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You are here: Home / Politics / Trumpery / Trump Crime Cartel / Manafort Gets the White Male Sentence

Manafort Gets the White Male Sentence

by $8 blue check mistermix|  March 7, 20197:11 pm| 133 Comments

This post is in: Trump Crime Cartel

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One month less than 4 years, when sentencing guidelines are 24 years.

“He’s lived an otherwise blameless life,” Ellis said. The judged noted Manafort has no past criminal history and “earned the admiration of a number of people” who wrote letters to the court support Manafort.

Getting millions of dollars for helping dictators: “blameless”. Selling a few grams of coke, or a couple of pounds of marijuana: “hardened criminal”.

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Previous Post: « GOP Self-Own Open Thread: Repubs Are Officially Anti-Anti-Hate
Next Post: Paul Manafort Will Still Die in Prison »

Reader Interactions

133Comments

  1. 1.

    Raven

    March 7, 2019 at 7:13 pm

    So people are surprised?

  2. 2.

    lamh36

    March 7, 2019 at 7:14 pm

    That fuq’n Judge Ellis smh…passing the damn buck to DC…so if DC does less…then Ellis like …what “oh well”…smh

    FUCKER!!!

  3. 3.

    David Anderson

    March 7, 2019 at 7:14 pm

    State charge time

  4. 4.

    Gin & Tonic

    March 7, 2019 at 7:14 pm

    @Raven: Dismayed.

  5. 5.

    Wapiti

    March 7, 2019 at 7:14 pm

    Otherwise blameless, because the judicial system turned a blind eye to his crimes for how many years?

  6. 6.

    Eric S.

    March 7, 2019 at 7:15 pm

    @Raven: Irate

  7. 7.

    Raven

    March 7, 2019 at 7:15 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Scooter.

  8. 8.

    Raven

    March 7, 2019 at 7:15 pm

    FITZ!!!

  9. 9.

    lamh36

    March 7, 2019 at 7:16 pm

    @lsarsour
    Follow Follow @lsarsour
    More Linda Sarsour Retweeted Jim Roberts
    There are black people in pre-trial confinement that have spent more time in prison waiting for a trial than Manafort will spend for being convicted and sentenced. #injusticesystem

  10. 10.

    hueyplong

    March 7, 2019 at 7:16 pm

    Lying to the Mueller people in contravention of the cooperation deal should have warranted more time, standing alone. Would send a message to the likes of Roger Stone if he had the same judge.

  11. 11.

    Bobby Thomson

    March 7, 2019 at 7:16 pm

    Ellis joins Roberts, Kennedy, and the RightWingFour as judges I just might spit on if I saw them on the street.

  12. 12.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    March 7, 2019 at 7:16 pm

    Oh good grief!! Is this the only sentence Manafort is looking at or does he still face other charges before a different judge — one who may not be a member of the old white boys’ club?

  13. 13.

    John Revolta

    March 7, 2019 at 7:16 pm

    Fuck

  14. 14.

    Bobby Thomson

    March 7, 2019 at 7:17 pm

    @White & Gold Purgatorian: there is another.

  15. 15.

    MazeDancer

    March 7, 2019 at 7:17 pm

    Manafort didn’t even express regret. And he lied to prosecutors.

    Not the rignt message, Judge Ellis.

    OTOH, such a short sentence, Trump may not think it’s worth the pushback to pardon. If Manafort had gotten what he deserved, Trump could have hidden behind “excessive sentencing”.

  16. 16.

    Gin & Tonic

    March 7, 2019 at 7:17 pm

    @White & Gold Purgatorian: More next week before Judge Amy Berman Jackson.

  17. 17.

    clay

    March 7, 2019 at 7:19 pm

    Shouldn’t a jury sentence him, or do I not know how the justice system works?

  18. 18.

    Aleta

    March 7, 2019 at 7:19 pm

    (WaPo) Objecting to an abundance of sealed and redacted records in the criminal case against Paul Manafort, the president’s former campaign chairman, The Washington Post petitioned a federal court Thursday to open those records to public view.

    The paper’s motion cited “the profound public interest in these proceedings” — as well as in the overall investigation by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III into Russia’s efforts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election, which has swept up Manafort and scores of others. “The investigation, which concerns the integrity of this country’s elections, goes to the core of the interests protected by the First Amendment,” the motion, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, said.

    At issue are redacted or sealed filings, sentencing memos, hearing transcripts and more than 800 pages of exhibits submitted after the special counsel’s office alleged in November that Manafort voided his cooperation agreement with prosecutors in Washington by lying to them about five subjects over more than 50 hours of interviews before and after his guilty plea.

  19. 19.

    Raven

    March 7, 2019 at 7:19 pm

    @clay: nope

  20. 20.

    hueyplong

    March 7, 2019 at 7:20 pm

    @MazeDancer: “OTOH, such a short sentence, Trump may not think it’s worth the pushback to pardon. If Manafort had gotten what he deserved, Trump could have hidden behind ‘excessive sentencing’.”

    That gets the glass-half-full award for the day.

  21. 21.

    White & Gold Purgatorian

    March 7, 2019 at 7:21 pm

    @Bobby Thomson:
    @Gin & Tonic:
    Thank you both. Keeping fingers crossed for some semblance of equal justice.

  22. 22.

    Baud

    March 7, 2019 at 7:21 pm

    @clay: Judges sentence, unless it’s the death sentence.

  23. 23.

    lamh36

    March 7, 2019 at 7:22 pm

    @cmclymer
    38s38 seconds ago
    More
    Crystal Mason, a Black woman in Texas, just started serving a sentence of five years for casting an illegal ballot because she didn’t know her felony made her ineligible.

    Paul Manafort will finish his sentence before Crystal Mason.

    Watch whiteness work

  24. 24.

    PPCLI

    March 7, 2019 at 7:23 pm

    @White & Gold Purgatorian: Judge Amy Jackson still to come. She can sentence him to up to 10 years, and she can make it concurrent or consecutive. And NY State hasn’t even started going after him on the charges they’ve got.

  25. 25.

    MattF

    March 7, 2019 at 7:23 pm

    Manafort has a lot more sentencing to go. I don’t think he’s getting out of prison any time soon.

  26. 26.

    Aleta

    March 7, 2019 at 7:24 pm

    Is this the case during which he was later charged with witness tampering? I think so.

  27. 27.

    A Ghost To Most

    March 7, 2019 at 7:24 pm

    Given the stink-eye this judge held towards the prosecution, this sentence was foreseeable.

    Amy Berman Jackson, on the other hand, is PISSED.

  28. 28.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    March 7, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    For people who don’t remember Ellis is the Reagoon appointee who tried everything to help get Manafort off during his original trial.

  29. 29.

    clay

    March 7, 2019 at 7:27 pm

    @Baud: That’s a weird exception. The general public is competent enough to kill somebody, but not competent enough to decide how long to lock them up?

  30. 30.

    MattF

    March 7, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    OT. No link, but David Brooks (!) just came out in favor of reparations. Srsly.

  31. 31.

    Emerald

    March 7, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    White collar crime causes far more destruction than blue collar crime, but will never, ever be punished UNLESS, as was the case with Madoff, the criminal ruins the lives of rich people.

    We are living in a multi-tiered society. We have an aristocracy, and the rules are different for them.

    Barbara Tuchman said: “Every successful revolution puts on in time the robes of the tyrant it has deposed.”

  32. 32.

    Baud

    March 7, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    @clay:

    Complicated Supreme Court constitutional law principles on death penalty at play.

  33. 33.

    Baud

    March 7, 2019 at 7:29 pm

    @MattF:

    He came out in favor of making reparations a debate topic for the election.

  34. 34.

    Raven

    March 7, 2019 at 7:30 pm

    @Emerald: Viva Zapata!

  35. 35.

    Nelle

    March 7, 2019 at 7:31 pm

    Last summer, I spent a day in Maidan Square in Kiev. It took me a long time to look at the photograph of each person gunned down by Manafort’s client. Please. Watch Winter of Fire about Ukraine’s fight for democracy. It’s on Netflix and well done. Really. Watch it.The bood of those people is on Manafort. Blameless???? The man as an accomplice to murder.

    Between Kavanaugh and this, I’m very torn about staying here (grandchildren) and going back to beloved New Zealand.

  36. 36.

    MomSense

    March 7, 2019 at 7:32 pm

    This is a Fucking disgrace.

  37. 37.

    Jeffro

    March 7, 2019 at 7:32 pm

    @MattF: no f’n way

    He wants Dems to go all in on reparations ‘cause (at the moment) it is not a popular position in general and would split the Ds

  38. 38.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    March 7, 2019 at 7:32 pm

    I wonder if there is an extradition treaty with Ukraine, I’m sure a Democratic Administration would look into it. Then again isn’t Manafort in hock to some Russian oligarchs? He better go to Protective Custody or as most prisoners call it Punk City.

  39. 39.

    lamh36

    March 7, 2019 at 7:32 pm

    @PPCLI: Folk need to come on with this…yes we know the DC court is next.

    But let’s not act like this is STILL bullshit. the max the DC Judge can give is 10 correct…even concurrent, that’s 14 years…

    @eugenegu
    14m14 minutes ago
    More
    Paul Manafort gets 4 years in prison for conspiracy to defraud the United States, witness tampering, bank fraud, tax fraud, and basically being a traitor to our country.

    Corvain Cooper gets life in prison at age 34 for a non-violent marijuana conviction.

    ?White privilege.

    https://twitter.com/eugenegu/status/1103811362088673280

    This sentence by Ellis was bullshit…and passing the buck to the damn DC court doesn’t negate the bullshitness of this Judge’s sentencing.

  40. 40.

    A Ghost To Most

    March 7, 2019 at 7:33 pm

    @MattF: So Brooksie is finally letting his Russian plant flag fly.

  41. 41.

    chopper

    March 7, 2019 at 7:34 pm

    @A Ghost To Most:

    here’s hoping he gets a way bigger sentence out of her.

  42. 42.

    Nelle

    March 7, 2019 at 7:35 pm

    Keep in mind that these are the kinds of judges..and young..that Trump and McConnell are packing the courts for the next decades.

    F the Stein voters, the purity patrol.

  43. 43.

    lamh36

    March 7, 2019 at 7:35 pm

    @tribelaw
    Manafort’s 47-month sentence in ED Va is outrageously lenient. Judge Ellis has inexcusably perverted justice and the guidelines. His pretrial comments were a dead giveaway. The DC sentence next week had better be consecutive.

  44. 44.

    MomSense

    March 7, 2019 at 7:35 pm

    @lamh36:

    It’s bullshit. WTF is wrong with Ellis. Until now Manafort lead a blameless life??? He’s a generous person?? Manafort has blood on his hands.

  45. 45.

    Jeffro

    March 7, 2019 at 7:36 pm

    Hope Dems make Ellis their poster boy as to the dangers of RWNJ judges, and why elections matter

  46. 46.

    geg6

    March 7, 2019 at 7:36 pm

    @Nelle:

    Even his daughter says their blood is on his hands. Disgraceful statement by this “judge.”

    I wish I had a New Zealand to run to. I can’t stand this much longer.

  47. 47.

    Emerald

    March 7, 2019 at 7:37 pm

    @Nelle: New Zealand might be one of the few sane, actually free places left in the world. That and the Faroe Islands. Maybe Iceland.

  48. 48.

    Jeffro

    March 7, 2019 at 7:37 pm

    .

  49. 49.

    lamh36

    March 7, 2019 at 7:37 pm

    @grantstern
    Follow Follow @grantstern
    More Grant Stern Retweeted LadyJudi ® ? ? ❤ ?
    Judge Eliot is a Reagan appointee.

    Reagan’s administration caught Paul Manafort committing some of the same crimes he pleaded to in DC and let him go.

    Republicans only believe in “justice” for people of color, not for political operatives stealing millions.

    #Shame

    https://twitter.com/grantstern/status/1103815209800601600

  50. 50.

    lamh36

    March 7, 2019 at 7:38 pm

    @skepticalbrotha
    3m3 minutes ago
    More
    Paul Manafort, international fraudster & Trump Campaign Chair, was facing 19-24 years for bank & tax fraud, was gifted 47 months 4 his Whiteness. He defrauded an Illinois bank of $16 million. a homeless black man was sentenced to 10 years in state prison 4 stealing some draws.
    https://twitter.com/skepticalbrotha/status/1103816566339190785

  51. 51.

    PaulWartenberg

    March 7, 2019 at 7:38 pm

    This is the problem with our legal system:

    the law – and the judges who oversee it – simply do not view white-collar crimes – all forms of fraud, pretty much – with the level of seriousness those crimes really are. These same judges will quickly throw a 16-year-old kid – it doesn’t even have to involve race, just coming from a poor family will do it, I’ve seen it here in Florida and up close – into the slammer for a DECADE at least all because they had a small bag of pot on them. And they’ll do it because “those punks” aren’t gentlemanly enough to deserve a second chance.

    more often than not, the ones committing white-collar crimes come from the very elevated ranks of the upper class. they tend to be White, and they tend to be from the same social circles as the judges and politicians creating political connections that protect them later when these crooks get caught. I’m willing to bet the judge in this case looked at Manafort and considered him a potential next-door neighbor in his gated mansion community. /headdesk

    This is the problem our legal system has. it’s the lack of awareness, it’s the lack of proportion, the willingness to go light on upper-income bank robbers who just happen to steal everything with suitcases instead of guns all the while crushing every low-income criminal (some of whom do deserve jail time, just not the viciousness of the legal system hitting them) for the crime of not being wealthier or politically connected.

    Manafort is making a mockery of the idea of “Justice For All.” But it’s the judge and the legal system that’s giving him the punchlines.

  52. 52.

    Mike in NC

    March 7, 2019 at 7:39 pm

    The judged noted Manafort has no past criminal history and “earned the admiration of a number of people” who wrote letters to the court support Manafort.

    A number of people including David Dennison, Jared Kushner, Sebastian Gorka, Steve Bannon, etc.

  53. 53.

    PaulWartenberg

    March 7, 2019 at 7:40 pm

    There should be drug rehab as punishment for drug possession convictions and there should be 20-year mandatory minimums for bank fraud.

    Christ.

  54. 54.

    Nelle

    March 7, 2019 at 7:40 pm

    Apparently getting credit for time served already.

  55. 55.

    lamh36

    March 7, 2019 at 7:41 pm

    @thelauracoates
    Follow Follow @thelauracoates
    More
    FYI in 2018, #JudgeEllis sentenced Frederick Turner, 37, to a mandatory minimum of 40 years in prison for dealing methamphetamine: “I chafe a bit at that, but I follow the law. If I thought it was blatantly immoral, I’d have to resign. It’s wrong, but not immoral.” #PaulManafort

    6:14 PM – 7 Mar 2019

  56. 56.

    A Ghost To Most

    March 7, 2019 at 7:41 pm

    @chopper: I spend way too much time watching former federal prosecutors, and they mostly were looking for a reduced sentence from this judge, because of his obvious animus towards the prosecution.

    They also think (generally) that Berman Jackson is aware of this sentence, and may increase her sentence to compensate. So, perhaps we should wait and see. She may drop the hammer.

  57. 57.

    MJS

    March 7, 2019 at 7:41 pm

    Here’s hoping Judge Ellis gets the Sarah Sanders-Stephen Miller treatment at his next dinner out.

  58. 58.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    March 7, 2019 at 7:41 pm

    Another chapter in #EconomicAnxiety

  59. 59.

    Raven

    March 7, 2019 at 7:42 pm

    @A Ghost To Most: What fun would that be? Let’s get hysterical NOW!!!!

  60. 60.

    Baud

    March 7, 2019 at 7:42 pm

    @lamh36:

    Mandatory minimums aren’t the best comparison for this judge because they’re . . . mandatory

  61. 61.

    chopper

    March 7, 2019 at 7:42 pm

    republican judge covering a republican’s ass. what horseshit.

  62. 62.

    lamh36

    March 7, 2019 at 7:43 pm

    @markhughesfilms
    Follow Follow @markhughesfilms
    More
    Replying to @DavidCornDC
    His daughter sure didn’t seem to think he led a “blameless” life, what with all of the “blood money” and whatnot.

    6:34 PM – 7 Mar 2019

  63. 63.

    chopper

    March 7, 2019 at 7:44 pm

    @MJS:

    i’m sure his sentencing history is going to get a shit ton of scrutiny and it’s probably not going to look good.

  64. 64.

    PaulWartenberg

    March 7, 2019 at 7:44 pm

    @Raven:

    We were hoping the judge would have followed the sentencing guidelines, considering how Manafort kept breaking his deals with prosecutors. If you follow Popehat on Twitter, he was projecting a 120-month sentence.

  65. 65.

    lamh36

    March 7, 2019 at 7:44 pm

    @DannyZuker
    13m13 minutes ago
    More
    Everyone needs to calm down about the 4 year Manafort sentence. All he did was conspire with a hostile power to undermine our democracy. It’s not like he’s a minority teen caught with a joint.

  66. 66.

    Raven

    March 7, 2019 at 7:45 pm

    @PaulWartenberg: I don’t have to follow anybody, I know what time it is.

  67. 67.

    lamh36

    March 7, 2019 at 7:47 pm

    @ChrisLu44
    6m6 minutes ago
    More
    Take this in: Rod Blagojevich is serving 14 years for *trying* to sell a Senate seat.

  68. 68.

    JaySinWA

    March 7, 2019 at 7:49 pm

    @lamh36: IOKIYAAR ETA, well less bad anyway. Besides Blagojevich is a funny name. Sounds kinda Foreign.

  69. 69.

    HeleninEire

    March 7, 2019 at 7:52 pm

    FUCK this shit. I went to IRS.gov today to download the forms I’ll need to file US taxes. Even though I owe nothing, and didn’t make a penny in the US I still have to file. Also downloaded form 8938 to report my overseas assets. This is one of the things he was found guilty of.

    Went to Fincen to file my overseas assets separate from my tax forms. This is also one of the things Manafort was found guilty of; no Fincen forms. His lawyer said they were “too hard.”

    Fuck it.

  70. 70.

    A Ghost To Most

    March 7, 2019 at 7:55 pm

    @Raven: At this point, it’s all about patience.

    This is going to be exhausting enough. Breathe. Have a drink. Exercise. Smoke a bowl. Eat something good. Make something.

  71. 71.

    Raven

    March 7, 2019 at 7:56 pm

    @A Ghost To Most: Two out of four ain’t bad.

  72. 72.

    lamh36

    March 7, 2019 at 7:57 pm

    @ClinicEscort
    13m13 minutes ago
    More
    Paul Manafort was sentenced to four years. For having a miscarriage (as she maintained) or for inducing her own abortion (as the State of Indiana claimed), Purvi Patel was sentenced to twenty, serving three before her conviction was overturned.
    https://twitter.com/ClinicEscort/status/1103818339200073728

  73. 73.

    Plato

    March 7, 2019 at 7:57 pm

    Of course, the totus thug got this far and will still go scot-free.

    What a great checks and balances system.

    Amurka, fuck yeah.

  74. 74.

    MisterForkbeard

    March 7, 2019 at 7:59 pm

    @lamh36: This is fucking intolerable. What a goddamn racket.

  75. 75.

    Gin & Tonic

    March 7, 2019 at 7:59 pm

    @Nelle: Please spell it Kyiv not Kiev.

  76. 76.

    SiubhanDuinne

    March 7, 2019 at 8:00 pm

    @HeleninEire:

    O/T, but did you send me a message on Messenger in the last day or so? There seemed to be something slightly “off” about it, so I didn’t open it nor did I respond. If it’s legit, I’ll do both those things.

  77. 77.

    lamh36

    March 7, 2019 at 8:02 pm

    @Rob_Flaherty
    Follow Follow @Rob_Flaherty
    More Rob Flaherty Retweeted Kelly O’Donnell
    Two weeks ago a black Mississippi man was given 12 years in prison for possessing marijuana that he bought legally in Oregon

    https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2019/02/19/oregon-legal-marijuana-sentence-mississippi-prison/2910928002/

    Yup, I’m gon keep on posting these articles long as folks keep talking bout “well we got DC next week”.

  78. 78.

    A Ghost To Most

    March 7, 2019 at 8:03 pm

    @Raven: Every thing in moderation, including moderation.

    Eta Different strokes for different folks

  79. 79.

    Nelle

    March 7, 2019 at 8:03 pm

    This society depends on voluntary compliance with tax laws and a hell of a lot of other things. Compliance looks stupid.

  80. 80.

    HeleninEire

    March 7, 2019 at 8:04 pm

    @SiubhanDuinne: No. A few of my other friends got it too. Powerball, yes? No method as to who got it.

  81. 81.

    plato

    March 7, 2019 at 8:06 pm

    As Roy Cohn — the ruthless mafia lawyer who mentored Trump and introduced him to Manafort and Stone — once said: "I don't want to know what the law is, I want to know who the judge is." https://t.co/YbL45l2zcf— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) March 7, 2019

  82. 82.

    Raven

    March 7, 2019 at 8:06 pm

    @HeleninEire: None for me.

  83. 83.

    hilts

    March 7, 2019 at 8:07 pm

    @Jeffro:

    For the Win!

    @lamh36:

    Amen to Laurence Tribe.

  84. 84.

    Gravenstone

    March 7, 2019 at 8:08 pm

    @JaySinWA: Blago deserved it for the helmet hair alone… //

  85. 85.

    The Midnight Lurker

    March 7, 2019 at 8:10 pm

    Actually, I would be down with Manafort’s sentence…

    …if he served it in a Ukrainian prison.

  86. 86.

    plato

    March 7, 2019 at 8:10 pm

    @lamh36:

    The DC sentence next week had better be consecutive.

    From amy do you want more pillows berman? Laughable.

  87. 87.

    lamh36

    March 7, 2019 at 8:11 pm

    @RepAdamSchiff
    3m3 minutes ago
    More
    The statement by Paul Manafort’s lawyer after an already lenient sentence — repeating the President’s mantra of no collusion — was no accident. It was a deliberate appeal for a pardon.

    One injustice must not follow another

  88. 88.

    Skepticat

    March 7, 2019 at 8:11 pm

    An otherwise blameless life …
    I guess I ought not be surprised, but instead, I’m gobsmacked, sickened, and seriously depressed that our “justice” system has come to this. Why should anyone honest have any shred of faith in our country and its institutions? On the other hand, if writing letters to a court is all that’s needed to determine a sentence, I guess I’d better buy a case or eight of ink cartridges.
    As Charlie Pierce would say, “This is your democracy. Cherish it.”

  89. 89.

    Timurid

    March 7, 2019 at 8:14 pm

    Elites have decided that stopping Trump and doing what is needed to prevent this from happening again in the future can only be accomplished at an unacceptable cost in elite (and white) privilege. They’re going to ride this train to the end. If Trump and the Trumpists win, they’ll do so the same way almost every other extremist leader and movement did… not by convincing elite and majority identity groups that they are heroes but by convincing them that they are the lesser evil.

  90. 90.

    A Ghost To Most

    March 7, 2019 at 8:15 pm

    @lamh36:
    Feel free, but it doesn’t change a thing at this point in time. Sentencing reform is needed, but won’t affect Manafort’s sentence. Berman Jackson can.

    You won’t be able to savor the victories if you’re exhausted from fruitless rage.

  91. 91.

    HeleninEire

    March 7, 2019 at 8:18 pm

    @Raven: Good. There really has been no method. Looks like mostly Irish friends but not exclusively. And fewer than 10 that I know of.

  92. 92.

    Amir Khalid

    March 7, 2019 at 8:18 pm

    @lamh36:
    Not sure if it makes a difference, but Blagojevich is a Democrat.

  93. 93.

    SiubhanDuinne

    March 7, 2019 at 8:18 pm

    @HeleninEire:

    Don’t know about Powerball. Sorry your account has been hijacked, but glad I didn’t click to open. I’ll delete it.

  94. 94.

    lamh36

    March 7, 2019 at 8:19 pm

    @FranklinFoer
    1h1 hour ago
    More
    Remember Judge Ellis refused to let Mueller’s team describe his clients as “oligarchs.” He compared that group of kleptocrats and gangsters to George Soros. Perhaps that’s why he considers him a good citizen. How mind blowing.

  95. 95.

    Mike in DC

    March 7, 2019 at 8:20 pm

    I hope he gets at least 6 years tacked on next week. Maybe if state charges get brought he’ll actually finally break.

  96. 96.

    randy khan

    March 7, 2019 at 8:21 pm

    That’s just a bizarre sentence, but as others have said Ellis didn’t seem to like the prosecution from the start, so he probably decided to get his say at the end.

    While I’m hopeful that the D.C. sentencing will pile a lot more time on, it doesn’t really have any effect on how inappropriate this sentence is.

  97. 97.

    lamh36

    March 7, 2019 at 8:24 pm

    @matthewamiller
    1h1 hour ago
    More
    Mueller had the choice to recommend Manafort’s DC sentence be served consecutively or concurrently and decided to wait and see what Ellis did first. Glad they still have that card to play because justice was not served tonight.

  98. 98.

    SiubhanDuinne

    March 7, 2019 at 8:26 pm

    @lamh36:

    This makes me sick.

  99. 99.

    Raven Onthill

    March 7, 2019 at 8:28 pm

    We’ve got to do something about the judges. This makes a mockery of equal justice before the law.

    And here we have a Twitter thread of people getting harsher sentences than Manafort for much smaller offenses: https://twitter.com/ScottHech/status/1103815177382825995.

  100. 100.

    lamh36

    March 7, 2019 at 8:29 pm

    @A Ghost To Most: dude…I”m allowed to express my “fruitless rage”… so allow me to do that online rather than in out when I have to be at work with MAGA idiots and racist.

    Maybe THIS is how I work throught that rage to be able to still smile and feel as if the system ain’t trually stacked against me and mine?

  101. 101.

    Kay

    March 7, 2019 at 8:30 pm

    At some point this system will lose all credibility. They simply refuse to punish powerful people in any way that is remotely comparable to how ordinary people are punished. The difference is just glaring- you could see it from space.

    It’s not sustainable. You can’t incarcerate and punish the way we do and then set up a special, tiny class who are immune to that.

  102. 102.

    plato

    March 7, 2019 at 8:33 pm

    @A Ghost To Most:

    You won’t be able to savor the victories if you’re exhausted from fruitless rage.

    What a load of bs. Guess, we all need to just suck it up and move on?

  103. 103.

    Raven Onthill

    March 7, 2019 at 8:34 pm

    There was also a hold-out in the jury who would not agree with on Manafort’s guilt, leading to a mistrial on 10 of the 18 counts.

    Lawyers fear juries, and I’m starting to, too.

  104. 104.

    Raven

    March 7, 2019 at 8:34 pm

    @plato: I have an idea, do whatever the fuck you want to do.

  105. 105.

    SiubhanDuinne

    March 7, 2019 at 8:35 pm

    @plato:

    Roy Cohn — the ruthless mafia lawyer who mentored Trump and introduced him to Manafort and Stone

    According to Jane Mayer’s New Yorker piece, Cohn was also responsible for introducing Trump and Rupert Murdoch. Quite the player, that lad.

  106. 106.

    cmorenc

    March 7, 2019 at 8:36 pm

    @MazeDancer:

    OTOH, such a short sentence, Trump may not think it’s worth the pushback to pardon. If Manafort had gotten what he deserved, Trump could have hidden behind “excessive sentencing”.

    Yeah, the factor of tribal conservative white male privilege played a part in the relatively light sentence – but Ellis might have also factored in lowering the risk of tempting Trump to nullify the courts with a pardon had he given a very severe sentence. Which factor is absent, of course when he’s sentencing black dudes to stiff sentences for drug offenses.

  107. 107.

    oldgold

    March 7, 2019 at 8:37 pm

    Mueller’s handling of Manafort has been
    confounding.

    The only sense of it I can make is that Mueller does believe he has the evidence to proceed with a broad conspiracy indictment.

  108. 108.

    sukabi

    March 7, 2019 at 8:37 pm

    OT, but still criminal. Pentagon’s going to tap $1billion from military retirement & pay for drumpfs fucking wall.

  109. 109.

    Kay

    March 7, 2019 at 8:38 pm

    I read the other day that Exxon’s recidivism rate for environmental lawbreaking is higher than that of drug traffickers for drug dealing. They’re repeat re-offenders, Exxon. They destroy – over and over and over. They whole executive suite should be wearing the equivalent of an ankle monitor.

  110. 110.

    plato

    March 7, 2019 at 8:38 pm

    @Raven: I have an idea too, GFY.

  111. 111.

    rikyrah

    March 7, 2019 at 8:40 pm

    @lamh36:
    The curve for Unqualified White Men is REAL ? ?

    But, yeah, it is time for some muthaphuckin’ state charges

  112. 112.

    plato

    March 7, 2019 at 8:40 pm

    Ex-CIA Director John Brennan: "It's an extraordinarily lenient sentence in light of the extent and scope of Mr. Manafort's criminality … I think this sentence says a lot more about Judge Ellis than it does about Paul Manafort." @hardball— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 8, 2019

  113. 113.

    Aleta

    March 7, 2019 at 8:40 pm

    Susan Simpson @TheViewFromLL2

    Years ago I was on a case before Ellis, and a senior attorney who’d been practicing in EDVA forever made a comment about him that I keep thinking of now: “As long as you let him feel like he’s the smartest man in the room, everything will go fine.”

    From Manafort’s prepared allocution (before sentencing)

    7. In the midst of my pain, I must tell you that I appreciate the fairness of the trial you conducted.
    14. Reflection has created a desire to turn my noteriety into a positive and show the world who I really am.
    16. Again, I thank you for a fair trial. Your wisdom and management of your courtroom gave me hope for our judicial system.

  114. 114.

    lamh36

    March 7, 2019 at 8:41 pm

    @cmorenc: Since when can Chump be counted on to remotely do anything that folks expect that fuq’er to do?

  115. 115.

    Emerald

    March 7, 2019 at 8:42 pm

    @Amir Khalid: It makes a difference.

  116. 116.

    FlyingToaster

    March 7, 2019 at 8:42 pm

    @oldgold: This isn’t Mueller’s. He handed Manafort charges off to the Eastern District of Virginia and the Southern District of New York.

    Next week Mueller’s charges come before Amy Berrman Jackson in DC. New York is waiting to see what VA and DC give him, and what charges didn’t stick, before they file.

  117. 117.

    plato

    March 7, 2019 at 8:42 pm

    Ex-federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner reacts to the Manafort sentencing: "As a former prosecutor, I'm embarrassed. As an American, I'm upset … I am just as disappointed with Judge Ellis … It's an outrage and it's disrespectful of the American people."— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 8, 2019

  118. 118.

    Dan B

    March 7, 2019 at 8:45 pm

    @Nelle: My partner will be livid. He regularly rants about Manafort and his horrible work in Ukraine. Would love to watch Winter of Fire but need to think hard about my honey going super-critical, as in boom!

  119. 119.

    Mike J

    March 7, 2019 at 8:46 pm

    @sukabi:

    OT, but still criminal. Pentagon’s going to tap $1billion from military retirement & pay for drumpfs fucking wall.

    Knowing either: a) there will be an outcry and the money won’t get taken or 2) congress will appropriate additional funds to cover it.

  120. 120.

    smintheus

    March 7, 2019 at 8:47 pm

    Ellis is a solipsistic moron, it was nearly inevitable that he’d show as much leniency as humanly possible to a defendant whose only apparent defense was sucking up to Ellis. Still and all, to justify leniency because Manafort was “a good friend” and “generous person”? That’s practically insane. There are mass murderers who a generous to their friends.

  121. 121.

    Aleta

    March 7, 2019 at 8:47 pm

    Scott Hechinger @ScottHech

    For context on Manafort’s 47 months in prison, my client yesterday was offered 36-72 months in prison for stealing $100 worth of quarters from a residential laundry room.

    My colleague’s client today was forced to plead out to the mandatory minimum of 3.5 years (5 months shy of Manafort) for simple possession of a firearm. No allegation of use. Prosecution wouldn’t drop top count after a hearing. Best they had been willing to do was 2 years.

  122. 122.

    Kay

    March 7, 2019 at 8:47 pm

    Who gets the 25 million? The justice system? So they’ll have sufficient funds to send a couple million more low income 19 year olds to prison for life?

    Maybe the could spend it on a re-establishing a white collar crime prosecution process that looks remotely like the one the rest of us get. Hire some police, for one thing.

  123. 123.

    Gwangung

    March 7, 2019 at 8:48 pm

    I believe Judge Ellis is the same judge who sentenced Rep. Jefferson for bribery.

    In that case, he sentenced Rep. Jefferson to 13 years and wanted to make an example of him.

    Hm. Rep. Jefferson is black, BTW.

  124. 124.

    Raven

    March 7, 2019 at 8:49 pm

    @plato: You can’t do any better than that? You must not be THAT angry.

  125. 125.

    Emerald

    March 7, 2019 at 8:49 pm

    @Kay: I repeat: we have an aristocracy and the rules are different for them.

    I dunno what anyone can do about it. Impeach the judges?

  126. 126.

    smintheus

    March 7, 2019 at 8:49 pm

    @Mike J: Congress should instead cut funding from military retirement and pay on the grounds that the Pentagon has so much excess it can’t spend it all. Then let the Pentagon scramble to move funds out of some of its bloated programs to make up the shortfall.

  127. 127.

    Dan B

    March 7, 2019 at 8:50 pm

    @lamh36: My sister in law, attorney, believes in the rule of law. She screamed at us about Marriage Equality being settled law so us gay guys had no reason to fear Trump. Rule of Law has ominous overtones for nearly every minority. Sis in Law is a clueless control worshipper. That’s all that matters.

  128. 128.

    Kay

    March 7, 2019 at 8:51 pm

    @plato:

    I don’t know- I feel like they’re playing with fire with this. We incarcerate A LOT of people. Ramping up on the many while granting special leniency to the few just doesn’t seem sustainable. It’s a bad plan. This is what revolutions are made of.

  129. 129.

    Gwangung

    March 7, 2019 at 8:55 pm

    Also, if I;m not mistaken, Wesley Snipes served three years for one count of MISDEMEANOR tax evasion.

  130. 130.

    Dan B

    March 7, 2019 at 8:58 pm

    @lamh36: Now now, don’t get all comparisony on us.. that would result in awful “Identity Politics” that is tearing us apart.

    /s. In case you had any doubt.

  131. 131.

    Kay

    March 7, 2019 at 9:02 pm

    @Emerald:

    I don’t know what to do either. I think people have to continue pointing it out and hope there’s some kind of general public revulsion and outcry at some point. Because it’s really just brutally unfair. You don’t have to be particularly sympathetic to low status defendants to see how unfair this has become. It’s WILDLY disparate.

    You could play this game for hours. Find the poor people who got longer sentences than Manafort for lesser crimes. Tens of thousands of them. And the deference and respect with which they’re treated in these proceedings! My God, it’s like night and day with how ordinary defendants are treated. If I hear one more time about these creeps families I will scream. “Families” aren’t a concern in our justice system! No one gives a shit for regular defendants. They could be the sole support for 18 orphans and no one cares.

  132. 132.

    Brickley Paiste

    March 7, 2019 at 9:26 pm

    @MattF: This is an excellent idea. Step one is to figure up the real estate value of every parcel in America (along with the mineral rights) and write a check to every Native American descendant living today.

  133. 133.

    dogwood

    March 7, 2019 at 10:59 pm

    It’s hard to predict what Jackson will do because there was no trial in DC. and I don’t know what her track record is in these types of cases. She doesn’t seem to like Roger Stone, but he’s been given privledged treatment despite that. A good share of her career was spent in private practice. William Jefferson(DLa) was one of her clients in 2009. We’ll see if she’ll buck the system now that she’s in the exclusive club.

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