I want the jury to return a unanimous verdict in two hours or less. Then watch the fireworks.
I have $100 riding on Trump having a meltdown and issuing a pardon on everything Manafort is charged with by the Feds and trying to claim state cases against Manafort are covered by his pardon.
let the flames begin!
4
...so tell me why people on welfare are the moochers in society?
11
I was a prosecutor for 20 years. Our evidence was always reported as "overwhelming". This is news?
1
Every state in which Manafort’s Certufied Public Accountants are certified should bring decertification proceedings against them, for incompetence as well as for ripping off the states for taxes.
7
Wow, the defense case is basically “everyone does it.” Really? Tax fraud is theft from the American people—your friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Tax fraud says to the country that you think you’re special, and are happy to let everyone else support you. Shame on Paul Manafort and all the crooks like him.
10
This case is giving me flashbacks to the O.J. Simpson trial, and subsequent acquittal by an aggrieved jury.
All the Manafort defense needs is one white conservative who feels that they have been “abused” by the liberal power structure over the past 30 years; Someone who buys into the Trump fairytales of white grievance.
Of course the big difference is that there was (is) a history of disenfranchisement, racism, and police brutality in Los Angeles for many years.
The OJ Simpson jury had a unique opportunity to express their accumulated disgust.
Many on the right feel that they have a legitimate grievance against people of color who are taking away their white .
5
The fact that one of the defense's main arguments is that Manafort wouldn't even be in the hot seat if not for Mueller's investigation reeks of "whataboutism"--the notion (or implication) that bank fraud goes on all the time, so why pick on poor Mr. Manafort?
The underlying theme is that this is EXACTLY what the kleptocracy that's developed in this country really wants in the end: Minimal regulation and enforcement so they can continue to rob us all blind with virtually no legal consequences.
Utterly stunning. The real solution, obvious to anyone who cares about this country, is much greater enforcement of all the existing banking and money-laundering regulations so everybody is held accountable. In that halcyon scenario, Mr. Manafort is simply the tip of the iceberg and leading the charge (pun intended).
23
I can't think of a single reason Paul Manafort needed all these off shore bank accounts in the name of shell corporations, except to cheat on his taxes.
I can't think of a single reason Paul Manafort would list money he obtained from loans as income on his loan applications except to defraud the banks. And whether or not he actually received one of the loans does not alleviate the fact he was commiting fraud.
8
Mueller is just getting started, clearly. Hope he doesn't wrap up soon - I'd like a thorough and deep cleanse on all these criminals, all the way to the top (Trump).
3
A lot of chatter here about an imminent Trump pardon if convicted, but isn't there a 2nd trial coming up under state law, where a Trump pardon would not be relevant?
16
Yes, that’s correct.
2
Considering the extent to which Judge Ellis found it appropriate to criticize the prosecutors in front of the jury, it is amazing that he did not repeatedly interrupt the defense's closing argument. Arguing that something "goes on all the time" is improper, as is claiming that "courthouses would be overflowing with defendants in bank fraud cases" if "every loan applicant who mischaracterized a rental apartment as a second residence was charged" with a crime and saying, "How he was able to get the deal he got, I have no idea." It is always improper for an attorney to interject what he knows or thinks or cannot understand into an argument, and there certainly was not likely to have been record evidence that would support his claims that everyone defrauds banks in loan applications or that everyone tries to find ways to (unlawfully) defer income so they can pay their taxes later.
6
No collusion. The effort to compel Manafort to lie about POTUS has failed. Look for a hung jury or if convicted, community service. The witch hunt continues.
2
What if they got to the jury? Isn't that a mafia move?
4
This guy is the perfect emblem of an administration full of grifters and grafters, led by the Con Man In Chief.
Remember when Obama's campaign manager went on trial for bank fraud and tax evasion? Me neither.
16
Trump will pardon Manafort and the Trump supporters will agree. Trump will issue the pardon after the November midterms.
4
Manafort's side did not call any witnesses because they know Trump will pardon him.
6
the judge ordered the defense not to refer to the Mueller inquiry, but let them bring it up anyway.
the judge forbids the jury from reading newspapers, then (because he is a vain man) spiels his own reading of the newspapers into the record, in front of the jury.
like i said yesterday: you don't need defense witnesses when the jury can see the judge is on your side.
even odds on a hung jury.
6
The evidence that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia is overwhelming. The American people would know the truth if the Republicans hadn't done everything in their power to obstruct justice.
Holding hearings about Russia's attack against American Democracy behind closed doors was a disgraceful betrayal of the American people that the Republicans should never be allowed to forget.
11
But were these actions legal? until now, American businesses parked billions overseas, legally. Would like to have seen a focus on, in this article, of the laws pertaining to this and why this specific defendants actions were illegal. The stuff about the mortgage and the kids is absolutely pathetic. Previously there had been very se0rious allegations regards Ukraine, not here now. What happened to them?
Mr. Manafort may have attained some perverse version of inner peace now that he will no longer have to devise nefarious means by which to cover his many financial obligations.
Sit back and take a deep breath, Paul.
It's very striking that Mr. Manafort has so many competent, high-powered trial lawyers representing him but all they could do is allege "some other guy did it" and present no defense, not even character witnesses. Pro-Russian strongmen and Russian oligarchs, apparently, were unavailable.
This is not to criticize Manafort's attorneys - even with his freedom at stake, Manafort violated his bail conditions by contacting witnesses to "prepare" their testimony - a/k/a witness tampering.
Paul Manafort is the poster child for the biblical proverb that "pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."
9
Late last evening I was disturbed to hear Trump's favorite attorney Gregg Jarrett parroting the Manafort attorney's closing argument on Fox News.
The financial crimes committed here should appall any taxpayer who has dutifully played by the rules, no matter how or why such acts were discovered. Moreover, Manafort is not a sympathetic defendant, a good person who did a bad thing. For any law-abiding and disinterested citizen, this is a slam dunk. But oddly not with Jarrett. But then again he's not disinterested, is he? An acquittal is most simpatico with Trump's interests and thus Jarrett falls in line. And again we see an apparently serious person put at risk his reputation for Trump
2
Does Manafort have to pay his loans back, taxes on his
property, back income taxes, the Russian lender?
7
Greed, corruption, income tax evasion, and money laundering. There is not a single multinational corporation, dictator of any stripe, or super wealthy individual who is not guilty of the same. It's their modus operandi for ripping off and running the world.
The fact that Manafort is a part of the Trump oligarchy and is getting prosecuted and probably convicted of it is a good thing. Sure he's only one of many. But Mueller is doing his job of thoroughly investigating the criminals in the chain of corruption which is our current government. No doubt the Trump family is guilty of all these same things. And that may be the rub, if Mueller is allowed to continue his investigation and if we have a DOJ willing to enforce the laws.
We all owe Mueller and his team a huge amount of gratitude for the hard, long hours, day after day that they put in to pursue these cases and bring these criminals to justice. Hopefully as they continue up the chain more will go states witness to expose the next biggest fish.
If Trump should try to disband the Mueller investigation, it will then be time for massive, longstanding public demonstrations in the defense of any hope for rebuilding a true democracy.
19
The questions raised by the Manafort prosecution are directly related to collusion.
Prior to joining the Trump campaign, Manafort was employed by Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs. He hid large amounts of income in shell companies. Though he had no declared income while working for the Trump campaign he asked for no payment from Trump.
1. What was his source of income during his stint as a volunteer?
2. Did any of his former employers make contributions to his shell companies while he worked for the Trump campaign?
3. Did Manafort have contact with his former employers or Russian oligarchs while he worked for the Trump campaign?
4. Were any of his former employers or their associates related to meetings between trump staffers and Russian representatives?
With a demonstration of manafort’s acceptance of large amounts of Russian money and his willingness to hide it it becomes easier to draw connections
3
Manafort must have some pretty incompetent accountants. American citizens having more than $10,000 in foreign bank accounts are required to declare those accounts to the IRS. This information is very clear every time I file my taxes, along with the reminder about FBAR filings. My accountant is also very vigilant to remind me of this yearly.
12
@L I agree - I hope the jury members are at least as familiar with the IRS 1040 forms as you and I. It is impossible to avoid this question about money in foreign bank accounts!
Business accounts, and business tax forms may offer additional loopholes, but there is surely abuse here. I don't think the IRS would allow an ostrich jacket as a business expense.
Incompetent or unlawful accountants.
1
High time for Manafort to be indicted, tried and convicted of the crimes he committed in a number of individual states, e.g. New York. Surely that's highly likely to take place, and highly likely to succeed. A number of states' attorney generals must be working with Mueller, or Mueller's team members, to bring this about. The Mueller team is privy to the development of all the evidence used in Manafort's federal criminal trial that is taking place right now, and they must be cooperating with states' attorneys to apply that evidence in writing indictments at the state level. Trump can't pardon Manafort at the state level. Yes! The moment Trump pardons Manafort, he'll be seized by state officials as a possible flight risk in his upcoming state-level trials. Yes! Yes!
4
I prepare tax returns. I am required to ask every client whether or not they have (ie own, or have signatory power over) a foreign account, and if they do we need to check a box on Schedule B. Anyone who has interest or dividends reported on Sched B who does NOT have a foreign account needs to check a "no" box. This is not rocket science.
Beyond that, if the account has over US$10K they also need to file a form called FBAR. At a higher threshold for the last few years they also would need to file a FATCA form. The civil penalties for failing to file are very high, and there are criminal penalties for willful failure to file. Every accountant is aware of these rules and so is anyone likely to have overseas accounts. The IRS crackdown on hidden overseas assets has been in the news for over a decade, and there have been numerous civil penalties and some number of criminal prosecutions.
Frankly I'm not sure why the IRS has not already assessed failure to file penalties against Manafort -- and they would be high enough that he couldn't pay them -- plus back tax and penalties for underreporting income. They could do this without the indictments. In any case the tax issues alone, aside from the bank fraud, should be enough to put him away and impoverish him.
15
@DH
Yes - I am wondering why the IRS seems to be quiet.
I wonder if Manafort filed a joint tax return as married, or how the business money and personal money affects numerous other people, banks, and businesses.
3
In what prosecution does the prosecutor not tell the jury that the evidence is "overwhelming"? That is a meaningless assertion. Maybe what is more important is that the prosecution's star witness was an admitted felon and liar who is testifying to avoid a long prison term. If the documentary evidence was so compelling, why would the prosecutors call an admitted felon and liar as a witness?
In any event, I just hope the jury conducts its deliberations in accordance with the oath the jurors took, and their verdict reflects that, regardless of whether the verdict is guilty or not guilty.
11
@Tony They called Gates because he had all the details and was Manafort's partner, duh. You clearly have not observed many criminal trials, in which the star witnesses are frequently criminals themselves, for necessary reasons.
1
@Tony If you;ve been following this trial you would know that in this case the evidence is overwhelming. This is not just a he said, he said situation. Numbers don't lie. To answer your question about Gates as a witness, the fact that he is a liar about certain things, doesn't mean that he cannot tell the truth to justify or explain the numbers. In most mafia don cases, hardened criminals and murderers where star witnesses because they also knew the truth about the crimes that the dons were being charged with.
TO believe the claim that Manafort was not aware of all the financial shanangans going on only shows your bias. I hope the members of the jury are not so inclined.
Many a mobster has gone to prison on basis of testimony of another mobster who struck a deal. Trump attorney Giuliani knows that better than anyone. Not sure what your point is.
1
At this point, all I can say is there is a strong case against Manafort for his crimes. Unfortunately, what this has to do with the donald, other than stupidity in his lack of political experience and the number of people who stood in line, literally, to use him for their own benefit, has yet to emerge. I realize prosecutors generally go for low-hanging fruit, but I still don't see the tie-in with trump on a criminal level. Its a given that trump is dumb as a rock and can't pour water out of a boot when the instructions are written on the bottom, but tying this all together...? I hope Mueller is making a clear case.
19
Should Manafort be convicts, Mueller can offer a much lighter sentence as a carrot to turn states evidence on anything illegal he knows about the current president.
@de'laine
This case is not about Trump or ties to Trump. In fact the Judge made sure to issue an order preventing allusions to Trump, but the DEFENSE not the Prosecutor disobeyed that order.
It is all in the daily transcripts
The next case however is a different story and is intentionally split this way. The game theory was to get the Tax conviction done first, making Manafort a convicted criminal when his case about helping the Trump campaign get Russian help to win comes to trial.
He will be found guilty on all charges, he may be pardoned, but not on State charges. So, he will do time.
9
The defense attorneys' knowing and willful decicision to defy Ellis' specific directive not to refer to the special counsel's purported motive in prosecuting Manafort is blatant contempt of court and, given the stakes, merits jail time.
12
Fox has been covering the tale as Mueller going after Manafort only because he helped Trump.
If your information came only from Fox you would think the whole trial was over taxes from 2005. You would think Gates controlled everything. You would not know that Gates also worked for the campaign. You would not know there was bank fraud. You would not know that it took place in 2015-16 including while Manafort was on the campaign.
It does not matter if something is true. It only matters if people believe it.
26
Yes, this could be a hung jury, or an acquittal, it could happen.
Even a simple conviction on say one count of tax evasion may be a tough go.
But, no matter what, Paul has a pardon waiting, and it could come the moment the verdict is read...
What a country
6
A reasonable assumption is the jury contains at least one Trump devotee--with as much respect for the rule of law as Manafort.
Hung jury. Of course... And as justice dissolves in this spot, another is created--attack of Brennan's free speech.
Welcome to Russia.
6
Curious that Manafort agreed to work for nothing for Trump at a point when he should have been focusing on making money. And curious Deripaska loaned him 10 million dollars at a time when he must have known Manafort was insolvent. Deripaska once said: “I don’t separate myself from the state. I have no other interests.”
Treason.
24
So, if Manafort is found guilty, want to take bets on how many days it will be before Trump pardons him?
1
It will be interesting to find out whether or not "evidence" actually means anything anymore considering the fact that we are currently living in, "The Age Of The Pathological Liar", so perfectly personified by Donald Trump - A man who never uttered the truth in his entire life, unless it was to sing the praises of deadly Neo-Nazi violence.
"Evidence" is akin to "Truth", and I'm pretty sure that for a large minority of the population, those words no longer have any concrete meaning anymore.
Taking this into consideration, I'd say a Manafort conviction is, at best, a 50/50 chance.
3
"Mr. Downing suggested that Mr. Manafort did not hide his income from tax authorities, but simply tried to defer it to pay later. “It goes on all the time,” Mr. Downing said."
Oh, right. Got it. I sure hope the jury comes up with a guilty verdict.
What Manafort did was simply spend beyond his enormous income, and tried to get more income by not paying taxes. The fact is that *no* income would have been enough for Manafort.
Now, why trump chose Manafort to manage his campaign is a mark of trump's total ineptitude, and maybe trump's relations with Russia, in which case it's not trump's ineptitude, it's trump's deliberate attempt to defraud the American public, including the little trumpkins in trumpland.
23
If found guilty, he’ll be pardoned. If found innocent, there will be a great cry of a witch hunt that must stoped.
Our democracy is quickly descending.
11
It's been nearly a year since Manafort was indicted and the media screamed that the walls were closing in on Trump. Sure Mueller was pursuing a tax fraud case that had nothing to do with Russian interference in the 2016 election, but it was all so he could squeeze Manafort and get him to flip on Trump. Manafort was central to the campaign and knew everything, right? Well, here we are, with Manafort days away from a verdict, but the media fails to note - he did not flip. The liberal Trump collusion theory is missing a key piece. A man supposedly looking at a hundred years in prison doesn't have anything to offer on Trump. How can that be? The media has been so certain. I hope if Manafort is found guilty that Trump pardons him. While unregistered foreign lobbyists like Podesta roam free, Manafort gets taken down in a political witch hunt. It's not right. 13 angry Democrats, unlimited budget and subpoena power for a decade old tax fraud case. All because Hillary lost. Just think, if she hadn't called half the country deplorable, Manafort might be a free man. Instead she deleted 30,000 emails on a private server used for government business, and the FBI's own Peter Strzok changed the language in the report so she could walk. There seems to be a great imbalance characterizing these investigations.
5
You answered your own question. Manafort doesn’t need to flip (and risk plutonium poisoning) if Trump is going to pardon him.
1
Even if the jurors don't understand the accounting the very fact that Manafort blew through $60 million dollars in four years and then was applying for loans with fraudulent information should be enough for the jury to find him guilty.
Let's hope there are no trumpanzees on the jury!
10
"..., Mr. Andres insisted that Mr. Manafort personally controlled the foreign bank accounts through which $60 million in income flowed between 2010 and 2014."
What services precisely was Mr. Manafort paid 60 million dollars for?
5
The American jury system, this jury and we are on trial. Manafort is guilty. The judge was showy and foolish. The jury should have no trouble and should come in Friday afternoon without delay.
4
The defence lawyers are incompetent. They are arguing that singling out Manafort is unfair because all other criminals are not being prosecuted. If so, then Judge Ellis and all judges and courtrooms are redundant. Every prosecution case would be dismissed because the accused are being singled out. You can't fine me so speeding, Your Honour, because the other speeding motorists in the state are not being similarly charged. The speed trap got me but others are let off. That's unfair. A sillier defence is hard to imagine. Despite his guilt, poor Manafort is being badly served.
13
Not just the defense lawyers. The judge, too!
1
Quote:
'Mr. Downing suggested that Mr. Manafort did not hide his income from tax authorities, but simply tried to defer it to pay later. “It goes on all the time,” Mr. Downing said.'
So that makes this OK? How many corrupt lawyers are there in this story?
6
The Mueller prosecution effort would benefit if Trump pardons Paul Manafort. This case was as much a trial of Trumps' will to pardon, as it was about the conviction of Manafort.
4
Trump,won't pardon him.
After one is pardoned, they can no longer Plead the Fifth
3
Manafort is just the beginning of the end. We have a long way to go. In the end none of this is going to end well for Trump. Good riddance.
10
Defense Strategy in a nutshell:
"Our client is guilty, but his criminal acts were only found during Mueller's investigation of the President, so he should be allowed to go free.
Oh, and his freeloading partner did all the criminal stuff".
13
Even if Mr. Manafort is convicted on all charges, these are charges totally irrelevant to his work in the 45 campaign. In fact, the issue in the trial is his work on behalf of Russia's enemy Ukraine.
Supporters of 45 will say that Mr. Mueller had a long time to look at Manafort's activities, and couldn't find anything during his time on 45's team worthy of indictment. And for once in the fact-based world, they'll be correct.
6
@Charles
"Supporters of 45 will say that Mr. Mueller had a long time to look at Manafort's activities, and couldn't find anything during his time on 45's team worthy of indictment."
Maybe.
But it's fine with me if Mr. Mueller uses the charges at issue to procure Manafort's cooperation in proving matters relevant to 45's campaign.
1
@Charles
I believe Manafort’s work in Ukraine was on behalf of Yanukovych, who is well known as a criminal ally of Putin and was forced to flee the country for asylum in Russia because of his corruption. So this case is very much connected to Trump’s treasonous conspiracy to support Russian interests in exchange for Russian interference in the last presidential election.
2
@Charles
Sure they are.
/sarcasm
You conveniently falsify that Manafort was working for Putin's puppet, Ukrainian president Yanyukovych.
In 2004, Yanukovych was seen asRussian President Vladimir Putin's protégé.
American consultant Paul J. Manafort advised Yanukovych on his election campaigns and media image from 2005.
More importantly, Manafort's participation in Trump's campaign was kept out of this case for Mueller's second bite at the apple. Note that puts further pressure on Trump to guess what Mueller actually has in his possession. The pressure is driving Trump crazy.
1
The defense argument is that Paul Manafort was getting away with tax fraud and laundering money until he fell in with Donald Trump and therefore should not be prosecuted for crimes committed? That if the special counsel's bright light didn't shine on him he could be continuing to avoid taxes with offshore accounts and cheat banks on his loan applications? So breaking the law is fine as long as it isn't noticed?
Did they mention that he joined the Trump campaign in order to sell his access to foreign governments? That since he couldn't live on $60 million what other choice did he have?
Did the lawyers ask who will pay their bill for such a mushy defense since Mr. Manafort is way over his head in debt with nothing coming in?
3
Two comments.
No need for Trump to pardon Manafort. These crimes had nothing to do with Trump and were committed before Manafort joined Trump's campaign. Kushner brought Manafort in and Kushner fired him.
Why didn't Manafort's attorneys present any witnesses? Someone who could explain, for example, why payments to Manafort were loans and not compensation subject to US tax? Or is their defense simply that there were no payments to Manafort for him to account for - therefore he is not guilty?
1
It's hard to believe that the Party of Regions politico Maestro is sunk deeper than a coal seam. The NY State AG's parallel investigation negates a trump "get out off jail card" gambit. The travails of a trump coat tails seems to be the dirtier the laundry, the longer the klink wash cycle.
1
The evidence of fiscal misdealings may be overwhelming as the headline claims, but what does it have to do with Mueller's mandate to pursue collusion charges? Nothing. So turn it over to local authorities and declare the Witch Hunt over.
4
Hi Mr. Fake Detective.
Please let us know all the evidence that Mueller has collected. You seem to be an insider.
Since you are an insider, you've,obviously read the remit Mueller was given. Care to repeat this.
7
Why would anyone declare the "witch hunt" over when it has already produced so many indictments and a pretty clear set of connections between trump and the Russians?
Manafort, incidentally is not trump. And so he's not on trial for collusion. Where Manafort's piece fits, only Mueller knows at this point. And I bet Mueller knows more than you do, Sam, which is why he's probably still running this investigation, I mean "witch hunt."
But anyway, the rest of us are having a great time listening to you trump-loving Columbo's explain your TV version of jurisprudence and "witch hunts" and all that stuff. Unfortunately I think that Mueller is a professional.
3
I’ve always thought of myself as a worldly big-city boy but, I confess, I never imagined there were men who purchased $900 neckties...
10
Our electoral system was broken when Trump was "elected". Our presidency is broken when Trump was sworn in. Our justice system will be broken if Manafort is not found guilty ( because one juror completely ignore the evidences and construed against the facts ? ). It's terrifying.
7
Let's hope the jury has common sense and does the right thing. I have served in trials with not so smart jurists
7
Trump uses the same technique as Manafort creating a complex series of shadow companies to move money around the globe in secretive ways. Trump sees himself as a crime boss like Putin. Al Capone was imprisoned for tax evasion. We need a full investigations of Triump's finances, particularly those flowing on and off-shore. And where are those Trump tax returns?
10
The idea that the super wealthy hiding assets in shell companies in tax havens is hurting no one is pure hogwash. These are folks who talk up capitalism and wrap themselves in the American flag. I believe that the proffered defense that “everyone cheats the IRS, it’s the American way” will fail. If it does not, this country will fail as ultimately our system is held together by a belief in honesty, fair play, and a level playing field. The second amendment has become a large issue in recent years because that foundation of trust and integrity in our system is eroding, and as such there is a belief (perhaps accurate) that each of us needs to be their own “well regulated militia.” The peasants, once again, will revolt...
14
Manafort's guilt is undeniable. The prosecutors have powerfully met their burden of proofs.
The "Ok Alexandria" is over. Mueller 1-Trump 0.
3
One take-away is that the prosecutors are technologically adroit and now can put voice mails, texts, emails, bank transfers, plane tickets, video surveillance and stock purchases into a tight, consistent story of corruption and conspiracy. Paul Manafort and Chris Collins are out of their league.
Paul Manafort downloaded an encryption app to witness tamper but did not know how it worked. The FBI had no problem getting the key and extracting the messages.
Collins did not know that his son's and future father in-law insider stock sell increased the number of shares sold that day 4x and that all those shares could be traced back to the insiders. Video, with time/date stamps, made it easy to zero in on Collins' cell phone calls and the subsequent stock sell orders made by the call recipients. The icing on the cake was seeing the stock tank 2 days later after the clinical trials announcement.
What the principals in the Trump/Russia circle ignore is that a single FISA warrent into Carter Page or George Popadopoulos essentially would generate reasonable suspicion for additional, legitimate FISA warrants.
6
I fully expect Manafort to be convicted, and this will lead to a tremendous dilemma for Trump. If Trump doesn't pardon Trump, then other Trumpsters expecting Trump's protection will want to start protecting themselves and could start cutting deals with Mueller, and if Trump pardons Manafort then the taint of Manafort's crimes will follow Trump. Though Trump's hardcore supporters won't blink if the latter happens, this might finally start to change the minds of the suburban Trumpsters who previously supported Obama.
6
Manafort is banking on a pardon from trump as a quid pro quo for not talking to Mueller.
If Trump pardons Manafort, it will be devastating for Republicans seeking re-election in November. The American people will not put up with this corruption and subversion of justice.
97
@S B Sadly, even at this point with a guilty verdict, Trump's base will merely shrug their shoulders. They have put on their blinders, pinched their nose, and covered their ears in order to maintain their support for their cult like leader. Trump could go on live TV and tell his base to drink hemlock and they would do it gladly without a second thought.
4
@S B
It seems that many of them have put up with a lot of corruption and subversion of justice in this administration without any hesitation.
5
I have no idea why Manafort decided to go to trial when his criminal associate Gates turned states evidence. Trump is going to pardon him now? That would be hard to believe.
In any event, I think the Manafort trial was just an appetizer. The main course, or the enormous buffet of intrigue comes next year. This was just a pig in a blanket served by a waiter.
68
If Manafort is broke, who is paying his legal bills?
29
To the many commenters that say he will be acquitted...no way. But the jury will be hung by the juror who was nodding in approval through out the defense closing argument.
20
Experienced federal prosecutor Gene Rossi had an interesting analogy as to how important Rick Gates is to the case--he was on Morning Joe.
"I want the folks watching this show to focus on one exhibit that sort of shows who Rick Gates is,” Rossi said. “This is government exhibit 391. It is an email to Rick Gates. Paul Manafort says, Rick, you are the quarterback, quote, unquote. That is the theory of this case.”
“Rick Gates was, indeed, the quarterback, but who was calling the plays?” he added. “Coach Paul — and I’m not talking about Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant. I’m talking about Paul Manafort. That email is devastating, and Rick Gates’ testimony and the documents corroborated that email.”
29
Manafort's mistake was to not hire white shoe lawyers to craft a way to not pay taxes on the 60 million. He is at risk here but it is not a huge risk because juries just don't understand finance and taxes. How many average Americans even understand compound interest. The average juror thinks all the rich in the US don't pay much in taxes......so Manafort is no different than the rest of the lawyers both republican and democrat in Washington.
6
@AS Concerned, yes. I understand my obligations to the IRS, but I am also concerned that the members of the jury, might not be as clear about the simple questions and box about foreign accounts on the good old 1040 tax form. Furthermore, some jurors may be swayed by the arguments and attitudes of the defense attorneys, not to mention the (snarky) remarks from the bench. You can't really erase things that people have heard, even if they are told later to ignore what you said. Fingers crossed that a guilty verdict will be swift and unanimous.
3
This is a big story, but Trump pulled a distraction out of his hat by revoking John Brennan's security clearance today.
Hopefully, the jury will do the right thing and send this arrogant, treasonous criminal to prison where he belongs.
36
As much as I am against all things Trump this prosecution does not touch on the issue of collusion, the one and only reason why Mueller investigation begin. Manafort’s financial trouble was just caught up in this sweep and it should not have been prosecuted unless this prosecution helps toward the main goal. No lobby group, government contractor or consultancy is any less shady than Manafort.
14
so @Kabir Faryad, a legitimate investigation finds much evidence of law breaking, but they shouldn't pursue it because it wasn't the original subject of the investigation? Not sure where YOU are from, but that's not how it works in the U.S.
3
@Kabir Faryad
When investigating a crime other crimes are often discovered. Those crimes are usually investigated and prosecuted. When someone gets pulled over for possible DUI the police do not ignore a dead body in the back seat of the drivers car.
6
@Kabir Faryad Mueller's mandate includes any crimes they become aware of during the course of the investigation, so it is definitely worth prosecuting. He also failed to register as a foreign agent, which seems a little important if you're running a presidential campaign.
6
Will they ever be able to tell us about the bench conferences?
How will the judges comments against the prosecutions case that were unfounded effect the verdict?
Will the prosecutors file a complaint against the judges actions?
Will Manafort next face state charges for income tax evasion if the jury is hung, or in the event (unlikely) of an acquittal?
Was he a wikileaks heads up conduit?
If all goes south in his case, will he roll?
Can he dare knowing how enemies of Putin and their families are treated?
11
Trump will pardon Manafort right after winning in 2020. Trump is not a politician, doesnt care about the ramifications. Done deal.
3
If he doesn't care about ramifications then why not pardon him as soon as he is convicted?
1
This case was a straight forward paper trail case with accounts/bookkeepers used as experts to explain the paper trail. While Mr. Gates is an equally disgusting individual, he did provide context for much of what and how Mr. Manafort operated over the years. All in all, Mr. Manafort should be found guilty on most, if not all of the charges.
Mr. Manafort may get the pardon he desperately is playing for by not flipping on Mr. Trump. That however does not silence Mr. Gates, who may very well be an even better witness against Mr. Trump and the Trump Campaign.
No matter what happens in the event of Mr. Manafort, Mr. Gates is the true threat to Mr. Trump and he cannot find a solution to that problem;
10
I find the judge's behavior inexplicable. Why would he have bee so pro-Manafort instead of neutral????
20
@Smarty's Mom I read that perhaps the judge being hard on the prosecution, may have helped close /expose potential loopholes that the defense would have sought to exploit later.
The article suggested that it is typical for a judge (in this situation) to be a bit hard on the prosecution, so they are not seen as too generous.
2
So what. He is just like all the rest of the rich. They all have something to hide about income. The difference is this guy is supposed to “sing” like the judge says after sentencing. We all know this. And so does Manafort. And Manafort can sing fiction if he wants to get pardoned and I wouldn’t blame him. He is staged to to sing something. The people paid good money for this.
5
If Donald's pardon comes to Manafort, it is another maneuver by Donald to undermine Mr. Mueller. But Mr. Mueller is relentlessly smart and he has much information than this sitting president and us know. He is really rattled by this Mueller's probe.
29
Manafort and his lawyers know that a Trump pardon is a near certainty. The only requirement for a pardon from Trump is that you are truly and genuinely guilty of the crime or crimes that led to your conviction, that those crimes evidence moral failure of epic proportions, that you are, by all reasonable measures, unworthy of a pardon or clemency of any kind, and that somewhere along the line you said something nice about Trump. Preferably in a tweet. Extra credit for all caps.
God save us.
24
I get the feeling that the Manafort defense was working for a second trial and a sympathetic judge. However, from the git go, they well may have actualized the reality of the situation. Manafort broke a lot of laws and left a trail of crumbs that cannot be denied or disproved.
4
I'm sure Manafort is likely guilty. But, it had nothing to do with Trump. And seeking out prison for the rest of his life is a little over the top, and out of line with most sentences given for white collar crime. Sure, Bernie Madoff probably should rot given that his actions harmed real people. But Manafort didn't hurt anyone except the feds, and given the way Mueller and his team is acting, that isn't such a bad idea.
Mueller is trying to squeeze Manafort to get to Trump. It didn't work. Why? There's no juice in that orange (or pick another fruit of the mention of the word orange offends someone as they probably immediately start quivering and start humming a mantra to themselves, collusion,collusion, collusion, putins' puppet, collusion). So in my mind Manafort should be punished, but this is also prosecutorial misconduct.
3
Actually, Manafort's failure to pay the taxes that were due the IRS is an assault against the American people who do pay their taxes. Moreover, the banks that were defrauded and lost money due to loans made without correct information will pass on losses to customers. We all lose when someone like Manafort, when he had millions and millions, did not pay his taxes. there are lawful ways to reduce tax liability, but hiding money and filing false returns is not the way.
58
@Ralphie
The extent of Manafort's crimes were discovered because he was associated with other criminals who are being investigated. The main one being our current President of the United States. He has robbed the the US and it's people. He is being treated exactly how he should be treated.
5
Ralphie - Last time I checked, the '''feds" was you and me. Maybe you don't care about being stolen from, but I do.
As to whether there's a connection here to trump, we'll see. But even if there isn't, there's no doubt he's crooked as the day is long. Anyone who believes otherwise is either a fool, deluded, or so blinded by their party allegiance, they can't see what's plainly in front of them.
8
Manafort’s relationship with Trump goes back to the 90’s! From time of Stone, Manafort, Black et al. This is not just about tax evasion.
This is about a decades long partnership to to place Donald Trump in the position he is now. It is hand in fist in glove. It’s an old story which still has a long way to go before it unravels fully.
15
@Shreekant I have had this same thought; seeing an old photo of Manafort and Stone ( and Black?) together when they both looked MUCH younger!
Honestly I do not think Trump is the brains or the mastermind in this operation to derail our democracy. Surely it is a joint effort, but difficult to say who has been in charge.
2
This may be a no win situation for Trump. Manafort is guilty with or without a pardon. That’s what matters. A pardon will only add fuel to Trump’s inferno and bring more attention to the cronies club of which he’s a member.
17
So many of you have a lot of legal background; I am respectful but my takeaway from what I have read and heard is that Manafort was forever finding ways to bilk the system—the system that keeps this country running in infrastructure and social programs. As I walk past the homeless people who may have had an unlucky spell because of not being able to pay down debt, or of addiction, or of a business that went under, I think of Manafort purchasing an ostrich feather vest or instructing a landscaping crew to create the 'M' in one of his many estates. It makes me think there are many more like him; I wonder if those who are sitting sequestered are feeling what I am feeling.
40
Manafort was living a corrupted American dream. He was low hanging fruit for prosecution. Trump was actually low hanging fruit, before he became President. NYC's (Manhattan/Palm Beach/Hampton Crowd) gave us Donald . Manafort's prosecution means nothing -- NYC establishment sold America out by creating Donald.
7
Manafort and his defense attorneys made a big mistake when they had him appear in court, hair freshly dyed in his $25,000 suits while saying nothing in his own defense. His appearance spoke for him. It shouted greed, corruption, income tax evasion, and bank fraud. His sidekick Gates' lies seemed almost innocent in comparison.
The man would have been far better off in a rumpled orange jump suit, with unkempt grey hair, and able to say something--anything--that would have made him appear a little sympathetic, a victim of Trump and his Russian backers.
As it stands, he looked like a caricature of Donald J. Trump who, no doubt, kept close track of the trial.
118
Then again, evidence against everybody is overwhelming, prosecutors say. That's what prosecutors say, especially when wrapping up. You don't expect prosecutors to admit to anything less than overwhelming evidence, would you? So it's not really, like, news. Also, and I hate to say it, but given how guilty everybody is, it may even be the case that not only is "prosecturos assure us they have good evidence" not really news, it may also be irrelevant. What if the jury acquits? What if they convict and the judge overrules it? What if jury and judge are down with conviction but he gets off for time served? Or a pardon? Or only goes down for one or two of the charges? Many things could happen now.
5
That they have to CALL it "overwhelming" may mean that it isn't. It's why we have juries.
7
The evidence is overwhelming to reasonable people who take the time to read the charges, the evidence, and the testimony of the witnesses.
24
@Kevin I followed the trial closely & read much of what was said--- they have a strong, strong case. Manafort was caught because he turned in paper work minus a PDF file (it turned out he didn't know how to create one). This seemed strange to the bank employees and they in turn notified the FBI. The rest is history. They have a sound paper trail and Gates walked them through it!!
14
@Kevin -- the evidence is overwhelming if you bother to look at it, and the key pieces are blatant and incontrovertible.
Yes, we have juries. The reason we have juries to provide a fair examination of the evidence, by the people.
This jury is not going to acquit. It might hang if there are a Trump partisan or two on the jury who refuse to look at the evidence ... but understand what that means if it happens: they don't care about Manafort or the law, all they care about is protecting Trump. And the irony of this is that it would mean that they believe that Trump is guilty of something, and that Manafort could be a dangerous witness against him.
If you are a Trump supporter try to think about the obvious: if Trump did not commit prosecutable crimes then Manafort is no danger to him. (Nobody is going to convict anyone on Manafort's story alone, any more than Manafort will be convicted solely on Gates' ... it's the paper trail and the money trail that is convicting Manafort.)
If you believe Manafort is nothing more than a flagrant tax cheat and fraudster, has nothing on Trump ... then why care about it?
1
The proof sounds pretty strong to me, but the Russians may have reached out to a juror or two (that would explain the sealed hearings), or you could have a crazy Trump hold out. We will see soon enough. If a guilty verdict is coming, I think we will have it by the end of the day Friday. If the jury goes over the weekend, we have a problem. Time will tell.
52
The judge knew there was no defense, but he didn't like the way Manafort was caught. Strange that a judge who is to uphold the law was upset that Manafort got caught stealing from the United States because he was Don Trump's campaign manager.
135
@dave
Manafort won't be acquitted. But given a judge who sounds hostile, our hyper partisan politics and the POTUS laying his fingers on the scales of justice, a hung jury seems a real possibility.
13
Clear tax evasion on 60 million dollars while acting as an illegal unregistered foreign agent. It reflects in Trump and illuminates the corruption of those he surrounds himself with. When he’s gone we can all say “bye Felicia” the right dismissive good bye.
26
Manafort knows that Putin will order Trump to pardon him. So he's not 'overwhelmed'.
55
@Richard Mclaughlin
Ouch! That Putin will order ..... We do know that people who cross Putin do seem to end up dead.
Do you remember reports that Trump eats McDonald's hamburgers because they are so random and unlikely to be poisoned?
Into the same cell as you know who and also 150 years!
12
Does Manafort care? The pardon is certainly in the mail.
Oh America. How you have sunk into a moral mess.
79
@Shelley Corrin. We can not apologize to Canada enough for the Trump Administration. We’ve been hijacked through the electoral college. Sorry!
6
Hopefully a conviction will convince SOME of the Trump sycophants. Obviously many are beyond hope.
45
@Nancy Rockford Nancy -- convince them of what exactly? The crimes Manafort is accused of have nothing to do with Trump or the campaign.
2
@Ralphie
Convince them of 3 things.
1) Trump was and is associated with many criminals.
2) Trump is associated with many who are involved with Russia (or its friends) in illegal dealings.
3) This is not a witch hunt.
Seems to me these things should be obvious to anyone with an open mind but due to extreme partisanship that does not seem to be the case at this time.
2
@Ralphie -- yes, correct.
One of two things must be true: Manafort knows of crimes by other administration officials (including possibly Trump), or he doesn't.
If he doesn't, then he's just getting late justice for crimes that indeed have nothing to do with Trump or the campaign -- and implicitly Mueller made an error in choosing to prosecute him directly (he should have just turned the information he had over to federal prosecutors in NY and VA respectively, ala Cohen).
The presumption here (and yes, it's a presumption, but one that everybody including Judge Ellis sees) is that Mueller has a strong reason to believe that Manafort can implicate others in crimes by the Trump administration.
Manafort's testimony alone would never get somebody (particularly a president) convicted, any more than Manafort would be convicted solely on Gates' testimony. Mueller's choices only make sense if he has other incontrovertible evidence.
Remember Mueller's prosecution of ENRON - Fastow and his wife both went to jail, Fastow's testimony helped convict both Lay and Skilling.
Fastow served 5 years, his wife one; a small fraction of what otherwise would have been far longer sentences. Lay died of a heart attack 6 weeks after conviction. Skilling is still in jail with years to serve.
At this point Mueller is Manafort's only hope to avoid dying in jail, and that depends on Mueller being right. Trump won't pardon him.
After reading many of the comments, it worries me to think Manafort would be acquitted. No matter who any of the jurist voted for they need to be aware that if anyone of them did one of the many crimes Manafort committed they would go to jail!
It sickens me that white collar crime is rampant and people involved in the White House are blatant about their criminal behavior, shrug it off with a chip on their shoulder because they are never held accountable. Our President being a huge example of this behavior. The same laws have to be upheld equally to all. No person is above the law only applies to the rest of America, The rich and connected have always gotten
away with their crimes. The only way for this to change is to see people like Manafort and the rest of the White House criminal behavior be charged and held accountable.
140
By and large, jurors take the situation very seriously and respectfully.
3
It was the ostrich jacket that done him in.
17
Trump only hires the 'best people'.
47
Manafort is closely tied to Trump confidant Roger Stone, recently summoned by Mueller. But there is so much more:
Research reveals Manafort was also a registered lobbyist for Pakistan's ISI, Al Qaida's earlier organization.
Prior, Manafort lobbied for Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos & Zaire's dictator Mobutu Sese Seko.
The ISI connection in Pakistan was thought to have funded the suicide bombing that claimed the lives of 7 CIA agents at Camp Chapman in Afghanistan in 2009.
Worth your review:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Donald-Trump-campaign-hit-b...
42
@One More Realist in the Age of Trump -- Wow, that Times of India story IS interesting!
If anyone thinks that overwhelming evidence is enough to convict, remember OJ.
61
What happened in the OJ trial has nothing to do with this one.
In that trial the question was who killed Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. There was no question that they were murdered, and that murder is a crime -- the defense did not attempt otherwise.
In this trial there is hard evidence that Manafort (and not anybody else) brought money home from Europe without paying taxes on it, and lied on applications to obtain large loans, and spent that personally.
In OJ's trail the glove didn't fit -- the prosecutor was a fool to do that stunt. (OJ was given a rubber glove for sanitation and to preserve evidence.) And Mark Fuhrman -- there's no Fuhrman here, no problem with the chain of evidence.
Manafort's "defense" such as it is amounts to "Gates is a rat, he stole from me. Mueller has no right to prosecute me."
Manafort doesn't deny the money, and that's what it's all about.
1
Hung jury and if not that a pardon.
10
@Jonathan He's still got one or two more trials upcoming and once pardoned, can't hide behind the 5th since it's admitting guilt. And if one of his trials is state court, he can't be pardoned. He's not finished with courtrooms.
2
Rich people, at least in this country, don't go to jail. He'll be acquitted. Watch.
20
Regardless of the evidence, one should not assume a simple set of guilty verdicts. The judge was clearly hostile to the prosecutors, which will raise questions in the jurors minds about why he would be so.
10
It is astonishing on the beginning on of the Trump campaign and even his presidency, Trump talked about how "amazing" and "great" his people were. How he was the best at picking people to fill his White House with. We fast forward 2 years, and handfuls of those personally picked by Trump have either turned against him, quite due to overwhelming allegations that turn out to be true, or fight until they have been brought to court.
At what point do Republicans and the rest of the nation that supports Trump reflect on his decisions and think...maybe he isn't as truthful and as good as we thought he would be. He seems to be held to some new standard. If Obama did half of what Trump has been doing, I can't even imagine what the news outlets and press would be saying. For that matter, even Bush.
19
@Maurice
The trouble with the Republican response is, they don't care about right or wrong. They care about getting what they want; deregulation of environmental and banking policies, the destruction of the education system and the rule of law as well as causing doubt in our institutions of free speech and a free press. The list goes on.... As long as Trump agrees to rubber stamp what they send to him from the republican controlled congress, they will not stop him. In the mean time he gets to feed his narcissistic self, play reality TV and build a space force to nowhere. It really is pathetic and sad that we have come to this. Money rules.
12
How many jurors are necessary to convict? Is a majority sufficient or does it have to be unanimous?
@JerryV Yes, in the United States, juries must be unanimous either with a guilty or a not guilty decision. If not unanimous, the trial is declared to be a mistrial, and the trial must take place again with a new jury.
2
@TaniC -- you are correct for federal crimes and the law of most states. A very few southern states allow a verdict from a jury of 12 with a hold-out or two.
This is widely seen to be a relic of Jim Crow, a law to make it easier to convict blacks of crimes.
"The evidence against Paul Manafort is 'overwhelming,' a prosecutor told jurors..." A PROSECUTOR said that? To jurors? Weird...
I've little concern for Manafort's troubles and perhaps there IS enough evidence to convict, but what's gained by repeating the above quote from a prosecutor's closing argument? It would only be news if he didn't say it.
It is different when the article quotes the prosecutor as saying that "Manafort knew the law." That's something a prosecutor might not always say. Maybe he "should have" known or maybe the law is such that ignorance is no excuse. Regardless, it's a more meaningful bit of information.
Ostensibly at least, prosecutors ask juries to convict defendants because they believe they have evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that such defendant is guilty. Such evidence would have to be "overwhelming," the alternative being that it is "underwhelming" and thus insufficient! So while I do not fault the prosecutor for doing his job, what's the point of the quote?
Conversely, although I do not read it in the article directly, one presumes that Manafort's lawyers, at some point in their summation, said something to the effect that the prosecution had not met its burden of proof. I would disagree, but again, what else CAN the defense say about the overall evidence to a jury?
The prosecutor's and defense's descriptions of the overall evidence are basically predetermined by their legal duties. Maybe get a quote from some third-party?
1
@Matt Many prosecutors start the deliberations with that sentence. I worked as a court steno. It is not strange.
9
First, as many of the comments note, this trial has provided enough evidence that Manafort is going to be found guilty of many federal crimes. It also seems likely that (pardon or not) he will be found guilty of crimes at the state level in (at least) NT and VA - for which presidential pardon is not an option. One way or another he will go to prison unless he flips for immunity on a broad - and perhaps epic - scale.
However, I am really beginning to feel that the only explanation for his failure to do so (though it is still possible at this late date) is that he realizes that it is better to be in prison, alive - with his family alive and free - than to have something like a "Novichok Incident" change one or more of those conditions.
Hard to hide a face like that in the witness protection program, in the modern era.
And, I would be surprised if someone in a position to pass those thoughts along to him from his "Ukrainian Friends" had not already done so.
25
@Beyond Concerned -- Well to speculate on that train of thought, as long as Manafort keeps mum about what he knows, there's a motive for one of his former associates - or clients - to get rid of him before he changes his mind and spills the beans. So maybe his best defense would be to spill every bean possible just as soon as he can.
3
Trump's anticipated pardon of Manafort will not erase the fact that this criminal (Manafort) was convicted of serious felonies. My guess is that Trump (the other criminal) is guilty of at least as many crimes as his former campaign director. Trump's criminal syndicate is abhorrent — a total embarrassment to our country.
13
@H. Clark
Besides, he is going on trial again in September for another set of charges. He should be toast.
4
Said this before, but I'll bet Manafort rues the day he threw in with the Trump Crime Family for the 2016 campaign. Had he not done so all this mess likely would have stayed below the radar.
18
@J Darby
I'll bet that even Putin feels the same way now.
1
There is no way he will be found guilty. The defense knows this, which is why they did not call anyone or put up a fight. They'd never get all 12 to agree on conviction especially since, well, some of the jurors are probably bought.
8
Let's hope Mr. Mueller prevails. You would be blind not to see the overwhelming evidence and how it points to
Manafort's guilt, with or without Gates help!
God Bless Mr. Mueller
God Bless Mr. Rosenstein
God Bless Mrs. Underwood
I pray they all finish their work uninterrupted.
76
Trump will be advised by his handlers to wait until he knows what is happening to his son and his son-in-law. If he has to pardon one of them, he might add Manafort to the list.
7
A pardon should be out of the question for crime like this. We shouldn't stand for it. Just because Trump "can", doesn't mean we as citizens have to tolerate or accept it. Will all that was cheated or stolen be paid or returned? At the least will ALL personal property be seized in lieu of return? Somebody will have to pay and it will be innocent people. If there IS a pardon it will be one criminal aiding another WE don't have to stand for it!
48
Manafort might very well be pardoned, but not until after Mueller is ends his investigation. I think even Rudy would see it as witness tampering. Plus, the pardon takes away Manafort's ability to take the fifth, and that means he has to talk.
5
@WW NY
But he would not necessarily talk the truth.
2
Our courts aren't nearly so much a justice system, as they are a caste system. We should be very careful about predicting the outcome of this trial.
Would OJ have gotten off on the murder charge, if he could not have afforded to hire Johnny Cochran? "The Rich" are a powerful caste in our money obsessed nation, and Manafort did a great job of propelling himself into that caste.
The people who are now counting Manafort out now, are the same ones who were counting Trump out before the election. They could be wrong again.
10
Just the paper documentation would be enough to send him down the river. Can't wait for the State of New York!
10
Several writers have suggested that if Manafort is convicted but pardoned, he can be tried in state courts without a possibility of further presidential interference. Regardless of whether he's guilty or not: Wouldn't that violate our laws against double jeopardy?
2
@Jonathan Levi
The United States of America and the individual states are considered to be separate sovereigns. Thus, a prosecution of Manafort by New York State following his possible acquittal on the federal charges in Virginia would not necessarily violate Double Jeopardy -- even if the charges were precisely the same. See the Rodney King case, as an example of this.
5
@Jonathan Levi, he is being charged with different crimes in the state court case.
5
@Jonathan Levi Different charges. Other articles suggest that Mueller held back on charges, 'just in case,' so there's still legal jeopardy for Manafort, even after the next trial. Apologies for not having a link handy.
4
Justice is often slow in catching up with a criminal, as can be seen in Manafort's case who is only now being prosecuted for crimes he committed a decade ago.
But to think that Trump can patdon Manafort just as justice is being served is gut wrenching. It's like justice is being slapped in the face by Law Enforcer in Chief.
11
The result of as pardon by DJT will only cause Manafort to be subject to subpoena by the Special Counsel. Without the threat of self incrimination hanging over his head, there will be no room for him to claim 5th Amendment protection. So he will have to answer any and all questions relating to DJT's various misdeeds. This might be enough to deter DJT from issuing the pardon, as he does not need another insider with extensive knowledge of his crimes standing up in court and issuing his "J'accuse".
4
Please let’s not forget to underline a most distressing observation. Seems Manafort was kinda selling to Bank President Calk the position of Secretary of the Army.
Selling cabinet posts, that’s what the Trump criminal mob does.
49
What Manafort was peddling was (only) consideration for a Trump administration job. He submitted Calk's dream sheet to Jared, with Army Sec. highlighted.
Considering the outcome, Calk overpaid.
4
@womiles, Yeah but even the idea that you can purchase consideration is evil and so wrong. It shows how bad it is with this man president.
1
To acquit P.M. would be a truly gross miscarriage of justice. And cause one to wonder who got paid-off or threatened.
15
If I were a betting man, my money would be on Manafort cutting a deal after the verdict, before sentencing. He thought he'd roll the dice and try a trial. When that strategy fails, he's going to throw Trump under a garbage truck, where he belongs.
(I would not place that bet at a Trump casino.)
6
It seems the case against Manafort is indisputable.
A guilty verdict is expected.
I believe Trump would only step in with a pardon to keep Manafort from flipping in an investigation to Trump's corruption.
Thus, a pardon would be simply another step in the obstruction of justice.
I guess the question must be ...
Does Paul Manafort know enough threatening information about Donald Trump to make a Trump pardon worth the political risk and public outrage?
Time will tell.
6
@GP
That would work if the pardon did not free Manafort to testify to a Grand Jury without Fifth Amendment privileges. But it does, which means he can testify against Trump. Besides, this is only the first Manafort trial. There is another one in September and there may be more to follow.
3
"Manafort knew the law."
I look forward to that statement coming up again regarding the Trump Tower meeting. Given his breadth of election experience, Manafort knew he should not have been meeting with representatives of another country offering to help his candidate with stolen emails.
15
Seems like a slam dunk, unless Judge Ellis tainted the jury with his continual dressing down of the defense team.
33
Robert,
Judge Ellis should be removed from the bench. He put his thumb on the scale numerous times during this trial.
Also, did you mean to say that he tainted the jury with his "continual dressing down" of the prosecution? He almost seemed to be working FOR the defense.
9
@Robert
Prosecution, not defense.
7
@Robert Prosecution team you mean.
6
I do not think President Trump will "pardon" Mr. Manafort for anything.
Manafort's attorneys are implied ambiguously something that the jurors would find not foundational to the possible innocence of Manafor.
But I think that Manafort's wrong doings at the time he joined the Trump campaign do lead to Trump. I predict that the defense's attorneys will reveal Manafort's connection to Trump , rather than infer, regarding the charge of bank fraud.
@RR Manafort worked the Republican platform on the Ukraine issue to make it more pliable to the Russian's point of view. So his need to monetize his position infected the Trump - and Republican - campaign.
3
It is impossible to gauge the effectiveness of the arguments made to the jury by the prosecutors and by the defense, but a few things are worth noting.
The decision by the defense to rest without calling any witnesses or introducing any new documents is a very common practice and, for all practical purposes in the Manafort case, the only option available to defense counsel.
And, although the evidence against Paul Manafort truly is overwhelming, the defense strategy may work. The jury may vote to acquit.
Two aspects of the defense argument are troubling. First, they played some timeline games and then impliedly misstated the law by suggesting that lying on an application for a bank loan which was never made by the bank is not a crime. It is.
The second improper argument was to point out that these are not regular prosecutors. They are part of the special counsel’s office and, therefore, as the argument went, suspect for political motivation.
If such argument was made, there should have been intervention to tell the jurors that the credentials of the prosecutors are not in question and such impugning must not be entertained.
Throughout this trial there has been a problem with a rule of the 4th Circuit allowing judges a wide berth to comment on the evidence. Hopefully, that rule will not push aside the 6th Amendment of the Constitution.
26
@sdw First, it takes 12 jurors to quit, and that's not possible base on overwhelming evidences in Manafort's cse.
Second, whether Manafort is prosecuting by the DOJ or by Mueller's team is made no difference. Crime is a crime regardless of who try it. By the end of the day, you still broke the law.
By the way, people who work for Mueller are from the DOJ.
3
These days, prosecutors always say that and the defense always says the opposite - useless statements in themselves. It does appear in this case, however, that Manafort is going down, a bit more uncontested than one would think, but he may be expecting an ill-advised pardon - ill-advised because then he can no longer use the 5th amendment to refuse to answer questions related to Trump or others.
13
But will it matter? Taking their cue from the defense assisting judge, they may well acquit. I hope that I'm wrong because if Mueller loses this one, no amount of evidence will bring down Trump. And Mueller is our last, best, hope!
61
Stew--Yeah, that judge was the worst. His behavior should the the focus of an investigation, perhaps impeachment. What he did should be considered as jury tampering, regardless of his so-called apologies. The jury can't un-hear the unfortunate comments of a judge, who is supposed to be absolutely neutral. He came off like a pro-tRump nut case.
21
@Stew this is just the beginning of Mueller trail.
A conviction is good, but that will not shut up Trump or his base.
3
@Stew
I disagree that an acquittal in this case would be game, set and match. It would, however, be a setback. The September trial offers a direct Manafort-Trump connection and a seemingly unbiased judge. The Michael Cohen case offers even greater hope.
7
The only relevant question in this case is not how strong the prosecution's case is, not how peculiar the judge might have been, or how clever or not the defense strategy has been. The question is that out of 12 jurors, how many might be Trump voters?
149
@Pete Why should you care about whether any jurors are Trump voters? Did you care that Peter Strzok was a Hillary voter and opposed to Trump? Yet you said Strzok could carry out his job in an unbiased manner. Why couldn't a Trump voter?
By the way, it wouldn't take a Trump voter to acquit Manafort when the star witness for the prosecution is an admitted felon and liar who is testifying to avoid a long prison term.
1
@Pete - Manafort's crimes have nothing to do with Trump and were committed before he asked to join the campaign. Unfortunately for him, his involvement in the campaign attracted the attention of a world-class team of prosecutors led by Robert Mueller. The paper trail of fraud and tax evasion is extensive, so much so that even a Trump voter can not forgive it.
8
Regardless of voting history, if the juror was biased for or against Trump, then they would have been thrown out in voir dire. Or so we hope.
6
Tons and tons and tons of documentation that Manafort is guilty. His defense; Gates did it all. After Prosecution rested;Manafort put up no defense; because he has none. Manafort will be found guilty; Trump will pardon him; sooner or later.Remember; Manafort was Trump's campaign manager at the same time he committed many of these crimes. Ray Sipe
4
“repeatedly noting that the Office of Special had mounted the investigation, not ordinary prosecutors. ”
Office of Special. That I like. Get rewrite. Unfortunately there is no such office.
And why did a stern judge allow the defense to argue that this was a political case? Is that a statutory defense?
5
@In deed Good point, that the judge allowed the defense to argue in its closing that this was a political prosecution. How is that a defense to bank fraud and tax evasion? The judge has been putting his thumb on the scale for Manafort ever since the case got underway.
11
@In deed crime is a crime regardless of who prosecuting, it don't you think?
1
Should Manafort be found guilty and then pardoned, it will point an arrow directly at President Trump. The fact that Mr. Manafort worked in the service of pro-Russian heads of state is the vital subtext here. Yes, he grandly cheated on taxes, but it's the hold that the pro-Russians had on Manafort is what counts. Of course, Manafort deserves to be locked up. But this case is more important in the sense that it opens another door to the present Administration's wish to be undo democracy and become a diminished world power, in favor or Russia and China.
22
The evidence is overwhelming against Trump as well but that hasn't made a dent in his support. If he pardons Manafort after a jury finds him guilty, due to overwhelming evidence, I predict it will make no difference to an overwhelming number of Trump supporters who remain underwhelmed by his atrocities. The bulk of his support is coming from a group of people who no longer act like a political party but, overwhelmingly, like a cult.
61
Manafort's egregious corruption is clearly indefensible, as exhibited by the inability of his attorneys to find a witness on his behalf. Assuming his buddy pardons him, let's hope the next trial sends him down the river for a long long time, without a paddle. Good riddance!
12
Every power of the President can be used to good end or abused. And in an extreme case, a legitimate power can be exercised for a criminal purpose. Who out there -- raise your hands -- can say with assurance that a pardon of Manafort is, without question, an act of mercy and not designed to improperly obstruct Mueller's effort to do justice.
Hands??? Hands??? Hands???
6
Some comments see a guilty verdict, then a pardon by the President. Gerald Ford pardoned President Nixon after his resignation, and was never elected. He served out Nixon's term, and that was all. The American people saw a great injustice with the pardon.
If Trump pardons Manaford, I see the same outcome or worse.
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@cherrylog754
not a chance that the same number of Americans will be as outraged by a pardon of Manafort as they were of Nixon given that nothing else to date about Trump and his corrupt cabinet bothers them. Repubs and Trumpsters (same things now) will spin that "getting" Manafort was politically motivated by a biased DOJ and Special Counsel and part of the "witch hunt" and "fake media". More importantly, ask your average American who Paul Manafort is and see if they know or care. Your average low information voter could not care less. Republicans are now the party who admire people who cheat on taxes (why should the big ol' bad government take Paul's money-good for him for not declaring it) and lie - look whom they voted as President. The moral center of this country is not where it was in 1974.
If Manafort is convicted, he gets a pardon for sure--he has been "loyal" to Trump, after all. Trump will never let a Special Counsel win stand. It will be up to the State of Virginia to serve him his just desserts.
4
The trial before public opinion will endure regardless of what the jury finds or what Trump does to pardon. Manafort is just one of a corrupt gang, that's obvious.
18
The evidence is overwhelming. You don't need to be a former prosecutor, or a criminal defense attorney, as I am, to see this. So why didn't the defense call a single witness? It makes no sense. Criminal defendants like Manafort often choose not to testify as they are covered by privilege, and the burden of proof rests with the prosecution. Still, Rick Gates, a cooperating witness, held up very well under cross, and Manafort's guilt was established by approx. two dozen additional witnesses and hundreds of exhibits showing tax evasion on approx. $16.5 million in income from Russians either working for, or allied with, Vladimir Putin. Further, Manafort fraudulently obtained more than $20 million in bank loans.
What is the crux of Manafort's defense according to his attorneys? That "Mr. Manafort" is only "facing criminal charges because the "Office of Special (Counsel) had mounted the investigation, not ordinary prosecutors." In other words, it's a politically motivated witch hunt. It will not prevent Manafort from being convicted, but Trump will love it.
Witnesses called by Manafort would have certainly benefited him by weakening the prosecution's case, but invariably would have offered more evidence of criminality by others connected to Manafort, especially under cross. It appears that there was an understanding reached prior to trial that if Manafort presented no evidence and argued that this was a "witch hunt" Trump would pardon him. It's the only thing that makes sense.
10
If Paul Manafort has done wrong (which I'm sure he has), then he should be prosecuted. However, making this a success of Mueller's collusion investigation is absurd. Mueller needs to wrap it up, or present some actual evidence of collusion. Trump is being accused of treason because of this, this is an unacceptable smear campaign.
1
@Don Q Trump was not accused of treason because of this. He is accused of treason because he has almost certainly committed treason.
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@Don Q
Why the big hurry to "wrap things up"?
Explain, please.
7
@Don Q
Wrong. It's totally acceptable.
10
After reading the comments the conclusion is that many Americans (most of those writing comments) are shell shocked and tragically cynical about our government which is a reflection of our society. To quote Mr. Kurtz—-the HORROR!
2
What? No Russian collusion smoking gun? It’s clear many readers are to the point of psychosis with hate for Trump, but save for the brief 3 month stint as campaign manager, this trial has nothing to do with the President. It’s tax evasion. Boring, tax evasion.
8
@Midwest Josh Yes, technically you are correct. It could be that Manafort went through with the trial because he is counting on Trump rewarding him for not revealing something. But even if that's not true, it doesn't look good for Trump to have hired, and be defending, a massive tax-evader, launderer and fraudster, does it? Of course there still is that change in the GOP Convention platform to satisfy the Russians about Crimea... we may hear more about that, and a Manafort connection there.
5
@Midwest Josh, Uh, yeah, we all know that, tax evasion and bank fraud by Trump's former campaign manager. The President keeps some interesting company, don't you think?
Great! A campaign that eventually makes its way to the White House hires a corrupt criminal to run the show when even a tiny bit of due diligence would have revealed his dire financial situation and probably a whiff of his notorious actions. This is the incompetence of the Trump administration.
15
The evidence is overwhelming, and guilt is assured.
Manafort would have known this going is, so the question is why he has not flipped on Trump for immunity or reduced sentence.
I see only two possible reasons: Manafort
(1) expects Putin will order his execution if he flips on Trump; or
(2) he expect Trump to pardon him.
I doubt execution, because Mueller would offer witness protection in exchange for flipping.
That leaves. expecting a pardon. I do no think Manafort is dumb enough to count on Trump keep a promise to pardon him, so he must be threatening Trump to pardon him now, before the next trial, or he will flip.
Nothing else makes sense, at least in my mind.
5
@Dennis Galon
Your question was ... .why has Manafort not flipped and bargained for immunity by offering Information... about Trump, and the Trump Campaign, Deripaska ? perhaps Roger Stone?
The Putin Theory.... that Manafort fears for his life or for his family does seem possible to me. I don't think anyone could offer enough witness protection to feel secure if Putin thought you or your family better off dead.
Another question is:
What's in it for Trump?
Why would Trump pardon Manafort? (ever)
Why would Trump pardon Manafort now?
There are two trials on the schedule now for Manafort, but that does not preclude additional charges in the future, does it?
Considering the defense didn’t bring any witnesses… It certainly was overwhelming.
4
@Will -
The fact that the defense did not bring any witnesses suggests that, in their view, the evidence was NOT overwhelming.
1
@Joan P
It suggests that the defense did not want to introduce new witnesses to be cross examined by the prosecutor thereby increasing the opportunity for opening up new avenues of questioning and investigation.
1
@Joan P
It suggests they had no witnesses but those that would help make the State’s case.
1
If the jury finds Manafort guilty, expect a pardon from Trump. It is then up to State Attorneys General to bring suit for tax evasion, etc. so Manafort will be serving federal prison time that Trump can not pardon.
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@kkm -
Wow. Where to begin?
First of all, unless Manafort evaded STATE taxes, no state has the power to prosecute him.
Second, if some state Attorney General, or local State's Attorney, manages to find a state crime for which to prosecute Manafort, and IF he were convicted, he would not be in a federal prison. (Though it's true the President cannot pardon someone for a state crime.)
2
@Joan P, for some strange reason I think a guy who evaded federal taxes would probably evade state taxes for Virginia and NY York so I’m sure their revenue people are fine tooth combing them as we speak.
@Joan P If Manafort filed a NYS tax return NYS can go after him. If he had NYS assets and did not file a NYS tax return NYS can still go after him. Catch 22.
1
Hope Manafort will come to his senses before the verdict and start cooperating with Mueller.
DJT has shown repeatedly through action and words that "loyalty" is not in his limited vocabulary. Manafort would be foolish to think a pardon will be thrown his way.
No matter the outcome, remember to vote this November.
59
Hi,
If Trump pardons Manafort it would be a travesty of justice. He is a thief and more........why should he be pardon is the question we as tax paying Americans need to ask the President. Would a pardon condone tax evasion?
7
Lock him up and save plenty of room for the rest of the Trump enablers.
22
Paul Manafort knows a lot more about Donald Trump and his 2016 campaign than we think. The president loves to set the cats among the pigeons: yesterday it was Omarosa Manigault Newman and earlier today, the sacking of ex-Marine Corps general John Brennan.
His coming pardon of Manafort was long in the coming. He, the president, will relish the attention of an outrageous pardon. He’ll revel in the spectacle, of course, but make no mistake: he’s protecting himself. He’s splendid at that.
“Mirror, mirror on the wall...”
6
Mr. Manafort was even charged, he said, with committing fraud in an application for a loan that was never granted. “What would be the motivation?” Mr. Westling asked.
Your honor, my client is being charged with a murder he didn't even succeed at.
12
This will undoubtedly be Marc Rich round 2.
As a reminder, Rich was an international businessman whose wife made large contributions to the Democratic party, Hilary Clinton's Senate campaign, and the Clinton library. He fled to Switzerland after being indicted on 63 counts of tax evasion, wire fraud, racketeering, and trading with Iran while they were holding US hostages. He faced more than 300 year in prison.
His company pled guilty to 35 counts and paid $90 million in fines while Rich remained in exile. Hours before he left office on Jan 20, 2001, Bill Clinton pardoned him.
Highly controversial, with a lot of criticism by other Democrats.
But if Trump pardons Manafort, it will not be the first time something like that took place.
8
@Talbot
Ah, "whataboutism", there was an interesting OpEd piece in the NYT a few weeks ago about it.
The Rich pardon was absolutely shameful and no one was more critical of it than I. Clinton himself later said he regretted it, but that just may be because it tarnished his legacy, not because it was the wrong thing to do.
Glaring difference with this case: If pardoned it'll likely be quid pro quo for not dropping a dime on Trump alleged misdeeds.
4
The prosecution brought a compelling and overwhelming case against Manafort. He will surely be found guilty.
The day after Manafort is found guilty, I fully expect Trump to pardon him. Trump has no respect for the rule of law.
86
@Edyee I hope Trump pardons him. State prosecutions would then make sure he's in jail and it will be one more nail in Trumps coffin.
6
@wfisher1 -
What state crime do you think he has committed? And in which state?
@Edyee
The question is, can Trump pardon Manafort for different convictions? He’s about to go on trial again on 9/17. This will be an interesting Fall.
If he were any ordinary citizen he would have been locked up long ago. Manafort is lucky: His crimes are so extensive that the lengthy investigation has postponed his incarceration.
Every day he spends out of prison is a day gained.
69
@Hamid Varzi
Helo Mr. Varzi:
You may not have the benefit of all the information about this case, but Mr. Manafort was on "bond" which means a fund for bailment to obtain temporary freedom resides with the court.
He was "out on a bond". He violated the court orders regarding being out on bond by speaking with witnesses to the case. That is strictly prohibited in most criminal and civil cases. Only the attorney for the represented party can investigate witnesses and then doing so is very procedural - all guided by law.
So, Manafort is in prison and has been since he violated the terms of his bailment.
He is going to remain there until the verdict.
If he is found guilty, his attorneys will file an appeal, and immediately thereafter will request another hearing about his bailment.
The defense attorneys will have to plead along the lines that now everyone in the world knows who he is, and he can not possibly escape to a foreign country, let alone another county outside of the jurisdiction of this Federal Court in Virginia.
Iran probably does not have a system of bailment.
2
With any luck, there'll be another three or four rounds of headlines about Paul Manafort, and then we'll be done. First, the conviction, then the pardon, then the conviction on some state charge, then off to prison. Ah, relief.
PM can imagine all of this, clever guy that he is. I wonder if he's weighing whether it'd be better to live out his days in a federal penitentiary than in a state prison.
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@Michael Jacques
that is a good question. Manafort tried to get the trial delayed claiming his cushy cell was too far from the court. The judge solved his problem by moving him to a Virginia State prison. When the judge issued that order Manafort changed his mind and tried to withdraw the delay request, bu the judge would not hear it.
Manafort now knows how bad state prisons are compared to federal and I bet he does not like them .
Sounds like the prosecutor is "talking down" to the jury. They may well resent this and let it affect their decision.
10
@lbeck How did you gather that?
It appears the prosecutor is doing what most prosecutors (and defense attorneys) do; Speak plain English to juries. Having sat on several juries wading through highly technical information; Forensic testimony from experts can be daunting; simple and concise explanations are quite welcome.
36
@lbeck Was that before or after defense counsel said that no one could understand these documents and filings?
1
@lbeck I didn't read it that way at all. It just sounds like Andres is doing what you do in closing arguments, summarizing the charges and reminding them of the evidence, saying all they have to do is use their common sense.
2
The defense didn't present a case because they have already been signaled that he will be pardoned after the second case is tried in DC. Lets hope that as one state tries him on charges.
9
In Washington there are dozens of Manaforts' and hundreds more completely unaccounted for as he was for many years.no federal agencies have ever been interested in these lobbyists because the territory is too limitless.It's been said by officials that overlooked Mr. Manafort some ten years ago that without Muellers' attempts towards entrapment of President Trump that Mr. Manafort would be a free man today,without doubt,and walking the streets of the Capital without a care in the world.Mueller has only proved how futile his alternate universe has become ,with origins in an illegal FISA warrant to being at the moment a million miles off base from the President and from Russia. Mr. Mueller was closer to collusion when he ran the game ,in Russia for Ms. Clinton and the Uranium One scandel.
16
@Alan Einstoss
Hang on a minute, I thought the investigation started when one of Trump's staff was drunkenly telling Australian diplomats that the Russian had Clinton's emails. Or was that fake news? On account of it not fitting with your story.
6
@Alan Einstoss You provided a somewhat Thesis Statement; but forgot to provide a point.
1
@Alan Einstoss
Dear Sir
If there are dozens and hundred more Manaforts selling out the country and they are not regulated maybe there should be some government oversight with criminal consequences
6
If the evidence is overwhelming then Ill assume he will get off scot-free.
13
The defense rests...
Because, in light of the prosecution's overwhelming evidence, a pardon is forthcoming. So why go to any further trouble?
315
@BD If pardon is the case, why did he even tampering witness to sit in a prison cell? Why goes through this trouble, for what?
3
@BD: Not only a simple pardon but a pardon bought by an implicit agreement not to sing against Trump.
1
I expect that pardon will happen about 5 minutes after a guilty verdict is read. Manafort won't even have time to be taken into custody.
The biggest question at this point is not whether the guilt of Manafort has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt, but whether there will be a hung jury because some pro-Trump juror refuses to convict. Be wary of the personality cult.
72
@Michael Willett That is my worry too!
1
"The star witness in this case are the documents."
Well done, prosecutors.
Hopefully the judge's antics haven't thrown a monkey-wrench into the case.
131
Trump really brought the best and brightest to his campaign and White House staff.
12
He will be pardoned by Trump about 5 minutes after he is found guilty, claiming it was a Kangaroo court out to get him.
10
Sure, Manafort is clearly guilty. But something else is pretty clear about this, he's kept quiet about Trump's likely criminal actions because he's been assured that he will get pardoned at the end of this.
So he won't be spending the rest of his life in jail, he'll get found guilty, then pardoned, then he can dig up all the wealth he's squirrelled away and live large for the rest of his days.
Quite possible too that one Trump supporter sits on the jury, and one is all it would take. It's impossible to change the minds of Trump supporters, they worship their fascist god above all else, and just one of them would mean a hung jury and no conviction.
If all this seems cynical and negative, after the hideous election of 2016, we all have plenty of reason to be cynical and negative.
230
@Dan Stackhouse Let say you're right, there is Trump supporter in the jury box; however, can he or she ignore the evidence that were presented by the prosecutor, especially this is documents trail. The jury simply match the evidences to 1 of the 18 counts, right?
Remember, 1 count of bank fraud is 30 years in prison, and Manafort has 9/10 of them. It is hard to imagine he would not get any count, don't you think?
1
@Dan Stackhouse, one juror, but it yields a hung jury not a determination of not-guilty.
2
Why are so many commenters missing this. State charges! This isn’t the only trial, he starts his state trial for tax fraud right after this verdict.
1
This news story does not mention any likelihood of a presidential pardon in the future. I wonder how long Mr. Manafort will actually spend in jail?
3
@Joyce Boles
He IS in JAIL. His attorneys bring his suit every day for him to change into before appearing as the defense witness, the accused in court.
People who have means can do this.
2
@RR -
People without means also have street clothing brought in for them. A person cannot be tried in jail attire.
2
The money laundering is enough to convict.
Let's hope they picked 12 open minded jurors.
40
Only THE BEST people!
115
If found guilty, Paul Manafort will be pardoned. This is much to do about nothing.
3
@Jay David
A pardon if it happens does not make the crime a small one. And Paul Manafort will serve time somewhere.
I wonder if Trump Casino has odds on an over/under on how many days it will take for Trump to pardon Manafort after the guilty verdicts are read...?
8
The true moochers are not the working poor who rely on food stamps and Obamacare.
The true moochers are these men who exploit everything to meet their endless insatiable greed and dark egos.
505
@Anne
What ever happened to sin?
Let's see, the sin of adultery - oh that's so passe,
the sin of greed, but how else to run capitalism?
the sin of stealing, but it is so easy!
the sin of lieing to obtain something that does not belong to you (fraud), well that requires a few more sins to pull off, but again, the bigger the lie, the more the money.
the sin of wrath, anger and hatred manafort has for Gates, but it goes no where.
1
You are spot on.The Republicans love to deride the "welfare Queens" but do not utter a discouraging word about White collar criminals who bilk the system of millions.This is beyond hypocrisy.!
2
Hopefully this is goodbye and good riddance for Manafort. Hopefully this is the start of goodbye and good riddance for the entire White House as well as the complicit legislative members in Congress.
45
There is no honor among thieves but Rick Gates has every reason to come clean and tell the truth. Gates can expect leniency while Manafort is looking a a life sentence. Manafort wasn't ignorant of his crimes, he just didn't think he'd be caught. Now Manafort's probably kicking himself for not doing what Gates did. Manafort's own paper trail and Gates' testimony will be his own undoing.
20
He will be pardoned as soon as is legally possible by a far bigger and more heinous criminal - our "President". What a terrible mistake these Trump voters made. What a sad, horrible mistake.
I forgive them. Lets move on. But lets get this monstrous human being out of office as quickly as is legally possible.
170
I smell a pardon coming.
7
Pretty damning in total, but I expect a presidential pardon. White collar crimes like these, to the man in the white house, are kind of like white lies or white supremacists: something to be given a wink and a nod. Only little people need follow the rules.
118
The stronger the evidence against Manafort, the more Trump will pardon Manafort!
9
This freeloading parasite needs to start freeloading in federal prison where he belongs.
Donald Trump, who adores people who dodge taxes and don't their taxes, will be tempted to pardon the criminal Manafort and to completely dispense with the rule of law, at least for rich people and for loyal Trumpers.
Let's hope a state Attorney General also tries Manafort for income tax evasion and other crimes to ensure that Manafort goes to prison or spills the Russian beans on America's Treasonist-In-Chief.
In any case, Donald Trump's campaign manager was a world-class crook, just like Donald Trump; both of these sociopaths deserve to share a beautiful federal prison cell.
November 6 2018
Yet another wonderful reason to throw every Russian-Republican out of elected office.
525
@Socrates Yep. Why doesn't a state AG turn the "states' rights/federalsim" argument right back on these people and prosecute on the state level? State time is harder to do in most cases, too.
7
Have you ever heard a prosecutor tell a jury that his case was weak? If you read between the lines, the prosecution may e worried that the evidence is confusing, so confusing that the jury may have difficulty connecting the dots.
10
RM....have you ever seen a defense team call zero witnesses to defend their client, as Manafort's defense did ?
It's usually a sign that the defendant is indefensible, guilty and belongs in prison.
Sorry you're having such difficulty connecting the dots.
217
@Socrates
Yes, I have. When the defense thinks the prosecution's case is weak, and they don't want to put up any witnesses for the prosecution to cross examine, to deny the prosecutors a second bite at the apple.
As is always the case in criminal prosecutions, the burden of proof and persuasion is on the prosecution.
Read between the lines?
All you need to do is follow the paper trail. The evidence is quite clear.
98
Who better than Manafort to bring the most unqualified, unhinged and uncaring person into the presidency. If Manafort was pulling off these crimes, it's clear that he thought he could dupe people into voting for a conman.
I hope Manafort is sentenced to life in prison if, or when, he's found guilty of his financial crimes. Trump will writhe over the decision whether to pardon him and we will watch the whole ugly mess that these men brought on as they try to burn Rome.
Some people may come to realize how close we are to a fascist, second world status as these 'strongmen' bellow and bluff. Nothing has been accomplished except for watching a few bad apples rot.
389
@Suzanne Moniz Re: "Trump will writhe over the decision whether to pardon him [Manafort]...." Very likely Trump already told Manafort he would be pardoned quite some time back. Whether Trump was lying I can't say, but clearly Manafort believed him and clearly Trump finished "writhing" about this long ago.
2
If the verdict is not guilty, Trump will escalate his attacks on Mueller, quite possibly emboldening him to fire the prosecutor and end the investigation. If the verdict is guilty, how many days will go by before Trump pardons Manafort completely?
274
@MEM: The same may be true if Manafort is convicted, don't you think? trump is bound to go off the deep end if the verdict comes in as "Guilty as Charged". trump will certainly feel the pressure increasing.
Yes, excellent question! @MEM
@MEM
Trump knows enough not to pardon Manafort. A pardon will only increase the controversy non-stop in the news, and Manafort will be convicted on NY State charges, if not serving time on federal charges. Either way Manafort is in jail for the rest of his life, so pardoning him only gets Trump more headaches.
28