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Paul Manafort is in a world of hot water, and he faces his very own Sophie's Choice. He is the one man whose testimony can either exonerate or incriminate Trump. So far he has refused to ask for a plea deal, even though it means he may never see the outside of a prison cell again.
I have been thinking for a while that the reason he hasn't tried to save himself by cutting a plea deal that would let him walk free after a short sentence is that he knows what Trump is guilty of and can put the finger on him. If he testifies to that effect, he will never breathe the air of a free man again, because the Russian Mafia will always be standing there when he looks over his shoulder. Putin's hit men are pretty refined, but they can be abrupt and brutal when they want to be. Polonium, BTW, is a nasty way to go. It takes about three weeks to do its work.
John Dean, Nixon's counsel for nearly ten years, thinks it doesn't matter what Manafort does one way or the other since Gates is cooperating with Mueller's investigation.
One thing is for certain - things are going to get interesting, but not until Mueller has turned over every rock on the beach looking for slimy things. May be soon, may be later, but it will be interesting.
Paul Manafort is in a world of hot water, and he faces his very own Sophie's Choice. He is the one man whose testimony can either exonerate or incriminate Trump. So far he has refused to ask for a plea deal, even though it means he may never see the outside of a prison cell again.
I have been thinking for a while that the reason he hasn't tried to save himself by cutting a plea deal that would let him walk free after a short sentence is that he knows what Trump is guilty of and can put the finger on him. If he testifies to that effect, he will never breathe the air of a free man again, because the Russian Mafia will always be standing there when he looks over his shoulder. Putin's hit men are pretty refined, but they can be abrupt and brutal when they want to be. Polonium, BTW, is a nasty way to go. It takes about three weeks to do its work.
John Dean, Nixon's counsel for nearly ten years, thinks it doesn't matter what Manafort does one way or the other since Gates is cooperating with Mueller's investigation.
One thing is for certain - things are going to get interesting, but not until Mueller has turned over every rock on the beach looking for slimy things. May be soon, may be later, but it will be interesting.
Interesting musings here. We the people are, as they say, a 'captive audience' to this 'Reality TV Show' of a Presidency, produced & directed by Mr. Trump. To put it mildly, it's unsettling at the least.
Pondering also how the Presidential pardoning power factors into all of this. The piece below details some of the potential scenarios. Granted, additional information has been gathered after the date it was written, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2017:
Quote:
...Put differently, the pardon power is a kind of booby trap that threatens to explode our system of constitutional accountability. It hasn't done so yet because, for all their flaws, the first 44 presidents of the United States regarded the pardon power as a means to temper justice with mercy and, occasionally, as a means of helping the country move past painful divisions (as when Carter pardoned draft evaders and Ford pardoned Nixon). We have not previously had a president who regarded the pardon power as a means of avoiding responsibility for his own malfeasance. ...
I've been informally following John Dean's Twitter account for a couple of weeks. He has the chops to note significant aspects of the current situation, having been deeply involved in Watergate (and having seen the light afterwards).
For those of you unfamiliar with Dean's background, I'd suggest you do a little research. His comments and insights deserve attention and respect. He's been there and done that - and survived to tell the tale.
I've been informally following John Dean's Twitter account for a couple of weeks. He has the chops to note significant aspects of the current situation, having been deeply involved in Watergate (and having seen the light afterwards).
For those of you unfamiliar with Dean's background, I'd suggest you do a little research. His comments and insights deserve attention and respect. He's been there and done that - and survived to tell the tale.
Like CraigCreek said, Dean is not just another talking head creating background noise. He is one of the few people who was actually there and acting as counsel to the last president who went through any scenario anything close to the one Trump has created. He has a very unique perspective and insight.
[Dean] said: “Many of the counts in both the VA and DC indictments have state law counterparts that can be charged in NY and VA, where Trump had no pardon power. Checkmate is coming for Paul Manafort.“
Put another way, since you obviously didn't/couldn't read the article, is that Trump cannot pardon his way out because Mueller has covered all the exits by sharing information with state attorneys general. If Gates and/or Manafort have any direct knowledge of Trump breaking any laws, he is toast, and Gates is the man who has the power to weld the door of Manafort's cell shut. If Manafort is going to talk, he had better get on with it.
Other than that he was just batting his gums to move the air around.
Last edited by cuebald; 02-27-2018 at 08:51 AM..
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