I see where the left is getting all excited about the news that Paul Manafort was wiretapped by the FBI before, during and after the period he was campaign manager for Donald Trump in 2016.
The left seems to take this as proof positive that Manafort has done something criminal and most likely criminality having to do with the campaign.
But it is not clear what type of warrant was issued to allow the government to tap Manafort's phone lines.
It is commonly understood you can get a FISA warrant for even a quacking duck without much trouble. A common criminal warrant would probably have the bar for a warrant a bit higher, say a speaking parrot. But warrants issued are proof of nothing.
That said, the special counselor, Robert Mueller, is clearly attempting to pressure Manafort into giving up dirt on Trump. You can't waterboard an American male on American soil, but you sure can invade his privacy, squeeze his balls, leak items that will create a negative impression of him and get a grand jury to indict him as if he were a ham sandwich.
This is a really scummy, really dirty business, but this is the business Mueller heads.
-RW
UPDATE
Manafort fights back.
Via Daily Caller:
Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort is calling on the Justice Department to release transcripts of any intercepted communications he may have had with foreigners.
Manafort, a longtime Republican political consultant, also called on the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate the leak of details of secret surveillance warrants obtained by U.S. investigators.
“Mr. Manafort requests that the Department of Justice release any intercepts involving him and any non-Americans so interested parties can come to the same conclusion as the DOJ — there is nothing there,” Manafort spokesman Jason Maloni said in a statement.
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