Beyond the Bricks Week of 10/30
by Taylor Derrisaw | published Nov. 3rd, 2017
Robert Mueller Officially Files Charges in Russia Investigation
On Friday, Oct. 27, Special Counselor Robert Mueller filed charges during his investigation into election meddling. After a grand jury approved the charges, Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chair, turned himself in to federal agents.
Manafort was arrested on charges of money laundering and tax fraud, but is believed to have pro-Trump Russian connections. Trump was quick to denounce the arrests, tweeting that Hillary Clinton and the “Dems” should be the focus of the new investigation and that there was “NO COLLUSION.”
Roughly an hour after Trump tweeted those remarks, it was revealed that a former foreign policy advisor, George Papadopoulus, had lied to FBI officials about his dealings with Russian contacts.
It is believed that Papadopoulus had met multiple times with Russian contacts who had “dirt” on former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in the form of thousands of emails. This would have given the Trump campaign an undeniable edge in the campaign.
The Trump administration was quick to denounce Papadopoulus’ involvement with the campaign and stated that his legal liability was limited to what he said to FBI officials, not his role in the Trump campaign.
Jeff Bezos has Surpassed Bill Gates as the Richest Person in the World
Amazon’s stock (AMZN) surged 13.5 percent on Oct. 27, adding over $10 billion to Bezos’ stock portfolio.
This wasn’t the first time Bezos and Gates have contested for richest person in the world. In July, Bezos briefly surpassed Gates as the richest man in the world when Amazon’s stock surged.
Gates currently holds 103 million shares of Microsoft (MSFT), whose value rose by 7 percent. This briefly added around $600 million to Gates’ net worth.
Amazon’s overall performance has been on the rise in the past year. With its acquisition of Whole Foods and its bid to open a second headquarters it appears as though Bezos’ net worth could rise even further.
Bills Trade Marcellus Dareus to Jaguars for 2018 Draft Pick
In exchange for a 2018 sixth-round pick, the Buffalo Bills have traded defensive tackle Marcellus Dareus to the Jaguars on Oct. 27. The decision echoes the Bills' future roster strategy.
Dareus’ performance with the Bills has been rather lackluster in previous years, having only recorded three tackles in 2015. His performance this year was better — however, during the Bills game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers he achieved five tackles. The Jaguars ultimately believe that Dareus will work well with the team and help put pressure on other teams' quarterbacks.
The decision to trade Dareus to the Jaguars falls in line with the Bills’ ongoing policy of reorganizing their roster after Buffalo Bills’ General Manager Brandon Beane took over in May.