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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.

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Out Olympic Speed Skater Brittany Bowe Notches 3rd Top Five Finish In PyeongChang

Out U.S. Olympic speed skater Brittany Bowe finished fifth in the women’s 500-meter with a time of 37.53 seconds – just two-tenths of a point off the podium.

Today’s results follow her 5th place finish in the 1500 meter race and a 4th place in the 1000 meter race.

“Other than being two-tenths off the podium, I’m really, really happy with that race,” speaking to NBC after the race. “I can’t think of anything I could have executed better, to be honest with you.”

“Obviously, I’m disappointed coming out medal-less so far,” she added. “We still have the team pursuit. I really want a medal for everybody that’s helped me along the way, my whole life and especially this past year and a half getting me back to that start line. It would mean the world to me.”

The women’s team event will take place over Monday and Wednesday this week.

But even if that doesn’t work out, Bowe says she’s not finished her Olympic journey yet as she plans on being at the 2022 games in four years.

“I definitely plan on going another four years,” she said. “I can’t be done here, that’s for sure.”

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The Kremlin/Jill Stein Connection

According to the recently released indictments by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, we know now Putin helped Jill Stein in an effort to siphon votes from Hillary Clinton.

Stein voters were targeted by the 13 Russian agents named in the indictment.

What was the Jill Stein/Putin effect on the 2016 election?

Looking at the three swing states that handed Trump the election (above), we know he won by a combined total of 79,000 votes in Michigan, Wisconsin & Pennsylvania.

Check out how those Stein votes align with Trump’s margin of victory in those three states.

#ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmm

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Trump Twitter Rant: Sunday Edition

Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s “Executive Time” was spent this morning on a lengthy Twitter tirade wherein the Trumpster bounced from one lie to another.

In one tweet he blamed President Obama for doing “nothing” about the Russian meddling in our 2016 election. That would be the “meddling” Trump has not – until recently – even acknowledged happened.

In truth, Obama did react to the intelligence reports about election disruption: he addressed Putin; he invoked sanctions against Russians in the U.S. at the time, and he told Congressional leaders about the threat in later Summer 2016. It was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who refused to let the American people know about what was happening at the time.

Also, Congress passed new sanctions on Russia by huge margins last fall – the Senate vote was 98-2 – and Trump has not enforced those sanctions to date.

The Donald took time in two tweets to mock Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff for being a “leakin’ monster of no control.”

Schiff calmly slapped back during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” when he was asked whether he felt the indictments this week by Mueller proved Trump campaign officials had not colluded with Russia. “No, of course not,” Schiff answered. “But this is a president who claims vindication anytime someone sneezes.”

Trump also begged to be complimented on his campaign skills asking, “Wasn’t I a great candidate?”

And he seemed to close out the Twitter rant by acknowledging Russia is laughing at the U.S. thanks to the discord sown by the 13 indicted Russian actors this week.

But, in true Trump fashion, he diverted by pretending that Senate, House and FBI investigations are the problem, not the Russians.

#Wrong #Sad

At the end it all, the phrase that keeps popping up in my head – “The guilty dog barks the loudest.”

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Marvel’s “Black Panther” Shatters Box-Office Records

Marvel’s Black Panther racked up an enormous $192 million for its three-day debut in North America this weekend becoming the fifth biggest opening of all time.

From CNN:

The opening for the film starring Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan did not just shatter expectations, it broke multiple box office records too.

It blew away the record for the largest opening for an African-American director. That belonged to F. Gary Gray and “The Fate of the Furious,” which opened to $98 million last April.

Disney estimates that the film will bring in $218 million domestically for the four day holiday weekend. The film brought in an opening of $361 million around the world.

“Black Panther” also shattered the record for an opening in February, which belonged to “Deadpool,” the R-rated superhero film from 20th Century Fox that brought in $132 million when it opened in 2016.

It is the second biggest opening for a Marvel Studios film, behind 2012’s “The Avengers.”

The super-hero/action flick is Marvel’s first film directed by an African-American.

Watch the trailer below.

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Gus Kenworthy’s Olympic Kiss Seen Round The World

Gus Kenworthy kisses his bf Matthew Wilkas at 2018 Winter Olympics

When Gus Kenworthy came out in 2015, he told ESPN Magazine that he felt like a “coward” in not acknowledging his boyfriend during the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.

Well, what a difference 4 years and a shattered closet door makes.

Before yesterday’s qualifying runs in the slopestyle competition, Kenworthy gave his boyfriend Matthew Wilkas a kiss that was captured by the NBC Sports cameras.

And the world swooned.

Kenworthy told The Guardian:

“I didn’t even know that that was a televised moment at all, but I think that’s amazing,” Kenworthy said afterward. “That’s something that I wanted at the last Olympics was to share a kiss with my boyfriend at the bottom and it was something that I was too scared to do for myself. And so to be able to do that, to give him a kiss, to have that affection broadcasted for the world is incredible.

“I think that the only way to really change perceptions, break down homophobia, break down barriers is through representation. That’s definitely not something I had as a kid. I definitely didn’t see a gay athlete at the Olympics kissing their boyfriend and I think that if I had it would have made it a lot easier for me, so hopefully it did that for other people.”

Kenworthy, who scored a silver medal in Sochi, broke his thumb earlier this week and also suffered from a massive hematoma on his hip that required six vials of blood to be drained, will not take home a medal from this Olympic trip.

He easily qualified for the finals, but in his three final runs was unable to string together the jumps he needed to make the podium. But the handsome 26-yearold skier from Telluride, Colorado, seems at peace with his day.

“If you look at me right now, I’m bummed but I’m not sulking, I’m not crying,” Kenworthy shared with The Guardian. “I’m really proud to be here.”

“Being out at this Games has kind of meant the world to me. Just getting to really be myself and be authentic and I think that landing a run in the final, getting on the podium obviously would have been icing on the cake.”

“But even though it didn’t happen for me, I still had a wonderful Olympic experience and I’m really happy for the guys that did get on the podium. I don’t know, maybe there’s a next time.”

Kenworthy easily qualified for the finals of slopestyle with his 90.80

And Team Kenworthy was all smiles and rainbows cheering their guy on

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News Round-Up: February 17, 2018

(via Instagram)

Some news items you might have missed:

• Out Olympic freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy (above) welcomed his bf Matthew Wilkas to PyeongChang just in time to watch Kenworthy in the slopestyle competition.

• UK tabloid The Daily Mail is losing advertisers after a columnist for the rag wrote a homophobic piece criticizing Tom Daley & Dustin Lance Black for sharing an ultrasound image of their soon-to-arrive baby.

• RuPaul will join Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin for the newly-announced 5th season of Grace And Frankie set to be released by Netflix in 2019.

• OUT has announced it annual “100 Most Eligible Bachelors” for 2018. Since I’m married I didn’t make the list, but did you? Or your favorite out athlete/celeb/artist?

• Since 2010, the Olympics have featured Pride Houses where LGBTQ athletes and fans could relax in a safe space. But with no money budgeted for this at PyeongChang, Canada stepped up allowing Canada House to do double duty as Pride House.

• How about one more pic of our awesome Team USA competing at the Winter Olympics? Here’s woofy Carlos Valdes – a member of our four-man bobsled team who competes next Saturday.

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Adam Rippon Wins The 2018 Winter Olympics With Athleticism, Artistry & Authenticity

Adam Rippon

Out U.S. figure skater Adam Rippon may have finished tenth in the men’s Olympic figure skating event in PyeongChang, but there’s no question he is a star at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

After a perfect short program landed Rippon in 7th place, Rippon took to the ice last night for his final Olympic skate.

Even with great athleticism, artistry and star quality, Rippon knew his perfect triple jumps wouldn’t be enough to beat his competitors’ multiple quadruple jumps.

Watching the scoring, viewers could see the triple axels Rippon landed over and over only garnered about 9-10 technical points while the quad jumps were getting 15-18 points each. Multiply that by 5-6 jumps per skate and you see the math was not in Rippon’s favor.

But Rippon gave Olympic fans all that he had. And more.

He skated his long program exactly as he planned landing seven triple jumps, completing every spin and along the way reminded folks that artistry counts.

Additionally, Rippon was authentically “Adam” every step of the way. His charisma and charm captured the hearts of viewers around the world.

As an LGBTQ journalist and advocate, my heart grew three sizes larger as I celebrated Adam’s amazing achievement.

“The Olympics are about a whole lot more than just medals,” said NBC commentator Johnny Weir, “and Adam Rippon just proved that.”

Moments after his final Olympic skate, he spoke with passion and clarity about his Olympic experience.

“I have gotten a lot of attention just for being myself,” he said. “A lot of people when they come to a competition are afraid to be themselves, no matter who they are. One thing I want to come with from this competition — I am not a gay icon or America’s gay sweetheart. I am just America’s sweetheart and just an icon. If you have a personality like mine it’s for everybody.”

Rippon leaves PyeongChang with a bronze medal for his perfect performance in the team figure skating event that cemented Team USA’s medal win.

Twitter was aglow with praise for Adam.

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Mother Of Murdered 8-Year-Old Boy She Suspected Was Gay Pleads Guilty, Receives Life Sentence

8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez

The mother of an 8-year-old Palmdale boy pleaded guilty to the 2013 death of her son who died after suffering brutal beatings and starvation.

According to prosecutors, the mother and her boyfriend tortured Gabriel Fernandez because they suspected he was gay.

Via The LA Times:

In a downtown Los Angeles courtroom, Pearl Sinthia Fernandez admitted that the 2013 killing of her son Gabriel was intentional and involved the infliction of torture.

Her guilty plea avoided a trial, where prosecutors were expected to seek the death penalty. Fernandez’s defense lawyers had opposed capital punishment, arguing that her low IQ made her ineligible for death row. A judge is scheduled to sentence her June 7 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Shackled at the waist and wearing a jail-issued smock, Fernandez, 34, spoke in a faint, muted voice on Thursday as she accepted the conditions of the plea agreement.

“You will never be paroled. You will never be released from prison,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Jon Hatami told her. “Do you understand and agree to this?”

“Yes,” said Fernandez as her lawyer, Deputy Alternate Public Defender Julia Dixon, comforted her.

On May 22, 2013, young Gabriel was found by paramedics in an unconscious state. He had a cracked skull, broken ribs, his skin was burned and bruised, he was missing teeth and BB pellets were found in his groin. He died two days later.

The investigation into Gabriel’s death revealed massive lapses by L.A. county social workers who visited the boy’s home six times but never took action despite physical evidence of torture.

Fernandez and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, both brutalized young Gabriel for months leading up to his death. The 8-year-old was forced to sleep in a cabinet bound and gagged, eat his own vomit and cat feces, and was beaten with a belt over and over.

Aguirre was convicted of first-degree murder on Nov. 1. The jury recommended the death penalty. Aguirre will be sentenced on March 8.

More on my reporting of the tragic events surrounding Gabriel’s death here.

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Donald Trump Finally Admits There Was An “Anti-US Campaign” By Russians During 2016 Election

Donald Trump

Donald Trump, who has never acknowledged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, finally did so today in light of the 13 Russian nationals indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Several hours after the news of the indictment, Trump took to Twitter to declare, “Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for President. The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong – no collusion!”

Now, to be clear, the indictment did not address (yet) whether anyone on the Trump campaign knowingly collaborated with Russian actors.

But – at least he finally admitted there was an “anti-US campaign” by Russia.

The White House issued this statement:

“We cannot allow those seeking to sow confusion, discord, and rancor to be successful. It’s time we stop the outlandish partisan attacks, wild and false allegations, and far-fetched theories, which only serve to further the agendas of bad actors, like Russia, and do nothing to protect the principles of our institutions. We must unite as Americans to protect the integrity of our democracy and our elections.”