NOTE: As a retired federal prosecutor, I have written similar conspiracy indictments. The one thing that leaps from the pages of this indictment is that all the criminal activity occurred before Donald Trump announced he was running for president. The little trick that prosecutors use is called conspiracy expansion--that is by making the dates of the conspiracy to be as broad as they can and qualifying it in "approximate" terms. Now the Clintonistas, including CNN, will extrapolate that the president knew about the defendants' activities, or should have known and hired Manafort anyway. Just wait. It's coming. Nowhere in the indictment does it charge the defendants with and campaign-related activity or a commingling of criminal activity with what Manafort did for the Trump campaign. Readers and the public must exercise caution when reading any news reports about these types of matters. Reporters are not schooled or skilled in this matters and will mix their reporting with their untutored and biased opinions. CAVEAT LECTOR.
