BREAKING: Mueller just dropped charges against Richard Gates... (this might be open to debate)

[Botany]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by muriel_volestrangler (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: Daily Kos

Mueller's team has officially proposed dismissing charges against RICK GATES, following last week's guilty plea.

Read more: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/2/27/1745186/-BREAKING-Mueller-just-dropped-charges-against-Robert-Gates

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Please remember that Mueller gave Sammy "the bull" Gravano a walk on over 20
murder charges in order to get John Gotti.

[brush]

1. Misleading post. Gates has already pled guilty to several charges. The dimissals were rewards for...

info given.

[MrsCoffee]

8. Also, charges dismissed without prejudice can be refiled.

Gates is not out of the woods, but I'm hoping that this is a good sign.

[Botany]

11. I might be wrong but I think Gates had already pled guilty to two lesser charges ...

... but it looks like Mueller has now dropped those 2 charges.

[AJT]

2. He gave up something BIG.

On who....Manafort? Jr? 45?

[Sophia4]

32. He hasn't really given anything up. This is just a housekeeping measure.

It means that Mueller doesn't have to prepare to go to court on this matter at this time. But the charges can be reinstated.

[MrsCoffee]

3. I hope this means Mueller has everything he needs.

[DonViejo]

4. Gates is singing, and it ain't "God Bless America" he's singing.

[lancelyons]

29. This is how you read this. Gates is talking so the charges have been pulled back.

[DonViejo]

31. Yes but, I've also read the charges Gates pleaded guilty to have not been pulled. eom

[turbinetree]

5. But charges 1-through 5 are still pending correct..............

[getagrip_already]

15. I think the only ones pending against gates are..

the ones he already pleaded guilty to. The new indictments remove his name from the rest.

To get that many charges dropped, his info must be pretty valuable.

[ehrnst]

23. Bingo. That's a big reward for something, and Mueller isn't handing out bouquets. (nt)

[VMA131Marine]

6. Not sure why this is surprising

They are only dismissing the charges that he did not plead guilty to and can refile them if he fails to live up to his plea agreement.

[niyad]

7. misleading headline says charges dropped. information says PROPOSED drop.

[jberryhill]

14. Administrative detail

Once filed, a prosecutor can only propose to drop charges, pending the court's order to drop them.

I don't know why anyone thinks this is a big deal. Gates pleaded guilty last week to a number of charges, in exchange for cooperation and having the other charges dropped.

[Arkansas Granny]

9. I wonder what kind of information Gates gave up for that!

I'll bet Trump is sweating bullets just about now.

[Watchfoxheadexplodes]

10. Misleading but won't stop fox news or trump

From blabbing same line.

[njhoneybadger]

12. See Paul, this is how the game is played. nt

[elmac]

13. President bone spurs will be tweeting vindication

and his dumbass followers will believe him.

[Chakaconcarne]

16. wonder what spin fox and Trump will come up with?

[George II]

17. I hope Paulie Manafort cooks as well as this Paulie:

[flamingdem]

27. ... medium rare? Ehh, an aristocrat

[Javaman]

18. gates spilled his guts...

he has a lot to lose. comparatively to the other crooks he's associated with, he's "poor" with a large-ish family to support. him going to prison would destroy a lot of peoples lives.

so he squealed loud and long.

Mueller gave him his Twinkie to get what he needed. Gates is small fish in the larger picture.

I have to say this though, gates had to give up something pretty damn juicy to get the charges dropped.

right now, many a toilet is flushing in both D.C. and moscow because people connected to this are shitting bricks.

[flamingdem]

28. It's fun to read this with a Goodfellas accent

[Mr.Bill]

36. You mean like the way Manafort usually speaks? n/t

[LanternWaste]

19. Dismissed w/o prejudice, meaning they may be refiled at a later time.

Dismissed w/o prejudice, meaning they may be refiled at a later time.

That said, I'm beginning to think Gates will soon be singing like a canary if he hasn't already.

[Arkansaw]

20. information

Let the Song Bird Sing.

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. Please find a reliable news source for this story and edit the OP to use it

Daily Kos does not count as a source up to LBN standards.

muriel_volestrangler, LBN host.

[peggysue2]

22. According to the Washington Post, Mueller . . .

dropped the 22 counts of tax evasion and bank fraud levied last Friday for Gates' willingness to cooperate in all matters related to the Trump/Russia investigation. Gates is still on the hook for Conspiracy Against the United States and lying to the FBI. That's not Cocoa Puffs.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/special-counsel-moves-to-drop-tax-bank-fraud-charges-against-rick-gates/2018/02/27/9113ec42-1bd6-11e8-9de1-147dd2df3829_story.html?utm_term=.ab0d4442b4dc

Think the announcement indicates that Gates is coughing his guts up. May be connected to this morning's frantic tweeting by the Trumpster: NO COLLUSION reiterations.

Things are just starting to get interesting!

[Botany]

25. Yes, Donny was a hot mess this AM ..... a real tweet storm

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10141998964

[GeorgeGist]

24. Bigly...

Is Gates seeking witness protection?

[BobTheSubgenius]

26. It's possible that this is a ploy.

Who has not seen a movie or TV show wherein the police andor DA give one of a number of suspects a walk in order to either break him by making it appear that he or she has flipped, or to spread panic in the rest, all thinking that same thing.

[Sophia4]

30. It is "without prejudice" which means that Mueller can reinstate the charges if

need be.

So the charges are dropped but not "with prejudice" against bringing them again. The charges can be reinstated.

https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/without+prejudice

[HopeAgain]

33. I believe this is consistent with what everyone expected

These are all the charges he didn't plead guilty to, I believe. You'll notice not all counts are mentioned.

[onenote]

34. This isn't necessarily as meaningful as folks think

There are a lot of moving parts here, but what needs to be taken into account is that the original indictment against Gates and Manafort was filed in October in the District Court for the District of Columbia. The motion to dismiss filed today relates to an indictment filed in the Eastern District of Virginia.

It appears that Mueller and his team ran into an issue as to whether the charges originally brought in DC were properly brought there or should have been brought in Virginia. The indictments in the two courts overlapped substantively. Rather than have indictments in two separate courts, Mueller sought to have Gates and Manafort waive any objections to certain charges being brought in DC, which allowed Mueller to drop those charges in Virginia. I don't pretend to understand all the details, but the filings with the DC court made last week expressly alluded to an agreement to dismiss the charges in the Eastern District. An explanation of some of this, albeit not completely clear, can be found here: https://lawfareblog.com/whats-new-paul-manafort-and-rick-gates-indictment

[Adrahil]

35. As I and many have speculated....

The additional charges against Gates were a threat. Gates apparently lied in his negotiations to cooperate and was hinting he would withdraw from the cooperation agreement. The additional charges were and, "Oh yeah?" from Mueller. It worked. Gates was staring down DECADES in prison. And he rolled over like a puppy.

[Upthevibe]

37. Well....I'll wait until my teacher, Professor Maddow, gives

me more information in a way I can assimilate this knowledge (based on my learning style)!

[Angry Dragon]

38. Time will tell

[muriel_volestrangler]

39. Locking - Daily Kos is not a suitable source for LBN OPs

Please repost in GD, or start a new LBN thread using a reliable media source. Thanks.