Posted on 08/09/2018 4:07:18 AM PDT by cotton1706
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team of prosecutors have spent several days building what many legal experts consider a slam-dunk case against President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort.
But it has been surprisingly hard going at times, and as they prepare to rest their case as early as Thursday, they bear battle wounds that Manafort’s lawyers are sure to exploit as they mount their defense.
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. Even as Mueller’s team methodically piled up evidence of Manafort’s alleged tax and bank fraud, jurors have seen the special counsel’s case hit some potholes.
Most notably, Manafort’s attorneys have painted the prosecution’s star witness, Rick Gates, as a serial liar, embezzler and philanderer who — as a defense lawyer asserted in court on Wednesday — engaged in four extramarital affairs.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
But you’re not on the jury.
Just injecting a little reality here. The jury’s decision is unpredictable. There are documents corroborating some of the testimony against Manafort. Most likely results are conviction on some but not all counts, or a hung jury. The jury doesn’t have to like the witness, who after all was Manafort’s partner. As for the judge, he is making the successful appeal of any conviction less likely.
I’ll be impressed when I see the motion for a directed verdict granted.
And the million dollar question is HOW DOES ANY OF THIS have to do with the purpose of the Mueller investigation!!??
1. The judge has warned Mueller and his hyenas not to even think of mentioning Trump, Russian collusion, the 2016 elections or anything to do with the Mueller witchunt during the trial.
2. No matter what the result is, Trump will pardon Manafort of all charges in record time and send liberal heads exploring even as conservatives and Trump supporters celebrate it.
It doesn’t.
IMO Mueller always had a weak case. He was always just hoping to get to Trump.
Impartial judge = cranky.
There are loans, and then there are “loans”.
Of course Gates is going to call them loans, which are not taxable until they become income to the borrower. The sophistication of the parties would suggest that there would be documents and signatures showing these loans, or “loans”, the terms and conditions for repayment. It would be recorded on the firm’s books. Even if Manafort has not paid any money back on the loan, they could be considered deliquent; maybe the firm gave him a sweet heart deal to defer payment...indefintiely? But if they disappeared from the firm’s books, then the question would be who, how, when and why?
If Manafort shows cancelled repayment checks for the loans, even if the loan is not paid in full, it would undermine lying, cheating Gates’ testimony. It was reported that in cross examination Gates admitted to stealing from Manafort, who did not know about the theft. I wish I knew more what “stole from Manafort” means, how much and when. But that could help Manafort. It depends. If it can be shown that these “loans” flowed into Manafort’s bank accounts, one would reasonable expect that person like Manafort would see money outside his normal income and know what it is.
So as bad a witness is with his lying and shady past, if his testimony aligns with the documents, then that is not good for Manafort because the documents now speak louder than the witness. Whether the prosecution could have proved the case with only the documents, I am not sure. They needed someone to explain the documents once they got them into evidence - the lying thief who was in on the game may have been the best/only person they had.
This is a pretty dry tax evasion case, but for the real story is what the judge pointed out in an earlier day - the prosecution is trying to squeeze Manafort to get at Trump. The news media is doing the same - tying Manafort’s fate for actions in 2006 to Mueller’s investigation to get to Trump. Other than Manafort working for Trump’s campaign for a very short time, this case is otherwise disconnected to Trump. If Manafort had worked for the HRC campaign, anyone with an IQ >35 would know he would never be in court for this, even if Gates help Manafort get “loan” money to Manafort illegally. It also sends a signal to people who might consider working with Trump, the outsider - they better think twice.
Yes, it seems the documentary evidence would convict on its own. Of course they need someone connected to the evidence to explain it and Gates was the “best” they could do. Even if the documents support the tax evasion, the jury could pull an OJ out of the hat for the reason you gave - whether it is a reasonable doubt “hat”, that would have to be proved.
As far as Manafort knowing nothing about Gates’ embezzlement, that could be very true. However, when $$$ start to show up in Manafort’s account that are not part of his normal income stream, there has to be a reason, and a person of his stature/sophistication would be expected to know about why/how it got there.
The problem with this case is how it is being reported... Manafort could be a tax evader, or he could be innocent. If you just woke up in life in the last 18 months you know it is possible that the people’s government are just as capable of lying, cheating and stealing too. But the way it is being reported is to assign vicarious guilt and dirty dealing to President Trump who is totally unconnected to this case,.. except for the fact that the people’s government is trying to squeeze Manafort, even if he did something illegal, to get to the President because he worked on his campaign for a very short time. If he is found guilty, I predict that in Trump’s 2nd term, he will pardon him, and others because of how the Mueller phony investigation is being carried out.
“...HOW DOES ANY OF THIS have to do with the purpose of the Mueller investigation!!??”
It doesn’t except in the media’s head, in the prosecution and maybe the defense attorney who brought up his name while cross examining Gates about his 4 extramarital affairs.
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