Top Trump Campaign Adviser Sought Social Media 'Manipulation' By Foreign Groups

Donald Trump

According to The New York Times, a top Trump campaign adviser sought help from foreign organizations to manipulate social media in Donald Trump's favor in the 2016 election.

From The New York Times:

A top Trump campaign official requested proposals in 2016 from an Israeli company to create fake online identities, to use social media manipulation and to gather intelligence to help defeat Republican primary race opponents and Hillary Clinton, according to interviews and copies of the proposals.

The Trump campaign’s interest in the work began as Russians were escalating their effort to aid Donald J. Trump. Though the Israeli company’s pitches were narrower than Moscow’s interference campaign and appear unconnected, the documents show that a senior Trump aide saw the promise of a disruption effort to swing voters in Mr. Trump’s favor.

The campaign official, Rick Gates, sought one proposal to use bogus personas to target and sway 5,000 delegates to the 2016 Republican National Convention by attacking Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Mr. Trump’s main opponent at the time.

Another proposal offered "a monthslong plan to help Mr. Trump by using social media to help expose or amplify division among rival campaigns and factions."

Sound familiar?

Hit the link above for much more.

Trump Adviser Rick Gates To Plead Guilty And Cooperate In Mueller Investigation

Rick Gates, a top level adviser to Donald Trump's presidential campaign, is expected to plead guilty to charges related to participating in financial conspiracy along with former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.

Gates is also expected to admit to lying to investigators regarding a 2013 Washington meeting Manafort took part in with a member of Congress and a lobbyist.

Via The New York Times:

The adviser, Rick Gates, is a longtime political consultant who once served as Mr. Trump’s deputy campaign chairman. The plea deal could be a significant development in the investigation — a sign that Mr. Gates plans to offer incriminating information against his longtime associate and the former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, or other members of the Trump campaign in exchange for a lighter punishment.

The deal comes as the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has been raising pressure on Mr. Gates and Mr. Manafort with dozens of new charges of money laundering and bank fraud that were unsealed on Thursday in Alexandria, Va. Mr. Mueller first indicted both men in October, and both pleaded not guilty.

Gates was Donald Trump’s Deputy Campaign Chair, and stayed with the campaign and transition team even after Manafort was booted from the campaign.

Gates becomes the 5th person who has plead guilty in the Mueller probe:

• Rick Gates
• Michael Flynn
• George Papadopoulos
• Richard Pinedo
• Alex Van Der Zwann

Gates is now the 3rd member of the Trump campaign who has plead guilty.

Additionally, there have been 14 indictments to come out of the investigation looking into Russian disruption of the 2016 presidential election.

For a "witch hunt" or "hoax," that's a LOT of guilty pleas and indictments, don't you think?

Watch NBC News' Pete Williams explain today's developments below.

BREAKING: Rick Gates will plead guilty to "lying to federal agents" and a "general conspiracy charge" during a plea hearing today. He now faces a maximum of 5 years in prison, NBC Justice Correspondent @PeteWilliamsNBC reports. #TrumpColluded#TrumpRussia pic.twitter.com/GZvuYkESLv

— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) February 23, 2018

The fact that Rick Gates is pleading guilty to just 2 of over 30 counts, shows that he has a boatload of incriminating evidence against others.

No prosecutor would let anyone off this easy unless he knows he can catch the YUGE fish if he does.

And I mean YUGE!

— Ed Krassenstein 💎 (@EdKrassen) February 23, 2018

Rick Gates, the Deputy Campaign Chairman for the President of the United States, just pled DOWN to Conspiracy Against the United States. Let that sink in for a minute. Trump had at least one actual traitor to our country running his affairs.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) February 23, 2018

The only person #DrainingTheSwamp is #RobertMueller @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/zzoGnS0CBn

— Andrew Janz (@JanzforCongress) February 23, 2018

Rick Gates, Former Trump Aide, Will Plead Guilty To Fraud And Testify Against Paul Manafort

Former Trump aide Rick Gates has agreed to plead guilty to fraud-related charges and will testify against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort according to The LA Times:

The change of heart by Trump's former deputy campaign manager, Richard W. Gates III, who had pleaded not guilty after being indicted in October on charges similar to Manafort's, was described in interviews by people familiar with the case.

"Rick Gates is going to change his plea to guilty,'' said a person with direct knowledge of the new developments, adding that the revised plea will be presented in federal court in Washington "within the next few days.''

Mueller is heading the prosecutions of Gates and Manafort as part of the wide-ranging investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and whether Trump or his aides committed crimes before, during or since the campaign.

The imminent change of Gates' plea follows negotiations over the last several weeks between Green and two of Mueller's prosecutors – senior assistant special counsels Andrew Weissmann and Greg D. Andres.

According to a person familiar with those talks, Gates, a longtime political consultant, can expect "a substantial reduction in his sentence'' if he fully cooperates with the investigation. He said that Gates is apt to serve about 18 months in prison.

With Gates turned state evidence Manafort will plead soon. He will give up Trump, Kushner & Trump jr for a deal. Mueller’s Money laundering end game could come as fast in 60-90 days. Does not mean impeachment but will open up Trump’s tax returns. https://t.co/ik7pDRyTE3

— Malcolm Nance (@MalcolmNance) February 18, 2018

BREAKING: Trump campaign staffer Rick Gates plans to plead guilty for fraud & is willing to testify against Paul Manafort in Mueller’s Russia probe. This is the fourth guilty plea in the probe, 18 total indictments & counting. I would guess by the end 85 people will be indicted.

— Scott Dworkin (@funder) February 18, 2018

Manafort is underwater. But according to this leak, Gates has nothing on Trump. I suspect Manafort does, however. https://t.co/bsK2hUMleY

— John Dean (@JohnWDean) February 18, 2018