| | | | | Spiders hang from webs Saturday as part of the White House's Halloween decorations. Credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images | | | What Washington is Talking About: Two former Trump campaign officials indicted on 12 counts, another pleads guilty to FBI
Manafort's Expensive Tastes: Former Trump campaign chairman accused of wiring more than $12 million for clothes, cars and rugs
Trump's Approval Hits New Low: 38%, according to an NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll | | | | Kate Bennett is off. Her section will return Thursday. | | What Washington is Talking About:
Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former Trump campaign official Rick Gates have been indicted on 12 counts, including conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts and false statements. And former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos has plead guilty to making false statements to the FBI in a separate case.
What America is Talking About:
The indictments are the top story on Google Trends, Facebook, and Twitter.
What Manafort and Gates are Accused of:
According to the indictment, the men are accused of hiding tens of millions of dollars in income made for work they did between at least 2006 and 2015 for the Ukrainian government and Ukrainian political parties and laundering it through "scores of United States and foreign corporations, partnerships and bank accounts." More than $75 million passed through their offshore accounts, the indictment says. Manafort allegedly laundered more than $18 million, and Gates allegedly transferred more than $3 million from offshore accounts to other accounts. You can read the full 31-page indictment here. | | Credit: Department of Justice
Manafort's Expensive Tastes:
The indictment details what it says are personal purchases made by Manafort for more than $12 million, including: - $5,434,793 to a home improvement company in the Hamptons, New York
- $1,319,281 to a home automation, lighting and home entertainment company in Florida
- $934,350 to an antique rug store in Alexandria, Virginia
- $849,215 to a men's clothing store in New York
- $820,240 to two separately listed landscapers in the Hamptons, New York
- $623,910 to an antique dealer in New York
- $520,440 to a clothing store in Beverly Hills, California
- $62,750 for the purchase of a Mercedes Benz
- $47,000 for the purchase of a Range Rover
- $163,705 in payments relating to three Range Rovers
- $46,000 to a property management company in South Carolina
- $31,900 to an art gallery in Florida
- $20,000 for housekeeping in New York
How Trump Responded:
President Trump tweeted this morning that the accusations are from years ago, before Manafort joined the campaign, and he followed it up with an all-caps tweet proclaiming: there is "NO COLLUSION!" | | Credit: @realDonaldTrump/Twitter
A source close to the White House told CNN, "Today has zero to do with the White House." We'll hear more later today; there's a White House daily briefing scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
Poll of the Day:
Trump's approval rating has hit 38% in an NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll, the lowest of his presidency. | | Credit: NBC News
Jimmy Kimmel Compares Trump Presidency to O.J. Acquittal:
Kimmel said in an interview with Vulture that in the past year or so, he's had a shift in how he feels about his country. "I go to bed worried and I wake up worried and I honestly don't know if things are going to be OK," he said. "I worry that we're going to look back at Donald Trump almost fondly because someone worse will come after him." He said he believes he's alienated more viewers than he's gained since weighing in on political issues and that he's inundated with requests to advocate for other issues. In this excerpt, he compares Trump's victory in the election to O.J. Simpson's acquittal in the murder of his ex-wife and a friend of hers:
"His election was shocking. It makes me question everything. ... the closest thing I can compare it to is when O.J. got acquitted. It never occurred to me that it might happen. There was so much overwhelming evidence that O.J. was guilty, and you believe in the American judicial system. You believe that, for the most part, if somebody did it, they're going to prison for doing it. We're in a similar situation: Everything Donald Trump is doing and undoing is bad, bad, bad, and it seems so obvious, and it's happening anyway."
Kevin Spacey Accused of Sexually Assaulting Teenage Actor:
"Star Trek: Discovery" actor Anthony Rapp told BuzzFeed that in 1986 when he was 14 and Spacey was 26, Spacey picked him up, placed him on his bed at his apartment and climbed on top of him before he was able to "squirm" away. Spacey tweeted that he does not remember the encounter and that he owed Rapp an apology if he behaved as described. I reached out to Netflix for a comment on the claim, but have not heard back. Former "House of Cards" show runner Beau Willimon told Variety the allegations are "deeply troubling" and that he did not witness, nor was he aware of, such behavior working on the show.
Texans Kneel Following Owner's "Inmates" Remark:
In a discussion at an NFL team owners meeting earlier this month, Houston Texans owner Bob McNair talked about players kneeling during the National Anthem, saying: "We can't have the inmates running the prison," according to a report published Friday by ESPN. Members of the team responded by kneeling before their game Sunday in Seattle against the Seahawks. All but 10 players knelt.
McNair is a Republican mega-donor who gave to multiple congressional and presidential candidates during the 2016 campaign, including $2 million to the pro-Trump Great America PAC and $1.5 million to the Mitch McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund. Last month, after Trump called players who kneel "sons of bitches," McNair called Trump's comments "divisive and counterproductive." | | Credit: Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images
Presidents Bush Throw Out Ceremonial First Pitch:
Meanwhile, back in Houston yesterday, H.W. and W. were at Game 5 between the Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers. Here they are meeting with the Astros' Justin Verlander, husband of Kate Upton and nephew-in-law of Michigan Republican Rep. Fred Upton. | | Credit: Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Obama Has Jury Duty:
The former POTUS has been summoned for jury duty next month in Illinois, Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans said Friday. There are few things I love more than celebrity jury duty. W. was summoned in 2015 in Texas, and remember when Taylor Swift was summoned last year in Tennessee? Looking forward to the Obama jury duty selfies to come.
Someone Has a Birthday:
Ivanka Trump turns 36 today. Not only has she had to celebrate her bday the day before Halloween her whole life, but she has to celebrate the day members of her father's campaign were indicted. Worst birthday ever?
This Boehner Profile, Man...:
Listen, I know we're all busy with breaking news today, but if you haven't read this Politico profile of John Boehner, give it a read. He calls Ted Cruz the "most miserable son of a bitch I've ever had to work with," and says he once told Harry Reid, "Harry, you can go f*** yourself," and that's not even scratching the surface of all the eye-popping nuggets. | | | | | | |
