Manafort agrees:
- Pleads guilty to the remaining charges in his trial in Virginia;
- Pleads guilty to an amended fiiing in D.C (both are federal courts);
- Sentencing will be done after he’s finished cooperating with investigators;
- The sentencing guidelines would put him in prison for 17-1/2 years to 21 years, 10 months (lots of incentive to cooperate);
- If Manafort doesn't fully cooperate, the prosecution can ask for more time;
- If he does anything dumb after he signs the agreement, he could get more time;
- He'll be fully debriefed, turn over all documents, and testify in any other proceedings;
- Waives all rights and procedural defenses (statutes of limitations, admissibility of evidence, etc);
- Agrees not to take any pay for books, speeches, appearances, or anything like that'
- Forfeits several properties in NYC, New York state, several bank/brokerage accounts (and that this happens right now).
So Manafort gets to keep something. On the other hand, once he finishes paying for his lawyers, he'll probably have nothing much left. But he'll still do less than 15 years (with good time), if he proves his worth to the Special Counsel's people.
And then there is this:
If the Trump Boys haven't hired top-notch criminal defense layers by now, then they're dumber than they look.
No doubt that Rudy the Mouth will be all over the talk-shows tomorrow to cast as much shade as he can. Which at this point, may be damned little.
Edited to add: Lawfare's analysis is worth the read. Unlike your humble scribe, those folks do practice criminal law in Federal courts.
6 comments:
Comrade, in reading the 17 pages, I was a little confused on the “2 level reduction” phrasing. I assume that refers to a reduction of guideline sentencing period, but it wasn’t really clear to a layman. The other discussions mentioned that he had basically limited this cases results to no more than 10 years, is that what a two level reduction would do to that aforementioned ~17-22 years? Also, I presume this is tied to sentencing in the earlier case as well, and that he can hope for reduction below 10 years and concurrent sentences if he’s a gold mine? If that’s correct, a body guard after he’s released might be in order, as the Ruskkies aren’t the forgiving kind.
CP88, the sentencing table reads like a civil service/military pay chart. Offenses get levels, then levels are added or subtracted for different reasons. Prior criminal history gets more time (like step increases).
Manafort's probably in the mid-30s for sentencing levels. If he cooperates and the judge agrees, he could come down several levels and be in for under ten years. If he's a dick, then they could go consecutive or move up some levels and then he dies in prison.
Also what might be in play is where he does time and how much diesel therapy he gets along the way. Or whether or not they're going to agree to let him back out on bail.
OK, he’s a “37” with a “0-1” criminal history, which matches the 210-262 months. Now, does “2 levels” result in a “35” (168-210), or does it move from Zone D to Zone B (an “11”, 8-14 months). I would assume the former, but discussions about a 10 year max would be less than the 35 guidelines. As I understand it, you must serve 85% of your time in Federal prison for criminal offenses, so that would be 168 * .85 = 143 months...still more than 120. I guess that’s why you have lawyers involved in this kinda shit.
Pardon me, Comrade Misfit, but I do not speak the local lingo. What does "how much diesel therapy he gets along the way," mean?
Crankily yours,
The New York Crank
"Diesel therapy" is when the BOP shuffles convicts from one prison to another. The transport buses don't run a direct route, so the convicts spend time in various county jails, waiting for the next bus to move them on down the road to the next lockup. A trip from one prison to another, especially if the prisons are far apart, can take weeks.
If the system really wants to fuck with someone, they get a lot of diesel therapy. Susan McDougall got a lot of it from Ken Starr.
Ah hah! Very interesting. Very mean. But also interesting.
Thank you for the info.
Yours (etc)
The New York Crank
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