Day 564

[matt (Matt Kiser)]

Updated 8/6/2018 12:18 PM PDT

1/ Trump admitted that the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between top campaign aides and a Russian lawyer was to get dirt on Hillary Clinton. "This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics - and it went nowhere. I did not know about it!" Trump's tweet contradicted Trump Jr.'s original statement about the meeting – which was dictated by Trump – that the the meeting was to discuss the adoption of Russian children. (New York Times / New Yorker / NBC News / NPR)

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This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2018/08/06/day-564/

[dragonfly9]

4:21 p.m. (EST)Rick Gates has been called to testify

The prosecution’s start witness and Paul Manafort’s former business partner has been called to testify, after brief testimony from a Treasury official.

4 pm ESt Buckle up…UPDTATE Paula Liss, a special agent with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the Treasury Department, to take the stand…just updated

But Soon - Rick Gates on the stand…Washington Post Day 5 Live Updates Manafort Trial

Downing thundered back that prosecutors knew such facts might soon be discussed, adding, “Mr. Gates is next up.”

Gates is expected to offer key testimony fleshing out allegations that Manafort filed false tax returns, committed bank fraud and lied to get loans worth millions. It will likely be one of the most dramatic moments of the high-profile trial.

[Keaton_James]

The FBI has obtained wiretaps of a Putin ally tied to the NRA who met with...

There’s so much happening today that this has flown under the radar. It could be very bad news for the President’s son since he may be referenced on some of these tapes or may even be recorded on them himself. The FBI has had these tapes for months, but today is the first that their existence was publicly confirmed and the first time we heard the Spanish prosecutor telegraph an ominous message to Donald Jr.:

When José Grinda, a Spanish prosecutor who spearheads investigations into organized crime, was asked if he was concerned about Torshin’s interactions with Trump Jr. or other American political figures, Grinda replied: “Mr. Trump’s son should be concerned.”