Paul Manafort breaches plea agreement, likely to receive 20+ years in jail

[Glyptofane]

Just when you thought there could fall more skeletons out of the (clown car type of) closet, this happens. What the hell is this even about? We all know W. Bush was at best an average student...it didn't stop him from being...erm...okay, absolutely not my kind of president, but it was not like many took offense on his grades. So why threaten this in the first place?

Bush was not okay. Everyone hated him at the time. I'd still say he's worse than Trump as his admin is responsible for over 1 million deaths of brown people who had nothing to do with 9/11.

 

[Xzi]

Bush was not okay. Everyone hated him at the time. I'd still say he's worse than Trump as his admin is responsible for over 1 million deaths of brown people who had nothing to do with 9/11.

In a lot of ways the Cheney administration was worse, yes. Perhaps the worst part of it is that they were competent, so they were able to get evil shit done a lot quicker, like tricking most of the nation about the presence of WMDs in Iraq.

Comparing everything line by line would take forever, but suffice it to say that Trump has been worse in some ways, as well. GWB had empathy for immigrants and he actually proposed a path to citizenship during his time in office. I also never felt like the GWB administration was running around inside the white house like chickens with their heads cut off. Despite the two illegal and unnecessary wars, it still felt like they had shit under control at the very least. Until the 2008 crash, anyway.

It's really kind of a moot point, though, history will remember them both as absolutely terrible presidents. Out of all the people in the country they could've ran, the Republican party brought us GWB and DJT back-to-back. Gods I really hope it doesn't get any worse, but it always can. They might run 6ix9ine from jail, or Paris Hilton, or Kanye West next.

 

[Xzi]

Paul Manafort has been sentenced to a mere 47 months of jail time by a sympathetic judge in VA federal court:

https://apnews.com/93a090258cc64d858ec4adc514adfc7f?

The judge said Manafort lived a "blameless" life beyond these charges and that the sentencing guidelines were "quite high" in this case. Manafort appeared in court in a wheelchair and with a cane despite no known injury or illness. Thankfully, he has a second sentencing coming up next week, in front a likely much-less sympathetic judge. My understanding is that the charges are similar in the second sentencing, and that any sentence can be served concurrently, so he'll simply serve the greater of the two as a result.

In other news today, Michael Cohen is suing the Trump Organization for nearly $2 million in unpaid legal fees:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47488268

 

[IncredulousP]

Paul Manafort has been sentenced to a mere 47 months of jail time by a sympathetic judge in VA federal court

Are you fucking kidding me? People have served more years for weed. And what the fuck is this wheelchair shit? How far can you sink? Toss this traitor in prison and throw away the key.

 

[Lacius]

and that any sentence can be served concurrently, so he'll simply serve the greater of the two as a result.

My understanding is it's up to the next sentencing judge whether or not he serves the sentences concurrently.

 

[Hanafuda]

Paul Manafort has been sentenced to a mere 47 months of jail time

Probably eligible for parole/release in about 23 months, assuming credit for good time served. But yeah, this sentence is basically irrelevant now, and if you think about the judge today basically just voted 'present' knowing next week would be the sentencing that actually matters.

 

[Xzi]

Probably eligible for parole/release in about 23 months, assuming credit for good time served. But yeah, this sentence is basically irrelevant now, and if you think about the judge today basically just voted 'present' knowing next week would be the sentencing that actually matters.

You're right, but a ruling like this still makes a mockery of the justice system. Manafort committed fraud in the amount of tens of millions. A person can potentially get more than four years in jail for stealing $100.

 

[kuwanger]

Manafort committed fraud in the amount of tens of millions. A person can potentially get more than four years in jail for stealing $100.

How does that saying go again? Defraud a bank out of one hundred dollars, spend 20 years in jail. Defraud a bank out of tens of millions of dollars, become the President's best friend.

 

[Taleweaver]

Hmm...I really wonder what kind of precedent this sort of verdict is going to outline.

*somewhere in a near future near you*
Judge: you stand here accused of stealing 500 dollars. The penalty for that is 5 years in prison. How do you plead?
Suspect: I plead guilty. But I'd like to add that I stole 5 billion more than that!
Judge: ah, I see. That changes the situation a bit...
Suspect: indeed. More so: I told some foreigners how to do shit!
Judge: all right. Because these charges are added to your initial crime, you are now facing...erm...2 years in prison?
Suspect: that's right! Our beloved country rewards those with large ambition, amirite? *attempts to high five judge*
Judge:

In other news today, Michael Cohen is suing the Trump Organization for nearly $2 million in unpaid legal fees:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47488268

This is a bit of a weird lawsuit. If not to say 'counterintuitive. I mean...look at this:

Cohen (last week): hereby, I expose this check, signed by mr. Trump himself, to be made over for mrs. Clifford.
Choeh (this week): I am suing the Trump organisation for not having paid me.

You'd think that anyone with half a brain can come up with a decent defense on the republican/Trump side of this based on this sort of stuff.
Sure...the fact that the republicans went with a "liar, liar, pants on fire" and "I have never heard of you before today" defense rather than an ACTUAL defense can be submitted as proof that the republican party combined doesn't possess half of a brain. But surely at some point someone will be able to connect a few dots here.

 

[kuwanger]

This is a bit of a weird lawsuit. If not to say 'counterintuitive.

Not sure how it's counterintuitive. Blood sucking lawyer charges millions to be fence on pay-off checks include separately actual checks for pay-off? Yea, can't imagine that... Seriously, though, Cohen sounds like he's been the fence for tons of dealings (he was Trump's lawyer for ~12 years), and if you add up all the pay-offs, bribe money, etc along with his actual legal fees, it's easy to imagine Trump is rather behind on the bills*. This added to the point that Trump has a reputation** for stiffing people for services rendered, such that they'd need a lawyer--nice irony--to actually get the fully promised amount.

I imagine Cohen thought he'd be sufficiently protected--attorney-client privilege--, so the risk to him being charged with anything and then put in the situation of testifying (and being stiffed) was relatively minor. Of course, I think Cohen knew he wouldn't get a pardon because then it'd be Nixon all over again, except Nixon at least was reasonably popular and actually got stuff done for ~4 years. Trump giving Cohen a pardon would possibly be political suicide--look at how the Senate seems poised to turn against him on his emergency measure for the wall--and risks Trump himself not being pardoned for any crimes he may have committed.

I mean, for Trump getting 47 months in prison could be a death sentence.

* The fact that Trump was paying Cohen back in $35,000 cash installments instead of one lump sum for the pay-off and legal fees (plus merged with some other business to hide the details)? I mean, for someone who is worth billions, that seems sort of crazy.

** Whether it's valid or not, Trump's reputation is to use his name and other people's money to build things and then once the work is done to stop paying because he's gotten the actual work he needed done. Then if they sue, he can argue they went over budget, didn't follow the design well enough, etc and hence there's a valid legal reason for a dispute. The point being, it's an intended "negotiating tactic" to get what he wants.

 

[Xzi]

Cohen (last week): hereby, I expose this check, signed by mr. Trump himself, to be made over for mrs. Clifford.
Choeh (this week): I am suing the Trump organisation for not having paid me.

You'd think that anyone with half a brain can come up with a decent defense on the republican/Trump side of this based on this sort of stuff.
Sure...the fact that the republicans went with a "liar, liar, pants on fire" and "I have never heard of you before today" defense rather than an ACTUAL defense can be submitted as proof that the republican party combined doesn't possess half of a brain. But surely at some point someone will be able to connect a few dots here.

AFAIK these are unpaid legal fees that stacked up over Cohen's years of working for Trump, not a missed payment for any one single thing.

 

[Xzi]

Manafort has received an additional 43 months jail time from his second sentencing, putting his total now at 7.5 years. I'd be disappointed still, but thankfully NY prosecutors swooped in and indicted him on 16 more charges, just minutes after his federal sentence came down:

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/13/pau...-ny-prosecutors-after-federal-sentencing.html

A pardon is useless against state charges, so they've eliminated the one play Trump might've had left up his sleeve. We can only hope that with a third sentencing, this aging mobster goes away for life.

 

[the_randomizer]

Aren't politicians the greatest??