Indicted For Conspiracy… The LCR Responds…

This morning Special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s office announced the indictments of Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, and Rick Gates, his longtime business associate. Twelve counts in total… including conspiracy against the United States, money laundering, making false statements, and acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign principal. We asked several of our contributors to weigh in regarding this groundbreaking development, and here’s what they had to say…

“Mueller is sending a message with two revelations today: cooperate like Papadoulous and you’ll get a good deal, or else you’re going down. While the indictments aren’t necessarily tied to the President they can definitely be used as leverage to force others to cooperate in the investigation. And let’s not forget the immediate fact that President of the United States had as his campaign manager a man who was simultaneously serving as an unregistered foreign agent and laundering large amounts of money. That should be startling enough in and of itself. If nothing else it’s yet another black mark on the first year of a presidency that has been marred by scandal.” – Center Left College Student

“This is a long way from an indictment of the President – both for reasons he will tout and reasons he will not.  First, as he says, it is not clear yet that there’s a determination that anyone who was making policy decisions was actively colluding with Russia. Secondly, he remains a billionaire with pardoning power and those indicted and likely to be indicted later are unlikely to be able to work for anyone else ever again. Even if there was collusion, his ability to influence those indicted remains very strong.” – Right Army Veteran

“It’s disappointing to me that these charges are not directly related to the Trump campaign, but I realize that baby steps are needed here so that we can cover the immense swath of ground that the Russian influence seems to cover on many levels of our democratic process. How long will it take? No idea. But we can’t start jumping to conclusions – this is a marathon, not a sprint.” – Registered Independent Voter 

“Unlike before when an administration was placed under findings of wrong from Watergate to Iran Contra, supporters of that administration distanced itself and soon after voting reflected the distance. It will be interesting to watch how the support for the Trump administration unfolds, especially with midterm elections on the horizon. In support, I’m talking about the rank and file, not Republican Party leadership.” – Independent Texan Male

“Chickens come home to roost… What more can I say? People need to wake up and stop allowing racism to control their vote. Whenever hate and racism motivate any action, utter destruction will be the result. This administration and those who support it will continue to feel the residual effects of “Making America Great Again.” – Apolitical Elected Official

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