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In August, former campaign advisor to Donald Trump was convicted of eight felony counts, including filing false tax documents, failing to register foreign bank accounts, and bank fraud. The next month, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy in order to avoid further charges. 

Last week, the Mueller team filed a twenty-seven-page report agreeing with the probation office, which calculated that federal sentencing guidelines require Manafort serve between 19-and-a-half and 24-and-a-half years in prison for the Virginia trial. The guidelines also suggest a fine between $50,000 and $24.4 million, supervised release (up to five years), and forfeiting $4.4 million in assets. 

According to the report, “Manafort acted for more than a decade as if he were above the law, and deprived the federal government and various financial institutions of millions of dollars. The sentence here should reflect the seriousness of these crimes, and serve to both deter Manafort and others from engaging in such conduct.”

Manafort, aged 69, now faces the prospect that he will spend the rest of his life in jail. A presidential pardon could release him, of course, but that would release a political storm the likes of which this nation has rarely seen.  Manafort has been awaiting sentencing in jail since August. 

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According a report from Politico, Rep. Adam Schiff, the Intelligence Committee chairman, and Rep. Eliot Engel, the Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, are preparing to force President Trump to reveal the details of his private meeting(s) with Russian president Vladimir Putin. 

In a brief statement, Schiff said, “I had a meeting with the [House of Representatives] general counsel to discuss this and determine the best way to find out what took place in those private meetings — whether it’s by seeking the interpreter’s testimony, the interpreter’s notes, or other means.” The Democrats desire to seek counsel indicate that they anticipate a fight from the White House, and that they’re ready to face such a fight. 

According to the Washington Post, Donald Trump allegedly went to “extraordinary lengths” to hide the content of his meeting with Putin. This report likely contributed to the House’s desire to uncover the notes from those meetings. 

If push comes to shove and the executive branch and legislative brach go to court, experts suggest that the ensuing legal battles could set entirely new precedent. Heretofore, such conversations would be protected as national security matters. If the Democrats allege that Trump’s conversations actually represent a threat to national security, things could get interesting.

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Michael Avenatti, the attorney who represented Stormy Daniels in her suit against Donald Trump, claims that there is video evidence of R. Kelly engaging in sexual activities with underage girls. This is separate from the tape that appeared in Kelly’s 2008 trial, in which he was acquitted. In this tape, Kelly is seen having sex with a girl who he says, in the tape, is only fourteen. Avenatti claims to be representing a whistleblower. The State Attorney has not confirmed the existence of the tape.

Avenatti says that he has surrendered the tapes to Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx in Chicago, Illinois.  He said, “This tape, which is clear, is approximately 45 minutes in length and has never previously been publicly disclosed or, until recently, provided to law enforcement.”

Avanatti’s claim comes in the wake of a damning documentary series entitled “Surviving R. Kelly,” in which a number of women make serious accusations against Kelly. In a statement, Kelly’s attorney says that neither he nor Kelly have heard from the State Attorney. Kelly’s attorney also reasserted Kelly’s innocence, blaming the documentary for starting a public smear campaign using long-ago dismissed charges and no real evidence. R. Kelly has also continually maintained his innocence.

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Bill Weld, the former governor of Massachusetts, has announced that he will attempt to challenge sitting president Donald Trump for the 2020 Republican nomination. Challenging a sitting president is an immensely challenging proposition, but Weld is ready for the fight: “In every country, there comes a time when patriotic men and women must stand up and speak out,” he said. “In our country, this is such a time.”

Weld plans to run on a traditional Republican platform: fiscal responsibility. His real difference, he believes, will be his style. Weld will not only need to raise tremendous amounts of money to win the nomination, but he will also need to overcome the Trumpian shift the GOP has made in the past few years and Trump’s popularity with Republican voters. Weld says that the Republican support of Trump is “Stockholm syndrome.” 

But Weld does not mind losing the nomination if it means weakening Trump for the general election. Weld, in short, would rather see Trump lose to a Democrat then have four more years of what he called Trump’s “antics.” 

The Associate Press reports that Weld will not be the only Republican to challenge Trump. An aide to former Ohio Gov. John Kasich said that Kasich may run as well. With multiple high-profile challengers on the ticket, Trump may be in real peril in 2020.

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The students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High still feel like it was yesterday when a gunman took the lives of 17 students on February 14th 2018 in Parkland, Florida. The school held a moment of silence and a half-day to commemorate one-year since the deadly attack, reported by ABC News today. For many, they simply …

Amazon has announced that their plans to build their headquarters in New York City will be cancelled after sustained backlash from New Yorkers as reported by CNN. The news comes as a surprise to many since New York City was chosen over all other major urban areas in a lengthy deliberation process. Last years, many …

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced on the Senate floor yesterday that President Trump will be declaring a state of national emergency today as reported by the BBC. The announcement is expected to take place around 10AM Friday. In an unexpected move, President Trump will be utilizing his national emergency powers to construct his long-promised …

The public debt of the U.S. government has now hit a record $22 trillion for the first time in its history. The new report from the Treasury Department was released today, as reported by NPR. The news was reported together with data from the Treasury that tax revenue has been dropping and federal spending is …

According to a new announcement made by the company today, the internet giant Google plans to spend more than $13 billion across the United States. The funds will be used to build data centers and offices throughout the country. The story was reported in the BBC today. Google claims that the investments will create some …

A former US Air Force intelligence specialist has just been charged with spying for the Iranian government. The story which broke today has shaken the American intelligence world, reported by The Guardian and all major outlets. Monica Elfriede Witt, a 39-year old counterintelligence agent for the US Air Force, has been accused of delivering highly …

After evading police capture for years and years, El Chapo will now be living the rest of his life behind bars after being extradited to the U.S. in 2017. The conviction was officially made in court this week after a three-month trial, as reported by the New York Times. The drug lord has been notorious …

The acting defense secretary of the United States, Patrick M. Shanahan, arrived in Baghdad yesterday for a ‘surprise visit’ to the Iraqi capital. He met with Iraqi leaders to discuss American troop involvement in the region and future strategies against the Islamic State. One of the topics of conversation was over what remains of the …