant, CNN has learned that earlier this year, the FBI conducted a search of a storage facility belonging to Manafort. It's not known what they found.
The conversations between Manafort and Trump continued after the President took office, long after the FBI investigation into Manafort was publicly known, the sources told CNN. They went on until lawyers for the President and Manafort insisted that they stop, according to the sources.
It's unclear whether Trump himself was picked up on the surveillance.
The White House declined to comment for this story. A spokesperson for Manafort didn't comment for this story.
...
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/351268-nyt-mueller-warned-manafort-to-expect-an-indictment
Report: Mueller warned Manafort to expect an indictment
BY OLIVIA BEAVERS - 09/18/17 07:27 PM EDT
Prosecutors on special counsel Robert Mueller's team reportedly told former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort that they planned to indict him while they raided his Virginia home in July.
The warning, allegedly a shock-and-awe tactic, came as federal agents combed through his computer files, documents, and any other evidence that could help them in their federal investigation, The New York Times reported Monday, citing two people close to the investigation.
The jarring comment is part of the approach Mueller and his team have taken since the Justice Department named them to lead the high-profile investigation, which aims to intimidate witnesses and possible targets of the probe, the newspaper reported.
The probe is looking into whether Trump campaign associates colluded with Russia in order to fix the outcome of the 2016 election in favor of Donald Trump, who now sits in the Oval Office.
A spokesman for Mueller declined the Times' request for comment and so did the lawyers and a spokesman for Manafort.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/18/politics/paul-manafort-government-wiretapped-fisa-russians/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/18/politics/paul-manafort-government-wiretapped-fisa-russians/index.html)
Exclusive: US government wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman
By Evan Perez (http://www.cnn.com/profiles/evan-perez-profile), Shimon Prokupecz (http://www.cnn.com/profiles/shimon-prokupecz-profile) and Pamela Brown (http://www.cnn.com/profiles/pamela-brown-profile), CNN
Updated 7:41 PM ET, Mon September 18, 2017
Washington (CNN)US investigators wiretapped former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort under secret court orders before and after the election, sources tell CNN, an extraordinary step involving a high-ranking campaign official now at the center of the Russia meddling probe.
The government snooping continued into early this year, including a period when Manafort was known to talk to President Donald Trump.
Some of the intelligence collected includes communications that sparked concerns among investigators that Manafort had encouraged the Russians to help with the campaign, according to three sources familiar with the investigation. Two of these sources, however, cautioned that the evidence is not conclusive.
Special counsel Robert Mueller's team, which is leading the investigation into Russia's involvement in the election, has been provided details of these communications.
A secret order authorized by the court that handles the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) began after Manafort became the subject of an FBI investigation that began in 2014. It centered on work done by a group of Washington consulting firms for Ukraine's former ruling party, the sources told CNN.
The surveillance was discontinued at some point last year for lack of evidence, according to one of the sources.
The FBI then restarted the surveillance after obtaining a new FISA warrant that extended at least into early this year.
Sources say the second warrant was part of the FBI's efforts to investigate ties between Trump campaign associates and suspected Russian operatives. Such warrants require the approval of top Justice Department and FBI officials, and the FBI must provide the court with information showing suspicion that the subject of the warrant may be acting as an agent of a foreign power.
It is unclear when the new warrant started. The FBI interest deepened last fall because of intercepted communications between Manafort and suspected Russian operatives, and among the Russians themselves, that reignited their interest in Manafort, the sources told CNN. As part of the FISA warrant, CNN has learned that earlier this year, the FBI conducted a search of a storage facility belonging to Manafort. It's not known what they found.
The conversations between Manafort and Trump continued after the President took office, long after the FBI investigation into Manafort was publicly known, the sources told CNN. They went on until lawyers for the President and Manafort insisted that they stop, according to the sources.
It's unclear whether Trump himself was picked up on the surveillance.
The White House declined to comment for this story. A spokesperson for Manafort didn't comment for this story.
...
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/351268-nyt-mueller-warned-manafort-to-expect-an-indictment
Report: Mueller warned Manafort to expect an indictment
BY OLIVIA BEAVERS - 09/18/17 07:27 PM EDT
Prosecutors on special counsel Robert Mueller's team reportedly told former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort that they planned to indict him while they raided his Virginia home in July.
The warning, allegedly a shock-and-awe tactic, came as federal agents combed through his computer files, documents, and any other evidence that could help them in their federal investigation, The New York Times reported Monday, citing two people close to the investigation.
The jarring comment is part of the approach Mueller and his team have taken since the Justice Department named them to lead the high-profile investigation, which aims to intimidate witnesses and possible targets of the probe, the newspaper reported.
The probe is looking into whether Trump campaign associates colluded with Russia in order to fix the outcome of the 2016 election in favor of Donald Trump, who now sits in the Oval Office.
A spokesman for Mueller declined the Times' request for comment and so did the lawyers and a spokesman for Manafort.